Lin Wanxing also felt that talking to a group of seventeen- or eighteen-year-old boys about choices and life was far too abstract.
For them, life had only just set sail, with vast, uncharted waters ahead. They had grown up on the deck or in the cabins, and even if they occasionally encountered storms, most of the time their lives were comfortable and peaceful.
But if you suddenly told them one day that every sailor would eventually be cast adrift at sea to drift alone, it would indeed seem too cruel to these sailors who had hardly ever left the ship.
In front of her, the students were still in a state of vague understanding, looking somewhat lost.
Faced with these vibrant, youthful faces, Lin Wanxing let out a soft sigh and decided to change the subject.
"So, who's ready for training?"
The students were taken aback for a moment.
Fu Xinshu raised his hand: "Me. No matter the outcome, if there's hope, I want to give it a try."
Chen Jianghe, who had been leaning against the wall with his head down, finally glanced at Fu Xinshu upon hearing this.
His gaze was cold, but there was something else in it too.
"I don't really care," Yu Ming said.
"If everyone's training, I can join in," Zheng Feiyang chimed in.
"You guys decide. If you need me, I'll train along," Feng Suo added.
"Damn, what do you mean 'if you need me'? How can we play without a goalkeeper?"
The students started chattering again, one after another, the atmosphere heating up once more.
They all expressed that if others were playing, they could join in, but if not, it wouldn't matter if they didn't.
Qin Ao remained silent throughout.
"Then I'll send a WeChat message to my elementary school classmate first," Lin Wanxing said, opening the WeChat account she had added the day before.
"Your chat history is empty," Yu Ming, who was sitting very close to her, suddenly remarked.
"Ha, after all that talk, are you just using us as an excuse to chat with a handsome guy, teacher?" Zheng Feiyang shouted.
"I'm trying to find you a coach! What do you mean 'using it as an excuse to chat with a handsome guy'? How can you wrong me like that?" Lin Wanxing retorted.
"Our bad, our bad," Qi Liang said in a sarcastic tone.
"So, should I send it or not?" Lin Wanxing asked, both annoyed and amused.
After the students bickered for a while longer, Lin Wanxing's nervousness before sending the message eased considerably.
—You mentioned before that you're back in the country and unemployed... Since the students really like you, I wanted to ask if you have time to coach our school's football team?
"What do you mean 'the students really like you'?" Qi Liang seized on the point again. "Oh, so you don't like him?"
"I think he's just okay! He seemed pretty impressive in the first match."
"Change it to 'the students and I.' You can't always use us as an excuse," Qi Liang suddenly adopted a earnest, persuasive tone.
"Teacher, are you... not very good at chatting with guys?" Fu Xinshu also suddenly spoke with grave concern.
"Fine, fine, I'll add it," Lin Wanxing immediately surrendered, editing the message again according to the students' clamorous suggestions.
Under the hopeful gazes of the students, she sent the message inviting the young man to be their coach.
For the next minute or two, everyone waited for a reply, but no notification number lit up to indicate a new message.
Lin Wanxing simply put her phone away. "Alright, I'll let you know when he replies. For now, can we discuss the issue of the training ground?"
"Can't we just practice on the school field?""I’ll first ask the school’s physical education department if it’s possible. But most likely, we’ll only be able to play for a short while after school. At other times, the school field is too close to the teaching building, so they probably won’t let us train," Lin Wanxing shared her judgment.
"But we finish class at 5:30, and evening self-study starts after 7. That’s only an hour—it’s not enough," Feng Suo said anxiously.
"Have you forgotten? Back in our first year, we weren’t allowed to train after 5:30 either. The student athletes also have training then, and everyone’s fighting for the field."
"Oh right, damn it. So what if we have to fight for it? Are we scared of them?"
As the students chatted, the topic shifted to how to handle things if a group fight broke out.
Lin Wanxing had to interrupt them, "If the school isn’t an option, there’s another place we can consider."
"What?"
"Isn’t there an old stadium next to our school? It’s a public facility, open for everyone to use."
Chen Jianghe looked at her again, his gaze always cold and aloof, but he didn’t outright oppose her suggestion.
"What do you all think?"
"Seems like we could give it a try?"
"Exactly. If we get into a fight off-campus, just run fast and you won’t get caught—safer than at school," Lin Wanxing said with a laugh.
And so, the second congress concluded with the decision to just find some random place to train.
