Chapter 61

At dawn, the Li residence was completely silent.

A Beta night patrol bodyguard knocked and entered the butler’s room.

“Mr. Zhou, you guessed correctly.”

If the night patrol team detected any anomaly, they usually wouldn’t alert the master immediately, first reporting to the resident butler.

The bodyguard closed the door and whispered to Zhou Shen, “It seems the Third Young Master really values his Alpha—even forgave Young Master Ying for that incident.”

The Beta bodyguard’s tone carried slight contempt. A wealthy, decisive Omega, bound for life to their Alpha, yet able to tolerate their Alpha entangling with others—such unnatural pheromone bonds were nauseating.

Zhou Shen, however, wasn’t surprised that Li Xi “forgave” Ying Zhiyu.

“Do you really think an Alpha like Yan Jue, who thrives in high society, would be foolish enough to get involved with the Third Young Master? That incident was probably a misunderstanding.”

Flirting publicly with another Alpha?
An Alpha so skilled socially wouldn’t do that.

And the Alpha named Ying Zhiyu, who easily won over the Third Young Master to enter the Li family, certainly wouldn’t act foolishly either.

To Zhou Shen, it was precisely because it was a misunderstanding that forgiveness was possible.

But care meant that even a misunderstanding still mattered.

Having taken care of Li Xi for ten years, Zhou Shen had never seen him care so deeply for anyone.

There was one thing the bodyguard hadn’t gotten wrong.

The Third Young Master truly cared about his Alpha.

Zhou Shen grew even more curious—how far could the Third Young Master go for the Alpha he loved, the one he valued so much?

“Mr. Zhou, actually…”

The Beta bodyguard scratched his head, hesitating. “Even if we really kidnapped that Alpha doctor, Li Xi would have destroyed all those research files on pheromones. They could just start over, right?”

“And next time, the Third Young Master wouldn’t give us another chance, would he?”

Someone as intelligent as Li Xi could succeed once through surprise, but a second time wouldn’t be so easy. Moreover, those of them hiding within the bodyguard ranks would likely be discovered eventually…

Hearing this, Zhou Shen toyed with the vibrant leaves on the windowsill, unbothered. “As long as the lesson is unforgettable, he’ll never want to touch this project again.”

If some bodyguards were exposed, they could always be replaced.

Success would always come with sacrifices.

There were countless Betas, and the Li family could never operate entirely without them. As long as he remained unseen, the Li family would still be under his control. Whoever eventually took the helm of the LI pheromone empire would remain under the watchful eyes of their Beta operatives.

And in another hundred years—or no, just fifty—after two more generational turnovers, this society would entirely become a Beta world.

The minorities would be the outliers; Alphas and Omegas would be the true exceptions.

Zhou Shen thought: still fantasizing about AO differentiation, huh? But if a clever mind broke down, would the Third Young Master still love that person?

Since realizing that the final-stage drug in his past life was an artificial pheromone, Ying Zhiyu became even more certain that the mastermind behind his previous kidnapping likely belonged to an extremist Beta faction.

Extremist Alphas and Omegas, after all, wouldn’t react too violently to AO differentiation or artificial pheromones—the benefits outweighed the harms for their genders.

At the same time, Ying Zhiyu revised his earlier assumption.

If the mastermind wanted to target him, it wouldn’t be because his relationship with Li Xi was distant. On the contrary, it would be most effective when their relationship appeared affectionate.

In that case, the “pretend estrangement” act between Ying Zhiyu and Li Xi had to end.

Recently, Li Xi had shown signs of unease—watching Ying Zhiyu closely, even mentioning the “phantom limb pain” he had long recovered from, and arranging for a psychologist to come by for another session.

Ying Zhiyu didn’t resist talking to the psychologist. When suggested to use hypnosis to revisit past trauma, he readily agreed.

Success in hypnosis depended on cooperation and focus.

During the session, Ying Zhiyu described seeing a future where he and Li Xi had a football-team-sized brood of children, whose daily routine involved meticulously sunning each baby. Two rows lined up, first the front, then the back, roasted to a perfect golden brown…

When the psychologist left, the look in their eyes had changed.

It was the kind of look tinged with helplessness, mixed with a sense of amusement—like, perhaps the couple was indulging in some private fun, and here the psychologist was, unwittingly entertaining himself while getting paid for doing nothing at the Li residence.

That night, after Ying Zhiyu finished his “psychological treatment,” Li Xi cornered his Alpha at the bathroom door.

“Am I a pig? Eleven children?”

A soccer team had eleven players. Were all these little babies lined up, basking in the sun front and back, just because the Alpha had been craving roast suckling pig during therapy?

