When I'm on the night shift, all the department heads can't sleep.

Lin Ye dialed the number listed in the registration column.

The landline receiver first emitted a series of empty rings.

A sound.

Two sounds.

Nurse Zhao stood to the side, her eyes still fixed on the empty return time column for bed four.

Did it ring?

"It rang, but no one answered."

Lin Ye did not hang up immediately.

The pair of reading glasses on the headboard of bed number four were still there, the temples pressing down on a corner of the blanket. Next to the water glass was a folded bill, the edges slightly damp.

There was only one slipper left by the bed.

The phone rang and then automatically disconnected.

Nurse Zhao closed the handover logbook.

"Try it again."

Lin Ye dialed the number again, while his other hand was already flipping through the handover notebook.

Bed number four, Song Guangfu, 68 years old.

Chest tightness, further investigation needed.

Two electrocardiograms showed no obvious acute changes.

Normal troponin levels during the day.

Day shift notes: Follow-up appointment at the outpatient clinic tomorrow morning, observation overnight.

The family member section only listed the individual's mobile phone number, followed by a family landline number, which was circled by the day shift nurse with a ballpoint pen.

Lin Ye looked at the number and remembered the question the old man had asked him when he took off his reading glasses that evening.

"Can I leave tomorrow morning?"

His wife has bad legs and lives alone at home.

The second call went unanswered.

Nurse Zhao turned and called out, "Triage desk, keep an eye on the door for me. The elderly man in bed four, who was experiencing chest tightness, said he went out to make a phone call, but he hasn't returned."

The nurse at the triage desk responded, and the chair creaked backward.

Sun Zhiqiang stood up from his computer.

"Don't all run away. Sister Zhao, go to the door. Lin Ye, follow. The on-duty nurse, stay in the observation area. Make sure beds three and one aren't left unattended."

"Know."

Nurse Zhao picked up the walkie-talkie and pressed buttons as she walked.

"Security guard, please watch over someone at the emergency room entrance. Male, over sixty, wearing a gray coat, possibly only wearing one slipper, is under observation due to chest tightness."

The walkie-talkie first emitted a static sound.

The voice of the security guard at the gate came over.

"An old man went out just now, saying he wanted some fresh air. I saw him sitting on the bench over there."

Nurse Zhao paused in her steps.

Which chair?

"Outside the emergency room, near the row of vending machines. I'm going over there now."

Lin Ye followed her outside.

The lights in the emergency room lobby were blindingly bright, and a gust of wind from the doorway carried the smell of disinfectant mixed with the humid heat outside. A woman carrying a baby at the triage desk made way for her; the baby was still half asleep, clutching a small biscuit tightly in its hand.

Lin Ye's field of vision suddenly twitched.

A pale blue frame quietly emerged.

[Unclosed-loop risk tracking: Observation bed 4.]

High-risk: Acute coronary syndrome.

[Misjudgment point: A normal ECG and initial troponin levels during the day shift do not guarantee safety tonight.]

[Key follow-up questions: Sweating, shortness of breath, worsening chest pain, nitroglycerin, aspirin.]

Lin Ye cursed inwardly.

Why didn't they jump earlier? They only jumped after the person had disappeared.

He didn't stop, nor did he turn around to explain. Nurse Zhao only noticed that his pace suddenly quickened.

The automatic door opened, and it was very windy outside.

The security guard had already run over from the guard post, still clutching half a half-eaten steamed bun in his hand.

"He's there!"

There is a row of plastic benches next to the vending machine outside the emergency room.

Song Guangfu sat in the very edge, half of his body leaning to one side, his back against the wall, his phone lying on his knees, the screen still lit.

He was wearing a slipper on one foot and only a sock on the other, the sole of which was already dirty.

"Song Guangfu!"

The old man slowly raised his head, his eyes somewhat unfocused.

"I'll just make a phone call."

He said it very softly, as if afraid of disturbing someone.

Lin Ye had already squatted down in front of him.

"Does your chest still feel tight?"

The old man's lips moved, but he didn't answer immediately.

Lin Ye's fingers were still resting on the old man's wrist, not letting go.

He waited for the old man to say "It's nothing," but those words never came out.

Nurse Zhao bent down to touch his hand.

My palms are wet.

"You're sweating."

Lin Ye placed his hand on the old man's wrist; the pulse wasn't fast, but it was a bit erratic. He glanced at the old man's collar; the zipper of his gray coat was only half-zipped up, and his undershirt was stuck to his skin with sweat.

"Don't stand up."

The old man still wanted to prop up the chair.

"I'm fine. I was just talking to my wife when she asked me if I had turned off the gas valve. I got anxious and couldn't breathe."

"If you can't breathe, don't sit outside by yourself."

Nurse Zhao turned and shouted into the lobby, "Push the stretcher!"

The triage nurse had already pushed the stretcher out; the wheels hit the anti-slip mat at the door with a series of muffled thuds.

The security guard put the steamed buns he was holding on the windowsill of the guard booth and came over to help hold the chair back.

"When I saw him sitting here, I thought he was waiting for a family member."

Nurse Zhao didn't curse; she only replied with one sentence.

"Next time someone is sitting still at the emergency room entrance, especially someone wearing a patient wristband, ask them first."

The security guard nodded quickly.

"I've got it."

As the elderly man was helped onto the stretcher, his phone slipped off his knee.

Lin Ye bent down to pick it up, and a missed call was displayed on the screen.

The note says "at home".

