At nearly four in the afternoon, Ling Mengjiao and Yang Leyi returned to Xiangtai Apartment and saw the TV on. An Kexin, An Kemeng, and Lin Miao were lazily sprawled on the living room sofa, covered in blankets without any regard for their image.

There were discarded snack wrappers and various nut shells scattered all over the coffee table and floor.

As for Lin Jie, he was lying on another couch with a blanket, seemingly asleep, with the shiba inu Lele curled up beside his head.

Ling Mengjiao and Yang Leyi tiptoed closer!

Ling Mengjiao reported, "President An, today's surgery was quite smooth according to the lead surgeon, with no unexpected incidents. As for the patient from yesterday, they are recovering well."

"As per your instructions, I represented the charity fund and gave a thousand yuan New Year's gift to the families of the two patients."

An Kexin nodded softly and said, "Thank you for your hard work! After the New Year, once the charity fund staff is fully recruited, I'll grant you a long vacation to go home and rest."

Ling Mengjiao said gratefully, "I don't feel it was hard. This charity work makes my life feel fulfilling and meaningful, sacrificing a little holiday time really doesn't matter."

An Kexin yawned, stretched, and said, "Charity work is still work, salaries should be paid, and rest is necessary; you can't live on just spiritual sustenance."

Lin Miao, seeming a bit dazed, looked at Yang Leyi and asked sleepily, "You're back, what time is it?"

Yang Leyi found Lin Miao's appearance somewhat cute, smirked, and said, "It's three fifty-six!"

Lin Miao jolted awake, quickly stood up, and shouted, "Oh, it's so late, time to make dinner."

Her shout woke Lin Jie as well.

He turned over, sat up, and sleepily looked around the living room at everyone, his gaze gradually focusing on An Kemeng's face, and reached out to take off a piece of nut shell stuck to the corner of her mouth.

His eyes turned to Ling Mengjiao and Yang Leyi, nodding, "Everyone's back, let's prepare dinner! New Year's is a time for eating, drinking, and being merry."

At that moment, Lin Jie's phone rang again.

This time, however, the call was strange, as it was an anonymous call with no caller ID displayed.

Lin Jie, thinking it was a New Year's call, answered, "Hello!"

A man's voice, deep and slightly hoarse, came over the phone, "Lin Jie, you don't know me, but I know you. I know your mother, and more importantly, I know who your father is."

Lin Jie was taken aback, glanced at Lin Miao, and said seriously, "Hold on for a moment!"

He covered the phone's microphone with his hand, smiled at An Kexin, Lin Miao, and the others, and said, "A patient on the phone might ask about some private matters, I'll take the call upstairs!"

Lin Jie quickly went up to the bedroom on the second floor, and asked into the phone, "Who are you?"

The man chuckled softly over the phone and said, "Who I am isn't important. What's important is that I know your father. Let's put it this way, I was an early friend of your father."

"Just a few days ago, I happened to see your video and photos online. It felt like déjà vu. After looking at your bio, I had a hunch."

"Over the past few days, I did my own investigation and have confirmed that my friend is indeed your biological father."

The man's voice was somewhat excited as he said, "Lin Jie, you might not know this, but your biological father was a handsome second-generation rich guy who had countless dalliances."

"In recent years, he took over the family business, which has been thriving, and he has become a billionaire and a well-known business figure locally."

"More importantly, he and his current wife have only two daughters and no son, which has always been a deep regret of his."

Lin Jie, hearing him prattle on without offering any substantial information about this so-called father, became more cautious and asked, "So can you tell me exactly who he is?"

The man chuckled and said, "To be honest, Lin Jie, due to some business dealings and a debt relationship, I've already broken off with your biological father."

"I wasn't planning to get involved in this matter, but thinking about the father-son bond and how you and your sister have been struggling all these years, it made me feel a bit guilty…"

The man, seeing Lin Jie wasn't responding, continued speaking.

"Your biological father's worth is at least over a billion, and he doesn't have a son. Once you and your sister reconnect with him, the benefits you gain need not be explained!"

Lin Jie felt the person's motives were impure and said indifferently, "Without parents, my sister and I got through all these years, and now our life has improved, so there's no need to find our biological father."

"Thank you for your concern, but my sister and I are quite satisfied with our current life and do not wish to disrupt this peace because of some stranger with whom we've lost contact for many years!"

"Goodbye…"

"Wait…"

The man's voice over the phone was somewhat anxious as he hurriedly called out to Lin Jie, "Lin Jie, to be honest, I called you with a lot of selfish motives."

"My business isn't going well, and life is somewhat rough."

"One million, just give me one million, and I'll give you the exact information about your biological father. This one million, given your current assets, should be very easy for you."

The voice tempted him again, "Think about your biological father's fortune—it's over a billion! The cost of this payment compared to the enormous benefit is nothing!"

Hearing this, Lin Jie was already certain it was a scam targeting his situation.

He sneered, "I'll tell you a way to earn ten million! Sell our information to that billionaire father and ask for ten million, surely that's no problem."

After saying this, Lin Jie hung up without waiting for the other person to respond.

Lin Jie knew a bit about the inside story and wasn't impressed by the so-called biological father or mother, easily seeing through this clumsy phone scam.

But he did know that Lin Miao had always held fantasies about their parents.

Swindlers are full of tricks and have no bottom line. If they were well-prepared and set a trap for Lin Miao…

Thinking of this, Lin Jie immediately returned to the living room and recounted the phone conversation, which instantly aroused the anger of An Kexin, Ling Mengjiao, and others.

An Kexin was so angry her chest was heaving, "This swindler is despicable, especially during this special holiday, doing such things. Lin Jie, we should investigate this matter and catch this swindler."

"Brother, are you really sure he's a swindler?" Lin Miao was a bit unconvinced and asked.

Lin Jie patted her head and said, "Claiming father's worth is over a billion, only having daughters and no son, asking for one million for father's exact information; if this is not a swindler, what is it? Miaomiao, you might encounter something like this one day."

"Twenty years have passed, waiting a few more days or even months is no big deal. So, if you ever encounter such a thing, don't rush, always tell me first, okay?"

Lin Miao nodded vigorously and said, "Brother, I'm not a fool; I won't be easily tricked."

Lin Jie laughed and said, "Let's just treat this as a joke! Now, let's prepare dinner together; everyone has to help!"

He specifically instructed, "Kexin, and Kemeng, you can't shirk off, you at least have to make one dish!"

An Kexin made a pained face and said coquettishly, "Lin Jie, my sister and I can't cook, can we just assist?"

An Kemeng tugged on An Kexin's hand and said, "Sister, we can make a few dishes!"

"What dishes?"

An Kemeng giggled, counting on her fingers, "Fruit salad, vegetable salad, smashed cucumber!"

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