At those words, Li Xi froze and lifted his head.
“Impossible… Panda and the others are downstairs, guarding…”
Then he suddenly considered a possibility, and his words trailed off.
Ying Zhiyu, clearly thinking the same thing, asked softly, “Do your grandparents have a key to the house?”
Feeling the tension in the body leaning against him, he realized the answer: they did.
Ying Zhiyu rubbed Li Xi’s back to soothe him. “It’s okay. I locked the door.”
Even though no one else was home, in an old apartment like this, Ying Zhiyu had double-locked the living room door and slid the bolt in the bedroom—just in case.
He hadn’t expected that the door, double-locked from the inside, could still be opened from outside with a key.
No time to overthink. Ying Zhiyu carefully stepped back.
Li Xi buried himself in Ying Zhiyu’s chest, teeth clenched.
Having just completed the lifelong mark, with barely a chance to share warmth or soothe each other, Ying Zhiyu could only lean down quickly and kiss the top of Li Xi’s head.
He grabbed the clothes off the floor. “You get dressed first. I’ll go explain.”
Even though Panda and the others were there, making the chance of a break-in nearly zero, Li Xi wouldn’t let Ying Zhiyu face the unknown outside alone.
“I’ll go with you.”
Ying Zhiyu was already standing at the head of the bed, phone lit. “No need. It’s just your grandparents.”
He showed Li Xi the phone on the bedside table—screen locked, but showing Panda’s missed calls and unread messages.
They must have been too busy at the time to notice.
There was no need for Li Xi to unlock the phone himself. The fact that Panda had time to call and text, even knowing someone had come up, proved there was no danger.
That left only one explanation: they didn’t know how to handle it and simply let the visitors come upstairs.
Ten minutes later, Li Xi emerged from the bedroom.
The ice cream cake from last night, which had been nearly half gone on the living room coffee table, had been cleaned up by Ying Zhiyu.
The elderly couple sat awkwardly on the sofa, hot tea in front of them—
His grandparents, the parents of Gan Ruyuan, Li Xi’s mother.
Li Xi had only met them once before.
As soon as he stepped out, the two immediately turned their heads toward the door.
Li Xi resembled his mother greatly; one look and they recognized him.
Moreover, Li Xi had become so famous online—a top influencer in the O-world—his grandparents surely followed his updates.
Ying Zhiyu looked up, smiling as Li Xi appeared. In the temporary silence that fell over the other three, he took the lead.
“Grandpa, Grandma, my name is Ying Zhiyu. You can call me ‘Xiao Ying’ or just ‘Zhiyu.’ I’m Li Xi’s newlywed Alpha. He wanted to visit his hometown, so we came back together on our honeymoon.”
The old house didn’t have an ensuite; Li Xi still carried the lingering scent of his complex pheromones from the previous night, impossible to wash off entirely.
Ying Zhiyu waited for Li Xi to appear before introducing himself, tactfully presenting their marital status to ease the awkwardness of them emerging from the same bedroom. And he framed the trip as Li Xi’s idea.
Ying Zhiyu knew exactly how to charm elders.
Li Xi had already seen this during their two previous visits to the Li family villa.
Li Xi was quiet; his grandparents, seeing their grandchild’s fiancé for the first time, were naturally reserved.
Ying Zhiyu acted as the perfect buffer.
Handsome, polished, and polite—who wouldn’t like a sweet-talking grandson-in-law?
The couple, both retired teachers, were impressed that Ying Zhiyu was a PhD student at the University of Biomedical Science, already conducting research in a genetic lab at 22. In no time, they treated him like their own grandchild.
Once everyone relaxed, the tension eased.
Grandma spoke first: “Past neighbors called and told us someone was staying in our old house, said it was our grandson.”
“Your grandpa and I were skeptical at first, worried a thief might be targeting the place. That’s why we came early this morning—sorry for disturbing you.”
Li Xi shook his head. “You’re not disturbing us.”
Grandma looked kindly at him, satisfied. “Xi Xi has grown so much, already married… time flies.”
Ying Zhiyu smiled and added, “Even if you hadn’t come today, we would have made sure to visit you.”
He didn’t mention how the previous morning, despite following them all around, they hadn’t actually met.
He held Li Xi’s hand, pausing, then asked, “Grandpa, Grandma, how have you been these years?”
Li Xi’s hand clenched briefly in his palm.
Ying Zhiyu, unbothered, gently rubbed his back to reassure him.
Grandma stiffened slightly, silent. Grandpa spoke:
“We’ve been well, still healthy. We received all the money Xi Xi and Yueyue sent every month. Really, we barely spend anything living here—you’ve gone to too much trouble.”
They understood the heartfelt intent of their grandchildren.
As for the years apart…
“We’ve actually gone to see you,” Grandpa continued. “Before Xi Xi and Yueyue went abroad, we visited the capital several times. Later, when Xi Xi returned, your grandma and I secretly went to see you.”
