Somewhere around 3:20 AM, the hospital stopped pretending to be sane.
The lights flickered again. The vending machine stole two yuan from a surgical resident who threatened to punch it. The security guard was watching a drama on mute and crying silently.
And Lin Meilin was in the records room, half-asleep over a file she couldn't find.
Her glasses were crooked, her bun had collapsed hours ago, and her ID badge was being used as a makeshift bookmark.
"I should've just opened a bookstore," she muttered, digging through another cabinet.
Behind her, someone cleared their throat.
She turned to see Dr. Zhao Yichen, holding two canned coffees and looking way too awake for someone who had been on call for 27 hours.
"Midnight romance in the archives?" he said, handing her one.
She took it. "No offense, but I'd rather romance a defibrillator."
"Hot," he smirked. "But fair."
Ten minutes later, they were back in the ER.
A nurse waved them over. "Unconscious male patient just brought in. No ID. Found on a bench outside the metro station. Possible head trauma. He's yours."
"Great," Yichen said, finishing his coffee. "Another mystery man. What is this, a soap opera?"
Meilin followed him in, clipboard in hand.
The man on the stretcher looked about thirty. Tall. Bloody temple. No wallet. No phone. His clothes were torn, but not from a fight like he'd been running through bushes or something worse.
"Still unconscious," Yichen said after checking. "Heart rate stable. No broken ribs. But this gash…"
He gestured to the man's head. Meilin already had gloves on.
"Let's clean him up."
They worked in silence, focused.
Meilin stitched the wound carefully while Yichen adjusted the IV. Nurses moved around them like shadows.
"What do we call him?" she asked quietly.
Yichen shrugged. "Until he wakes up? Patient X."
"Too dramatic."
"Fine. You pick."
She thought for a second. "Li Jun. Feels… calm."
Yichen smiled slightly. "Alright, Dr. Lin. Patient Li Jun it is."
Two hours later, "Li Jun" was still out cold.
Meilin sat beside the bed, watching the monitor. "Who just collapses like this and has zero ID?"
Yichen, perched on a rolling stool nearby, spun slowly like a bored child. "Maybe he's a secret agent."
"Maybe he's homeless."
"Or maybe he's someone who doesn't want to be found."
That silenced her.
For a moment, it wasn't just about a patient. It was something else something unsaid. They both had pasts they didn't talk about. Maybe this stranger was carrying his, too.
At 6:45 AM, just as the sun broke through the smog outside, Li Jun opened his eyes.
"Hey," Meilin said gently. "You're in Qingmei Medical Center. Can you hear me?"
He blinked. Confused. Silent.
"Do you know your name?"
Nothing.
"Anything hurting?"
Still nothing. He looked at them like he didn't understand a word.
Yichen leaned in. "We're doctors. You were found unconscious. We're here to help."
No reply.
The man stared past them, eyes wide, hands trembling.
Then finally, a whisper.
"…Don't let them find me."
They exchanged a look.
"What does that mean?" Meilin asked softly.
Li Jun closed his eyes again. "They'll come for me. I need to leave."
"You're not well enough," she said. "And who's 'they'?"
But he said nothing more.
Yichen pulled Meilin aside. "Okay, either this guy hit his head way too hard, or there's something bigger going on."
Meilin's mind raced. "Should we call the police?"
Yichen paused. "Let's wait. If he's scared of someone, throwing him into a station might make it worse."
She nodded. "We'll give him time."
But inside, something felt off. Not just medically. Personally. Like a gut feeling she couldn't name.
Later that morning, during her break, Meilin sat alone outside the hospital cafeteria.
Her coffee was cold. Her phone had 3% battery. And she still hadn't figured out what to do about the man in Room 14.
Anya walked by in high heels and zero sympathy. "Don't fall in love with the patient."
Meilin blinked. "What?"
"You're doing that thing. The soft concern stare. It's deadly."
"I'm just worried."
"You're always worried. It's cute."
"Thanks, I think?"
Anya smirked. "Also, I heard Yichen offered you dinner last night."
Meilin choked on her coffee. "Who told you that?"
"Huang Bo. Who heard it from the security guard. Who watches too many dramas."
Meilin groaned. "It wasn't a date."
"Mhm. Just like our surgeries start on time."
Back in Room 14, the man was sitting up.
"I can't stay," he whispered when Meilin returned.
"You can't go," she replied.
"I'm in danger."
"Then this is the safest place you've got."
He looked at her, eyes full of fear. But also trust. Just a flicker.
"You believe me?"
"I don't even know you," she said. "But I've seen real fear before. You're not lying."
He leaned back, exhausted. "Then don't tell anyone."
She didn't promise. But she didn't say no either.
That evening, Yichen found her in the stairwell. She was sitting on the steps, elbows on her knees.
He sat beside her without asking.
"You okay?"
"I don't know. Something about him Li Jun. I feel like I've seen eyes like that before."
"Trauma changes people," Yichen said. "You can't treat fear with stitches."
Meilin nodded. "I wish I could."
He nudged her arm. "Hey. You did good today."
"So did you."
"That's rare praise."
"Don't get used to it."
He smiled. "I won't. But I'll definitely remember it."
Night fell.
The hospital quieted for a little while, at least.
In Room 14, Li Jun stared out the window, still silent, still haunted.
In her small on-call room, Meilin lay awake, thinking about all the things she didn't know.
And in a dark corner of the hospital's parking lot, a black car waited with its engine off… and a man in sunglasses watching through binoculars.
Waiting and still waiting…..