A Bad-Hearted Doctor is Unbearably Beautiful - Chapter 14

Forensics Department

When they arrived at the door, Lu Xiao first waved to Qin Sheng, the forensic doctor, through the glass. Qin Sheng nodded from inside. The two of them put on shoe covers and long-sleeved lab coats and entered the autopsy room.

The bodies were lying on the autopsy table, giving off a putrid smell and the scent of burnt skin and fat.

Shen Zhao’s gaze swept past Old Chen’s hand, looking at the shriveled body and the chest cavity that had been cut open.

“The bodies are in a semi-fetal position. The head, face, and chest have third-degree burns. The degree of charring on the head is consistent with the direction of the explosion’s center point.”

“Look here,” Qin Sheng said, using tweezers to point to the arm of the body. “There’s a circular peeling of the epidermis on the wrist. Thankfully, this part wasn’t burned…”

“What does that mean?” Lu Xiao asked.

“The deceased may have been bound by restraints for a period of time before death,” Qin Sheng said.

“The female body’s back also has significant burn marks. The male’s sacrococcygeal skin is completely intact. We can see two pressure sore-like skin lesions, which may have been caused by being tied in a fixed position and struggling to break free.”

“There’s also deep vein thrombosis in the lower limbs, which indicates that the deceased was in a prolonged, stationary state before death.”

“What’s the direct cause of death?” Shen Zhao asked.

Qin Sheng looked up at Shen Zhao. “And you are?”

Lu Xiao quickly interjected, “This is Dr. Shen from the military hospital, my… academic partner.”

Shen Zhao was almost amused by the words “academic partner” that Lu Xiao made up. He gave Lu Xiao a helpless look.

Lu Xiao saw that Qin Sheng’s expression suddenly turned confused, so he quickly added, “That’s not important. Are you saying that they might have been forcibly controlled and held at the explosion site?”

Qin Sheng nodded. “That’s a possibility.”

“Although most of the skin surface has been burned, we can still see some details. Also, look here. There is very little stomach content left. Their last meal was probably more than 24 hours ago.” Qin Sheng held the tweezers, guiding the two of them to the dissected stomach.

“So what was the actual cause of death?” Lu Xiao asked.

“We don’t know yet. It’ll probably take about three days to finish all the tests. I also need to test the stomach contents to check for any residual toxins.”

“Thanks for your hard work, Forensic Doctor. I’ll have one of my guys come get the results later.” Lu Xiao tugged on Shen Zhao’s clothes and left the autopsy room.

Shen Zhao looked hesitant, as if he wanted to take a few more looks, but he was still pulled away by Lu Xiao.

“I know you doctors get excited when you see an operating table, but it’s not good to stay too long. Old Qin has a strange temper,” Lu Xiao said, patting Shen Zhao’s shoulder. Shen Zhao, however, instinctively dodged it.

Lu Xiao’s hand awkwardly hung in the air.

“I… just don’t like it when people touch me,” Shen Zhao said, his expression also a little unnatural.

“Right, right, right. You’re a clean freak, aren’t you? How could I forget? My mistake, my mistake.”

Lu Xiao laughed it off. Shen Zhao remained silent, and the two of them walked down the stairs.

“Let’s go grab some lunch first. I’m starving after a morning of work.”

“You have plans for the afternoon?”

“Of course. Our police team is very dedicated to our investigations.” Lu Xiao looked at Shen Zhao, wondering if they should eat Western food like steak and salad or seafood and abalone. With Shen Zhao’s ascetic face, he looked like he came from a wealthy background.

“What would you like to eat, Dr. Shen? My treat,” Lu Xiao said, looking down and furiously messaging Wang Deng and Wu Di.

[What fancy restaurants are you young people eating at these days? Send me a few!]

[They have to be good-looking. Don’t worry about the price!]

[Why aren’t you guys messaging me back more quickly at work? Hurry, hurry!]

Shen Zhao adjusted his gray cashmere coat, stood at the top of the stairs, and looked at Lu Xiao, who was deep in thought. “Does your police station not have a cafeteria?”

“…”

[You don’t need to send them.]

[It’s not a date! It’s not a blind date!]

Cafeteria

Three young police officers walked in with their arms around each other’s shoulders. After making a few jokes, one of them suddenly looked as if he had seen a ghost and pointed to a man in front with sunglasses on his head.

