The disc was inserted into the drive, the tray closed, followed by the clicking sound of it being read.
The old computer responded very slowly; in Lin Wanxing’s perception, the entire reading process took a long time.
In the "My Computer" folder, the CD-ROM file named "20xx Mayor's Cup" appeared.
Double-clicking the disc partition refreshed the folder, and a video file appeared on the monitor.
Another double-click.
Fluorescent lights hung quietly overhead, while distant starlight shone brightly.
Before the visuals appeared, there was music.
A male voice hummed an English song, slightly hoarse yet light and melodious. The singing echoed through the classroom via the old speakers plugged into the computer.
The instrumental prelude intertwined, reminiscent of Hollywood movie scores from the last century.
Closing one’s eyes almost instantly brought to mind a street at night. Rain poured down as the protagonist cheerfully closed his umbrella and danced along the glistening, rain-soaked pavement.
I'm singin' in the rain
Just singin' in the rain
……
Then, the old monitor displayed a low-resolution video. It showed a dimly lit locker room, with a rough texture to the footage and even floating particles like dust.
Soon, the bright, smiling faces of children appeared.
Their faces were tanned, and suddenly a large, grinning face filled the screen, followed by a cacophony of background chatter.
Lin Wanxing was taken aback for a moment, glancing at the nearly grown students around her and barely making the connection.
Slightly immature voices rose and fell through the speakers in the classroom.
Someone shouted, "Speed, speed!" Another urged, "Charge!" And someone else bragged, "Last time, my dribble and feint totally took down the opponent." That last one was, of course, Qin Ao.
They chattered noisily. Though the scene was a dim locker room, seemingly filled with the smells of jerseys, cleats, and sweat, those bright smiles seemed bathed in sunlight.
Then, the scene changed, becoming much brighter.
On an outdoor soccer field, two teams of middle school players lined up. A few spectators, presumably parents, stood by the sidelines, though the crowd was sparse overall.
A particular freeze-frame moment reminded Lin Wanxing of the group photo she had seen at Lin Lu’s house—it must have been from the same match.
The referee blew the whistle, and the game began.
The children dashed across the field, and everything on the monitor appeared radiant and bright.
In the nighttime classroom, the cheerful soundtrack of "Singin' in the Rain" still played from the old speakers.
The middle schoolers ran and leaped across the grass, the black-and-white soccer ball rolling along.
They shouted, cheered, and groaned from collisions—everything vivid and lively.
There were goals scored and conceded, slide tackles, dribbles past defenders, and finally, the whistle blew.
Lin Wanxing didn’t even know the exact score.
The team huddled together, their expressions dejected.
The students’ gloomy moods were fully reflected on their faces.
Someone gathered the boys, urging them to come together.
A middle-aged voice could be heard in the background:
"Quick, quick, quick! Go shake hands!"
"What’s the rush? There’s always next year’s competition!"
"Keep it up! Keep going!"
Urged and encouraged, the boys lined up to shake hands with their opponents.
The next moment, the screen darkened, returning to the dim locker room.
A hoarse background melody started up.
There were many, many more chaotic noises.
"Everyone, let’s talk about our goals for next year.""What is a goal?" a child asked.
"It's what you want to do next year!"
"Keep playing football, of course!"
"No kidding, we're definitely going to keep playing!"
"The coach is asking what results we want!"
"Definitely to be champions!"
"Champions!"
It felt like a sudden sunshower had poured down.
The background music kept humming—
I'm dancin' and singin' in the rain.
Chapter 108: Possibility
The video finished playing.
The screen had gone dark, but the classroom remained silent.
It was hard to describe exactly what they were feeling.
When they were young, playing football was simple and joyful, their thoughts pure. Even if they lost a match, they’d be upset for a while, but then they’d just win next time. There weren’t so many difficulties back then; it felt like they were capable of anything.
The students stayed quiet for a while, just staring at the screen.
It wasn’t until Lin Wanxing ejected the CD—
The click of the disc tray snapping open—that everyone was jolted back to reality.
"Coach…"
"Is it the coach?"
They seemed to be struggling to form coherent sentences.
Why did Coach Jiang make this CD?
Why did he give it to Wen Chengye?
Those were probably the questions on everyone’s minds.
Lin Wanxing thought for a moment and asked, "Was this recording filmed by Coach Jiang?"
The students began to recall:
"I remember the coach brought a DV that day, right?"
"Was it called a DV?"
"Yeah, he said he borrowed a DV camera from a friend to film it as a memento for us."
But Lin Wanxing found it odd: "So, had you seen this recording before?"
"No."
"So, Coach Jiang filmed this video as a keepsake during your middle school years, burned and edited it, and recently sent it to Wen Chengye?" Lin Wanxing rubbed her chin.
The students also found it strange, though their confusion was more focused on Wen Chengye: "Why did Coach Jiang send it to you alone?"
"Probably because he’s the most disobedient," Qi Liang said.
That explanation sounded quite reasonable.
The others let out a long, drawn-out "Ohhh."
Lin Wanxing finally understood why Wen Chengye had preferred to message Qin Ao instead.
In any case, although there were still many unanswered questions—like why Coach Jiang didn’t show up in person but used these mysterious methods to guide the students, or what role Teacher Qian played in all of this—
For the students, the details weren’t all that important.
After all, there was no doubt that the video they had just watched was filmed by Coach Jiang.
The letter was addressed to Wen Chengye. Even though Young Wen had thrown away the note and hadn’t watched the burned video, both the note and the envelope must have reminded him of something.
It wasn’t that a single note had made him decide to board the bus to Yongchuan. But regardless, receiving such a "gift" would have moved any student. Those "gifts" gave them a "reason," indirectly pushing them to overcome difficulties and come together again.
Wen Chengye had brought the envelope and the CD, along with two assignments.
Of course, it was only after the other students had left that he reluctantly pulled them out of his backpack.
One was for her, written on composition paper, titled Football Is for Victory.
The other was, of course, the post-match analysis that Wang Fa had requested.
Lin Wanxing was utterly shocked to finally receive the assignments she had been chasing for over half a month.Wen Chengye struggled to maintain an indifferent expression. After waiting for a moment, as if still feeling quite embarrassed, he turned to leave.
"Wait." Wang Fa flipped a page, looked up, and called out to stop Wen Chengye.
The coach still carried considerable authority.
Wen Chengye turned back, appearing exceptionally obedient.
"Tell me your thoughts." Having finished reading the last line of the review assignment, Wang Fa said this to Wen Chengye.
Wen Chengye froze in place.
The moonlight was just right.
After two days of rain, the temperature had warmed up slightly, and the rooftop wasn't cold.
"My thoughts?"
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