Chapter 6

“Wait.”

Before Panda moved, Ying Zhiyu shouted again.

Panda assumed this young Alpha was scared and turned with eyes blazing in anger.

Ying Zhiyu said calmly, “You all go with Mr. Li.”

Hearing this, Li Xi also turned to look at him.

But before he could speak, Ying Zhiyu continued evenly: “They’re targeting Mr. Li. If Panda doesn’t come with me, I’ll be safer.”

The two bodyguards in the front seat froze.

Li Xi remained focused on Ying Zhiyu.

Ying Zhiyu added, “When Mr. Li moves, just focus on yourself. If I can keep up, have the bodyguards let me get in. If I can’t, we’ll meet at a different location.”

He shook the phone in his hand as a signal to make the call, then was the first to open the right rear door.

“Bang.”

The car door immediately rang with the sound of bullets striking it.

“Now.” Ying Zhiyu spoke up.

Panda knew this was the perfect moment to exit and didn’t hesitate, moving decisively. He used the open rear door as cover, darting to the side of Li Xi’s car.

At the same time, the Alpha driver smoothly slid out of the driver’s seat.

There was no time for further discussion. As an excellent decision-maker, Li Xi understood the meaning of “seize the moment.”

Before stepping out, he gave Ying Zhiyu a deep, steady glance, then, shielded by two agile bodyguards, moved quickly toward the lead car.

Meanwhile, the other bodyguards in the security vehicles trailing behind also rushed forward to provide protection.

Perhaps following some verbal instruction from Li Xi, two more bodyguards appeared just as Ying Zhiyu found the chance to exit.

Originally intending to blend into the crowd, Ying Zhiyu had no choice but to follow the bodyguards’ cover and get into the lead car.

Almost the instant he was seated, the lead car roared to life.

Li Xi had already gotten in safely ahead of him, keeping a watchful eye on Ying Zhiyu from the back seat.

Ying Zhiyu looked calm.

Li Xi leaned over slightly and reminded him quietly, “Buckle up.”

“Mm,” Ying Zhiyu replied, fastening the seatbelt while glancing at Li Xi and casually asking, “You weren’t hurt, right?”

For a brief moment, Li Xi felt incredulous.

So composed.

The young Alpha had grown up in a simple, sheltered environment—why was his reaction to this hail of bullets so calm?

Even though Ying Zhiyu’s own life was under threat, he was concerned about Li Xi’s well-being first…

Seeing that Li Xi just watched without replying, Ying Zhiyu’s eyes swept over him once more to confirm he was unharmed.

He checked his watch and remembered something else. “The civil affairs office is about to close. Looks like we won’t make it today.”

Li Xi: “…”

Even now, he was still thinking about “getting the license”?

The lead car sped away from the ambush site.

Li Xi’s phone rang.

He answered: “Dad.”

Hearing this, Ying Zhiyu couldn’t help but glance at him.

In his previous life, when Ying Zhiyu had been kidnapped, Li Xi’s Alpha father, Li Songqian, was already deceased.

Although modern law claimed equality among the three ABO genders, Alphas still objectively had advantages in physique, strength, and stamina.

In situations where Omegas were limited by their pheromones, these advantages became even more pronounced.

Li Xi’s father, as the head of LI, had always been subtly partial to his Omega third son, Li Xi, in matters of company control and inheritance.

Yet Li Xi had never been close to Li Songqian.

It seemed Li Songqian had already learned of the ambush.

Li Xi replied formally, “Traffic over there needs to be managed.”

Li Songqian paused, then said, “I’ll have it handled. Your downtown property’s security isn’t sufficient—stay home for now.”

Li Xi gave a short, acknowledging “Mm.”

The ‘Soothing Agent’ controversy wasn’t fully resolved yet.

Extreme Alpha factions were still enraged, and Li Xi, as the agent’s “guardian,” remained at the center of the storm.

Li Songqian asked, “Why did you go to the university district today?”

The eastern district of the capital was packed with universities—the Capital University, BioMedical University, Capital Law and Politics, National Defense, Aerospace—and so on.

He had previously warned his son to avoid crowded areas for the time being.

Crowds meant difficult security, chaotic conditions, and vulnerability.

This time, Li Xi didn’t answer.

Li Songqian, knowing his youngest son was distant, didn’t press further, only suggesting dinner together later.

The Li family’s garden villa was located in the southern part of the capital.

In this land where space was precious, LI not only had three soaring triangular office towers, but the family’s usual residence was conveniently situated at the center of these skyscrapers.

Called a garden villa, but from the top floors of the three LI towers, it looked more like an aerial garden.

All three LI buildings had glass sky bridges leading to the rooftop garden of the villa.

Rush hour in the southern district slowed traffic to a crawl.

Halfway through, Li Xi and Ying Zhiyu switched to a helicopter, flying directly to the LI Group headquarters.

The helicopter landed on the rooftop helipad.

Ying Zhiyu followed Li Xi via private elevator straight to the Li family’s sky garden.

When Li Songqian saw the young Alpha in full view behind Li Xi, he realized why his son had been at the university district this afternoon.

Objectively, Ying Zhiyu had a face striking enough to draw attention.

At 6’2” with near-perfect proportions and a nine-heads-tall figure, his thin lips, high nose bridge, and sharply defined facial features displayed the Alpha’s innate superiority—a presence both commanding and breathtaking.