Ying Zhiyu looked innocently guilty and shoved all responsibility onto the therapist: “The doctor guided me.”

Before leaving, the therapist’s glance at Ying Zhiyu spoke volumes. Ordinarily, everything discussed in therapy was confidential, but the clever Alpha had clearly fabricated this under the guise of hypnosis, intending to make him the intermediary for delivering the message.

Eleven children in a soccer team? The therapist dared not imagine.

Li Xi, meanwhile, touched Ying Zhiyu’s eyes, lashes, ears, and asked seriously, “Did your hand ever hurt again?”

Ying Zhiyu felt as if his Omega were absent-mindedly playing with a cat, closing his eyes in cooperation. “But Mr. Li touched my face.” His face had never experienced “phantom pain.”

Li Xi ignored that and said simply, “Your hand won’t escape either.”

Next thing Ying Zhiyu knew, the young Alpha—face freshly caressed—was being dragged by his “phantom pain” arm onto the bed. And then the robe was pulled aside…

Ying Zhiyu regretted it immediately. He shouldn’t have teased Li Xi with half-truths that made him uneasy.

The more they lived together this life, the more Ying Zhiyu understood Li Xi’s mindset from the previous life. A decisive Omega, bold in pursuit of what he wanted, had never spoken up before—because that was Li Xi’s choice, his answer.

Li Xi wouldn’t let him leave. Once love was acknowledged, they could no longer pretend to be simply partners in a win-win arrangement.

They both understood that in the previous life, that beginning was unsolvable. No one could turn back time. Li Xi’s choice was to hold on until the very end—and indeed, he had never let go.

Sometimes Ying Zhiyu even wondered if his reincarnation had happened because of Li Xi’s refusal to let go. If the past had been revealed, he wouldn’t have been curious about Li Xi’s final words. If he’d known, he might have been able to let go—and perhaps this second life would never have existed.

That night, when Li Xi looked at him and said, “Not two children,” this life’s Li Xi had already given his answer. He didn’t press further; that was his decision.

If the truth would only be harder to face than guesses, Ying Zhiyu didn’t want this life’s Li Xi to suffer through last life’s pain again.

Besides, this time, he wouldn’t die. They would both live well. And so would their little one.

“Once we find the mastermind behind the attack, let’s take a trip back to Yao City this year. Take the little one to meet grandparents.”

“The little one should call them great-grandpa and great-grandma.”

“Then we’ll go see great-grandpa and…”

“Shut up.”

Alphas talking too much during such moments were promptly silenced; Li Xi pinned him down, grabbed a tie from the bedside, and tied it across his mouth.

Ying Zhiyu: “…”

Isn’t this usually the Alpha’s move on the Omega? Why was his different? QAQ

Later, once speech was regained, Li Xi half-reclined at the head of the bed, playing with Ying Zhiyu’s left hand, curling each long finger into his palm and holding it tightly.

“Why a soccer team? Do you like soccer?”

The Alpha didn’t speak, eyes lowered, looking quietly handsome in the dim bedside light.

Li Xi looked at him: “Tie’s off. Still mad?”

The shadow of his lashes cast a teasing, itchy feeling under his eyes. Two small words escaped: “Not daring.”

“I still can’t beat you,” the Alpha whispered.

Li Xi: “…”

“Won’t happen again,” he promised.

Ying Zhiyu’s original intention had been to gently tell Li Xi there was no need to continue that earlier behavior—but his good intentions were misinterpreted, and he ended up silenced by his own Omega. Could he not feel wronged?

Watching the young Alpha, normally so smiling, pull the corners of his mouth downward in a pout—clearly “if you don’t coax me now, I’ll never be happy”—Li Xi thought: the little Alpha still needed spoiling.

No matter the past life, no matter reincarnation, the Alpha was only twenty-three—just a recent college graduate.

After a long while without a sound from anyone else, Ying Zhiyu glanced at Li Xi beside him.

Li Xi met his gaze: “Really won’t do it again.”

He coaxed seriously, using his thumb to gently lift the Alpha’s downturned lip corners.

Ying Zhiyu managed to keep his composure, then suddenly said: “I want to play too.”

Li Xi froze. “What?”

The young Alpha leaned in, smiling mischievously: “Xixi brother, your strength is too high. I want to handcuff you to play.”

“Tie isn’t enough. Handcuffs,” Ying Zhiyu pushed further.

“…”

The air held for a heartbeat.

Ying Zhiyu just grinned at Li Xi: “Can I? Xixi brother?”

At the head of the bed, Li Xi’s lips pressed into a straight line. After hearing “Xixi brother” repeated again and again, he inhaled deeply.

“Alright… you can play.”

Li Xi felt he’d lost his mind.

Desire had clouded reason.