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

When the general surgery doctor on duty came in, he first glanced at the waiting area.

Where is that in the lower right abdomen?

Qin Hai handed over the triage slip and the review form together.

"Next to the examination room. I just had a follow-up examination, less than half an hour ago, and the pain has gotten even worse."

The general surgeon's surname was Wei. Lin Ye had seen him once before outside the operating room, but they weren't very familiar with each other. Dr. Wei took the document and went straight to the follow-up questioning record.

"I saw how the pain started, but I won't let you repeat it." He pointed to the newly added lines. "Now I feel nauseous, my temperature is up, and my blood test results are high."

Tao Ziang's gaze immediately drifted towards the girl.

Tao Ziang's phone was still in the girl's hand, and she didn't have time to look at it now.

Dr. Wei walked up to Tao Ziang.

Have you had abdominal surgery before?

"no."

What medications are you allergic to?

No, I don't think so.

"No, that doesn't count. Have you ever had a rash from IV drips or medication before?"

Tao Ziang thought for a moment.

"no."

Dr. Wei nodded and told him to get on the examination bed.

The curtain was half-drawn, and the inside quickly became quiet.

Dr. Wei's examination didn't take long. Tao Ziang only gasped for breath in his lower right abdomen, and then spoke softly.

"Let's look at it from the perspective of acute appendicitis first." Dr. Wei pulled back the curtain. "It's not time to say whether surgery is necessary yet. We need to complete the tests. We need to get the urinalysis results and imaging done. Don't eat or drink anything tonight, and don't leave the emergency room. I'll ask you about beds and tests."

Tao Ziang propped himself up and sat up.

"Does it really require surgery?"

"It's not time for that yet." Dr. Wei tossed his gloves into the medical waste bin. "Finish the tests first. Don't leave the ER tonight, and don't go out to buy anything to eat. If we really need anesthesia, having something in your stomach will cause problems."

Tao Ziang's lips moved slightly.

The girl immediately looked at him.

"Is the pain getting worse?"

Tao Ziang shook his head, still unsure.

"I'm just a little panicked."

Dr. Wei glanced at them.

"It's normal to panic. If you have something to say, tell us. Don't keep it to yourself, and don't sneak away."

Qin Hai took the triage slip back and glanced at the review form.

"We haven't received a reply from the check-up and bed allocation departments yet, please provide that information as well."

Just as Ma Hao breathed a sigh of relief, the pen was shoved back into his hand.

"Anything else?"

Nurse Zhu looked up from in front of the computer.

"You think you're showing off your long writing skills?"

Ma Hao muttered to himself.

"If it really grows on its own, I'll give it my seat tonight."

Nurse Zhu has already switched to the test page.

"The urinalysis results are in."

She turned the page toward Qin Hai.

Qin Hai glanced at it.

"This urinary tract doesn't seem to be a major problem."

Dr. Wei also took a look.

"That's more like what we do in general surgery. We'll do an ultrasound of the appendix area first, and then an abdominal CT scan if necessary. I'll go ask the general surgery ward; if there are beds available, we'll admit them; if not, they can wait in the emergency room."

Ma Hao kept his head down as he wrote, still confirming the information aloud.

"The urinalysis doesn't look like a urological problem, and we've already had a general surgery check-up. We'll do an appendectomy first, and if necessary, an abdominal CT scan. Don't eat or drink anything yet, and wait for the bed availability update."

Qin Hai tapped on the edge of the table, interrupting him.

"Write 'Complete the imaging according to the general surgery doctor's orders,' don't write out the entire test order for them."

Ma Hao immediately stopped writing.

"Okay, I'll change it."

He crossed out those words and revised them very carefully.

Nurse Zhu glanced at him.

"The number of words you crossed out last night is more than the number of words someone else checked."

Ma Hao didn't look up.

"These are the marks of my growth."

"That's called paper waste."

Tao Ziang was seated on a row of chairs next to the examination room, and the girl sat next to him making a phone call to his sister.

She didn't turn on speakerphone, and her voice was very low.

