42 Judgment
The field erupted with students’ deafening cheers, grass and trees trembling, water in bottles sloshing with the excitement of the goal.
Lin Wanxing’s hand rested lightly on her chest, feeling the violent thumping of her own heart.
Unbelievable.
The cheers swept across the pitch, crossing distant fields, as if time had rewound to a night several days ago.
It was a field beside the old residential area.
After a long run, Lin Wanxing felt as if she had died and come back to life. Lying on the night grass of the pitch, her heartbeat had been even faster than it was now.
She had made a request to Wang Fa—to ask him to teach the students a football lesson. But what she hadn’t told the students was the second half of the story.
“I have requirements for the lesson content,” Lin Wanxing remembered saying. “This might very well be their last match. I want them to focus on a specific task in football training, something where putting in effort will yield results.”
Wang Fa’s “Tactic One” was the product of that request.
Lin Wanxing’s idea had been simple back then.
The boys were afraid of losing and desperate to win, turning the meaning of the match entirely into a matter of outcome. But in reality, whether it was football or the studies they claimed to care about, the result was never the most important thing.
Improving their abilities was what mattered most.
She watched them practice daily, correct their coordination, and try repeatedly. She saw them progress from constant failure to executing smooth combinations. She believed what “Tactic One” had brought them was already enough.
She had indeed considered that the students might score during the match, but she had never imagined the real scenario would be even more beautiful than she had envisioned.
A desperate counterattack, a sudden sprint—her student had traversed three-quarters of the field and, with just one tacit cooperation of "Tactic One," sent the football into the net of their formidable opponent!
Perhaps this was the beauty of football—all its surprises and unexpected moments could always surpass imagination.
Unbelievable…
Lin Wanxing took out her phone, her fingertips trembling slightly. She sent the match report to the person who hadn’t replied to her messages all day.
—We scored. It’s 1:0 now.
Lin Wanxing habitually put her phone back in her pocket, but this time, it vibrated softly.
In her one-sided chat history with Wang Fa, a reply finally appeared. In black text against a white background, Wang Fa said: Sit down, relax, and enjoy the match.
It sounded as if Wang Fa had been watching them all along… Lin Wanxing immediately scanned her surroundings, but there was only vast green space around the pitch, with no sign of Wang Fa.
“Did you really go to Yongchuan? Are you secretly watching us from somewhere? And how can I relax? We’ve only scored one goal; it’s not like we’ve already won,” she sent a voice message directly.
A moment later, another clearly punctuated text arrived.
—In low-level matches, the skill gap between the two sides isn’t significant. Ultimately, it comes down to the players’ fighting spirit and confidence. After scoring a goal, we will overpower them in both these aspects. So, victory is destined to be ours.
The message was long, and as Lin Wanxing read it, she could almost hear Wang Fa’s voice.
It was as if the young man, wearing a baseball cap, was beside her, speaking in a calm yet slightly mocking tone.
While Lin Wanxing was chatting with Wang Fa, the students on the field had finished their celebrations. They returned to the center line, and the match resumed.The stadium suddenly grew noisy, snapping Lin Wanxing out of her thoughts. She couldn't help but glance toward the Green View International coaching area.
There, the coach in his suit was frantically waving his arms, urging his players to attack, attack, and attack again!
But the more desperately Green View International pushed forward, the more mistakes they made.
In contrast, Hongjing No. 8 Middle School's players, holding onto their lead, appeared completely at ease on the field. After all, they had been under pressure for nearly 80 minutes—what was another 10 minutes now that they led 1-0?
One side was impatient, the other patient.
Every time Hongjing No. 8 Middle School cleared the ball, Green View International wasted nearly a full minute reorganizing their offense.
Just as Wang Fa had said, after scoring that first breakthrough goal, her students had surpassed their opponents in both fighting spirit and confidence.
Time ticked by, and Hongjing No. 8 Middle School's players became completely immersed in the game, forgetting everything else.
Even Lin Wanxing forgot to reply to her WeChat messages, equally absorbed in watching the match.
Until—the referee's whistle pierced through the entire stadium.
Steam rose from the field as if it were burning, sunlight piercing through the mist. Against the green backdrop of the pitch, small, vibrant rainbows appeared.
The 1-0 score held until the final whistle.
——
By the time Lin Wanxing and her students took the bus back to No. 17 Wutong Road, Wang Fa had already returned.
