A Bad-Hearted Doctor is Unbearably Beautiful - Chapter 1

(This is a crime and mystery-solving story with intricate and mind-bending cases. Both male protagonists are super career-oriented.)

(It’s not one of those “madly in love from the start” stories. The romance develops at a normal pace, so please be patient with the two protagonists. There will be sweetness later!!)

Wooo-eee—wooo-eee—

At 2:16 a.m., two military ambulances, their blue lights flashing, pierced the pouring rain. Their wheels sent up a spray of water—

Before the on-duty doctors could even make out the situation, the gate barrier was struck with a resounding crash. Moments later, the front of a vehicle was lodged directly in the emergency lane.

“What the heck is going on?!” The sleepy doctor on duty was instantly startled awake and rushed to the entrance to assist.

“There’s been an explosion downtown!”

“What??”

The moment the ambulance door opened, the stench of blood and fresh gunpowder wafted through their masks and into their nostrils.

Two casualties, one male and one female, were carried out of the vehicle.

The stretcher the man was on had been soaked in blood to a rusty color. A nurse immediately rushed forward to help lift the stretcher onto a gurney.

“Make way! Make way!” The nurse pushed the bed, running quickly.

“Trauma bed one, for penetrating bleeding! Trauma bed two, for active bleeding!” The nurse who had raced off the ambulance shouted from behind. “Is Dr. Shen here? The patients need immediate rescue!”

That night, only Dr. Shen Zhao was on duty as the head physician.

Shen Zhao’s eyes narrowed. He put on his mask and had just stepped into the emergency room when the door was kicked open by a tall man in a police uniform. The next second, an undeniable, hoarse voice sounded in his ear: “Save the woman first.”

Shen Zhao’s movements paused. He looked back with a sidelong glance.

It was a policeman covered in the smell of blood, his eyes bloodshot.

Lu Xiao looked like he had been consumed by a killing frenzy. His whole body’s muscles were tense, and the smell of gunpowder from the shootout was still clinging to him.

“What do you mean?” Shen Zhao looked up and coldly threw out a few words.

“The woman is a hostage I just rescued!”

“A hostage? Then what about the other one?”

Lu Xiao glared at the man who was still bleeding profusely. “The criminal who just orchestrated an explosion that killed two people!!”

After taking in the injuries of both people on the operating tables, Shen Zhao’s gaze immediately focused on the profusely bleeding man.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he grabbed a hemostat and rushed to the operating table. “Get a blood test immediately! Prepare blood plasma.”

The man’s brown sweater had already been cut open by the ambulance doctors. The bullet wound, even under the pressure of a bandage, was still gushing blood.

It was Chinese New Year’s Eve. After midnight, the sound of firecrackers and fireworks on the streets had fallen silent. The military hospital was understaffed, and at this time, there was only one emergency room available. The room was quickly divided by transparent drapes into two surgical areas, where operations were performed simultaneously.

Besides Shen Zhao and his assistant, three other interns swarmed to the other operating table where the woman was bleeding.

“Has the blood type been confirmed?”

While performing emergency treatment on the wound, Shen Zhao inserted the IV for the blood plasma into the man. His voice was calm, but his movements never stopped. A single glance was enough to make everyone around him immediately fall silent.

Influenced by Shen Zhao’s calm demeanor, the other assistant doctors on the operating table also proceeded with the rescue in an orderly manner.

“That scumbag just killed two people with a bomb! And that woman was almost killed by him! Are you wasting blood plasma on someone like that?”

Lu Xiao roared from the doorway. Seeing Shen Zhao’s arrogant look, he couldn’t help but want to reach for the pistol at his waist, which still held a lingering warmth. He radiated a dangerous aura.

Under the shadowless lamp, Shen Zhao’s eyelids twitched. When he looked up again, his calm eyes held a sharp edge. “Get him out.”

Lu Xiao was pushed out of the door by a nurse, and then the entire operating room was tightly locked.

“Blood pressure is 40-60, and it’s still dropping. Prepare two more units of blood! Inject adrenaline immediately.”

The blood pressure finally stabilized.

Shen Zhao recalled the scene from moments ago. That man… he felt like he had seen him somewhere before.

It seemed to be in a group photo of the hospital leadership and the public security bureau, the man with the most smug smile—Lu Xiao, the infamous captain of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Shen City Public Security Bureau.

Shen Zhao’s hands remained steady as he used the hemostat to probe deep into the abdominal wound, but his ears were constantly attuned to the progress on the operating table where the woman lay.

The woman had wounds of varying depths and irregularities on her neck. Her legs showed signs of blunt force trauma and minor bruising. Shen Zhao estimated she might have a fractured shin bone.

While the woman’s condition was critical, it was not immediately life-threatening. The neck wounds had not reached a major artery, and with proper handling by the interns, her leg could soon be stabilized. In contrast, the ‘criminal’ was already teetering on the edge of life and death.

