Chapter 39 – Between Life And Death

The beeping sound continuously rang in his ears, reminding him that his life was about to pass. Long Junhao’s face was pale and his whole body was shaking. He looked at the few people in front of him and muttered, “what…what do I do now?”

After worshipping the jinx, the duo who had put their arms around each others’ shoulders came over immediately, and Li Xuan waved to a little nurse and asked her to call a few people quickly. Luo Yi and Chu Jian came over to take a look but a certain boss immediately dragged his wife away to enjoy the scenery. Voices drifted over intermittently and Chu Jian said, “let go, I can’t leave him to die after seeing the situation.”

Luo Yi advised, “wife, you’re no longer a special police officer and besides, you don’t know anything about defusing bombs so don’t bother. We should give them some space, right? Are you tired? Let’s sit down and take a break.”

“…Well, what you said makes sense, then let’s talk about something else,” Chu Jian found a place to sit down and said softly, “come, let’s talk about the arms.”

“D-D-Dear…”

Li Xuan looked at a certain prince’s neck, looked at the time again, looked up and said silently, “half a minute has passed.”

“…” Long Junhao’s face became even whiter, “what do I do… I don’t want to die ahhh!”

Since a while ago, Gu Chen’s face had become gloomy and the atmosphere around him had turned frozen. The bomb was a cricular ring, close to Long Junhao’s neck, and only a very small gap could be seen.

Long Junhao touched the thing on his neck and said in a trembling voice, “how about…use something sturdy to protect my neck? Wouldn’t that make the explosion less powerful?”

Li Xuan looked down and raised his hand, “first, we can’t find that kind of thing in a short period of time. Second, the less powerful can still blow your neck. Even if we put something to protect…”

Long Junhao’s lips trembled, “w…what?”

“It’ll still be broken in half…” Li Xuan speculated and looked down at the time, “one minute has passed.”

Long Junhao went crazy and walked around in circles. Li Xuan spoke, “calm down,” and then turned his head, “Gu Chen, you also calm down. For the time being, think realistically first. In case something happens… you can still go back for revenge.”

A certain prince didn’t hear what he said and was still spinning in circles, “then what should I do?! Wait for it to explode? Don’t you have any other way? Is it okay to break this ring? Is it?!”

“No, who knows if there’s a wire inside, if there is, it will directly explode.” Li Xuan silently watched the person walk around, “another half a minute has passed, ouch…” He trotted away and held the pillar with a desperate expression, “I’m about to lose my money tree.. my money ahhhh!”

The voice was so sad and shrill that it was even worse than a certain prince. Long Junhao immediately stopped, turned his head and shouted, “if you can’t help, then get lost! Your prince has already said that he doesn’t want to see your face before he dies!” He looked up at Gu Chen and sniffed, “you too, if you can’t do anything about it, just leave, remember your prince’s last words and go. Your prince doesn’t want you to see the scene where his neck is blown off, it will damage his image. No matter what, your prince is also someone with royal blood.”

“Hao Hao…” Gu Chen opened his mouth and subconsciously wanted to say something, but at this moment, Li Xuan’s light voice could be heard, “three minutes left…”

Long Junhao was silent for a second, and then began to roar, “get lost now! Your prince doesn’t want to hear you count down here. Get lost ahhh! Otherwise, your prince will kill you ahhh!”

“Hey, hey,” Li Xuan comforted, “I’m here to inform you of your remaining time in the world, Your Highness, and to remind you to cherish it properly. Whatever you’ve been wanting to say should be said at this time, really, look,” he lowered his head, “another half a minute has passed.”

Long Junhao began to gasp, the threat of death was so close that he had a severe mental breakdown, “damn you, Lei Yan! You said you’ll give me a chance? Instead of torturing me like this, you might as well shoot me and say it’s for your dignity.” He turned his head and stared at Gu Chen, “tell me, what’s the relationship between you and him? Your prince is going to die so let me understand first before I die!”

Gu Chen glanced at the people rushing over, then looked at Long Junhao and was silent for a second before saying with great difficulty, “he’s my half brother…same father but different mother…”

Long Junhao’s expression froze instantly and his hands trembled, “I… even…even if I become a ghost, I’ll never let your whole family live in peace…”

“Okay, another half a minute has passed. Your Highness, you still have two minutes to live,” Li Xuan interrupted immediately and pulled Su Qing, who had rushed over, in front of him, “quickly take a look at it. There’s two minutes left.”

