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

After finishing his day shift, Lin Ye came out of the locker room and saw three more messages from Ma Hao on his phone.

The first item is the restaurant's address, the second is a photo of the storefront, and the third is just one sentence.

"Don't go to the wrong place, I'm not waiting for you at the hospital entrance."

The place was a bit far, and it took Lin Ye more than 20 minutes to find the shop on an old street in the south of the city.

Two rows of folding tables were set up at the entrance, and the iron skewers on the charcoal stoves sizzled with oil, the smoke drifting upwards along with the streetlights.

Ma Hao occupied the innermost table, with the menu spread out beside him; Chen Kai hadn't arrived yet.

"Why did you choose such a far place?" Lin Ye pulled out a chair and sat down.

"If you're treating someone, you can't just pick something I want to eat, right?" Ma Hao marked another item on the menu with his pen. "Besides, it'll save us from eating near the hospital and having everyone ask us why we're still not off work."

He pushed the phone towards him.

On the screen was a message Chen Kai had just sent: The intersection ahead is blocked, it will take another ten minutes.

Lin Ye glanced at the menu: "Three people, you're ordering eight dishes?"

"Cold dishes don't count as dishes, and grilled skewers don't fill you up."

"What kind of divination?"

"I'm happy today."

The waiter came over with the bill, and Ma Hao changed the beer order to three bottles: "One bottle each, I still have to go through the formalities tomorrow morning."

When Chen Kai arrived, the first plate of skewers had just been served, and the metal skewers were still hot to the touch.

Three bottles of beer stood on the corner of the table, unopened by anyone.

He sat down, drank half a cup of cold tea, and wiped his mouth.

"Has the notification really been issued?"

"I'm off. We'll handle the formalities tomorrow morning." Ma Hao handed over the menu. "This is on me today, so you don't have to remember it every day."

"Isn't it a bit premature to apply without completing the formalities?"

"Do you want some or not?"

"Eat." Chen Kai took a skewer of mutton, took a bite, and then added, "But after the official change, it's reasonable to have a meal to make up for it."

Ma Hao pushed the small metal bucket containing bamboo skewers in front of him: "Just eat it, eating won't shut you up."

The TV in the store was showing a football match, but the volume wasn't very loud, and the commentator's voice sounded muffled.

Chen Kai looked up and said there was a game at the provincial stadium next month, and the tickets weren't expensive. He was already planning to grab three tickets.

The game is on Saturday afternoon, and afterwards you can take a stroll around the newly opened night market next door. He even checked which side of the stands would be out of the sun.

"I'm not going," Ma Hao replied quickly. "Sitting in the stands for two hours in this sweltering heat, I'd rather find a place to go fishing."

"Can you?"

"Can't you learn if you don't know how?"

"You even have to search online for solutions to fishing line knots."

"That's still better than you shouting yourself hoarse in the stands."

The two argued across the table for a long time before finally looking at Lin Ye together.

"You choose."

Lin Ye was picking garlic out of a roasted eggplant when he looked down: "I'm going to watch the game."

Ma Hao stopped eating: "You're still looking at this?"

"I used to watch it."

"When was 'before'?"

"Back when I was in college. Later on, I had so many shifts that I couldn't even watch half of the game."

Chen Kai smiled and took out his phone to note the ticket-buying time: "Okay, two to one. Ma Hao will be in charge of carrying water."

"I'll take you two to the door and then find you a place to enjoy the air conditioning."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a screeching sound came from the next table as a chair dragged on the floor.

Chen Kai turned around at the sound: "What's going on over there?"

Ma Hao also turned around.

A man in his fifties slumped off his chair, and the person next to him could only catch him on one shoulder.

The cup on the table was knocked over, and water dripped down the corner of the table.

"It looks like someone has fainted."

Lin Ye put down his chopsticks, got up and walked over there, with Ma Hao following behind him.

Lin Ye had just squatted down next to the man, and before his hand could even touch him, the gray-clad man who was holding the man's shoulder raised his arm to block him.

"Who are you? Don't touch him!"

"I'm an emergency room doctor at the First Municipal Hospital." Lin Ye stopped what he was doing and pointed to Ma Hao, who had followed him. "He is too. Let's check his breathing first, don't force him to sit up."

The man in gray glanced at them, then slowly lowered his arm that had been protecting him.

