At first, there was silence, as if the air had been sucked dry or like the completely soundless void of space.
Darkness and oppression enveloped the rooftop.
Slowly, the crescent moon rose, and insects and birds began to chirp.
Downstairs, a kitten let out a very long "meow," and the boys picked up their pens again, slowly and arduously beginning to make their final decisions.
Then, someone cried.
Lin Wanxing didn’t know who it was at first.
For boys, shedding tears was usually embarrassing. But at this moment on the rooftop, Lin Lu simply threw down his pen and cried openly and unashamedly.
Life truly has many unexpected moments, Lin Wanxing thought helplessly. Although she had known the boys might eventually break down, facing a student who was genuinely crying still made her a little flustered.
On one hand, she wondered if she had pushed them too far; on the other, she felt that crying to vent their emotions wasn’t such a big deal.
Lin Wanxing took a tissue from the table and walked over to Lin Lu.
Lin Lu took the tissue and began wiping his eyes, but soon, the tears that had only moistened his eyes turned into bean-sized drops, falling one by one.
Lin Lu began to wail even louder.
"Don’t... don’t cry," Lin Wanxing grew more panicked, at a loss for what to do. "Shh, shh, Grandma Wang downstairs told me yesterday that you’re too loud at night and to keep it down."
At that moment, Qin Ao stood up, casually tossed the draft paper he had finished writing onto her hand, and picked up the crumpled tissue: "He’s yelling ‘spicy’."
Lin Wanxing was confused, but as Lin Lu lowered his voice and continued whimpering, she listened carefully and realized it did sound like he was saying "spicy."
"Teacher, spicy, spicy..." Lin Lu wiped his eyes as tears continued to stream down.
Lin Wanxing quickly looked at the tissue in Qin Ao’s hand.
Qin Ao sniffed it and said, "It’s used. Someone wiped their mouth after eating spicy hot pot."
"This... this..." Lin Wanxing was shocked. "I didn’t know! Why would a used tissue be folded so neatly, looking brand new?"
"It’s so spicy! Teacher, I really didn’t mean to cry!" Lin Lu said pitifully.
Lin Wanxing immediately saluted in apology: "Sorry!"
With the spicy tissue incident, the previously heavy atmosphere on the rooftop vanished completely.
Although Lin Wanxing hadn’t asked for it, while she went to find eye drops to rinse Lin Lu’s eyes, the boys handed her their completed papers one by one.
Due to constant writing and erasing, the draft papers had rubbed against the table and floor, leaving each sheet fragile and worn.
Before she knew it, a stack of papers lay before Lin Wanxing.
The students, who seemed carefree on the surface, now looked at her with hopeful eyes.
Like children waiting for their answers to be graded, or as if everyone wanted to compare notes.
But more than that, Lin Wanxing knew clearly—this was a form of trust.
She carefully wiped her hands dry, sat cross-legged on the floor, and under the dim light hanging from the eaves, began to understand the students’ final choices.
Before flipping through them, Lin Wanxing had imagined many possible answers. But when she truly saw each person’s decision after their difficult self-reflection, she unconsciously held her breath.
The top sheet belonged to Fu Xinshu. The paper was covered with countless scratches of varying depths. Among all those beautiful aspirations, he ultimately kept the one he had originally intended to delete—"I want to get into a 985 university."
Next was Qin Ao. His handwriting was as bold and unrestrained as his personality, and his final answer seemed like a decision made without hesitation: "I want to win a championship."
Chen Jianghe ultimately gave up his wish to "play football abroad" and instead hoped to "stay by my mother’s side."
Qi Liang still hadn’t crossed out "eat, sleep, and wait for death," but at the same time, he also kept "enjoy every chance to play."
Yu Ming crossed out everything on his paper but wrote one final line at the end—"I feel like what I really want in the end is to win a championship, even though it’s probably impossible."
Lin Lu had two sheets—one crumpled and the other only half copied. His notes were messy. Some items were crossed out, while others were circled. Lin Wanxing looked closely and saw he had emphasized "reach 100 stars in Honor of Kings and become a pro player," "win the championship," and "eat all the snacks in the world."
In the end, he kept the middle one.
Zheng Feiyang—"I want to win a championship with my brothers."
...
Before she knew it, Lin Wanxing had reached the last sheet.
She stacked all the draft papers vertically on her lap, gently aligning them. Perhaps she had imagined the answers, but when she saw those colorful responses and the final trend toward a unified goal, she still felt what could be called a sense of awe.
The human heart is so diverse and vibrant; every observation is truly remarkable.
When she looked up again, the boys immediately averted their gazes, looking around as if they weren’t interested in anyone else’s answers.
Lin Wanxing smiled and was about to speak when Qin Ao stopped her: "You can’t read them out loud!"
"Everyone’s already seen them. What does it matter if I read them or not?" Lin Wanxing replied with a smile.
"What’s wrong with me wanting to win a championship? Even if you say I’m delusional, I still want to win!" Qin Ao shouted.
"What about the rest of you?" Lin Wanxing asked the others.
Qi Liang was shocked. "You’re already too lazy to even give us some inspirational talk after reading them, and instead ask ‘us’?"