“Stop talking!” one of them said, quickly elbowing the talkative officer next to him. All of them looked over in unison.

Why is the evil god here?!

They immediately stood up straight and slowed their pace, afraid of running into Lu Xiao while they were waiting in line for food.

“Why is Captain Lu at the cafeteria today?” “I don’t know. What day is it? I didn’t check the almanac before I left.” “He looks like he’s in a good mood today, though. He doesn’t usually dress like this…”

They said a few words among themselves.

From a distance, Lu Xiao was standing at the food counter, holding a tray, looking hesitant.

One of the three was staring at Lu Xiao when Lu Xiao suddenly turned around, looked at them, and waved with a smile.

“Holy cow, is the evil god waving at us?” “It looks like it. This is bad, what does he want…” “Hurry up and go over there, why are you just standing there?” “No, was he just smiling…”

“Hello, Captain Lu!”

“No need to be so polite,” Lu Xiao said, smiling shyly. “I haven’t been to the cafeteria in a while. What’s good here… And are the sanitary conditions of our cafeteria okay?”

The three of them looked at each other for two seconds before one of the smarter ones started listing out the dishes. The other two immediately followed suit.

After listening, Lu Xiao nodded confidently and looked in the direction where Shen Zhao was sitting.

But he saw that Shen Zhao wasn’t looking at him at all. He didn’t know what he was thinking about.

“Sweet and sour pork ribs, stir-fried shrimp, stir-fried beef, stir-fried broad beans, and a few small plates of green vegetables.” Lu Xiao had two trays on his arms, with seven or eight small dishes on them.

Shen Zhao was about to open his mouth to thank him when Lu Xiao scurried to the other side and handed him an alcohol wipe and a wet tissue.

“Thank you,” Shen Zhao said, a little stunned.

Shen Zhao was wearing a well-fitted dark suit with a gray coat over it. He sat with his legs slightly stretched forward, looking reserved yet eye-catching in the crowd. In contrast, Lu Xiao, who was sitting across from him with his hair neatly combed and the collar of his shirt slightly open, indeed looked a little like a show-off.

“I knew he wasn’t eating alone!” “Who’s that sitting across from Captain Lu? A new leader for our team?” “He doesn’t look like it. Look at how attentive Captain Lu is. When have you ever seen him act like that with the chief?”

The three of them ate their rice, looking sideways at Lu Xiao and Shen Zhao.

“Eat more. You’re so thin,” Lu Xiao said, seeing that Shen Zhao wasn’t using his chopsticks much. He tried to persuade him a few times.

“Mmm,” Shen Zhao said, but he only picked up two more broad beans to eat.

“It’s not to your liking?” Lu Xiao thought, I knew he was picky. I should have taken him somewhere more expensive!

“No, I just don’t like eating meat,” Shen Zhao said, looking down in embarrassment.

“Well… you’re making this a little difficult. How can a grown man be so picky?”

Lu Xiao didn’t think Shen Zhao needed to be embarrassed. He just thought he needed to carefully consider what to take him to eat next time.

Just then, his phone rang. Wang Deng had sent a message:

[Brother, the profiler finished the portrait of the scar-faced man who was at the hospital that day.]

Wang Deng sent a picture.

[Did you show it to Old Third Song?] Lu Xiao replied.

[Yeah, he said he doesn’t know him.]

[Okay, I’m going to the victims’ homes this afternoon. I’m sending a guy named Wu Di to help you. You two go to the medical center and see if anyone has seen the person in the portrait.]

[Received.] Wang Deng sent a meme saying the mission was complete, and then he sent another picture.

Lu Xiao clicked on it and a slight smile appeared on his lips. Shen Zhao saw that Lu Xiao was so happy and asked, “Do you have a clue?”

“Ah… Wang Deng said the profile of the scar-faced man came out. He just sent it to me.”

Shen Zhao nodded.

Lu Xiao zoomed in on the picture with two fingers. The two people in the middle of the photo were Shen Zhao and himself, sitting in the cafeteria.

They were sitting face to face. The sunlight hit Shen Zhao’s hair, giving off a warm glow. There were also many other colleagues in the cafeteria, so Shen Zhao’s face wasn’t very clear.

Lu Xiao saved the photo and messaged Wang Deng.

Who’s the little jerk who took a candid photo of me?

If I’m not mistaken, is that Dr. Shen across from you, Brother? This photo is all over our group chat.

Don’t worry about that. Do you have the original photo?