Over a decade ago, Yongchuan Evergrande was already a top-tier team in the Chinese Super League. Back then, the football atmosphere was much better than it is now. When his father was alive, every week during Yongchuan Evergrande's matches, he would faithfully bring him to watch in front of the television.
Because of this, before and after the games, he often caught glimpses of the Yongchuan Evergrande Stadium in its entirety through the TV cameras.
In his memory, the stadium was incredibly vast and majestic.
During every match, the stands were packed with roaring crowds, flags waving, and battle anthems thundering—it was truly a place of dreams.
He had once fervently hoped that his family’s situation would improve, that he could hold his father’s hand and watch a match there in person.
Now, it turned out he had actually made it.
Though the circumstances and means were entirely different from what he had imagined as a child, he had indeed achieved it.
A staff member pushed open the locker room door.
Floodlights and ceiling lights flickered on simultaneously, illuminating the entire space brightly.
The glare was blinding. For a moment, Fu Xinshu seemed to see himself celebrating a collective victory inside. It was almost identical to his memory of the 10-11 season when Tiancheng Fangya Club defeated Yongchuan Evergrande in an away game and staged a stunning comeback to win the championship.
Entering the locker room, the players’ moods, which had been soured by Xiang Zi, gradually improved.
The room was stocked with water and food prepared by the organizers, and they excitedly began to explore.
The staff member left.
Everyone set down their backpacks, wheeled out the tactical board, and prepared to have a snack before the pre-match tactical meeting.
After a while, Fu Xinshu suddenly realized someone was missing in the locker room.
"Where’s Wen Chengye?" He scanned the room and looked up to ask.
"No idea, he dropped his stuff and disappeared."
"Seems like he took his phone to the restroom!" Yu Ming reported.
Fu Xinshu walked into the restroom, the door creaking shut behind him.
Wen Chengye was standing by the sink.
His phone lay on the counter, and he was staring blankly at a shattered mirror.
The overhead light was harsh.
Fu Xinshu took a few steps forward and stood at the adjacent sink.
Wen Chengye kept his hands in his pockets, still fixated on the mirror.
The restroom air was stagnant, heavy with the smell of disinfectant and sewer odors.
After a moment’s thought, Fu Xinshu slowly spoke, "Whatever grievances you have against me, I hope you’ll direct them at me. After the match, do whatever you want."
His voice echoed, and Fu Xinshu suddenly recalled that he had said something similar to Wen Chengye before.
It was before the match against Yuzhou Silver Elephant. He had sought out Wen Chengye for a "talk" and unexpectedly learned that Wen Chengye had actually overheard the insults hurled at him when he was beaten.
So, despite the passage of time, many things remained unchanged.
Wen Chengye ignored him.
He tilted his chin up slightly, picked up his phone from the sink, and made a call.
Fu Xinshu closed his eyes.
Teacher:
I’m not sure if you’ll ever see this letter.
Perhaps knowing you likely won’t, I dare to send it.
There’s something I’ve been lying to you about.
I told you that I was chased by thugs and had my leg broken because I was falsely accused of stealing a customer’s phone at the shop.
But that was a lie.
I wasn’t falsely accused—I really did steal that person’s phone.
Not because I wanted to sell it for money, but because I wanted to delete the records inside.
Because it contained evidence of my crime.
In my second year of high school, my mother collapsed from overwork. To earn money, I took a job at an underground bar.
A bar that hires underage workers is definitely not a clean place—it ran an underground soccer gambling den.
Teacher, you know my family is poor, but I never told you that my father is a gambling addict.At first, I kept reminding myself: don’t forget your father was a gambler—he died falling while fleeing debt collectors. Gambling is something you must never touch.
But the shop handled hundreds of thousands to millions in cash daily.
Gradually, listening to people in the bar talk about how much they earned each day, I wavered.
I was exhausted every day—rent was due at home, and my mother was still ill. If I could just predict the scores correctly, the money I had could multiply several times over. Not only would I cover the rent, but I could also buy nutritional supplements for my mother. What a perfect opportunity!
I couldn’t resist approaching a "bookmaker" and placed bets on what I thought were the two most reliable matches.
But I never imagined that the "bookmaker" knew me.
He not only knew I played football but also that I was Fu Yuanhang’s son.
When he said to me, "Your father always placed bets with me. Uncle will help you get into a professional team, and you help Uncle with the matches," I suddenly felt terrified.
I had seen the anti-match-fixing education notice.
I knew that if a player was involved in betting, they would be disqualified, fined, suspended, and barred from official matches forever.
I begged him to cancel my bets.
But he saw right through me and asked if I was "scared?"
I was indeed scared.
I knew they were afraid of police investigations—all betting records were stored on a single phone. If I could secretly get that phone and delete the records, everything would be fine.
But I was caught.
Afraid of the situation escalating, they didn’t dare kill me. In the end, the school treated it as if I had stolen the phone, the other party compensated, and the matter was settled. But on the day I was beaten, Wen Chengye was actually there—he knew the real reason I was attacked.
Others saw me as a pitiful victim, but in Wen Chengye’s eyes, I was a rat in the gutter.
When you brought Wen Chengye back to the football team, I was terrified. I was afraid he would expose what I had done, and I even thought losing a match would bring relief.
But he never said a word.
I suffered in his silence, forced to pretend nothing had happened.
It’s not that I never considered confessing to you all.
But the qualifiers, Group Stage, quarter-finals, semi-finals, finals…
The entire process felt like a dream, and the snowball of consequences kept growing.
If I spoke up, all our efforts would be wasted, and the team would be ruined.
That night, Wen Chengye came to me.
Only then did I learn that he, like me, had his own unspeakable secret.
He kept my secret, and the one keeping his secret was you.
I don’t understand why you did it—how could a teacher condone a student’s cheating? It’s completely unlike the person I imagined you to be.
But I must admit, I felt a secret relief.
If you would protect Wen Chengye, then if you knew about my situation, you would protect me too, right?
And just now, Chen Weidong told us he has a match on the day of the finals and won’t be our substitute.
I finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Because I knew I had finally found the most compelling reason.
For the team’s victory, I couldn’t be suspended—so I absolutely must not speak up.
Teacher, I don’t understand how things ended up like this.
One wrong decision, one small mistake, and I have to bear consequences far beyond what I can handle?
But thankfully, this is a small matter—one that no one will ever know, as long as Wen Chengye and I keep silent.I knew Wen Chengye was wavering. He wanted to admit to cheating and accept the punishment he deserved.
But fortunately, I am the son of a gambler.
For greater gains, I could stake my conscience.
Chapter 128: Narrow Path
"Beep, beep..."
Yongchuan Evergrande Stadium, visiting team locker room restroom.
The phone emitted dial tones.
Fu Xinshu's mind was buzzing.
Wen Chengye's attitude had made everything clear—he wanted to do something before the match. But he couldn't let Wen Chengye do this.
He instinctively reached out to stop Wen Chengye, to make him calm down. But Wen Chengye violently shook off his hand, causing the phone to fly out and smash heavily against the sink.
With a loud clang, Fu Xinshu's first reaction was to glance at the restroom door.
The locker room outside was noisy; no one had noticed their conflict.
Then, the phone that had fallen into the sink actually connected.
"Hello?" A middle-aged man's stern voice echoed through the space.
Wen Chengye quickly stepped forward and retrieved his phone from the sink.
"Dad," he said into the phone.
Fu Xinshu stood frozen in place.
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