Chapter 88: Didn’t I tell you to leave?

Ji Jinxuan suddenly opened his eyes.

The dim yellow bedside lamp flickered twice and went out without warning.

He sat up, his ears feeling clogged, as if submerged underwater. He could vaguely hear the sound of collapse mixed with the noise of panicked voices. He checked the time. It was already noon.

Why was it so noisy?

It had been a pleasant surprise to see Xu Lin again after a month. He had been looking forward to this dream for so long, thinking that even if he could only steal glances from afar and exchange a few words, just seeing him would be enough.

He had thought his body would hold out until Xu Lin left. He had overestimated himself.

Last night, he had planned to go to the dormitory to sneak a few looks at Xu Lin. But before he could even step out the door, a familiar dull pain had crept through his body, more violent than ever before. He knew it was bad. He forced himself to the basement and locked himself in. He could no longer use suppressants—no medication, no injections. He could only endure.

He must have passed out from the pain, or perhaps fallen asleep. When he woke, it was now.

The muffled noise had roused him.

And Xu Lin was supposed to leave this afternoon.

The chance he had fought so hard for had been wasted before he could even spend any time with Xu Lin.

Filled with regret, Ji Jinxuan forced himself out of bed. His feet touched the floor, and the room spun. He steadied himself against the desk for a moment before heading out.

As he emerged from the stairwell, he was horrified by what he saw.

The glass door opened, and the muffled sounds from before exploded in volume, like thunder, piercing into every part of him.

Blaring alarms, people fleeing in chaos, collapsing buildings, dust and debris flying everywhere.

He grabbed a panicked passerby. “What happened?”

The man’s face was covered in dust, only his eyes showing white. Startled by the grip, he calmed down when he saw Ji Jinxuan. His voice cracked with agitation. “An explosion came out of nowhere! Most of the load-bearing walls are destroyed, vital equipment is ruined, many are injured. We’ve called for repair and rescue teams, but they probably won’t make it in time.”

“We’ll do our best to save the data. This place is about to collapse. Chief Ji, you need to get out!”

Ji Jinxuan’s frown deepened. “Where was the blast?”

“Sixth floor! It started on the sixth floor!”

“Hey! Don’t go!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Ji Jinxuan turned and headed for the sixth floor. The man couldn’t stop him, and could only watch helplessly as his figure disappeared into the chaotic corridor.

“Xu Lin!” Li Mu held three children, kicking aside a chunk of debris. The sixth floor was a wreck, littered with rubble and glass, the alarms echoing incessantly.

No response.

Li Mu swore. “What the hell happened?!”

They had been waiting on the fifth floor. Xu Lin had gone to the sixth to pick up the report. Everything had been fine—Xiao Zhao had even said he hoped they could delay their return to explore Dan City a bit longer. Then, an earth-shattering boom cut him off.

The building shook violently. Xiao Zhao yelled earthquake. Li Mu grabbed the three panicked children and shielded them. He knew immediately it was an explosion. From the sixth floor. Then the third and fourth.

The ground felt like water, impossible to stand steady. The children screamed, terrified. Li Mu tried to calm them while his heart raced with worry.

Xu Lin was still on the sixth floor.

Thankfully, the escape route hadn’t collapsed yet. Li Mu planned to get the kids to safety and then go back for Xu Lin. But the kids refused to leave him, insisting on coming along. Time was critical. He made them promise to stay close and led them up to the sixth floor.

The floor was empty, thick with dust. The sight made Li Mu’s heart sink. He called Xu Lin’s name repeatedly, but the silence only deepened his dread.

Clatter—

“Cough, cough!” An arm pushed aside a slab of rubble, and Xu Lin, covered in dust, crawled out. He coughed a few times, checked himself. Aside from scrapes and dirt, nothing major. His luck had held.

After confirming he was still in one piece, Xu Lin’s relief gave way to seething anger.

“Psycho.” He cursed again, thinking of that lunatic Ye Nianyi.

He had thought it would just be fists, maybe a knife if necessary. Who would have expected the idiot to use bombs?

When he saw the remote in Ye Nianyi’s hand, his mind flashed back to the explosion six years ago—the one that had scarred his face. He dove under a lab table just in time. The world shattered around him, debris raining down. The table shielded him from most of it. When it finally stopped, he crawled out.

Fortunately, he hadn’t been crushed.

Ye Nianyi wasn’t wearing a bomb like the driver who had attacked Ji Jinxuan back then. If he had, and thrown himself at Xu Lin, he wouldn’t have survived.

