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Xia Yu thought about it. Liu Manman's talent was playing instruments, and the Sheng was one such instrument. If he could just introduce her to Shen Shengsheng, he could kill two birds with one stone.

However, after a moment, Xia Yu realized this idea wasn't very reliable.

He needed Liu Manman to display her talent to prove herself, so that Shen Shengsheng would believe her.

Nevertheless, talent was an intangible thing, and Liu Manman couldn't prove it directly.

Being a fast learner didn't prove anything since there could be many reasons for it. True talent would allow her to continuously improve.

Even An Siyao, blessed with a musical gift, took ten years to finally achieve Lv5 in piano.

The time required was too long, and neither Liu Manman nor Shen Shengsheng could possibly stick with it.

Unless, Xia Yu visited Liu Manman every night to personally teach her Sheng music, enabling her to learn quickly.

It was too much trouble, and Xia Yu wasn't happy to do that kind of thing.

He gave up on the idea of using Liu Manman to resolve Shen Shengsheng's issue, and decided to take her to the shooting club the next day.

At the shooting club, he could remind her of her shooting talent while subtly encouraging her to learn to play instruments.

After concluding his plan, Xia Yu picked up his phone and sent a message to Yu Ningmeng.

"Can you get an invitation to a nearby shooting club?" he asked.

Although there were public shooting clubs available, the facilities were not very impressive. Xia Yu wanted to enjoy something more high-end.

Yu Ningmeng quickly replied, "Why the sudden interest in shooting?"

Xia Yu thought for a moment and replied evasively with the truth: "Preparation for the future."

Ten seconds later, Yu Ningmeng replied, "To prevent misunderstandings, let me clarify first. What you're looking for is a legitimate sports shooting club, right?"

"Could I ask you for an illegal club?" Xia Yu replied.

Looking back at the chat history, Xia Yu understood that Yu Ningmeng misunderstood what he meant with his previous message.

He replied helplessly, "It's true. I just want to try shooting since I haven't been doing much lately."

"Join me in starting a business!" Yu Ningmeng immediately replied.

"I refuse," Xia Yu declined without hesitation.

"This will be your future business!"

"Don't worry, you'll be the one handling it in the future," Xia Yu had no intention of getting his own hands dirty. He had already worked hard in his previous life, and now he wanted to enjoy his leisure. There was no way he would tie himself up with boring chores.

"..." Yu Ningmeng sent a string of ellipses, followed five seconds later by, "You really don't plan to spare me, do you?"

"Let's talk about that later. Let's focus on the shooting club situation," Xia Yu wrote while throwing paper balls with his left hand and writing with his right.

"I only know of archery clubs, not gun clubs. However, Yao Yao's grandfather used to enjoy it, so I can ask him," Yu Ningmeng replied.

After sending the message, Yu Ningmeng went silent.

Xia Yu stared at the line that said "Yao Yao's grandfather enjoyed it" for a while and decided to be a little more polite to Yu Liang in the future.

Five minutes later, Yu Ningmeng sent another message, "The chairman told me to tell you that playing with guns is forbidden."

"???" Xia Yu didn't expect this response.

Yu Ningmeng explained, "The chairman once taught An Tianfeng how to shoot. They both got quite into it and ended up going hunting in Africa. It was a dangerous venture, and An Siyao's mother got very angry afterwards. I guess that's the reason he doesn't want you to play with guns."

Xia Yu could accept this explanation. Just as wealthy people like to use their money, and people with connections like to use their connections, holding a gun made you feel like a hunter, seeking adrenaline.

The majority of those who drowned in rivers were good swimmers. Similarly, hunters often faced danger.

Violence was also easy to become addicted to.

Nevertheless, Xia Yu was determined to acquire firearm skills and wouldn't give up just because of Yu Liang's concerns.

He wouldn't encounter the same situation as Yu Liang and An Tianfeng. He wouldn't be afraid of a pack of wolves even without a gun.

Since Yu Liang wouldn't recommend him a place, Xia Yu decided he would just have to visit one of the public shooting ranges.

As Xia Yu was thinking about this, Yu Ningmeng sent another message, "The chairman has already notified all the shooting ranges. You won't be able to enter any of them in the country."

"Fine, very capitalist," Xia Yu replied.

"Why don't you join me in archery? That way, you can just shoot rabbits at most," Yu Ningmeng sent an archery club's address, adding, "Just report my name when you get there."

Xia Yu sighed after saving the address.

Fortunately, his skill was in shooting, not specifically firearms. Practicing with a bow and arrow would have the same effect.

He then messaged Liu Manman to join him, put his phone down, and continued throwing paper balls.

With Ling Chao's help, his accuracy quickly improved. By the time he finished dinner, he was able to throw the paper balls into the trash bin with great precision, as long as it was within his throwing range.

By this point, practicing by throwing paper balls had lost its effectiveness.

Xia Yu went to the supermarket to buy darts and began practicing further.

At 11 PM, the stars outside were dim and the moon hidden behind clouds, the cold wind gently howling.

In the brightly lit villa living room, a girl sat nervously, staring at the side profile of the young man before her.

The young man's expression was as serious as hers. He stared straight ahead, his hands slowly raising to reveal the darts he held.

A flash of silver, followed by the sound of darts piercing the air, and then a faint thud as a dart embedded itself on the edge of the bullseye target.

Following five more similar sounds, six darts in total surrounded the bullseye, positioning themselves on its edge.

The round target hanging on the wall shook slightly, seemingly due to the impact of the darts, or perhaps a final act of resistance.

The last dart flew out without hesitation, its trajectory cutting through the target's wavering path; with a thud, it struck the bullseye, claiming its final victory.

Xue Xue on the sofa cheered excitedly.

Xia Yu touched his chin and nodded in satisfaction.

His shooting skills had reached Lv2.

Compared to his other skills, shooting had progressed rapidly. However, this was because Xia Yu had the help of Ling Chao's micro-management skills and his own strength when throwing the darts.

After reaching Lv2, progress slowed down.

Putting the target away and patting Xue Xue's head, Xia Yu returned to his room to rest.

The next day, he took a leave of absence from his counselor and went to the archery club address provided by Yu Ningmeng.

By the time he had finished registering for a membership card, Liu Manman arrived.

Liu Manman didn't come alone. Behind her stood another person.

"Hello, I am Ning Qiuqi." The stranger, a woman, greeted Xia Yu with a warm smile.