Chapter 3033

When Steve returned to Tianxiang Mansion, his mood was much better than when he had come.

When he came, he had been nervous all the way, not knowing what medicine Ye Chen was selling in his gourd, but on the way back, everything had become clear as the clouds parted to reveal the bright moon, and he no longer needed to worry about the unfortunate father and son of the Hogwarts family; he only needed to wait for their video to be released overseas, and then he could return home in triumph.

Ye Chen also noticed that Steve's mood had improved greatly, so he smiled and asked, "Steve, you landed in Jin Ling and immediately resolved the most important matter—you must be very happy inside, right?"

Steve chuckled and said, "Don't blame me for saying this, but before I came, I was still worried—what if I found nothing and returned in disgrace? I would surely be mocked behind my back. Now it's fine; once you release the video here, no one can blame me for not handling things well. The blame lies solely with the Hogwarts family for delaying the opportunity, after all, so much time has passed, and the person was transferred to the Middle East—it's their own fault."

As he spoke, Steve again showed some concern: "I just don't know if my father will make me go to the Middle East again to find them..."

Ye Chen smiled and said, "In my view, your father is impossible to send you to the Middle East again—it's in chaos now, and anyone who goes there is like a stone sinking into the sea. Whether you can find anyone there is uncertain, and your own safety would be hard to guarantee. I estimate this matter will come to nothing by then."

Steve bowed slightly to Ye Chen, smiling and said, "Then I'll take your auspicious words, Mr. Ye!"

When the four returned to Tianxiang Mansion, Steve's subordinates noticed nothing unusual.

Since he still needed to stay in Jin Ling for about ten days, Ye Chen had him return to the hotel to rest after arriving at Tianxiang Mansion. Steve had flown over ten hours to Jin Ling, and after disembarking, he went straight to Tianxiang Mansion and then to the dog farm, and was indeed somewhat exhausted, so after bidding farewell to Ye Chen, he left Tianxiang Mansion.

The convoy's security personnel breathed a sigh of relief and escorted him directly to his hotel.

After Steve left, Ye Chen said to Master Hong Wu: "Notify Zhang Ermao to inform the junior brothers in Jin Ling to pay close attention to these Americans' movements in Jin Ling, and report any special circumstances to me immediately."

"No problem, Master Ye!" Master Hong Wu replied promptly.

Ye Chen checked the time—it was only just past three in the afternoon—and he planned to visit the half-mountain villa at Xiangxieli to see if Ito Nanako had made progress in controlling her true qi. He was about to greet Master Hong Wu and Chen Zekai when his phone suddenly rang with a call from He Yuanjiang, the father of He Zhiquiu.

Ye Chen answered the call politely: "Hello, Uncle He."

He Yuanjiang laughed on the other end and asked: "Ye Chen, I heard from your father-in-law that you've returned to Jin Ling?"

"Yes," Ye Chen replied with a smile: "Just got back. What do you need from me?"

He Yuanjiang chuckled, somewhat embarrassed, and said: "I do have something I'd like to discuss with you in person, but you're usually busy—I don't know if you have time?"

Ye Chen said without hesitation: "Of course—just tell me when you're free and give me an address, and I'll come find you."

Ye Chen had always held He Yuanjiang in high regard—not only because he is a man of good character and genuine talent, but also because he was a classmate of Ye Chen's mother, a true old friend.

He Yuanjiang hurriedly said: "I just came from the senior university, and today happens to be a weekend with no classes—why don't you give me an address, and I'll come find you?"

Ye Chen thought: It's already past three in the afternoon, He Yuanjiang must have already eaten lunch, and dinner is still several hours away—having him come to Tianxiang Mansion to find me would indeed be unsuitable for discussing matters. Moreover, considering he has lived in the United States for many years, he surely has the habit of drinking coffee in the afternoon. So Ye Chen said: "How about this, Uncle He—there's a Starbucks not far south of the senior university. Shall we go there for a cup of coffee?"

"Great!" He Yuanjiang laughed and said: "I was just thinking of asking you for an address so I could buy a coffee and then come find you. Since that's the case, let's meet at the coffee shop—I'm closer, and you tell me what you'd like, and I'll order it for you in advance."

Ye Chen smiled: "I'll have an iced Americano, please—you go first, I'm on my way now."

"Alright, then we'll see each other later!"

Ye Chen didn't know why He Yuanjiang had suddenly sought him out, but since the other party wanted to meet and talk, he didn't feel it appropriate to ask too many questions over the phone.

Fortunately, it didn't sound like anything serious, which put him much more at ease.

Afterwards, he greeted Master Hong Wu and Chen Zekai, then headed to the Starbucks to meet He Yuanjiang.

More than twenty minutes later, Ye Chen arrived at the agreed-upon Starbucks, where He Yuanjiang had already found a window seat and sat down.

Seeing Ye Chen enter, he quickly stood up, adjusted his suit, and somewhat shyly waved at Ye Chen: "Ye Chen, over here."

Ye Chen gave a slight smile, approached him, and He Yuanjiang hurriedly urged him to sit down, then pushed the coffee he had ordered for Ye Chen toward him.