Dusting himself off, Xu Lin headed out. He had to get out of there.

He took a few steps and spotted Ye Nianyi on the other side, crushed by rubble. Unlike Xu Lin, he hadn’t been lucky—his head was smashed in, and he was clearly dead.

Xu Lin looked at him for a moment, unmoved, then walked past him and out the broken door. He heard Li Mu calling in the distance.

“I’m here!”

He headed toward the voice. Soon, Li Mu appeared, carrying the kids, their faces red but silent. Xiao Zhao spotted Xu Lin and grinned. “Li-ge!”

Li Mu checked him over, relieved. “Are you okay?”

Xu Lin nodded. “Fine.” He took Xiao Zhao, freeing one of Li Mu’s hands.

Li Mu rearranged the kids and said, “Let’s get down!”

They were heading for the exit when they ran into someone in the stairwell.

Ji Jinxuan.

He wore a black shirt, his hair disheveled, his lips pale, his expression tense. His steps were unsteady. The moment he saw Xu Lin, his brow relaxed visibly.

He swayed, steadying himself on the railing, and something slipped out from his collar—a chain with a ring on it, catching the light. He didn’t notice.

He gave Xu Lin a quick, thorough look, then looked away. “Get them out first.”

He passed them, heading deeper into the wreckage. As he brushed by Xu Lin, he pressed a handkerchief into his hand.

Li Mu called after him. “Where are you going? This place is about to collapse!”

“There’s important drug data in the archive room. I need to back it up.” Ji Jinxuan didn’t look back. “You go first.”

Li Mu hurried the kids down the stairs. When he noticed Xu Lin hadn’t followed, he called out, “Xu Lin!”

Xu Lin snapped out of his daze. Xiao Zhao looked at him, feeling his tight grip on his hand. He glanced at the clean handkerchief in Xu Lin’s palm. “Ji-ge didn’t look well. Is he sick?”

“Li-ge, shouldn’t we help him?”

Another tremor shook the building. A deep crack split the wall.

Li Mu urged, “Move! Don’t freeze!”

Xu Lin gritted his teeth and shoved Xiao Zhao into Li Mu’s arms. “I’ll go help him. Be right back!”

Li Mu shouted, “Are you crazy?!”

But Xu Lin was already gone.

Li Mu scooped up the kids and ran down.

Later, in the archive room, Ji Jinxuan had started the backup power. A damaged computer screen flickered to life—still working. He was copying files to a hard drive when Xu Lin burst in.

Ji Jinxuan’s eyes widened. “I told you to leave!”

Xu Lin flinched at the shout. Ji Jinxuan shoved him toward the door. “This place is about to collapse. Get out!”

He wasn’t wearing a mask. His palm was cold and clammy through his clothes, veins standing out on his neck and cheeks. He was breathing hard, the air tinged with the smell of blood.

Xu Lin shoved his hand away. “Then hurry up and finish! Once you’re done, we can both go! Xiao Zhao’s checkup results aren’t ready yet. What if something goes wrong? Who’ll take care of him if you’re gone? Stop wasting time and work!”

Knowing he couldn’t make Xu Lin leave, Ji Jinxuan turned back to his task.

Xu Lin stood by the door, watching the sparks flickering from damaged equipment. The backup progress bar inched forward.

“It was Ye Nianyi,” Xu Lin said.

Ji Jinxuan’s fingers paused.

“He worshipped your grandfather. He blamed you for what happened.” Xu Lin paused. “You’re terrible at judging people. Keeping someone like that around.”

Ji Jinxuan had only let off the minor interns, not the main perpetrators. Kind at the wrong time.

“What did he say?” Ji Jinxuan asked.

Xu Lin paused. “He wanted to hurt you. But he thought killing me would hurt you more.” Xu Lin’s voice was cold. “Ridiculous, isn’t it?”

Ji Jinxuan didn’t answer.

The progress bar hit one hundred. He yanked out the hard drive.

At that moment, the sparks ignited. A wall of fire spread rapidly, blocking their escape.

“This way!”

Ji Jinxuan grabbed Xu Lin’s wrist and ran the other way. Xu Lin stumbled after him, his eyes fixed on the scar and ring on Ji Jinxuan’s hand.

Then the floor gave way beneath him. Time seemed to slow. He felt himself falling.

A pair of arms wrapped around him, shielding his head.

The fall ended with a heavy thud and the coppery smell of blood.