A Bad-Hearted Doctor is Unbearably Beautiful - Chapter 103

When Shen Zhao said those words, the beer can in Lu Xiao’s hand suddenly slipped.

But in the next heartbeat, Lu Xiao’s reflexes kicked in and he snatched it out of the air.

Right. How could I have forgotten about that guy?

He had almost let his guard down. Close call, very close call.

“With so much going on lately, are we really going to go?” Lu Xiao asked, feigning nonchalance as he took a bite of a chicken wing. He couldn’t even taste it; his eyes were darting toward Shen Zhao’s face, searching for a reaction.

Shen Zhao’s expression remained unchanged. “It’s in the evening. If we finish our work, we’ll make it in time. If you’re busy, you don’t have to—”

“Who said I was busy?! I’m incredibly interested in his concert! I love listening to people sing; missing this would be a lifelong regret!”

The speed at which Lu Xiao’s face changed left Shen Zhao momentarily speechless.

“Alright… see you tomorrow night then?”

“Right, right, tomorrow night. It’s getting late, finish up so you can go home and rest. I still have to report to the station; there’s a mountain of data to check.”

Lu Xiao felt a prickle of irritation and wanted to end the topic of Shen Zhao’s “childhood friend” as quickly as possible. He hailed a taxi to send Shen Zhao home first, then ordered the driver to head to the police station. The footage in his hand needed to be uploaded and backed up immediately.

Shen City Police Station

A single desk lamp glowed on Lu Xiao’s desk. He held a pen, mapping out the current progress of the case on a sheet of paper.

The story behind the “Ward 13” case was finally becoming clear:

Why did the kidnapper target Cheng Nianchuan? The answer was obvious: the kidnapper’s initial goal was to draw out Zhai Hongtian, the man behind the scenes whose hands were soaked in blood. However, Zhai Hongtian didn’t care whether his son lived or died, so the kidnapper escalated the situation, provoking the police to force a confrontation.

Zhai Hongtian’s Crimes. There was a high probability that Zhai Hongtian was a primary conspirator in the medical experiments at the Angel Welfare House over a decade ago. Furthermore, he had used his private medical clubs to amass wealth by providing illegal medical procedures and harming minors. Because the case involved too many powerful figures, these elites had built a natural protective web around him. No one wanted Zhai Hongtian to fall. Therefore, only by gathering enough evidence could they bring Zhai Hongtian and his financiers to justice. The next step was to rescue the innocent children in “Holy Healing Manor.”

The Kidnapper’s Identity. Lu Xiao fell into deep thought. Every time he considered this, he couldn’t help but link the kidnapper to Nine.

The metaphor of Ward 13… The Angel Welfare House… That twisted possessiveness over Shen Zhao…

By all accounts, the kidnapper knew Shen Zhao and was extremely close to him. But according to Shen Zhao, Nine was his first and best friend from the orphanage. If they were that close, why would Nine engage in behavior that seemed like revenge or mental torture? If Nine already had evidence of Zhai Hongtian’s crimes, why not tell Shen Zhao directly? Why use such a convoluted method?

Unless… there was an irreconcilable conflict between them.

Lu Xiao weighed the possibilities. He pulled up the screen recording of Shen Zhao’s kidnapping, intending to watch it again. He wanted to understand exactly what the kidnapper felt for Shen Zhao.

As the night grew deeper, the ashtray beside him filled with over a dozen cigarette butts. He scrutinized the video frame by frame. Simultaneously, he took out the schedule provided by Lin Xue, cross-referencing the “superstar’s” public appearances.

“Fuck, this guy was doing a fan livestream at the time?”

Lu Xiao stared at the interaction video circulating online and double-checked the timestamps. At the exact moment he had breached the door during the kidnapping, this man was interacting with fans. Nine’s face was clearly visible in the lens… no doubt about it.

“Did I see a ghost? How the hell is this possible?”

“Officer, would you honestly rather believe in ghosts than believe he’s not the kidnapper?”

Lin Xue yawned as she walked up behind Lu Xiao.

