He Zhilan gave a soft chuckle. Guns had been her most abundant playthings before she turned six. Ever since she became aware of her surroundings, she had one hobby - disassembling all kinds of different guns, then figuring out how to assemble them again. This hobby made her grandfather very happy, although, as far as she remembered, her mother seemed to have quite a headache because of it.
However, recalling He Teng’s earlier response to her question - two words, ’Not bad’ - He Zhilan couldn’t help but chuckle again. This man, he really left her at a loss for words.
But then, He Zhilan remembered how He Teng had clearly disapproved when she had asked him earlier if she could watch him training. Will he be angry if he sees her now? Will he berate her for running around with Chen Ya’nan even at her age?
Despite these worries, the prospect of watching He Teng train made He Zhilan hesitate to go back. She decided to figure it out and deal with it later, if it ever came to that point.
The shooting range was quite far-off. Walking with Chen Ya’nan for a while, He Zhilan barely began to hear noises in the distance.
The people at the shooting range seemed to be very familiar with Chen Ya’nan. Upon seeing Chen Ya’nan bringing He Zhilan along, they did not bar them and let them through. As they entered, He Zhilan immediately spotted her husband in the crowd.
With his back turned to her, He Teng seemed to be demonstrating something to others with a gun in his hand. He fired a shot, and a round of applause and cheers followed from the people around him.
Since there was some distance between them, He Zhilan could not see He Teng’s score. But she did not move any closer, not wanting to disturb his work. However, the fact that his shooting was greeted with applause suggested that his skills were indeed impressive.
"Uncle He! Auntie He and I are here!" Chen Ya’nan, clearly oblivious to the need for interruption, called out to the people in front of her without waiting for He Zhilan’s reaction, as if she was not just there to watch.
"Wow, wow, wow, it’s the Chen kid!" Kang Xing mocked Chen Ya’nan and cheekily looked at He Zhilan. "Sister-in-law! Wasn’t the squad leader’s shot just now absolutely cool?!"
"Of course, it was! Auntie He was stupefied!" Chen Ya’nan teased, snidely flattering He Teng.
He Teng turned around upon hearing her voice and saw He Zhilan and Chen Ya’nan, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Knowing Chen Ya’nan’s nature pretty well, he did not reprimand He Zhilan for her presence there.
Moreover, He Teng was a man after all, although a taciturn one! He wouldn’t deliberately show off in front of his wife, but this unintentional boasting was different. When he heard Chen Ya’nan say that He Zhilan was mesmerized, his male ego inevitably inflated.
"Squad leader, give us a show since sister-in-law’s here. Let her witness your skills!" Kang Xing glanced at Chen Ya’nan and thought to himself, this girl might be young, but she flatters better than him!
Niu Rang emerged from the crowd, considering himself to be closer to He Zhilan than the others, quickly added, "Sister-in-law, our squad leader can assemble a fully disassembled gun in just seventy seconds, blindfolded! His record remains unbeaten in our squad. He’s a legend!"
He Zhilan was dumbfounded. She had been playing with guns since she was a child and it took her half an hour even with her eyes open. Seventy seconds, blindfolded - what kind of speed was that from He Teng?
"Well then, squad leader, why don’t you show sister-in-law this specific skill?" Someone in the crowd started to instigate and even cleared a table for the demonstration.