After the routine dinner on Wednesday, Ling ngjiao, Lu Kaicheng, and the others took their leave one after another, while An Kexin and An Keng stayed behind as usual.
"Brother Jie, do you have any extra concert tickets?"
Lin Jie looked at An Keng, who was shaking his arm and asking coquettishly, and asked, "Why, did you lose your ticket?"
Out of the total twenty VIP tickets for Xiaoxiao's concert, An Kexin took five, saying they were to be used as rewards for outstanding company employees.
Lin Jie also kept six to reward relatively outstanding students.
The remaining nine were distributed with one each for the An Family sisters, Lin Family siblings, Zhang Xiaoxiao, Ling ngjiao, Yang Leyi, Qin Gang, Yu Momo, and others.
An Keng smiled and said, "How could I lose it? I put it away properly. I just want to invite a classmate to watch the concert together."
Lin Jie casually replied, "Oh, then I can't help you. The few remaining tickets I have are already spoken for."
"Keng, is it a boy you like?"
Zhang Xiaoxiao teased, "If it is, I can give you my ticket!"
"No, it's just a good female classmate!"
"She gave a rather expensive gift on my birthday. Her birthday is in July, and she's also a fan of Xiaoxiao. I just want to invite her to the concert as a birthday gift."
An Keng glanced at Lin Jie and said proudly, "My criteria for choosing a boyfriend are naturally modeled after Brother Jie. Even if they're not as good, they can't be too far off."
Zhang Xiaoxiao, Lin Miao, and An Kexin couldn't help but laugh.
Lin Miao stuffed a piece of kiwi into An Kexin's mouth and proudly said, "My brother is a once-in-a-century genius, you know. ngng, you'd better lower your standards a bit, or you won't find a boyfriend in the future."
An Keng swallowed the fruit and snorted, "Better none than bad ones."
"I'll give you my ticket. Concerts are too crazy and chaotic, I don't really like them."
Zhang Xiaoxiao pushed away An Keng, who was trying to kiss her, and turned to say, "Ajie, we haven't received the dical records sent by the Ma Family from the Capital City. Should we contact them again?"
Lin Jie had forgotten about it, and only rembered after Zhang Xiaoxiao ntioned it. He said casually, "Forget it, maybe the issue with that child was already resolved at the last consultation."
"I'm not lacking patients, and I've got quite a lot on my plate right now."
He looked at An Keng and said, "It's best if the sumr vacation trip can be finalized half a month in advance, so your sister and I can arrange our work schedules."
An Keng raised one hand, excitedly saying, "Miaomiao and I have narrowed down the attractions to under five. But we can set the date first, around late July, early August when there's less rain, and we can have fun freely."
She looked at An Kexin and asked, "Sister, can Dad travel with us like before?"
An Kexin shook her head and said gently, "Not this ti. There's a lot going on with the company and hospital this year, so one of us, either father or I, needs to stay to handle any possible ergencies."
There was another reason that An Kexin didn't ntion.
It's just that An Weize isn't as mobile as he used to be.
Walking around the city with a single crutch is fine, but hiking and long-distance travel aren't possible.
An Keng understood this but was a bit unwilling to accept it.
Hearing An Kexin say this now made her feel a bit upset, and she murmured, "Dad used to travel with us once a year."
"Next year will be better. When work gets on track, let Dad go with you on your graduation trip!"
An Kexin gently comforted her and changed the topic, "Ajie, have you found a suitable test patient now, or do you still need to keep looking? The few reported by those sales representatives didn't et your requirents."
"Keep looking. The more test patients, the more convincing the results," Lin Jie replied.
"Brother Jie, Teacher Xu Bin has left the school and is no longer teaching us."
An Keng said regretfully, "So classmates have seen his son, and it is said he's changed a lot, becos unresponsive, speaks very little, and when he does, it's cold."
"Brother Jie, does his kind of treatnt make people turn out like this?" she asked sympathetically.
"No, his case was due to the damage of the emotional control center of the brain, whereas my treatnt approach is..."
Lin Jie briefly explained to everyone and then sighed, "Speaking of it, Xu Bin's son can be considered a casualty too, if it wasn't for Qiao Hongzhen trying to cause trouble..."
"Ajie, you don't need to bla or feel guilty about this."
An Kexin gently advised, "If the Xu Bin family hadn't been greedy, they wouldn't have been swayed by the small benefits promised by Qiao Hongzhen..."
"Exactly, Ajie, such people really don't deserve sympathy."
Zhang Xiaoxiao also chid in, "Maybe the family is now happier than sorry, after all, they obtained at least millions in compensation. As for having more kids, they're still young, they can have one or two more."
"Millions in compensation, Brother Jie, what happened?" An Keng asked curiously.
Lin Jie briefly explained what he learned from Tian Zhiyuan and warned, "This is just insider gossip, Keng, you should know it yourself and not spread it around."
An Keng said angrily, "I got it. I never thought Xu Bin could be such a person to exchange his son for money..."
