The brothers surrounded her, their eyes bright. They praised her shooting skills and asked her questions. Iris didn't know how to respond to all of them.
Jin Liwei blocked them and pulled Iris in his arms. He glared at his brothers, especially at his overenthusiastic Fourth Brother, Yu Mo.
Lin Yehan stepped forward with his usual gentleness. This time, however, he was more energetic. His excitement couldn't be contained. "Xiulan, you're magnificent! Amazing! I didn't know that you're this skilled! Do you like shooting? Do you practice it regularly? Are you interested in becoming a shooting athlete? Are you…"
His earlier doubts about her character and intentions to his Third Brother seemed to be blown completely away by the showmanship of her expert shooting skills. He shot rapid-fire questions at her.
"Uhm…thank you…" She didn't know how to answer all his questions. She looked helplessly at Jin Liwei.
He kissed her forehead, assuring her. Then he turned to Lin Yehan. "Eldest Brother, calm down. You're overwhelming my girlfriend. Ask your questions one at a time."
"Oh, oh. Of course. Sorry. Hahaha!" Lin Yehan wiped his forehead and forced himself to calm down. He was just about to open his mouth to ask her a question when…
Yu Mo: "Xiao Xiu, Xiao Xiu! Teacher is so proud of you! You're so cool! How are you so skilled in shooting?"
Of course she was skilled. In her previous life, she was required to train her shooting skills almost every day from when she was but a small child. Even when she didn't want to, which was almost always, she would literally get dragged to the training centre and forced to shoot countless stationary and moving targets. When she became old enough, her targets were replaced with live animals. She shuddered just remembering.
She hated it so much.
Yu Mo: "Eh? What do you mean by you don't know?"
Wang Yingjie: "How many times have you shot a gun before?"
She had no idea. In her previous life, she would be forced to shoot using different types of guns like a robot until her trainer was satisfied with her performance. There was one time she was forced to shoot for the entire day until her hands and body became numb and her mind became blank. Her lack of enthusiasm and poor performance in training always displeased her mother.
But of course she wouldn't say that to these brothers.
"Uh, just that one time when my father brought me to the military shooting range, I guess," she replied.
"What?!" Lin Yehan almost exploded in shocked excitement. His eyes were sparkling as he looked at Iris like she was a divine monster. "Talent…this must be talent! Superb skills yet having shot a gun only once before. If this is not talent, then I must be blind!"
Iris felt a little guilty but maintained an innocent expression on her face. She burrowed herself in Jin Liwei's embrace. She felt comforted when his arms tightened around her.
Yu Mo: "Wow! You're not only talented in Systema but also talented in shooting guns. As expected of my beloved student! Ahahaha!"
Lin Yehan: "Xiulan, can you shoot using other guns?"
She mentally apologized for the lie, but she couldn't just tell them that she could shoot any gun. How would she explain it to them?
Lin Yehan: "Are you interested in trying other guns? Here, try this shotgun."
Iris: "Okay…"
She allowed Lin Yehan to show her how to use the shotgun. Although she already knew how to handle it, she still pretended like a complete noob.
Jin Liwei wanted to be the one to teach her and almost lost control when Lin Yehan touched his baby girl, but seeing his Eldest Brother's enthusiasm in teaching, he controlled himself. He repeatedly persuaded himself that his Eldest Brother didn't have any other intention. Lin Yehan was a shooting expert and it was inevitable to have some body contact when showing others how to use guns. He took several deep breaths to calm himself but still couldn't erase the urge to fling his Eldest Brother away from his baby girl.
Wang Yingjie sensed his Third Brother's turmoil, so he firmly patted his back. Jin Liwei just nodded at him.
After the quick lesson, Iris was ready to shoot. Lin Yehan backed away, his eyes were excited and hopeful.
Her aura changed again as she settled into another stable stance, the long gun lifted in front of her.
Calm, steady, focused...and dangerous.
Jin Liwei felt a certain part of his lower body harden a little as he watched how beautiful and domineering his baby girl looked holding a shotgun.
Bang!
Bullseye.
Yu Mo pumped his fist and even jumped up and down.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Wang Yingjie: "Your girlfriend is amazing."
Jin Liwei: "I know."
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Like before, all bullets hit the bullseye, leaving only a single clean hole on the target.
Yu Mo: "Ow ow ow! Please stop. It hurts! Third Bro, mercy! Ah! My neck's gonna break!"
Jin Liwei: "No touching my girlfriend."
Yu Mo: "Okay, okay. I won't touch. Please let me go."
Jin Liwei: "Hmph."
He flung this annoying Fourth Brother of his and made his way to his baby girl. He once again pulled her into his embrace.
Lin Yehan: "Xiulan, are you interested in becoming an athlete? I'll coach you personally. We'll aim for the championships! Maybe we can even aim for the Olympics!"
Iris: "I…uhm. Not really…"
Lin Yehan: "But why? You're so talented!"
She smiled at him helplessly.
Memories of her previous life's training regimen played in her mind. Her expression darkened. She pushed all the memories away and smiled apologetically at the excited Lin Yehan.
"I…please don't feel offended, Eldest Brother…but I don't really like guns."