By 4 PM, the barbecue party officially began.
Li Songqian, Li Qin, and Li Qin’s Omega, Han Qiyu, arrived almost simultaneously.
Li Yue had come an hour earlier but didn’t stay long, leaving with a bodyguard.
Li Xi said: “Ignore her—she’s currently busy chasing someone.”
Last time, Li Yue had her eye on an associate professor in the Chinese department at Capital University, and apparently, she had made some progress. Li Yue, after all, was not only beautiful and wealthy but also carried the inevitable little-lady temperament. Her appeal was hard to resist.
“She was just swayed by me at first; I wanted to make things easier,” Ying Zhiyu said.
Hearing about Li Yue planning to “force love” on a top university professor, Ying Zhiyu had reacted with a subtle expression. In his past life, Li Xi’s relationship with him had been superficially harmonious but distant—a failed example. Li Yue, however, wasn’t as reckless; she simply followed her heart and wanted to formalize her feelings with someone.
Ultimately, Li Xi held a very high position in her heart; she genuinely admired her brother. So much of the time, she unconsciously imitated him.
“Looks like we need to prepare a wedding gift for Fourth Miss,” Ying Zhiyu said, a glimmer of mischief in his tone.
As expected, Li Yue’s wedding with the associate professor would take place next spring.
In his past life, Ying Zhiyu had been distant from the Li family but had gotten along fairly well with the professor.
Li Lv was the last to arrive.
He had apparently had a couple of drinks around noon; Li Songqian smelled it and furrowed his brow.
Li Qin’s Omega, Han Qiyu, seemed to have made some vow this year: as a trade-off, she avoided meat and fish for the year. That meant vegetarian barbecue needed separate preparation, even using only plant-based oils.
Once the barbecue party officially started, Ying Zhiyu, as the host, was busy at the grill.
While handling the vegetables alone, he suddenly called out Li Xi’s name.
Li Xi turned, only to see the Alpha holding a small bundle of enoki mushrooms wrapped in foil, exaggerating his mouth in the shape of words toward him: “See-you-tomorrow.”
Li Xi: “……”
Li Songqian, discussing something with his son, couldn’t help but ask, “What did Zhiyu say?”
In such a setting, the couple couldn’t have secrets to hide so openly. Seeing his son’s baffled expression, Li Songqian was intrigued. Could his perpetually cool youngest son really show such an expression?
Li Xi pursed his lips, expressionless, and had to explain to his father the context behind the “See you tomorrow” joke.
Li Songqian listened, and as his eyes wandered back toward the Alpha at the grill, he realized something. Usually, after an Omega has a child, most of their attention is on the baby. Yet the relationship between his third son and son-in-law seemed even stronger than before.
Because it was a barbecue, Ying Zhiyu hadn’t prepared any high-end drinks—just some fun soda and barley tea with a roasted grain aroma to aid digestion.
Li Xi brought a cup of chilled barley tea to the grill.
Ying Zhiyu glanced at it, still busy with the food, and reminded him, “Drinking this might affect milk production; try a little, then switch to juice.”
Before he could finish speaking, the rim of the cup had already touched his lips.
Ah—so the tea had been specially brought by Li Xi for his Alpha.
Sipping the cool, sweet barley tea from Li Xi’s hand, Ying Zhiyu signaled with his eyes that it was enough.
Li Xi put down the cup and said, “Stop fussing. Let the chef handle it.”
Since it was meant to be a family gathering, even in their university-town home, there was no reason for the host to be busy the whole time.
Looking at the chef idly brushing sauce, as if worried the host might think he was just collecting a paycheck without working, Ying Zhiyu glanced at another chef at the side table who was similarly trying to find something to do, and then reached out to Li Xi.
This time, with the Li family all around, Li Xi didn’t immediately respond.
Ying Zhiyu’s long, knuckled fingers beckoned him again.
Finally, Li Xi stepped forward, though not as boldly as usual to claim a kiss from the Alpha.
“Want to roll up your sleeves again?” he asked.
Ying Zhiyu: “……”
The young third prince remembered grudges well.
“Want to try grilling bananas?”