Pushing open the iron door to the rooftop, Lin Wanxing was met with an inexplicable sense of emptiness.
Behind her, the students chattered noisily. Before her, Wang Fa sat bathed in the sunset on the rooftop, his feet propped on the railing as he gazed toward the distant stadium. His silhouette was thin and sharp, carrying a somber weight that seemed beyond his years.
Perhaps it was because the weather was so beautiful today, or maybe the stark contrast between the joy of victory and the quiet scene before her made Lin Wanxing feel that Wang Fa was different from usual.
But what exactly was different?
His feet swayed gently at the edge of the rooftop, and a wisp of blue smoke curled upward in the golden sunset light.
Wang Fa held a cigarette between his fingers.
The blue smoke dissipated into the air, carrying a faint scent of tobacco.
Ah, so he was smoking.
Lin Wanxing thought to herself.
But the tranquil moment was soon shattered by the excited shouts of the boys.
The students were still buzzing with the thrill of victory. Spotting Wang Fa, they immediately tossed their backpacks aside and rushed over to him, all talking at once about the match.
Seeing them, Wang Fa stubbed out his cigarette. When he turned around, he had already returned to his usual lazy, relaxed demeanor. He shifted position, his features appearing especially deep-set in the shadows of the sunset. He nodded slightly, listening to the students.
"We just went whoosh and broke right through them!" Lin Lu exclaimed, dashing from one corner of the rooftop to the other, demonstrating how the football had gone whoosh past the opponents.
"Talk about beating a drowning dog—and they were so arrogant before the match!" Zheng Feiyang chimed in, beaming with excitement.
Chen Jianghe, the football team's designated cool guy, spoke knowledgeably about the defensive flaws in Green View International's strategy.
"Coach, you should've seen it—by the end, the Green View International High coach's face was totally green."
"Yeah, and with that green face, he grabbed our teacher's hand asking for her WeChat—and she actually gave it to him~" Qi Liang's voice drifted over.
Lin Wanxing, who had been boiling water in the corner, immediately poked her head out to protest, "Hey, why are you attacking me! I was just representing our school in promoting communication and cooperation with a prestigious football school!""Why bother talking to losers." Qin Ao said arrogantly.
"Makes sense." Wang Fa expressed agreement with the students' viewpoint.
A clear, sharp gaze swept over lightly.
Lin Wanxing felt instantly "caught" under his look.
"I..." she wanted to explain.
"Delete it." Wang Fa said.
"???" For the first time, Lin Wanxing was also left speechless.
The brats shouted for a while, their energy seemingly almost spent, then stumbled into the house—some wanting water, others directly collapsing on the sofa, urging her to go buy groceries.
"I want yin-yang broth!"
"The beef has to be tender!"
"Chicken meatballs!"
"Don't be so demanding!" When she heard they insisted on hand-peeled shrimp for shrimp paste, Lin Wanxing finally couldn't hold back.
Wang Fa strolled leisurely into the room, listening with great interest to the list of dishes, and finally asked, "Hotpot?"
"Yes, I promised them hotpot as a reward if they won. They refused to go to a restaurant, insisting on eating on our rooftop."
"Woman, don't you get it?" Qin Ao, lying on the sofa, suddenly shouted hoarsely, "When you move to a new place, you need to warm the house. We're helping you warm the house."
"That's right, teacher. I checked the almanac and matched your birth characters. Today is an auspicious day for lighting the stove in a new home." Zhi Hui chimed in very seriously.
"She doesn't even have a pot here, obviously doesn't know how to cook."
"Not having a pot doesn't necessarily mean she can't cook; she might just be lazy." Qi Liang added.
Once the boys started talking, they never stopped. Lin Wanxing felt a headache coming on.
"Alright, alright, I'll go buy groceries." Lin Wanxing directly pulled Wang Fa out of the room, shutting the boys' clamor inside.
"Come with me. We don't have an induction cooker, so we need to buy a stove and a pot now. I can't carry everything alone." Lin Wanxing slightly tilted her head up and said to Wang Fa.
Wang Fa lowered his head. Under the sunset, his features looked very gentle.
"Sure." Wang Fa said.
Lin Wanxing felt relieved and headed toward the staircase.
"I also want to eat shrimp paste made with hand-peeled shrimp." The young man's melodious voice came from behind.
Lin Wanxing stopped in her tracks.
So all that melancholy that didn't match his age was just her inappropriate fantasy about a handsome guy smoking!
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