Chapter 17: Shooting and Cross-Border Swimming? That’s Quite a Leap!

Several days had passed since the Olympics concluded. The shooting events had all wrapped up. All the male individual competitors were secretly relieved that Xiao Ming Wang had not participated in the three-position air rifle event. After all, this at least gave them a chance to win the gold medal! Anyone with half a brain could tell that if Wang Xiao Ming had entered that competition, the gold medal would have been his without a doubt.

There was also an amusing incident during the competition. A young competitor nicknamed "Little Cherry Blossom," upon learning that Wang Xiao Ming was absent from the event, came up to the Chinese shooting team and bowed deeply to Wang. “Mingjun, from now on, you’re my idol!” he declared. Wang Xiao Ming felt indifferent to this flattery. If the admirer had been a girl, that might have been acceptable, but a guy? Did he really need that kind of admiration?

Nevertheless, admiration was admiration. Upon hearing that Wang Xiao Ming was not competing, Little Cherry Blossom resolutely insisted that the coach register him for the event. Everyone clearly understood his motives. Soon, he became the subject of ridicule from online audiences both at home and abroad. Scavenging for medals was clearly his specialty. Unfortunately, whether it was overconfidence or unfamiliarity with the three-position event, he failed to secure even a bronze medal, despite being a favorite to win.

“Hahaha, that Little Cherry Blossom—did you see his face when the results came out? It was like a pig’s liver!” one spectator joked.

“I saw it too. Honestly, we’ve all been through rigorous training, so nothing usually makes us laugh, but that was too much to hold back!” another replied.

That night, in the shooting team’s dormitory, a few of them were enjoying the pigeon meat that Wang Xiao Ming had brought, washing it down with beer. The beer had somehow been procured through Wang’s connections. The team didn’t question it, especially since Wang’s prowess was well-known to them. Moreover, the shooting events were over, so perhaps the coach was turning a blind eye.

As they ate and watched the day’s Olympic broadcasts on TV, an urgent news bulletin interrupted the program, catching their attention.

“Breaking news! During the Olympic Games, peace doves have been disappearing frequently from Paris Square in our capital city!”

“Eyewitnesses report seeing a young man carrying several peace doves at night!”

“Police have discovered a large quantity of dove feathers in a nearby farmland!”

“A hotline for tips is displayed at the bottom of the screen...”

At first, the group listened with keen interest, but as the report went on, they glanced down at the delicious pigeon meat on their plates and then exchanged uneasy looks, all silently turning their gazes toward Wang Xiao Ming.

“Brother Ming, this...” one began hesitantly.

“Why look at me? You’re not seriously thinking I caught those peace doves, are you? Don’t be ridiculous. Those peace doves are so well-fed by tourists that their meat tastes awful!” Wang laughed.

“Can it compare to my pigeons?” he added.

Relieved, the others chuckled. “Haha, just joking around!”

Suddenly though, they caught the key point in Wang’s words.

“How do you know peace dove meat tastes that bad?”

“Besides, my pigeons have been raised for two and a half years!” Wang’s casual remark instantly diverted their attention.

“Alright, alright, so you want your pigeons, huh?”

“Hmph, my pigeons even lay eggs. What can you do?”

“I can pan-fry fish with seasoning! Hahaha!”

“You poets and your grand words...” they teased.

After some playful banter, Wang successfully shifted their focus. Then, growing serious, he asked, “By the way, where is the swimming team?”

“Why do you want to know, Brother Ming?” Zhao An, now addressing him more respectfully, asked along with the others.

Wang replied, “The swimming competitions are coming up in just a few days. I want to go talk to them!”

“You... you don’t mean to compete in swimming too, do you?” Zhao An looked at him incredulously.

“Yep, there are still several gold medals waiting for me in swimming,” Wang said calmly.

The shooting team members were impressed and gave him approving thumbs-up. Xiao Diao even remarked, “Brother Ming, everyone says you’re a master at showing off, but I never believed it until today. This... this is invisible showing off—deadly stuff!”

“Enough chatter, take me there now!” Wang grabbed Zhao An and the others, pulling them along.

They headed toward the swimming zone, not to the dormitories but directly to the training area. At night, the vast pool was quiet except for the Chinese swimming team still practicing.

This starkly illustrated the difference between the Chinese team and others. Seeing the shooting team arrive, the swimmers immediately stopped their drills and eagerly approached them.

“Wow, look who’s here! China’s first gold medalist, five-time shooting gold medalist, the first Olympic shooting grand slam champion, Crazy Xiao Ming!”

“Wow, Brother Ming, my idol is here!”

“Damn, Brother Ming, how do you shoot so accurately? Teach me!”

In no time, Wang was surrounded by all the swimmers. Observing them, he couldn’t help but admire their physiques—both men and women were in peak condition. Even the youngest, Zhang Zhanshuo, only seventeen, was muscular with a broad chest like a double-door refrigerator.

In contrast, the shooting team members were lean and wiry. They probably had good muscle tone, but visually, they paled compared to the explosive physiques of the swimmers.

“Hello, may I ask if your coach is here?” Wang asked politely after shaking hands with everyone.

“Over there!” Pan Zhanle pointed to a man not far away who was taking notes.

Wang greeted the coach and walked over, while the others seized the chance to bombard the remaining shooting team members with questions.

“Hey, Captain Zhao, what’s Wang Xiao Ming doing here?” the lively Pan Zhanle asked first.

Zhao An smiled awkwardly. “Uh, Wang Xiao Ming came to see your coach about joining the swimming competitions...”

“What?!”

The room erupted in confusion.

“What’s going on? Isn’t Brother Ming on the shooting team?”

“He can swim too?”

“No, what’s the deal? How is Brother Ming suddenly involved with the swimming team?”

Zhao shrugged. “I don’t know either. Brother Ming only joined our shooting team just before coming to Paris, after receiving the notice...”

“Maybe the notice to join your swimming team came just as late!”

Everyone was stunned into silence. The leap from shooting to swimming was an enormous one.