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

The young man carrying water barrels is named Chen Lei.

The question at the door, "How's it going to pee?" left him completely bewildered.

He was still explaining as others were helped into the treatment room.

"Doctor, I really did twist it. I was carrying water up to the third floor when I slipped and my back snapped. I just urinated, and everything was normal."

Ma Hao pushed the wheelchair to the side.

"Someone just said they strained their back."

Chen Lei immediately looked back.

"Is my condition serious?"

Lin Ye only looked at his feet.

Are your legs numb?

"It's not numb, it just hurts."

"Do you feel any numbness under your buttocks, between your legs, or around your anus?"

Chen Lei stopped holding his waist.

"You're asking this too?"

Chen Lei scratched his head.

"no."

"Point your toes upwards."

Chen Lei did as instructed, and was able to hook both feet up, though he grimaced in pain.

Qin Hai watched from the side until he finished before speaking.

"It looks more like an acute lumbar sprain now. First, relieve the pain and rest. Don't go carrying water again tomorrow. If your legs become numb, you can't urinate, you can't lift your instep, or your lower body becomes numb, just come over. Don't try to tough it out."

Chen Lei breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"Can I deliver water tomorrow?"

Nurse Li finally looked up at him.

"Don't worry about delivering water. With your back hurting like this, if you try to carry the buckets upstairs tomorrow, you might not be able to get down halfway and have to have someone bring you back. It's the boss's business if he deducts your pay, don't put yourself in bed."

Chen Lei was amused by her words.

"Failure to deliver will result in a deduction of payment."

Qin Hai put down the disposal order.

"It's better to have my pay docked than to have it docked outside the operating room."

Chen Lei's smile faded slightly.

As he walked away with the list, he turned back and asked Lin Ye a question.

"Doctor, I really don't have a serious illness, do I?"

Lin Ye watched as he was able to walk on his own, his steps slow but he could put weight on both sides.

"It doesn't seem like it now. Don't push yourself when you go back. If you're really in so much pain tomorrow that you can't get out of bed, or if your legs are numb or you have trouble urinating, just come back."

Chen Lei nodded.

"Okay, I'll remember to pee."

Ma Hao couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Nurse Li put a roll of adhesive tape back on the treatment cart and casually pointed at Ma Hao.

"Don't just laugh. When you come in for triage later, ask about your back pain, leg numbness, urination, and other issues first. Don't just laugh later."

Ma Hao quickly scooped up the tape.

"Got it. Three questions for lower back pain: Is your leg numb? Is your genitals numb? How's your urination?"

Qin Hai glanced at him.

"Don't just recite slogans. Look at the people."

Ma Hao swallowed the rest of his joke.

The treatment room was briefly empty.

The clock on the wall struck 11:30.

Ma Hao finally picked up the bucket of noodles that had been soaked in hot water twice.

The dough had swelled up to an unbounded size.

He picked up a piece with his chopsticks, his expression showing some pain.

"This stuff is like wet paper now."

Nurse Li walked past him.

"Eat it while you can. This noodle has already been soaked twice. If you wait for another call, it won't be noodles anymore, it'll be mush. Don't carry this around the triage desk in a bit, it'll make me choke just watching you."

Ma Hao looked at the bucket of noodles.

"Then I'll eat now."

Qin Hai was rinsing his hands at the sink when he heard this, so he shook the water off his hands.

"Stop being so nonchalant. After you finish eating, go to the triage desk and keep an eye on things for ten minutes. Don't let all the people with back pain flock to the treatment room."

Ma Hao carried the instant noodles outside.

"Teacher Qin, can I keep an eye on things while I eat?"

"Don't get too close to the patient."

Nurse Li chimed in, "You should eat inside the triage area, not carry your bowl of noodles around the treatment room door. People with back pain have to endure the smell of your noodles."

Ma Hao, clutching his fork, walked away with a wounded expression.

Lin Ye washed his face by the pool.

The cold water splashed onto my eyelids, and only then did the drowsiness begin to emerge from beneath.

Even with his eyes closed, he could still recall the crooked character for "plum blossom" and the hand that Liu Hailiang hadn't caught up with.

Qin Hai handed him a tissue.

"Feeling scared afterward?"

Lin Ye took it.

"A little."

"It's good to be afraid. If you're not afraid, your hands will run wild."

Lin Ye wiped the water off his face.

"Teacher Qin, when I asked Chen Lei just now, I almost asked him too harshly with every question."

"That's why I'm letting you see people."

Qin Hai raised his chin towards the door of the treatment room.

"Not every back pain case warrants an MRI. The questions you just asked were designed to prevent people from being discharged."

Lin Ye hummed in agreement.

The landline on the triage desk rang once.

Ma Hao carried the bucket of noodles over to take it, and a moment later he peeked over with a fork in hand.

