"You can hit me or curse me, whatever helps you vent is fine. But this mess of mine, there’s no need for you to get yourselves tangled in it. After the match is over, I’ll speak up myself. Even if the football association sends people to investigate later, just say you never knew."
"But we already know," Zhi Hui said.
"So what? What are you going to do now, report me to the organizing committee?" Fu Xinshu suddenly grew agitated and spoke bluntly, "Lin Lu overheard all that by accident. I never intended to tell you before the match."
The students fell silent. Indeed, what could they do?
Although Fu Xinshu had lied to them, at the end of the day, it was an internal conflict. Fu Xinshu’s real mistake was placing illegal bets two years ago. But to make him pay a heavy price for a momentary lapse in judgment? None of them could bring themselves to report him.
Fu Xinshu continued, "If I can’t play in the finals, we’ll definitely lose. I’m not threatening you with the finals, but the team shouldn’t bear the consequences for my personal mistake."
"So, we just pretend we don’t know and wait for you to handle it yourself?"
"Exactly! Just like what the teacher did." Fu Xinshu said with certainty.
At these words, everyone fell silent and turned to look at Wen Chengye.
They had heard from Lin Lu about the earlier confrontation between Wen Chengye and Fu Xinshu, where Wen Chengye admitted to cheating.
"Then you must have misunderstood her," Wen Chengye said.
"She didn’t report your cheating to the school for the sake of the football team, patiently waiting for you to make your own choice. Isn’t that right?"
"Do you think she didn’t report it to the school because of the football team?" Wen Chengye finally showed a hint of disappointment. "It wasn’t for the team—it was for me," he said.
Fu Xinshu was stunned.
On the other end of the video call, Lin Wanxing sat in a taxi.
She held her phone, the screen small and the device hot, quietly listening to Wen Chengye’s unprecedented confession.
"At first, I thought the same as you—that she didn’t report it to the school to hold it over me, to make me behave and play properly. But later, I realized it might be more than that. To her, I’m no different from the rest of you. I know I’m a troublemaker, but she wants to take responsibility for me, and realizing that is annoying."
In the video, Wen Chengye showed a trace of irritation. He rarely spoke in such long sentences, but he couldn’t hold back any longer.
Wen Chengye continued, "She always encourages us to think independently and make our own decisions. I resisted every word she said, but I also knew that, in the process of constantly rebelling, I still fell into her trap. Because rebelling itself requires thinking—I had to abandon my instincts and start considering what’s right, what’s wrong, what I want, and how to achieve it. That’s where the tragedy began."
"At first, I thought, since I wrote the practice exams myself, I could just stop cheating from now on, right? But when she saw the transcript I obtained through cheating for my study abroad application, she told me I actually despise that version of myself."
"Your ability to think is truly terrifying," Qi Liang said.
The spring breeze was gentle yet intense, and Qi Liang’s words made Lin Wanxing smile involuntarily.Wen Chengye also sneered coldly. "Then I thought, I really do hate myself for being as obedient as a dog. Why did I cheat to get good grades and study abroad? To make my dad happy? That’s definitely not what I want. Even though I don’t know what she means by the ‘ideal self,’ I’m very clear about what the ‘non-ideal self’ looks like."
"So you called your dad before the match and admitted it?" Qin Ao asked.
Wen Chengye nodded.
Qi Liang whistled and commented, "Dumb but cool."
"So do you understand now?" Wen Chengye looked at Fu Xinshu. "Only I know best how much her covering up for me made me suffer. I saw what I didn’t want and made my choice. But you, Fu Xinshu, shouldn’t make choices for us."
Fu Xinshu looked utterly confused. "But your situation is your situation, mine is..."
"Your situation is our football team’s situation," Qin Ao said with certainty.
Even though Fu Xinshu disagreed, since it was the team’s matter, it should be decided by everyone together.
"I don’t want to report Lao Fu before the match, and I don’t want to pretend I don’t know," Yu Ming expressed his truest feelings.
This feeling was very strange—the pros and cons were so clear, and the decision should have been straightforward.
But deep down, something seemed to hold them back, making them unwilling to pretend nothing had happened just for the sake of the final.
"According to the competition rules, I really don’t have the qualification to play. If you don’t want me to play, I can also not take the field," Fu Xinshu insisted.
But Chen Jianghe said, "It’s not about whether we want to or not, but about what’s the right thing to do."
"What’s right and what’s wrong? This is the football field. The Football Association has rules, the organizing committee has rules, so why didn’t the referee follow the rules in the last match?" Fu Xinshu retorted.
"You have a point. But if we don’t report it, aren’t we just like them? They play the ‘rules game,’ so should we do the same?" Chen Jianghe shot back.
"This isn’t a rules game!" Fu Xinshu looked at Wang Fa, almost pleading. "Coach..."
The taxi stopped at an intersection as the light turned from green to red. Lin Wanxing straightened up, unsure what kind of opinion Wang Fa would express.
After a moment, a calm and composed voice came through the video. "Is that gang still active? I mean the underground gambling gang that assaulted you," Wang Fa asked.
Fu Xinshu was taken aback. He hadn’t expected the coach to ask this. But he almost immediately realized that the coach was most concerned about his safety, and he felt ashamed for hiding it. "It was busted a while ago. It was mentioned in the news."
"That’s good." Wang Fa paused, then continued, "I hope you’ll take what I say as a reference. I’ll always stand on the same side as your teacher, and I won’t influence your choices."
