One of the male students in front agreed with Ye Jian. He turned and said, “She’s right. Three shots are too little. If I could, I want to take ten shots.”
“You all should learn from Ye Jian. Look at how calm she is. She never tried shooting but she isn’t afraid. We have taken a few more lessons than her. There’s nothing to be afraid of. Am I right, Ye Jian?”
The male student asked Ye Jian for her opinion at the end of his sentence. He might not have noticed it but his actions showed his respect for Ye Jian. He believed her words.
Ye Jian smiled and replied, “You’re right. We shouldn’t be afraid once we start the practice. It doesn’t matter how well we do, at least we can manage to touch a gun and fire a shot. We will know how a shooting practice feels.”
“You should just follow Ye Jian’s lead. Even us boys follow her.” The male student laughed as he spoke. “All the best, Ye Jian. Hit the bull’s eyes all three times. As for the rest of you, don’t be like Ye Ying. She only took one shot. She was too afraid the fire the rest.”
The female students weren’t surprised by his words. They found it normal. “She’s really timid. Her health isn’t good. You should be glad that she didn’t faint in fright.”
It was almost 5 pm. The breeze from the mountain cooled the students down as they waited for the last batch of students to finish their shooting practice.
Ye Jian was part of the last batch. She didn’t get assigned to Xia Jinyuan’s side. There were two people between them. Her back was straight as she stood beside the gun. She looked like a real soldier preparing for shooting practice.
Xia Jinyuan smiled as he looked at Ye Jian. She was staring straight ahead.
Fortunately, his intention was to get closer to her life. He didn’t plan to stand beside her while she held the gun. He was part of her school life now. He could listen to her chatting happily with her friends and see her being respected by her classmates.
It felt good to engage in her life.
The moment Ye Jian entered the shooting site, she stole everyone’s attention. Her classmates weren’t soldiers but they could see the difference in Ye Jian’s posture. Her back view seemed even more imposing that the instructor beside her.
She really looked like a real soldier now. She just needed to stand there and people would respect her.
The instructor of Class One smiled as he asked his students, “What do you think her score will be?”
“How can we guess it? Instructor, why not you take a guess?”
“Ye Jian never practiced shooting before. Her results should be the same as us.”
“No. Ye Jian is very powerful.”
The students started discussing among themselves. Some guessed that Ye Jian would miss the target all together while some believed that she would be able to hit the target every time.
The last round of shooting practice started. The instructor of Class One looked at Ye Jian’s position as she laid on the ground. She held the handle of the gun with one hand and had the other hand on the trigger. Her movements were smooth. He could tell that she was used to holding guns.