Li Xi looked at the neatly arranged plate of bananas, pineapple, watermelon, and apples on the side table. He had assumed these fruits were for the guests to eat as-is. Grilled, too?
“Bananas can be grilled?”
The family chefs occasionally prepared creative fruit dishes; grilled pineapple was common. But grilled pineapples, apples, and pears were usually used as sides—Li Xi hadn’t really touched them before. Grilled bananas sounded odd.
Ying Zhiyu raised an eyebrow and hummed affirmatively.
Li Xi’s curiosity piqued, and he picked up a banana to peel.
“Don’t,” Ying Zhiyu stopped him, took the banana, rinsed it thoroughly under the tap with its peel intact, and explained: “You grill it with the peel on, otherwise it’ll just melt.”
Li Xi, expression stiff, muttered “Oh,” clearly not expecting that.
Ying Zhiyu couldn’t help laughing and added: “I’m not mocking you, Director Li.”
Li Xi glanced at the Alpha, whose eyebrows were curved in a mischievous smile. The humor was obvious; emphasizing it now would make it seem like the Alpha thought he was “out of touch with reality.” Yet when it came to matters of domesticity, Li Xi admitted he was indeed outmatched.
Once Ying Zhiyu scored the banana’s peel with a precise slit, he handed it back.
“Try it,” he said.
Li Xi took it, glanced at the Alpha, and, encouraged, carefully placed it on the grill.
Ying Zhiyu guided verbally: “Move it slightly to the edge; the heat’s too high here.”
Li Xi obeyed.
After a while, Ying Zhiyu said: “You can flip it now.”
Li Xi followed instructions again. This time, when the peel had fully turned black, Ying Zhiyu gave no further guidance.
Li Xi frowned: “What if it’s burnt?”
Ying Zhiyu had been stifling a laugh. When the third young prince faced something unfamiliar, his drive for perfection would always make him appear tense and alert. And in such situations, a rare moment of confusion or panic would surface—a sight seldom seen on Li Xi’s normally composed face.
Satisfied, Ying Zhiyu said: “Flip it once more.”
Li Xi complied, then raised his eyes to glare at the Alpha, who had clearly deliberately not reminded him.
“I… got distracted,” Ying Zhiyu said innocently, shrugging.
Li Xi remained unconvinced.
Raising his hands in surrender, Ying Zhiyu added: “Really, I just wanted to ask you something.”
Li Xi paused, glancing again at the now blackened banana on the grill.
Amused, Ying Zhiyu reassured him: “It’s supposed to be blackened; it’s fine.”
Then, lowering his playful expression briefly, he whispered: “If we need an ally in the Li family, who do you think fits best: Dad, eldest sister, or second brother?”
Connecting all the events from past and present, Ying Zhiyu understood that “waiting for fate’s gifts” didn’t mean he could remain passive. Even for the safety of himself, Li Xi, and their newborn daughter, he needed to act. Endless waiting was not a solution—they had to take initiative.
Hearing this, Li Xi scanned the Li family guests unobtrusively while holding the barbecue tongs. He had already suspected that Ying Zhiyu hadn’t invited his father, Li Qin, and Li Lu over just for a barbecue. Even with plenty of estates in the capital suitable for hosting, why insist on their small home yard?
Li Xi asked directly: “An ally for what? To uncover the mole, or for LI’s future?”
“Uncover the mole,” Ying Zhiyu replied.
The LI inheritance battle, before Li Songqian’s illness, was still about ten years away—too early to fight for the “throne.”
Li Xi didn’t hesitate: “Li Qin.”
Ying Zhiyu raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised Li Xi gave a straight answer without asking for the plan first.
Li Xi added: “During the last underground parking attack, Li Qin was affected as well.”
The Alpha was clever, and Li Xi wasn’t foolish. Among Li Songqian, Li Qin, and Li Lu, Li Lu could be eliminated first.
Because Li Lu and Li Qin were essentially inseparable, just like Li Xi never needed to look to his younger sister Li Yue as an ally, choosing Li Lu wasn’t as straightforward as going directly to Li Qin.