Long Junhao finally saw someone who could help, and hurriedly turned his gaze, looking expectantly at the big-name arms dealer in front of him. Other than Su Qing, Shu Wen had also entered the small pavilion and he looked at Long Junhao bashfully, “husband…”

Long Junhao lightly looked at him, “actually, I also don’t want to see you before I die… Go back and protect the baby…”

Shu Wen became shy again. He completely ignored the first half of the sentence but was moved by the second half. He was about to give a small bow and leave weakly, but Long Junhao had already looked away.

Su Qing lowered his head and looked at the bomb carefully before taking a big step back to get out of the danger range. Then, he said calmly, “although I’m an arms dealer, I only understand the basic for bombs. What’s more, this is also Lei Yan’s stuff, so,” he raised his hands almost gracefully, “everyone, I’m willing to help but have no ability to do so.”

Long Junhao’s heart froze instantly. Gu Chen’s eyes sank again and he raised his head to look at Li Xuan. The latter grabbed Shu Wen who was about to leave and dragged him in front of the prince, “your husband will be killed in a minute and a half. Hurry up and save him!” Then, he shoved a tool into his hand.

Shu Wen saw the thing on the prince’s neck and heard the beeping sound. His eyes instantly showed confusion, and then slowly changed.

Long Junhao’s expression was stiff and he didn’t even have the courage to look at Shu Wen. Instead, he stared at Li Xuan in disbelief, his pupils trembling. What is this person thinking? Allowing someone with an abnormal mind defuse a bomb? Because the one dying isn’t him anyway?

Li Xuan immediately spread out his hands when he saw his gaze, “Your Highness, if you have anything else to say, you should quickly say it. I’ll be honest with you, we’re purely relying on luck here.”

Long Junhao opened his mouth as his hands shook, “okay… You strangle him to death… and bury him with me…”

Naturally, he was talking to Gu Chen. But before Li Xuan could say anything, Gu Chen grabbed the finger pointing at him, walked over and hugged Long Junhao from behind. He slightly lowered his head and placed his neck right next to the circular ring. The meaning was very obvious.

Long Junhao’s whole body stiffened, then he returned to his senses and hurriedly tried to push him away, his voice changing, “you fucker, let go!”

Gu Chen only tightened his arms, remaining unmoved and said in a low voice, “be good, don’t move.”

Long Junhao wanted to say more but Li Xuan’s pupils shrank suddenly, “time’s up!”

Long Junhao grasped Gu Chen’s arm tightly, closed his eyes subconsciously, and heard a click in his ear. The arm around his waist immediately increased in strength, and then slowly relaxed. A familiar hand rubbed his head comfortingly, “Hao Hao, open your eyes, everything’s alright now.”

At that moment, Long Junhao didn’t dare to breathe and his body was so tense he couldn’t feel anything at all. It felt as if a century had passed before he heard a familiar voice above his head. He slowly opened his eyes, only to see a bright golden sun. Suddenly, it all felt like a dream. Why did he only realise now that the world was so beautiful?

He opened his mouth, and it took a long time to find his voice, “…I’m not dead?”

Gu Chen hugged him tightly, “yes, you’re not dead, you’re still alive.”

Long Junhao exhaled slowly and collapsed immediately. Gu Chen supported him in time, and his stalled heart finally calmed down. A certain prince wiped away his cold sweat and slowly raised his head to see Comrade Shu Wen still studying the things in his hand after he successfully completed his task, looking very focused.

Li Xuan was afraid that something would happen to him so he immediately went over and took the bomb and the tools in his hand away. With his now empty hands, Shu Wen instantly looked at him in confusion.

Li Xuan smiled kindly, “congratulations, madam, your husband’s life was saved.”

Shu Wen recovered slightly, turned his head hastily, and immediately became angry when he saw the situation. He rolled up his sleeves and scolded, “bold vixen, how dare you seduce my man! Who let you hug my husband?!”

