A Bad-Hearted Doctor is Unbearably Beautiful - Chapter 107

How did it come to this?

Lu Xiao had only been gone for a few minutes, yet a catastrophe of this magnitude had occurred in the blink of an eye. He kept his eyes fixed on Shen Zhao, who was currently cradling Nine on the stage. He resisted the urge to rush over; instead, he flashed his badge to a security guard and asked in a low, urgent voice, “What’s the situation?”

Moments before the accident:

The moment Nine had crouched down, fans from all directions had swarmed toward the stage, their excitement reaching a fever pitch. They waved their hands frantically, desperate for an interaction with their idol, while camera flashes strobed incessantly.

Above the stage, the massive lighting rig began to wobble slightly. A few spectators in the stands noticed the abnormality and shrieked warnings.

“Watch out!”

But the fans surrounding the superstar were too intoxicated by the proximity to their idol to hear. Their screams of excitement completely drowned out the cries of alarm.

At that moment, Shen Zhao felt the lights above his head flicker. Before he could fully look up, a massive shadow plummeted from the sky. The euphoric atmosphere was instantly crushed by a sudden, collective gasp of horror.

BOOM—!

As the lighting rig snapped, a heavy speaker with sharp, jagged metal edges hurtled toward the floor. It was falling directly toward where Nine was crouching.

There was almost no time to react. Shen Zhao’s pupils contracted violently. In that split second, he tried to shove Nine out of the way, but he wasn’t fast enough. The heavy metal object slammed into Nine’s body, forcing him to his knees instantly.

The rest of the rig gave way entirely. Lights exploded as they hit the ground, sending sparks flying in every direction. Under the flickering magnesium flares, the crowd retreated like a receding tide.

The stadium fell into a momentary, deathly silence, followed by ear-piercing screams. The music had stopped completely. Fans wailed and cried out Damian’s name as panic, chaos, and dread spread like wildfire through the crowd.

A large group of security guards rushed onto the stage to maintain order, while staff members shouted into microphones, pleading for an orderly evacuation. The sounds of the crowd began to fade into the distance…

Shen Zhao was among the first to dash onto the stage.

“No one is allowed near!” A security guard blocked his path, his eyes full of suspicion. Meanwhile, backstage staff had already reached Nine’s side to assess his injuries. Someone was already on the phone calling for an ambulance.

“I’m his friend, and I’m a doctor!” Shen Zhao said coldly. The guards formed a human wall around Nine, creating a barrier to keep the frenzied fans at bay.

“Let him in…”

The guards surrounding Nine heard a faint voice. They turned to see Nine tremulously raising a hand.

Shen Zhao lunged forward. When he saw Nine’s condition, his heart skipped a beat. Every ounce of logic and suspicion he had held shattered into pieces.

Nine was curled on the floor. His silver-white hair was stained red where blood had pooled from an unknown wound. One of his hands was instinctively clutching his back, his palm a terrifying, vivid red.

Shen Zhao looked down at him, his eyes welling with an unspeakable emotion. He knelt by Nine’s side, his voice trembling. “Can you hear me? Speak to me!”

Nine’s eyes fluttered open. His eyelashes had been dyed white for the stage effect; seeing them now made Shen Zhao’s heart ache even more. Nine’s gaze was vacant at first, but once he recognized Shen Zhao’s face, he reached out and gripped Shen Zhao’s wrist tightly.

“I’m here…”

Nine’s voice was barely a whisper, yet a faint smile seemed to play at the corners of his mouth. “I’m sorry… did I… scare you?”

Shen Zhao’s voice was shaking, and his fingertips were trembling so violently it felt as if his very breath were being torn apart. He pulled the fallen man into a tight embrace.

He didn’t realize that Lu Xiao was already standing just a few meters behind them.

Nine’s performance outfit was soaked in blood. His back was a mess of torn fabric and raw flesh where the sharp metal edges had sliced through him; it was impossible to tell how deep the wounds went. Though his consciousness was clearly fading, he refused to let go of Shen Zhao’s hand.

His fingers even began to graze the faint, reddened scar on Shen Zhao’s wrist—the mark from his suicide attempt. In a moment unnoticed by the crowd, Nine’s lips lightly brushed against Shen Zhao’s wrist…

“Where is the standby ambulance? Why isn’t it here yet?!” an anxious woman screamed at a staff member.

“The ambulance… it can’t get in, Sister Ling! The roads outside are completely blocked. The police are helping to clear the emergency lane, but the fans won’t leave—they’re demanding we announce Damian’s status!”

“Where is the emergency medical team?!”

“They’re on their way!”

Lu Xiao watched the scene in silence.

Is Shen Zhao crying? Why are his eyes so red?

What exactly does this friend mean to him?

Lu Xiao’s fists clenched and unclenched until his knuckles were white. His brow was furrowed into a deep, painful knot.

“…Don’t you dare fall asleep!” Shen Zhao gritted his teeth. “Tell me where it hurts! What does it feel like!”

In this moment, Shen Zhao didn’t care if Nine was the kidnapper or the mastermind behind some grand conspiracy. He only wanted Nine to stay alive. Over a decade ago, he had already lost this person once. He could not endure the agony of losing him again.

His fingers gently peeled away the blood-soaked fabric of Nine’s outfit, trying to get a clear look at the injury. But as he tore the material away to reveal the mangled skin beneath, he froze.

The scar that was supposed to be there—the one on the back, over the liver, where Shen Zhao had personally stabbed him with a pair of scissors years ago—was gone.

There was no old scar. There were only fresh, bleeding lacerations from the falling equipment.

Shen Zhao’s expression shifted instantly. His fingertips went numb, as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightning. He tried to clench his hands, but his fingers remained frozen, his entire body paralyzed. He looked around vacantly, and his eyes met Lu Xiao’s…

“Is he… alright? Are you hurt?” Lu Xiao’s voice reached him, but Shen Zhao didn’t answer.

The two men locked eyes across a distance of a few meters, but it felt as if a galaxy lay between them.

The next moment, Shen Zhao pulled Nine even closer, his voice hoarse and trembling. “Tell me… what do you feel? It hurts, doesn’t it? It must hurt so much.”

“Don’t scare me… please, don’t sleep.”

The man in his arms gasped for air, unable to speak. Shen Zhao’s eyes were a terrifying shade of red; he bowed his head, his tears soaking into the fabric of Nine’s shoulder.

In this instant, all the suspicion and misunderstanding exploded in Shen Zhao’s chest. Combined with the terror of losing Nine, it formed a surging heat that drowned out everything else.

How could I have suspected Nine? How could I have been so catastrophically wrong!

The chaotic world seemed to fall into a “mute” mode. Lu Xiao suddenly felt like an outsider standing on that stage.

He only knew that the moment he saw Shen Zhao’s tears fall, his own heart felt as if it were being flayed by a knife. He wondered if, in Shen Zhao’s heart, he had already been quietly labeled the “villain.”

Whether or not Nine was the kidnapper remained unconfirmed—but in this moment, Shen Zhao no longer held a single shred of doubt.