As for why the “ally” wasn’t Li Songqian: if the mole inside the Li household really was Zhou Shen, Li Qin had a far closer relationship with Zhou Shen than Li Songqian did. Li Qin thus held a natural, more objective advantage in this matter.
Moreover, during the last attack on Ying Zhiyu, everyone speculated that the Wen family was the mastermind. But who exactly are the Wens? The Wen family was the maternal family of Li Qin’s biological Omega mother, and Wen Xinrui was currently the effective head of the family. If the true culprit manipulated events to frame the Wen family, it would effectively implicate Li Qin as well.
So when it came to uncovering the person behind the scenes, Li Qin’s interests aligned perfectly with theirs.
Li Xi’s choice coincided with Ying Zhiyu’s initial instinct—he had first thought Li Qin would be the most suitable.
Yet there remained a consideration:
“What’s Li Qin’s stance on artificial pheromones and AO differentiation research?”
In the previous life, Ying Zhiyu hadn’t been close to the Li family and paid little attention. This life, despite some contact, Li Qin’s depth of strategy made him hard to gauge.
For this mission—selecting an ally to expose the internal mole—the most critical factor wasn’t personality but their clear stance: the ally had to support artificial pheromone development and AO differentiation research.
Li Xi fell silent for a moment, then said, “Li Qin only cares about AO coupling rates.”
It was difficult to categorize Li Qin’s type of Alpha. She might seem extreme but treated the ABO genders relatively equally. She might appear open-minded yet remained focused on AO coupling rates.
Competing for the LI Group inheritance didn’t mean she ignored its growth. On the contrary, Li Qin cared deeply about family and corporate interests.
For example, in the recent development of the new pheromone drug, she voted in favor at the board—she didn’t oppose just because Li Xi proposed leading the project.
Still, Li Xi and Li Qin had differing visions for LI’s growth. The biggest divide was Li Qin’s belief that pheromone bonding—Alpha protecting Omega, Omega relying on Alpha—ensured social stability and preserved AO coupling rates. In simple terms, she saw it as securing more AO offspring for the long-term profitability of the LI Group.
Hence, in the past, she had voted against the pacifier project, aligning with online critics who worried that the drug could disrupt the AO population balance in the long term.
Despite being meticulous about AO population growth, Li Qin was otherwise an ideal partner: capable, rigorous, reliable—a trustworthy ally.
Additionally, if they were to collaborate on uncovering the mole, Li Qin’s connection with the Wen family was also a major asset. The Li family might be limited in what they could do, but the Wens could act where necessary.
Meanwhile, the bananas finished grilling. Ying Zhiyu placed them onto a plate, carefully peeled back the charred skin, releasing a burst of fragrant, caramelized fruit.
He then topped the warm, aromatic banana with a scoop of ice cream and sprinkled crushed nuts over it.
Handing a dessert spoon to Li Xi, the Alpha said, “Try some?”
Li Xi slowly scooped into the soft banana, but instead of eating it himself, he directly fed it to Ying Zhiyu.
Caught off guard by the “ice-and-lava” banana, Ying Zhiyu experienced the extreme contrast of cold ice cream and hot banana in his mouth—a perfect blend of fire and frost.
He swallowed, laughing: “Good thing I wasn’t intentionally mischievous.”
Li Xi then tried a spoonful himself. Though initially skeptical of “grilled fruit,” and despite the charred appearance of the bananas, the final taste pleasantly surprised him.
Ying Zhiyu kept a close eye on Li Xi’s expressions. Knowing that the third young master of the Li family favored sweets, he had guessed early on that Li Xi would enjoy them.
He grilled two more bananas, topping them with ice cream and crushed nuts just like the first batch, and handed them to Li Xi.
“One for your younger sister, one for your brother-in-law,” he said.
In his previous life, Ying Zhiyu had never suspected the existence of the extreme Beta faction. The reason was clear: extreme Betas were experts at hiding themselves behind larger powers. They remained unseen, yet benefited from any conflicts—like during the pacifier controversy, when AO disputes flared and the Betas quietly profited. Similarly, in his past life, when Ying Zhiyu was kidnapped, Li Qin immediately became the primary suspect.
So what if, this time, a dispute erupted suddenly between the Li and Wen families?