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

It's 1:30 a.m.

The emergency beds were all empty.

The bed sheets were changed to light blue, leaving only the monitor's standby light casting a faint green glow at the corner.

"Xiao Fang, put what you're doing down and come grab a bite to eat."

Sister Zhao walked out of the treatment room and reached down to pull down the bottom metal drawer of the nurses' station.

With a screeching sound of metal rails scraping against each other, the "top-tier survival supplies" for the emergency room night shift were neatly placed on the nurses' station: two buckets of pickled cabbage instant noodles, four vacuum-packed tea eggs, and a whole bag of slightly crushed sugar-free soda crackers.

"Sister Zhao, tonight I finally know what a tachycardia is like."

Fang Rui dragged his weak legs to the counter, staring blankly at the white steam billowing from the electric kettle.

"When that drainage tube was inserted, a sour smell gushed out, and my stomach clenched three times."

"You're already getting a cramp?"

Ma Hao, carrying several IV refill forms from the observation area, yawned and strolled over from the lobby. Without any hesitation, he picked out a bucket of instant noodles, tore open the seal, and shook the seasoning packet loudly.

"Ask your teacher Lin. When he was in the same class as me during his first year of residency, there was an emergency with massive bleeding. He performed CPR for twenty minutes straight, and his hands were shaking so badly that he couldn't even remove the IV needle. In the end, Lao Qin had to slam a box of lunches on the table and force the two of us to swallow it in the treatment room."

Lin Ye walked over from the sink carrying an enamel water cup, his knuckles still damp and cold.

Don't listen to his nonsense.

Lin Ye pulled out a folding chair and sat down.

"His hands were shaking at the time. He dropped his chopsticks twice while holding the lunchbox, insisting that he had choked on the talcum powder in the sterile gloves."

"Hey, Mr. Lin, you shouldn't hit someone in the face. Now that you're a team leader, you need to leave a positive and shining image for the trainees under your command."

Sister Zhao leaned against the marble countertop, peeling a tea egg in her hand, watching the three young doctors slurping noodle soup around the kettle, a smile playing on her lips:

"I must say, when Lin Ye was calling people over the hospital's public address system just now, he really had the same air about him as Old Qin smashing the table back in the day. Those two attending physicians from the obstetrics and general surgery departments, who usually have their noses in the air, were so stunned by the bedside that they didn't even dare to stammer."

"That's called suppressing one's aura."

Ma Hao, chewing on a braised egg, mumbled a reply.

"But Lin Ye, only you dare to be so arrogant. If it were me, I'd probably get a good scolding from those old maternity doctors."

Lin Ye drank warm water, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes to rest.

The feeling of relaxation after the tension spread through my limbs, and all I could hear was the slurping sound of noodles and the occasional cough from a patient's family member outside in the corridor.

This is the most precious breathing space during an emergency room night shift.

It's 7:30 in the morning.

Day shift medical staff carried breakfast into the handover room one after another, creating a noisy atmosphere.

Lin Ye neatly arranged the two stacks of critical care medical records and multidisciplinary consultation forms on the corner of the table.

The door to the shift handover room was pushed open.

Qin Hai strode in, carrying his dark brown stainless steel thermos filled with strong tea.

Old Qin carried the faint scent of herbs and shaving soap from the early morning. Although his eyes still held their usual sternness, his gaze softened noticeably when it fell on the duty log for the red zone.

Morning meeting handover.

Fang Rui stood ramrod straight, reporting on the flow of more than 30 patients during the night shift, as well as the critical treatment and transfer destinations of two critically ill patients.

The senior attending physicians present all looked up, casting surprised and approving glances.

Qin Hai twirled the lid of the thermos in his hand, then looked down and flipped through two thick medical records of critically ill patients to the signature page.

The joint medical orders from the three departments, the postoperative records of thoracic drainage, and the vital signs verification data were all clearly organized and without any procedural loopholes.

"The medical records are written quite neatly."

Qin Hai closed the medical record folder and glanced at Lin Ye with his eyelids raised.

Old Qin never uttered a single syrupy compliment; he simply reached out and gave Lin Ye's rather thin shoulder a heavy pat:

"Your hand was steady; you didn't embarrass Group A. Alright, all the paperwork's done. Go back to sleep."

"it is good."

Lin Ye rubbed his sore neck, a very faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

8:15 a.m.

