A Bad-Hearted Doctor is Unbearably Beautiful - Chapter 91

Ding—

The notification chime rang out with startling clarity inside the car. Li Lin’s body visibly jolted.

“What’s the situation?” Old Zhou asked, flicking his right blinker to change lanes while stealing a glance at the back seat.

“Li Lin, looks like someone is looking for you,” Lu Xiao muttered, his eyes narrowing.

Li Lin was as tense as a coiled spring, watching Lu Xiao with high alert, his eyes darting toward the phone in Lu Xiao’s hand. Lu Xiao, acting as if he were teasing a pet, held the phone up high. He tilted his chin up, glanced at the screen, and then cut his eyes back to Li Lin, smirking and winking. “Oh my… now who could this be?”

Li Lin, assuming this entire operation was solely based on Chen Qiang’s confession, let his lips tremble slightly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Ignoring him, Lu Xiao stared at the phone and read the message aloud. “Want to know what it says? Come on, big brother will read it to you. Cough… ‘Are you on the boat? Contact me once the heat dies down.'”

He watched Li Lin’s reaction as he spoke. Li Lin was still fighting to maintain his composure.

Lu Xiao’s patience seemed to finally run dry. His expression darkened, and he slammed his forearm horizontally against Li Lin’s throat, pinning him against the seat.

“Li Lin, you don’t actually think I mobilized this many people to catch you just for the dirty work you and Chen Qiang did years ago, do you?”

The suspect struggled for air under the crushing weight of Lu Xiao’s elbow, his shoulders heaving as he tried to break the hold. Coldness flashed in Lu Xiao’s eyes. He stared Li Lin down from above until the man’s face turned a sickly purple. Only then did he pull his arm back.

Li Lin gasped for air, his chest heaving as a cold sweat soaked his back.

“What… what do you mean?” Li Lin wheezed through gritted teeth.

Lu Xiao’s lips curled into a faint smile, his eyes fixed eerily on the road ahead. “Zhai Hongtian probably doesn’t know I joined the hunt this time.”

At the mention of that name, Li Lin reacted as if he had heard something terrifying. He sucked in a sharp breath, his spine snapping straight. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and the hands cuffed behind his back were slick with sweat.

Lu Xiao gripped the corner of the phone, one leg hooked over the seat to plant his foot firmly on Li Lin’s thigh. He tapped the phone lightly against Li Lin’s cheek. “How are we going to reply to this boss of yours? Have you thought it through?”

Lu Xiao let out a low laugh. He didn’t let up the pressure on Li Lin’s leg, grinding his foot down until the pain was sharp. Li Lin’s breathing grew more rapid as his mind raced, wondering exactly how much the police had uncovered.

“Don’t play dumb with me! Speak! How do we reply?!”

Li Lin clamped his jaw shut, his breath coming in sharp hisses through his nose.

Lu Xiao shrugged, his gaze as sharp as a blade. “Fine, I’ll do it. How about this? I’ll just tell him: ‘The target has been caught, you’re dead meat.’ How’s that?”

Li Lin’s pupils shrank instantly. “You’re crazy!”

Lu Xiao tilted his head, watching him with a mocking grin. “From what I know, this boss of yours has some very powerful backing. Do you think he’ll come to the station to bail you out, or will he find a way to make sure you never talk again?”

Li Lin’s face transformed. His fingers curled into tight fists behind his back, his knuckles cracking.

Lu Xiao ignored him, leaning back with an almost pleasant expression. He began typing on the phone, deleting and re-typing to ensure the tone wasn’t suspicious.

[There was a hiccup. Didn’t make it onto the boat in time. Heading there now.]

Lu Xiao nodded with satisfaction and flashed Li Lin a grin. “Relax, you still have a chance.”

Li Lin’s face was beyond pale; his knuckles were white as he ground out each word: “What are you trying to do!”

Lu Xiao lounged against the seat, tapping his fingers rhythmically against the phone. “I’m giving you a chance to atone for your crimes.”

Li Lin’s gaze turned cold, and he lowered his eyes. “What exactly have you found?”

Lu Xiao chuckled lazily. “Me? Oh, I’ve found everything I needed to. The only thing missing is a name for the mastermind… and I’m still deciding whose head that crown fits best.”

He leaned forward again, looming over the suspect. “Do you think he’ll reply?”

Just as he spoke, the phone gave another Ding. Li Lin jerked toward the screen.

[Where are you now? Can you get away?]

“Tsk. Look at that. He’s so concerned about you,” Lu Xiao mocked, a sharp light glinting in his eyes. “Too bad he isn’t worried about whether you’re alive—he’s worried about whether that mouth of yours can still speak.”

Li Lin’s expression was one of total defeat. Lu Xiao looked out the window at the passing mountain scenery. “So, what should we say this time? Do you think Zhai Hongtian wants to save you, or would he prefer you vanished forever?”

Lu Xiao continued typing:

[Planning to change locations to lie low for a bit.]

Lu Xiao’s tone was dripping with sarcasm, but Li Lin acted as if he didn’t understand. “I don’t know who you’re talking about!”

Lu Xiao smirked and nodded slowly. “Stubborn to the end.”

Suddenly, the phone exploded into a loud ring!

The sudden sound ratcheted the tension in the car to a breaking point. Every muscle in the vehicle stiffened. Lu Xiao immediately signaled with his hand. “Stop the car! Get off the main road!”

Old Zhou flicked his signal, cut across three lanes, and drove the car off the highway into a mountain hollow. Within seconds, the car sat steady on a dirt path. Behind them, Shen Zhao was confused by the sudden maneuver but followed suit.

Lu Xiao rolled the window down just a crack, letting in the quiet white noise of the night. He grabbed Li Lin by the collar, shoved him against the seat, and pressed the phone to his ear. His voice was a low, menacing growl.

“Answer it. Don’t slip up. Tell him the previous location felt unsafe and you’re moving to lie low!”

Li Lin’s face was ghostly white, his lips trembling with sheer trepidation.

“Either you live, or you die for someone else. Make your choice!”

Lu Xiao hit the “Accept” button, held the phone to Li Lin’s mouth, and switched to speaker.

“Hello?”

The voice on the other end was low and remarkably calm. “What happened?”

Li Lin’s mouth hung open, momentarily speechless. Lu Xiao’s gaze turned lethal, and he pressed his fingers into Li Lin’s shoulder, exerting silent pressure.

“I… I felt like the pier wasn’t safe. I’m moving to a different hideout,” Li Lin said, forcing his voice to stay steady.

There was a two-second silence on the other end. “Why the sudden change? You said there was a hiccup?”

A dangerous light flashed in Lu Xiao’s eyes. He patted Li Lin’s shoulder, signaling him to keep going, and quickly scribbled on a piece of paper.

Li Lin’s eyes flickered toward the note. “I was going to head there, but… I felt like there were plainclothes cops nearby.”

Lu Xiao held up the paper. It read: [Gotta go. I’ll contact you when I’m safe.]

Li Lin took a breath and steadied his tone. “I can’t talk now. I’ll contact you once I’m safe.”