The hour was growing late, and Lin Wanxing was seeing her students to the bus stop.
The two boys had already snapped out of the joy of solving the puzzle, though it was hard to say whether they were feeling dejected or something else entirely.
Fu Xinshu’s final condition truly required careful thought before a decision could be made.
Neither of them spoke a word along the way.
Two buses came and went, yet not one of them boarded.
Lin Wanxing glanced at the time and couldn’t hold back any longer: “Which bus are you taking?”
Only then did Qin Ao snap out of it: “I live close by, I can just walk back.”
Though he said this, he made no move to leave, still standing on the bus platform with his hands in his pockets, a thoughtful expression on his face.
Chen Jianghe was the same.
Lin Wanxing simply set down her bag and sat at the station.
Surprisingly, the students sat down beside her.
Flanked by two guardians both over 175 cm tall, they seemed on the verge of speaking but held back.
Lin Wanxing sighed helplessly: “What’s up, babies?”
Qin Ao asked, “What do you think Fu Xinshu received?”
Lin Wanxing let out a sigh: “How would I know?”
“Then…” Qin Ao trailed off, resting his head in his hands and leaning back against the advertisement light panel.
Another bus pulled up to the stop, its doors opening.
Chen Jianghe said, “Even if it’s a prank, there’s no need to figure it out.”
Though the prickly classmate said this, he showed no sign of decisiveness—his rear remained firmly planted on the bench.
“Right, maybe Old Fu is just messing with us.”
Lin Wanxing listened to the students’ conversation without interjecting.
After muttering to himself for a while, Qin Ao finally couldn’t resist turning to her: “You’re the teacher, shouldn’t you at least give some advice?”
“Advice on what? Whether you should compete or not?”
“Don’t you want to know who went to all this trouble?” Qin Ao paused. “Besides, isn’t it your job to take us to compete?”
“I won’t give advice,” Lin Wanxing said seriously.
Qin Ao retorted, “It’s basically because whether we play or not doesn’t affect you—it’s not like you’ll get fired!”
“That’s a bit hurtful,” Lin Wanxing chuckled. “But I still hope you’ll decide for yourselves whether to compete.”
“Why?”
“I support you if you compete, and I respect your reasons if you don’t want to.”
“Huh?” Qin Ao was puzzled. “Why aren’t you saying the kind of things teachers usually say?”
“Like telling you this is a rare opportunity you should seize?”
“Yeah, exactly that.”
“It’s fine. Everyone misses out on a lot in life. Even if you don’t miss out this time, you will next time.”
“You’re really strange,” Chen Jianghe couldn’t help but say.
“Heh, you’re only noticing now?” Lin Wanxing stood up and waved to the students. “If you’re not going home, I’m leaving.”
Qin Ao called out to stop her: “Hey, at least as a teacher, give us some useful advice.”
Lin Wanxing halted at the students’ call, the bus stop’s light panel casting a hazy glow.
“My advice is: think carefully and decide freely.”
That was what she said.
—
Sunday, at the entrance of Hongjing City No. 8 High School.
The competition day arrived quickly. Though it was late summer, the temperature had been climbing steadily, so hot that standing on the street for even five minutes left one drenched in sweat.
Starting at 10:30, Lin Wanxing sat in the security booth chatting with the guard. By exactly 11 o’clock, the number of students at the school gate was eight.
Chen Jianghe arrived early. Though the prickly classmate talked tough, his heart was ultimately soft.Qin Ao and his sidekick Lin Lu had not shown up.
Fu Xinshu stood at the very edge of the crowd, continuously gazing toward the end of the sidewalk.
At exactly 11 o'clock, the Jinbei minibus she had booked to transport the students arrived punctually.
Lin Wanxing stood before the students with the registration list in hand: "Let me start calling roll. When your name is called, shout 'here' and then board the bus."
"Teacher, there are only 11 of us. Can't you tell who's missing just by looking?" a student interjected weakly.
Lin Wanxing smiled. "Don't you think roll call has a sense of ceremony?"
