We Barely Know Each Other, but I'm Living with a Stone-Faced Mechanic! - Chapter 29

Before Tao Ying could figure out what she was supposed to feel, the second bullet sped from the barrel and struck the bull’s-eye.

Delighted, she turned around again—and met Qin Zheng’s eyes. Their breaths tangled in the scant space between them.

She quickly looked away and pressed her lips together. The air had suddenly grown strange.

Qin Zheng curled his fingers and stepped back. “Try it yourself. Keep the web of your hand tight against the grip.”

Tao Ying drew a deep breath, aimed, and fired. The shot landed in the six-ring zone.

The corner of Qin Zheng’s mouth lifted. Even his first time shooting, he had never done that badly.

Then Tao Ying turned to him with an unmistakable plea for praise, leaving him momentarily speechless. Against his conscience, he said, “Great job. That’s very good for your first time.”

Her competitive spirit ignited. She fired round after round as though ammunition cost nothing.

She seemed to have turned the bull’s-eye into the object of all her frustration.

After several rounds, scores flashed across the electronic display in real time. Most of her shots clustered around the six ring.

The impacts were scattered, and some still drifted outside the central area.

Qin Zheng stepped forward, steadied her wavering wrist, and patiently taught her how to align her sights with the center.

Tao Ying settled her mind. One gunshot after another cracked through the range.

Gradually, she found her rhythm. Each time a bullet left the barrel, the gloom and pain of the past few days seemed to shatter with it in the muzzle smoke.

She kept firing until the target was torn apart. Then she went still for a moment, lowered the pistol, and removed her earmuffs.

Qin Zheng had watched her closely the entire time. “You okay?”

She lowered her eyes with a faint smile. “I’m fine. Thank you for bringing me here.”

“Want a picture for your Moments?” He took out his phone. “I can take it for you.”

“Okay.” Tao Ying looked toward the camera.

Qin Zheng directed her. “Turn around and pose like you’re firing. It’ll look cooler.”

She did as he said and held the pose for several seconds.

He sent her the photos, then waited for praise of his own. “How are they?”

“Not bad.” Tao Ying said, “Let’s rest for a while.”

The range rarely saw anyone besides its VIP members.

Qin Zheng took her to the lounge and got her a drink.

Someone came over and asked, “Brother Zheng, want anything to eat? We just ordered delivery.”

Qin Zheng shook his head. “You guys eat. We’ll be leaving soon.”

“Where are you going, Brother Zheng? I just got here and you’re already leaving?”

A familiar voice came from the entrance. Qin Zheng looked toward it and nearly recoiled. What were those two idiots doing here?

He must have picked an unlucky day to leave home.

Tao Ying froze as well. She had never imagined she would run into Pei Jinnian here.

She instinctively avoided his teasing gaze and edged closer and closer to Qin Zheng.

“Ms. Tao, we did go on a blind date once. It hurts my feelings when you hide from me like that.” Pei Jinnian gave a displeased snort. Clearly, he still held a grudge over the way she had torn him to pieces during their meeting.

Tao Ying glanced awkwardly at Qin Zheng, surprise filling her eyes. “You know these two?”

Qin Zheng shook his head.

Tao Ying stared at him. “They called you Brother Zheng. I heard them.”

Qin Zheng turned and gave Liang Chong and Pei Jinnian a warning look, his smile stopping well short of his eyes. “Have we met?”

The two men exchanged glances.

“Uh… are we supposed to have?” Liang Chong asked.

“What kind of question is that?” Qin Zheng’s smile widened. “Either you know me or you don’t.”

Liang Chong was unwilling to let Qin Zheng off so easily, though he was not quite bold enough to expose him outright.

He sat down across from him and asked with exaggerated courtesy, “And your esteemed surname is, sir?”

“Qin. My given name is Zheng—the *zheng* in ‘conquest.’” Qin Zheng put all his emphasis on the final word.

He was telling Liang Chong to explain exactly who the “Brother Zheng” he had mentioned was supposed to be.

“Oh, that Zheng.” Liang Chong launched into nonsense. “My buddy’s surname is Jia, and his given name is Zheng—the character that means an unyielding backbone.”

Pei Jinnian added quietly, “The same Zheng as in a man who never bends and would never abandon his brothers for love.”