The indicator light on the operating room door had yet to go out. Outside in the corridor, there was the sound of hurried footsteps.

“Captain Lu! Captain Lu!!!” Wang Deng ran, breathless, shouting in the hallway.

“Why are you wailing like you’re at a funeral? I’m not dead yet!” Lu Xiao snapped, then coughed twice in pain.

“Oh, brother, as long as you’re okay. Director Gao heard that you and the suspect had a gunfight on the highway and was so angry that he called and scolded us all night.”

Lu Xiao’s expression had gradually softened, and the oppressive feeling he gave off was mostly gone. The tense veins at his temples were no longer bulging.

He slowly relaxed, sitting against the seat in the hallway. His mind was still replaying the violent roar of the explosion. Beads of sweat broke out on his sharp face. The sweat dripped from his deep-set eyes, down his eyelashes, along his defined nose, and landed directly on the floor. His face had turned pale.

“Captain Lu, you…”

It was only then that Wang Deng noticed several knife wounds on Lu Xiao’s left shoulder. The shirt clinging to his body was completely soaked in blood. The blood had seeped through to his undershirt and was still oozing, trickling down his waist to pool at his hip before collecting in a puddle on the bench.

“Brother, is all this your blood?” Wang Deng’s eyes widened.

Lu Xiao just pressed on his wound in pain. “Got any cigarettes?”

“…”

“Damn it, doctor! Doctor!”

Wang Deng yelled loudly in the hallway.

The door to the operating room behind him was suddenly pulled open. A nurse, looking almost ready to faint from exhaustion, leaned against the door, panting.

“What are you making so much noise for?! There are only a few people on duty in the emergency room tonight, and you criminal police officers have put all of us through a rescue operation.” Wang Deng looked at the nurse, whose surgical cap was damp with sweat on her forehead.

“But, our captain…” Wang Deng’s voice was almost a sob.

Lu Xiao waved his hand. “I’m fine. It’s a small cut.”

“How are things inside?” Lu Xiao asked, looking at the nurse who had come out for a breather.

“The woman’s neck wound didn’t reach the main artery; it’s been handled. Her leg needs surgery to be fixed with a steel pin. After the surgery, her family can pick her up to go home for the New Year. As for the man… Dr. Shen is still trying to save him.”

The nurse finished speaking and only then realized this was the person who had kicked the door open.

“I’m not saying this to be rude, but what are you criminal detectives doing in the middle of the night? Every time, you’re in a rush, creating a bunch of casualties. Is this how all police officers in Shen City handle cases now?”

“Hey, what kind of talk is that! You think we want this? Criminals don’t pick days to commit crimes!”

“Wang Deng!”

Lu Xiao hurriedly stopped Wang Deng from talking back. The two of them quietly endured a few glares from the nurse.

“You don’t know, but at that moment, I wanted to stab that scumbag to death,” Lu Xiao muttered after a long silence.

Although Wang Deng was shocked, he understood Lu Xiao’s character. He was a ruthless person.

He hated criminals to his core. While his investigative methods were unconventional and harsh, they often led to breakthroughs faster than standard procedures. Most major cases in the division were solved under Lu Xiao’s leadership.

Lu Xiao: 32 years old, Captain of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Shen City Public Security Bureau. It is rumored that his grandfather was a founding general and his father runs a multinational medical equipment company. In the city’s long-running shooting competitions, his accuracy with both handguns and rifles consistently ranks among the top three in the entire police force.

During missions, he once took down a 250-pound casino thug with his bare hands, but when he’s not on patrol, you might find two hamsters, each worth thousands, in his pocket. He also likes to add with a menacing tone when showing off: “My phone number ending in 8888 wasn’t given to me for free when I topped up my mobile plan~”

Director Gao once said: “That kid has a bit of an evil streak.”

The warning light on the operating room door finally went out.

The sound of wheels on a gurney rolled closer. A group of people emerged from the operating room.

“So, my patient didn’t die. Should I thank you for showing mercy?”

Shen Zhao’s thin lips moved slightly. His fingers were distinct and bony as he took off his gloves. His face was pale, and he looked somewhat physically exhausted. There were a few specks of dark blood on his surgical gown, which was a shocking sight.

Wang Deng and Lu Xiao were both stunned. They saw the sarcastic glint in Shen Zhao’s eyes, and it was clear he was taunting Lu Xiao for what he had said earlier.

Lu Xiao adjusted his military green shirt, using his right hand to lean on the wall as he stood up.

“No, he owes his fate entirely to your superb medical skills and miraculous recovery,” Lu Xiao said with a vicious tone.

“Oh?” Shen Zhao let out a cold laugh, his gaze falling on the bloodstain on the seat behind Lu Xiao.