When her adoptive father passed away, he had told Cen Xi to never touch a crossbow again.
Indeed, it had been a few years since she touched it. She had even prepared a speech to reject Uncle Bai Wei. However, when she saw Qiao Sen in the photo, she hesitated.
Cen Xi bit her lips. “Let me think about it.”
Bai Wei put away the photo. He knew what Cen Xi was like. She was like her adoptive father and they would never tell anyone about things they shouldn’t say, even if it cost them their lives.
Bai Wei stared at Cen Xi, noting a scab on her left earlobe, like she had been bitten.
“Does Xiao Ci have a boyfriend already?”
Seeing that Bai Wei was staring at her earlobe, Cen Xi recalled what happened between Qiao Sen and her. A flush appeared on her fair cheeks and ears unconsciously.
“N-No. I only met a weird person. Don’t worry, Uncle Bai, I can still protect myself properly.”
Bai Wei sighed. “Look at how thin you are. If you don’t use a crossbow, how will you win in a fight? Your health hasn’t been good since you were young. If your health was good, you might have been my disciple in martial arts as well.”
Bai Wei’s words made Cen Xi’s face flush redly.
Indeed, she wasn’t the type to practice martial arts. When she was younger and her adoptive father made her do a half-squat for half an hour, she was extremely exhausted.
She was a really soft and weak person.
However, when she learned to use the crossbow, she was really able to suffer through the training.
“Uncle Bai, I’ll let you know later.”
Bai Wei patted Cen Xi’s shoulder. “Alright.” The two of them chatted for a while more. Before Bai Wei left, he asked, “Xiao Xi, what do you think of my son?”
“Brother Bai Lin?” Cen Xi smiled brightly. “Brother Bai Lin really didn’t like me when I was younger since I was so naughty, so Uncle Bai can stop putting Brother Bai Lin on the spot.”
“Alright, alright. Let’s not talk about him anymore. Go back and think about it properly.”
Cen Xi waved at Bai Wei, before she turned and left.
…
Once she returned to her apartment, Cen Xi laid on the floor, pulling a box out from under her bed. She opened the box and took out a guitar box that contained the crossbow.
Her slender fingers caressed the black bow string softly. This crossbow was used by her adoptive father before he passed away. After some modern improvements, there was a bullet storage area at the bottom of the bow. There was even an aiming scope on it.
Cen Xi folded her legs, looking down as she muttered softly, “Should I go and shoot this arrow out?”
Cen Xi thought about her meeting that person that night at the wedding banquet. If he was Qiao Sen, who was he to be able to attend the wedding and let Butler Yi send him to a unique guest room personally?
Qiao Sen…
They both had the surname, Qiao.
Would it be?
At the thought of this, Cen Xi’s heart skipped a beat.
No, no, no, it’s definitely not him.
It couldn’t be.
Cen Xi shook her head. It wasn’t the time to think of nonsense. Although he was evil and despicable, he saved her once in the desert before. She couldn’t let him die just like that…
Cen Xi was the type to not drag things anymore after she made a decision, so she immediately replied to Uncle Bai Wei.
For the next three days, Cen Xi went to the training arena Bai Wei prepared for her specifically. She wore a white casual outfit today and covered one of her eyes, only using her right eye to aim.
A loud thud sounded, and an arrow landed at the bullseye.
Whoosh. She shot two more arrows consecutively, all of her arrows landing in the bullseye.
When she was shooting her fourth arrow, she thought of Qiao Sen. Sweat from nervousness suddenly appeared on her hands.
She took a deep breath, adjusting her mind.
Another thud sounded and an arrow shot out speedily. This time, however, it didn’t hit the bullseye.
“What’s wrong? Is there something troubling you?” A stern voice rang from behind her. Cen Xi turned back and saw Bai Lin standing not too far away, a pair of bright eyes staring at her.
Bai Lin always had a righteous aura since he was young.
They lived in the same estate when they were younger, and she had always been afraid of him. She was extremely naughty when she was younger, and liked to follow a group of boys around. Her legs were short, so she couldn’t run fast and often fell down. When Bai Lin saw her, he often criticized her.
Although he was strict to her, he would still stand out to help her whenever someone bullied her.
Later, when her adoptive parents got into trouble and she moved house. Since then, the Bai and Cen family rarely contacted each other again.
“Brother Bai Lin, why are you here?” It had been a few years since Cen Xi saw Bai Lin again. Now, he had actually grown a lot taller and and more handsome.
“I heard from Father that you were practicing your shooting here, so I came to take a look. Your last arrow missed the target earlier, what were you thinking about?”
Cen Xi scratched her head. “Brother Bai Lin, why are you just as strict as when we were younger?”
“Are you still scared of me?”
“Yes, the trauma from when we were younger is especially strong.” Cen Xi poked her tongue out cheekily.
Bai Lin stared at her. She was extremely hyper and cute when she was young and careless, like a little elf. After what happened to the Cen family, she seemed to have grown a lot suddenly and it became rare for her to act this mischievous anymore.
“Focus on your shooting.”
Cen Xi answered brightly, “Yes.”
She stood straight up again, her hand holding onto the crossbow as her eyes turned focused. She looked extremely handsome holding the crossbow when she was so determined. She was still a soft looking girl earlier, but the moment she held a crossbow to shoot, her entire aura changed completely.
This time, she didn’t let herself lose attention again. All of her arrows hit the bullseye with frightening accuracy.
The crossbow wasn’t light, so after shooting ten arrows, she put it down to rub her sore arms. “I’ve let Brother Bai Lin see a joke. I lack training, so my arms become sore after training for a little while.”
Bai Lin didn’t say anything as he moved forward to massage Cen Xi’s arms for her.
