Yang Qi froze again.
As she started walking forward, he quickly grabbed her again.
“Hey, hey, hey!!”
He wiped his sweat.
This woman was way harder to deal with than he’d imagined—hundreds of times harder.
He gritted his teeth.
No wonder Gu Zhaoye didn’t fight back after being slapped like that, or why Shen Yifeng didn’t retaliate after being publicly dumped.
This woman didn’t play by the rules.
Standing against her gave Yang Qi an eerie, chilling feeling.
No one could predict what incomprehensible thing she’d do next.
People who didn’t follow common sense were the scariest.
After being stopped, Gu Zhaoping glanced at the shooting range and said,
“I don’t shoot.”
Seeing her so impervious, one of the young masters she’d previously insulted for not qualifying as a male model finally reacted.
He shouted vengefully,
“Gu Zhaoping, didn’t you say on the show you were good at shooting?”
Gu Zhaoping seemed to pause, turned to look at him, and then rolled her eyes.
“I don’t shoot.”
“You didn’t make that up, did you?”
The young master in the black shirt, still holding a grudge, pressed on.
He was one of the best shooters among them and saw a chance to show off.
He wanted to show Gu Zhaoping what it meant to be someone she deemed “unqualified” as a male model.
Did she think the skills he had were something ordinary male models could match?
He was a dragon among men, a heaven-blessed elite from an elite family—how could she compare him to them?
Gu Zhaoping frowned, repeating,
“I don’t shoot. Are you trying to force me?”
Yang Qi, stunned by the sudden tension, quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
“Miss Gu, don’t get upset. We invited you here to have fun with us. Back in Haishi, you didn’t interact much with us, but now that you’re making a name for yourself, don’t you need to show up at more events? Get some exposure.”
“Look, we love coming to this shooting range. If you join us, it’ll be easier to network with others later, right? You won’t feel out of place.”
Yang Qi turned and introduced everyone.
“That’s the young master from the Zhou Group—they’re in the energy business. Think about it, this is a great networking opportunity! Your brother needs to connect with people like this too. A lot of deals get made casually like this. Are you sure you don’t want to join?”
Gu Zhaoping’s expression darkened, as if she was genuinely considering it.
Yang Qi smiled, thinking he’d finally gotten through to her.
Then, the young master Zhou spoke up again.
“Gu Zhaoping, you in or not? Are you saying you’re worse than your brother?”
Gu Zhaoping seemed fed up with him.
She took a deep breath and looked over.
“You really want to push it, huh?”
Young Master Zhou snorted.
“Not forcing you, just curious to see how the great Miss Gu, the so-called business genius who outshined her brother Gu Zhaoye, measures up. Show us what you’ve got. Give us a chance to see.”
Gu Zhaoping let out a long breath.
She said,
“Fine.”
The safety officer, who had been quietly sitting nearby, overheard their back-and-forth and realized they’d been goaded into a match.
Startled, he hurried over to equip them with safety goggles and ear protection.
The shooting coach was startled, thinking, Good heavens, with the way this young lady looks, could she be a complete beginner who’s never done this before?
Is this really happening?
The coach quickly spoke up,
“If you need guidance, I…”
But Gu Zhaoping was already holding the pistol with both hands, standing at the shooting range, aiming with a professional stance.
Yang Qi and Young Master Zhou were momentarily stunned.
Seeing her like this, their hearts skipped a beat, wondering if she might actually be skilled.
Then she nodded, tilted her chin, and said something that caught everyone off guard: “Coach, explain how to shoot.”
Everyone nearly collapsed.
The coach felt a chill, his heart almost jumping out of his chest, and with a bitter expression, he hurriedly began explaining the rules and techniques to this young lady.
Young Master Zhou couldn’t help but want to roll his eyes.
He watched, speechless, as Gu Zhaoping listened earnestly to the coach, nodding seriously while observing his gestures.
What was I thinking, challenging Gu Zhaoping to a shooting match?
I must be crazy with nothing better to do.
This was just to vent some frustration for Gu Zhaoye.
But even if he won against her, it would be an empty victory.
