Chapter 1246: [1246] Running into someone familiar

“What little frog?” It seemed Yin Fengchun heard Doctor Dong’s words, and suddenly turned around, his gaze sweeping over their line of people. His face returned to its icy expression as he said, “The midnight snack is in the doctor’s office.”

Doctor Dong cheered loudly and was the first to dash into the doctor’s office. The others followed closely behind.

Once inside the office, everyone eagerly opened the plastic bags. The tantalizing aroma of the noodles wafted out, and their stomachs collectively growled.

“Aren’t you eating, Doctor Yin?” Sister Seo called out to Yin Fengchun, who was still outside, inviting him inside to eat.

“Don’t call him. He’s not hungry; he’s busy having a long phone chat with his girlfriend,” Doctor Dong said as he grabbed a bowl and started eating impatiently.

You had to hand it to him—an eternal optimist who quickly forgot about losing his earlier argument with Doctor Li.

“Where did he go?” Xin Yanjun turned her head, looking for Li Chengyuan, who seemed absent from the midnight snack session.

“Doctor Li is in the surgical consultation room making a phone call,” Sister Seo answered effortlessly, like she had an omniscient grip on the comings and goings of the ER medical staff. “Probably calling Doctor Fu, who hasn’t left the hospital tonight.”

Everyone instantly turned their gazes toward Sister Seo: You’re amazing—how do you even know that?

Sister Seo chuckled lightly. As an exceptional emergency department nurse, particularly one in charge of triage, knowing the whereabouts of hospital staff was crucial to swiftly summon help in case of emergencies.

So Teacher Fu is actually here, Xie Wanying thought.

In the same hospital, it was common to run into familiar faces during night shifts.

The elderly woman needed to be admitted, so the neurosurgery doctor on night duty came down to check on the patient and assess the situation.

Song Xueling walked to the doorway of the doctor’s office in the ER and caught sight of the delectable crab roe noodles displayed on the table—noodles he’d eaten before during a night shift with the Hepatobiliary Surgery team. An envy-inducing delicacy, and he knew that working night shifts with certain people always came with perks like food.

The people enjoying the midnight snack turned their heads to notice his expression.

“Are you here to admit a patient?” Huang Zhilei asked.

Being questioned by his senior, Song Xueling nodded honestly and swallowed his yearning to go attend to the patient.

“Doctor Song,” Xie Wanying grabbed a bowl of untouched crab roe noodles and packed it separately in a plastic bag for him, making it easy for him to take upstairs. Her childhood friend was always considerate, preparing a few extra servings of midnight snacks for situations like these.

Seeing her thoughtful gesture, a hint of a smile appeared in Song Xueling’s brown eyes: Dr. Xie really treated him the best.

Huang Zhilei shot a sidelong glance at his junior: Why are you so nice to him?

She simply felt that Doctor Song looked a little pitiful—probably he’d been “disciplined” by Senior Cao recently. Picking up on Senior Brother Huang’s gaze, Xie Wanying swiftly pulled out a big White Rabbit candy from the pocket of her white coat and stuffed it into Senior Brother Huang’s pocket.

Senior Brother Huang, now holding the candy from his junior: What—is he now a little kid?

The others nearby burst into laughter.

“I’ll come back for it after seeing the patient, Dr. Xie.” Song Xueling thanked Xie Wanying and quickly turned to attend to the patient. Once the ER admissions were done, he could eat the midnight snack and rest.

“Wait.” Xie Wanying followed behind him. The elderly woman was initially her and Teacher Xin’s patient, and transferring her care required communication with the ward doctor.

The two walked toward the Observation Room, one ahead of the other.

On the way, Song Xueling glanced at her and contemplated asking: How’s life in internal medicine? Isn’t it boring not doing surgeries? Why not transfer to neurosurgery quickly?

But before he could finish turning his head, she had already caught sight of the dark circles he was trying to conceal.

Neurosurgical operations were lengthy—far longer than procedures in other surgical departments. Doctors new to the department struggled to adapt, needing to recalibrate their schedules and redistribute time for work and rest. Song Xueling was currently in this adjustment phase, so it couldn’t entirely be pinned on Cao Yong “disciplining” him.

“It’ll get better after a while.” Song Xueling turned his face aside, sheepishly avoiding her gaze—knowing her eyes were sharper than X-rays.