"A driver came from the payment window. He said his teeth were sensitive and he wanted to see a dentist. We told him to come to the emergency room for a checkup, but he didn't want to wait and said he'd just get some painkillers and leave."

Nurse Li frowned.

"Take your tooth sensitivity to the dentist; the emergency room isn't for dental work."

Ma Hao placed the fork on the rim of the bucket.

"He said there's no one at the dental clinic at night, and he has to drive the early shift tomorrow."

Qin Hai paused for a moment while wiping his hands.

How big?

"Around fifty," Ma Hao glanced at the triage slip. "Tian Jianjun, fifty-two. He walked in by himself."

"Only your teeth feel sensitive?"

"The triage report said he had sensitive teeth, a feeling of fullness in his stomach, and sweating," Ma Hao said in a slightly softer voice. "He said he probably ate too much for dinner, and the car's air conditioning was broken, so it was hot."

Qin Hai had already walked behind Lin Ye, and he had heard all the symptoms that Ma Hao had reported.

"Go ask him a couple of questions. Don't let him just take the painkillers and leave."

Tian Jianjun sat on a chair next to the triage desk, still wearing the light blue shirt commonly seen on taxi drivers. The collar of his shirt was damp, and he held an unopened bottle of mineral water in his hand.

Seeing Lin Ye approach, he first handed over the registration slip.

"Doctor, I don't want to keep you in vain. My teeth are sore here, and my jaw is sore too. I'd like some painkillers. I have to drive again at 4:30 tomorrow."

Lin Ye did not accept the registration slip.

"How long has it been sour?"

"More than half an hour."

"How did it begin?"

Tian Jianjun thought for a moment.

"When I was driving, I had just dropped off a passenger and was waiting at a red light when I suddenly felt a sharp acid reflux. My stomach also felt a bit full, like my dinner hadn't been properly digested."

"Does your chest feel tight?"

"It doesn't hurt."

He answered very quickly.

Lin Ye looked at the sweat on his forehead.

"I asked if it felt stuffy, not if it hurt."

Tian Jianjun paused for a moment when asked the question.

"It does feel a bit stuffy, but it doesn't hurt."

In a corner of the forest, pale blue lettering lit up.

Emergency Room Early Warning System

[Suspected diagnosis: Risk of acute coronary syndrome.]

[Misdiagnosis: Toothache, bloating, and sweating can mask chest pain.]

[Key follow-up questions: Activity-induced, chest tightness, shortness of breath, radiating pain.]

Lin Ye stopped staring at the words and turned his gaze back to the sweat on Tian Jianjun's forehead.

Do you feel any discomfort in your left shoulder, back, or arm?

"My back aches," Tian Jianjun said, then added, "When do I not have a sore back after driving all day?"

Tian Jianjun was still trying to stuff the registration slip into his hand.

"Give me some medicine, I'm going back to sleep. My tooth really hurts, I'll go to the dentist tomorrow."

Lin Ye pressed the registration slip back into his hand.

He turned around.

"Teacher Qin, he can't just leave. Should we do an electrocardiogram first?"

Qin Hai had already walked to the triage desk.

"Do it. Ma Hao, push the electrocardiograph machine."

Tian Jianjun's hand stopped on the registration slip.

"Tooth sensitivity for an electrocardiogram?"

"Put your teeth aside for now. I need to check your heart first, to address your sweating, chest tightness, and back pain."

Ma Hao moved the instant noodles into the triage area and resignedly pushed the electrocardiograph machine out.

"Master, could you unbutton my jacket?"

Tian Jianjun still wanted to reason with him.

"I don't have chest pain."

Nurse Li tore open the disposable electrode pads.

"Put it on even if you don't have chest pain. If you're fine after putting it on, you can complain that we're being nosy."

Tian Jianjun was speechless by her words and slowly unbuttoned his shirt.

She casually wrapped the blood pressure cuff around her arm and clipped the oxygen clip onto Tian Jianjun's finger.

Lin Ye didn't let Tian Jianjun continue explaining the teeth.

Do you have high blood pressure or diabetes? Do you smoke?

Tian Jianjun looked down as the electrode pads were attached.

"My blood pressure is a bit high, and I don't take my medication every day. I smoke about half a pack of cigarettes a day, and I get very sleepy if I don't smoke while driving at night."

Just as the electrocardiogram printout came out of the machine, Qin Hai picked up Ma Hao's bucket of noodles.

The note was only halfway through being spat out.

He stopped, put the lid back on, and placed it back inside the triage desk.

Ma Hao looked down and glanced at himself; his voice no longer sounded sleepy.

"Teacher Qin, this ST segment doesn't look good."

Tian Jianjun sat in the chair, still clutching his registration slip.

"Doctor, my teeth are sensitive."

Lin Ye reached out and blocked it.

"Don't get up yet. We'll talk about the teeth later."