Lin Ye and Ma Hao walked out of the locker room side by side.

Stepping out of the emergency room, the fresh, slightly muggy air of a late summer morning greets you.

"Let's go to Old Li's tofu pudding. We have to eat our fill before we go to sleep."

Ma Hao put his hands in his pockets and turned into the convenient morning market on the back street of the hospital, a place he knew exactly where to go.

Two bowls of hot tofu pudding, drizzled with thick braised sauce and sprinkled with pickled mustard greens, were served on the table, along with a basket of freshly cooked golden yellow glutinous rice strips and two cups of iced soy milk.

"call……"

As he swallowed a mouthful of piping hot, smooth tofu pudding, the warmth slid down his esophagus into his stomach. Ma Hao let out a long, comfortable sigh, then slumped against the back of the plastic chair like a deflated balloon.

"I'm alive... I'm fucking alive."

Ma Hao grabbed a fried dough stick, tore it in half, and soaked it in the broth.

"Last night I picked up three people with alcohol poisoning. They vomited all over my pants, and I had to hand wash their clothes when I got back. The secondhand washing machine in my shabby rented room completely broke down last night. It shook like an earthquake when it was spinning, and the landlord absolutely refuses to pay for a new one."

"I have an empty basin in my room, and I brought it over to soak my hands because I find hand washing too troublesome."

Lin Ye took a big gulp of iced soy milk; the cool, sweet soy flavor dispelled the dryness and bitterness in his mouth.

"Give me a break, do you think I don't know your germaphobia? If I threw it in your basin, you'd throw the basin away too."

Ma Hao chuckled as he chewed on his fried dough stick, then glanced at Lin Ye.

"But your one-bedroom apartment is indeed quiet, it's on the first floor so you don't have to climb stairs, and it's not so stuffy these days at the end of summer. Once I get my quarterly performance bonus, I'll have to move to a single room with better soundproofing, because the snoring next door is like a bellows at night."

"Let's save up the money to pay for the application materials for my official employment defense."

Lin Ye slowly finished the last bite of the fried dough stick with the pickles.

Two young doctors in their early twenties sat at a noisy, crowded breakfast stall, chatting about rent, electricity bills, washing machines, and their mundane daily lives over steaming carbohydrates, just like any other ordinary young people rushing to work on the street.

After finishing their breakfast, the two paid the bill and walked back side by side along the path in the residential area.

The morning light filtered through the trees, casting two long shadows on the paving stones.

Reaching the crossroads, Ma Hao took out the key with the doll hanging from it and spun it around.

"I'm off, Team Leader Lin. I'm not scheduled for tonight. I'm planning to sleep until 6 PM. Anyone who calls is a coward."

"Go back and draw the curtains."

Lin Ye also took out his own brass key from his pocket and waved it at him.

"Okay, see you later."

The two parted ways at the intersection, back to back.

Lin Ye followed the stone path to the innermost unit door on the first floor, inserted the key into the lock, and turned it gently.

Click.

The door opened.

The room was a simple but exceptionally clean studio apartment.

The floor was mopped clean, and under the simple wooden desk against the wall, two thick old surgical books that Ma Hao had casually stuffed into the room when they moved were neatly placed on it.

There was no smell of disinfectant in the room, only the faint scent of dry wood in late summer.

Lin Ye kicked off his canvas shoes, put on soft-soled slippers, and went into the bedroom.

The most valuable possession in the bedroom was the first pair of heavy, all-black blackout curtains that were installed when we moved in.

Lin Ye reached out and grabbed the edge of the curtain, pulling hard.

Splash.....

The thick, dark blackout fabric moved smoothly along the slide rail, overlapping and closing seamlessly.

The bright, scorching daylight that was outside the window at nine o'clock was completely extinguished outside the wall in a second.

The entire room was instantly plunged into a pure, quiet, and completely dark night.

Lin Ye locked the security door from the inside and poured a large glass of warm water down his throat.

He picked up his phone from beside his pillow, swiped his finger across the screen, and switched all calls and social media apps to Do Not Disturb mode, keeping only the landline number of the head of the emergency department at the First Municipal Hospital in the whitelist.

The phone screen went out.

Lin Ye took off his T-shirt and plunged headfirst into the wide, soft bed.

The pillow sank in, and a thin blanket covered my chest.