A Bad-Hearted Doctor is Unbearably Beautiful - Chapter 56

The images in the dream distorted violently. The faces of everyone from the welfare home flashed before his eyes, yet they were devoid of expression.

“Save me!”

“Help!”

The flames grew wild, fanned by a howling wind, devouring ceilings, doors, corridors, and dormitories…

Wave after wave of heat surged forward. His face was flushed crimson by the fire. Forced back by the inferno, he watched helplessly as the buildings before him were consumed.

What went wrong? It wasn’t supposed to be like this!

He tried to rush forward, but someone behind him seemed to be holding him back with a death grip. His legs felt as if they had been cast in lead; every step was an agonizing struggle.

The voice behind him sounded like Wen Yu.

“It’s too dangerous, get out of here!”

He seemed to be urging him to leave, but…

At the moment he was dragged away, he whipped his head around. Deep within the heart of the flames, a silhouette stood in the darkness. Its shadow was stretched long and eerie by the firelight.

Wait, that figure… Looking through the dancing fire, the face was a blur. He squinted, and the image sharpened: it was a white mask.

Beneath the mask, there seemed to be a pair of narrow, captivating eyes.

The figure slowly raised a hand and made a tossing motion, like someone scattering flower petals. The moment his fingers loosened, several bottles of liquid shattered into the fire, and the ground instantly erupted into a fresh wall of flame.

That face looked so familiar. It was the kidnapper…

Dream and reality overlapped. His parched throat tried to make a sound, but not a single word would come out. The figure in the fire erupted into a low, rumbling laugh.

“Remember, you are the one who set this fire. You alone.”

A voice whispered in his ear. The fire in the dream dissipated rapidly, and his entire body plunged back into darkness.

Shen Zhao snapped his eyes open, gasping for air. A layer of white mist clouded the inside of his oxygen mask; his back was drenched in sweat.

The afternoon sun filled the room with a warm glow, and his body didn’t feel quite so cold anymore. The scent of blood and the biting chill finally receded.

His head throbbed with a dizzying ache… he seemed to have lost fragments of his memory.

“Director Shen, don’t try to get up yet. Your concussion is quite severe.”

Shen Zhao looked at the Head Nurse standing beside him and gave a slight nod. The scent of disinfectant was both grounding and exhausting, making him want to sink back into a deep sleep.

“You’re awake?” A familiar voice called out from nearby.

When Shen Zhao turned his head, he discovered that Lu Xiao’s hospital bed was right next to his own. After pulling off his oxygen mask, he asked, “Why are you here too?”

Shen Zhao looked confused and immediately shot a look of displeasure toward the Head Nurse.

What, a Director of Medicine can’t even have his own private room?

The Head Nurse glanced at Lu Xiao, pursed her lips, and looked slightly embarrassed. “Well… Officer Lu insisted that we arrange for him to be in the same room as you.”

Shen Zhao: “…”

Turning back, he saw Lu Xiao leaning against the headboard, an IV drip still in his hand. He didn’t look well—clearly far from a full recovery—but he was forcing himself to sit up at an angle, staring intently at Shen Zhao.

His eyes traveled over Shen Zhao, his gaze direct and unblinking, with a characteristic, irritating smirk playing on his lips.

“Shen Zhao, we’ve basically faced life and death together now. What do you say—in a couple of days, should we throw a massive eighty-eight-table banquet to celebrate?”

Shen Zhao felt that in addition to a concussion, his hearing might have been damaged as well. He was one step away from having a literal question mark hovering over his head.

However, looking at Lu Xiao’s expression, he didn’t seem to be joking…

“Head Nurse, please check Officer Lu’s head. See if any ‘unclean’ things have leaked into his brain.”

Having said his piece, Shen Zhao turned his back on him.

“Don’t be like that! I’m serious! It’s not about the gift money. Look at you… you survived a disaster, surely good fortune follows. This is a monumental event! Shouldn’t the whole world celebrate? We should go all out, don’t you think?”

Lu Xiao got more excited as he spoke, which triggered a couple of uncontrollable coughs.

