After the excitement of Happy Valley faded, the new week began quietly with schoolwork.
Midweek, Jiang Yaoci “bumped into” Ruan Chaoxi again.
“Junior Ruan, what a coincidence. I was quite disappointed we couldn’t attend the reception together after you mentioned having plans during the lecture last time.” He approached her, this time with a smile that appeared more “sincere.”
“By the way, I saw a video online a few days ago. You were quite impressive playing shooting games at the amusement park—quite a natural talent.”
Ruan Chaoxi stopped and looked at him quietly, waiting for what came next. She could already sense the display of new “feathers.”
“A friend of mine runs a top-tier shooting club in the suburbs of Beijing. It’s live-fire, very professional and safe.” Jiang Yaoci deliberately slowed his pace, observing her reaction. “It’s far better than those toy guns at amusement parks. Would you like to go and experience it? It’s a chance to experience… well, a different kind of activity compared to what you might be used to back home.”
He carefully avoided potentially derogatory terms, trying to frame the invitation as an opportunity to broaden her horizons.
Live-fire shooting? In China?
This did pique Ruan Chaoxi’s curiosity.
She was genuinely curious about how handling real firearms for entertainment or sport in this strictly gun-controlled country would differ from her experiences in Myanmar with Miya or at the Mo Family’s private training grounds in Bangkok, where she could do as she pleased.
Moreover, since the “specimen” had proactively offered a new “experimental scenario,” she saw no reason to refuse.
“That sounds interesting,” she nodded. “When?”
Jiang Yaoci’s heart leaped with joy. “Whenever suits you. I can arrange it with the club anytime. How about this weekend? A few of my friends are planning to go too—more people, more fun.”
“Sure,” Ruan Chaoxi agreed readily.
That evening, during her video call with Samia, she mentioned the invitation.
“Samia, that peacock invited me to a live-fire shooting club this weekend. I was a bit curious about what it’s like, so I agreed.”
Samia fell silent—a long, heavy silence.
In his always deep and calm eyes, complex emotions swirled.
Teaching her to shoot, taking her to the shooting range—that was his exclusive domain, one of the armors he had personally draped over her during over a decade of protection.
Now, another man was trying to approach her in a similar way.
Displeasure, vigilance, a faint sense of anxiety, and a flicker of anger at having his boundaries encroached upon surged in his heart.
“Miya?” Ruan Chaoxi keenly sensed his unusual silence and the sudden darkening of his gaze. Her heart tightened inexplicably. “Do… you not want me to go?”
Samia looked up, meeting her eyes through the screen, which held confusion and a trace of unease. He saw the inquiry in her gaze and her concern for his emotions.
After a long pause, he sighed softly, his voice lower and hoarser than usual. “…Go if you want to.”
In the end, he chose to relent, forcefully suppressing the possessiveness that threatened to break free. Excessive protection and control would only push her further away.
“Be careful,” he repeated the feeble reminder, his words tinged with helplessness. “No matter how strict the club’s firearm management is, they’re still real guns. Remember the safety rules and stay away from the muzzle.””I know, you’ve taught me countless times already.” Ruan Chaoxi nodded, but the subtle flutter in her heart stirred by his unusual reaction had not completely subsided.
Over the next few days, she could sense from the videos that Samia had become even more silent than before. A deep, unshakeable gloom was locked in the depths of his eyes, a visible despondency that made Ruan Chaoxi feel an inexplicable pang of heartache.
That vague affection, mingled with an increasingly clear longing, caused her to drift into thoughts of his serene profile even during the day. Every ordinary day was filled with the faint bitterness of waiting for nine o’clock at night.
…
The weekend arrived quickly.
The shooting club was located in the distant suburbs of the capital, boasting professional facilities, a private environment, and strict security.
Jiang Yaoci had deliberately invited a few of his usually well-connected, pleasure-seeking friends. His original intention was to showcase his skills and generosity during the “teaching” process, while also showing off this hard-to-approach “special” junior to his friends.
However, once they entered the shooting range, reality deviated from his script.