As Ye Chen lifted the coffee and took a sip, he asked curiously: "Uncle He, you suddenly asked to meet me—do you have something urgent to tell me?"

"Well..." He Yuanjiang hesitated, his face showing difficulty, then after a moment said: "Actually, this matter should have been told to you earlier, but you've been in the United States recently, and I didn't know when you'd return, so I temporarily held off on mentioning it..."

As he spoke, He Yuanjiang fell silent for a few seconds, then gathered courage and continued: "It's like this, Ye Chen—I and your Korean aunt are planning to get married."

Ye Chen was initially stunned by the news, then immediately became very happy and said: "Congratulations, Uncle He! Your Korean aunt is a rare gem among peers—you've truly struck gold!"

He said this somewhat gossipy, then asked: "When did you and your Korean aunt decide to get married?"

He Yuanjiang smiled awkwardly and explained: "Earlier, wasn't it when the city organized us to go to South Korea for cultural exchange? I publicly confessed my feelings to your Korean aunt there, and she accepted. After we spent some time together, we both truly felt we were well-suited. Moreover, we're not young anymore, and I don't want to delay this major life decision any further, so we decided to take the next step and build a small family."

As he spoke, He Yuanjiang continued: "Last month, I took your Korean aunt to Lucheng for a few days. I had bought the ring in advance, and on the beach, I proposed to her—she accepted. We also consulted both our children's opinions, and whether it's Zhiquiu or Paul, they both strongly support this. The two children are excellent and don't need us to worry—they're even urging us to hurry up and hold the wedding. So I wanted to wait until you returned, ask about your schedule, and invite you to be the officiant at our wedding."

"Ask me to be the officiant?" Ye Chen asked instinctively: "Uncle He, I'm your junior and your Korean aunt's junior—would it be appropriate for me to be the officiant?"

He Yuanjiang said seriously: "My parents and your Korean aunt's parents have both passed away, and after living overseas for many years, we don't have any close elders left. After returning to Jin Ling, if I speak honestly, whether it's the school I'm at or your Korean aunt's senior university, the friends and colleagues around us are mostly people with strong utilitarian motives who merely pretend to be refined. If we asked any of them to be the officiant, we'd both look down on them."

After saying that, he looked at Ye Chen and said very seriously: "But we both hold you in high regard, and whether it's Zhiquiu or Paul, they both admire you greatly. If it weren't for you going alone to Syria to rescue Zhiquiu, she might not even be alive today—so after much discussion, we decided you are the most suitable person for this role, and we hope you won't refuse."

Since He Yuanjiang had said all this, Ye Chen naturally had no objection and replied cheerfully: "No problem, Professor He—thank you and your Korean aunt for your recognition of me; I will accept this role as officiant."

Seeing Ye Chen agree, He Yuanjiang became especially excited and hurriedly said: "Then thank you so much, Ye Chen! Before, you were always abroad, and I felt bad disturbing you, so the wedding date hasn't been set yet. You tell me—are you still staying in Jin Ling recently? If you're not leaving, I'll hurry up and set the date and also pick a hotel for the wedding."

Ye Chen replied: "You don't need to worry about the hotel—the Sky Garden at Buckingham Palace is always ready for you and your Korean aunt. Just tell me the date you've chosen, and I'll handle the rest."

After hearing this, He Yuanjiang bowed slightly to Ye Chen and said solemnly: "Ye Chen, thank you—I won't say more, it's all in my heart!"

Ye Chen smiled and said: "You don't need to be formal with me at any time."

He Yuanjiang added: "As for the wedding date, I personally think the sooner the better—after all, I and your Korean aunt are no longer young. You know the secular environment in China, and it's quite different from abroad. Your Korean aunt isn't young either, and if we stay together without marrying, people will inevitably gossip behind our backs. So I want to settle this soon—it's also a way of giving your Korean aunt a proper explanation. I just checked the lunar calendar, and next Saturday is a good day. I'll discuss it with your Korean aunt later—if she has no objection, we'll aim for that day and make preparations."

Ye Chen admired He Yuanjiang's sense of responsibility and decisive manner, while reflecting on his own unfortunate father-in-law, Xiao Changkun—clearly he loved Han Meiqing to the point of life and death, yet he dared not truly sever all ties with Ma Lan, which is why Han Meiqing ended up with He Yuanjiang.

Thinking of his father-in-law Xiao Changkun, Ye Chen carefully asked: "By the way, Uncle He, has your marriage to your Korean aunt not yet been made public?"

"No," He Yuanjiang said truthfully: "I just wanted to wait until you returned to confirm the schedule with you first. Since you have no objection, we'll set the date and hotel, then send out the invitations. If your Korean aunt has no objection to next Saturday, I'll finalize the guest list tonight and write out the invitations."

Ye Chen nodded slightly, unsure whether he and his Korean aunt would send an invitation to his father-in-law Xiao Changkun, but since his Korean aunt is at the senior university and works alongside Xiao Changkun, once this is made public, it will be impossible to hide from him.

Thinking this, Ye Chen couldn't help but feel a little worried—if his father-in-law learned of this news, he feared the man might completely break down.