Under the students' intense gazes, and most importantly, since the coach himself had no intention of sharing snacks with the students, Lin Wanxing had no choice but to distribute the few remaining Bugles snacks she had.
And quite awkwardly, when the snacks were all handed out, there was one short.
The only one who didn’t get any was Chen Jianghe.
Lin Wanxing and Chen Jianghe exchanged a glance. She hinted, "A mature young man like you probably doesn’t like Bugles, right?"
"I do," Chen Jianghe replied succinctly.
Left with no other option, Lin Wanxing transferred money via WeChat to the only person nearby who had any in stock. After some haggling, she bought one Bugle for one yuan—utterly humiliating.
Each person only got one small snack, and it took just a few seconds from chewing to swallowing. After the crisp crunching sounds, only the faint aroma of the puffed snack lingered in the air.
Under the night sky, the atmosphere grew inexplicably quiet again.
"Coach, do we have any other training activities next?" Chen Jianghe asked.
"Not today. Head home early," the young man said.
"What time should we meet here tomorrow?" Fu Xinshu asked.
At this point, the young man paused.
Lin Wanxing followed his gaze and saw two people walking up the steps at the entrance of the stands not far away.
The surroundings were quiet, making their footsteps even clearer.
The newcomers were two middle-aged men. One was older, balding, and slightly overweight. The other was dressed in a suit, looking like the epitome of a typical middle-aged elite.
"You didn’t answer your phone, so I knew you’d be here," the balding middle-aged man said in a very familiar tone.
Although Lin Wanxing was certain he was surprised to see so many young players in the stands, he walked over and inserted himself into the conversation almost without a second thought.
The young man remained seated, merely looking up and asking, "What’s up?"
"What else? I’m here to show my respect for talent," the balding middle-aged man said politely. "Are you free? I just got off the train. How about grabbing a meal later?"
"Wait a moment," the young man replied indifferently.
Then, he turned to the young players in front of him.
Lin Wanxing also noticed the students’ expressions. Most of them were staring at the balding middle-aged man’s face, looking utterly shocked.
"I might not have time to come tomorrow, but if you want to train, I hope you can agree on a time that works for everyone."
After saying this, the young man stood up.
Lin Wanxing licked her fingers, which still had a slightly salty-sweet taste, and asked, "Leaving already?"
"Yeah, I have something to attend to."
The young man bid farewell, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and followed the two middle-aged men away.
Although his attitude toward everyone was similar, it was clear he still held a great deal of respect for the two men who had just arrived, especially the balding one.
In the night breeze, snippets of their conversation drifted over.
Someone casually asked the young man, "Been coaching kids lately?" The young man seemed to reply, but she couldn’t make out what he said.
Once the three descended the stands, Lin Wanxing could no longer hear what they were saying.
When she snapped back to reality, the students beside her were visibly agitated.
"Holy shit, teacher, that guy?"
"Our coach?"
"No way, really?"
The students seemed to have lost their ability to form coherent sentences, resorting to exclamations and fragmented phrases.
"What’s wrong, kids?"
"Teacher, you don’t know Liu Chuangguang?"
"Who?" Lin Wanxing pondered the name—it sounded somewhat familiar.
"You’ve never heard of Director Liu? He was the head coach of the national team! Even though it was only for three months, he’s famous for that time the national team lost 1-5 to Thailand!" Chen Weidong’s voice boomed.
"Keep your voice down!" Lin Wanxing hurriedly said. "Why are you shouting when you’re talking behind someone’s back?"
For Lin Wanxing, she didn’t feel particularly excited about meeting a former national team head coach who had only lasted three months.
But she understood the phrase "showing respect for talent." After thinking about the exchange between Director Liu and the young man, she felt an inexplicable sense of unease. "So Director Liu isn’t with the national team anymore. Where is he now?"
"I don’t know."
"Yichun Greenland?"
"Yongchuan Evergrande?"