"Then should I say, ‘The experiment is over, dismissed’? Or..." Lin Wanxing paused, "...do you want me to say, ‘Now go clean up the tables’?"
The boys immediately started shouting, each pushing the task onto someone else, unwilling to take the lead.
Amid the chaotic noise, Fu Xinshu’s voice rose.
He said, "Teacher, I think I chose wrong."
Fu Xinshu’s brow was furrowed, but his voice was unusually firm.
Lin Wanxing looked at him. "There’s no right or wrong answer, and they’re not mutually exclusive. You can achieve everything written here."
"No, Teacher. You told us to look deep into our hearts and find what’s hidden there. But I chickened out. When I saw the others’ answers, I knew I had chosen wrong," Fu Xinshu said.
The rooftop fell silent again. Faced with Fu Xinshu’s seriousness, the previously joking boys suddenly didn’t know what to say.
Fu Xinshu stopped anyone who tried to speak with a look and continued, "Yes, I want to get into a good university, have a bright future and a good job, and make money. But more than that, right now, I really want to play football well and win a championship with my brothers. But because I know it’s impossible, and I’m afraid saying it out loud would create pressure, I gave up earlier. But now I regret it."
His words were clear and resolute.
The rooftop grew even quieter. The bright moon hung high in the sky, and all around was stillness.
"Old Fu, don’t overthink it!" Qin Ao looked around, slung an arm over his shoulder to comfort him, trying to lighten the mood. "We’re still playing together, right? Winning or not isn’t that important, and it’s not something you can achieve just by wanting it."
"But I’m too scared to even want it. I’m afraid to even think about it. I’m useless," Fu Xinshu said.
"Old Fu, don’t be upset. The teacher said it’s just a thought experiment—no right or wrong answers."
"Even though Qin Gou is a dog, he’s got a point. He’s so bad, how could he ever win a championship?" Zheng Feiyang said bluntly.
Qi Liang: "+1."
With that, the two earned a punch on the back from Qin Ao: "Are you two any better? So what if we’re bad? Remember Leicester City?"
Qin Ao had jumped up from the floor, excited.
Lin Wanxing looked up at him, and the boy naturally began to explain. "Leicester City—in 2013-14, they were still in the Championship, England’s second-tier league. In 2014-15, they barely avoided relegation. In 2015-16, they won the championship! The Premier League title! Isn’t that a miracle?"
The boy’s eyes sparkled. Encouraged by Qin Ao, Yu Ming suddenly remembered: "Right, we even beat Green View International!"
"Hell yeah, we beat Green View. We can play in the Group Stage now."
"The Group Stage has double round-robin matches. If we get a good draw and end up in a weak group, it’s not impossible to advance."
"Then, if we’re even luckier, we could make it to the semifinals..."
Only then did the students remember that they had just defeated a strong opponent today. If they kept moving forward, there was no reason they couldn’t win again.
For a moment, the rooftop buzzed with excitement. The boys were so fired up they could have rushed downstairs to run a few more laps on the field.
"Making it to the semifinals counts as success?" Suddenly, Qi Liang’s voice cut through, clear and cold.
Lin Wanxing didn’t understand the meaning behind his words, but the previously jubilant boys suddenly seemed doused in cold water.
Qi Liang: "What are you all thinking? Advancing from the Group Stage depends on getting a good draw. Do we have that kind of luck? Should we check who the 16 teams in last year’s Group Stage were? Yongchuan Evergrande, Yuzhou Silver Elephant, Fengcheng Jingrui, Shen Cheng Hai Bo... Do I need to keep going?"
Qi Liang was truly a master at pouring cold water, and his reasoning was convincing. As soon as he spoke, the others fell silent again.
"Are these teams really that strong? Completely unbeatable?" Lin Wanxing asked.
"Teacher, do you even know who we’re up against? It’s not your fault if you don’t understand football."
"They do seem unbeatable. No matter what, Green View International is still a football school’s team. These are all youth teams from professional clubs, some even U19. Green View really can’t compare."
The boys began to murmur among themselves. Qi Liang’s words had brought them back to reality. No matter how grand and beautiful the dream, the harshness of reality could shatter it in an instant.
"And the coach is leaving. How can we win a championship?" Chen Weidong said.
Hearing this, Lin Wanxing finally couldn’t hold back: "First of all, don’t use ourselves to guilt-trip others. The coach has his own path to follow."
Perhaps because she rarely showed such a stern expression, the boys also stopped their joking.
Fu Xinshu: "Teacher, they didn’t mean it like that. They were just trying to comfort me."
"What you need isn’t comfort," Lin Wanxing said. "You need some other kind of help. Since everyone has recognized what they truly desire, you should be proud. That in itself is a remarkable psychological achievement."
"What kind of ‘inspirational talk’ is this?" Qi Liang was shocked.
"This isn’t ‘inspirational talk,’" Lin Wanxing thought for a moment, then said gently but firmly, "If you’ve discovered your goals, then let’s work toward them."
The boys looked at her in disbelief. Qi Liang even used a pen to poke his ear.
