As Shuishui and Mu Ziyu spent more time together, they became more comfortable with each other. They were no longer as awkward as before. Perhaps they had changed a little, or perhaps they had become more familiar with each other.
They then ate at a place they had randomly found.
After dinner, Mu Ziyu sent Shuishui home and left.
As soon as she arrived home, her father arrived. She had forgotten to tell him that her phone had been stolen.
Embarrassed, she said, "Dad, you're here. Come in and have a seat."
"What's wrong with your phone?" Qian An had called Shuishui's number several times and wondered why he could not get through. He knew Shuishui would have informed him if anything had happened. He had not received any message from her, so he decided to visit her instead.
"Dad, my phone was stolen. I'm going to buy a new phone." Shuishui smiled awkwardly and grabbed her hair to hide her embarrassment. She felt that the phone wasn't a necessity, which is why she hadn't bought a new one immediately after her old one was stolen. She realized that she needed a new one to keep in touch with her father.
Qian An sighed. "How could you be so careless? Later, I will wire you 10,000 yuan online. Go buy a new phone for yourself. Don't delay it. Go buy a new one tomorrow. But tell me, how did your phone get stolen?"
Shuishui blinked. "It's a long story. I've already called the police, but I'm fine. Dad, don't think too much about it. Dad, please pick me up after class tomorrow. Let's go to the department store. I want to buy you a present. I want you to try it out with me."
Qian An was moved. "Okay. I'll buy you a phone too. Daddy has a social event tonight. We can go tomorrow." Qian An felt that it had been a long time since he had brought his daughter out. He had to set aside time for Shuishui. He had been very busy with company affairs. He had to start investigating who had dragged his name into the recent issue. He was also very annoyed by the personal problems he had to deal with at home. Li Xue had made demands. She had asked him for a favor for her brothers. She needed his help to find jobs for her two brothers. He was frustrated because her brothers were not qualified enough to work in the company. Also, there was no shortage of positions in the company, so he could not arrange it.
Li Xue was really causing a ruckus. He had gotten more impatient with Li Xue. He had never liked Li Xue's brothers. He disliked them more when they visited their house and provoked Shuishui.
The company was at an all-time low, and he had experienced hardships and difficulties in his efforts to restore it. He was not afraid. However, he thought of the many possibilities. He looked at his daughter and wondered what had happened to the woman. He hoped to find out where she was, what kind of life she lived, and how she had replaced their daughter back then.
There were many questions he wanted to ask, but they had to wait until he found her. Only then would the truth be revealed.
He looked at Shuishui and said, "Tomorrow, after class, use your teacher's phone to call me. I will wait for you at the usual place."
"Okay, Dad. You're the best," Shuishui said shyly.
Qian An patted Shuishui's head. "You're the best. Your brother has been rebellious recently. When I wasn't around, he had such a bad temper. No one could stop him. Now that he's in the third year of middle school, his academic results are still average. Actually, I don't have high expectations of him. I just wish he would be able to go to high school."
"Dad, he might change in the future. He might grow up into a sensible young man. He might change during his transition phase. Dad, just tell me if you need my help." Shuishui was serious. Even if she didn't like her younger brother, she would come to her father's aid if he asked her to. She would do many things for her father, and she would not do anything that would not help him in any way.
"You're so thoughtful. Momo is not young anymore. I want her to get engaged so that she can settle down. I am getting impatient. And she said that she likes someone. I told her to invite him for dinner. I then found out that Momo didn't even have his phone number. She is taking things for granted now." Qian An greatly worried about the problems that his own family faced. He had to separate his personal problems from his professional affairs. However, although they were not related, his personal and professional problems affected him greatly. The company had grown, and many people were jealous. But they had no idea how Qian An's family struggled with their relationships with each other. He had to calm down and think clearly because he was the head of the family.
Shuishui looked at her father and saw his worried expression. "Dad, do you have something else to do? You've been frowning."