Facing away, Shen Zhao rolled his eyes and said indifferently, “I really should feed you some muting medicine.”

Lu Xiao laughed shamelessly, though his chest still hissed with pain. “Hey, I’m just trying to cheer you up. Turn around, turn around! Don’t be so stingy!”

The Head Nurse retreated a few steps awkwardly, but she clearly didn’t want to leave, her ears perked to catch every bit of their bickering.

Suddenly, the ward door was pushed open, and a group of people rushed in with great fanfare.

Wang Deng and Wu Di led the charge, with Lin Xue, Zhang Zhen, Qin Sheng, and Old Zhou following behind.

“Captain! You’re finally awake!”

Wang Deng stacked five or six fruit baskets on the bedside table as the group crowded around Lu Xiao’s bed, all talking at once.

“Captain, do you have nine lives? Every time is so heart-stoppingly terrifying! It’s too much for us!”

“Yeah! We’ve been worried sick these past two days!”

“Exactly, exactly!”

The room instantly became lively. The group ranted non-stop about the kidnapper, and Old Zhou gave a vivid, dramatic description of the bomb disposal process at Jinhu Square. The atmosphere in the room lightened significantly.

Lu Xiao grinned, but his eyes kept drifting toward Shen Zhao.

Shen Zhao was always quiet. When he looked at most things, his gaze was calm, as if he were an “outsider” to the world.

At that moment, as if sensing the attention, Shen Zhao turned over in bed. His eyes locked directly with Lu Xiao’s.

Lin Xue, who had been grinning ear-to-ear, suddenly caught a certain “signal.” She immediately understood and shoved a large bouquet of flowers toward Shen Zhao.

“Doctor Shen, you were so cool when you jumped from that car! My jaw nearly hit the floor when I saw the dashcam footage!”

In reality, she was thinking: The part where Captain Lu knelt on the ground holding you… was just too sweet. I’ve already secretly downloaded that video! For permanent collection!

Lu Xiao felt that Lin Xue’s enthusiasm toward Shen Zhao was a bit abnormal. He leaned back, humoring the group while shooting a sideways, slightly resentful look at Lin Xue.

Shen Zhao was momentarily stunned before looking at Lin Xue and whispering a “thank you.”

After a few more jokes, Old Zhou handed an investigation report to Lu Xiao. As Lu Xiao flipped through it, his expression grew sharp.

“The boy who was kidnapped—how is he doing now?”

“Physically he’s fine, but his mental state isn’t great… The parents don’t seem very willing to show their faces. Word is the kid is the illegitimate son of some big shot…”

Lu Xiao frowned. “What’s his name? Who reported him missing first?”

“The boy’s name is Cheng Nianchuan. The report was filed by the family’s nanny.”

Lu Xiao nodded, his gaze drifting toward the distance. “And the kidnapper’s information?”

Old Zhou shook his head. “It’s very strange. It’s like he’s backed by some major power; every lead we follow suddenly hits a dead end.”

Lu Xiao felt the investigation had been frustratingly stifled. He took a vengeful bite out of a beautiful, unwashed apple from a fruit basket to vent.

“Doctor Shen, did you ever see the kidnapper’s face?” Old Zhou asked.

Shen Zhao shook his head, but in the back of his mind, he felt that the man’s obsessive state was… familiar.

Lu Xiao pulled back his gaze and casually closed the file. “In any case, Shen Zhao, your current situation is still very dangerous.”

The others in the room nodded in agreement.

“Next, we’ll start investigating from that child. The kidnapper couldn’t have chosen a child at random without a purpose. There must be a reason he picked that specific boy.”

The group nodded again.

Lu Xiao coughed, his expression turning serious. “So, Shen Zhao, you’ll have to live with me for the time being.”

The Group: “???”

Shen Zhao: “…”

“What’s with those faces? Shen Zhao could be targeted by the kidnapper again at any moment! Protecting victims is our responsibility as police! Is this how I taught you?”

Shen Zhao tilted his head, seemingly weighing the truth of this statement.

Lin Xue nodded vigorously. “Right, right, exactly!”

Shen Zhao hesitated for a long time before finally nodding. “As you wish.”