Private Coach 0085

Where are we going? Jin Shanshan suddenly realized they were heading out of the city. After she looked more carefully at the streets outside the car and confirmed that she had not been mistaken, she turned to Hou Rui in confusion.

“Don’t worry, darling. You’ll know in a moment.” Hou Rui, however, deliberately kept her in suspense, giving Jin Shanshan a playful wink.

“You really do have too many schemes in that head of yours. If I’m not satisfied later, just you wait—you can spend the rest of your life unable to take care of yourself!” Jin Shanshan waved her small fist fiercely.

“Hey, even if I couldn’t take care of myself, it would be fine. Don’t I still have you?”

“You cheeky monkey, still mouthing off? I ought to beat you to death first.”

“Hey, honey, don’t fool around. I’m driving.”

Along the way, the two of them teased and wrestled with each other, and the time flew by. Before long, they had arrived at the entrance of the Bright Tomorrow Shooting Range. When Jin Shanshan got out of the car and saw the huge sign above the range, Hou Rui grinned and explained, “Honey, didn’t you say your shooting scores never seem to improve? Today I brought you here to practice properly. We’ll burn through bullets like water, fire every round we can, and make sure you have your fill. On the way, we’ll improve your marksmanship too.”

“You do have a little conscience,” Jin Shanshan said, and then hurried inside.

After all, Hou Rui had spent more than a year here, so he knew the shooting range like the back of his hand. Within minutes, he had completed the rental procedures, then took Jin Shanshan to the armory and checked out one service pistol and one police revolver. After that, he let the delighted Jin Shanshan drag him to Shooting Hall No. 3. What surprised Hou Rui, however, was that the person receiving them at the hall entrance was actually Qiangzi.

“Hey, Qiangzi, long time no see.” Hou Rui greeted him while winking subtly.

“Yeah, it’s been nearly a year, hasn’t it? Brought your girlfriend to have some fun?” Qiangzi replied calmly, and with swift, practiced motions he took the pistol from the safety officer’s case and began loading the required magazines and rounds. His attitude was cool and indifferent, exactly what Hou Rui had been hoping for.

“Heh, no, just came back to look around.” Since it seemed Qiangzi wouldn’t be any problem, Hou Rui finally relaxed and felt he could accompany Jin Shanshan properly.

“Your girlfriend is really pretty. I bet that would make those boys, Xiaoli and Xiaoding, green with envy. All right, you two go ahead to the firing lane. I’ll bring the gear over right away.”

“You said it. I didn’t even see Xiaoli or Xiaoding since we came in. Fine, we’ll head over first. Thanks, brother.”

With that, Hou Rui led Jin Shanshan to the firing line.

Just as Hou Rui adjusted the silhouette target to a distance of thirty meters, Qiangzi had already brought over the pistol and ammunition, and even threw in two cups of juice. The moment Qiangzi left, the impatient Jin Shanshan immediately grabbed the service pistol, loaded the magazine with practiced ease, switched off the safety, took a rough aim at the target, and fired with a sharp report.

Startled by the sudden gunshot, Hou Rui quickly put on his ear protection and goggles, then leaned to one side and watched Jin Shanshan shoot.

Soon enough, Jin Shanshan emptied one magazine with a rapid series of shots. Then, brimming with excitement, she picked up the police revolver, changed from her sideways leaning stance to a straight, feet-together position, and began squeezing the trigger one shot at a time with both hands.

When the revolver, too, was emptied, Hou Rui immediately signaled Qiangzi at the counter for more rounds, then pressed the button to send the target back along the cable to the firing lane so he could check Jin Shanshan’s true level.

At a glance, her marksmanship was not bad. Most of the more than twenty shots were in the eight- and nine-ring range. But in the eyes of a veteran like Hou Rui, she still had a few small flaws in her shooting form. He had no intention of pointing them out, though. Today’s main task was a date: to make the little police flower happy, not to train a fine policeman or a crack shot for the motherland.

“Well? Stunned, aren’t you? I’m pretty amazing,” Jin Shanshan said, ignorant of Hou Rui’s complicated thoughts, proudly pointing the empty gun at the target paper and showing off nonstop.

“Amazing, amazing. But put the gun down before you talk. You’re making me dizzy looking at you like that.” Hou Rui said this while smoothly taking the revolver from her hands and setting it on the firing bench.

“I hear your tone as rather perfunctory! Tell me, do you not believe my shooting is good? Let me tell you, I can rank in the top five in my class.”

“I believe you! Since when is my wife an ordinary person? But I don’t quite understand: if that’s so, why do you still say your shooting isn’t very good?”

At Hou Rui’s question, Jin Shanshan’s bright little face suddenly fell. She curled her lips and explained, “Our school has an old instructor. He came from the army and even served on the battlefield. He always laughs at us and says we’re all show and no substance. He says if you can’t hit ten rings every time in standing fire, then in moving-target drills or real combat you’d be lucky not to hit your own people.”

