Chapter 831 - 831: I Did It on Purpose

The ground floor of the church was almost entirely filled with seats, leaving only a central aisle wide enough for three people to walk side by side.

A red carpet ran along the aisle, leading directly to a podium inscribed with a cross at the far end.

Xiao Feng entered with Nie Longjiao and found that about half of the two hundred or so seats were already filled with people.

Though the place was crowded, no one spoke loudly; instead, there was a low buzz of murmured conversations.

Still, Xiao Feng thought it might be more comfortable if everyone just spoke up.

Upon closer inspection, he recognized many familiar faces from Jinyue Garden among the crowd.

"Do you think we can still leave in time?" Nie Longjiao asked, half-joking, half-serious.

Xiao Feng replied, puzzled, "Leave for what? We're already here, and we've noticed something off.

With this kind of setup, it's highly likely someone plans to harm the people here.

Can you bear to watch so many people die? Do you have no heart?"

Hearing these questions overflowing with a sense of justice, Nie Longjiao was almost driven to despair. "You want to be a hero and savior, fine, but don't drag me along," she thought.

Wait!

Nie Longjiao suddenly looked into Xiao Feng's eyes, her beautiful eyes widening. "Could this be something you've orchestrated?

Did you deliberately bring me here, arrange some bizarre phenomena to make me suspicious, just to end up being the hero saving the beauty?"

Xiao Feng didn't deny it immediately. He thought for a moment and said, "To be honest, I could easily arrange something like this, even on a bigger scale.

But do you think I'd spend that much money just for a play?"

"..." Nie Longjiao.

That argument was impossible to refute.

Considering that the man next to her even charged fees to listen to music with his headphones, it seemed highly unlikely he'd spend so much on a charade.

At that moment, a man and woman entered arm in arm, walking in sync.

"Excuse us," the man said politely.

Xiao Feng turned his head and realized that the couple was Xu Chun and Chen Chunxia.

Chen Chunxia's eyes were filled with undisguised malice upon seeing Xiao Feng blocking the way, but she didn't lash out then and there.

Making way, Xiao Feng led Nie Longjiao to a corner seat in the back row, in case anyone needed to sit in that row without them having to stand up again.

"That woman seems to hold a grudge against you?" Nie Longjiao asked suspiciously.

Though Xiao Feng hadn't exchanged any words with the couple, their eyes had spoken volumes.

A normal person wouldn't look at someone that way.

"Those two are the couple who donated to build this church," Xiao Feng explained.

Nie Longjiao's eyes filled with understanding. "So her grudge against you is because you couldn't save her son?

That seems unfair to you. You tried your best and still get blamed."

She had heard a bit about the situation from Xiao Feng before, so she naturally evaluated it based on common sense.

To her surprise, Xiao Feng shook his head and said, "No, it's not unfair. I did it on purpose."

"What do you mean, on purpose?"

"I didn't save her son on purpose."

Nie Longjiao straightened her back, genuinely shocked and forced to suspect there were other layers to this story.

Because her instincts told her Xiao Feng wasn't that type of person.

"It seems unbelievable, right?" Xiao Feng said calmly. "I didn't go into the details before. Let me explain what happened first, and then think about what you would have done in my place."

Nie Longjiao nodded, ready to listen intently to Xiao Feng's version of the events.

After hearing the whole story, she fell into a long silence.

Finally, Nie Longjiao said, "Honestly, I don't think you did anything wrong. You're not a police officer; you don't have a duty to save people."

"You don't have to make excuses for me. I just want to act with a clear conscience. I don't regret not saving him," Xiao Feng said indifferently.

Nie Longjiao tilted her head to look at him, her gaze thoughtful. "I'm curious, what exactly is your job?"

"Really?" Xiao Feng smiled. "If I can pique your curiosity, I've succeeded in the first step."

"And what's the second step?"

"That's a secret for now."

Just then, the main doors slowly closed, the ornate chandelier overhead lit up, casting a dazzling light.

However, just as the doors were about to close, a young man in a Taoist robe rushed in, shouting as he ran, "I'm late, I'm late, please forgive me!"

"Click!"

The doors shut tightly.

Everyone's eyes turned to the young man in the Taoist robe, who seemed oddly out of place.

This feeling was akin to encountering a Priest in a black robe at a temple.

The young man had thick eyebrows and large eyes, with well-defined features and a constant smile on his face.

He adjusted his hat, cleared his throat, drew a cross over his chest, then clasped his hands together and said, "Amitabha!"

"..."

For a moment, the hall was silent enough to hear a pin drop, with everyone feeling a sense of awkwardness.

This was quite the eclectic belief!

Even the usually composed Xiao Feng was at a loss for words. Where on earth did this guy come from?

"Pardon me, pardon me!" the young man smiled courteously at the crowd.

Then he took a seat in the last row, leaving one seat between him and Xiao Feng.

Once seated, the young man extended his hand, "Hello, my name's Ji Liangcai. What's your name, brother?"

"My last name is Xiao," Xiao Feng replied, shaking the offered hand.

Ji Liangcai's gaze moved past Xiao Feng, landing on Nie Longjiao, and he said cheerfully, "Is she your girlfriend? She's beautiful; you're a lucky guy, Xiao."'

"Praising my girlfriend's looks right in front of me, aren't you afraid of getting hit?" Xiao Feng asked, squinting his eyes.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Ji Liangcai tapped his mouth twice apologetically, "I was too loose-tongued!"

With that, he stopped talking to Xiao Feng but kept his eyes actively wandering around, often lingering the longest on the women present.

"From now on, in public, please don't assume the role of my boyfriend," Nie Longjiao whispered to Xiao Feng, tugging at his sleeve.

Xiao Feng sighed, "I never claimed that; people just assume. What can I do?"

"If someone assumes again, just deny it outright, or you can't blame me for embarrassing you," Nie Longjiao said angrily.

Xiao Feng was about to say something when a voice came through the speaker on the ceiling: "First of all, welcome everyone to the opening ceremony of the church. Let me introduce myself.

I'm Johnny, and from now on, I'll be spreading the gospel of my Lord to you all."

Everyone turned their gaze toward the stage, where a foreigner in a black robe with a cross around his neck stood behind the podium.

Despite the foreign face, no one seemed particularly surprised, except for the children.

Most of the attendees were affluent and accustomed to seeing foreigners, so they didn't view them as some exotic novelty.

"That foreign priest speaks Chinese quite well," Nie Longjiao commented.

Just as she finished speaking, Ji Liangcai snorted, "Pfft! That foreigner's routine is so lame."