Gu Chen opened his mouth to say something, only to hear a voice of rage in his arms, “yes, bold vixen, how dare you seduce this prince! This prince has a wife¹the term used here is ‘爱妃’, a word used in ancient china as a term of endearment from a king/prince to his loved one/imperial concubine. The wife that has been appearing in previous chapters is ‘老婆’, a modern term for wife.!” After saying that, he broke free from him and immediately rushed forward, “oh, my wife, your prince knows that you are a pearl covered with dust, but a pearl covered with dust is also a pearl, look, you are shining today!”

Shu Wen was immediately overwhelmed when he came over and couldn’t hear what he was saying at all. He could only shyly reply, “h…husband…”

“Oh, I’m here,” Long Junhao grasped his hand, “your prince has decided to marry only you in this life. Only when the high mountains become flat, and the sky and the earth mix into one again, am I willing to part with you!”

Shu Wen became even more shy, “yes, I agree with husband…”

“…” Gu Chen stiffly maintained his posture, his hands hugging the air, “what about me?”

Long Junhao squinted at him and turned to ask Shu Wen, “my wife, this vixen is letting you decide, you can do whatever you want.”

Shu Wen was embarrassed for a moment and looked up at Gu Chen, then looked at Long Junhao and said softly, “as part of your family, I must have a tolerant heart and cannot be narrow-minded, how about… if husband really likes him, you can take him as a concubine.”

Long Junhao abruptly opened his mouth wide and Gu Chen was also stunned. The two of them roared in their hearts in unison, so this can make you compromise?!

“Then…then that’s it…” Shu Wen said weakly, “husband, I will go back now.”

Long Junhao nodded stiffly. Shu Wen walked up to Gu Chen again, “sister, we will live under one roof from now on, you have to obey the rules and serve our husband well, do you understand?”

Gu Chen also nodded stiffly.

Comrade Shu Wen then turned around and walked back. But as he turned around, he saw the things in Li Xuan’s hand and his eyes became a little dazed again before he left in confusion.

Everyone in the pavilion watched him leave and Li Xuan immediately jumped to the side of the prince who had not returned to his senses, patting his shoulder excitedly. The smile on his face was extremely resplendent, like a flower blooming, “Your Highness, you are truly blessed. It’s great that you’re alive. My money tree is saved, hahaha, indeed, my luck is also super~ good.”

Long Junhao slowly returned to his senses and a vein immediately burst from his forehead. He lifted his foot and kicked, “get lost, your prince doesn’t even want to see you when he’s dead, so why would he want to see you now when he’s alive?!”

Li Xuan easily dodged his attack, his face still full of smiles. He didn’t mind Long Junhao’s vehemence at all. Grinning, he looked at Su Qing and waved around the bomb in his hand, “hey, do you want to take this back and study it? Maybe there will be a market for it.”

Su Qing glanced at it and slowly sat down on the stone bench. There was no expression on his cold face and he said calmly, “Oh, about that.” Before he continued, he asked for someone to serve tea first.

Li Xuan raised his eyebrows and intuitively understood that there was more to it so he also sat down on the stone bench. Luo Yi, who was enjoying the scenery and discussing the major events of his life, also pulled his wife and sat down. Long Junhao and Gu Chen stood at a side and Long Junhao asked in a low voice, “is he going to make a lengthy speech to ridicule Lei Yan’s technical department from top to bottom?”

Gu Chen shook his head, “I don’t know.”

At this time, the tea was served and Su Qing picked it up to take a slow sip. And with everyone’s eyes on him, he calmly opened his mouth, “that’s what I sold to Lei Yan, and that’s not the only one.”

Everyone, “…”

“Don’t look at me like that,” Su Qing continued calmly, “I’m someone who sells arms so of course, if there are buyers, I won’t refuse. What’s more, it was because he brought it that I knew it was one of my goods. My technology R&D²research and developmentdepartment is so skillful that I naturally wouldn’t be able to defuse it.”

“…” Long Junhao said, “can I strangle him to death?”

Gu Chen pulled him aside, “no, you just barely survived and you want to die again?”

“Oh, that’s right…” Long Junhao nodded. Deciding to stay away from them, he threw himself forward into Gu Chen’s arms, took a deep breath, and rubbed his head against his chest. It would be a lie to say that he wasn’t moved after seeing this person’s decision when the bomb was about to explode. As for the complicated things between him and Lei Yan, he could ask about that properly next time.

