A Bad-Hearted Doctor is Unbearably Beautiful - Chapter 89

“Damn it!”

Old Zhou let out a roar from behind, but in the blink of an eye, Lu Xiao had already lunged forward.

Lu Xiao grabbed Li Lin just as the man was pitching toward the fishing boat, straining every muscle to drag him back toward the pier. Li Lin’s lower body was remarkably stable; ignoring the searing pain of the gunshot wound on his arm, he fought back with the desperation of a cornered beast.

The wooden planks of the pier creaked and groaned under their weight, the rotting wood swaying precariously beneath their feet. Lu Xiao dug his heels into the shifting surface, fighting to maintain his balance. With one hand twisted firmly into Li Lin’s collar, he threw his other arm out to keep his center of gravity.

The area was pitch black, and there wasn’t a single handrail in sight.

“Don’t let him get on that boat!” Lu Xiao’s voice rang out with piercing clarity through the night.

The detectives behind them rushed forward to assist. But just as they reached for Lu Xiao’s flailing elbow, Li Lin gritted his teeth and pulled a concealed dagger from his waist. A flash of cold steel sliced across Lu Xiao’s forearm.

In that instant, Lu Xiao’s grip on the collar failed. His body lurched, and as Li Lin broke free, the criminal delivered a brutal, heavy kick to Lu Xiao’s chest.

Lu Xiao’s world spun as he lost his footing entirely.

Splash!

The two men plunged into the ink-black, freezing seawater almost simultaneously.

The faces of the men on the pier went pale. “Captain’s in the water!” “Get the searchlights on, now!” “Anyone who can swim, get down there!”

The chaotic shouts were swallowed by the dark depths. The bone-chilling cold wrapped around Lu Xiao’s limbs like a shroud. The sound of the world vanished, his breath was squeezed from his lungs, and he struggled to hold onto the last bit of air in his chest.

Lu Xiao forced his eyes open underwater. He instinctively tried to relax to let himself drift upward, but the figure below him was acting like a vengeful spirit. Li Lin clung to Lu Xiao’s legs with a death grip, dragging him deeper into the abyss.

Lu Xiao inadvertently swallowed a mouthful of seawater. The stinging sensation in his nose and the crushing pressure in his chest surged toward his brain. He could vaguely see the beams of searchlights cutting through the water above, arms reaching down to grab him, but they always missed by a hair’s breadth.

Trailing a string of bubbles, Lu Xiao’s eyes turned icy. Abandoning his struggle to surface, he changed his movement, diving deeper to follow Li Lin’s descent. He swam straight toward the man dragging him down.

The moment he closed the gap, Lu Xiao saw the unmistakable flash of sheer terror in Li Lin’s eyes. He wanted to see just how long this bastard could hold out.

Using the last of his conscious will, Lu Xiao reached out and seized the man’s wrist. He found the tendon just below the pinky and pressed down with a brutal, expert twist. The dagger slipped from Li Lin’s grasp and sank into the darkness.

But at that same moment… Lu Xiao felt his own strength failing.

He tried to orient his body toward the hazy glow of the searchlights, but the light was a blurred, shimmering mess in the water, making it impossible to tell which way was up. The pressure in his lungs became unbearable. His body’s natural reflex forced a gasp, and icy water surged into his lungs.

His brain stalled. He began to drift into unconsciousness.

Just then, he thought he heard a familiar voice screaming his name from the shore…

A pair of blinding headlights, accompanied by the screech of tires, tore toward the water’s edge. The car skidded as it neared the brink, its front tires kicking up salty, foul-smelling spray before coming to a dead stop.

When the white BMW appeared, the scene was in total disarray. Everyone was frantic. Shen Zhao threw the car door open and sprinted out, his eyes frantically scanning the chaos. He didn’t see Lu Xiao.

“Where is Lu Xiao?!”

His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried an undeniable, commanding force.

Old Zhou froze. “Three of our guys have gone down with lights!”

“Do you have a rescue rope?!” Shen Zhao’s voice was hoarse, thick with a terror he couldn’t hide.

“You—” Old Zhou’s face was etched with shock. “It’s too dark, don’t go in—”

But Shen Zhao didn’t hear him. His eyes locked onto a coil of rope on the pier, and he bolted toward it.

At that exact moment, several heads broke the surface of the water. The crowd erupted.

“Where’s the Captain?!” Old Zhou’s booming voice echoed across the pier.

Someone waved from the water, signaling they had him. Two rescue ropes were hurled into the sea. “Grab on!”

Lu Xiao’s body was rapidly losing heat. He was a dead weight as two officers towed him toward the ropes. On the other line, another officer was dragging a gasping Li Lin by the collar.

Lu Xiao’s consciousness was fading into a blur. His ears were filled with water, making it impossible to tell if the sound he heard was the crashing waves or something else. But just as he was about to slip away entirely, a familiar voice pierced through the haze.

“Lu Xiao!”

Lu Xiao shook his head feebly, trying to clear the water from his ears and mind. He managed to crack his eyes open just a sliver. Before he could see who was calling him, the biting night air hit his lungs, and he broke into a fit of violent coughing.

The two detectives emerged, soaking wet, their clothes heavy and dripping. Before they could even pull Lu Xiao fully onto dry land, Shen Zhao had already rolled up his trousers and splashed into the shallow water.

Lu Xiao’s skin, usually a healthy bronze, looked deathly pale under the moonlight. Water droplets trailed from his temples down his face. He tilted his head to wipe his eyes.

The moment his vision cleared, he found himself staring at a furious, trembling Shen Zhao, whose hand was raised as if he were about to strike him.

Lu Xiao’s first instinct was: I’m dead. Can I just pretend to be unconscious?

He tilted his head back and shut his eyes, feigning a faint. Through his lashes, he saw the palm that was about to hit him freeze in mid-air.

“Lu Xiao! Can you hear me?!”

He could feel the sudden, sharp panic radiating from the man in front of him.

“Lay him flat! Fast!” Shen Zhao’s voice cracked. Lu Xiao realized he might have overplayed his hand. Shen Zhao’s hands were already overlapping, positioning themselves over his chest, ready to begin compressions.

Lu Xiao winced and twitched his fingers, squinting one eye open. “Don’t… cough, cough… Dr. Shen, don’t break my ribs!”

Shen Zhao’s face was white as a sheet, but he finally let out a breath of relief. He exhaled sharply several times, then glared at Lu Xiao, his hand still raised. “Lu Xiao, are you trying to die?”

Lu Xiao instinctively ducked his head, then reached up with a heavy hand to catch Shen Zhao’s palm. He slowly pressed Shen Zhao’s fingers against his own cheek.

“Hit me. I deserve it,” Lu Xiao rasped.

Shen Zhao was so overwhelmed with anger and adrenaline that his breathing was ragged. Being frightened like that had left him trembling. His face remained grim.

Lu Xiao let out a low, gravelly laugh. He was a mess, lying drenched on the ground, but he refused to let go of Shen Zhao’s hand. “I’m alive… cough… still alive. You’ll have plenty of chances to hit me…”

Just as Shen Zhao was about to check his vitals, Old Zhou ran over, his voice urgent. “Dr. Shen, Wang Deng’s been shot in the thigh! Please, come take a look!”