Qin Zheng said nothing.

Neither did Tao Ying.

She had no idea what the two of them were talking about.

Liang Chong turned to her with a smile. “Ms. Tao, I’ve heard so much about you. I’m a friend of Jinnian’s. Liang Chong—the *chong* in admiration.”

Tao Ying gave a dry smile. She had no particular desire to know him.

“Have you been on any blind dates since then?” Pei Jinnian suddenly asked. “You know, with the sort of man who works nine to five for a fixed salary, but is diligent and ambitious and gets full benefits, including social insurance and a housing fund?”

Tao Ying fell silent.

When she had met Pei Jinnian, her fights with Li Meijuan over blind dates had been at their worst.

That had left her with little patience for him, though basic courtesy had still prompted her to dress carefully and go to the restaurant.

Pei Jinnian, by contrast, had arrived with pink hair and a thick gold chain, acting careless and flippant. He had plainly shown no respect for the meeting.

So Tao Ying had smiled without warmth and asked, “Where do you work, Mr. Pei? What’s your monthly salary? Do you receive full social insurance and a housing fund?”

Pei Jinnian, heir to generations of wealth, had blinked his guileless eyes. “What’s that?”

Tao Ying had laughed softly. “I forgot you’re a young master who’s had every meal placed in front of him and every outfit laid out for him. Those questions really are too much for you.”

His face darkened. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.” Tao Ying glanced at him. “Only that you were born lucky.”

The unspoken rest was clear: luck was all he had.

Pei Jinnian had snorted smugly. “I *was* born into the right family.”

“I hope you find true love soon.” Tao Ying had risen to leave without touching the meal.

He blocked her. “What do you mean by that?”

The young master seemed incapable of understanding plain speech. Tao Ying summoned another smile. “We’re not suited to each other.”

Pei Jinnian scoffed. “You really aren’t good enough—”

“You really aren’t good enough for me,” Tao Ying interrupted at an unhurried pace. “And I have no interest in rich second-generation heirs with money and no brains.”

“Why do I get the feeling you hate rich people?”

Tao Ying gave a derisive laugh, did not answer, and walked away.

Pei Jinnian stood there in a daze for a long time, one thought circling through his mind.

*I’m not good enough for her? I’m more than good enough for her!*

Before he could even get to the bottom of the benefits issue, one of his good friends delivered another bolt from the blue.

“Jinnian, what was the name of the woman you just met?”

Pei Jinnian stared at Qin Zheng, still too angry to think straight. “Tao something.”

Liang Chong grinned. “Tao Mi?”

Qin Zheng rolled his eyes. “Are you playing word association?”

Pei Jinnian slapped a hand down. “Tao Ying. The *Ying* with the water radical. Just wait until I see her again. I’ll make her regret that.”

Qin Zheng’s gaze deepened. Inspiration struck, and he recited, “Deep among tangled hills, winding waters turn. What a pity—one blossom, lovely as a painting, blooms for whom?”

Pei Jinnian scratched his head. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Qin Zheng smiled. “It means… you won’t get the chance. I’ve taken a liking to her.”

It was like being struck by five bolts of lightning at once.

“She was my blind date!” Pei Jinnian roared.

“Correction. Your *former* blind date.” Qin Zheng glanced at him. “Besides, she wasn’t interested in you.”

Liang Chong burst out laughing. “Because you don’t have social insurance or a housing fund.”

Pei Jinnian glared at him. “What’s wrong with you? Do *you* have them?”

Liang Chong was shamelessly unbothered. “What would I need those for?”

Pei Jinnian rolled his eyes. “Exactly. Even you know they’re useless to you.”

Qin Zheng had no interest in continuing their banter. His mind was entirely occupied with figuring out how to get himself full benefits and a housing fund.

The collection of oddballs had somehow formed a ring around Tao Ying.

She tugged at the sleeve of Qin Zheng’s T-shirt. “Let’s go.”

Qin Zheng stood, wearing the satisfied air of a man who had won a contest between rivals, and inclined his head gracefully to the other two.

“We won’t disturb you gentlemen, then. Enjoy yourselves.”

With that, he held out his hand to Tao Ying. Desperate to get away from Pei Jinnian, she took it without hesitation.