Below is a record of a call that was just made, lasting two minutes and eleven seconds.

The old man saw the screen and reached out to take it.

"I haven't finished talking to her yet. She has a leg problem and she keeps forgetting the valve on the gas stove."

"Let's not even talk about the gas stove."

Nurse Zhao pulled the thin blanket up to his chest.

"If you collapse at the door, she won't know who to turn to."

The old man was speechless at this remark and slowly lowered his hand.

When the flatcar was pushed into the hall, Sun Zhiqiang had already reached the entrance of the red zone.

"Did you find it?"

"I'm sweating on the bench by the door, my chest tightness is getting worse, and my pulse is a bit erratic."

Lin Ye handed his phone to the nurse on duty and casually said something.

"I missed two calls on my mobile phone. I just spoke to my home landline for two minutes and eleven seconds."

Sun Zhiqiang glanced at the old man.

"Enter the red zone. First, put on an ECG and monitor, and check the blood pressure, blood oxygen, and bedside blood glucose."

After he finished speaking, he looked at the nurse on duty.

"Draw blood to check troponin and electrolytes again. Keep an eye on him and don't let him get out of bed on his own again."

The old man lay down on the stretcher in the red zone and continued to explain.

"I really didn't want to run away. I was just worried that my wife would get impatient waiting at home."

Nurse Zhao wrapped the sleeve around his arm.

"I know you didn't run away. Next time you make a phone call, do it from bed. If you're worried about others hearing, I'll draw the curtains for you; don't run to the door with only one shoe on."

The old man looked down at his feet and realized that he wasn't wearing the other slipper.

No wonder the ground was so uncomfortable to walk on.

The triage nurse brought over the slipper and reading glasses from beside the bed, putting the reading glasses into a small transparent bag.

"The water glass next to my pillow. I didn't touch it."

Nurse Zhao took the bag and casually hung it on the headboard.

"The items go with the person; don't go back looking for them."

The nurse on duty handed Song Guangfu's phone over as well. Nurse Zhao glanced at the screen, then casually stuffed it into the same transparent bag, leaving only the bag opening outside the bed rail.

Lin Ye pulled the two electrocardiograms from the day shift out of the medical record folder and placed them on the edge of the emergency cart.

The old man's blood pressure rose quickly.

Ninety-two to fifty-eight.

It was lower than when I was under observation during the day shift.

Blood oxygen 94.

Bedside blood glucose levels are normal.

The electrocardiograph machine was pushed to the bedside, and the electrodes were attached one by one. The elderly man was sweating a lot on his chest, and the electrodes would peel off at the edges as soon as they were attached, so the nurse on duty wiped them with gauze.

The machine started feeding paper.

The thin strips of paper were slowly exhaled, still warm from being freshly printed.

Sun Zhiqiang first picked up the new drawing, then put the two old drawings from the day shift together.

Lin Ye stood to the side, not interrupting.

He saw Sun Zhiqiang's thumb stop on the same row of leads.

Nurse Zhao also came over to take a look.

"Different from before?"

Sun Zhiqiang didn't answer immediately, but instead lifted the three sheets of paper under the lamp.

"The ST segments on the chest area are lowered. It's not particularly exaggerated, but it's more noticeable than the two images from the daytime shift."

The old man couldn't understand, but he heard "different," and he immediately tensed up.

"Doctor, is my condition serious?"

Sun Zhiqiang put the drawing back on the ambulance.

"We can't draw conclusions yet, but you can't wait until tomorrow's outpatient clinic tonight."

He picked up the landline and dialed the cardiology department's on-call number directly.

Lin Ye added the time he got out of bed, the missed phone call, the time he was found at the door, the call log, and the time of the follow-up electrocardiogram into the record.

He paused when he wrote "the bench by the door was found".

The paper on the wall next to it says that the patient has not returned after fifteen minutes of examination and their whereabouts need to be confirmed.

Song Guangfu did not go for a check-up.

I just made a phone call.

When Nurse Zhao saw him stop writing, she added in a low voice.

"This one should be counted too."

Lin Ye nodded and added a line after the note.

Even if someone temporarily leaves the bed, their destination should be confirmed.

When he made that stroke, he applied a little more force with his wrist, leaving a shallow mark on the paper from the pen tip.

The call was answered quickly.

Sun Zhiqiang placed the electrocardiogram on the table and spoke very briefly.

"Emergency observation bed four: worsening chest tightness, sweating, blood pressure 92/58. The latest ECG shows dynamic changes compared to the daytime shift. Please come down and take a look."

I don't know what was said on the other end of the phone.

Sun Zhiqiang glanced at the notes Lin Ye had made.

"He just got out of bed to make a phone call at the door, and we found him. He's in the red zone now."

After he said that, there was a noticeable pause on the other end of the phone.

A moment later, the voice of the cardiologist on duty came through the stethoscope. Sun Zhiqiang was standing close to the bed, so half of the voice escaped to the bedside.

"Don't throw away the old photos, keep the new ones on top. I'm going down now."

Just as Sun Zhiqiang was about to hang up, the other party added another sentence.

"Also, don't let him call home again."

The old man heard this, and his hand, which he had just raised, froze at the edge of the blanket.

Lin Ye followed his gaze.

In the transparent bag by the bedside, the pair of reading glasses were illuminated by the light, with a speck of dust still clinging to the lenses.

Song Guangfu's phone screen lit up.

Two words popped up on the screen.

Home.