With a dull thud, Lin Jie, who was still asleep, felt as if a mountain had collapsed onto him.

Before he could open his eyes, he heard a giggle by his ear, "Brother Jie, get up for breakfast."

Lin Jie opened his eyes to see An Kemeng propping her head up with her hands, grinning at him, while pressing her whole body on top of him.

He said helplessly, "How can I get up if you're pressing on me like this?"

After finishing their conversation last night, it was already past one in the morning, and An Weize let Lin Jie stay and rest.

With his current relationship with An Kexin, there was no need to sleep in the guest room. The two had a deep and intimate conversation before falling into a deep sleep.

An Kemeng crawled off the bed, tossed a Pikachu pajama to Lin Jie, and laughed, "Your clothes, my sister took to wash, they need some sunlight to disinfect before you can wear them."

"Just wear my pajamas for now, la la..." An Kemeng skipped out of the room.

Lin Jie had no choice but to put on the pajamas An Kemeng gave him and head to the en-suite bathroom, where he found that toothpaste had already been squeezed onto his toothbrush...

Minutes later, wearing cartoon pajamas, Lin Jie appeared in the dining room, prompting An Weize to stifle a laugh.

An Kexin glared at An Kemeng and said, "Didn't I tell you to get your father's pajamas?"

An Kemeng giggled, "My pajamas fit Brother Jie quite well too."

"Brother Jie, hurry and sit down for breakfast. Today's fried eggs were made by me personally."

Lin Jie saw that the An family's breakfast was pretty typical: seaweed egg drop soup, fried eggs, shrimp dumplings, fried dumplings, assorted small buns, and a few light side dishes.

"Good morning, Uncle An!"

After greeting him, Lin Jie sat down and continued, "Uncle, you went to bed late last night. Why not sleep a bit longer? Both the company and hospital matters can wait!"

An Weize chuckled and said, "At my age, I don't need much sleep. Four to five hours is enough."

"But you and Kexin are young and need more rest. You can take a nap after breakfast."

Lin Jie took the dumpling handed to him by An Kexin and said, "I'm fine. I've stayed up overnight for surgeries before without much issue the next day."

An Weize nodded slightly and said, "This morning, I had a call with Old Master Fu."

"Old Master Fu told me that Ye Peihua has quite a good reputation in the circle. They say he values emotions and righteousness, which makes it easier for us to discuss cooperation with him."

Lin Jie ate a dumpling, took a few sips of soup, and said confidently, "No matter what kind of person we're dealing with, our stance remains unchanged."

"That's true!"

An Weize also sensed that today's Lin Jie was somewhat different than before, seeming more confident.

He said gratefully, "I remain unmoved despite the winds from all directions."

"We now have that confidence, haha..."

An Weize thought for a moment and advised, "Kexin, if Ye Peihua indeed wants to discuss cooperation with Ajie, it would be better for you to take the lead in the negotiations."

"If you take charge, even if the negotiations break down, there will be room to maneuver and not end badly."

"Dad, I'll be prepared," An Kexin said softly.

"Brother Jie..."

An Kemeng suddenly called out, drawing Lin Jie's and others' attention, and said, "The fried eggs I made are delicious. Hurry up and eat them; they'll get cold."

An Kexin looked at An Kemeng and smiled indulgently, saying, "Ajie, quickly try them. These are the only hot dishes Kemeng can make."

Lin Jie hurriedly picked up the crispy fried egg, took a big bite, and praised, "Not bad, not bad, crispy outside and tender inside, comparable to my skills."

"Are you praising me or praising yourself?"

An Kemeng snorted discontentedly but her eyes smiled and said, "Brother Jie, our new math teacher is a female teacher, her voice is soft and pleasant, and she explains lessons very thoroughly."

"I think she's much better than Xu Bin..."

At this moment, An Kexin gestured for silence and listened carefully. Faint familiar music could be heard from the living room and she said, "Kemeng, it should be your phone ringing."

An Kemeng dropped her chopsticks and ran out. Soon, a "hello" and some indistinct conversation could be heard.

After a while, she returned to the dining room holding her phone, covering the receiver, and asked, "Brother Jie, it's a call from Xu Bin. He says there's something urgent he needs to tell you."

"Do you want to take it?"

Xu Bin wants to talk to me?

Lin Jie was puzzled and, after thinking for a moment, reached out and said, "Give me the phone!"

"Teacher Xu, Brother Jie is just at my house and agrees to talk to you," An Kemeng said before handing the phone to Lin Jie.

Lin Jie pressed the speakerphone button and asked softly, "Teacher Xu, what's the matter?"

"Expert Lin, I know I did wrong, let greed get the better of me, seriously affecting your research project and even harming my own child."

"But I beg you..."

The pleading voice of Xu Bin came from the phone, "I only got compensated after signing a strict confidentiality agreement with Qiao Hongzhen..."

"If I leak this matter and testify, the high penalty cost would be impossible to pay even if we sold the whole family to pay for the breach."

