On the first day of the New Year, the weather in Binhai City suddenly worsened significantly.

Tiny fragments of snowflakes drifted in the sky, and the temperature dropped to around minus five or six degrees, which is a rare low temperature for Binhai City in winter.

Before seven in the morning, Lin Jie was woken up by the excited Lin Miao, who pulled him out of bed under the pretense of watching the first snow of the new year.

Last night, after enjoying a lavish New Year's Eve dinner, a few of them, at Lin Miao's suggestion, each took some fireworks to the rooftop.

The property management of Xiangtai Apartment had opened up the rooftop as a public area for setting off fireworks.

Yang Leyi, Ling Mengjiao, and Lin Miao all seemed to become six or seven-year-old children, exclaiming excitedly whenever a beautiful firework burst in the sky.

The problem was, they wanted to watch the fireworks but were too scared to light them themselves, so they unanimously pushed Lin Jie forward to do it.

As the only male among the four, he could only grit his teeth and set off one firework after another, and light firecrackers.

After playing on the rooftop for over an hour, they went back to the apartment to watch TV, eat fruits and snacks, chat, and play games. After midnight, they were busy sending text messages and making phone calls to send New Year's greetings, and only went to their rooms to rest around two or three in the morning.

Lin Jie and Lin Miao were snuggled together, standing by the floor-to-ceiling window in the living room, watching the flurries of snowflakes outside…

After a long while, Lin Jie yawned and asked, "Miaomiao, are you not used to squeezing onto one bed? How about you all switch to separate rooms, so everyone's more comfortable."

Lin Miao shook her head and said, "The bed is big, we each have our own blanket, so we don't disturb each other. I'm just a bit excited; thinking about how much we've changed over the past year makes it all feel like a dream!"

"Brother, do you feel the same way?"

Lin Jie nodded in agreement, "Yeah, the changes are quite drastic, almost unbelievable, it really feels like a dream, but it's a fact, something that truly happened, just look around you and you'll realize there's no need to doubt it!"

Although the central heating in the apartment was always on, standing by the floor-to-ceiling window for too long, they began to feel the cold.

Lin Jie pulled Lin Miao back to the living room sofa to sit down.

They covered themselves with a blanket and turned on the TV, talking sporadically, and slowly, Lin Jie began to feel sleepy, laying his head on Lin Miao's legs, mumbling drowsily.

Just then, Lin Jie's phone rang, it was a call from Zhang Daya.

After exchanging New Year greetings, Zhang Daya said somewhat indignantly, "Dr. Lin, there was an accident here yesterday. Old Zheng's little grandson is very mischievous and injured his eye while setting off fireworks."

"He was rushed to the big hospital, but the left eye couldn't be saved, and they had to perform an enucleation surgery. Early this morning, when I was with my parents visiting about, I heard some odd comments."

Lin Jie was instantly more awake and asked, "Oh, what comments?"

Zhang Daya said angrily, "Someone said if you were at the clinic, the child's eye would definitely have been saved."

"Then someone else said in a strange tone that since you've become famous, you've lost interest in this small place like Zhujia Port and have chosen to stick to wealthy patrons, moving to the city."

Before going to Tianya Haijiao Resort, Lin Jie had formally resigned from Luo Shanshan's clinic, taking all his personal belongings back from there.

Lin Jie sat up, switching the phone to his other ear, as Zhang Daya continued, "These people got more and more carried away, talking more nonsensically. Especially old Zheng and a few of his relatives, they began to accuse you, subtly placing the blame for the child's eye being unsalvageable on you."

"I couldn't hold it back, argued with them a bit, and then left with my parents."

Upon hearing this, Lin Jie felt uncomfortable and said plainly, "Having an outsider to shift the blame onto for the child's eye is better than having to shoulder it oneself, isn't it!"

After hanging up the phone, Lin Jie noticed Lin Miao's face was flushed with anger.

He heard her muttering, "A bunch of ungrateful people, don't they think about how many times you helped treat and medicate them when you were at the clinic."

Lin Jie eased some of his inner irritation and advised, "Forget it, no need to be angry, the clinic at Zhujia Port was just a job, you can't expect everyone to remember your kindness."

This call from Zhang Daya seemed like the beginning.

Over the next hour or so, Lin Jie's phone kept ringing without a stop.

Kong Mingqing, Ye Hongqing, Li Haoxiang, Xiaoxiao, Tian Zhiyuan, An Weize, Luo Shanshan, Yang Jinglong, Xu Xingye, Wei Hongyang, Sun Xiaoqi, Su Xiaohui, Chen Lan, Tao Taqing, and others, all called one after another to extend New Year greetings.

Many also sent New Year's text messages.

Even Lu Kaicheng, who was far away in the United States, made a special call to send New Year greetings.

Finally, when the calls stopped, Lin Jie began to browse the New Year messages and responded to them.

As he scrolled to the next one, Lin Jie glanced at it, his finger had habitually touched "reply," but then he immediately clicked "return."

The message was from Li Ting.

The message was very simple, "Happy New Year, may happiness and joy always be with you in the new year!"

Lin Jie felt a twinge in his heart, thought for a moment, and replied, "Thank you, the same wishes to you!"

Ling Mengjiao and Yang Leyi had gotten up an hour ago and were busying themselves with Lin Miao in the kitchen.

Just as Lin Jie was about to head to the kitchen to help, his phone rang again, showing an incoming call from Japan. This surprised him, could it be a friend he knew had gone to Japan for a trip?

Once connected, a familiar voice came from the phone, "Hello, Happy New Year!"

A name immediately popped into Lin Jie's mind, and he blurted out, "Fang Yan, is that you?"

The voice on the other end was a bit surprised, "Yes, it's me, I didn't expect you to recognize my voice so clearly!"

Lin Jie chuckled and said, "Blame it on your sudden disappearance! Unexpected events always leave a deeper impression. Are you traveling there?"

"Please forgive my selfishness back then! I know some Japanese and found a job here."

Lin Jie made a sound of acknowledgment and said, "A completely new and unfamiliar environment, very nice. Hey, how's your appearance? Generally, for someone in your situation, there might be a need for further correction!"

A grateful voice came from the phone, "Lin Jie, thank you, I truly appreciate it!"

"You might not know how delighted and excited I was when I first saw my new appearance. Perfect! Truly perfect, I can really use that word to describe my new look. Thank you, thank you!"

After hanging up Fang Yan's call, Lin Jie was filled with many feelings, and could only wish her well in developing her career in a foreign land.

"Brother, the food is almost ready, come over and get ready to eat!"

Upon hearing Lin Miao's call, Lin Jie went to the dining room and found seven or eight bowls and plates set on the table, mainly with light dishes. After last night's feast of meat and fish, this table of food looked very appetizing.

Ling Mengjiao carried a bowl of soup from the kitchen and smiled, "Lin Jie, please try the dishes Yang and I made! They are just some homemade dishes, I hope they suit your taste!"

Yang Leyi also said, "For the first meal of the New Year, Lin Jie, like last night, say a few words!"

Lin Jie happily remarked, "What more is there to say, let me think first, well..."

"Last night was a farewell to the past, and today's meal is a welcome to the new year, a welcome to the future."

"A friend sent me a New Year's message, which said, 'The past cannot be pursued, but the future is full of hope.' From my own experiences over the past year, the future holds various possibilities, perhaps even a miracle might occur."

"Let's look forward to all the possibilities the future holds for us together!"

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