—
Lin Wanxing hurried the students back to class, but the secret little group composed of Fu Xinshu, Qin Ao, and Chen Jianghe stayed behind.
Actually, only Fu Xinshu and Chen Jianghe were supposed to stay, but for some reason, Qin Ao refused to leave.
Qi Liang was the fourth to last to leave, casually closing the door behind them as if by accident.
But clearly, now wasn’t the best time to resolve conflicts.
The warehouse grew quiet again. Lin Wanxing said to Qin Ao with a headache, "Weren’t you angry? Shouldn’t you have stormed off by now?"
But Fu Xinshu spoke up magnanimously, "He should know too."
With that, Xiao Fu stood up from the mat and said bluntly, "I lied to you. I didn’t receive anything."
Qin Ao jerked his head up, his neck stiff as if doubting his own ears, "What did you say?"
"To get you all to join this soccer match, I lied and said I received 'something strange,' but I didn’t."
Fu Xinshu stood in front of Qin Ao, lifting his pale profile.
He said, "If there is 'that person,' hypothetically speaking, he gave you clues to find me. Maybe those clues weren’t meant to point to me, but I took advantage of it."
He spoke calmly and naturally, but clearly, to Qin Ao’s ears, it was anything but.
In a flash, Qin Ao threw a punch, hitting Fu Xinshu in the face.
Fu Xinshu slammed into the wall. Driven by rage, Qin Ao was about to throw another punch when Chen Jianghe immediately reached out and shoved Qin Ao against the wall.
"What the hell are you doing?" Qin Ao struggled free from Chen Jianghe’s grip.
"He just wanted you to hit him, and you actually did it?" Chen Jianghe said coldly. "Use your head. You’ve already got two demerits. If you’re caught fighting again, you’ll be expelled!"
Fu Xinshu gently wiped the back of his hand over the swollen, red mark on his cheek and smiled helplessly.
From beginning to end, Lin Wanxing remained seated on the mat, restraining herself and staying silent, not intervening in the boys’ conflict.However, this was the first time she had personally witnessed Qin Ao resorting to violence against a classmate, which gave her a deeper understanding of the challenges she would face in the future.
The boys seemed to be simmering with anger, yet they restrained themselves in each other's presence.
"I'm sorry," Fu Xinshu said again.
Lin Wanxing finally spoke up, "If you're done fighting, why don't we sit down and talk?"
Qin Ao was reluctant, but since he had already vented his anger, there didn't seem to be much else he could do.
In a way, Lin Wanxing thought Fu Xinshu was quite a tough person himself.
"What is there to talk about?" Qin Ao grumbled as he sat down.
"Does this little meeting require me to chair it as well?" Lin Wanxing asked with a gentle smile.
Qin Ao crossed his arms and shot her a cold glance.
"Then I'll summarize first," Lin Wanxing said, looking at Qin Ao and Chen Jianghe. "First, both of you received something strange. After deciphering it, the clues pointed to Fu Xinshu. Then, Fu Xinshu, wanting you to participate in the competition, lied to you, saying he had also received something strange and that if you could defeat Anning Experimental, he would tell you what it was."
"You really talk too much," Qin Ao said.
Lin Wanxing smiled faintly. "But it seems... we didn’t actually defeat Anning Experimental, did we?"
Qin Ao and Chen Jianghe were suddenly taken aback.
Afraid they might start making a fuss again, Lin Wanxing continued, "So Fu Xinshu didn’t have to tell you the truth, but he still did. Honestly, if it were me, I wouldn’t have done that—it would’ve been easy to just make up an excuse. So, you might want to think about why he didn’t do that."
Perhaps because she had spoken too bluntly, Fu Xinshu lowered his head, the red swelling on his face particularly noticeable.
Qin Ao and Chen Jianghe were both stunned, looking as if they wanted to say something but couldn’t, slightly flustered.
"Alright, no need to voice your thoughts out loud. Let’s just take it as a sign of his sincere camaraderie toward you," Lin Wanxing said decisively. "The fact now is that Fu Xinshu 'didn’t receive anything,' and you already know about it. Our clue has come to a dead end."
Lin Wanxing patted her pants and stood up from the cushion, saying, "Meeting adjourned."
The boys remained frozen on their cushions, completely bewildered.
"That’s... it?" Qin Ao slowly uttered two words.
"A little lesson for today: Teachers aren’t omnipotent and can’t solve all your problems," Lin Wanxing said with a laugh. "Before you leave, help me put the cushions away."
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