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

At 8:40 a.m. on Monday, the corridor on the third floor of the science and education building was already full of resident trainees waiting for their exams, with the sounds of turning pages and reciting mixed together.

Lin Ye was in the third examination room, and Ma Hao was in the fourth examination room next door.

As the two approached the exam hall entrance, Ma Hao stopped abruptly, took out two black pens from his pocket, removed the caps, and tucked them into Lin Ye's chest pocket.

"I'll return it to you after the exam."

Lin Ye glanced down at the worn marks on the pen: "This was originally mine."

"Then it absolutely must be returned to its rightful owner." Ma Hao tapped the transparent folder in his hand again, "Did you bring the supplementary record for the appendicitis page? Don't let it fall apart at the last minute."

"I brought it."

The proctor at the entrance of the fourth examination room leaned out and urged him to turn around and walk in.

As the door was about to close, he peeked through the crack and made a "shut up" gesture to Lin Ye.

Lin Ye pointed to the pen on his chest: "Don't you want this anymore?"

Ma Hao waved through the crack in the door: "It's yours."

"You're giving me my things?"

"The thought is what counts."

The door to the third examination room clicked shut, and the corridor became mostly quiet.

Lin Ye sat down according to his seat number and placed his ID card and admission ticket on the corner of the table.

The transparent folder, along with the backpack, was placed at the front of the classroom. The supplementary record of the appendicitis postoperative case was tucked separately in the innermost layer, with the instructor's signature and date clearly visible in the upper right corner.

At 9:00 AM sharp, the exam papers were passed from the first row to the back.

The questions weren't too obscure, but the most time-consuming ones were the clinical procedural sequencing questions.

After finishing the last page, Lin Ye checked the answer sheet again from beginning to end.

As soon as the bell rang to signal the end of the exam, the proctor walked over to his row and took the exam paper away.

Lin Ye picked up his backpack and folder and walked toward the review window, not waiting for the fourth examination room behind him to open.

He had only taken a couple of steps when Ma Hao caught up from behind and patted him on the shoulder: "Why are you walking so slowly? Were you waiting for me?"

"Stop being so narcissistic, I didn't wait."

"Then hurry up." Ma Hao folded his admission ticket twice and then quickly unfolded it. "Let's make this clear first, don't mention anything about scores or answers to me now, it's giving me a headache."

"The review window is number one."

"Window number doesn't count."

"One material is missing."

Ma Hao lightly tapped his arm with his exam admission ticket: "Did you do that on purpose?"

The theoretical assessment had just ended, and there were already about ten people queuing up in front of the review window.

When it was Lin Ye's turn, the staff pulled up a list of missing items on the computer: "Surgical rotation, missing supplementary records for post-appendicitis cases."

Lin Ye opened the folder and handed in the original document.

The other person pulled out his rotation manual from the filing cabinet behind him, checked the page numbers, confirmed the instructor's signature and the date of any additions, and placed the paper on the scanner: "I'll return the original to you, and file the copy. That's all; everything else is complete."

The scanner's green light swept across the paper, and the copier next to it spat out a copy.

She bound the copy into the materials bag and stamped the last column of the review receipt with a red stamp, the four characters neatly written: Materials complete.

Lin Ye took back the original document and the receipt, and put them into the folder.

Ma Hao stood behind him and handed over his ID card.

The staff retrieved his rotation manual from the same row of cabinets and then opened the electronic notes on the computer.

When I saw the section for supplementary evaluation in the emergency department, I paused for a moment: "Your rotation materials are all complete. The four-week evaluation period in the emergency department is handled separately by the department upon completion; you don't need to submit it to me."

"So I just wasted my time carrying glue sticks today?"

"Don't get too excited before the theoretical results come out."

"You're just like our Director Qin," Ma Hao said with a laugh as he took back his ID card. "He's always pouring cold water on people."

The staff member had already called the next person, but he didn't even look up: "Next."

After the two left the science and education building, neither of them brought up the exam questions.

Ma Hao bought two multigrain pancakes from the pancake stall at the entrance and handed one to Lin Ye: "Hush money. You're not allowed to give me the answers after you finish eating."

"A pancake can only be sealed up until noon at most."