Under the coach’s supervision, Jiang Yaoci picked up a classic Beretta 87 pistol, expertly checked it, loaded it, and then flashed a confident smile at Ruan Chaoxi. “Here, let me demonstrate the basic grip and aiming techniques first. The recoil of a real gun is quite strong, completely different from a toy gun. You have to hold it like this—”
Before he could finish, he heard Ruan Chaoxi say to the coach, “Hello, could I have a Glock 19, 9mm caliber, please?”
The coach was taken aback and instinctively looked at Jiang Yaoci.
Jiang Yaoci was also stunned and quickly said, “Junior Ruan, the Glock’s recoil might be a bit much for a beginner. We could start with a .22LR small caliber—”
“No need, the Glock 19 is fine.”
Ruan Chaoxi took the pistol handed to her by the coach, expertly checked its condition, removed the magazine to confirm, and chambered a round. Her movements were as standard as a training manual demonstration, leaving Jiang Yaoci and his friends—who had been ready to either tease or admire the “teaching” scene—utterly dumbfounded.
After the coach confirmed it was safe, she stepped up to the firing line, raised the gun, aimed, and fired. The entire sequence was smooth and seamless, without the slightest hesitation or awkwardness.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Five shots were fired in a steady rhythm, all hitting the ten-ring area of the stationary target twenty-five meters away, with the bullet holes nearly overlapping.
The surroundings fell silent instantly.
Jiang Yaoci and his friends were frozen in place, unable to process what they had just seen. Even the coach wore an expression of surprise.
“This gun is well-tuned,” Ruan Chaoxi set down the pistol, her tone flat, even a bit bored. “The recoil is milder than I expected.”
Jiang Yaoci felt somewhat embarrassed but forced a smile. “Pretty good luck there. Want to try moving targets? Or maybe a sporting rifle? That’s more challenging.”
“Sure.”
Thus, in the time that followed, a scene unfolded at the club that caught the attention of all the coaches and seasoned members—
Ruan Chaoxi calmly switched between different firearms, from pistols to sporting rifles, from static targets to moving ones. She handled everything with ease, and her results were consistently top-tier.
Jiang Yaoci’s initial plan and sense of superiority had long since vanished. Beyond the awkwardness, what remained was an even clearer and more intense attraction!
She was like a hidden treasure, and every excavation brought astonishing discoveries.Ruan Chaoxi shot for a while but gradually grew bored.
The firearms here—their accuracy, power, and feel—were practically toys compared to the military-grade weapons she had handled since childhood in Miya’s brother’s barracks, those guns that carried the scent of gunpowder and killing. Especially the high-precision sniper rifles that Samia would sometimes personally adjust and teach her to use!
More importantly, standing here, holding the cold firearm, she uncontrollably thought of him.
She remembered him standing behind her, his arms encircling her, guiding her hand as he taught her to adjust her posture, aim, and control her breathing—the cool yet dangerous aura that surrounded him;
She remembered his low, patient voice as he explained the principles of each component;
She remembered the approval and smile in his eyes when she hit a distant target for the first time…
The part of her heart that had been unsettled due to Samia’s unusual behavior these past few days suddenly swelled with longing.
She missed him! She wanted to hear his voice right now!
Ruan Chaoxi removed her protective goggles and headphones, walked to the rest area, and took out the encrypted phone from her small bag.
“What’s wrong, junior? Tired?” Jiang Yaoci walked over upon seeing this, trying to salvage some pride. “The guns here do have quite a bit of recoil…”
Ruan Chaoxi ignored him and directly dialed the video call.
A few seconds later, Samia’s face appeared on the screen.
“Miya brother, are you busy~” Ruan Chaoxi spoke, her voice unconsciously taking on a little girl’s coquettish tone, her expression one Jiang Yaoci had never seen before.
It wasn’t her usual calm and polite demeanor—it was playful and dependent, her lips naturally curving upward, even the corners of her eyes softening.
Samia clearly hadn’t expected her to call at this time and place. He was slightly taken aback, but the moment he saw her, the sternness between his brows softened somewhat.
“Not busy. What’s wrong?”
“I’m at that shooting club, and it’s so boring~” Ruan Chaoxi complained to the screen. “The guns here are like toys, the range is small, and there are too many rules. Earlier, when I was shooting at moving targets, I remembered how you taught me to use the SVD to hit empty bottles floating on the river—that was so much more fun than this!”