He glanced at Yang Qi and lowered his voice,
“Forget it, you guys go first. Don’t say we big guys are bullying her.”
“But don’t hold back either.”
Yang Qi nodded awkwardly.
Their original plan was to take Gu Zhaoping down a peg, but now, even if they won, what was there to be proud of?
Fine, they’d just stall for time to let Young Master Ni escort Ni Tiansong away—that was the priority.
Yang Qi put on his safety goggles and ear protection, noticing that the coach seemed to have finished explaining to Gu Zhaoping.
He asked,
“Ready to start?”
Gu Zhaoping turned back and said,
“You go first.”
Yang Qi scoffed, thinking she looked like a beginner too scared to shoot.
While he wasn’t as good as Young Master Zhou, his shooting skills were decent for an amateur.
The rules were simple: each person got 10 shots, scored by total rings, with a 30-second time limit per shot, standing position, and no support from the non-shooting hand.
The coach glanced at Gu Zhaoping with concern, still feeling uneasy.
She only got a few pointers—can she really learn that fast?
I hope there’s no accident.
She didn’t look particularly strong, and for a first-timer, even the recoil of a small pistol might be uncomfortable.
Yang Qi focused and fired his first shot.
7.8 rings.
Not his best, but around his average.
He stared at the target, nodding to Young Master Zhou beside him.
Young Master Zhou gave him a thumbs-up.
7.9 rings, 7.9 rings, 8.1 rings!
Several shots in a row, Yang Qi stayed consistently in this range, even steadier than usual—a bit of a peak performance.
For his last two shots, he even hit a 9-ring!
Yang Qi chuckled, removed his ear protection, and checked his score: 80 rings.
Not bad.
For a beginner, just hitting the target was tough.
His accuracy was already quite high.
He turned to Gu Zhaoping and said,
“Your turn.”
Glancing at the opposite range, he saw Young Master Ni seemingly preparing to leave with Ni Tiansong.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as they got through this, the rest would be smooth.
Gu Zhaoping raised the pistol with both hands, aiming at the target 25 meters away.
Yang Qi paused, then said,
“Oh, right, Miss Gu, 10 meters is usually plenty for beginners. Want to switch to a 10-meter target? Otherwise, it’s a bit unfair…”
He said this with a teasing tone.
But Gu Zhaoping’s actions were faster than his words.
Bang!
Her first shot rang out, instantly silencing him.
Yang Qi froze, muttering to himself that she was awfully impatient.
He glanced at the screen displaying her score and was momentarily stunned.
7.9 rings?
She hit the target?!
Not only did she hit it, but 7.9 rings?!
Yang Qi’s eyes went blank.
Even if it’s luck, what are the odds?!
Gu Zhaoping should go buy a lottery ticket today!
Young Master Zhou and the others were also stunned, but before they could react, Gu Zhaoping fired her second shot.
Young Master Zhou’s pupils shrank, and Yang Qi looked over as well.
After the crack—
She missed the target!
Yang Qi let out a huge sigh of relief.
Phew, I got myself all worked up!
It was just luck.
I was crazy to think she might actually be good.
At that moment, Gu Zhaoping lifted her pistol again, checked it briefly, and aimed at the target once more.
On the other side, Ni Tiansong heard the noise and glanced over.
It was just a passing look, not meant to linger, but something caught his attention.
He froze for a moment, then, as if seeing something unbelievable, turned and strode toward them.
Young Master Ni was stunned, reaching out to grab him but missing.
“Hey, cousin, cousin!”
Ni Tiansong quickened his pace, pushing through the crowd, who hadn’t even noticed his approach.
Gu Zhaoping fired her third shot.
Yang Qi and Young Master Zhou were ready to laugh, preparing their sarcastic, fake condolences, saying it was already impressive for her to hit the target once, that it was just luck, and maybe she should buy a lottery ticket today…
But the next moment, the target swayed, and the screen flashed a number.
8…
8?
“Miss Gu?”
At that moment, a clear, refined, incredulous voice sounded nearby, causing everyone to freeze.