On the night of the twelfth day of the first lunar month, at eleven o'clock, after nearly five hours of surgery, Lin Jie began the final task: suturing the patient's opened scalp.

Originally, after the tumor was removed from the patient's brain, the lead surgeon could take a break. The subsequent steps, such as matching and fixing the skull, and suturing the scalp, were typically the assistant surgeon's duties.

However, this surgery was somewhat special. The surgical assistant was Tao Taqing, and the surgical nurse who insisted on participating was Chen Lan.

Moreover, this surgery was relatively simple, and Lin Jie's physical and mental exertion was not significant. He felt it was inappropriate to instruct the two of them, so he completed all the surgical steps by himself.

After suturing the final stitch, Lin Jie put down the needle holder, exhaled a breath, and said, "The surgery is over, the patient and the operating room are now in your hands."

"Thank you! Thank you!"

Chen Lan quickly said, "I will take care of the follow-up matters. Dr. Lin, Dean Tao, you've worked hard, you should go rest!"

More than half an hour later, after changing clothes and taking a short rest, Lin Jie and Tao Taqing walked out of the Donghua Hospital building together.

Tao Taqing smiled and said, "Lin Jie, let's go, I'll take you to a place for a late-night snack!"

Lin Jie replied cautiously, "You have to tell me where first. If it's some roadside stall or snack shop, I would rather go home and cook noodles myself."

Tao Taqing merely smiled and said, "Is my taste that bad? Follow me, I promise you won't be disappointed."

Although he said "follow me," in action, he unceremoniously sat in Lin Jie's car and shouted, "Let's go, destination, Fengshan Road!"

Lin Jie was taken aback and asked, "Fengshan Road, isn't that a street full of bars? You're not taking me to a bar for a late-night snack, are you?"

Tao Taqing, fastening his seatbelt, chuckled and said, "Though it's a street lined with bars, it's not solely bars! Quickly drive, I promise you won't regret it."

Lin Jie, half-believing, started the car.

Fengshan Road was relatively close to Donghua Hospital, and Lin Jie arrived there in just over ten minutes.

Under Tao Taqing's guidance, Lin Jie parked the car in the parking lot in front of the Night Charm Bar, and after getting out, followed Tao Taqing to a small storefront on the west side of the bar.

Only then did Lin Jie notice a brightly lit neon sign with just the word "Porridge" on this small storefront.

He shook his head inwardly, realizing you can't trust Tao Taqing's words; he was all mysterious, and it turned out to be just a porridge shop.

Upon entering the porridge shop, Lin found that although it had a small facade, it extended quite deep inside. The business was decent, with over a dozen fashionably dressed young men and women sitting inside eating.

Apparently, they had come over after drinking a lot in the bars, as the strong smell of alcohol hit face-on.

Lin Jie, feeling tired and somewhat hungry, became particularly sensitive to the smell of alcohol, frowning immediately, covering his nose with his hand, and looked at Tao Taqing with dissatisfaction.

Tao Taqing was startled, then suddenly realized and patted his forehead, laughing, "My fault, my fault! I actually forgot you're somewhat sensitive to alcohol."

"This shop has a wide variety of porridge, tastes great, and is especially good for the stomach. Many people who drink heavily at nearby bars come here for a bowl of porridge before going home. I was brought here by friends once and immediately liked the porridge here."

"The smell of alcohol is indeed a bit strong here, we'll pack it and take it home to eat then!"

After saying this, Tao Taqing instructed the approaching server, "Pack two portions of fish porridge, two small dishes, and two black sesame yam purple sweet potato cakes!"

The porridge shop was quite efficient, and the food was packed within two minutes.

Carrying the food, as they just stepped out of the porridge shop, they were met by a strong, crew-cut man in a suit and tie, who greeted them politely, "Dr. Lin, Mr. Tao, good evening!"

Lin Jie found him somewhat unfamiliar and inquired, "Who are you?"

The man immediately responded apologetically, "Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I work for Boss Ye, managing some odds and ends at the Night Charm Bar. You can call me A Gui."

"Both of you are friends of the boss, who specifically instructed that if you visit the bar, you must be well taken care of."

"I just saw you through the entrance cameras, so I came over specifically to ask if there's anything I can assist you with?"

Lin Jie couldn't help but admire; Ye Hongqing reaching this level was not without reason.

From parking to entering and exiting the porridge shop, it was only seven or eight minutes altogether.

Yet, Ye Hongqing's people noticed them so quickly and came over specifically, showing how well-managed they were by Ye Hongqing.

Actually, Lin Jie overestimated Ye Hongqing's management skills somewhat.

In fact, among Ye Hongqing's subordinates was a capable person who specifically had someone design software to automatically scan the license plates parked in the Night Charm Bar's parking lot.

Once a scanned plate matches those specially marked in the database, the software automatically issues a special alert to notify the guards at the entrance and the night shift management personnel of Night Charm.

Lin Jie, marked by Ye Hongqing as needing special attention, naturally prompted A Gui to come running over in the fastest time upon receiving the system's alert.

Lin Jie raised his hand to show the porridge and small dishes he was holding and smiled, "Thank you for the kind offer. We just came to get some takeout for a late-night snack and are about to head back, so we won't trouble you any further."

Just then, the sound of cries, curses, and hurried footsteps came audibly closer, and Lin Jie saw two people running down the road, pursued by three others!

Seeing this, A Gui immediately positioned himself in front of Lin Jie and Tao Taqing, whispering, "Don't worry! Someone drank too much and is being drunkenly disorderly. Such things happen here often, and usually, nothing major occurs!"

Lin Jie nodded, now standing by the roadside and protected by A Gui's physique, observing the ruckus with curiosity.

But Tao Taqing's eyes suddenly tightened, and he nervously shouted, "A Gui, A Gui, help those two in front, one of them is my son!"

Hearing this, A Gui immediately yelled, "Qian Er, Black Bull, follow me!"

After shouting, without waiting for them to come over, he directly charged forward himself.

He deftly maneuvered past the two in front and headed straight for the couple chasing behind.

Without unnecessary chatting, he threw a punch here, a kick there, and in just a few moves, even before the help he called for could arrive, he had already taken down all three pursuers.

Lin Jie was quite impressed by this, another skilled individual indeed.

However, Lin Jie also noticed that where A Gui struck was quite deliberate.

He skillfully avoided the nose, eyes, throat, groin, lower back, and other vulnerable or critical parts of the body, instead hitting places that would cause severe pain and temporarily immobilize, yet not result in fatal injuries.

At this moment, a few girls also came running, panting heavily, and upon seeing the situation, automatically divided into two groups.

One group of three bypassed A Gui and the others, gathering cautiously beside Tao Taqing's son, standing next to Lin Jie and Tao Taqing.

The other group, consisting of four girls, started helping the young men on the ground who were groaning in pain.

Another girl walked over towards Lin Jie and the others, steaming with anger.

As the girl approached, she suddenly stopped a few steps away, looking at Lin Jie, faltered slightly, and said, "Cousin Lin Jie, are these people your friends?"

Cousin?

The address stunned Lin Jie, as he scrutinized the person who seemed somewhat familiar, and tentatively asked, "Are you Cousin Wei Xin?"

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