The phone was held in Wang Fa’s hand, the camera aimed at the students. Lin Wanxing could only hear his voice filling the entire space."In our country, all forms of gambling and betting are illegal except for lottery. You should be aware that your identities are not just students, but also registered players. The recent trend from the Football Association has been strict investigations into football team betting and match-fixing, with several officials already arrested. If we report Fu Xinshu’s issue before the final, although the final penalty decision won’t be immediate, he will definitely be banned from participating in the final. Additionally, the organizing committee will discuss whether our initial qualification was a violation, whether the final should be forfeited or replaced by the third-place team, and other issues. If I were the head of the Football Association, considering the series of controversies, our inability to field a full team without Fu Xinshu, and the impact of a betting scandal involving the final team, the safest solution would be to cancel the final."
Wang Fa’s tone was calm, his analysis logical, and he held nothing back in telling the students the most likely outcome.
"What if we pretend not to know before the match and don’t report it?"As long as Fu Xinshu admits to his past violations, his individual competition results will be voided.""
The students fell silent, and Fu Xinshu stopped speaking as well.
Everyone seemed to be sitting in a profound stillness.
Under the scorching sun, in the bitter cold, running day and night—behind them lay a trail of sweat.
With the final approaching, the consequences of strictly adhering to the rules were too severe. What they needed to do seemed to be simply forgetting this matter temporarily, focusing on the game, and waiting until after the final.
"I’m sorry," Fu Xinshu pleaded, "We’ve worked so hard to get here. I can sit out, but you don’t have to, really, you don’t."
"Even though Old Fu... he’s had it tough too. We can’t just abandon him and play the final without him," Zheng Feiyang said, his heart softening.
Lin Lu finally spoke up, "Should I have pretended I didn’t hear anything earlier?"
"But we’ve already heard it," Zhi Hui insisted.
"But we’re about to play the final, aren’t we?"
"Yes, we’re about to play the final."
This was also an experience Lin Wanxing had never had before.
Earlier in the cinema, the screen was vast, the film’s narrative like the eternal river of the universe. Now, in the cramped car interior, the phone screen was only palm-sized, yet the story from the Yongchuan Evergrande away team locker room continued.
Just as the tactical board was being set up, a few knocks sounded at the door.
The students all startled.
Wang Fa put down his phone and went to open the door himself.
"Hongjing No. 8 Middle School, you can come out for warm-ups," a staff member informed.
In the corridor, the sounds from the nearby Yongchuan Evergrande home team locker room seemed audible—chaotic and lively.
"Okay, thank you," Wang Fa replied politely before closing the door.
Everyone knew time didn’t allow for endless discussion.
"Let’s vote," Qin Ao stood up and said.
After Wang Fa placed the phone on the bench, Lin Wanxing could only see the bright ceiling lights.
She knew Wang Fa carried a notebook with him—the most convenient paper available at the moment.
Then came the sound of paper tearing; everyone received a small piece to mark their choice.
The taxi continued forward, the grand stadium of Yongchuan Evergrande faintly visible in the distance.
Here was the shabby yet fervent away team locker room.
A place they had only seen on TV as children.Outside lay the field they had dreamed of, the stands about to be filled with spectators, with thunderous applause and roaring cheers.
From last September until now, they had run tirelessly, persevered through grueling matches, defeated opponents thought unbeatable, all to finally arrive here.
On one side of the scale was the championship match they had yearned for—choosing "yes" would let them step onto it effortlessly. The emerald turf like a carpet, the clear sky washed clean—this was the reward they deserved for their efforts.
On the other side of the scale was merely an old incident from two years ago. A minor mistake Fu Xinshu had made, one that no one would even know about if they didn’t mention it. The past was like the wind—why not just let it go?
Such a simple question, yet when it came time to mark their answer, their pens felt heavy as lead.
Chen Jianghe remembered the day he met Lin Wanxing at Wuchuan Road Stadium. The agent had talked a great deal. What he hadn’t told Lin Wanxing was that he had been truly tempted back then, almost ready to agree.
Qin Ao recalled his reason for becoming a striker—purely because scoring his first goal felt exhilarating. He loved the feeling of conquering the field.
Lin Lu thought back to the first day his grandfather sent him to play soccer. It was supposed to be just for exercise, yet somehow he had ended up here. But defending every ball with all his effort truly gave him a sense of accomplishment.
In Wen Chengye’s world, soccer seemed to be his only way of rebelling against his parents. Here, he could run wild and free, doing everything he wanted—that was his soccer.
Qi Liang had always believed he was clever. If he wanted to, he could excel at anything. But soccer was different. He was small and not naturally suited for the sport, yet that only made him more determined.
Zheng Ren rarely expressed his own opinions before. If everyone thought something was good, he could go along with it. But this time, he knew that wouldn’t work.
When it was Zhi Hui’s turn, he realized he hadn’t brought his counting rods today. But it didn’t matter—spinning a pencil would do just as well.
Zheng Feiyang wanted to go home for a barbecue, then head out to play soccer again the next day.
Feng Suo thought of Bao Xiaotian’s smile. He had planned to confess after winning the championship. Now he felt that even if they didn’t win, he could still do it.
Yu Ming felt that anything was fine. Playing soccer with his brothers was the best.
"Will we still play together in the future?" someone asked.
"Definitely."
Fu Xinshu seemed to return to that bar.
Amid the electronic music and smell of smoke, he had cried after receiving his 800 yuan. Walking out of the restroom, he saw that uncle sitting in a booth, smoking. The glowing ember of the cigarette was a temptation from the depths of his soul. Holding the money, he walked over.
"Old Fu," someone said.
"Never lie to yourself."
Inside the taxi, the car stereo was turned up loud, playing a song about summer.
The car stopped. Lin Wanxing paid and got out.
The music flowed through the open door, blending into the spring scenery around the stadium.
In the visiting team’s locker room.
One vote, then another... Each player here made their solemn decision.
The final moment arrived. Everyone quietly watched the tactics board.
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