This was destined to be an unforgettable match day.
At 7:00 AM, Lin Wanxing gathered with her students at the entrance of Yongchuan Evergrande's training base.
Yongchuan Evergrande maintained their standard reception procedure.
The security guard made a phone call, and shortly after, a sightseeing vehicle drove out.
The fog across the fields showed no signs of dissipating, the pitch grass appeared somewhat hazy, and the closer they got to the lake, the heavier the moisture in the air became.
Throughout the journey, the students remained silent.
Even when the Yongchuan Evergrande staff asked if they wanted to have breakfast at the cafeteria, no one responded.
"Our booked accommodation includes breakfast, and everyone has already eaten," Lin Wanxing said.
Thus, the staff politely escorted them to the locker room area.
Stepping off the sightseeing vehicle and looking back, not far away was a lush green football field, and further in the distance, the lake stretched endlessly, its boundaries lost in the mist.
Locker room.
Following their usual routine, the students headed to the pitch for warm-ups.
It was still early, and the members of the Yongchuan Evergrande youth team had not yet arrived.
The grass was slippery, and aside from the organizing committee officials setting up the venue and installing equipment, the field was empty.
Today's fog was thicker than on their match day in Yuzhou.
Led by Fu Xinshu, the students began their warm-ups in silence.
Lin Wanxing stood by the sidelines.
Wang Fa stepped onto the pitch, ran a stretch on the turf, then jogged back.
Lin Wanxing had seen Wang Fa inspect the pitch before, but today he seemed particularly thorough.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"There's not much standing water on the field, but to be safe, they should switch to long-studded cleats."
Amid the dense fog, Lin Wanxing walked onto the pitch. The grass was indeed slicker than usual after the fog, and visibility was poor; the moisture seemed to clog every pore. "Will the match be postponed until the fog clears?"
"Visibility like this won't halt the game," Wang Fa replied calmly, glancing at the students jogging through their warm-ups. "And if it rains, the ground conditions will worsen."
"Is it going to rain?"
Back in the locker room, the students had just finished warming up and changed into dry, warm match jerseys. Hearing that they might have to play in the rain later, their frustration grew.
"Don't like playing in the rain?" Wang Fa stood before the tactical board and countered with a question.
"It's just that..."
"Playing in the rain is annoying."
"And we haven't trained in the rain recently, so we have no experience."
The room was heated by air conditioning, but it still felt damp and stuffy. The students, having just completed their warm-ups, breathed heavily as they responded.
"If rain favors the defending side, would you still find it annoying?"
The tactical board was opened.
The students had been practicing today's tactical setup for over a week.
With Fu Xinshu confirmed to drop back as a defender, Wang Fa deployed a 5-3-1 formation.
From right to left:
Defenders: Lin Lu, Zheng Feiyang, Fu Xinshu, Qi Liang, Yu Ming
Midfielders: Zhi Hui, Zheng Ren, Chen Jianghe
Forward: Qin Ao
Midfielders Zheng Ren and Zhi Hui were also tasked with defensive duties, while Chen Jianghe dropped back, leaving Qin Ao as the sole forward. He too was frequently required to track back and defend. With only 10 players, it was hard not to set up a defensive "iron bucket" formation.
After reiterating the tactical arrangements, Wang Fa concluded flatly, "The goal for this match is simple: lose by fewer goals."
The students looked up in disbelief.
For as long as they could remember, the attitude in competitive sports had always been to strive for victory. Even when there was no hope, the coach was supposed to motivate everyone—that's what Teacher Qian always did.But Wang Fa was different. He clearly pointed out the match result and the goal of losing by a smaller margin.
If a specific noun had to follow "smaller margin," it would undoubtedly be "goals."
Lose fewer goals to the opponent.
Let the opponent score fewer goals.
Don’t let the scoreline look too bad.
These were clearly things they had mentioned themselves before, but when spoken by Wang Fa, they inexplicably felt stifling.
Chen Jianghe loosened his collar.
"Understood, Coach. We’ll do our best to defend," Qin Ao said.
"Defend which goal?" Wang Fa closed his tactical notebook, tucked the pencil into his pocket, and casually asked his players.
The students neither understood Wang Fa’s intention nor could they immediately figure out the answer, so no one responded.
Lin Wanxing sat on the locker room bench, watching the young man standing in front of the tactical board. His familiar light-colored eyes and soft hair gave off a feeling that was both familiar and strangely sharp.
