On Friday nights, traffic toward the city center barely moved, but heading out of the city was fast.
Originally, they could’ve simply driven—take the ring highway from the university district in the east to Ying Zhiyu’s home on the northern outskirts.
Unfortunately, the Ferrari Monza SP2 drew way too much attention.
The area around his house was part of the capital’s urban-rural border. If Li Xi drove that car in, they’d hit the trending searches before midnight.
“Ever taken the subway?”
Ying Zhiyu asked.
The Third Young Master of the Li family could fly planes, drive yachts, and held every kind of license—race cars, motorcycles, luxury cars.
But the subway… he really hadn’t had the chance.
He always traveled with an entourage of bodyguards. And even in casual clothes, a cluster of towering, intimidating Alpha bodyguards suddenly appearing in public transportation would cause a safety panic.
The biomedical university wasn’t far from the subway station, but the campus itself was huge—you had to walk forty minutes from the biology institute to the nearest line.
Ying Zhiyu unlocked a shared bike.
The campus promoted low-carbon living, so the bike racks only had bicycles, no e-bikes.
He was about to unlock one for Li Xi too, but Li Xi stood there unmoving.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
Li Xi pressed his lips together and blurted out quickly, “…Can’t.”
He said it so fast that Ying Zhiyu thought he misheard. “What?”
Li Xi stared at him, exasperated, took a deep breath, and articulated clearly, “I. Don’t. Know.”
This man had licenses for race cars and motorcycles… and yet couldn’t ride a bicycle?
“…It’s fine. Our school has another type of bike.”
Seeing Li Xi’s ears turn bright red in an instant, Ying Zhiyu reacted swiftly and didn’t ask another question, immediately suggesting an alternative.
He led him to another bike rack.
Li Xi stared at the weirdly long tandem-style shared bike and stiffened. “I can’t.”
“I can.”
Ying Zhiyu smiled and unlocked a two-seater shared bicycle.
Shared bikes weren’t allowed to carry passengers, so none came with back seats. But with so many couples on campus, expecting them to ride separately every day was unrealistic.
So the university district had created these special “double-ride” long bikes.
“Just sit in the back and put your feet on the rests. I’ll pedal.”
Problem solved—until a new one arose.
Li Xi frowned. “But we didn’t bring the gifts.”
The gift list Zhang Jingrui prepared had long been completed. But since the Alpha had said they wouldn’t “officially visit” yet, all the presents were still stored at home.
Ying Zhiyu urged him onto the bike and laughed. “We’re not supposed to bring them yet. Today is just to meet and get familiar. If you showed up with that many gifts, my parents wouldn’t dare accept them.”
Li Xi reluctantly accepted that.
Just then, Panda approached, but Li Xi instructed, “Take the car back. You don’t need to follow tonight.”
Panda hesitated. “Young Master, it’s not safe…”
Li Xi disliked anyone questioning his decisions. But before he could speak, Ying Zhiyu cut in, “Panda, could you please drive Li Xi’s car back first? Then later, come to No. 239 in the North District in a more low-key car to pick us up.”
Li Xi definitely wasn’t staying overnight at the Ying home.
And rather than leaving Panda anxious, they might as well use him as a driver.
Panda didn’t answer right away—he was waiting for Li Xi’s instructions.
Li Xi glanced at Ying Zhiyu.
Bold Alpha—changing his plans again.
The first time had been in the car on the way to the civil affairs bureau during the shooting incident. The second time…
After a moment, Li Xi pulled his eyes back and gave a brief “Mm.” “Do as he said.”
Panda accepted the order and left.
Ying Zhiyu pretended not to notice the scrutiny in Li Xi’s eyes just moments earlier. Once Panda was gone, he hopped onto the bike and pedaled them to the subway entrance.
Inside the station, Li Xi—who had never used the subway—could only follow him closely.
Ying Zhiyu went in; Li Xi followed.
He got on the escalator; Li Xi got on.
He walked east; Li Xi walked east.
He turned; Li Xi turned.
He stopped; Li Xi—
“…What is it?” Li Xi asked when the person in front of him suddenly halted.
Ying Zhiyu walked over to a vending machine, bought two disposable masks, and handed one to Li Xi, tying it behind his ears before putting one on himself.