"Place it flat slowly."

Ma Hao moved the chair away from the other side, and the two of them, along with the man in gray, gently laid the man on the ground.

Lin Ye leaned down and called out twice, but the man did not respond. However, his chest was still rising and falling, and he could feel a pulse on the side of his neck.

"He's breathing." Lin Ye raised his head. "Chen Kai, call 120 and give me the address clearly."

Chen Kai had already taken out his phone and turned to look for the house number at the door.

Ma Hao told the people who had surrounded him to step back, making room on the ground, and then asked the man in gray, "Did you just fall straight down? Did you hit your head? Did you get whipped?"

"No, he didn't smoke." The gray-clad man's face turned pale. "He said he felt a bit stuffy and stood up to go out for some fresh air, then he collapsed. I checked him; his head shouldn't have hit the ground."

The restaurant owner brought over a glass of warm water, squatted down, and brought it to the man's lips.

"Don't feed him yet." Ma Hao blocked the cup. "He's not fully awake yet, he might choke."

Lin Ye turned the man's head to one side and continued to observe his breathing.

After a dozen seconds, the man's eyelids twitched, and he made a muffled response.

"Lie down first, don't get up right away." Lin Ye asked his name, then asked, "Is your chest still tight? Does it hurt? Do you know where you are?"

The man answered with his name, saying that his chest no longer felt tight or painful, but he felt dizzy and lightheaded.

He tried to sit up, supporting himself on his arms, but Lin Ye supported his shoulders and back, preventing him from straining.

"An ambulance has been called. You just fainted, and we can't determine the cause right now, so don't move you."

Chen Kai returned from the doorway: "120 said they've already dispatched an ambulance."

The restaurant gradually quieted down.

The boss moved two tables in the aisle to the side, and the man in gray squatted down next to the man, calling his name over and over again.

Lin Ye glanced at the time on his phone and noted down the time it took for him to fall and recover.

The ambulance stopped outside the door about ten minutes later.

Emergency personnel came in with monitoring equipment and a first aid kit, and first took over to recheck consciousness, blood pressure, blood oxygen, and bedside blood sugar.

Lin Ye recounted the time it took for him to fall and recover, his earlier words about chest tightness and spontaneous breathing, and the gray-clad man's statements about not convulsing, supporting his shoulders, and not seeing his head hit the ground directly. He then stepped back.

The man was able to speak normally when he was lifted onto the stretcher. The man in gray took his phone and coat and followed him out.

The ambulance doors closed, and it quickly drove away from the old street.

Ma Hao returned to the original table, picked up the skewer of mutton he had just eaten, and put it back.

It's completely cold.

Chen Kai pushed the plate towards the side of the table: "Let the boss heat it up, you haven't finished treating us to this meal yet."

The owner came over, took the plate away, and sent it back to the kitchen to be reheated.

When the skewers were served again, the three bottles of beer on the corner of the table had just been opened.

Chen Kai poured everyone a small half-cup, and no one urged anyone to drink the rest.

"Where were we?" Lin Ye asked.

Chen Kai opened his phone: "Let's grab tickets. You go, Ma Hao isn't."

"Who said I'm not going?" Ma Hao picked up a skewer of reheated mutton. "I have to go see how loud you two can shout. Pay your own tickets, don't include it in today's meal."

During the rest of the meal, Chen Kai kept studying the seating arrangements in the stands, while Ma Hao complained that the cheapest seats were too far from the stadium. Lin Ye only mentioned that the seats by the aisle would be convenient for getting out when the two of them managed to get to the same row of seats.

When it was time to pay, Ma Hao had already scanned the code while he went to get tissues.

Chen Kai held up his phone and found the payment page. The payment record already showed that the payment had been made.

Who are you guarding against?

"Just in case." Ma Hao put away his phone. "I told you this meal was on me."

The three people came out of the restaurant and stood by the roadside waiting for a car.

The night breeze finally picked up a bit of coolness. Chen Kai was still checking the ticket sales time when Ma Hao's phone vibrated first.

The emergency department work group posted the schedule for next week.

Ma Hao clicked on the picture and scrolled down to the section for resident physicians.

Two names were written side by side behind the Monday day shift sign.

He stared at it for two seconds, then handed the phone to Lin Ye.

Lin Ye, Ma Hao.