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

At 2 p.m. on Saturday, the landlord was already waiting at the entrance of the community, carrying an old canvas tool bag.

"The mechanic just finished this morning." Seeing the two of them approach, he waved the keys in his hand. "Go in and check it yourselves. Tell me now if anything's wrong."

The new lock cylinder turns very smoothly. Lin Ye tested the switch twice and the previous situation, where he had to lift the door handle to turn it, did not happen again.

The landlord followed him into the house and first opened the bedroom window: "I've resealed the inside and outside, and cleaned the drain outside. I didn't repaint the baseboards, so you won't accuse me of covering up the problem with paint."

Ma Hao squatted down and pressed the baseboard, then ran his fingers along the window frame: "Okay, this time the sealant is applied tightly."

"With you two watching so closely, how could I possibly fool you?"

The bathroom exhaust fan has also been replaced with a new one.

When you press it, there's only a steady rotating sound, unlike the buzzing and shaking that happened last time.

The water heater ignited normally, and after the water temperature rose, the landlord pointed to the bottom of the sink and the wall to show them that there was indeed no leak.

Lin Ye walked through all the locations, then turned off the tap: "That's enough."

"Then hand over the apartment." The landlord removed two new keys from the keychain and handed over an access card. "The old lock cylinder has been removed, and these two are new. I just took a picture of the water and electricity meters; take one too, so we don't have any disputes later."

Lin Ye took a picture of the reading with his phone, and the landlord also sent the same photo in the chat box.

Once you've checked all the furniture items in person, the inspection is complete.

Before leaving, the landlord picked up his canvas bag, stood at the door, and turned back to say, "The walls on the first floor are bound to be a bit damp in the humid weather. Open the windows often to ventilate the room, and don't stick the wardrobe too tightly to the wall. If there's a leak near the window, just call me. Don't try to fix it with sealant yourself."

"understood."

The moment the door closed, the room fell silent.

Lin Ye separated the two keys, hanging one on his keychain and stuffing the other into the inner pocket of his backpack.

Ma Hao leaned against the living room window and glanced around: "Is it really settled this time?"

"They've already taken the keys, how could it be fake?"

"Okay, I'll help you move those books in your dorm." Ma Hao said this upfront, "Just so you know, don't come back later saying 'there's not much stuff,' and then it'll never end once you start moving them."

Lin Ye glanced at him: "Who was it last time who moved a folding table and complained that the hallway was too narrow to turn around?"

"Can a table compare to books? If there are too many books, you can just take two trips. But if a table is blocking the stairwell, it will completely block people from getting up."

As Ma Hao spoke, he casually patted the empty coffee table: "What are we having for dinner? The house's all settled, shouldn't you treat us this time?"

Just as Lin Ye was about to speak, his phone rang.

Chen Kai sent a message asking how the house inspection went.

He replied, "Just got the keys," and Chen Kai immediately sent him a restaurant's location.

[Got the keys? I happen to be nearby. If you haven't eaten yet, come over at six and we'll meet up.]

Ma Hao peeked at the address and said, "His information network is pretty good."

"They asked me about the inspection yesterday."

"Then go ahead," Ma Hao said. "So he won't complain later that he found you a place but didn't even get a meal."

The two did not stay in the empty room for long.

Lin Ye closed the window, unplugged the water heater, checked the door lock again, and then left with Ma Hao.

Chen Kai chose an old restaurant that had been open for many years. The storefront was small, with a row of beer crates stacked against the wall. It was just past dinner time, and the restaurant was already more than half full.

"Did you get it?" Chen Kai asked as they sat down, pushing the laminated menu over.

Lin Ye put the keys on the table: "I just got them."

Chen Kai picked it up, weighed it in his hand, and put it back: "I hope it's not the fifth floor again this time; climbing that up will kill me."

"First floor." Ma Hao opened three pairs of chopsticks and handed one pair to each person. "From now on, it'll be just a short walk from here after your night shift."

"That's good, saves us the trouble of taking a taxi in the middle of the night."

The three people ordered four dishes.

Chen Kai asked if anyone wanted a drink, and Ma Hao glanced at Lin Ye first: "I have to work the night shift tomorrow night, one bottle each, no one should ask for more."

"You're even interfering with him now?" Chen Kaile laughed.

"Let me say this upfront, so you don't get carried away and order a whole case later."

Lin Ye laid out the three cups that had just been brought over: "Take care of yourself first."

