Chapter 279: A Stunned Ye Jianhua

“Clatter!”

The creaking of the old wooden door opening and closing inevitably caused the weathered windowpanes to “protest.”

Naturally, this startled everyone inside.

When he got a clear look at the young man who had entered, Ye Huaihai—who had been worried sick about his sister’s condition just moments ago—was instantly livid. He shouted, “Where the hell have you been? Didn’t I tell you to come back early?”

Seeing his father looking like a lion ready to pounce, Ye Jianhua instinctively took a step back and turned his gaze to his mother standing beside him.

Wu Yongmei immediately looked at Ye Huaihai and said, “Come on, Jianhua’s back now. Why get so worked up?”

“You, you just spoil him. You should know that spoiling a child is like killing him!” Ye Huaihai said, his face full of disappointment.

Wu Yongmei wasn’t the type to be blind to right and wrong. She immediately fixed her gaze on Ye Jianhua and said, “And you, too. Didn’t I call you at noon? Why did you come back so late?”

“Mom, I had something to take care of!”

“What could possibly be more important than a family meeting? You’re in your twenties—can’t you tell what’s urgent and what isn’t?”

“There is! I went to look for a way to treat my aunt’s illness. Mom, tell me—is that important or not?” Ye Jianhua said stubbornly.

“You little bastard, don’t use your aunt as an excuse!” Ye Huaihai snapped angrily.

“What do you mean, ‘using my aunt as an excuse’? I really did go look for a solution, and I’ve even found one!”

Hearing this, everyone’s gaze fixed on Ye Jianhua.

At that moment, the old man in the seat of honor snapped out of his daze and immediately asked, “Jianhua, tell Grandpa—have you really found a way to treat your aunt?”

“Yeah, but I can’t guarantee it’ll work!”

“Hurry up and tell me exactly what the solution is!” Old Man Ye asked immediately.

“It’s like this. The friend I consulted said my aunt has a condition called depression, and it’s already progressed to a severe stage—it’s very dangerous, and she could attempt suicide at any moment…”

Before he could finish, Ye Taibei suddenly interjected, “That’s exactly what that Dr. George from the U.S. said a few years ago—it’s this depression!”

“Didn’t that foreign doctor say there was no cure for this illness?” Old Master Ye frowned.

Ye Jianhua immediately replied, “My friend said there’s a company in the U.S. called Eli Lilly. They’ve developed a drug specifically designed to treat this type of depression—it’s a miracle cure!”

“Really? What’s the name of the drug? We’ll have someone go get it right away!”

Old Man Ye said in a deep voice, his tone trembling slightly as he spoke.

“The drug is called Prozac. The active ingredient is something called fluoxetine…”

Before he could finish, Second Uncle Ye Taibei, standing nearby, said in a stern voice, “Prozac, is it? I’ll call the eldest brother right now and have him get the medicine as soon as possible!”

“Hmm, why don’t you give the Jiang family a call while you’re at it and see if they can come up with a solution?” the old man said.

“Grandpa, there’s no need to call the Jiang family. I went over there with Brother Longcheng, and he knows about this too!” said Ye Jianhua.

“Alright!”

The old man then looked at Ye Jianhua, a long-absent smile spreading across his face. “You’ve always been a mischievous little rascal since you were a kid, and you love getting into fights, but when it really counts, I can still count on you!”

“Thanks for the compliment, Grandpa!” Ye Jianhua replied.

However, the old man suddenly changed the subject and said, “But you’re no spring chicken anymore. Why aren’t you in a hurry to settle down?”

“I… Grandpa, I’m still young…”

Before he could finish, Ye Huaihai, standing nearby, couldn’t hold back any longer and blurted out, “You’re an old donkey and you still think you’re a kid?”

“What do you mean, ‘old as a donkey’!” Ye Jianhua muttered under his breath.

“When I was your age, your older brother was already running errands for the family. How can you say you’re still a kid?”

“That’s because you were precocious…”

Before he could finish, his father suddenly stood up, reaching for his belt to give him a whack!

