Husband, Let Your Husband Treat Your Illness - Chapter 15

Chapter 15

As the banquet neared its end, Dongfang Yi was already dead drunk. Dongfang Qi, the second son of the Dongfang elders, couldn’t bear to watch his own son being plyed with so much wine. He handed the boy over to Dongfang You to look after and sighed inwardly. Who could blame anyone? His son had been foolish enough to provoke the very first “grandson-in-law” of the Dongfang family’s third generation.

Of course, Dongfang Qi kept these thoughts strictly to himself; he didn’t dare say them out loud; one only had to look at his son’s fate to see why. However, looking at Dongfang Jin and Ye Mo together, he glanced at his other children. Once Dongfang Jin was off the market, the marriage pressure would fall squarely on the rest of them. At that thought, Dongfang Qi instinctively downed several more glasses of wine himself.

The party didn’t wind down until around one or two in the morning. The two Dongfang elders had long since retired to bed, leaving Dongfang Hao’s generation and Dongfang Jin’s generation still reeling.

The floors, tables, and chairs were already a mess. There was a reason people called the Dongfang family eccentric. Have you ever seen parents who could pull an all-nighter partying with their sons and daughters? The Dongfang elders certainly could.

“It’s rare to have everyone here and the atmosphere so lively. How about a competition?” Dongfang Hao suggested. Even though it was nearly 2 AM, his energy was still peak.

“A competition?” At the mention of a challenge, Dongfang Jin’s side grew excited. “Let’s do it! It’s been a long time since we played.” Both sides were eager to start.

Ye Mo was bewildered. What kind of competition could make the Dongfang family this excited? In this house, he truly felt like a “monk measuring seven feet”completely clueless. “Mo, you just watched the battle today. You can join in next time.” As he spoke, Dongfang Jin leaned in and left a light kiss on the crook of Ye Mo’s neck in front of everyone.

“How about this, Xiao Jin let Xiao Mo be the referee. That way, you won’t complain that we won unfairly,” Dongfang Shun, the third brother and Dongfang Quan’s father, spoke up. His suggestion made sense; out of everyone there, Ye Mo was the only neutral party.

“Third Uncle, aren’t you afraid I’ll favor their side?” Ye Mo asked.

“Not at all, not at all! Third Uncle trusts your character.” “Yeah, yeah! We all trust you!”

The word “trust” carried heavy weight in Ye Mo’s heart. Since childhood, he had found it difficult to trust anyone outside his family, and others rarely trusted him. People usually trade heart for heart, and suddenly being told he was trusted by someone other than Dongfang Jin made Ye Mo feel a warm current in his chest.

“Alright then, I’ll take the job. I’ll be a fair referee.”

The competition began. This Dongfang tradition was long-standing, so Ye Mo didn’t even need to prepare the topics. They had a drawing box filled with challenges created over the years, combining the collective wisdom of the family. Whatever they needed to do, they drew from there, saving Ye Mo a lot of trouble.

On Dongfang Hao’s side were the second-generation members, twelve people in total (including spouses). On Dongfang Jin’s side were the grandchildren. From the eldest, Dongfang Jin, to the youngest, Dongfang Pin, there were thirteen of them (since Dongfang Yi passed out). Having one extra person gave them almost no advantage, but the youthful blood in their veins told them they wouldn’t lose even though, historically, they usually lost quite miserably.

Ye Mo struck a professional referee pose, cleared his throat, and announced: “The rules are as follows: I will draw a topic, each team will send a representative, and I will judge the winner based on the quality of completion. The first team to lead by three rounds wins. You decide the punishment.”

Dongfang Hao stepped forward. “If you kids lose, we won’t ask for much. Everyone has to do a three-year unpaid internship at our family hospital, working hard without complaint.” Behind him, the elders broke into devious smirks.

“That’s too much! I already signed a contract with a magazine! If I don’t go, the breach of contract fee is millions!” “Exactly! How is a lawyer like me supposed to survive that?” “We even have teenagers here!”

Complaints erupted instantly as they accused their parents and uncles of being cold-blooded. But the elders knew exactly what they were doing if the kids didn’t want to stay in the family business, the elders would simply lock them in.

Facing their “vicious” elders, the juniors led by Dongfang Jin huddled in a circle to strategize. Minutes later, Dongfang Jin stepped out as the representative. “Our punishment has three parts: 1. A transfer of one million to each of our private accounts (Xiao Min and Xiao Pin are too young, so their monthly allowance just increases by a thousand). 2. For one week, you are not allowed to scold us. Every scolding costs a ten-thousand-yuan fine. 3. Ten days of vacation for everyone.”

The elders agreed without a second thought, confident they wouldn’t lose. “Bring it on.”