"I can share some data with you," Wang Fa said, picking up a black marker in front of the tactical board. As he wrote, he continued, "In the past year, Yongchuan Evergrande’s youth team launched at least 17 full-field attacks in a single match, and at most 36. On average, they launch 22.5 attacks per match. Their shot counts are as follows: a maximum of 34, a minimum of 12, with an average of 19.17 shots per game."
He capped the marker, tossed it into the board’s tray, and asked his players, "So I ask you, among all these shots, which goal do you want to defend?"
17 36 22.5
34 12 19.17
The numbers on the tactical board were written with flair and nonchalance.
Yet, to the students, they carried an inexplicable sense of solemnity.
"We..."
"Don’t know."
That was all they could say.
"It’s fine. You can take your time to think about it," the young coach said.
A heavy, suffocating atmosphere hung over the team.
After lacing up their boots and putting on their protective gear, the students lined up and headed toward the player tunnel, waiting to enter the field under the referee’s lead.
The training base had just been renovated, and the narrow player tunnel still reeked of pungent paint fumes.
By the time the Hongjing No. 8 Middle School students lined up and arrived, the Yongchuan Evergrande youth team players were already there.
In contrast to their somber mood, the Yongchuan Evergrande youth team players were relaxed and carefree. They chatted in small groups, seemingly discussing newly released movies and the latest girl group comeback.
Clear footsteps echoed in the corridor. Qin Qiechu turned around, his gaze falling on the team behind him. Their opponents today looked demoralized. More importantly, 1, 2, 3, 4...
He counted the number of players and exclaimed in surprise, "Hey, you really only have 10 players? Where’s that guy?"
The arrogant young man clearly couldn’t recall his opponent’s name, so he used "that guy" instead.
"Oh, I remember now, the one who’s always running around."
He lowered his head, his cleats scraping against the tile floor. No one answered.
The young man grinned, revealing a set of bright white teeth. "Thinking you can take us on with just 10 players? Are you looking down on us?"
Qin Qiechu was clearly annoyed.
The Yongchuan Evergrande youth team members, who had been chatting idly, gradually fell silent. They observed their opponents for this round with curious and slightly condescending looks.As the captain of Hongjing No. 8 Middle School, Fu Xinshu originally stood at the front of the team. Seeing that no one else wanted to speak, he could only walk back to the middle of the line and explained to Qin Qiechu with some difficulty: "It's Wen... Chengye... He has something going on and can't make it today."
"He won't regret it? A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete against me, and he has something else to do?" Qin Qiechu pointed at his own nose, looking at Fu Xinshu with utter disbelief.
"He won't regret it." Fu Xinshu lowered his head, fiddling with his captain's armband.
"Then let's make him regret it! Let him see how badly his team loses!" Qin Qiechu suddenly became excited and cheerful, cracking his knuckles as if he had suddenly found motivation for the match. "Last time we scored 12 goals against you, and this time you only have 10 players. If we try harder, we can score 8 more!"
He raised both hands high, arrogantly forming the numbers 2 and 0 in front of his opponents.
"Let that Wen Chengye swallow the bitter fruit of his team's crushing defeat, let him be heartbroken. How about we make Wen Chengye regret it!" The young man's arrogant voice echoed through the player tunnel.
The referees continued chatting casually, seemingly completely unaware of what was happening behind them.
The players of Hongjing No. 8 Middle School slowly raised their heads. In the dim space, they quietly watched the two numbers their opponent was displaying.
The pungent smell, the suffocating pressure, the "Athletes' March" playing over the stadium.
Mobile phone notification:
"Armed robbery on passenger bus recurred at Shifang section of Hongjing Expressway, shooting incident occurred on site"
Highway police remind passing vehicles to exercise caution
Standing by the match field, Lin Wanxing turned off her phone screen. A strange sense of unease stirred within her.
The players had already lined up on the green field, and the national anthem had just ended.
The air was heavy with moisture, as if responding to something. Beside her, Teacher Qian's phone ringtone suddenly broke the empty silence of the field.
The chubby middle-aged teacher tensed up. He quickly pulled out his phone, wanting to switch it to silent mode. But the caller's name made him take a few steps back, moving away from the coach's bench to answer.
The call wasn't brief.
Teacher Qian's expression shifted between cloud and sunshine - sometimes shocked, sometimes incredulous. Finally, a look of worry appeared on his face.
Lin Wanxing accidentally caught Teacher Qian's expression when he hung up the phone. For a moment, she even missed the kickoff on the field.
A match, 90 minutes, countless rounds of goals.
The opponents said they would score 20 goals against them, to make them taste the bitterness of crushing defeat.
And Wang Fa asked them: Which goal exactly are you going to defend?
At that time, the students couldn't answer immediately.
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