Gu Chen was a little stunned by his action but still smiled and patted his head, “what’s the matter?”

“It’s great to be alive,” Long Junhao continued to rub a few times before he suddenly looked up at Gu Chen, his eyes beaming brightly, “now that Lei Yan’s problem has been solved, he said that if I live, he won’t kill me. I’m fine now, right? Will I be discharged? Let’s go? I want to take an airplane.”

Before Gu Chen could reply, Su Qing, who was sitting not far from them, opened his mouth, “that’s not necessarily true,” he slowly took a sip of tea and said calmly, “Lei Yan has always been crafty, he may not kill you, but he can take you back and lock you up for the rest of your life. Or make you his puppet through hypnosis. Or cut off your tendons and hamstrings, cut off your tongue, and then gouge out your eyes.”

As soon as his voice fell, Long Junhao noticed that Gu Chen was holding his arm with more strength. He was immediately puzzled and turned his head slowly, only to see Li Xuan and Luo Yi who were sitting at the table with Su Qing suddenly stand up silently and took a big step backward in unison with a look of horror on their faces.

He was even more puzzled, “…what’s going on?”

Gu Chen also looked at Su Qing and after a long silence, he squeezed out a word, “jinx.”

“…” Long Junhao said, “ah?”

Gu Chen looked at the remaining few people, “you guys change the topic and talk to him, we’ll go first. There’s bad luck here.” After he finished speaking, he dragged Long Junhao past those people and left without looking back.

With Long Junhao being led from in front, they strolled along the long corridor. He looked at this man’s back, and suddenly thought about the matter between him and Lei Yan so he called out, “Gu Chen.”

“Hm?”

Long Junhao continued to look. The sun was shining brightly into the corridor, dyeing the fine hair behind Gu Chen’s ear with layers of fluffy light. He recalled for a moment and felt that the relationship between this person and Lei Yan seemed to be very complicated. Will rashly asking him make him unhappy? He thought for a moment and opened his mouth, “do you think I peeked at the video of Lei Yan practising doggerel?”

“…”

“Oh, actually I didn’t want to say that,” a certain prince thought for a while, “Gu Chen.”

“…Hm?”

A certain prince struggled again for a while, and finally said weakly, “fortunately, you guys were not born from the same mother.”

“…”

At this time, the people in the small pavilion were thinking about which topic to talk about that can keep them away from danger. Li Xuan and Luo Yi looked at each other and Li Xuan said, “by the way, where is Su Cong?”

“I tied him to the bed,” Su Qing said calmly, “don’t forget to ask the doctor to put some medicine on him, I’m going back soon.”

Li Xuan raised his eyebrows, “…did you do it again last night?”

“No,” Su Qing said, “I’m talking about the marks on the wrist, put some medicine on that.”

Li Xuan exhaled immediately, “about you guys… hah, don’t be so tough on him, you also know that he… Forget it, you know it yourself.”

“Yes, “Su Qing picked up his cup to drink tea but paused slightly and said calmly, “oh right, how long have I been here? I should go soon in case Su Cong breaks the rope, he will definitely come to me to get revenge, um… what’s up with you guys again?”

The three people in front didn’t speak.

Su Qing wanted to ask something more when he saw a white jade hand stretch out from behind him and was placed on the stone table. Marks could be clearly seen on the wrist. Then, a face slowly emerged from behind him with long hair slanted over his shoulders.

Su Cong looked at him with a smile, the light in his eyes was like the coldest day of winter, “you’re really getting smarter and smarter, my, dear, brother!”

“…”

Li Xuan and Luo Yi stood up in unison. Luo Yi didn’t forget to bring along his wife as well and the duo said, “you guys can talk, we’ll be leaving.” 

With that, the duo and the wife of one of its members quickly left the pavilion. Then, the duo did the same action again and unanimously bowed three times to the direction of the small pavilion.

Chu Jian said, “…worshipping the jinx again?” 

The duo said, “yes.”

“…”

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  the term used here is ‘爱妃’, a word used in ancient china as a term of endearment from a king/prince to his loved one/imperial concubine. The wife that has been appearing in previous chapters is ‘老婆’, a modern term for wife. ↩︎
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  research and development ↩︎