Then he led Li Xi through security.
It was a busy Friday night—still plenty of people even after rush hour.
Afraid they’d get separated, Ying Zhiyu held his hand as they boarded the train.
Fortunately, the university district was the starting station, so it was easy to find seats.
Once they finally settled in, Ying Zhiyu turned to the person beside him.
“You just sent Panda away like that—aren’t you afraid I’ll sell you off?”
Panda had actually wanted to take Li Xi to the northern district first, but with Li Xi’s absolute authority, he hadn’t dared to object.
With the mask covering his face, Li Xi gave a soft scoff. His expression was hidden, but you could hear the disdain in his voice.
“You couldn’t.”
Right—never mind that they were still in the capital, just riding an unfamiliar subway line.
Even if the two of them were thrown onto a deserted island at the same time, Third Young Master Li would still outclass “bookworm” Ying Zhiyu in survival skills by a mile.
But even as he thought that, Ying Zhiyu felt the hand that had been linked with his since they boarded the train tighten just a little.
He lowered his gaze to their interlaced fingers.
His lips curved faintly. He didn’t correct him.
—
Half an hour later, they stepped out of the North City subway station.
On the outskirts of the northern district, shared bikes and scooters were almost nonexistent, replaced by a swarm of motorcycle taxis.
Ying Zhiyu couldn’t picture Li Xi sitting behind a stranger on a motorbike, so he gave up on all transportation and simply walked him home.
He’d already warned his parents before leaving campus that he would be bringing home an Omega boyfriend.
As for Li Xi’s identity… Ying Zhiyu hadn’t mentioned that part. Telling them would only trigger “early loan anxiety,” and nothing good would come of it.
At the entrance of the old five-story walk-up the Ying family rented, he stopped.
“My place is on the fifth floor. No elevator—gotta take the stairs,” he explained.
Li Xi nodded. With his usual workout routine, five flights of stairs were nothing.
“And once we’re up there, let’s not mention marriage yet. Just say we’re dating—you’re my boyfriend.”
Li Xi had heard that over the phone earlier and had quietly accepted the arrangement.
Finally, Ying Zhiyu said, “You should take off your ring too.”
Li Xi paused and looked over.
Under his gaze, Ying Zhiyu reached into his collar and slowly drew out a silver chain.
Threaded onto it was a blue-gray band—the simple daily-wear wedding ring Li Xi had custom-made for them before the ceremony.
Li Xi’s throat bobbed. He lowered his eyes. “I thought you weren’t wearing it.”
Back in the cafeteria, after giving him the watch, he had noticed Li Xi glance at his left hand more than once. He had wanted to explain, but his mind was too tied up debating whether he should go home.
“It’s not convenient to wear a ring in the lab, so I keep it around my neck,” Ying Zhiyu said with a small smile.
Then, right in front of him, he took the necklace off and laid it in his palm.
Only then did Li Xi notice that there were actually two chains.
“I was afraid one might not be sturdy enough,” Ying Zhiyu explained. “The ring was expensive, so I doubled up.”
He pulled off one chain and motioned for Li Xi to give him his hand.
Li Xi lifted his hand, and Ying Zhiyu gently slid the matching blue-gray ring off his finger, threaded it onto the spare chain, and held it up.
“Hide it under your shirt. Want me to put it on you?”
Li Xi looked at him, lashes trembling lightly, then took the chain in silence and put it on himself.
Watching him bow his head with almost no expression, Ying Zhiyu thought—
Got it. Next time, don’t ask. Just do it.
They climbed to the fifth floor. Instead of unlocking the door with his keys, Ying Zhiyu knocked.
His parents had only just learned their son was bringing an Omega home—and that they hadn’t eaten yet—so his mother had sent his father out for more groceries and frantically straightened up the place again.
The door swung open to reveal their towering six-foot-two Alpha of a son blocking the doorway.
Normally she doted on him endlessly, but right now Mama Ying barely glanced at him, craning her neck to peer behind him.
Ying Zhiyu smiled and stepped aside, leading Li Xi forward by the hand.
The moment they saw the person standing behind their son, both parents froze.
Such a tall Omega?
A male Omega?
Papa Ying was surprised because he’d always assumed his son, like himself, preferred female Omegas.
