Xia Yu thought that Liu Manman’s talent was in playing wind instruments, and the sheng was a type of wind instrument. If he just handed her over to Shen Shengsheng, he could solve two problems at once.
However, after a brief moment, Xia Yu realized this idea wasn’t very reliable.
He needed Liu Manman to demonstrate her talent to prove herself, so that Shen Shengsheng would believe in her.
Yet, talent was a vague and intangible thing, and Liu Manman couldn’t directly prove it.
Proving it through the speed of progress didn’t really mean much—there were many reasons why someone might learn quickly at first. Only if one could keep improving consistently could it be considered true talent.
Even An Siyao, who had musical talent, had spent ten years before finally reaching level 5 in piano.
This was far too long—neither Liu Manman nor Shen Shengsheng would be able to persist for that long.
Unless Xia Yu went to Liu Manman’s place every night to personally teach her, allowing her to quickly learn how to play the sheng.
That would be too troublesome, and Xia Yu wasn’t willing to do that.
He abandoned the idea of using Liu Manman to deal with Shen Shengsheng, deciding instead to invite Liu Manman to go to the shooting club together the next day.
At the shooting club, he could remind her of her talent for shooting while subtly encouraging her to consider learning a wind instrument.
After finalizing his plan, Xia Yu picked up his phone and sent a message to Yu Ningmeng.
“Are you there? Can you get an invitation to a nearby shooting club?”
Although there were public shooting clubs, their facilities were generally poor, and Xia Yu wanted something more upscale.
Yu Ningmeng quickly replied:
“Why the sudden interest in this?”
Xia Yu thought for a moment and replied in a veiled manner: “Preparing for the future.”
This time, it took ten seconds before Yu Ningmeng replied:
“To prevent any misunderstanding, let me confirm—what you’re asking for is a formal sports shooting club, right?”
Do you think I’d ask you for anything informal?
Looking back at the chat history, Xia Yu realized Yu Ningmeng had misinterpreted his previous message.
He replied helplessly:
“Seriously, I just don’t have anything to do lately and want to try shooting.”
“Come start a business with me!” Yu Ningmeng immediately replied.
“I refuse,” Xia Yu said without hesitation.
“This could be your future business!”
“Don’t worry, you’ll still be the one doing the work,” Xia Yu had no intention of getting personally involved. Having lived a life before, his goal this time was to enjoy life freely. How could he bind himself again to such boring affairs?
“…” Yu Ningmeng sent a string of ellipses first, then replied five seconds later: “So you’re not planning to let me go, huh?”
“We can talk about that later. Let’s focus on the shooting club first.” Xia Yu continued typing with one hand while tossing paper balls with the other.
“I only know about archery clubs, not firearms. But Yaoyao’s grandfather used to enjoy shooting, so I’ll ask,”
After sending this message, Yu Ningmeng went silent.
Xia Yu stared at the line “Yaoyao’s grandfather used to enjoy shooting” for a while, deciding he should be more respectful toward Yu Liang in the future.
Five minutes later, Yu Ningmeng sent another message:
“The chairman told me to inform you that firearms are strictly prohibited.”
“???” Xia Yu hadn’t expected to receive such a response.
Yu Ningmeng explained:
“Previously, the chairman taught An Tianfeng how to shoot, and after a while, they found target practice boring and went hunting in Africa together, getting more and more excited.”
“During a deep grassland expedition, they nearly lost their lives to a pack of wolves. Because of this incident, An Siyao’s mother was extremely angry. That’s probably why they won’t let you play with firearms.”
Xia Yu could understand this reasoning. Just like how the wealthy often liked to show off their money, or those with connections liked to flaunt their influence, having a gun in hand would naturally lead one to want to use it, becoming a hunter.
Most people who drowned in rivers were skilled swimmers who had ventured too far. Similarly, hunters often faced danger.
Violence could also be addictive.
However, mastering firearms was a skill Xia Yu was determined to obtain, and he wouldn’t give up just because of Yu Liang’s concerns.
He wouldn’t end up in the same situation as Yu Liang and An Tianfeng either. Even without a gun, he wouldn’t fear a pack of wolves.
Since Yu Liang refused to introduce him, he would have to go to public shooting ranges instead.
Just as Xia Yu was thinking this, Yu Ningmeng sent another message:
“The chairman has already notified all shooting ranges—there’s no way you can enter any domestic shooting range now.”
“…”
Great, that’s so typical of a capitalist.
“Let’s play archery together then. At most, you’ll just be shooting rabbits,” Yu Ningmeng sent an address for an archery range, “Just mention my name when you arrive.”
Xia Yu saved the address and sighed.
Fortunately, what he obtained wasn’t a firearms skill but a shooting skill. Even without handling guns, practicing archery would achieve the same effect.
He sent another message to invite Liu Manman, then put down his phone and continued tossing paper balls.
With Lingqiao’s help, his accuracy quickly improved. By dinner time, he could accurately throw paper balls into the trash bin as long as it was within his throwing range.
At this point, practicing with paper balls was no longer useful.
Xia Yu went to the supermarket and bought some darts to continue training.
At 11 PM, the stars outside were dim, the moon hidden behind clouds, with a cold wind gently howling.
In the brightly lit living room of the villa, a girl sat solemnly, staring at the side profile of the teenager in front of her.
The teenager’s expression was equally serious. His gaze was fixed straight ahead without wavering. Slowly, he raised his hand, revealing the dart in his palm.
A flash of silver light zipped through the air with a swoosh, followed by a crisp “pap” as the dart landed precisely on the top edge of the bullseye.
Then came five more “swoosh-swoosh-swoosh-swoosh-swoosh” sounds. Six darts sequentially embedded themselves around the bullseye, tightly surrounding it.
The circular dartboard hanging on the wall gently swayed, as if reacting to the impact of the darts or perhaps making a final show of resistance.
The final dart was thrown without hesitation, piercing through the dartboard’s swaying motion. With another “pap,” it struck the bullseye, claiming its final victory.
Yue Xue, sitting on the sofa, excitedly clapped her hands.
Xia Yu rubbed his chin, nodding in satisfaction.
His shooting skill had now reached level 2.
Compared to other skills, shooting progressed surprisingly fast, but that was because Xia Yu had Lingqiao assisting with micro-adjustments and strength to throw the darts.
After reaching level 2, further improvement wouldn’t be so easy.
He packed up the dartboard, patted Yue Xue’s head affectionately, and returned to his room to rest.
The next day, he asked his counselor for leave and arrived at the archery club address Yu Ningmeng had given him.
After completing the membership registration, Liu Manman arrived.
Liu Manman wasn’t alone; behind her stood another person.
“Hello, I’m Ning Qiuer,” the unfamiliar woman greeted Xia Yu with a smile.
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