"Brother Lin, Donghua Hospital has scheduled the surgery room for 10 PM on the 29th of the lunar month. Does this time work for you?"

Ye Hongqing's tone on the phone was respectful and careful.

This schedule is quite terrible, just slightly better than New Year's Eve. However, the decision on the use of the operating room wasn't in Ye Hongqing's hands, so he could only hope that Lin Jie wouldn't mind.

Lin Jie really didn't mind this schedule. The Lunar New Year and New Year's Eve were the toughest times for him and Lin Miao.

He calmly said, "I have no problem here, but I'll need to coordinate with a few people in the surgical team. I'll get back to you in a bit."

After hanging up, Lin Jie directly called Chen Shi and said straightforwardly, "The surgery for that retired soldier is scheduled for 10 PM on the 29th of the lunar month. Professor Chen, how's your schedule?"

"I have no problem here!"

Chen Shi cheerfully said, "I've already talked to that old guy Tao Taqing. He'll also join this surgery as an assistant. Having two expert-level doctors as assistants for you, aren't you lucky?"

"Is Dean Tao handing in his pledge of allegiance?" Lin Jie laughed.

Chen Shi just laughed on the phone and said, "Sort of. He's also involved in this surgery, so if any issue arises, he'll be responsible too."

"Hey kid, do you want to contact the other surgical assistants yourself, or should we help you find a few reliable ones?"

Lin Jie chuckled and said, "With you and Dean Tao taking action, that's like having two veterans—one equals two. In that case, I only need to find a surgical nurse and an anesthetist."

"I have two regulars. I'll contact them first and get back to you if their time doesn't fit."

"You kid, you really have no sense of respecting the elders, truly treating me and old Tao as assistants!"

Though he said this, Chen Shi understood that the fewer people involved in the surgery, the less chance of problems arising.

He accepted Lin Jie's arrangement and turned to say, "Lin Jie, my son is back from abroad! This time, he's staying in the country for the long term. I want him to take over Anlin Hospital; what do you think about that?"

Lin Jie hurriedly declined, "Professor Chen, you and Uncle An, Sister Kexin are like family."

"Does this still need my opinion? You all can decide. As long as it doesn't affect my work and benefits the hospital's speedy development, I have no opinion on who manages the hospital."

Chen Shi said with satisfaction, "Great, I know your opinion. That's it for now, goodbye!"

Lin Jie started dialing Yang Jinglong's phone again, called twice, but nobody answered. Thinking he might be working in the operating room, he didn't continue.

Zhang Daya received Lin Jie's call and immediately said, even on New Year's Eve, she'd be on call 24/7.

She also shared some news with Lin Jie that Zhu Qiang and Xu Ling were seeing each other. If nothing major arose, their families would hold an engagement ceremony before the New Year.

"Hey, Dr. Lin, recently Zhu Zhenzhen kept probing me, asking if you're familiar with Dr. Yang Jinglong. I've been giving her vague responses."

"I really don't get why she's so interested in your relationship with Dr. Yang."

Lin Jie knew the reason. On the day of his recruitment assessment, Zhu Zhenzhen likely saw Yang Jinglong assisting him with the surgery, making her nervous, afraid her connection with Yang Jinglong might be exposed.

Lin Jie laughed and said, "Maybe Zhu Zhenzhen interned at Tongren Hospital before and knows Dr. Yang."

Standing on the rooftop, he had just hung up the phone when he saw Lin Miao and An Kemeng each riding a bicycle, returning against the sunset.

One had to admit, Lin Miao's learning ability was quite strong.

The bicycle was something she learned after coming here. Practicing on the semi-soft sand beach wasn't something to fear falling for. After two or three hours with about ten falls, she was riding quite well.

Now looking again, Lin Miao was riding with no hint of unfamiliarity.

"Brother, Kemeng and I bought more souvenirs. Once back in Binhai, we can give them out freely!" Lin Miao shouted.

More than half an hour later, after taking a refreshing shower and changing into fresh clothes, the two also came to the rooftop and laid on the beach loungers beside Lin Jie.

An Kemeng looked at her arms, pouting, and said, "Brother Jie, even sunscreen doesn't seem to work. Look, my arms have tanned so much these days."

Lin Jie glanced over and didn't really notice any tanning, casually saying, "Even if you tan like a charcoal, don't worry. Once back in Binhai, you'll bundle up for three or four months. By the time it's warm enough to wear sleeveless and short skirts, you'll be pale again."

He then asked, "After breakfast tomorrow morning, we need to hurry to the airport. Do you have any plans for tonight?"

An Kemeng shook her head, looking pitiful, "Today was exhausting, replaying all the activities I wanted to. Now I just want to sleep, don't even have an appetite for dinner."

"Miaomiao, what about you? Miaomiao..."

After calling twice with no response, they noticed Lin Miao had already fallen asleep.

With Lin Miao as an example, An Kemeng didn't last long either and soon fell asleep.

Seeing this, Lin Jie covered their stomachs with a towel and ordered a few dishes from a nearby restaurant, instructing them to deliver around nine o'clock.

"Lin Jie... Lin Jie..."

Suddenly hearing a soft call, Lin Jie walked to the railing to look down and saw Zhuang Shilei standing at the entrance of the small building.