"Not at all~"
The students' teasing was surprisingly unified. Just then, Fu Xinshu's eyes lit up.
Lin Wanxing turned around to see Qin Ao and Lin Lu stepping off the bus and crossing the street toward them.
Qin Ao was wearing a soccer uniform with the Hongjing No. 8 Middle School emblem and logo on the chest. Lin Wanxing also noticed he was wearing professional cleats.
The boy was tall, robust, and exuded a fierce aura.
He crossed the street with his backpack-carrying sidekick, stopped in front of Fu Xinshu, raised an eyebrow, and the scar under his eye twitched.
"I'm just curious!" Qin Ao said to Fu Xinshu.
"I know," Fu Xinshu replied.
"You'd better not be messing with me."
"Mhm."
When the surrounding students saw Qin Ao, someone shouted: "Whoa, Brother Qin looks cool today!"
"You're really extra."
Qin Ao scanned the crowd and realized most others were wearing T-shirts and shorts, making him the most "formally" dressed one.
"Aren't we playing a match? What are you all wearing?"
"Are you stupid? We brought our clothes in our bags!"
Laughter erupted around them.
Qin Ao shoved his hands in his pockets disdainfully, though his face flushed slightly.
Lin Wanxing raised the attendance board and interjected at the perfect moment: "Let's start roll call."
"Fu Xinshu."
"Here."
"Chen Jianghe."
"Here."
Though grumbling under their breaths, each student obediently boarded the bus when their name was called.
"Zheng Feiyang."
"Here."
As the last student's name was called, the list reached its end.
Lin Wanxing looked at the only unchecked name on the list, feeling surprised.
She put away the form and stepped onto the minibus.
The students had already taken their seats, with ten boys making the small cabin appear completely full.
But...
The only one missing was Wen Chengye.
In her mind, Wen Chengye hadn't raised any objections that day, so she had assumed he would come. She hadn't expected him to be absent without any notice. Lin Wanxing couldn't honestly say she wasn't surprised.
"Teacher, Wen Chengye didn't come. Should we wait for him?" Lin Lu asked cautiously.
Qin Ao, sitting cross-legged in a single seat, remarked: "He really is a dog after all."
Lin Wanxing scanned the cabin and walked over to Qi Liang, who was close with Wen Chengye: "Did Wen Chengye tell you he wasn't coming?"
Qi Liang had looked displeased from the start. Upon hearing this, he said: "I underestimated him. Truly a Wen dog."
"What do you mean?"
Qi Liang sneered. "Told me to come while he stays home. Totally played me."
"Where is he then?"
"I don't have such a dog for a son."
"Can you call him?"
"Already did. He didn't pick up. Call his mom—and I mean his actual mother, not cursing." Qi Liang leaned back lazily against his seat.
Lin Wanxing certainly didn't have Wen Chengye's mother's contact information. As the teacher in charge of this trip, she was responsible for confirming the students' safety.With no other choice, she asked her students to wait for a moment, then found the homeroom teacher’s phone number for Wen Chengye’s class in the security office. From the homeroom teacher, Ms. Zheng, she learned that Ms. Zheng only had Wen’s mother’s QQ and WeChat contacts. Ms. Zheng said she would leave a message for Wen’s mother on her behalf, but if she needed to reach her quickly, she could check the student directory in the office.
Lin Wanxing had no choice but to rush back to the teaching building. By the time she was done running around, she was already drenched in sweat.
Gasping for breath, she stood by the railing on the fifth floor of the teaching building and dialed Wen Chengye’s mother’s number.
The call connected, and the sound of clattering mahjong tiles came from the other end.
Lin Wanxing tried her best to keep her voice calm as she explained the situation. Wen’s mother, however, replied in a soft, delicate tone, "Our Xiaoye has math tutoring today, so he can’t go play soccer. Sorry about that."
"But all his teammates are here, waiting just for him."
"Oh dear, then please apologize to Xiaowen’s classmates for us."
With that, Wen Chengye’s mother hung up.
Lin Wanxing stood there, phone in hand, feeling the pressure of her job for the very first time.
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