Chapter 4

Since rebirth, Ying Zhiyu had never considered changing Omegas.

In his past life, apart from the first three years of marriage, he had held resentment toward Li Xi for forcing him to marry through coercion.

The subsequent eight years of marriage had been mutually respectful, though distant.

Li Xi was exceptional.

As the popular Alpha heir of LI Pheromone Group, he had brought Ying Zhiyu countless advantages.

Li Xi was a competent leader—a decisive mastermind at the helm of a commercial empire.

A few months before Li Xi’s “selection,” the LI Pheromone Group had launched a new type of “calming agent.”

Unlike the “inhibitor,” which suppressed physiological cycles,

the “calming agent” encouraged fidelity to bodily desire, removing the shame of special cycles.

Because Alphas’ sensitive periods and Omegas’ heat periods affected AO pairings differently,

the product primarily benefited Omegas and, to some extent, reduced or replaced the Alpha’s influence during these times.

The launch predictably stirred heated debate.

Extreme Alpha supremacists condemned it as a threat to ABO reproduction rates.

Li Xi had pushed through opposition, making the product public.

This was less than three years after his return from studying abroad.

Among the new generation of Li family heirs, Li Xi had an older sister and brother, both Alphas, and a fraternal twin younger sister, a Beta.

Due to the family’s unique commercial structure, Betas were essentially out of succession.

Three months prior, a scandal broke online: Li Xi and his twin sister Li Yue were allegedly illegitimate children from the LI chairman Li Songqian’s affair.

At the same time, controversy over the “calming agent” escalated, causing a major stock fluctuation for LI Group.

The LI Group PR department directly released Li Songqian’s divorce certificate and the birth certificates of Li Xi and Li Yue.

The years between the two documents definitively disproved the “illegitimate child during marriage” rumor.

However, this false news seemed only to be a spark.

Soon after, more and more so-called insiders and marketing accounts began digging into Li Xi’s past, looking for dirt.

Li Xi had studied abroad from a young age, attended top schools, and graduated with dual master’s degrees in Business Administration and Marketing at 25. Three years after returning home, he had already become Senior Director of LI Group’s core R&D department and successfully launched the “calming agent.”

His résumé was nearly flawless.

If one were to pick a flaw, it would be that he was an Omega.

The easiest, cheapest way to slander an Omega was to spread sexual rumors.

At some point, photos and videos of Li Xi visiting the residences of high-society, well-known socialite Alphas began circulating online.

Sometimes at night, sometimes in the early morning.

Public opinion, fueled by paid commenters, quickly veered toward imagining Li Xi as “an O visiting As.”

As Li Xi’s partner of eleven years, Ying Zhiyu naturally knew how ridiculous these claims were.

Li Xi could easily be called “sexually indifferent among Omegas.”

To him, Alphas were nothing more than tools to relieve the discomfort of his heat periods.

Ying Zhiyu could believe that even if Li Xi let any of his Alpha bodyguards bite him to end a heat period, he would never travel miles in the middle of the night to visit some famous socialite Alpha.

As a reborn person, Ying Zhiyu also knew that in his past life, Li Xi’s visit to that Alpha was actually a “three visits to the cottage” recruitment.

The legendary high-society socialite Alpha could reach a pheromone match of over 60% with any Omega—a rare specimen for pheromone testing.

In the past, Ying Zhiyu had even used Li Xi’s introduction to get help from her in his own genetic research.

Unfortunately, most people preferred scandalous gossip, and explanations were dismissed as mere cover-ups.

Such news never stopped coming.

Li Xi’s solution to permanently stop the rumors was simple: form a family through the “selection” process.

Once an Omega was permanently marked, unless surgically erased, there would only ever be that one Alpha in their life.

Ying Zhiyu had already thought through what to say: “When I saw a room full of Alphas at the LI lab that day, I basically guessed the reason.”

“Now that Mr. Li is here, it proves my point.”

Li Xi was about to enter the board of directors, and a stable family would only strengthen his position.

Ying Zhiyu added, “On top of passing the pheromone match threshold, a clean family background, without internal threats to LI Group, makes management easier.”

Whether out of confidence or self-recommendation, the Alpha concluded lightly, “I should be a good marriage candidate.”

The elevator had already descended to the library’s first floor.

As the doors opened, throngs of students waited to ride.

Ying Zhiyu leaned slightly, instinctively shielding Li Xi.

