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

Ma Hao hooked his arm around Lin Ye's shoulder and walked downstairs, his grip so strong it almost made Lin Ye cough.

"Tell me quickly, what were you talking about inside with the door closed? Did they give you an extra bonus?" Ma Hao asked with a gossipy look.

Lin Ye slapped his arm away and smiled, "There's no bonus. It's just that I've been put on the retention assessment list. There are still a bunch of procedures to go through, and it's not certain whether I'll stay."

"Hey, is it still not stable?" Ma Hao's eyes widened. "How many times have you reminded me of this? The emergency room isn't going to let you go. No, you have to add more dishes for me in this situation. Stir-fried pork alone isn't enough; you need to add sweet and sour pork ribs as well."

As soon as the two turned the corner to the entrance of the tea room, they heard a soft cough from the side.

Qin Hai stood next to the water dispenser, holding a stainless steel thermos. He had just filled it with hot water and hadn't even screwed the lid on yet. He glanced at the two of them sideways.

"Stable my ass."

"The observation list is just an entry qualification. You won't be able to pass the subsequent standardized training completion exam, rotation evaluation, departmental defense, and hospital approval. If you don't pass any of these stages, it's useless. If you dare to get cocky now and think about getting more benefits, be careful you don't crash and burn later."

Qin Hai's tone was stiff, and after a pause, he added a sentence.

"Be at the triage desk at 6:30 p.m. sharp, don't be late."

"Understood, Teacher Qin," Lin Ye replied immediately.

Ma Hao shrank his neck.

After Qin Hai carried his thermos towards the office, he leaned close to Lin Ye and whispered, "Look at Teacher Qin's mouth. He's clearly afraid you'll get carried away, but he's making it sound like he's going to scold you. Let me tell you, last week I overheard him telling Director Zhou that you're the most level-headed among this batch of resident trainees."

Lin Ye didn't respond. He remembered what Liu Zhenhua had said before leaving: "We'll have to see how they perform later." The little bit of excitement that had just appeared in his heart slowly subsided.

This is indeed just the beginning.

It's far too early to relax.

The two did not go to the restaurant immediately.

Lin Ye returned to his dorm, stuffed his residency training manual into his bag, and flipped through the exam notifications on his phone again. Ma Hao sat on the opposite bed for about ten minutes, saying he wasn't in a hurry, but he had already moved his feet toward the door three times.

Around 5 p.m., as the sky outside began to darken, Ma Hao finally couldn't resist knocking on the door frame.

"Brother Ye, if we don't leave soon, the stir-fried pork will be sold out."

The family-style restaurant near the back gate was packed with people during lunchtime. The two searched for a long time before finally finding a small table in a corner.

Ma Hao expertly patted the edge of the table and called to the boss, "One order of stir-fried pork, extra spicy, plus sweet and sour pork ribs, smashed cucumber, tomato and egg soup, and two bowls of rice!"

"You actually ordered sweet and sour pork ribs?" Lin Ye raised an eyebrow.

"Otherwise?" Ma Hao said matter-of-factly, "When I covered for you on Sunday, I didn't even have a proper lunch. I was so hungry that I was eating bread. Shouldn't I make up for it? Besides, you're on the observation list now. Shouldn't we celebrate?"

Lin Ye smiled and took a disinfectant wipe from his bag to wipe the chopsticks.

The shop was quite noisy. At the next table, several employees who had just finished their shift were chatting about how a few dollars were missing from the accounts that day, and who had given the wrong change. The smell of cooking oil mixed with the aroma of rice wafted over, creating a lively and comforting atmosphere.

The food was served quickly.

The stir-fried pork was glistening with oil, the chili peppers were fried until fragrant, and the ribs were coated in sweet and sour sauce, making them shine.

Lin Ye picked up a piece of stir-fried pork with his chopsticks.

The spiciness hit him, and a little sweat appeared on the tip of his nose.

He took out his phone to check the time, and as soon as he turned on the screen, he saw a notification that had just been sent out in the residency training group.

The theoretical exam for the completion of standardized residency training will be held on the 15th of next month. All candidates must submit their rotation manuals, along with all instructor signatures, to the Department of Science and Education for review by next week.

Lin Ye paused for a moment.

