Golden Temptation – A Yuri Story - Chapter 96

“How long will it take to get to the western suburbs? Has the bomb expert arrived yet?” Jing Xuan anxiously asked aboard the plane.

“About fifteen minutes, I think. This is an emergency, so the bomb expert is still on the way—not that fast,” came the reply.

“How could this happen? There’s no time left! Can’t they hurry up?” Jing Xuan’s voice was tense.

“We’re moving at top speed already. Jing Xuan, calm down. The bomb expert is on the way, and will arrive soon. I didn’t expect Jing Cheng to have this kind of trick up his sleeve—he’s bought himself a lot of time to escape. We have to catch him this time; otherwise, it’ll be almost impossible.”

Jing Xuan didn’t care about Shi Jiawen’s mission briefing. She remained silent, fully aware of the danger her loved ones were in but powerless to intervene. Even if she had the ability to turn the tide, time was the enemy—and in the end, time always won. Fifteen minutes… fifteen minutes, she silently repeated, wishing time could just stop.

The plane finally reached the western suburbs, but the bomb expert had not yet arrived. Before the plane even fully landed, Jing Xuan jumped down and rushed into the warehouse. Shi Jiawen, as the operation commander, couldn’t leave the front line for too long and, uneasy about Jing Xuan going alone, had left an assistant behind.

“Officer Shi, don’t worry. I will take good care of her,” the assistant assured.

“Thanks. Keep me updated at all times. This time, I must catch Jing Cheng!”

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Inside the warehouse in the western suburbs:

“Planes? No, that’s a helicopter! Sister Lan Qing, Xuan’s here to save us!” Qiao Fei shouted excitedly.

“Fei’er! Is that you?” Jing Xuan’s heart leapt as she heard Qiao Fei’s voice upon entering the warehouse.

“It’s really her! Xuan! We’re here!” Lan Qing also cried out, overwhelmed with relief.

The warehouse stretched deep inside. Jing Xuan ran a long way before finally finding them in what looked like a control room for some kind of machine room.

“Xuan, you’ve finally come!” Qiao Fei began to cry softly.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry, darling. I’m sorry I’m late and let you suffer! I’m so sorry!” Jing Xuan bent down and held the two women tightly.

“Xuan, don’t move. It’s a bomb. You have to get out—this is too dangerous. Seeing you is enough for us—we have no regrets even if we die,” Lan Qing said, trying to keep her voice calm.

“That’s right! Xuan, Sister Lan Qing is right. You should leave. We’re not afraid of dying. Just seeing you before we go is enough for us,” Qiao Fei added.

“Shut up! I won’t leave you. If we die, we die together!” Jing Xuan shouted fiercely.

She let go of the two women and checked the timers strapped to their chests: just over eight minutes remaining.

“Dear ones, don’t be afraid. I’m here with you, right by your side. Listen to me—the bomb expert is on the way. We still have time,” she said.

Suddenly, Shi Jiawen’s voice came through Jing Xuan’s earpiece: “Jing Xuan, Jing Cheng has been captured! He admitted there are two bombs—one real, one fake—but refuses to say which is which. I’m rushing to your location now. Until our team arrives, don’t take any reckless action!”

Jing Xuan’s eyes briefly lit up at the news but quickly darkened. Jing Cheng’s final move had been left here—a cruel choice for her to make, one that would torment her until the end.

The timer showed six minutes remaining.

Jing Xuan crouched beside the two women. “Fei’er, Qing, are you scared?”

“No!” they answered in unison.

“Xuan, as long as we’re with you, we’re not afraid,” they said.

Moved, Jing Xuan gently held one soft hand each, kissed them softly, and whispered, “I love you both. Let’s face life and death together. Let’s take this chance.”

Five minutes left.

She pressed her ear to the headset. “Officer Shi, are you there?”

“We’ve arrived! Don’t do anything reckless. The bomb expert is almost there. We’ve connected with him and deployed a micro drone to collect data. This will help the expert guide us in defusing the bomb.”

Jing Xuan closed her eyes and took a deep breath to steady herself. “Five minutes left… it may not be enough. Officer Shi, thank you.”

“Jing Xuan! Don’t do anything rash! We still have a chance! Think of your loved ones—the drone has entered.”

A small drone, resembling a model aircraft, flew in and circled around the three. Beneath it, a red light blinked regularly.

Shi Jiawen’s voice returned: “Jing Xuan, data collection is complete. The info is being sent to the bomb expert now. Please be patient—we’ll defuse this safely!”

Four minutes remaining.

A stranger’s voice came through the earpiece: “Hello, I’m the bomb expert. We’ve analyzed the bombs and now need you to perform the operation. Please cooperate.”

Jing Xuan replied solemnly, “Understood. I’ll cooperate fully. There are 3 minutes and 57 seconds left—please hurry.”

“Good. Stay calm. First, find a pair of scissors.”

Jing Xuan stood and searched the shelves behind her, finding a slightly rusty pair.

“These two bombs look identical on the outside; it’s hard to tell which is real. Please check how many wires are under each timer. You’ll need to remove the timer cover.”

Jing Xuan carefully used the scissors to pry off both timer covers.

“Both have four wires—two reds and two blues on one, two reds and two yellows on the other,” she reported.

The expert sounded puzzled. “Usually there are either two or three wires. Four wires is unusual.”

“What should I do?” Jing Xuan asked anxiously.

“Start with the one with two blue and two red wires. Look carefully for a thin copper wire besides the four. You have to be very careful.”

Jing Xuan knelt in front of Lan Qing and carefully searched. Behind the first red wire, she found a hidden copper wire as thin as a few strands of hair twisted together—impossible to see without careful inspection.

She exclaimed with relief, “There really is one!”

The expert sighed with relief. “Cut that wire only. Don’t touch the others. Be very careful. Go ahead.”

Jing Xuan looked deeply into Lan Qing’s eyes. Tears welled but were held back. “Xuan, cut it. I trust you.”

Without a word, Jing Xuan carefully cut the copper wire. Everyone held their breath, eyes tightly shut—no explosion followed. The timer stopped at 3 minutes 15 seconds.

“We did it! We did it!” Jing Xuan and Lan Qing smiled at each other.

Jing Xuan carefully removed the bomb from Lan Qing as several bomb squad officers entered, taking the bomb and helping the nearly exhausted Lan Qing out. Lan Qing kept glancing back anxiously. “Fei’er! Stay strong!”

Jing Xuan approached Qiao Fei to comfort her. “Fei’er, we’ll get out safely. Trust me.”

Qiao Fei wiped her tears and forced a smile like Lan Qing had. “Xuan, I love you.”