“Shit! You walk without making a sound! Scared the life out of me!” Lu Xiao jumped in his seat.

“Can’t be helped. Everyone was worried about you; they said someone had to stay behind and wait for you to get back.”

“So it turns out you’re the one who cares about me most!” Lu Xiao was genuinely touched. He hadn’t expected Lin Xue to be the sentimental one.

“Not really… I just lost at Rock-Paper-Scissors.”

Lin Xue, eyes bleary with sleep, stared at the monitor. “Eh? You’re watching this clip again?” She pointed a freshly manicured nail at the porcelain-masked kidnapper on the screen.

“Yeah… I’ve got a headache. I’m done, I’m closing it.” Lu Xiao moved to shut the laptop.

“Hmm… I’ve watched this video several times too,” Lin Xue mused. “I don’t know how to describe it, but I just feel that… after the kidnapper agreed to let little Cheng go, his behavior got a bit weird.” She yawned again. “I can’t put my finger on it. Forget it. Now that I see you’ve returned safely from the den of thieves, I’m going home to sleep, Captain Lu!”

Lin Xue started to pack her bag, but Lu Xiao suddenly lunged toward her like he’d been injected with adrenaline. “Sister! Xue-jie! Don’t go! Tell me more!”

“Huh?”

Lu Xiao had already shoved the laptop onto Lin Xue’s desk and pulled out her chair with gentlemanly flourish. “Please, sit! Tell me everything!”

Lin Xue frowned. “Does this count as overtime?”

“Yes! Ten times the pay! Out of my own pocket!”

On the screen, Shen Zhao was threatening the kidnapper. Lin Xue dragged the progress bar to the moment Shen Zhao slit his own wrist. Blood was spurting from his arm, but he ignored it, pressing the blade against his carotid artery.

“Do as I say! Take him out! Or my next cut… will be here!”

Lu Xiao looked away, unable to watch.

“Don’t turn your head, look! At this point, it had been about four hours since Dr. Shen went missing, right?”

Lu Xiao recalled and nodded.

Lin Xue gave him a look of “you’re hopeless” and scanned the kidnapper’s movements. She dragged the bar forward. “Now look at this part. How does it feel?”

Lu Xiao stared. This was after Cheng Nianchuan had been released, when the kidnapper was announcing the bomb locations. It was roughly the 11th hour of Shen Zhao’s disappearance. The kidnapper was pinching Shen Zhao’s chin while taunting the police.

“Well? Nothing?”

“Nothing…” Lu Xiao’s brain was empty.

Lin Xue sighed and pulled up the very first footage of the kidnapper’s appearance. It was also a shot of the kidnapper tilting Shen Zhao’s chin up. “Still don’t see it?”

Lu Xiao shook his head, his patience wearing thin. “Just tell me, my lady! Are you making me play ‘Spot the Difference’?”

“Don’t you see that the physical interaction between him and Dr. Shen is vastly different between these two time periods?” Lin Xue replayed the few seconds of video.

“When he first appears with Dr. Shen, his gestures are very… struggling. Awkward. It’s like he wants to get close but doesn’t dare; he finally has him but is afraid to touch. Every time he touches Dr. Shen’s face, he’s trying to look reckless, but in reality…”

“He’s being very gentle…”

“But look at the later footage. I feel that after Cheng Nianchuan was released, that ‘awkwardness’ disappeared from the kidnapper. His physical interaction with Dr. Shen decreased significantly.”

Lu Xiao processed her words, feeling like she was speaking a foreign language. But he grasped her core meaning. “Are you saying that the person behind the mask in these two clips… might not be the same person? That’s impossible, right?”

Lin Xue curled her lip. “I can’t explain it to you. I spend all my time using a magnifying glass to analyze my favorite ‘ships.’ My eyes are the ruler. Whether it’s real or fake, I’m the judge.”

Lu Xiao was left even more confused by Lin Xue’s mystical “shipper” logic. He turned back to the computer and spent the rest of the night playing “Spot the Difference” on his own…