His rotation manual still needs the signatures of two surgical supervisors. He'd been so busy with emergency shifts that he hadn't had time to run around. Plus, he had his theory exams, so he'd been spending all his time at the triage desk and hadn't really looked at his books.

Ma Hao looked up and saw him staring at his phone, so he nudged his bowl with his chopsticks.

"What are you thinking? The food's getting cold. It's just an exam, what's there to be afraid of? I saved the study materials that were posted in the group chat before, I'll give them to you when I get back. Even though the key points are highlighted like fortune telling, it's still better than you taking the exam unprepared."

"No need, half of your documents are just scribbles, I'd rather read them myself."

Lin Ye smiled, put his phone back in his pocket, and continued eating.

That's what he said, but he knew the truth in his heart.

Being placed on the watch list doesn't mean anything.

If you fail the residency training completion exam, you won't even be eligible for a permanent position. All your previous efforts will have been in vain.

The meal lasted less than forty minutes.

Afraid of being late for work, the two headed to the hospital after finishing their meal.

The evening breeze on my face soothed the lingering heat from the spicy food. Ma Hao walked beside me, muttering that Xiao Ye probably wouldn't be too busy tonight; when he came in, there weren't many people at the emergency room entrance, so he might be able to slack off until the night shift handover.

Lin Ye didn't reply, but just walked a little faster.

I arrived at the triage desk at exactly 6:20.

Nurse Zhu had already changed her clothes and was sitting there, organizing a stack of triage slips. When she saw the two of them arrive, she raised her chin and pointed to the empty chair next to her.

"You've arrived just in time. I just finished the day shift handover. The previous seven patients all had common colds and diarrhea, nothing urgent. You can change your clothes first."

"Thank you, Sister Zhu."

Lin Ye responded, put his bag in the cabinet next to him, and took out a white coat to change into.

He had just pinned his name tag on when he heard a loud voice coming from the triage window.

An older woman in a gray cotton coat squeezed in front of the window, clutching a crumpled old medical record book in her hand, her voice so loud that it could be heard throughout the entire triage area.

"Nurse, nurse, please get me a number quickly! I'm really dizzy, please prescribe some blood pressure medication!"

Nurse Zhu kept her head down, typing on the computer, without looking up.

"Do you have a medical card? What blood pressure medication do you usually take? Do you have any history of drug allergies?"

"Oh dear, how could I remember the name of that medicine?"

The aunt placed the medical record book on the windowsill.

"These are all white pills that my daughter bought for me. I've been taking them for years. Just prescribe my usual blood pressure medication. I didn't have to ask so many questions when I came to get a prescription before."

Nurse Zhu frowned and looked up at her.

"There are more than a dozen commonly used antihypertensive drugs, each with a different dosage. Without specifying the drug name, the doctor can't prescribe it arbitrarily. Did you bring your medication box? Or have you recently taken any other medications? Think carefully."

"Why would I bring a medicine box? I was in a rush and didn't bring one!"

The auntie immediately became anxious and reached out to pat the windowsill.

"Why are you making such a fuss? I just need some blood pressure medication, it's not like it's poison, it's not like it'll kill me! Let me tell you, I'm really dizzy right now, if you don't prescribe it for me, I'm not leaving."

As she spoke, she leaned to the side, covering her head with her hand, her brows furrowed tightly, looking like she really couldn't stand steadily.

The people in line behind them started urging, saying, "Yeah, it's just a prescription for blood pressure medication, why are there so many procedures? Just give it to them quickly, don't waste everyone's time."

Nurse Zhu's face also darkened. Just as she was about to speak, Lin Ye had already walked to the window.

He had just noticed that a corner of a medicine box was sticking out of the cloth bag that the aunt was clutching tightly. It was blue and white and didn't look like ordinary blood pressure medicine.

Lin Ye reached out and supported her arm, then moved the empty chair next to her forward half a step.

"Auntie, please sit down. Prescribing the right medicine is more important than prescribing it quickly."

The auntie sat down, holding onto the back of the chair, still muttering, "I'm just dizzy, it's not that complicated."

Lin Ye looked down and saw that half a box of medicine was sticking out of her cloth bag.

The name of the medicine was covered by the opening of the bag, with only a few words showing.

It wasn't the kind of "white pill antihypertensive drug" she was talking about.