An Kexin patted her head and said softly, "To most people, practicality is more important than fairness and justice, which is the reality of society. Millions in compensation are enough for many to abandon principles."
An Keng nodded, half-understanding, and turned to Lin Jie, asking, "Brother Jie, do you have a price in mind?"
"For example, if soone bullies or Miaomiao, what kind of price would make you give up seeking justice?"
Lin Jie was taken aback for a mont, then smiled and said, "Keng, your assumption is aningless. From this point of view, who, for what reason, bullied you, and to what extent?"
"However, I can tell you, so things can be negotiated and compromised on, but there are so things that leave no room for negotiation."
"Let give you a specific example, for instance, for instance... oh."
As An Keng was frowning and trying to think of an example, Lin Miao stuffed a piece of fruit into her mouth, temporarily silencing her.
"ngng, such things are hard to give examples of."
Lin Miao confidently said, "But I can guarantee that if we are truly bullied, brother would definitely co to our rescue without hesitation, no matter what it is, he would do it for us."
Just then, Lin Jie's phone rang.
It was a strange number from the Capital City, which made Lin Jie a little puzzled.
Few people knew this number, and those who did were very familiar friends. Except for so telemarketing calls during the day, he had not received unfamiliar calls in the evening.
Lin Jie got up and moved to the other end of the hall, answered the call, and softly said, "Hello."
"Hello, Expert Lin, let introduce myself first, I am Nie Yuming from the Capital City."
A relatively young male voice ca from the phone, continuing, "Currently, I am fully working on the Sports Injury Research Center project and would like to talk to you further."
Upon hearing this, Lin Jie's heart tightened. It was finally happening.
He had envisioned several ways to contact the other party, but none were as simple as this phone call.
He relaxed his mood a bit and calmly said, "Go ahead, I'm listening."
The other person laughed over the phone, saying, "How can such a matter be clearly explained over the phone? The car sent to pick you up is already on its way, and I'm waiting for your arrival at the Diamond Club."
Lin Jie glanced at the ti; it was already nearing 10:30 PM. He declined, "It's a bit late now, and I have work tomorrow. How about this, we can schedule it for tomorrow morning or another ti if it suits you."
"It's too late?"
Nie Yuming exclaid over the phone, "Expert Lin, you must be joking, right? In Binhai, this ti is just the beginning of nightlife."
"Moreover..."
His words carried a hint of threat, "For so many years, no one has ever asked to reschedule a eting."
Lin Jie was also provoked, his pride swelling.
He thought to himself how pretentious this guy was. Even a head of state faces refusals, so he responded readily, "Everything has a first ti."
If Lin Jie knew more about Nie Yuming, he might not have responded this way.
But Lin Jie's ti in the spotlight was short, and he hadn't even t all the prominent figures in Binhai, let alone this rising star from the Capital City.
Nie Yuming, reportedly with an unfathomable background, was known as one of the Four Princes of the Capital, and was the one people dreaded the most.
To achieve his goals, he often used so unconventional thods.
Most of these thods walked the line, existing in gray areas, and due to his complex networks, whoever he targeted could find nowhere to appeal, eventually succumbing to his actions.
After a montary silence on the phone, Nie Yuming spoke again, "Expert Lin, you have quite the personality. I hope your skills match your personality."
"From the information I've gathered..."
After another spell of unpalatable silence, Nie Yuming's voice slowly erged, "You still have the qualifications worthy of breaking the rule for you once."
"I'll be straightforward with you, five percent equity of the research center, a base annual salary of six million, and a deputy director position, how about it? Is my offer sincere enough?"
Lin Jie did not reply and instead asked, "Mr. Nie, are you aware that Qiao Hongzhen and I have had conflicts? I can candidly tell you, it's absolutely impossible for to work with Qiao Hongzhen."
"Besides, I am a shareholder of Anlin Hospital; with my physical condition, it's impossible for to work part-ti elsewhere."
Upon saying this, Lin Jie found it sowhat amusing.
The outside world's understanding of his health had unexpectedly beco a reason for refusal.
"Expert Lin, any conflict can be resolved with enough interest. As for your inability to work part-ti due to health reasons..."
Nie Yuming arrogantly stated, "It's simple, just resign from Anlin Hospital."
He continued, "Expert Lin, my invitation to you is sincere."
"Let tell you sothing else, everyone I've invited so far has always replied with a YES, and I don't want to receive a different answer from you."
"Tonight, I've already broken the rule once. I'd be very unhappy if I have to do it a second ti."
Lin Jie couldn't help but feel amused at heart, this person was quite narcissistic indeed.
Perhaps in the Capital City, he was well-known enough, with vast networks and resources that others neither inclined, nor willing, nor dared to refuse.
But in Binhai, Lin Jie was confident he could handle various situations, and he calmly said, "Mr. Nie, actually, people always hold on to their first ti, the initial experience."
"As for the second ti..."
"You will soon adapt or forget, so my answer is NO."
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