Later, the trio still packed up the mats.
Although they probably still had many doubts in their hearts—unsure whether they should continue football training or how to interact with Fu Xinshu—Lin Wanxing didn’t want to say too much to the children. People must learn to think for themselves and solve their own problems.
All she could do was take advantage of the lunch break to directly approach the physical education teachers.
As she had anticipated, the teachers felt that since the students showed initiative in training, it wouldn’t be right to outright refuse them. So they agreed to let the students train during their free time.
Key point: This free time specifically referred to the period after school and before evening self-study.
Lin Wanxing had no other options. Training on campus was always subject to various constraints. In the end, she decided to take the students to check out the old sports stadium near the school after classes ended.
The issue of the venue was relatively easy to solve. As long as the students had the desire to play football, even a flat patch of grass would suffice.
But the problem of finding a coach wasn’t so simple.
From morning till evening, Lin Wanxing checked her phone many times, but the young man’s profile picture never showed a red notification number. She never received any reply.
Evening arrived quickly. After the students notified each other, Lin Wanxing met them at the school’s side gate, and they strolled together to the sports stadium.
By 5:40 PM, seven people had arrived: Fu Xinshu, Yu Ming, Qi Liang, Zheng Feiyang, Chen Weidong, Feng Suo, and Chen Jianghe.
Two other students, Zhi Hui and Song Ren, had been held back by a teacher but sent word through classmates that they would come as soon as they were done.
Including Lin Lu, who was injured, and Qin Ao, who was still upset and hadn’t shown up, this was almost the entire football team.
Under the setting sun, Lin Wanxing led a group of high school students along the road.
The boys walked in small clusters, sometimes buying fried chicken wings from roadside stalls, other times admiring the soccer shoes in shop windows. The atmosphere felt more like a group outing than training.
After walking with them for a while, as they neared the stadium, Lin Wanxing finally heard a student ask, “What are we going to practice?”
“Yeah, is the coach coming?”
“He hasn’t replied to my message yet,” Lin Wanxing answered truthfully after a moment’s thought.
The students paused, momentarily at a loss.
“Then we…” They exchanged glances.
“Are we still going?” someone whispered.
Lin Wanxing stopped walking, and the students all looked at her.
In that instant, the kids seemed to understand something.
“Got it!”
“We’ll decide for ourselves.”
“Let’s go, let’s go.”
Without giving her a chance to speak, the students headed off toward the old stadium on their own.
Lin Wanxing stood still for a moment, watching their retreating figures, and smiled helplessly.
—
It was still the same old stadium, with its 1970s–80s architectural style, mottled lead-gray exterior walls, and green steel windows.
Further ahead was a bustling swimming pool in the evening light, and beyond that, a green football field.
The boys walked quickly. While Lin Wanxing was still trailing behind, the vanguard had already run onto the field.
Some students, not wanting to fall behind, even squeezed through broken sections of the fence beside the field, moving with remarkable speed.
The sunset was a pale orange.Lin Wanxing had her hands in her pockets. When she reached the edge of the field, both the stands and the pitch were bathed in a soft, hazy glow.
The students were waving toward the stands. Lin Wanxing looked into the distance and froze.
It was the same spot, but under the slightly brighter light, she recognized a familiar baseball cap.
The young man was sitting in the upper-middle section of the stands, his posture relaxed and lazy. Because of the distance, Lin Wanxing couldn’t make out the expression on his face.
The students, however, were clearly delighted. The despondency they had felt earlier without a coach seemed to have vanished entirely.
Lin Wanxing wasn’t quite as optimistic.
She took out her phone, tapped on the young man’s WeChat profile picture, and made a call.
Up in the stands, the young man noticeably reacted to the incoming call, pulling out his phone.
He glanced at the screen, then looked in her direction.
The call connected.
Lin Wanxing said leisurely, “I don’t mean anything by this, I just wanted to confirm that the WeChat account you gave me is actually in use.”
As she spoke, she began walking toward the stands.
“This is a payment account. It won’t be abandoned,” the young man’s voice came through the phone.
Lin Wanxing, holding her phone, suddenly found herself at a loss for words.
“Are you implying that the reason you didn’t reply to my WeChat message is because I didn’t send a red envelope?” Lin Wanxing asked bluntly as she climbed the steps.
The young man tilted his head up, revealing his eyes beneath the brim of his baseball cap. “No, there’s only one obvious reason why I didn’t reply.”
“You were thinking about how to turn me down in the most appropriate way?”
“Yes,” he replied.
—
Truthfully, Lin Wanxing had no idea why the young man had shown up in the stands.
The most likely explanation was that he had a habit of sitting there every evening, pondering things while considering how to respond to her invitation.
So she had guessed as much, and it turned out she was right.
On the football field, the students, led by Fu Xinshu, had begun their warm-up exercises.
Actually, before that, they had also come up to the stands to ask what today’s training would entail.
Lin Wanxing glanced at the young man. He hadn’t explicitly refused anything, only saying, “Warm up first.”
A hard-fought draw was enough to make the students trust their current coach.
Following instructions, the students began jogging laps around the field.
Lin Wanxing leaned back against the seat. The distant sound of car horns and the nearby shouts of people working out in the sports complex were clear and distinct, but the young man remained silent.
After a moment’s thought, she said, “The fact that you didn’t reply to my WeChat immediately means there’s still room for negotiation, right? How about we start with a simple hiring process? Let me ask first—what are your salary expectations?”
Hearing this, the young man turned his head slightly.
“What’s wrong? I’m not the kind of boss who doesn’t pay.”
“What’s your current monthly salary?” the young man asked.
“We intern teachers don’t get paid,” Lin Wanxing replied.
A look of surprise finally appeared on the young man’s face.
“But you don’t need to worry,” Lin Wanxing quickly added. “Actually, I personally… have a modest amount of wealth.”
The young man didn’t respond. Instead, he kept staring at her, his gaze deep and unreadable.
“What is it? Do you really want to see my bank balance?”
“No need,” the young man said, shifting his gaze back to the field. “Do you know how much money it takes to keep a football team running properly?”
“I don’t, but it doesn’t seem like we’ve reached the point where we need to maintain the team’s operations yet. The main expense right now should be your salary.”Lin Wanxing was about to speak further when she heard the young man's blunt voice: "You probably can't afford my wages."
His tone was distant and businesslike.
Only then did Lin Wanxing realize they had only met twice, and she didn't even know his name yet.
It was just one cooperative football match - too easy to create the illusion that they were already a team.
"I want to try my best! Please give me a chance!" Lin Wanxing said.
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