NOVEL WEB Vol. 1 - Ch. 385 - Join
The city streets were noticeably emptier than usual—perhaps it had something to do with recent events stirring unrest.
Leaning against his car door, Xia Chen glanced at his watch.
There were still a few minutes left before the scheduled meeting time with Gu YunZhou, yet there was no sign of him anywhere.
That was odd.
As far as Xia Chen could remember, Gu YunZhou was never late.
Over the past two years, it wasn't HuMing who had grown closest to Xia Chen, but rather Gu YunZhou. Despite being two boys who hadn't always seen eye to eye, after Xia GaoWu's "death," they'd somehow become tight friends.
Gu YunZhou had sympathized with Xia Chen's situation, and their bond deepened into genuine friendship. Whenever company problems arose, Gu YunZhou would be there with suggestions and strategies to help solve them.
Though Gu YunZhou wasn't from the Xia family, to Xia Chen, he felt like a real brother.
"Where the hell is he? Didn't we agree to meet at this time?" Xia Chen frowned, his gaze slowly shifting to the towering church in the distance.
That building had originally been marked for government auction—yet now, somehow, it had turned into a church no one had ever heard of.
He had done some digging. Apparently, bankrupt business owners would seek help from the people inside that church.
And strangely enough, they usually received funding—and with it, a second chance at life.
But what was the price?
All they had to do was believe.
Believe in what, exactly? Join a religion, and suddenly get showered with wealth and blessings?
It sounded completely absurd.
What kind of lunatic did charity like that? What, was money growing on trees now?
And the whole belief system—Xia Chen didn't buy it. This wasn't some cultivation fantasy where belief made you stronger. That was nonsense.
Still, the church's influence had spread alarmingly fast. So Xia Chen had decided: he needed to see for himself what was going on inside.
It had taken him a lot of connections to secure a pass for tonight's service.
Normally, only people on the brink of financial ruin were allowed inside. Outsiders were strictly forbidden. The only reason he got in was because his contact was a business partner of someone affiliated with the church—and Xia Chen chose to trust him.
He waited another ten minutes.
Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. He pulled out his phone and dialed.
But before the call could connect, a familiar ringtone echoed behind him.
Xia Chen froze, then slowly turned his head.
And as soon as he saw who it was, his skin went cold.
"…Xia Chen. You've gotten bold, haven't you? Dragging Gu YunZhou into a place like this?"
The voice belonged to HuMing.
Xia Chen barely had time to react before HuMing barked another warning.
"Try running. I dare you."
One sentence. That was all it took to make Xia Chen purse his lips and lower his head. He didn't dare talk back.
Sure, he was now the head of the Xia family—but when it came to HuMing, he still listened.
For major decisions, he always consulted HuMing. In some ways, HuMing was more like a father than a peer.
But at this moment, as HuMing approached, Xia Chen couldn't help feeling a little guilty.
He scratched his head awkwardly, eyes darting everywhere, silently cursing Gu YunZhou a thousand times for selling him out.
"Listen… I was just passing by. You believe that?"
HuMing pulled his phone from his pocket and held it in front of Xia Chen's face.
There was a photo—Xia Chen leaning against his car, exactly where he was now.
"This was taken thirty minutes ago. I've been watching you the whole time."
Busted.
Xia Chen sighed. If HuMing knew, then it meant Gu YunZhou had definitely betrayed him.
"Fine. You win. I just wanted to investigate the church. Lately, it's gained too much influence. I'm worried they might be up to something dangerous."
"And your brilliant idea was to sneak in alone? You couldn't ask anyone else to come with you?"
"I worked hard to get this opportunity! You want me to hand it off to someone else? I wouldn't trust anyone else with it!"
HuMing could hear the determination in Xia Chen's voice. He sighed.
"So, what's your plan now? Just waltz in through the front door? You're the head of the Xia family—do you honestly think people won't recognize you?"
"I know that! That's why I brought Gu YunZhou along. Don't forget—right now, the public perception of your Gu family is… complicated." Xia Chen's tone turned serious. "Everyone knows Gu YunZhou was close to Gu ZhaoChuan. And now that Gu ZhaoChuan has vanished, and you just happened to make a name for yourself in the capital… well, it's hard not to imagine you had something to do with it."
It wasn't an unreasonable assumption.
Plenty of people had come looking for Gu ZhaoChuan, but none had found any trace of him. Some had even started to suspect foul play.
After all, the Gu family head had always been chosen by eliminating the competition.
So it wasn't hard to see why people were talking.
Xia Chen had planned to use this perception as a cover—to dig into what was really happening inside the church.
But judging from the look on HuMing's face, the plan was clearly blown.
Unexpectedly, HuMing raised an eyebrow.
He hadn't expected Xia Chen to use the situation like this.
But if Xia Chen had gone this far, it meant he'd prepared everything.
HuMing actually didn't think they'd done anything wrong.
Turning his head slightly, he looked toward the corner of the street and called out calmly—
"YunZhou. Come out."
Gu YunZhou stepped hesitantly from around the corner, clearly uncomfortable. He gave Xia Chen an awkward look, unable to meet his eyes.
The moment Xia Chen saw him, he marched up and slung an arm over his shoulder.
"You little traitor! I told you not to say anything to HuMing!"
"What choice did I have? You don't even know who these people really are. What if they captured you? And how can you be sure your contact's legit? What if he's one of them—just trying to lure you in?" Gu YunZhou's tone was firm.
He was far more cautious than Xia Chen—almost paranoid.
Xia Chen exhaled sharply, wanting to argue but finding no words. He knew YunZhou was right.
With a defeated sigh, he turned to HuMing.
The boy was watching him calmly, expression unreadable.
"Alright, fine. You're not going to let us get involved in this anyway, are you? Let's just go home."
But Gu YunZhou didn't move. He kept staring at HuMing.
He had a feeling this wasn't just about stopping them from going in.
HuMing had called them here for a reason.
"Yeah, maybe going home's safer," HuMing said with a nod, as if speaking to himself.
But at those words, Xia Chen suddenly perked up—like someone had flipped a switch.
"Wait a second. Are you saying… we're all going in?"
If we are able to reach 25 Reviews on NovelUpdates, We will be mass releasing 15Bonus Chps+7(daily chps) when goal is reach!!!
Leave a Review HERE right now!!
Current: 15/25 Review
We will be also releasing 5 Bonus Chapters when we reach rank 50 on the monthly rankings!!
You can help by leaving a review or voting!
415/50