Qian An did not want to tell Shuishui about the things that troubled him because in his eyes, she was still a child. She hadn't grown up yet. Shuishui wanted to show him that she actually had the ability to help him, but he could not believe her. He only felt grateful that he had a sensible daughter. Shuishui was embarrassed. She needed to believe that her father would overcome his depression and be able to bounce back from his troubles.
Shuishui felt that her father just needed someone to push and motivate him.
After a while, Shuishui walked her father out of the apartment and asked him to go home early to rest. She reminded him of their meeting the next day.
Shuishui could only remember the contact numbers of Mu Zilin and her father.
Although she had decided to pursue science as a lifelong career, she had wondered whether she should also consider studying business management for her father's sake. That way, she would be able to convince her father to allow her to help him in his affairs.
She did not really understand how businesses worked. Although she said that she could help, she did not really know how to handle business matters.
She had to be business-savvy if she wanted to help. She did not need to be highly proficient in it, but she had to at least know how to handle a few professional concerns.
She knew that there was no end to learning.
During practice with her self-defense teacher, she mentioned that her phone had been snatched from her. The teacher taught Shuishui a serious lesson. "It was right that you did not go after him. However, when he snatched your phone, you could have reacted. You should not have been stunned. In fact, you had the chance to snatch your phone back. If you had reacted quickly, you could have even gotten away. The other party would not have been able to catch up to you. Also, they usually snatch phones . . ."
The teacher lectured Shuishui and taught her basic defensive skills. It would help her prevent such things from happening again. Because of what Shuishui had experienced and how she had reacted, the teacher decided to start from the most basic skills. A child like Shuishui was very calm, and that was a good advantage. However, it was useless to be calm. She had to learn how to react in such situations. If it happened to her again and she would still be unable to defend herself, it would seem like she had not learned anything from her self-defense classes.
Shuishui listened to her teacher because she knew he was right. It was the first time such a thing had happened to her. If she had known better, she would have been able to defend herself.
"All right. Don't act like you were very wronged. Seeing you like this makes me angry. Today, I'll bring you somewhere. Don't be scared." Teacher Li patted Shuishui's shoulder and they walked to the door. They got into the car and drove off.
Shuishui had no idea where they were going. She was completely confused, but she felt better when she saw that her teacher looked excited.
Teacher Li drove to the suburbs. They passed a sign with a gun logo. Shuishui became a little excited. "Teacher, can I start learning how to shoot today? With real guns and live ammunition?"
"En, I taught you how to assemble it, but you have to experience the real thing to improve. You can't just know how to use it." Teacher Li nodded and smiled at Shuishui and continued, "However, don't make excuses. Don't tell me you have a fear of guns."
"I don't think so," Shuishui answered. She had experienced handling a real gun in her previous life. She had long forgotten that feeling. She was also excited at that time, but unfortunately, gun control was very strict. They soon arrived at the gate. The guard stopped their car for inspection. They were told that their car could only be parked outside the premises.
After it was confirmed that they had not brought any dangerous items, Teacher Li presented his ID and smoothly brought Shuishui in the shooting range.
They were still outside when Shuishui had already the gunshots from inside. She felt pretty good. Although she would not be using a gun on a regular basis, she could at least develop an interest in it to be able to defend herself more.
Teacher Li was a member of the gun club, so they were allowed to enter.
"Old Niu, I booked for today. Is it the eighth?" Teacher Li asked a middle-aged man in military uniform.
Old Niu nodded. "Yes, that's right. I reserved the eighth venue for you. You have a child with you today. She's underage, right? You're going to be in trouble."
Old Niu glanced at Shuishui and immediately became serious as he immediately concluded she was a minor.
"Aren't there many young children who have already come here to learn how to shoot? I have personally taught this child. There won't be any problems. I will bear the responsibility if there are any violations." Teacher Li was very supportive of Shuishui's growth. He understood her and what she needed to protect herself.
He brought Shuishui to the eighth venue.