It was almost a conditioned reflex—they had eleven years of experience performing as a “loving couple” in public.

Li Xi’s step paused slightly.

Ying Zhiyu whispered, “Let’s step out first.”

Li Xi ultimately chose the Choc-O-Latz, the one that cost a dollar more than the bitter coffee.

Tearing open the cheaper bitter coffee, Ying Zhiyu took a bite and noticed the chocolate-coated ice cream inside had started to melt.

He casually glanced at the cold and aloof Omega beside him.

Li Xi also unwrapped his ice cream, frowning at the Choc-O-Latz dripping milk.

Ying Zhiyu was about to say, “If it’s melting, don’t eat it,” but Li Xi, still frowning, had already taken a bite of the partially melted ice cream.

Panda, who had come out ahead of them from the library’s first-floor emergency exit, stepped forward just in time with a wet wipe.

Ying Zhiyu raised an eyebrow—he almost forgot that in his past life, this dutiful “panda” had been more like Li Xi’s personal nanny than a bodyguard.

But the next moment, Li Xi handed the wet wipe he’d received to Ying Zhiyu.

“…Thanks,” Ying Zhiyu said.

Panda offered another wet wipe. Li Xi used it to clean the tips of his fingers stained with ice cream, then calmly asked, “You said you guessed the reason when you saw all the Alphas—why wash your hair beforehand?”

Li Xi was excellent at spotting details and logical gaps. Even though Ying Zhiyu had preemptively revealed his reasoning, Li Xi wasn’t fooled.

Ying Zhiyu finished the bitter coffee in a few bites, wiped his hands, and replied just as calmly: “Better to be prepared.”

By now, they had exited the library and stood on the long steps in front of the building.

Ying Zhiyu was a prominent figure in the university’s School of Biology, and classmates occasionally greeted him as he passed.

Li Xi remained unpretentious.

But being unpretentious didn’t mean he could handle a five-dollar ice cream with a large chocolate chunk. Nor did his manners allow him to eat while walking.

Seeing the Choc-O-Latz in Li Xi’s hand wobbling from melting, Ying Zhiyu took it and casually tossed it into a trash bin beside the library doors.

As he turned back, he ran into a familiar classmate, who enthusiastically invited him to play ball.

“Just you, senior?”
“Come on, Ying Zhiyu, join us.”
“Ying-san, let’s have hotpot tonight.”

A group of students followed the classmate, some Ying Zhiyu knew, some he didn’t, but all seemed to recognize him.

He politely declined: “I’ve got something to do. You guys go ahead.”

He returned to Li Xi’s side. With Panda and the other bodyguards following behind, they naturally formed a private circle, and passing students instinctively stepped aside.

Li Xi, still looking straight ahead, asked, “Good with people?”

Ying Zhiyu didn’t answer directly: “You’ve probably investigated enough already.”

Indeed, three months was enough to dig into Ying Zhiyu’s entire family history.

Even his move from a township school to the city at age eight, where for half a semester his uniform, backpack, and books were always torn and tattered.

Even his alleged Omega girlfriend—who was likely his biological older sister.

Ying Zhiyu’s sister was ten years older. At 22, she suffered acute liver failure from a medication error. Their Alpha father donated part of his liver to save her, leaving the family in heavy debt.

That same year, twelve-year-old Ying Zhiyu filed his first food formula patent.

Three years later, the family cleared the debt.

In that same year, he entered the biology university’s youth program, won gold at the International Biology Olympiad, and declined a guaranteed spot at Capital University, becoming a genetics engineering undergrad at barely sixteen.

As Ying Zhiyu said, his background was clean—so clean it was almost inspirational. Used as news, it could even boost stock prices.

Li Xi’s thoughts drifted back, observing the Alpha beside him.

Tall, long-legged, wearing a simple black T-shirt and casual pants, impossible to ignore.

From the library to here, countless Omegas had unconsciously glanced at them—or more precisely, at Ying Zhiyu.

At this moment, Ying Zhiyu had somehow produced a baseball cap, snapped it low over his head.

From Li Xi’s angle, only the lower half of his face was visible: two thin lips and a smooth jawline.

Sensing Li Xi’s gaze lingering, Ying Zhiyu tilted his head slightly, a faint smirk softening his icy aura. “Better?”

The Alpha asked, as if signaling that they had an exclusive, possessive bond and he was claiming it.