Facing Teacher Xu, Lin Wanxing could still calmly defend the students' "lies."
But when she actually locked up after work, walked outside the old sports field, and saw the students by the pitch, her anger flared up again.
From the entrance of the sports field, she could see Chen Jianghe running laps alone on the plastic track. Qin Ao sat sprawled on the bleachers, a cigarette dangling from his mouth. By the field, Yu Ming and Lin Lu huddled together—one squatting, the other sitting on the ground, both holding their phones as if playing a game together.
Stepping onto the grass and heading toward the students, Lin Wanxing could hear the boys shouting fierce remarks like "idiot," "why aren't you going in," and "this jungler's mom is dead."
As their current supervising teacher, Lin Wanxing should have been pleased with the students' apparent enthusiasm for training. But she pulled out her phone and checked the time—
5:08 PM.
It was important to note that non-teaching staff finished work half an hour earlier than students were dismissed. This meant the students had indeed skipped class again for training—though in their minds, training and skipping class weren't causally related.
Lin Wanxing put her phone away. Her backpack still contained the student exam papers the grade-level teachers had given her "to take a good look at."
She stood behind Lin Lu and Yu Ming. The two boys hadn't noticed her arrival; they were deeply engaged in a "5v5 fair competitive mobile game," and the battle was intense.
However, after watching for just a short while, Lin Wanxing saw both Lin Lu and Yu Ming's game characters die, their screens turning black as their crystal exploded. Accompanied by a resounding "defeat," the boys looked frustrated, opened the results screen, and began cursing their useless teammates.
Lin Wanxing noticed that Lin Lu seemed to have a bandage or patch on his ankle, hidden under his sock but visible as a thick bulge.
At the same time, Lin Lu noticed her.
"Teacher, you're here?" Lin Lu quickly shifted from angrily cursing his teammates' mothers, his eyes wide as he looked up.
"Are your legs better for training today?" Lin Wanxing sat down beside them.
"Much better. It's just my mom freaking out—did she come to school to see you?"
"Yeah, she told you to study hard and make progress every day," Lin Wanxing said, ruffling Lin Lu's hair without mentioning her promise to the parents about tutoring. "We also held a general meeting. Did they convey the main points to you?"
"They did, they did! We have another match on Sunday!" Lin Lu said excitedly.
The evening breeze grew gentler. Around 5:30, the students gradually arrived. Instead of starting training right away, they all sat down on the grass. Some chatted, others played on their phones, and Lin Lu and Yu Ming even pulled Zheng Feiyang into another game.
Until Fu Xinshu arrived.
Little Fu showed up at the usual time—after school had officially ended and the teachers had finished dragging out their lessons.
The other students were scattered across the field grass. Lin Wanxing smiled and waved at Fu Xinshu.
The lanky boy stood silhouetted against the setting sun, his expression serious and clearly unhappy.
As soon as he saw them, Fu Xinshu put down his backpack and said bluntly, "Let's warm up first."Though his personality was somewhat soft, he possessed a natural leadership quality when it came to serious matters. The young players, who had been lazily sprawled on the grass, all stood up almost in unison.
Sitting on the grass, Lin Wanxing felt Fu Xinshu’s gaze on her and realized she was in the way. Clutching her backpack, she moved toward the bleachers, where Wang Fa was already seated.
Under Fu Xinshu’s direction, the students began their warm-up exercises, but Lin Wanxing paid them no mind.
The sunlight had softened but remained clear enough. As she watched the students jogging slowly around the synthetic track, Lin Wanxing pulled out their exam papers from her backpack and started flipping through them.
She had the unified exam papers of ten students from the senior year: Qin Ao, Lin Lu, Yu Ming, Fu Xinshu, Chen Jianghe, Zheng Feiyang, Feng Suo, Qi Liang, Zheng Ren, and Zhi Hui.
Chen Weidong was a temporary substitute they had brought in and wasn’t on the official football team roster, so Lin Wanxing didn’t have his exam. That left one more student—if she remembered correctly, his name was Wen Chengye.
Recalling that Wen Chengye’s mother had refused to let him participate in the football match because of his tutoring sessions, and noticing his exam paper wasn’t among the ones she had, it seemed Wen Chengye truly lived up to his name—an outstanding student with excellent grades.