Shuishui walked in and began to look around curiously. She saw that the venue was for a single shooter. They were separated from the others with bulletproof glass walls. Teacher Li pulled Shuishui back. "Don't look around. We're here. There are three types of guns inside. You have to assemble them yourself. I've taught you before how to do it. I won't teach you. If you forget the steps, just ask me. For each gun, you can ask for my help up to three times only. If you fail, you can watch me do it, and I won't let you practice today."
"So ruthless," Shuishui muttered. Could her teacher brought her here simply to watch and observe? She wanted to have the chance to practice shooting. She had learned how to assemble guns, but she had never experienced using live ammunition.
She poured out the parts from the box. They seemed unfamiliar and familiar to her at the same time.
She held the parts and looked at the trigger. She saw the main parts, which included the magazine, the trigger guard, the grip, the back strap, and so on. It was just an ordinary pistol. She sat down and started to assemble.
Teacher Li just watched Shuishui. Although she worked slowly, she had done everything correctly. She carefully handled the finer parts. Teacher Li felt that it would be difficult to make Shuishui work faster because she took too much time on the little things. However, he reminded himself that Shuishui had not attended military school. Shuishui could take part in it as a hobby. Teacher Li was satisfied that he had brought Shuishui along. He hoped it would make her consider pursuing a career in the military.
Shuishui worked as quietly as she could. Teacher Li observed as she assembled. The other shooters in the other rooms were wondering why the eighth venue was quiet.
The shooting range they were in was the only one in the suburban area, and it had only nine rooms. Reservations and room bookings had to be made a few days in advance. Rooms are paid in advance online and can be booked for only half a day or an entire day. People who visited the range regularly would often book rooms for the entire day. Reservation payments for rooms cannot be refunded for no-show shooters.
Furthermore, only members are allowed to book a room. Members are carefully screened and undergo a thorough background check before they are allowed to book a venue.
No one knew Teacher Li's identity. He was one of the founders of the shooting range, so it was easy for him to book a room. However, he still had to abide by many rules. He had never acted rashly simply because of his background. He had brought Shuishui along with the intention of teaching her. If her safety was compromised, he would be held accountable.
Shuishui quietly continued. An hour had passed, and soon a young man in the other room couldn't stand watching her. He knocked on the door.
Teacher Li was perplexed but let the young man in.
"Sir . . . and this young . . . madam, don't you know how to assemble the gun? Do you need my help? I see that you've been at it for more than an hour already. You haven't had much time to practice, right?" Teacher Li was annoyed. He had reserved a room for one whole day, and the young man wasted their time. The young man felt that Teacher Li and Shuishui had just booked the room for fun. He felt that since they had already reserved and paid for it, he would not say anything. When he saw that the young lady took a very long time to assemble the gun, he couldn't help but approach them.
Teacher Li shook his head. "There's no need. She can take her time. Furthermore, we have booked this room for a day, so she has plenty of time."
The young man was speechless.
Shuishui glanced at him and smiled in gratitude. "Thank you. I'm almost done here."
She continued to work on the gun.
The man ignored them and left the room.
Shuishui was perplexed. She asked Teacher Li what to do next. Teacher Li answered her first question. Very soon, she also asked her second and third questions. She had used up her three chances. Shuishui felt conflicted. She was sure she was only one step away from assembling the gun. She felt that she had done well, but she felt that something was lacking.
Teacher Li looked at Shuishui. He noticed that she was skilled at it, even though it took her a long time. Even though it seemed like she had assembled the gun, Shuishui missed the crucial final step. Teacher Li felt that if she could not remember it, it would be troublesome.
Shuishui was in deep thought. Finally, she put in one more part and said, "It's done!"
"Teacher, did I get it right?" Shuishui asked meekly.
Teacher Li smiled and nodded. "Not bad. But you missed one important step. Finish it in half an hour and you can begin your shooting practice. Are you confident?"
"En, after the pistol, I should be able to assemble the next one in half an hour." Shuishui was confident. It had taken her a long time to finish the first. She had tried to memorize every step.