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

When Lin Ye and Ma Hao finished signing the last file of medical records and pushed open the glass door of the emergency room doctor's passage, it was already 8:40 a.m.

"I'm alive again..." Ma Hao stood on the steps, stretching in an exaggerated way, his bones making a few teeth-grinding cracking sounds. "I swear, when I was standing in the shift change room just now, half of my soul had already left my body. I was afraid that Director Qin would call on me and a moth would fly out of my mouth if I opened my mouth."

Lin Ye lowered his hand and took a deep breath of the outside air.

Gone was the pungent smell of disinfectant, gone was the sour stench mixed with blood and vomit; only the exhaust fumes from cars on the street and the aroma of meat wafting from a distant steamed bun shop remained.

"Let's go, let's eat some carbs to replenish ourselves." Lin Ye patted Ma Hao on the back. "If you don't eat something soon, the other half of your soul will drift away too."

The two followed the outer wall of the hospital and turned into a small alley in the back street, seemingly familiar with the area.

This is the most down-to-earth area near the First Municipal Hospital, with all sorts of small, unassuming restaurants and breakfast stalls crammed on both sides.

It was the tail end of the morning rush hour.

Doctors and nurses who had just finished their night shifts, family members rushing to visit patients, and residents from nearby communities filled the narrow alleyway to the brim.

"Boss, two bowls of spicy soup, extra vinegar! And half a pound of pan-fried buns!" Ma Hao shouted in his hoarse voice at a stall he frequented, then pulled Lin Ye to sit down at a plastic table that had just become available.

There were still traces of soy milk left by the previous guest on the table. Ma Hao skillfully pulled out two rough napkins and wiped it haphazardly.

At the next table, two middle-aged women were arguing fiercely about being cut in line while queuing to buy fried dough sticks.

Not far away, a primary school student carrying a huge schoolbag was being scolded by his mother in the street for not wanting to go to school, and he was crying loudly.

Extremely noisy and chaotic.

In the emergency room, life is digitized into the beating blood pressure and heart rate on the monitor; life and death are often decided in minutes or even seconds.

There, everything must be precise, ruthless, and absolutely rational.

Only by sitting here, listening to people haggling over five cents for a scallion, and watching the steaming baskets emitting white vapor, could Lin Ye truly feel that—last night they had done everything in their power to pull Zhang Qiang back from the brink of death by cardiac tamponade and to drag Li Xu back from the brink of death by esophageal rupture, all so that these people could continue to have the right to argue, cry, and eat breakfast in this noisy world.

This is what real, vibrant human life looks like.

"Hey, Lin Ye, look over there." Ma Hao was biting into a pan-fried bun when he suddenly nudged Lin Ye with his elbow and tilted his chin to the side.

Lin Ye followed his gaze.

Fang Rui and Tang Wen were sitting face to face under the plastic awning of a steamed bun shop a dozen meters away.

The two resident trainees looked even more disheveled than them, with messy hair and dark circles under their eyes like pandas.

Fang Rui was excitedly waving the half-eaten bun in his hand, muttering something to himself, while Tang Wen listened with wide eyes, nodding vigorously from time to time.

"Fang Rui is definitely bragging about getting the ultrasound probe last night." Ma Hao grinned and made to stand up. "Let's go over there and scare them a bit, and while we're at it, let's check if Tang Wen has summarized her communication experience from last night."

"Alright, sit down and eat your buns." Lin Ye smiled and pulled Ma Hao's arm. "Let them digest it themselves. After working such a long night shift, we should give the young man some time to brag."

Ma Hao chuckled twice and sat down again: "That's true. Back in the day, the first time we stayed up all night with our teacher in the emergency room, I felt like I was worthy of the Nobel Prize in Medicine the next morning. Now, well..."

Ma Hao took a big gulp of hot and sour soup and sighed contentedly, "Right now, all I want is to win the Nobel Prize for Sleep."

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, the two parted ways at the crossroads.

Lin Ye took out his key and turned the security door. His own small rented room quietly welcomed his return.

The room wasn't big, but it was very tidy.

Lin Ye changed his shoes and went straight into the bathroom.

He turned on the shower and set the water temperature to the hottest setting.

The scalding water poured over his head, washing away the tension that had gripped him all night. The water carried away the lingering smell of disinfectant and the last bit of professional fatigue that came with being a "doctor."

After taking a shower and changing into a clean, loose set of pajamas, Lin Ye threw himself heavily onto the soft bed.

Outside the window, the sunlight had become bright and dazzling.

He drew the heavy, double-layered blackout curtains, instantly plunging the entire bedroom into a comfortable, dim light.

The excitement in my brain began to fade, and fatigue washed over me like a tide, making my eyelids grow heavier and heavier.

Just as his consciousness was about to plunge into darkness.

"Buzz!"

The phone on the bedside table suddenly vibrated violently.

Almost as a reflex, Lin Ye's relaxed body tensed up instantly.

His right hand grabbed the phone like lightning, his eyes snapped open in a second, and countless terrifying thoughts flashed through his mind, such as "department emergency call," "mass attack," and "Zhang Qiang's condition worsening."

He stared at the lit-up phone screen.

It was a WeChat message sent by Ma Hao.

[Ma Dashuai]: Damn it! I just finished showering and was about to use the toilet before going to sleep when I realized we're out of toilet paper! Should I get dressed and go downstairs to buy some now? I need help urgently!!!

"..."

Lin Ye stared at the screen for a full five seconds.

He chuckled silently and typed a few words rapidly on the screen.

【林野】：To pick at something with one's hands.

After sending the message, I put my phone on silent and tossed it back onto the bedside table.

Lin Ye turned over and pulled the blanket over himself.