As she finished talking, everyone in the office gasped in shock.
Huo Lizhi looked at her as if she had just told a joke. âLittle girl, Iâm not your brother, and I donât care about your family background. Youâre no match for me. Just leave.â
His arrogance made Nian Xi so angry, that she was trembling. âAs police officers, we should be humble and cautious. Donât you know that? If you donât know about me, why do you think you can look down on me? As a man, you started a rumor behind my back. How shameless are you? I wonât argue anymore with you. Letâs do shooting, then combat. Iâll let you see if Iâm qualified for the job or not. If it turns out that Iâm not good enough, Iâll give up Jiang Yuningâs case; if I win, youâll apologize to me in front of our colleagues.â
âNian Xi, stop joking.â Zhan Hong frowned. âHuo Lizhiâs combat skills are at least in the top three in our station. His shooting results ranked number two last year. You canât win.â
âI donât have to win. I may not be a match for him, but I only want him to know that I didnât pull strings to get this job.â Nian Xi looked at Huo Lizhi and said, âYou think that Iâm not good enough, donât you? You think I got this job by pulling strings, right? Beat me with your abilities then.â
Huo Lizhi nodded and said, âAll right. Since you insist on bringing disgrace on yourself, donât blame me. But you have promised me that if I win, you wonât take revenge on me in the name of public interest. Everyone in this office is our witness.â
âSure. If I take revenge on you, Iâll be struck by lightning,â Nian Xi swore.
...
Soon, the entire police station heard about the contest between Nian Xi and Huo Lizhi.
In half an hour, police officers had gathered outside the shooting practice room.
Zhan Hong was the judge. âTen meters, three bullets. Whoever has the highest score wins. Huo Lizhi, you go first.â
Huo Lizhi stepped forward and shot three bullets. The first shot scored 9.7, the second, 9.6, and the third, 9.9.
The police officers who were watching outside started whispering to each other.
Nian Xi praised him silently. However, Huo Lizhiâs scores had given her great pressure.
Zhan Hong turned to Nian Xi and asked her, âDo you want to give up?â
Nian Xi shook her head and smiled. âAs Iâve said, I donât plan to win him. Iâm not eager to win. I just want to prove that women arenât worse than men.â
Nian Xi put on the shooting spectacles and shot three bullets in a row. The first shot scored 9.8, the second, 9.7, and the third, 9.9.
As her score was read, the other police officers fell into silence.
Huo Lizhiâs eyes popped while looking at her.
With regrets, Nian Xi shook her head and said, âI worked in the station house for too long and havenât shot for a long time. Iâm totally out of practice.â
Zhan Hong didnât know what to say.
The scores were impressively high, yet she was not satisfied.
How great was she before?
Huo Lizhi sneered and said, âI admit that youâre good at shooting. However, police officers canât shoot people unless itâs necessary. Combat skills are more important.â
âAll right.â Nian Xi gave a faint smile.
Next, the two of them went downstairs to the gym.
The space was broad. Nian Xi launched the first strike. Huo Lizhi dodged it easily and made a counterstrike.
The result of the shooting contest frustrated him. To win back his dignity, he attacked swiftly and accurately, with no mercy at all.
Nian Xi was deeply aware that she was no match for him on the terms of strength. So, she stepped further and further backward, stably and carefully, never letting him hit her.
âCanât you do anything else but dodging?â Huo Lizhi laughed coldly. âYouâre never gonna catch a suspect like this.â
Nian Xi wasnât infuriated by his words, so she grasped an opportunity while he was talking, and landed a kick on his chest.
Huo Lizhi was enraged and launched a series of fierce moves. Nian Xi realized that she was not able to block his sidekick, so she hurriedly raised her arms to protect her face. As a result, she was sent flying back by the kick.