Mama Ying didn’t care whether her son brought home a male or female Omega—she would’ve welcomed a Beta too. But…
Because she spent more time online than her husband did, the face of this Omega seemed oddly familiar.
Wasn’t this… that… Li…
Li Xi, who’d faced countless high-profile occasions, wasn’t fazed at all by meeting his new Alpha’s parents. He didn’t miss Mama Ying’s uncertain stare.
Standing straight at the doorway, he greeted them openly, “Sorry to intrude, sir, ma’am. I’m Li Xi.”
His name was really Li Xi?!
Mama Ying startled. Was this the heir of that major pheromone conglomerate…?
Even Papa Ying—who was basically “2G internet”—had heard that name before.
He looked to his wife for confirmation.
Mama Ying simply stared wide-eyed at their son and the Omega he was still holding hands with.
Inside, Ying Zhiyu seated Li Xi on the couch.
Leaning down, he murmured near his ear, “I’m going to talk to my parents for a moment. Sit here, okay?”
Li Xi nodded. He knew exactly what he was going to say.
Ying Zhiyu ushered both parents into the tiny kitchen—left hand pushing his dad, right arm around his mom.
Papa Ying still looked confused. “It’s rude to leave a guest alone in the living room,” he muttered.
Mama Ying was beyond caring about manners. The moment the kitchen door closed, she grabbed her son.
“…Which Li Xi?”
“The one you’re thinking of,” he answered plainly.
Mama Ying fell silent.
Papa Ying, even more clueless, asked, “Which one?”
Ying Zhiyu summarized Li Xi’s identity in two sentences.
Now Papa Ying fell silent too.
Mama Ying couldn’t resist glancing at the kitchen door as if she could somehow see through it and get another look at the legendary young master outside.
Ying Zhiyu launched into the story he’d already rehearsed on the way home.
“Mr. Li came to give a lecture at our school. As a bio department rep, I was assigned to receive him.”
“Later, Mr. Li was ambushed near campus. I happened to be with him, he protected me… and after going through all that together, we started dating.”
Mama Ying had been horrified for a second that her son had been attacked—but the moment he said “bonded through hardship,” her concern shattered instantly.
She smacked him lightly on the head.
“An Alpha got saved by an Omega, and you call that bonding through hardship?”
Papa Ying frowned as well.
A strong, healthy Alpha getting rescued by an Omega—where was his shame?
But Ying Zhiyu had never viewed Li Xi the way people usually viewed Omegas.
Li Xi was neither fragile nor breakable; and with modern medicine eliminating heat cycle limitations, Omegas were no longer confined to being the protected ones.
He didn’t care about the details of “who saved whom” in his story.
Mama Ying still worried. “So it’s only been two months.”
The attack that shook the capital had happened just over two months ago. And in that time, her son had gotten together with a corporate heir?
Ying Zhiyu shrugged. “Your son’s got charm.”
Mama Ying was speechless.
Of course she thought her son was wonderful. But the young master outside… was the heir to a global pheromone empire.
A family with an actual throne waiting for him…
Just as Ying Zhiyu was about to leave the kitchen, Mama Ying tugged him back and whispered:
“Have you two… marked each other?”
A temporary Alpha mark usually faded within a week.
The last time he marked Li Xi was the day after their wedding. By now, it should’ve worn off.
But Mama Ying knew her son’s scent by heart. The moment Li Xi stepped into the enclosed living room, she picked up the faint traces of her son’s pheromones mixed with his.
They were already married, so Ying Zhiyu didn’t bother lying.
He nodded. “Yeah. We did.”
Papa Ying’s brows snapped together. “Marking isn’t something you do so casually!”
In his generation’s eyes, an AO couple shouldn’t even be alone together before marriage. Marking was strictly a post-wedding act.
Ying Zhiyu didn’t blink. “Then we’ll get married later.”
They already were.
Back in the living room, Li Xi was still sitting exactly where he had been.
Ying Zhiyu returned with a plate of hot beef buns and a glass of warm water, setting them on the table in front of him.
“It’s late—tea’s not a good idea. Eat a little if you’re hungry.”
He sat beside him.
To his surprise, Li Xi didn’t hesitate at all—he picked up a bun and took a bite immediately.
“You really were hungry?” Ying Zhiyu asked, a little stunned.