"How about I treat you to a bottle of mineral water at noon? Isn't that nice of you?"

On Tuesday afternoon, the results of the in-house theoretical assessment for the residency training program popped up in the training group.

Ma Hao clicked into the list and scrolled down from the fourth examination room for a long time before finally finding his own name, clearly marked "Pass". He took a screenshot and sent it to Lin Ye, circling only those two words, and then added a sentence.

See? It's up to standard.

Lin Ye replied with a screenshot, and after his name were also the words "qualified".

Over the next few days, Ma Hao went through all the procedures that could be completed ahead of schedule, including the physical examination and qualification verification.

When he returned to the dormitory, he put the two receipts on the corner of Lin Ye's table: "I've cleared everything that could be cleared. There are three cases left, and I'll follow up on them one by one."

"What about the employment contract?"

"The probationary period isn't over yet, who would dare give it to me?" Ma Hao put the receipt into his folder. "I'll go to the personnel department to sign it myself after the probationary period is over."

The ingredients in the forest bag were dwindling day by day.

After the medical examination center stamped the document, the personnel window took the receipt, verified the ID card and physician qualification materials, and returned them in their original form.

On Friday morning, he sat in the HR office and signed his employment contract. The staff put the last document into a file folder, then took out a new employee badge from the drawer and pushed it in front of him to verify the information.

Lin Ye rubbed the card face with his thumb.

The name field reads "Lin Ye," followed by three words: Emergency Department.

The old residency training badges were taken back.

The lanyards are still the hospital's standard navy blue, and the words "standardized training" are no longer visible on the new sign.

The staff handed over another departmental registration form: "You'll officially start work next Monday. You can go to the department today to coordinate the shift schedule. If there are any problems, have the department report them back in the next couple of days."

Lin Ye put the registration form and his employee ID together.

As he walked out of the personnel office, he looked down at it one last time before pinning his employee badge on.

In the afternoon, Lin Ye took the registration form to the emergency department.

Ma Hao was on the day shift that day and was working on completing patient progress records at the nurses' station.

As Lin Ye approached, he raised his hand to shield his eyes: "Don't blink, it reflects light."

"What's that reflecting light?" Jiang Wen peeked out from behind the treatment cart, her eyes immediately catching sight of his new name tag. "Oh, you changed your name tag?"

"I just received it today."

Ma Hao snapped the pen cap back on, then flipped the name tag over to take a look: "Emergency Department, Lin Ye. Okay, at least they didn't print my photo."

"If it really turns out like this, he'll have to go for another medical checkup," Jiang Wen added, pushing the treatment cart away.

Ma Hao, standing behind him, retorted, "What part of my physical exam did I fail?"

"Mouth." Lin Ye snatched the employee badge back from his hand.

"The physical exam doesn't check this."

Qin Hai walked out of the clinic, holding a schedule that Zhang Gang had just printed.

Upon hearing the second half of the sentence, he simply raised the paper in his hand and looked at Ma Hao: "Have you finished completing your medical record for today?"

Ma Hao immediately pulled his chair back to the table: "Two lines are still to go."

"Then stop worrying about what others are investigating."

Qin Hai placed the shift schedule on the nurses' station table, indicating that Lin Ye should look at it himself.

The header shows the doctors' schedule for next week.

In the Monday day shift column, the senior physician's name was Zhou Min, and for the first time, the name "Lin Ye" appeared after the resident physician's name.

Previously, his name was always listed in the "Standardized Residency Training" column.

This time, the name "Lin Ye" appeared alone in the resident physician column.

Lin Ye looked at it twice, then gently tapped the new employee badge in his hand against the table.

Ma Hao craned his neck from the back of his chair to look this way: "Have you seen enough? Take a picture and send it to me, so I can familiarize myself with the shifts I'll be scrambling for later."

"Finish writing your two lines first."

"It's only a matter of ten days or so, sooner or later." Ma Hao uncapped his pen and continued writing, muttering to himself, "Don't even think about scheduling us out of the way. I'm still waiting to settle the score with him for the two hundred yuan less for the spare bedroom."

Qin Hai ignored Ma Hao and pushed the schedule towards Lin Ye again.

"Come take over next Monday."