"Xu Bin, what do you mean? I don't understand," Lin Jie was confused.

"Ah, could it be that the person who broke into my house this morning wasn't sent by you?" Xu Bin's worried voice was tinged with undeniable surprise.

"Someone broke into your house?"

Lin Jie frowned and said sternly, "Xu Bin, tell me exactly what happened this morning."

"Well, it was like this, around six-thirty in the morning, someone knocked on my door..."

Through Xu Bin's description, Lin Jie, An Weize, and the others learned of the incident.

Three men came to Xu Bin's house in the morning and directly asked about what happened between him and Qiao Hongzhen.

Bound by the confidentiality agreement, Xu Bin initially resisted speaking, but eventually couldn't withstand the threats and intimidation, having no choice but to reveal the truth.

"Expert Lin, they even took a copy of my privately retained audio evidence."

With a voice trembling and full of worry, Xu Bin said, "If this audio leaks out, I really... really…"

Lin Jie interrupted him directly with a question, "Let's not talk about that now. You should remember what those three looked like, right? Quickly describe them."

"Oh… oh, I have a better description. My wife secretly took their photos."

"Hold on a moment…"

Twenty seconds later, Lin Jie received a photo on his phone.

Lin Jie instantly recognized one of them, it was actually Nie Yuming.

Lin Jie, speculation in his mind, asked, "Did these three say anything else to you?"

Xu Bin stammered, "They told me they were investigating this Qiao Hongzhen, and reassured me not to worry about the confidentiality agreement matter, promising that no matter what happens, it wouldn't involve me."

"Only, I am worried though, this involves tens of millions in breach penalties…"

"Expert Lin, are you sure they weren't sent by you?"

Lin Jie, in an unhappy tone, said, "Let me tell you again, they were not sent by me. Such a thing is not something I would do."

As he said this, he softened his tone and comforted, "Since they guaranteed it wouldn't involve you, then it won't involve you, rest assured."

"If these people were really bad guys, do you think they would be so foolish to let you secretly take photos as evidence?"

Lin Jie also understood that his light words were of little help to alleviate Xu Bin's concerns.

But that's all he could do.

Furthermore, hearing Xu Bin's worried tone, Lin Jie felt a faint sense of delight.

After hanging up the phone with Xu Bin, Lin Jie pointed at the photo's fat man and whispered, "Uncle An, Kexin, this is Nie Yuming; he should be investigating under Ye Peihua's instruction."

He chuckled lightly, "Not trusting a single word, this Ye Peihua is quite something, fearing we're trying to trick him."

"Uncle An, do you think that once he finds out the truth, he would really deal with Qiao Hongzhen?"

An Weize nodded slightly and said softly, "As a man in a higher position, the thing he detests the most is Qiao Hongzhen's deceitful and exploitative behavior."

"Whether to give you an explanation or to set an example, Qiao Hongzhen's days ahead won't be easy."

His words conveyed a sense similar to Fu Xiuyuan's statement from last night, letting Lin Jie take a deep breath and said, "People like Qiao Hongzhen, who disregard patient health and life for personal gain, don't deserve the practice of medicine at all."

"It's just unclear what kind of punishment he will face this time?"

An Weize shook his head and said, "No idea whether Ye Peihua will use official means or handle it privately for punishment."

"I imagine no matter what happens to Qiao Hongzhen, you should be informed."

An Kexin softly said, "Nie Yuming investigated so openly and without concealment, maybe he wanted us to know."

At this point, An Kemeng pouted, dissatisfied and grunted, "Just eating breakfast, you all keep talking business."

An Kexin smiled and said, "At our table, you used to be the talkative one. Today, with no one talking to you, you're not pleased? Now we let you talk, what do you want to say?"

An Kemeng, with a sweet voice, said, "Jie brother, sister, tonight or tomorrow, are you free? How about going shopping with me to buy swimwear, buy clothes?"

"Don't forget, we're going to the suburban resort to soak in the hot springs on Sunday."

Thinking of shopping made Lin Jie's head ache, he promptly refused, "I have a major surgery on Saturday, tonight I need a good rest and can't accompany you."

"Miaomiao and Zou Manqing should have time, you can ask them to join you."

He couldn't help but add, "We're just playing for a half-day, you two shouldn't lack swimwear and clothes, why do you have to go shopping to buy more?"

An Kexin glanced slyly at Lin Jie and said, "Swimwear and clothes, although we have them, new styles come out in the market every day. You know, a woman's closet is never enough."

"Oh, Jie!"

An Weize reminded, "When it comes to girls shopping, you either accompany them and help carry the bags or give money and cards."

"Don't meddle in other things, you won't be able to handle them anyway."

At this moment, Lin Jie's phone rang.

He picked up his phone and saw it was Zhao Fang calling him.

When he answered the phone, Zhao Fang was crying, "Sob sob…"

"Teacher, number six is dead, the sixth monkey suddenly died… sob sob…"

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