The An Family booked the Peony Hall at the Binhai Crown Holiday Hotel to entertain friends who attended the ceremony.

Considering the Spring Festival holiday just passed and everyone had eaten a bit too much, the An Family was quite thoughtful in their selection of dishes, focusing primarily on various fresh vegetables meticulously prepared by the chef, complemented by exquisite seafood.

This not only made the dishes seem premium but also refreshing and non-greasy, greatly enhancing the appetite of the guests, earning much praise.

After the third round of wine and the fifth taste, the crowd in the hall transitioned to drinking tea and chatting.

Regarding this, Lin Jie felt somewhat out of place.

He sat at the main table, and aside from him, a young man, everyone present was over forty years old, highlighting the age gap.

Moreover, Lin Jie knew that apart from his medical skills, his knowledge in other areas was quite shallow.

He only chatted casually with Chen Shi and two or three others about medical issues, having little in common with the rest.

After eating and drinking enough, Lin Jie made some perfunctory remarks to everyone and found an excuse to say goodbye, ready to leave.

"Young Dr. Lin!"

Just as Lin Jie reached the door of the hall, he stopped and turned, only to find that the person calling him was Fu Hechang from the Fu Family.

The two had clinked glasses at the table and exchanged a few casual words, so they were somewhat acquainted.

"Hello, Mr. Fu!"

Lin Jie politely greeted him and waited silently for him to speak and explain his intention.

Fu Hechang, full of smiles, said, "Before coming, my uncle instructed me to treat Dr. Lin with great respect and not to be dismissive because of your age!"

"Mr. Fu is too polite!" Lin Jie responded neither humbly nor arrogantly.

Fu Hechang laughed, "I know you are young but have outstanding medical skills. I have a small medical issue I'd like to consult with you about. Do you have time now?"

"I have about half an hour!"

Lin Jie pointed to a lounge area at the corner of the hall and said, "Let's go there and sit down to talk!"

The two found seats in the lounge area, and a server serving in the hall promptly brought them hot tea.

Fu Hechang took out his phone, brought up a set of pictures, handed it to Lin Jie, and said with a face full of affection, "I married rather late; this is my son, just a little over two years old."

Lin Jie looked through these photos, all showing a cute little child with rosy cheeks.

After viewing the photos without noticing any issues, Lin Jie returned the phone to Fu Hechang, politely praising, "Your child is very beautiful, quite resembling you!"

"Thank you!"

Fu Hechang chuckled and said with some distress, "There's one problem—the child cannot speak yet. What do you think?"

Lin Jie had thought it was something major and laughed, "When a child starts speaking varies from person to person. Some children speak before one year old, while others are reluctant to speak until two or three years old—this is all considered normal."

"Surely you've had some checks done for your child?"

Fu Hechang nodded, "Yes, my wife and I weren't at ease and invited child specialists for an examination, ruling out hearing issues, autism, brain disorders, and other pathological factors!"

He said a bit awkwardly, "I am of considerable age and only had my child recently, so I'm a bit anxious about him. Please don't laugh at me, Dr. Lin."

Fu Hechang asked with concern, "I know your medical skills are exceptionally good; I just want to consult if there are any other pathological possibilities causing my child to not speak."

"If there are, I'd like to check early, discover early, and treat early!"

Lin Jie found it amusing—this was a father overly concerned about his child.

He thought for a bit then said, "The pathological reasons for a child not speaking, besides hearing issues and autism, include two other aspects. The first is genetic defects, causing problems in the language control area of the brain."

"This condition is congenital and cannot be cured but can be detected through genetic defect tests."

Fu Hechang said worriedly, "I will get this genetic defect test done for my son as soon as I get home. What is the second aspect you mentioned?"

Lin Jie continued, "The second aspect involves issues with the phonetic organs, namely the vocal cords, which can be congenital or acquired. These can cause loss of voice, hoarseness, or unclear pronunciation, among other issues."

"Let me ask, how is your child's cry? Is it loud and clear?"

"His cry is very loud and clear!"

With great pride, Fu Hechang said, "To be honest, Dr. Lin, my child is particularly well-behaved and hardly ever cries. My wife and I are very at ease."

"In the first few months after birth, he cried at most once or twice a day, then once every one or two days as he grew older. The bigger he got, the less he cried."

"This month, well... well..."

As he spoke, Fu Hechang's face began to look somewhat unnatural...

He looked at Lin Jie with a hint of panic and said uncertainly, "This month... This month, I think... I think... I haven't heard him cry."

"Dr. Lin, isn't this abnormal?"

Of course it's abnormal—some kids cry eight times a day at the very least.

Lin Jie didn't want to scare him and gently said, "Perhaps he cries when you are not at home. Seeing you makes him happy and forgets to cry."

"That's right, that's definitely right!"

While speaking, Fu Hechang dialed a phone number.

After waiting for a while, Fu Hechang said in a deep voice, "Amei, let me ask you a small question. Have you heard the baby cry this month?"

"Cry!?"

Fu Hechang's expression immediately turned sunny as he smiled and asked, "That's great! Can you still remember why and when our baby cried?"

"No, you can't remember?"

His face slowly started to fall again, "Amei, please think carefully. This month, did our baby cry or not?"

"Don't rush, don't rush, take your time to think..."

He was relaxed, but Lin Jie was getting anxious and suggested, "Mr. Fu, just ask your wife to give the child a slap on the bottom—then you'll know if he can cry."

Fu Hechang seemed to awaken from a dream, suddenly realizing, "How silly of me, how silly of me."

"Amei, stop pondering when the child cried. Just give him a slap and let him cry out loud."

After a pause, he added nervously, "I want to hear his crying right now!"

After saying this, Fu Hechang put the phone on speaker and placed it on the coffee table between him and Lin Jie.

After a while, a concerned adult female voice came from the phone, "Baby, could you cry for a bit? Your perverse father wants to hear your crying sound!"

"If you don't cry, Mom will hit you!"

After waiting for a while, the woman's voice sounded again, "Baby, don't blame Mom, blame your abnormal father."

With this statement, a soft "slap" sound came from the phone, but no cry followed.

Lin Jie noticed that Fu Hechang was tightly clenching his fists, with visible anxiety on his face.

He leaned closer to the phone slightly, shouting, "Amei, hit, hit hard! Don't be gentle. This is for the child's good!"

No more words came from the woman, just a series of slapping sounds, each clearer and louder than the last...

Suddenly, a loud wail erupted...

"Honey, the baby didn't cry."

"He is shedding tears, with mouth open, but makes no sound... The baby didn't cry... The baby didn't cry... Boo hoo..."

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