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

Song Guangfu's phone was still lit up.

Two words flashed on the screen.

Home.

The old man stared at those two words, his fingers frozen on the edge of the blanket, his lips moving twice.

"My wife."

Nurse Zhao's hand stopped on her phone, waiting for Sun Zhiqiang to say something.

Sun Zhiqiang did not let anyone hang up immediately.

"Put it on speakerphone, let the nurse answer. Don't let him talk."

Nurse Zhao picked up her phone and answered the call.

An elderly woman's voice immediately came from the other end of the phone, trembling with anxiety.

"Old Song? Why aren't you saying anything? Are you feeling unwell again?"

Song Guangfu subconsciously tried to look up.

Lin Ye held onto the bed railing.

"Please listen to what the nurse has to say first."

Nurse Zhao held her phone a little further away, her voice slightly softer than usual.

"Auntie, I'm an emergency room nurse. Old Song is next to the doctor, having a follow-up examination. Please listen to me first, don't rush to the hospital."

There was a pause on the other end of the phone, as if someone was getting restless.

"A follow-up check-up? Didn't he say he could go home tomorrow? My leg isn't good, and if he's hospitalized, I won't be able to leave my house."

Song Guangfu closed his eyes.

"Don't come."

The sound was very soft, and it was immediately drowned out by the short beep from the ECG monitor.

Nurse Zhao immediately picked up the conversation.

"Auntie, please don't move yet. The roads are difficult to walk on at night, and your legs aren't very strong. Please help me check a couple of things first."

"Tell me, tell me."

Lin Ye had already pulled the record sheet a little closer to himself.

Nurse Zhao tapped the record sheet with her knuckles, waiting for Lin Ye to report the problem.

Lin Ye lowered his voice.

"First ask what time you started feeling stuffy. Then ask if you took that little pill tonight, whether you take aspirin regularly, and mention any other medications you usually take."

After saying that, he realized he had crumpled the edge of the paper.

He didn't look at the day shift's statement again: "No obvious acute changes were observed."

Nurse Zhao asked accordingly.

The old lady on the other end of the phone was talking incoherently.

"He said he felt tightness in his chest in the evening and didn't eat much. I told him to go to the hospital, but he said it was too much trouble. His medicine is in the second drawer of the TV cabinet. He takes his blood pressure medication every day, but sometimes he forgets. He said he would take one tablet when he felt tightness in his chest. The community doctor prescribed it for him a while ago."

Sun Zhiqiang looked up when he heard "Little White Bottle".

"Let her see the name on the bottle."

Nurse Zhao immediately followed up: "Auntie, could you please take out that little white bottle and see what's written on it?"

I could hear the sound of slippers scraping on the floor and a cabinet door being pulled open on the other end of the phone.

The old woman was panting as she searched.

"My eyesight isn't good, wait a minute, I'll get my reading glasses."

Song Guangfu became anxious.

"Her leg is bad, don't let her flip over."

"If she doesn't turn it over, we won't know what you usually drink."

Nurse Zhao pushed him back down with a single sentence.

Lin Ye looked at the monitoring screen.

Heart rate 86.

My blood pressure is still stuck in the 90s.

It's not exactly a complete collapse, but it's not reassuring either.

Footsteps could be heard at the entrance to the red zone.

The cardiologist on duty has arrived.

The doctor who came in was a man in his thirties, his hair not yet completely pressed down, and his mask hanging to the side. He didn't exchange pleasantries as he entered; he went straight to get the electrocardiogram.

Which new image?

Sun Zhiqiang pushed the three sheets of paper over.

"The top one. I made it after finding it at the entrance. The two day shift photos are below."

The cardiologist put the slips of paper together, quickly scanned the chest leads, and then glanced at the old man.

How tight is your chest right now?

Song Guangfu didn't react in time.

"What does 'several points' mean?"

"Ten points is the most uncomfortable, one point is the least uncomfortable. What's your score now?"

"Six or seven out of ten."

"Where were you just at the door?"

The old man paused for a moment.

"Probably eight out of ten."

The cardiologist put the electrocardiogram back onto the emergency cart.

"There are dynamic changes. Has the troponin test been sent for follow-up?"

Lin Ye immediately responded.

"The sample was just taken; the lab has already received it. The electrolytes were sent along with it. The daytime creatinine level was normal, and the two images from the daytime didn't show any acute changes."

The cardiologist removed the pen cap and looked down at the new diagram again.

"First, mark the high-risk chest pain area with red marks, and don't get out of bed. Your blood pressure is low, so don't take nitroglycerin on your own anymore. I'll review the medication and follow-up appointments before making any decisions."

Song Guangfu couldn't understand the name of the medicine, but he grasped one sentence.

"Am I having a heart attack?"

The cardiologist didn't scare him.

"You can't be too anxious to treat a heart attack right now. But this picture of yours is different from the daytime picture; your chest tightness is also worse. You can't go back to the observation bed tonight; you'll have to wait for the outpatient appointment."

The old lady on the other end of the phone suddenly shouted.

"I saw it. The little white bottle says nitroglycerin. There's also a bottle of aspirin, but I can't tell if it's expired or not."

Nurse Zhao handed her phone to the cardiologist.

The cardiologist took the phone.

"Auntie, don't let him take the medicine at home yet. Put the bottle on the table, and ask someone to bring it over tomorrow morning if you can. Please don't walk alone at night tonight."

The old lady's voice suddenly lowered.

"I have no one else. His son lives in another city."

Song Guangfu's eyes were a little red.

"Don't come. I'm at the hospital."

The cardiologist handed the phone back to Nurse Zhao, gesturing with his eyes that she could say a few words, but not for too long.

Nurse Zhao turned off the speakerphone before holding the phone to the old man's ear.

