Ten Rules to Bind Her Heart - Chapter 62
A sharp crack broke the stillness of the range.
A faint simulated muzzle flash burst from the model gun—a prop effect.
The simulated recoil was not especially powerful, but for Xia Zhiyao, holding a model gun for the first time, the force still traveled up her slender arms into her shoulder and left half her body numb.
Yet she did not close her eyes.
She kept them fixed on the target.
Fifty meters away, the simulated human target jerked.
At the bull’s-eye—the position of the simulated heart—a fresh little hole appeared amid the few old marks with the sound of the shot, left by the model projectile.
Ten points.
Dead center.
“I… I hit it?”
Xia Zhiyao stared at the mark in disbelief.
Had she really hit it?
She turned to Shen Yu, eyes sparkling like a schoolchild who had scored a perfect hundred and was waiting for praise, all memory of her earlier humiliation forgotten.
“Mr. Shen! I hit it! Look at that! I did that, didn’t I?!”
Her excitement was impossible to conceal.
In a world filled with conflict and danger, this was the first time she had grasped a measure of power for herself, however small.
Shen Yu raised an eyebrow.
He looked at the nearly perfect mark on the target, and a trace of surprise crossed the depths of his eyes.
Her first time touching a model gun. A fifty-meter target. A direct hit on the bull’s-eye.
What were the odds?
The model itself might have exceptional simulated accuracy, but her feel for it, her powers of concentration, and the absolute calm she had displayed the instant she pressed the trigger…
She was rather interesting.
Stupid puppy.
There might even be a little wolf cub in her after all.
“Not bad luck.”
Shen Yu offered the praise with extreme reluctance.
This little pet was cleverer than he had expected.
And when she stared at her target with complete concentration, stripping every emotion away until nothing remained but the objective…
The look in her eyes was unexpectedly similar to his own.
He reached out and took the still-warm model gun from her trembling hands.
His long fingers expertly pressed the model magazine release, and the simulated magazine slid free. He pulled back the model slide. A harmless imitation round sprang from the ejection port and landed neatly in his hand.
Click.
The imitation sound of the slide locking open rang out.
He placed the dummy round in a box nearby.
It was not that he feared she would hurt someone. Even with a hundred borrowed measures of courage, she would never dare—and this was only a simulated prop in any case.
He was chiefly concerned that she might mishandle it and injure herself with its simulated recoil.
Then he held the model gun—an imitation PPK, now cleared of all dummy ammunition—out to her again.
“Take it.”
Xia Zhiyao stared at him, at a loss.
“Mr. Shen, this is…”
“It’s yours.”
Shen Yu spoke with casual indifference. “Since you have talent, don’t waste it. You can keep this model gun.”
Xia Zhiyao was stunned.
He… he was giving it to her?
He was actually giving her such an exquisite simulated model gun?
It did not contain any imitation ammunition.
But still!
It was a model crafted to look exactly like a real gun!
“Mr. Shen, I…” She did not dare take it.
“You don’t want it?”
Seeing her hesitate, Shen Yu made as if to withdraw his hand.
“Then forget it. It was only a toy to begin with…”
“I want it! I do!”
Before he could finish, Xia Zhiyao thrust out her hand and seized the grip, afraid he might truly change his mind.
Cold metal spread its chill through her palm, yet somehow gave her a sense of security unlike anything she had ever known.
She clutched the model gun tightly.
“Thank you… Thank you, Mr. Shen.”
The delighted smile on her face simply would not fade.
A model gun!
Such an exquisite simulated model gun!
She actually had one of her very own!
If she had possessed a tail, it would have been whirling like a windmill.
Shen Yu watched her treasure it and smiled faintly.
Stupid thing.
So happy over an unloaded model gun.
Without imitation ammunition, it was nothing more than an expensive metal ornament.
Still…
There would be plenty of opportunities in the future to teach her how to load it, work the slide, and aim at a target.
They had all the time in the world.
…
By the time they emerged from the underground base, the sky had darkened.
The last glow of sunset spilled across the jungle, gilding this land of conflict in blood-red light.
Shen Yu drove himself.
The black off-road vehicle passed through checkpoint after checkpoint on its way to the white building at the summit.
The cabin was quiet.
Xia Zhiyao remained immersed in the lingering thrill of what had just happened. She hugged her imitation PPK tightly, as though holding the most precious treasure in the world.
Every so often, she lowered her head and carefully traced the hard lines of the gun with one fingertip, feeling the texture of its nonslip grooves. Foolish happiness radiated from her entire being.
Shen Yu held the steering wheel with one hand. The winding mountain road reflected in his dark eyes, but his peripheral vision missed none of the girl’s tiny movements in the passenger seat.
He smiled.
Stupid puppy.
So happy over a model gun with no imitation rounds.
If she knew this delicate little replica had been modeled after the genuine weapon once used to execute traitors, that its design carried the imprint of so much history…
Would she still be unable to put it down?
Hmph.
The vehicle came to a smooth stop before the white building.
Xia Zhiyao returned to herself and was about to open the door when she discovered the central lock had not released.
She turned back in confusion.
Shen Yu shifted sideways, one arm resting casually on the steering wheel. From the storage compartment he took a cigar and held it between his long fingers, though he did not light it.
In the darkened cabin, his inscrutable eyes reflected a dangerous light.
He had become the terrifying Black Wolf once more.
That faint warmth at the range—if it could be called warmth—seemed no more than an illusion.
Buzz.
Shen Yu’s encrypted phone vibrated.
He took it out and glanced at the encrypted message, the pale glow of the screen illuminating the severe planes of his face.
“Do you remember what I taught you today?”
He locked the screen and turned to her, his voice low.
Xia Zhiyao paused, then nodded repeatedly.
“I-I do! How to hold the gun, and the basics of aiming…”
“Go.”
Shen Yu cut short her rambling, lifted his chin, and unlocked the doors.
Xia Zhiyao placed her feet together, hopped lightly out of the car, and carefully shut the door.
“Wait for me in your room tonight.”
The window slowly descended, revealing Shen Yu’s impassive face. His gaze pierced the night and settled on the girl outside.
His deep, resonant voice drifted out.
“I’ll help you review your posture.”
Xia Zhiyao’s face went white.
Review… her posture?
She knew exactly what that meant.
Every time before, he had been like a tireless beast—rough and forceful, tormenting her again and again until she lost consciousness.
Her entire body went cold, and her fingers instinctively clenched her skirt. But she did not dare disobey. She could only lower her head and force out the faintest reply with all the strength she possessed.
“Yes… Mr. Shen. I understand.”
Only after he watched her flee into the white building as though escaping disaster did Shen Yu leisurely light his cigar.
Blue-white smoke rose, blurring his cold features.
He slowly exhaled and gave a low chuckle.
Stupid puppy.
She was… rather adorable.
He started the engine. The black off-road vehicle turned around and disappeared into the heavy night.