The students tossed out names, then suddenly caught on—
"Director Liu isn’t here to poach our coach, is he?!"
Once this was said, the students erupted into chatter…
"Coming to invite our coach to Yongchuan Evergrande?"
"No way?"
"Could it be that everything the coach said before was true?"
"Maybe they just know each other?"
"Should we ‘follow’ them?"
While the students were muttering among themselves, Lin Wanxing had already looked it up. She put down her phone and said, "Director Liu is indeed with Yongchuan Evergrande now. The man next to him was probably the club manager."
"Shit!"
That expletive summed up the students’ collective emotions.
Lin Wanxing thought that the young man hadn’t actually lied to her. A school football team like theirs probably wasn’t within his "job-seeking" considerations to begin with.
"So what do we do now?" Yu Ming asked.
"What’s the point of asking here? If you’ve got the guts, go ask him directly!" Qin Ao said.
"Who’s the fastest runner?" Lin Wanxing looked up and asked.
The students were still in their sportswear, drenched in sweat, their faces flushed from the long run. They all looked at her with strange expressions.
"Sorry, let me rephrase that," Lin Wanxing immediately corrected herself. "Weren’t you saying you wanted to ‘follow’ the former national team head coach and the Yongchuan Evergrande manager? Who’s going?"
The students froze, not quite ready to turn their bold talk into action.
"We need someone quick-witted, so they don’t get caught," Fu Xinshu said.
At that moment, everyone’s eyes fell on Qi Liang.
—
Based on Lin Wanxing’s judgment, Director Liu and the Yongchuan Evergrande manager weren’t locals. Since they had just gotten off the train and come to find someone, they would likely choose a nearby place to eat and probably wouldn’t go far.
Later, Qi Liang’s report confirmed her assumption.
Hongjing Food Street, Tianming Hot Pot.
The restaurant wasn’t very crowded, with many tables still empty. On a bustling food street, it was the kind of place where you could sit down without waiting. That was probably why the three had chosen it.
Originally, Lin Wanxing had planned to send the other students home. Otherwise, a large group would turn "following" into a field trip.
But as it turned out, she was too naive. Even after sending Qi Liang ahead, it didn’t mean the rest would obediently go home.
In the end, when their entire group marched over to the opposite side of the hot pot restaurant, Qi Liang, hiding in the shadows of the street corner, opened his mouth in shock. The popsicle stick he’d been holding between his teeth clattered to the ground.
Under the neon lights, Yu Ming even jumped up and waved at Qi Liang.
Qi Liang rushed over in a flash and pulled them into the shadows of the street corner.
"Oh, so this is what the teacher calls ‘following’?" Qi Liang said, exasperated.
"They insisted on coming. I couldn’t stop them, and they wouldn’t listen when I told them to go back," Lin Wanxing said, glancing across the street at the hot pot restaurant.
By the window, two bottles of beer were open, a table full of dishes was laid out, and steam rose from the hot pot, creating a scene of abundance and conviviality. But both the young man’s and the two men’s bowls looked quite clean. This was probably what adults called "having a meal."
"What are they talking about?" Yu Ming craned his neck.
"Inviting our coach to Yongchuan Evergrande?" Chen Weidong said worriedly.
"Is that hot pot any good? The tripe they just put in hasn’t been fished out yet—it’s gonna be overcooked," Zheng Feiyang commented.
The students started chattering again.
They were already tall, and now, skulking on the roadside, they drew strange looks from passersby.
"Can any of you read lips?" Qi Liang asked.
"No, can you?"
"Then what’s the point of being so far away? Let’s get closer." As he spoke, Qi Liang led them in a planned detour, bringing them closer to the side of the street where the hot pot restaurant was.
Lin Wanxing trailed behind the students, just like in those typical movie scenes.
Just as she stepped across the street, the young man, who had been listening intently to the conversation across the table, turned his head. Through the glass, lightly fogged with steam, his eyes met hers.
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