Just then, Grandpa stepped in: “Enough, Third Son. You’re no spring chicken anymore—control your temper!”

“It’s just that this little bastard is so infuriating!”

Although he said this, Ye Huaihai ultimately held back. After all, with Grandpa still present, he dared not cause a scene.

The old man smiled and turned to Wu Yongmei, who was standing nearby. “Third Son’s wife, you have quite a wide social circle. Find a suitable girl for this boy!”

“I don’t care about others, and I’m not in a hurry, but you, as his mother, can’t just brush this off!”

Hearing this, Ye Jianhua was suddenly overcome by a sense of foreboding.

For some reason, Li Yi’s earlier words popped into his mind: “Good things are coming!”

Sure enough, the thought had barely crossed his mind when his mother spoke up from the side: “Father, you know what? Just the other day, someone actually mentioned this to me. I was just planning to discuss it with Huaihai before making a decision!”

“Oh, what a coincidence! Whose daughter is she?” the old man asked with a smile.

“The third daughter of the Lin family’s second son—her name is Lin Ying!”

At that moment, Ye Huaihai suddenly interjected, “How old is that little girl from Second Brother Lin’s family? Is she really old enough to get married already?”

Wu Yongmei shot him a look and said, “The girl is already 22 this year. She’s even graduated from college. Do you think she’s old enough to get married?”

The old man nodded and said, “The Lin family is a good one—they have strong family values, and the girl is a college graduate. She’s more than a match for this young man!”

“Hmm, I think she’s a good match too. Second Brother Lin might have a bit of a temper, but he’s honest and protective of his own,” Ye Huaihai agreed.

Ye Hainan, the fourth son of the Ye family, added, “That girl named Lin Ying is a classmate of my son Jianming. We’ve met a few times before. She’s quite pretty and very polite—she’s a good match!”

Hearing what his grandfather, father, and fourth uncle had to say, Ye Jianhua’s heart began to race. Li Yi’s second half of the sentence flashed through his mind once more: “Fortune and misfortune are hard to predict!”

Just then, his mother, Wu Yongmei, spoke up: “In that case, I’ll go over to the Lin family tomorrow to sound them out. If it works out, let’s finalize the arrangement!”

“Hmm, I think that’s a good idea,” the old man said.

Ye Jianhua was completely dumbfounded. He hadn’t expected his marriage plans to suddenly take shape so unexpectedly.

“Grandpa, about this…”

Before he could finish, he heard his father roar angrily, “You ungrateful son! What excuse are you trying to make now? Let me tell you, if you dare refuse this time, I’ll break your legs!”

“I…”

Before he could finish, a suede shoe flew straight at his face.

Ye Jianhua knew immediately that trouble was brewing. He dodged the shoe, then flung open the door and ran out, leaving only the sound of Ye Laosan’s curses behind.

Once he was out of the old house, Ye Jianhua felt a chill run down his spine!

First, his father’s furious expression had left him terrified; luckily, he’d run fast enough, or he would’ve been beaten senseless again today.

Second, he thought of Li Yi and the warning he’d given him.

Man, if Li Yi were standing right in front of him, he’d really want to ask, “Damn, your jinxed mouth must’ve been blessed or something—it’s way too accurate!”

Ye Jianhua was deeply shaken at that moment. He had never really believed in such things, dismissing them as the ramblings of con artists trying to swindle people out of their money.

Even though he was an eyewitness to the attack on Jiang Longcheng, the worldview shaped by years of education still led him to dismiss it as a coincidence.

The reason he’d been so polite to Li Yi was partly because of Jiang Longcheng, but more importantly, it was out of curiosity.

But today’s incident made him feel as though his worldview had crumbled, leaving him feeling both panicked and disoriented!

After lingering at the entrance of the old house for a few minutes, he gritted his teeth and decided to make another trip to Beiguan Village to confront that kid and get to the bottom of this.

With that, he strode toward the entrance of the alley!