Lin Wanxing sorted the students’ exam papers by name, arranging them on her lap. As she matched names to faces, she occasionally glanced up at the students warming up. Nine of them had shown up today, meaning only Zheng Ren and Zhi Hui—the two who often skipped training—were absent. It was actually a pretty good turnout.
A gentle breeze rustled the exam papers. Lin Wanxing noticed the gaze of the person beside her fixed on the papers and turned to look at him.
Wang Fa sat with his long legs crossed on the bleacher seat in front, wearing his usual baseball cap. In the evening glow, his pupils looked unusually light, and his expression was calm as he studied the exam papers.
Though Wang Fa didn’t ask anything, Lin Wanxing began explaining on her own: "They had their senior year mock exams a couple of days ago. Today, the head of their grade called me in for a talk."
She happened to flip to Qin Ao’s exam paper. The glaring "0 points" and the bold "Absent" notation in the score column were startling.
"Hmm," Wang Fa responded, his tone encouraging her to continue.
"Those little brats told their parents they either didn’t take the exams or did poorly because I made them play football." Lin Wanxing had intended to maintain her composure as an educator, but when she saw the next paper—Lin Lu’s, covered in red crosses—she couldn’t help gritting her teeth.
Wang Fa was amused, his expression relaxed and teasing. "Well, that is your problem, isn’t it?"
"What does that have to do with me?" Lin Wanxing slapped the exam papers indignantly. "I never once told them what they should or shouldn’t do. I didn’t force them to play football, and I certainly didn’t preach about training seriously to win championships!"
"Then why didn’t you say anything?"
Wang Fa’s tone was casual, but to Lin Wanxing, it felt as if he could see right through her thoughts. The trouble was, even she herself wasn’t sure what she truly thought deep down.
Lin Wanxing lowered her head and continued organizing the exam papers, not answering Wang Fa’s question. The empty bleachers were always quiet. The evening sun cast the shadow of her hair across the papers as it shone down on her.
Fu Xinshu’s exam paper was among them—and it was probably the most carefully completed one Lin Wanxing had received.Whether it was the reading comprehension section of the Chinese exam, the English essay, or the history responses, Fu Xinshu wrote with neat handwriting and filled everything out conscientiously. The only subject he couldn’t complete was math—aside from writing “Solution” and one or two formulas, he couldn’t put down anything else.
Even so, Fu Xinshu’s results were still unsatisfactory. “Unsatisfactory” is a relative term, referring to the gap between the effort Fu Xinshu put into the exams and the actual grades he received.
Lin Wanxing read slowly, partly because it had been years since she last looked at high school exam papers. The current question design and key points differed significantly from her time. Additionally, to some extent, the papers—whether filled out diligently or carelessly—could reflect the students’ level of understanding.
Unconsciously, the light on the open-air viewing platform grew dim, and Lin Wanxing finally snapped out of her focus on the exam papers.
The students had finished warming up and had probably come to ask Wang Fa about today’s training methods and goals. When they first arrived, they were noisy and boisterous, but as they gathered around her, they quieted down.
Tall figures surrounded her, creating a silent sense of pressure.
The exam paper Lin Wanxing was currently flipping through had been switched to Chen Jianghe’s—English, 29 points.
The red score was glaringly large, likely carrying an inexplicable weight in the students’ eyes.
“What are you doing?” Chen Jianghe glanced at the paper, his expression stern and his tone displeased.
“Huh? I’m looking at your exam papers from this test,” Lin Wanxing replied naturally.
“I’m asking why you’re looking at them,” Chen Jianghe said.
“Because I was called in for a talk by the grade group teachers today, and they handed me your papers,” Lin Wanxing placed her hand on the stack of exams and answered.
Hearing this response, the students were also taken aback. Lin Wanxing hadn’t mentioned their lies to their parents, but the students might have connected it to the excuses they used to brush off their families. Some avoided eye contact, but most maintained an unapologetic and indifferent demeanor.
“Interesting?"Lin Wanxing instead smiled: "It's alright." Anyway, I don’t have much else to do right now, so I’m taking some time to complete the tasks assigned by the leadership.”