He went downstairs to open the door, invited Zhuang Shilei into the living room, took a bottle of juice from the fridge and handed it to her, asking, "Is it about the surgery?"

Zhuang Shilei nervously fiddled with her juice with both hands, nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then asked in a somewhat trembling voice, "Lin Jie, I want to ask, the surgery method you mentioned to my mom this morning, to what extent can my left face be restored?"

Lin Jie paused for a moment and said, "The effect is hard to say! In the most ideal situation, of course, the muscle function of the left face would fully recover, the skin graft would be successful, and the difference between your left and right face would be minimal."

"What's the worst-case scenario then?"

Zhuang Shilei couldn't help but hold her breath, afraid that even a single breath would change Lin Jie's words.

Lin Jie chuckled, pointing at her mask, and said, "The worst, of course, is that you endure a lot of physical pain, and then still have to wear a mask for the rest of your life."

"Yes!"

Zhuang Shilei reached out her right hand to touch the mask on her left face, murmuring to herself, "The worst is just that, what else could happen."

She took a deep breath and said, "Lin Jie, I'm not afraid of physical pain. The physical pain, no matter how severe, is nothing compared to the psychological torment caused by others' sympathy, pity, disgust, and fearful gazes."

"I also want to ask, how much would this surgery roughly cost?"

Zhuang Shilei expressed gratitude, "For me, my family, including my uncle's family, have endured too much and sacrificed too much. I don't want them to have to sell everything, even the house, just for my surgery."

"The surgery cost..."

Lin Jie hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to estimate it.

He thought about the surgeries he had handled before and said, "How about this, we won't charge anything upfront. In the end, you can decide how much to give based on the recovery of your left face."

"If there's no significant effect, you don't have to pay a penny."

This unconventional way of settling the surgery fees made Zhuang Shilei widen her eyes, "Can you make this call on the fees?"

Lin Jie didn't dare to be too absolute and said, "Regarding the fees, I can mostly make this call."

"However, I need to remind you, the reconstruction of your left face won't be completed in just one or two surgeries. This surgery may need to be done once every three or four weeks, and it could take several months to finally complete."

"Since appropriate muscle fibers and nerve fibers need to be grafted from various parts of your body, the wounds will cover your whole body. So, this physical torment..."

Zhuang Shilei confidently smiled and said, "I've said it before, the mental torment is worse than any physical pain. I'm not afraid."

At this moment, Lin Jie's phone rang. It was Yang Jinglong's reply.

Lin Jie apologized briefly and went outside the small building to answer the call.

Sure enough, Lin Jie was working in the operating room earlier, and as soon as he mentioned the work on the evening of the 29th of the lunar month, Yang Jinglong's excited voice shouted through, "Dr. Lin, you've saved my life!"

"I don't have any private savings left right now. There's no problem at all for the evening of the 29th lunar month, I guarantee!"

Lin Jie laughed and said, "With the red envelopes given by patients, how could you be without private savings?"

Yang Jinglong complained, "Dr. Lin, since you're not married, you don't know the terrifying nature of a married woman. My little savings were wiped out by her recently, and now the control over my finances is very tight."

"She can even estimate accurately how much I receive in red envelopes each month. I'm currently living on borrowed money."

Lin Jie mocked, "Your 'living', for sure, isn't the same concept as what many people understand it to be!"

Yang Jinglong laughed, shamelessly saying, "Well, as a man! Since it's New Year, regardless of the reasons others come along with me, I have to express something, don't I?"

Having obtained the answer he wanted, Lin Jie didn't want to chat aimlessly and quickly hung up the phone and sent another message to Ye Hongqing to confirm the surgery time.

He was just about to turn back to the small building when his phone rang again; it was a call from An Kexin.

After confirming the flight tomorrow and the arrival time in Binhai once more, An Kexin suddenly said, "Lin Jie, you must have already known that my cousin Chen Fanzhi has returned to China. My father and I have discussed it and plan to let him help out in the company."

"I will focus on managing the hospital and the charity foundation!"

Thinking of Chen Shi's words, Lin Jie felt something was amiss and said, "Kexin, I just spoke with your uncle over the phone; he intends to have your cousin take over the hospital. Has there been any issue between the two of you?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the call, and after a few breaths, An Kexin's voice came through again, "This issue, my father will communicate with my uncle."

"Lin Jie, to be frank with you, the truth is my cousin, lacking knowledge of some inside details, has developed some bias against you. This situation is unfavorable for your future cooperation and work together."

"Moreover..."

An Kexin spoke gently, "Relatively speaking, I prefer to work with you!"

These words stirred Lin Jie's emotions for a moment. When he came back to his senses, he realized the phone had already been hung up.

Returning to the small building, Lin Jie apologized, "Sorry, we are going back to Binhai tomorrow. A few friends called consecutively to confirm the itinerary."

Zhuang Shilei softly said, "It's okay!"

"Lin Jie, regarding the plastic surgery, I still need to discuss it with my father and uncle and others before I can make a final decision."

Lin Jie said indifferently, "That's the right thing to do; this is not a small matter!"

"Can you tell me who the cosmetic surgery expert you know is?" Zhuang Shilei asked once again.

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