A Bad-Hearted Doctor is Unbearably Beautiful - Chapter 82

Shen City Police Station

Lu Xiao printed out the photo of the receipt and placed it on his desk. Inside the office, the afternoon sun slanted through the window, landing directly on the A4 paper.

Propping his temple with one hand, Lu Xiao felt a dull ache lingering in his back. He frowned slightly, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the desk as his gaze fell upon the signature at the bottom of the document.

“Keep investigating for now; I’m heading home,” Shen Zhao said. Having finally settled Lu Xiao into his seat, he turned to leave.

“Why the rush? Is that person at your house going to starve to death without you or something?” Lu Xiao scrambled to stand up, letting out an exaggeratedly sharp hiss of pain.

“Did you pull your stitches?” Shen Zhao’s expression turned instantly anxious.

“I think so. Help me check; I’m not sure if I need more ointment.” Lu Xiao looked at him with puppy-dog eyes, completely ignoring the colleagues nearby who were practically leaning in to eavesdrop.

“Oh? Is the ‘Evil Deity’ wounded again?” Lin Xue strolled past with a cup of freshly brewed pour-over coffee, her voice airy and teasing.

“Too many words! How is the information I asked you to organize coming along?” Lu Xiao retorted immediately without a second thought.

Lin Xue looked like she was about to launch into a long explanation. Sensing trouble, Lu Xiao suddenly grabbed her arm and dragged her toward the small conference room.

“Hey! My coffee is going to spill! Slow down, slow down!” Lin Xue cried out, shielding her swaying cup with her free hand.

“Lower your voice!” Lu Xiao ignored the coffee and kept his pace steady.

Lin Xue planted her high heels firmly on the tile floor, looking at him with an irritated expression. “What is the big rush?”

“Keep it down! Don’t let Shen Zhao hear you, my lady, I’m begging you…”

Lu Xiao rubbed his hands together in a pleading gesture. Between his tone and his posture, he looked exactly like a thief caught in the act.

The conference room had glass doors. He could clearly feel a dozen confused gazes boring into his back, including a completely bewildered Shen Zhao.

Lin Xue watched Lu Xiao’s antics and let out a sudden smirk. She curled her champagne-colored manicured fingertips and tucked a long lock of curly hair behind her ear.

She squinted, leaning her upper body toward Lu Xiao with a mischievous smile. “No way… the celebrity you had us look into, Damian… does he have something to do with Dr. Shen?”

Lu Xiao stiffened, his expression turning sour. After a moment, he gave a tiny, defeated nod.

Lin Xue tapped her chin with her index finger, a look of sudden realization dawning on her face. “I see… now that you mention it, I actually think Damian and Dr. Shen look quite good together.”

“Pah! Utter nonsense!” Lu Xiao hissed indignantly before she could finish.

Lin Xue gave an arrogant smile, looking Lu Xiao up and down. “Captain Lu, I’ll be honest. Even though you’re handsome and rich, and wouldn’t have a hard time if you decided to debut as an idol yourself… you have no idea how popular Damian is right now. Don’t give me that look! If you don’t believe me, go search Weibo. Do you know how many trending topics one of his concerts occupies? I—out of my one remaining shred of professional ethics—had to call so many fansite masters ‘baby’ just to get this intel. Do you have any idea?”

Lin Xue spoke at a lightning pace, huffing a breath at the end and rolling her eyes at Lu Xiao.

In the distance, the watching group looked tense.

Qin Sheng had just finished an autopsy on half a corpse and was exhausted. He wandered out to air out the scent of death clinging to him. Seeing the group’s expressions, he joined them, asking in a ghostly voice: “What are Captain Lu and Lin Xue doing?”

Wang Deng jumped in fright. Recognizing Qin Sheng, he backed away even further, grabbing Wu Di for protection.

“What’s wrong, bro?” Wu Di asked, confused.

“Don’t you smell that on him?” Wang Deng covered his nose, looking horrified.

Wu Di suddenly began sniffing the air like a hound. “What smell? I don’t smell anything… let me check…”

Shen Zhao pressed a hand to his forehead. The soldiers Lu Xiao trains are truly not normal.

Old Zhou approached as well, standing by Zhang Zhen’s computer and tiptoeing to peer toward the conference room. “What are those two up to?”

“Having an office romance,” Zhang Zhen stated with absolute certainty.

Everyone: “…”

“Am I wrong? What are you laughing at!” Zhang Zhen felt his receding hairline twitch with stress.

Inside the conference room.

Lu Xiao lowered his voice, sounding flattering. “I know it hasn’t been easy for you. Alright, my lady, don’t keep anything hidden. There will be rewards. Just name the brand—next time Tian Xiaoling goes shopping, I’ll have her bring a bag back for you.”

A smile danced across Lin Xue’s face. She made a gesture as if clinking glasses with Lu Xiao and downed her coffee in one go. “You should have said so! I swear, from today on, I am the head of the ‘Lu-Shen’ ship!”

“You…” Lu Xiao looked suspicious. “Ship head? What does that mean? You figured it out?”

Lin Xue pouted. “Duh. The way you look at Dr. Shen… tsk tsk. You look like you want to swallow him whole. Anyone in the office who can’t see it is blind!”

Lu Xiao gave an embarrassed laugh, thinking to himself: As long as you don’t try to compete with me.

“Fine, fine. Just remember to send the files to me. I haven’t even eaten yet. Sigh, I have to get back to investigating Little Cheng’s case.”

Lu Xiao pushed the door open. The others in the office instantly scrambled back to their desks, pretending nothing had happened.

Lu Xiao plopped down at his desk, staring at Shen Zhao with a broad grin. “What do you want for lunch? My treat.”

“No need. I’ll eat at the hospital. Even though I’ve temporarily canceled my specialist appointments, I still have a few follow-up patients.”

“Busy… being busy is good.” Lu Xiao pretended to sigh. Shen Zhao shot him a look, grabbed his coat, and walked toward the door.

As he reached the exit, Shen Zhao looked back. “Watch the wound on your back.”

Lu Xiao’s lips parted, and he mouthed the words: “Yes, sir!”

Lu Xiao’s attention returned to the receipt. He stared at the handwritten signature at the bottom, murmuring it aloud, but found no inspiration.

“Li Lin…”

The name was incredibly common. He couldn’t tell if this person was a hospital employee, a client, or someone else entirely.

After staring at it for a while, his back began to feel itchy and painful. He leaned against the back of his chair to rub the itch, but his head suddenly bumped into someone standing behind him.

Lu Xiao turned around. His head had been bounced off by Old Zhou’s springy beer belly. “Damn! Old Zhou, what are you doing standing there without a sound? Are you trying to assassinate your own captain?”

Old Zhou puffed out his stomach, his eyes straining to see the paper in Lu Xiao’s hand. His finger pointed reflexively at the name. “This name…”