Lin Wanxing spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world, leaving the boys struggling to articulate their true feelings clearly. So, they could only stand there stubbornly. They didn’t want her looking at their papers but didn’t know how to counter her rhetorical question.
Qin Ao sneered: “I knew you had some ulterior motive. On one hand, you say you won’t interfere with us, and on the other, you’re looking at our exam papers. If you want to look, do it elsewhere, not in front of us.” Qin Ao commanded in a cold tone.
The boy’s fists clenched slightly, veins faintly visible.
Lin Wanxing knew they were angry and understood why they were angry.
But she said calmly, “Look, since our principle is non-interference, I won’t interfere with you, and you can’t interfere with my work either, right?”
The students were even more speechless.
The two sides were at a standoff—the students wouldn’t leave, and Lin Wanxing had no intention of backing down.
At that moment, Wang Fa leaned back in his chair slightly. He lifted his head, his lazy gaze sweeping over the boys standing around the bleachers, then turned to her and said, “That last line sounded a bit familiar.”
Lin Wanxing paused for a moment, realizing he was referring to the “non-interference” part, and replied, “I borrowed your phrasing a little. Do I need to pay copyright fees?”
“Oh, no need for that.”Interrupted by Wang Fa, Fu Xinshu immediately caught the hint. He quickly changed the subject, asking Wang Fa about the training content and objectives, then pulled the students back into the same intra-squad scrimmage as yesterday.
Though reluctant, the boys obeyed Fu Xinshu, hopping down from the bleachers in small groups.
Lin Wanxing glanced at their retreating figures before continuing to flip through the exam papers.
The atmosphere on the training ground felt different from yesterday. The vast old field and cold gray concrete bleachers had yesterday been filled with students running wild like excited puppies freed from their cages—energetic and vibrant. Today, however, the air grew heavy and subdued. Passes and footsteps were sparse, and Lin Wanxing could even hear the crisp rustle of her own papers.
She understood exactly why the students had turned sullen and displeased, but she had no intention of compromising on the matter.
The next round of conflict erupted a little over half an hour later. Perhaps fatigue had set in, fueling accumulated frustration and discontent. It was unclear who first threw down the football and stormed up the bleachers, but when Lin Wanxing looked up again, she was met with the tense, angry, and irritable faces of the boys.
Her gaze swept over them, noticing Fu Xinshu among the group. Pressing down on the exam papers, she asked him, "What's wrong? Problems with the training?"
At her question, the students all turned to Fu Xinshu, waiting for his response.
Fu Xinshu frowned slightly but spoke with resolve, "Teacher, could you please stop looking at our exam papers for now? This is our training time."
"Hmm, it's your training time, not mine," Lin Wanxing replied calmly.
"But you sitting here going through our tests is really annoying."
For a student like Fu Xinshu, using the word "annoying" was already a strong expression of emotion. "I know you said reviewing papers is part of your job, but I want everyone to focus on training," he continued. "Sunday's match is what really matters."
His logic was simple: Her presence with the exam papers was distracting and upsetting, so she should stop, because training took priority.
"Why do you care if I look at your papers?"
"Stop fucking looking at them! How annoying! If you want to mess with us, just say it—is this really necessary?" Qin Ao exploded.
Lin Wanxing, however, remained patient. "Oh, does it make you feel sick too?"
To the students, her words sounded deeply sarcastic, and they were thoroughly provoked.
Chen Jianghe turned and walked away without a word.
Qin Ao angrily snatched his school jacket from the back of a seat, strode down the bleachers with long steps, and jumped off. The remaining students seemed uncertain, some murmuring, "Are we done training?" Qi Liang, the sharp-tongued troublemaker, sneered and called out, "Dismissed~~" before heading to grab his backpack.
With the "leaders" setting the example, the students dispersed quickly, leaving only Lin Lu and Fu Xinshu behind.
Lin Lu glanced around nervously before asking cautiously, "Aren't you leaving?" Lin Wanxing asked with a light laugh.
Lin Lu poked at the exam papers on her lap and asked, "Teacher, can I take my paper home?"
"What do you plan to do with it?"