The first two rounds went well, with both sides trading blows for a 1-1 tie. The third round began, and Ye Mo drew a slip: Write a narrative essay, 2000 words or more, time limit: 30 minutes. The juniors were overjoyed. Among them was a major author, one of the top ten rising stars, a top ten author of the year, and the most bankable writer. All these titles belonged to Dongfang Yongxiao.

Knowing there’s a tiger on the mountain yet heading straight for it one had to admire the elders’ courage. After much deliberation, the elders pushed forward Murong Changhen. As an actor, he at least had more creative experience than the others, who only knew medical and pharmacological theories.

Thirty minutes was far too much for Dongfang Yongxiao. He wrote page after page of beautiful, soulful prose. For Murong Changhen, however, it was a nightmare. While actors sometimes help with scripts, writing one from scratch is another story. Fifteen minutes passed, and he hadn’t even finished the opening.

The result was obvious. Dongfang Yongxiao finished his 2,000 words in just fifteen minutes and even wrote a second piece just to fill the time. Murong Changhen barely finished his essay as the buzzer rang. Comparing the two, Ye Mo declared Dongfang Yongxiao the winner without hesitation.

The next round tested entertainment and film knowledge. How could two second-generation aunts beat two young girls like Dongfang Wan and Ren Zhanting? Another win for the grandchildren.

With two consecutive wins, the juniors couldn’t help but look at their “Big Sister-in-law.” This eldest brother’s partner had incredible luck! Usually, when they played, the referee drew medical or pharmacological trivia, and they got crushed by the old pros. This time was different; the referee kept drawing things they were actually good at.

“Big Brother, you found yourself a ‘Golden Hand’,” Dongfang Yongxiao remarked.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Can’t you see? Every topic he’s drawn today plays right into our hands. This ‘luck’ is insane.”

“Well, look whose partner he is,” Dongfang Jin boasted, his smirk reaching high as he asserted his pride. The look in his eyes when he watched Ye Mo became even more tender.

Ye Mo suddenly turned around and caught Dongfang Jin’s gaze. Startled, he asked, “What are you looking at? Is there something on my face?”

“No, I’ve just set my sights on you.”

Ye Mo, a bit flustered by the sudden flirting, continued hosting the match.

“Biological Dissection.” As Ye Mo read those two words, the faces on Dongfang Jin’s side darkened. They knew that in this category, they could never beat the “old monsters” across from them. On their side, Dongfang Jin was the best at dissection, followed by the unconscious Dongfang Yi. But Dongfang Jin had already been used in a previous round and couldn’t participate again. The rest were either pharmacists, students, or people who hadn’t touched a scalpel in years.

On the other side, a peaceful atmosphere reigned. They were certain of victory. Panic set in for the juniors as they huddled again.

“Big Brother! What now? If the Second Brother was awake, we’d have a chance, but now…” “Quan, can you do it?” “Don’t joke, Big Brother. I haven’t touched a blade since medical school.” “Xiao An! How is your dissection?” “It was my worst subject, Big Brother.” “Xiao You, you?” “Me too.”

They were truly stuck until a voice drifted over calmly: “I’ll do it.”

It was none other than Ye Mo.

“Mo! Don’t mess around. First, you’re the referee, and second, how would you know how to do this? What if you hurt yourself?”

“Dongfang Jin, when I say I’m doing it, I’m doing it! No more talk. I wonder if Uncle agrees?”

Dongfang Hao’s side was convinced Ye Mo knew nothing about surgery, and even if he did, he couldn’t be as skilled as them. “No problem! There’s no rule saying a referee can’t compete, and since Xiao Mo is Xiao Jin’s partner, it makes sense for him to help.”

“Then let’s begin.”

Two rabbits were brought out. The elders sent out Dongfang Jue, a dermatology expert who was widely considered the weakest at dissection among the second generation.

Ye Mo didn’t hesitate. He immediately made a swift cut to the rabbit’s carotid artery. He wasn’t an “academic” style dissector, but his movements were fluid and practiced. In no time, he had opened the rabbit up and removed several bones with practiced ease.

Everyone was stunned. Wasn’t he a pampered young master? An heir to the business-minded Ye family? How could he do this? Not just the Dongfang family, but even Dongfang Jin was shocked. He suddenly remembered a brief glimpse he’d had of Ye Mo’s bookshelf—a yellowed book with the word “Anatomy” on it. He hadn’t asked at the time, but now it all clicked.

Ten minutes later, Ye Mo was finished, while Dongfang Jue was still working. The winner was clear. The juniors erupted in cheers; it was a rare victory, and Ye Mo was the hero of the hour.

“Mo! How do you know how to do that?”

“I was bored at home as a kid and found a book in my third uncle’s room about anatomy. I started practicing on small animals to pass the time. Rabbits were my most frequent subjects.”

“Wife, you’re amazing!”

“Who are you calling ‘wife’?”