“How outrageous! How dare he talk about my wife like that? He deserves to die. Someday I’ll go meet him—so what if he came from the army? I’ll fight him for three hundred rounds.” Though Hou Rui inwardly agreed with the old instructor completely, he still had to put on a show. Otherwise, Jin Shanshan would surely beat him to death.

“Bah, with that flimsy body of yours, our old instructor could give you thirty-four meters and still beat you. ‘Go meet him,’ indeed. How ridiculous.” Jin Shanshan took a sip of juice as she spoke.

When Qiangzi brought another set of magazines, Jin Shanshan, now a little satisfied, began to aim and shoot more slowly. Her hit rate did improve slightly, but in Hou Rui’s eyes it was only the difference between kindergarten and primary school.

After about twenty minutes, Jin Shanshan was probably tired, or perhaps her wrist had reached its limit in absorbing recoil. In any case, her performance began to collapse in a row, and the last shot was especially abysmal, landing all the way down in the six-ring. That angered the little police flower so much that her mouth nearly pouted up to the tip of her nose. At last, even Hou Rui could no longer stand by silently and decided to speak up.

He first took the service pistol from Jin Shanshan, loaded a full fifteen-round magazine, and handed it back to her. “Be good. This time, listen to me and try again.”

“What are you doing? You cheeky monkey, you actually dare to pretend and teach me how to shoot?” Jin Shanshan took an exaggerated step back, her face full of the expression of someone who had been insulted.

“No harm in trying. Maybe your husband here is a genius.” Hou Rui shook the pistol lightly, looking all patient and coaxing.

“All right then, let’s see what you can teach me.” Suddenly intrigued, Jin Shanshan took the pistol, stood again with her feet in a straight line, and aimed at the target.

“Don’t rush to pull the trigger. Breathe. Keep your breathing steady and slow your heartbeat. Good. Now aim—yes, that’s right, but pay attention to one thing: a handgun has weight. Especially after repeated firing, the muscles in a girl’s wrist aren’t strong enough, so the gun will naturally dip a little. Watch that detail carefully. All right, nearly there. Fire one shot and see.”

Hou Rui stood behind Jin Shanshan and drew her fully into his arms. Extending both arms, he helped adjust the angle and posture of her two-handed grip.

Bang.

Then Jin Shanshan obediently pulled the trigger, and on the target paper thirty meters away, a clear bullet hole pierced the tiny ten-ring zone.

“Wow! Darling, you’re amazing. The first shot was a ten-ring.” Even Jin Shanshan was startled by her own superhuman performance. She spun around and hugged Hou Rui, hopping with delight so energetically that the safety officer behind the firing line nearly rushed over. After all, the little police flower was still holding a gun.

“Heh-heh-heh, of course. Remember the technique I just taught you, and fire a few more rounds.”

“Got it!” Fired up with battle spirit, Jin Shanshan turned back at once and began shooting at the target according to Hou Rui’s instructions. This time, at least half of her ten shots landed in the ten-ring.

They kept playing like that for another half an hour until Jin Shanshan’s wrist finally reached its limit. While kneading her aching wrist and setting the service pistol down, she suddenly turned to Hou Rui and asked, “Monkey, why aren’t you shooting? You’ve just let me play by myself the whole time. It looks like you’ve got some skills too!”

“Me? I’ll pass. I was just watching you have such a good time—how could I spoil your fun?” Truthfully, Hou Rui was not very willing to handle a gun in front of Jin Shanshan. Whether he shot well or badly, neither was appropriate. The degree of restraint required was too hard to judge.

“Cut it out. I’ve heard your shooting is really good. You were famous for it during military training in your first year.”

Damn it. It must be Ma Siyuan and Li Lei, those two big mouths, who sold me out again. While Hou Rui was still sulking, Jin Shanshan had already stuffed the service pistol and a full magazine into his hands.

“Stop pretending and show me what you’ve got. Let’s see how your military training turned out and whether you can even reach sixty or seventy percent of my level.”

Sixty or seventy percent? More like at least sixty-seven times your level.

Hou Rui curled his lip secretly, then began loading the magazine into the pistol with practiced ease. Once he stood before the firing line and raised the gun toward the target, he suddenly turned his head to ask Jin Shanshan, “And if I hit the target, do I get a reward?”

“What reward do you want?” Jin Shanshan immediately grew wary, her voice involuntarily rising.

“How about this: if I hit a ten-ring with one shot, you let me kiss you.”

“Dream on. You need three straight ten-rings.” Jin Shanshan had truly gone all in, but the main reason she dared agree to that condition was that she had already dismissed Hou Rui’s skill, thinking he was only good with his mouth. In real practice, how could he possibly surpass a top student from a police academy like herself?

Bang, bang, bang.

Within a second of Jin Shanshan finishing her words, Hou Rui fired three decisive shots in a row. Then he put down the service pistol, slapped the button hard, and sent the target paper back to the firing line so the little police flower could clearly see his score.