She chattered on, and Samia listened quietly, watching her vivid, lively expression. The gloom and anxiety that had been weighing on his heart for days were soothed away.
From her slightly disdainful tone, he could tell she wasn’t immersed in this novel experience but was instead missing the past they shared.
“Be careful, don’t hurt your hands. Come back early once you’ve had enough fun,” he said softly, his gaze lingering greedily on her smiling face.
Although the background faintly showed the club’s modern decor and the figures of others, at this moment, his world consisted only of her on the screen.
Jiang Yaoci stood right beside her. He couldn’t understand a word of Burmese, but he could read Ruan Chaoxi’s expression and tone, and he could faintly hear the man’s low, pleasant voice from the video! A sudden pang of sourness struck his heart, as if a jar of vinegar had been overturned.
He barely suppressed the discomfort and fixed his gaze on the “unremarkable” phone in Ruan Chaoxi’s hand, as if he had found an outlet for his frustration.
“Junior, you should replace this phone, right? It’s all black, no brand name on it—it should’ve been retired long ago. What kind do you like? The latest iPhone? Or a Vertu? Just say the word, and I’ll get it for you,” he said deliberately loud enough for those around to hear, his tone laced with mockery.Ruan Chaoxi was speaking with Samia when she heard the remark. She turned her head, glanced at Jiang Yaoci with a look that seemed to regard him as a fool, and replied coolly in Chinese, “No need, thank you.”
The aloofness in her tone was worlds apart from the intimacy she had shown with the person in the video.
On the other end of the video call, Samia’s eyes turned cold the moment he heard Jiang Yaoci’s voice. He saw the figure of a young man approaching Xixi and heard the blatantly dismissive remark about “changing phones.”
Ruan Chaoxi noticed the change in Samia’s expression and instinctively tilted the phone screen slightly, wanting him to see the situation clearly and put his mind at ease.
As she adjusted the angle of the phone, Jiang Yaoci’s gaze inevitably swept across the screen, catching a glimpse of the man’s face on the other end of the video—
A fleeting glance.
Extremely handsome, with deep, mixed-race features that even made him, a man, pause for a moment. An aura of icy danger, almost tinged with the scent of blood, seemed to radiate through the screen from the man’s brow.
Jiang Yaoci had always been confident in his own looks and family background, but at this moment, he had to admit the other man’s brilliance and the threat he posed.
What shook Jiang Yaoci even more was the chaotic background that flashed behind the man: the edge of a camouflage tent, the blurred outlines of military equipment, and several figures in what looked like combat uniforms hurriedly passing by… It all felt rough and disorderly, starkly out of place in this refined club.
Southeast Asia… truly chaotic.
This prejudiced thought instinctively surfaced in Jiang Yaoci’s mind. No wonder Ruan Chaoxi was skilled with a gun—in that kind of environment, knowing how to shoot might indeed be a necessity for survival!
The man in the video was probably some military officer relative of hers, right?
With this thought, the sourness in his heart mingled with a hint of pity and a strong sense of mission to “rescue” her from that “backward” environment!
Ruan Chaoxi ended the video call with Samia, carefully storing away the encrypted phone. She looked up at Jiang Yaoci, her eyes returning to their usual aloofness and calm:
“Senior Jiang, thank you for the invitation today. I’m a bit tired, so I’ll head back first.”
Jiang Yaoci was far from willing to let her leave just like that. He quickly said, “Don’t rush off. How about dinner tonight? There’s a newly opened, very authentic Yunnan restaurant at the International Trade Center. You might like it.”
He wanted to learn more—about her, and about the man in the video.
“No need, thank you. I have plans tonight.” She declined politely but coldly, then picked up her bag. “I’ll be going now. Goodbye.”
With that, she gave him no further chance to persuade her, turning and leaving the lounge area, her retreating figure resolute and decisive.
Jiang Yaoci stood where he was, watching her leave without hesitation. He recalled the stunningly handsome face of the man in the video and the completely different, shy demeanor Ruan Chaoxi had shown with him. A suffocating tightness filled his chest.