A Bad-Hearted Doctor is Unbearably Beautiful - Chapter 22

After the meeting, Shen Zhao got up to leave, pulling his chair back.

Lu Xiao’s eyes locked onto him. He walked over to Shen Zhao. “Let’s go.”

Shen Zhao: “Huh?”

Lu Xiao put on a dramatic expression, as if to say, We already made plans, and you forgot! My heart is broken!

“What do you mean, ‘huh’?” Lu Xiao said playfully, feigning disbelief. “Didn’t we agree to get dumplings? How could you forget so soon?” The corner of his mouth curled into a grin, revealing his two canine teeth in a flash of white.

Shen Zhao was stunned for a few seconds. He thought about it seriously and realized Lu Xiao was right.

“Today?” Shen Zhao asked.

“We should have eaten already! It’s all that Toyota’s fault for sending us both to the hospital!” Lu Xiao grumbled.

Shen Zhao replied calmly, “Okay, where should we go? You can ride with me.”

Lu Xiao’s hand was halfway into his pocket, reaching for his car keys, when he heard Shen Zhao’s offer and was completely taken aback.

He’s inviting me to ride in his car?!

What does this mean?

Is Shen Zhao making a move on me?

Does Dr. Shen’s car smell clean, maybe with a faint hint of disinfectant?

Lu Xiao looked at Shen Zhao’s pale, almost translucent ear, and a thousand thoughts rushed through his mind.

“I’d love that,” he said, the words slipping out without a second thought.

Shen Zhao looked at him as if he were an idiot.

“Wasn’t your car towed away for repairs?” Shen Zhao asked, a flicker of the two cars colliding flashing in his mind.

Lu Xiao’s fingers, which were clutching the keys to his brand-new Mercedes GLS 600 Maybach in his pants pocket, immediately reacted.

“Ah, yes, yes, you’re right! I didn’t drive! Look at my memory.”

The two of them laughed and walked out. Shen Zhao drove a white BMW 5 Series. The car was stable and comfortable to drive.

Shen Zhao’s car was indeed clean and tidy, with a well-maintained interior that looked brand new. Lu Xiao craned his neck to see the inspection stickers on the windshield. It had been four years…

Teacher Shen is a meticulous person.

Lu Xiao was so afraid of dirtying the car that he carefully checked his clothes for any accidental smudges before getting in.

He even looked at the soles of his shoes three times.

Shen Zhao looked at him with an impatient expression. “Do you have lice?”

Lu Xiao: “…Well, that’s what I get for being nice.”

After getting into the car, Lu Xiao used his finger to swipe on Shen Zhao’s car display. He navigated to the location he had saved on his phone and marked it on the map.

“This location… are you sure you didn’t make a mistake?” Shen Zhao looked at the route on the screen. It was 12 kilometers away, which would take about 50 minutes with the current downtown traffic.

“No mistake, this is it!” Lu Xiao nodded vigorously.

“There’s a dumpling restaurant by the river?” Shen Zhao said. The destination was in the Pujiang business district, home to the most expensive real estate and restaurants in Shencheng.

Lu Xiao kept nodding, urging Shen Zhao to start driving.

Shen Zhao said softly, “Okay.”

He put both hands on the steering wheel and gently pressed the gas pedal.

The white sedan merged onto the main road. Its wheels rolled quickly over the slightly damp asphalt. The streetlights flickered on, and the neon reflections danced on the windows of passing cars. A night breeze swept through the cracks. Traffic crisscrossed and flowed as the city lights in the distance formed a sea of stars.

Shen Zhao was quiet while he drove. The city lights reflected in his pupils, and a hint of red colored his eyes.

His face was pale, his features outlined by a faint, cold light. The veins under the skin on his ears were occasionally visible.

When he wasn’t speaking, he appeared cold and distant, with a lot of thoughts hidden in his eyes.

“What are you looking at?”

Shen Zhao’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, with a hint of unnatural trembling.

Only then did Lu Xiao realize he had been staring at Shen Zhao for a good ten minutes.

“You,” Lu Xiao said, resting his elbow on the passenger window and propping his head up. His formerly serious expression now held a hint of playfulness. “You’re good-looking.”

“Do you always talk like that?” Shen Zhao asked.

Lu Xiao snapped upright. “What’s wrong with how I talk? What I said is the truth! I’ve known you were handsome for a long time, but I was too shy to say anything until now.”

Shen Zhao was speechless. His face flushed a deep red from Lu Xiao’s blunt words.

“By the way, why did you suddenly have trouble breathing that night?” Lu Xiao remembered the look of panic on Shen Zhao’s face when he covered his mouth, as if he were a completely different person.

Shen Zhao’s hands on the steering wheel tightened slightly.

The two were very close in the car, and for a moment, no one spoke. The car sped through the night, and their breathing was abnormally clear inside the vehicle.

Shen Zhao’s thoughts drifted back 15 years. His scalp tightened. After a long pause, he said, “I thought of something bad, but it’s all in the past now.”

Lu Xiao recalled Shen Zhao’s strong reaction when he tried to put a hand on his shoulder earlier.

Reflexive habits like that are often formed from years of life experience.

And Shen Zhao’s reaction was very similar to a post-traumatic stress response.

“Shen Zhao, are you not going home for the New Year?”

Lu Xiao’s years as a police officer had given him a keen sense of observation, which led him to ask the question without thinking.

The BMW’s speed slowed down for a moment.

Shen Zhao was surprised by the angle of Lu Xiao’s question.

After a long time, he smiled faintly. “I don’t have a family, so it doesn’t matter how I spend the New Year.”

Lu Xiao wanted to curse himself for being so nosy!

“Ah… Look, I didn’t go home for New Year either, right?”

Lu Xiao stammered, running his fingers through his hair, still feeling awkward. “I’m sorry. I really didn’t think…”

Shen Zhao’s lips parted slightly. “Don’t worry about it.”

The car’s wheels rolled over the white line before the crosswalk. The traffic light blinked as the seconds counted down.

Lu Xiao took a deep breath, turned his head, and placed his left hand over Shen Zhao’s right hand on the steering wheel.

Shen Zhao’s body tensed, and he tried to pull his hand away, but Lu Xiao didn’t let go. He gripped Shen Zhao’s entire hand tightly in his own.

His thumb gently tapped the edge of Shen Zhao’s pinky finger.

One, two, three.

They sat in silence.

People walked in front of the car. After a dozen seconds, the light changed, and Lu Xiao finally let go.

A tingling seed was planted in Lu Xiao’s heart.

And his curiosity began to run wild.