"I've rented a place, let's try to meet up at least once."

When the beer was served, the three of them didn't exchange any pleasantries.

Chen Kai raised his glass first: "Come on, let's wish our Dr. Lin can go straight to bed after get off work, after just a few steps."

Ma Hao clinked glasses with him, his smile a beat slower than usual: "I like hearing that."

Chen Kai did most of the talking during the first half of the meal, mentioning that someone in their high school classmates' group was getting married, and asking Lin Ye when he planned to move.

Ma Hao occasionally chimed in, and when Chen Kai brought up Lin Ye's old grievances, he added fuel to the fire.

But after he had drunk half of his beer, he gradually became less talkative.

Lin Ye picked up a piece of fish and turned the lazy Susan towards him: "Didn't you order this fish? You're just looking at it without eating it."

"Too many fish bones, too lazy to pick them out."

Why didn't you think of that when you were ordering?

I was hungry just now.

Ma Hao agreed verbally, but still reached out with his chopsticks.

I picked up the fish and turned it over in the bowl a couple of times, but didn't eat it right away.

Chen Kai glanced at him twice: "What's wrong with you today? Why are you getting quieter and quieter as you eat?"

Ma Hao tapped the plate in front of him with his chopsticks.

"Hurry up and eat yours."

"Okay, at least you know how to choke, which means you haven't drunk too much." Chen Kai didn't ask any more questions and went to ladle out the soup.

There was silence on the table for a few seconds.

Ma Hao twirled the cup in his hand, his gaze falling on where Lin Ye had left his keys.

"You're doing well now," he suddenly said. "You've changed your work ID and secured a place to live."

Lin Ye looked up at him: "What's wrong, are you envious?"

"A little," Ma Hao answered readily, wiping away a ring of water droplets around the rim of his cup with his thumb. "Seeing you settle things one by one, I'm getting anxious too. I want to change this name tag on my chest as soon as possible, so I can truly say I've established myself in the ER."

He chuckled first: "Having this residency training badge hanging around every day, I've practically counted all the scratches on it."

Chen Kai returned with the soup bowl, not pressing the issue further: "It should be ready soon, right?"

"Who knows?" Ma Hao paused. "Let's focus on finishing the work at hand first. We can't afford to do something like that last time where we only thought about the beginning and not the end."

After saying that, he pushed the remaining half glass of wine towards the center of the table.

"Not drinking anymore?" Lin Ye asked.

"Keep some, I'll have to stay up all night again tomorrow." Ma Hao picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup of hot tea. "If I get a patient tomorrow night, I'll have to handle them well."

Lin Ye simply turned the fish plate back in front of him and said, "Just remember what you said. If you really want to leave, tell someone first."

"Look, here we go again." This time, Ma Hao picked up a boneless piece of fish belly. "They won't even let me off the hook while I'm eating."

"Didn't you bring it up first?"

"I just said something casually, and you actually started lecturing me."

Chen Kai took a sip of soup and finally laughed out loud: "If you two keep chatting, I'll have to get a notebook to write down the medical records."

"Shut up, eat yours." Ma Hao took the last piece of fish. "This one's mine."

After finishing most of the dishes, Chen Kai was about to get up to pay the bill when Lin Ye had already scanned the payment code on the corner of the table.

"I'll pay." Lin Ye put away his phone. "This meal is on me."

Chen Kai didn't try to take it from him, but simply packed up the uneaten peanuts on the table: "These peanuts are mine, I can't have come all this way for nothing."

When I came out of the restaurant, it was already completely dark.

Chen Kai hailed a taxi at the intersection. Before getting in, he gestured to Ma Hao with his chin and said, "When you change your name tag, you'll have to treat me to a meal."

Ma Hao put his hands in his pockets: "I haven't even finished eating today, and you're already thinking about the next meal?"

After the car drove away, Lin Ye and Ma Hao walked towards their dormitory.

As he passed under the streetlights, Ma Hao took out his name tag from the side pocket of his backpack and glanced at it.

The bottom right corner of the transparent card sleeve is worn, but the words "Standardized Training Program for Resident Physicians" inside are still clearly visible.

He stuffed the name tag back in and quickened his pace.

"What time should I call you tomorrow?" Lin Ye asked.

"Around 4:30," Ma Hao said without turning his head. "If you can't get up, I'll just pull the covers off you. Eat first, then you can take your night shift."