Like Li Xi, his grandparents only cared that the children were happy and healthy.
They didn’t want to intrude or cause questions about the past, especially surrounding his mother’s passing.
After a half-day of settling in, Ying Zhiyu treated Li Xi’s grandparents to lunch.
Li Xi wanted to help in the kitchen, but Ying Zhiyu told him to chat with them instead.
Li Xi looked at him. “They keep asking about you… it’s like you’re their real grandchild.”
In truth, the elders were just being polite, curious, and cautious—they could only direct questions to Ying Zhiyu.
Ying Zhiyu, chopping vegetables without looking up, replied: “You are, I just am too.”
As long as Li Xi was their grandchild, Ying Zhiyu could also be their “grandchild” for the day.
Li Xi’s eyelashes twitched lightly.
He thought: Alpha really was sweet and charming. No one could dislike him.
After lunch, Li Xi’s grandparents prepared to leave. Li Xi and Ying Zhiyu offered to escort them, but the couple insisted they didn’t need to.
Li Xi had Panda arrange a bodyguard to follow discreetly and ensure their safe return.
Back inside, Ying Zhiyu began clearing the table.
Li Xi tried to help, but Ying Zhiyu said, “Go shower first. You must be uncomfortable after last night.”
Even though they had cleaned after the ice-cream cake, the second half of the lifelong mark session had continued until morning.
Most of the effort had been Li Xi’s.
Even with his strong physique, he was still the Omega being marked—not an ironman. Fatigue was inevitable.
Ying Zhiyu turned with bowls and chopsticks, only to be embraced from behind.
“Thanks.”
Ying Zhiyu’s hands were full of dishes and grease, so he could only lift the utensils and smile. “No need to thank me.”
Li Xi held him tighter. Ying Zhiyu looped an arm around him, stroking his back. “With a monthly salary in the millions, I should be thanking you, Director Li.”
Li Xi: “…”
He let go briefly in mock annoyance, but then hugged him even tighter.
Ying Zhiyu didn’t know whether Li Xi’s sudden closeness had any lingering effect from the lifelong mark.
But when an Omega needed their Alpha, a proper Alpha should provide comfort.
And Ying Zhiyu still had more to say.
He set down the dishes and led Li Xi to wash their hands.
Back on the sofa, Ying Zhiyu kneeled in front of him and spoke seriously:
“I haven’t had any other Omegas. I’ve never liked anyone else.”
Li Xi—so sensitive that even a casual exchange between his Alpha and another Omega upset him—had once, in a previous life, impulsively completed a lifelong mark under suspicion.
Though he would eventually uncover the truth about the other high-compatibility pheromones on him, that night’s doubts, anger, and all-or-nothing decision were real.
Ying Zhiyu didn’t want Li Xi to carry the same uncertainty this time.
“I know some things might seem strange to you.”
Knowing someone too well, sometimes the more perfect your actions, the more it feels like a personalized “sweet trap.”
The wealthy weren’t foolish; fools couldn’t stay rich.
Li Songqian valued Li Xi, favoring him as the heir of the LI Group. Beyond lingering feelings for Li Xi’s Omega mother, it was clear Li Xi was capable, qualified, and suitable.
From the first time Ying Zhiyu met him—or rather, from the moment he wrote the words “bring luck to my husband” on that registration form at the LI Pheromone Lab—he had stood out as unusually suspicious.
At the time, he had only wanted to express that this was his voluntary choice, that he didn’t want to be forced into anything months later at gunpoint.
Later, the oddities he displayed were meant to prevent them from wasting time probing each other.
The benefit was clear: it quickly brought them closer.
The downside: it left a lot of inexplicable doubts.
Having spent eleven years with Li Xi in a previous life, Ying Zhiyu knew his personality well—he wouldn’t fear so-called unknown dangers or crises.
Li Xi was always the type to face challenges head-on.
So back then, Ying Zhiyu hadn’t feared that his suspicions would be noticed.
But now, things between them were completely different from the past life.
Even if Ying Zhiyu were slow to perceive things, he could feel Li Xi’s affection.
Li Xi had never spoken it aloud, but his actions and emotions had never hidden it.
Ying Zhiyu couldn’t avoid it—he had to respond sincerely.
So he crouched in front of Li Xi, met his gaze, and said deliberately, word by word:
“There’s no one behind me. I’m not my father, my eldest brother, my second brother, or anyone sent by some family. I have no other purpose.”
He held Li Xi’s hand. “You don’t need to believe me immediately. Check what you want to check, ask what you want to ask. If there’s something I can’t fully explain, let time prove it, okay?”
Li Xi looked at him for a moment, then helped him up.
“Okay.”
Just one word. No questions, no hesitation—one word said it all.
Ying Zhiyu sat beside him. Having finished the first matter, he still had a second to discuss.
“We need to take birth control.”