"Just say one sentence, don't make a fuss."

Song Guangfu clutched the corner of the blanket.

"I'm fine. Turn off the gas, lock the door, and wait for the doctor's call tomorrow morning. Don't come."

The old lady on the other end of the phone didn't cry; she just sniffled.

Don't be stubborn.

"Know."

Nurse Zhao took the phone back.

"Auntie, we'll keep this number here. The doctor will contact you when the results are in. Please sit down now and stop rummaging through the cabinets."

After the call ended, the red zone was quiet for a short while.

Song Guangfu watched his phone go dark, his hand still clutching the corner of the blanket.

Nurse Zhao put her phone into the transparent bag by the bedside.

"You're under our care now, so don't worry about things back home."

The old man muttered to himself.

"How can we not worry?"

The cardiologist was looking at the day shift records on the computer, scrolling the mouse wheel very quickly.

Why was he kept under observation during the day instead of being admitted to the hospital?

Sun Zhiqiang turned the day shift log up one page.

"The two images from the day shift showed no acute changes, the first troponin levels were normal, and the chest tightness has subsided, so I will keep you under observation and wait for tomorrow morning's outpatient visit."

"Things have changed now."

The cardiologist pushed the day shift record back.

"How long has he been out of bed?"

Lin Ye flipped through the records.

"I didn't pinpoint the exact time he left. From the moment we realized he wasn't there until we found him at the door, it took about six minutes. He said he went to the door to make a phone call, which lasted two minutes and eleven seconds, and he missed two calls."

"Fill this in. It's not about punishing anyone yet, but this part can't be left blank in the future."

This statement, though not harsh, is more intimidating than an insult.

Lin Ye wrote down the empty bed, the single slipper, the missed phone call, and the new electrocardiogram in the notes, with the pen pausing after "temporarily away from bed".

He stared at those four words for two seconds.

No one wanted to run away.

But those two words, when written on the paper, were even more jarring than "inspection".

He then added the family's phone number at the end.

The white bottle of nitroglycerin.

Aspirin at home, status pending verification.

The family member has mobility issues and will not be coming to the hospital for the time being; please inform them by phone.

Just as the emergency call came in, Nurse Zhao had just straightened Song Guangfu's cuff.

"Emergency room bed four?"

Sun Zhiqiang answered the landline.

"explain."

"The troponin level in patient four is higher than that in patients with daytime symptoms, but it is above the reference range. Potassium is normal, and creatinine is slightly elevated."

Sun Zhiqiang put the phone on speakerphone.

"Report the values ​​once."

The laboratory department re-reported the numbers.

Lin Ye wrote the string of values ​​into the record one by one, and added an upward arrow after the reference value.

The cardiologist picked up the new electrocardiogram.

"Admit the patient to the cardiology ward for monitoring. Follow the chest pain protocol first, and I'll report to my superiors."

He placed the new electrocardiogram on top of the medical record folder, without stopping talking.

"Any aspirin allergy, black stools, stomach bleeding, or whether you took any medication tonight—let's confirm these things first. I'll prescribe antiplatelet and anticoagulant medications here; please don't give duplicate medications in the emergency room."

He paused for a moment, then added another sentence.

"After the test, there are no contraindications. Follow the chest pain protocol to administer the dosage. If you have already taken the medication, please specify the time and dosage."

Sun Zhiqiang replied quickly.

"clear."

Song Guangfu slowly loosened his grip on the corner of the blanket by one finger.

"Will I be able to go back tomorrow?"

Nurse Zhao pulled the thin blanket up a little higher.

"Get through tonight first, then we'll talk about tomorrow. We'll call your spouse for you."

The cardiologist, with his hand still on the medical record folder, didn't stop her.

Outside the red zone, the triage desk phone suddenly rang.

It's not a landline phone at the nurses' station.

It's the phone at the triage desk that's specifically for receiving 120 emergency calls.

The ringtone was shorter and more urgent than a regular landline phone, sounding like someone tapping on your ear with their knuckles.

The triage nurse answered the call, and before she could say two words, her voice rose.

"How many people?"

Nurse Zhao looked up.

Sun Zhiqiang also stopped signing.

The triage nurse covered the stethoscope and shouted into the red zone.

"Teacher Sun, 120 has reported that several people at the Chengnan Night Market are feeling unwell, experiencing dizziness, nausea, and chest tightness. Two of them are unsteady on their feet. The first ambulance has three people; it's uncertain whether there will be more in the following vehicles."

The monitor next to Song Guangfu's bed was still reporting his pulse.

The cardiologist closed the medical record folder.

"I'll take over here, you guys go your separate ways."

Sun Zhiqiang has already walked to the triage desk.

"First, ask if it's a single, open-air stall. Check if there's a charcoal stove or generator nearby, and whether the shed is semi-enclosed."

He had already raised his hand to beckon people.

"Keep the patient in the red zone, and prepare oxygen and blood gas analysis. Also check carboxyhemoglobin levels; don't just diagnose everything as gastroenteritis right away."

When Lin Ye followed them to the nurses' station, the edge of his vision twitched again.

Only one line of the light blue indicator was lit.

[Multiple risks: Multiple symptoms in the same location.]

Lin Ye had just finished reading when he pushed the empty trolley next to the triage desk half a step away.

Just then, another cell phone rang at the triage desk.

That's not 120.

It was the security guard at the gate who called.

The security guard's voice was much lower than before.

"The nurses' station? There's a kid over at the night market. His dad said he wouldn't take an ambulance, he drove himself. The kid is vomiting at the entrance and can't be woken up."

Sun Zhiqiang had already pressed the button on the walkie-talkie.

"Go to the entrance to pick up the children; don't let them go into the lobby to queue yet."