"Well... I just..." Lin Lu stammered, unable to form a clear answer. "Never mind, I won't take it," he finally declared before darting off.For the students, training was something they joined in on a whim, so it was only natural to disband when the mood soured.
And so, the only one left was Fu Xinshu.
Including warm-ups, the actual training lasted less than an hour.
A faint sheen of sweat had earlier coated Fu Xinshu’s face, but now, chilled by the evening breeze, his expression turned icy. His half-dry jersey clung to his slender shoulder blades, making him appear particularly fragile.
Fu Xinshu remained silent, standing stiffly in the wind, half-turned to watch the direction where the other students had dispersed.
Lin Wanxing had no choice. She tossed the schoolbag from the seat beside her onto the ground, patted the empty spot, and gestured for Fu Xinshu to come sit next to her.
Young Fu turned his head, unclear why a perfectly good group training session had ended so unpleasantly. His confusion made him unwilling to speak.
Lin Wanxing didn’t initiate conversation. After Fu Xinshu sat down, she continued looking through the exam papers.
To put it simply, although these papers were from the same exam and many had been marked zero due to absence, the students had occasionally written something earnest—though not necessarily correct answers. Some might have just drawn a little turtle in the top left corner of the answer sheet...
"Teacher," Fu Xinshu finally spoke.
Lin Wanxing responded with a faint "Hmm," still contemplating the turtle drawings.
Another awkward, prolonged silence followed.
"It’s not that we don’t want to study hard, it’s..." Fu Xinshu seemed to realize the flaw in his own words and trailed off.
"Take your time. You can say whatever you want," Lin Wanxing said, seeing how difficult this was for him. She turned to look into his eyes, picked up a half-empty bottle of water from the ground, unscrewed the cap, and took a small sip to ease the tension. "Don’t worry about upsetting me."
The sky had shifted from dusk to night, and the sporadic croaks of frogs, now soft, now heavy, drifted from afar.
"Teacher, a lot of the time, I really don’t understand what you’re trying to do. You’re different—you’re just not like anyone I’ve met before."
This might have been a compliment. Lin Wanxing met the student’s complicated gaze and said, "Thank you."
"Teacher, you always give us so much hope. The first time you came to us, you said you wanted to organize everyone to play in a soccer match. Don’t let Qin Ao’s attitude fool you—he was actually really happy too. Do you know what it’s like to have even a little bit of hope?"
Lin Wanxing nodded in acknowledgment.
"Later, we won. I never thought we could win. We even got another chance to play together, another match. This Sunday’s game is really important!"
"I know," Lin Wanxing said.
"Then why do you act so indifferent? Why do you act like you don’t care about us at all?" Fu Xinshu’s tone shifted abruptly as he challenged her. "You care about our grades, right? You told our parents you’d help us improve. You look at our exam papers—you clearly care about us. But you only do this much!"
Fu Xinshu’s fists were half-clenched, pressed tightly against his legs. His head was bowed, his eyes fixed intently on the concrete ground in front of him.
Lin Wanxing could roughly grasp the resentment in Fu Xinshu’s heart. It was hard to put into words—like a drowning person suddenly spotting a boat, only to find the person on board just watching. That was probably the feeling.
"So, what should I do?" she asked softly, leaning back against the chair."You clearly know that Zhi Hui and Zheng Ren never come to training. You never ask, and you certainly don’t take the initiative to help us call them to join. You don’t even care about our training schedule. We may be slackers, but we’re trying our best. Why do you still act like this today?"
"Act like what today? When you were finally taking training seriously, I shouldn’t have looked at your exam papers, ruined your good mood, made you irritable, and prevented everyone from training properly?" Lin Wanxing asked Fu Xinshu calmly and clearly, "Why should I be responsible for your behavior?"
"Why can’t you take responsibility for our behavior? Why can’t you help us more?" By the time Fu Xinshu said this, his voice was choked with tears. It seemed like words he had held back for a long time finally burst out—loud and resounding.
But Lin Wanxing didn’t pat his shoulder or comfort him. She simply waited for Fu Xinshu’s emotions to settle slightly before saying, "I can help you, but the question is, what do you want?"
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