"Sis, don't worry, he's in the ER. The doctor said to look towards his appendix, not to push him in right away. Could you come over? Don't scare his parents right away."

Upon hearing this, Tao Ziang turned his head to look at her.

The girl wiped the corner of her eye with the back of her hand, without looking at him.

"I've already spoken to someone, so don't worry about anything else for now."

Tao Ziang finally stopped arguing.

"Um."

The girl sniffed.

"If only you had been this obedient earlier..."

Just as things quieted down a bit, two more people squeezed up to the triage desk.

An elderly man was holding a registration slip, while a middle-aged man with his arms crossed asked how much longer he would have to wait.

Nurse Zhu took the number slip, her eyes still fixed on the call screen.

"Come one at a time. Those in a hurry, look ahead; those not in a hurry, wait according to your number."

Middle-aged men are not very willing.

"Wasn't he sitting there just now? How come he looked first?"

Nurse Zhu placed Tao Ziang's review form on the table and pressed her palm down on the name and contents on it.

"He didn't just sit down and start examining you; the doctor checked you again. If you suddenly feel worse, just say so, and we'll see someone first."

The middle-aged man glanced at Tao Ziang and lowered his voice.

"I was just asking."

"You can ask," Nurse Zhu said, clipping the number slip to the clipboard. "Don't block the window."

Ma Hao's wrist ached after he finished writing the review form.

He clipped the form to the back of the triage slip and couldn't help but sigh.

"This thing is useful, but it takes up too much desk space."

Nurse Zhu immediately took over.

"Also occupying people."

Qin Hai was about to walk towards the observation area when he heard this and turned around to look.

"Just take people's place. If no one's looking at it, the chart is just a piece of waste paper."

Ma Hao couldn't come up with a joke right away.

Lin Ye flattened the review form; the edges had been softened by him and Ma Hao flipping it over.

There's a blank line below, waiting for a reply from the general surgery department.

As he put down his pen, his phone vibrated in his pocket.

Lin Ye thought it was his mother, but when he took it out, he realized it was Chen Kai.

In the group chat for Saturday's class reunion, some people have already started listing the dishes.

Chen Kai sent another message separately.

If you can't come, I'll pack your food. Don't say you're out of the loop again because of the schedule.

Lin Ye stared at the line of text, his finger hovering over the edge of the screen.

Ma Hao leaned over and took a peek.

"A class reunion?"

"Chen Kai and his group."

"Go ahead," Ma Hao said. "If you don't go, people will think you've gone missing during your residency training."

Lin Ye flipped his phone back onto the table.

"You'll cover my shift?"

Ma Hao immediately stepped back.

"Then let your classmates misunderstand you."

Nurse Zhu interjected as she called out the next number.

"You two shouldn't discuss the loss of contact yet. Who's going to collect this form?"

Ma Hao pointed to the forest.

"Leave it here for now."

Linye refers to Ma Hao.

"It was written by Ma Hao; he has to read it."

Nurse Zhu pushed both triage slips over together.

"Come on. You two sit in the triage area together, so keep an eye on the stuff together. When the general surgery team gets back to their beds, make sure to report when the tests are done and who answered the phone."

Ma Hao looked at the two pieces of paper, and his face slowly fell.

"Sister Zhu, I understand now."

"What do you know?"

"This location is not a high-risk screening site."

Nurse Zhu finally looked up.

"What is that?"

Ma Hao clipped the review form together, his voice very soft.

"This is a high-risk debt collection location."

Nurse Zhu smiled slightly, then quickly straightened her face again.

"Good to know. Don't lose face until the debt is paid off."

The line in front of the triage desk is still moving forward.

Tao Ziang leaned back in the chair next to the clinic, the girl holding his phone, the screen of which remained dark.

Lin Ye's phone also went dark.

He hasn't replied to Chen Kai's message yet.

Nurse Zhu had already pushed the next registration slip in front of him.

"Look at this first. I've been feeling dizzy for a while, and this person walked in by themselves."