Yet Ying Zhiyu had a pair of eyes unlike any other.

Li Xi had, from the first time he saw them, mentally judged them as “eyes that look at a dog with affection.”

These calm, restrained eyes perfectly tempered the sharpness of the Alpha aura Ying Zhiyu carried.

Just now, Li Songqian’s gaze swept over him critically.

Ying Zhiyu met it calmly, unflinching, but gave no sense of confrontation or threat.

Instead, it conveyed quiet dignity and composure—an Alpha neither arrogant nor submissive, commanding without effort.

Li Xi hadn’t explained to his father why he went to the university district. Now, after Li Songqian had finished examining Ying Zhiyu, Li Xi spoke briefly, “This is Ying Zhiyu, a doctoral student at BioMedical University. We had planned to go to the civil affairs office to get our marriage license today.”

At this, Li Songqian’s brow furrowed sharply, clearly unprepared.

Ying Zhiyu: “…”

In his previous life, Ying Zhiyu had no idea how Li Xi had explained the marriage to his family. In any case, they had simply gone and gotten the license first, and he had only met the rest of the Lis during the wedding.

Today, he had inadvertently “air-dropped” into the Li family home.

Could it be that Li Xi’s father didn’t even know who he was?

Ying Zhiyu sighed inwardly. With things as they were, he could only feign calm and correct the record: “I only start my doctoral program next semester. To be precise, I’m still a master’s student.”

Probably because of Ying Zhiyu’s serious tone in correcting his academic status, the previously tense atmosphere softened slightly.

At that moment, the sky garden elevator arrived, doors sliding open.

A tall girl stepped out, wearing a lemon-yellow athletic tank top and a light-gray tennis skirt, carrying a tennis racket.

“Dad, brother, are you… sunbathing?”

Ying Zhiyu recognized her immediately: the Li family’s fourth daughter, Li Yue.

Although she asked about sunbathing, the sun was almost set.

As she walked toward them, her eyes discreetly studied Ying Zhiyu.

Seeing her daughter in that outfit, Li Songqian asked, “Going to play tennis?”

Li Yue replied with a simple “Mm,” her gaze still fixed on Ying Zhiyu. “Zhou Shen said elder sister, second brother, and third brother will be home tonight. Dinner won’t be until after seven. I have nothing to do, so I’m going to the courts to play.”

Then she asked, “Who are you?”

This “you,” of course, referred to the young man she was staring at directly—Ying Zhiyu.

Perhaps because she had long been excluded from the inheritance competition, Li Yue, though the same age as Li Xi, still carried the aura of a young girl.

Li Yue was Li Xi’s twin sister, a Beta, twenty-eight years old, and unmarried. Strictly speaking, she and Ying Zhiyu were opposite sexes, and with their ages close, he fell within her suitable age range.

In his previous life, Ying Zhiyu—known as the “Capital’s #1 Son-in-Law”—had been well aware of propriety, consciously avoiding impropriety. He didn’t even meet Li Yue’s gaze directly, only glancing sideways at Li Xi.

As Ying Zhiyu looked toward Li Xi, he found Li Xi was already watching him.

Meeting his gaze, Li Xi paused, then casually looked away.

“Ying Zhiyu,” Li Xi introduced simply to his sister.

To Ying Zhiyu, this was the entire introduction—just three words.

When introducing Li Yue to Ying Zhiyu, Li Xi added a few more: “My sister, Li Yue.”

Only then did Ying Zhiyu give a polite nod to Li Yue: “Miss Li.”

Compared to Li Xi’s father’s reaction to hearing Ying Zhiyu’s name, Li Yue seemed far clearer on what those three words represented.

She openly displayed her curiosity, while Ying Zhiyu allowed her to study him freely.

After a while, Li Yue suggested proactively, “Brother, why don’t you come play a few rounds of tennis with me? Bring your ‘friend’ along.”

She defined Ying Zhiyu, upon their first meeting, as “my brother’s friend.”

Ying Zhiyu didn’t respond immediately.

Li Xi had the strange sense that the Alpha was waiting for him to speak.

After two seconds, he asked quietly, “Can you play tennis?”

Ying Zhiyu answered honestly, “Yes.”

High-society skills needed to be learned—and in his eleven years of marriage to Li Xi in his past life, Ying Zhiyu had learned them all.

It was clear he wasn’t bluffing. Li Xi, who had been ready to protect Ying Zhiyu from this social interaction, paused for a moment.

“Then go play a couple of sets.”

He suddenly felt curious as well—how many hidden surprises did this young Alpha have that the investigation hadn’t revealed?

When the Alpha changed into sportswear, benefiting from the months of training since his rebirth, his previously thin and slight frame had filled out. Compared to three months ago, Ying Zhiyu’s broad shoulders and narrow waist gave him a sharp, commanding presence.

After three sets, Li Yue won two out of three, defeating Ying Zhiyu.

Li Xi, who had watched the matches, couldn’t help thinking that the private investigators working with the family’s office risk management department probably needed a replacement.

Throughout the match, the Alpha had been feeding balls to Li Yue.

Calmly, deliberately, just the right amount.

Ying Zhiyu’s tennis skill was excellent, a professional level achievable only through consistent practice.