He remembered that Li Xi had actually eaten a little at the cafeteria.
Li Xi shook his head and answered honestly, “I’m not hungry.”
But after saying that, he took another bite, swallowed, and added, “It’d be rude not to eat.”
Hearing that, Ying Zhiyu’s eyes curved with amusement.
Watching Li Xi sit calmly on the sofa eating a bun—completely at ease rather than awkward—he thought, The third young master really isn’t like the usual Omegas.
While eating, Li Xi kept glancing toward the kitchen where Ying Zhiyu’s parents were busy.
The beef buns from the Ying family’s shop were huge and generously filled. For most Omegas, eating one in the morning could keep them full until noon.
Ying Zhiyu originally intended for Li Xi to take just a few polite bites and set it down. But since Li Xi had already started, he simply continued until he finished the whole thing.
Ying Zhiyu subconsciously glanced at Li Xi’s stomach.
Li Xi had just finished the bun and looked up.
“What’s wrong?”
Ying Zhiyu shook his head. “Nothing.”
He was only remembering that Li Xi had those textbook-perfect eight-pack abs… Did he really not have to watch what he ate?
Li Xi didn’t think much of it and turned his attention back to the kitchen.
“Should we help?” he asked.
Ying Zhiyu chuckled. “No need. They won’t let you do anything.”
“I can’t cook anyway. I’d just get in the way.”
Li Xi was very self-aware. Compared to not being able to ride a bicycle, he was much more at peace with the fact that he couldn’t cook.
He clarified, “Aren’t you going to help?”
Ying Zhiyu’s profile had mentioned that every week he went home, he would get up at dawn to help his parents make buns and then sell them—clearly the dutiful Alpha type.
Ying Zhiyu also looked toward the kitchen.
It had been like this in his past life too. Their status gap was so huge that his parents worried he wouldn’t live well, that he’d be wronged in the Li family, or that he’d have to lower his head where they couldn’t see.
But no matter what they said, none of it helped. Only time could prove anything.
So Ying Zhiyu shook his head. “If I go in now, I’ll just be another pair of hands getting in the way.”
When Ying Zhiyan came home, Li Xi happened to be in the bathroom.
Ying Zhiyu opened the door.
Ying Zhiyan stood there with bags in both hands. The moment she saw her brother, she looked around eagerly. “Where’s the pretty Omega? Mom and Dad said you brought someone home tonight!”
It was Friday. She had planned to go shopping with coworkers after work.
But before her number was even called at the restaurant, her parents rang, saying her brother was bringing an Omega home!
Her brother was already in his twenties and had never brought a girlfriend home. How could she pass up this chance?
Being thoughtful, she had bought a gift at the mall—something to give her “sister-in-law” as a proper first meeting present.
Ying Zhiyu knew exactly what kind of mythic status Li Xi held among young Omegas.
He didn’t reveal the name, intending to let her see for herself.
Taking the bags from his sister, he said, “He’s in the bathroom.”
Ying Zhiyan switched shoes in the entryway, then went to wash her hands in the kitchen.
Ying Dad and Ying Mom wanted to warn their clueless daughter, but since the person was already in their home, anything they said now felt pointless.
She was too excited about meeting her “future in-law” to notice their hesitation.
After washing up, she helped carry out a few bowls of rice.
Just as she stepped out of the kitchen, the bathroom door in the living room opened.
She instinctively turned her head.
Li Xi’s cold, handsome face—usually seen only on high-definition phone screens—seemed to materialize directly into real life.
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.
Clatter.
The middle bowl in her hands slipped and smashed to the floor.
Ying Zhiyu immediately got up.
Li Xi was closer to her, so he moved first.
He recognized her as Ying Zhiyu’s sister and was about to crouch down to help clean up.
But Ying Zhiyu arrived just a beat later.
“Back, back, back.”
He grabbed Li Xi’s arm with one hand and stopped his sister with the other.
“Picking up broken glass always draws blood.” He stepped around the shards like it was some unbreakable law of physics. “The both of you—out of the crime scene!”
Seeing him also stop their parents from approaching, then calmly fetch a broom and dustpan himself, Li Xi could only fall silent.
…He watches too many dramas, Li Xi thought. I’m not that helpless.