CHAPTER 82: CHAPTER 67: SPARKS ON THE FIRING RANGE (PART 2)

Several female students were gathered around him, listening intently as he demonstrated shooting techniques. Compared to Lu Xun who was always cold and stern, Ren Minghang was amiable and polite to everyone. Having just graduated and already been awarded the military rank of Sergeant, and likely to be directly recruited into the Rand Military District after a few years at Longzhi Academy, his future was very promising. Thus, over the past few weeks of military training, Ren Minghang had already built good relationships with most of the students.

"First in shooting training is to practice how to hold the gun. A good shooter must have steady hands, and can shoot either standing or crouching," Ren Minghang carefully corrected some incorrect postures.

"Instructor Ren, I don’t know what’s wrong with my hands," Zhang Fangxiao deliberately rolled up her sleeves, revealing her un-tanned arms, and the rather light gun seemed unstable in her hands. Zhang Fangxiao had observed Ren Minghang for a while and knew his temperament and personality. Unlike others, she also knew some information about him that others didn’t. She had decided on this man.

Ren Minghang stepped forward, straightened her slightly bent arm, and then supported her elbow, aligning it with the target. However, Zhang Fangxiao’s arm soon bent again, continuously rubbing against her own strong arms. Ren Minghang felt rather awkward, unsure whether to hold her arm up or let it go.

"Your arm should be like drawing a bow, snap it straight. Did you skip breakfast this morning?" Lu Xun mercilessly straightened Zhang Fangxiao’s arm. He was forceful, truly as if pulling a bow, causing Zhang Fangxiao to shriek in pain as her arm was jerked, and she dared not bend it again; her hand stopped trembling.

"Instructor, is there something wrong with our guns?" Li Xi raised her hand to signal.

"I’ll take a look," Ren Minghang volunteered enthusiastically, striding over. Over the past several weeks, he had built rapport with all the students, except for having hardly spoken to Xia You, their only exchanges being: "Reporting to the instructor. Goodbye instructor. Good morning instructor..." In short, their interactions were exceedingly sparse.

Unlike the Ghost Needle Gun, the guns assigned to Xia You and others were heavier, and their triggers seemed to be stuck, very stiff.

Ren Minghang took the pistol, disassembled the gun, and found a missing spring, "A part is missing, you can use mine for now." The Colt Pistol that Ren Minghang carried felt heavy as soon as it was picked up.

Xia You took the pistol, and as she lifted her hand, she felt something was off. Her fingers were slender, and she hesitated for a moment when pressing the trigger.

"For a pistol made for men, the recoil is stronger, you should use both hands to hold the gun," Ren Minghang approached from behind her, supporting Xia You’s shoulders.

Xia You nodded, took a deep breath, and aimed at the target.

"Initially, aim with one eye," Ren Minghang’s voice softly drifted by her ear. Li Xi, standing beside them, mumbled to herself about how soft Instructor Ren’s tone was.

Raising her arms a few centimeters higher, forming a 90-degree angle with her shoulders, Xia You tilted her head, saw Ren Minghang’s profile, and her hands were steadied again.

Zhang Fangxiao had just handed her gun to a roommate when she witnessed this scene from not far away.

What kind of shooting instruction is that?

The tall Ren Minghang stretched out his arms, encircling Xia You completely, making it look from the side as if the two were hugging.

"Don’t tremble," Ren Minghang noticed his own Colt Pistol shaking.

"It’s not her trembling, it’s you," Lu Xun’s voice, like a heavy hammer, struck directly at Ren Minghang’s heart.

"Oh," Ren Minghang quickly withdrew his hands, and sure enough, the gun stopped trembling.

"Be careful lending guns to women, or you might lose your accuracy," Lu Xun warned.

"Bang, bang, bang," three shots rang out, still echoing in Lu Xun’s ears, as the damnable female student fired three shots before he had even put his earplugs in.

"You..." Lu Xun was about to reprimand her, but the shooting target had already automatically transported itself in front of Xia You.

"Six ring, seven ring, seven ring. Xiao You, you’re amazing." Unlike other haphazardly placed practice targets, this one had three bullet holes neatly in the target circle created by the Colt Pistol.

"Guns and people are different; they don’t underestimate based on looks," Xia You handed the gun back to Ren Minghang.

There seemed to be an indescribable powerful current swirling around them, making Li Xi shudder. Ren Minghang scratched his head, grinning awkwardly.

"You’re lucky, Instructor Lu only comes to Longzhi Academy once a year, otherwise your next four years would be difficult," Li Xi said with a residual fear as they left the shooting range.

No need for four years, just one more week was enough, Xia You smiled nonchalantly. As long as she finished this military training successfully, she wouldn’t need to deal with Lu Xun anymore. Just standing beside this stoic and cold-faced man made her uncomfortable.

Zhang Fangxiao and her group walked past angrily, and when they saw Xia You, she glared at her.

"Well, it seems the next four years won’t be peaceful," although Instructor Lu wouldn’t be at Longzhi, Instructor Ren and the clearly infatuated Zhang Fangxiao would be around for four years. Just thinking about it gave Li Xi a headache. Looking at Xia You beside her, she still appeared calm, showing no fear.

Zhang Fangxiao returned to her dorm, irritated. After a previous military training session, she had taken the initiative to ask Ren Minghang for his phone number, but he refused, citing non-use of mobile phones during training as the reason, which somewhat consoled Zhang Fangxiao, as Ren Minghang also declined other female students’ requests for his number, appearing impartial.

"Among the female students, only that Xia You and that tomboy Li Xi didn’t fawn over Instructor Ren much; probably they don’t yet know about Instructor Ren’s background. But..." Zhang Fangxiao had just left the shooting range when she saw Ren Minghang holding his own pistol and laughing foolishly, plus his special treatment while instructing Xia You in shooting, making it hard to guarantee he didn’t have feelings for Xia You.

"Fangxiao, I heard from the boys that our military training ends next Wednesday. On the last day, we’ll have a three-event military competition, starting at the six hundred meter mark on Longzhi Mountain and continuing to the summit. The instructors have already started setting up obstacles and preparing. We’ll teach her a lesson then," a roommate walked in, reporting the fresh information. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote and support. Your support is my greatest motivation.)