Lin Wanxing looked at Qi Liang and asked in return, "Why couldn’t you choose between ‘eat, sleep, and wait for death’ and ‘enjoy every chance to play’? You still really like playing football, don’t you?"
"I do like it. That’s why it’s annoying to hear these idiots blabbering about winning championships."
"You don’t want to win a championship?" Lin Wanxing asked again.
"I do. But does wanting it make it happen?" Qi Liang retorted.
"Then at least they’re braver than you, daring to admit it," Lin Wanxing said.
"Is this about admitting or not admitting?" Qi Liang’s voice was clear and proud. "Teacher, you don’t understand football. You’re good at studying, sure, but this isn’t like studying. It’s not something you can achieve just by working hard."
"Is there really such a big difference between improving football skills and studying diligently?" Lin Wanxing countered.
Qi Liang was stunned, his face saying, "What kind of nonsense is this?"
Qin Ao also said, "Teacher, you’re being a bit unreasonable. Football is round."
Lin Lu: "Homework books are square!"
Lin Wanxing: "I’m not trying to convince you of anything. My point is simple: if you want to win a championship, then let’s work toward it."
"How? By shouting slogans? ‘I want to win a championship,’ ‘I want to get full marks’—like that?" Qi Liang asked.
"If you insist on a slogan, then it’s this: adjust your mindset, master the skills, set goals, and progress steadily," Lin Wanxing said.
The boys looked confused. Lin Wanxing sat up straight, patted the ground beside her, and told everyone to sit down.
Qi Liang poked his ear with his pen again: "This slogan sounds a bit better than the last one."
"If I have to say what I can offer you, besides being good at shouting slogans, I do have some techniques. And these techniques aren’t just for studying—they apply to football too, because all processes of human progress toward a goal share common principles."
The boys exchanged glances, not understanding. "What techniques?"
"My suggestion is, first, understand your goal correctly. Keep your desire to win a championship deep in your heart. It’s the direction of your effort, not just the end result," Lin Wanxing said.
"Huh?" Lin Lu didn’t get it.
"It’s still the same old thing—the result isn’t important, don’t think about winning or losing, just focus on playing well. I thought it was something amazing," Qin Ao said, relieved but with a hint of disappointment in his eyes.
"Why don’t you like studying?" Lin Wanxing thought for a moment and suddenly asked.
"What?" Qin Ao was shocked. "I’m just not cut out for it. Isn’t it normal to not be good at it?"
"Think about your past, from childhood until now. Why don’t you like studying?"
"Why else? I just can’t get into it. Always get the questions wrong, do poorly on exams, zone out in class," Qin Ao said.
"It feels like studying is just for exams. If you do poorly, you get scolded. It’s boring," Yu Ming said.
"That’s because your understanding of exams is wrong," Lin Wanxing said. "Studying itself is about acquiring knowledge and improving your abilities. Through exams, I learn which parts I’ve mastered—and that makes me happy. And for the parts I’m lacking or don’t understand, I’ll keep studying. That’s the most basic purpose of those test papers."
"It’s not like we want to see the scores. Our parents and teachers make us!" Zheng Feiyang complained.
"What if you can’t do any of the questions on the test..." Yu Ming asked timidly.
"Let’s think about it from another angle. If my goal were to become a member of the school’s female faculty football team, how would you continue to teach me?" Lin Wanxing asked in return.
"First, practice juggling with your feet to get a feel for the ball?" Qin Ao thought for a moment and replied.
"You wouldn’t tell me, ‘Lin Wanxing, your goal is to win a championship,’ right?"
"Of course not. That would be insane," Qin Ao said, equally shocked.
"Ok, do you realize that you’ve already helped me break down a huge outcome goal into smaller process goals," Lin Wanxing paused. "That’s why I don’t recommend setting goals like getting 100% on exams or winning championships, because psychologically, they’re not suitable."
"Then what is suitable?"
"Ask yourselves. Continue helping me."
"Wait, our school has a female faculty football team?" Chen Jianghe was stunned.
"Just hypothetically," Lin Wanxing said.
"Oh, then... there’s also physical fitness. Training fitness is important," Chen Jianghe said.
"Ball control needs to be practiced too! After juggling, you should practice dribbling while running!"
"Dribbling around cones."
"It’s not enough if just you’re good. Everyone needs to train together, like group passing drills."
The boys chimed in one after another, speaking with authority on their area of expertise.
Lin Wanxing thought for a moment and asked, "Are there any standards for physical fitness tests?"
"Yeah, there are. 100-meter sprints, long-distance running," Chen Jianghe said. "All kinds of assessments."
"What if I don’t meet your standards in the 100-meter sprint? What then?" Lin Wanxing continued.
"Huh? Why do you need to meet our standards, Teacher? You’re so old already."
Lin Wanxing was both amused and exasperated by their logic. "What I mean is, if I don’t meet the standard, and fitness training is too boring, and then I don’t want to play anymore—what would you do?"
"Then practice more! And you don’t have to compare yourself to our standards anyway. There are lots of fun ways to train fitness. It’s tiring, but it feels great afterward. Let our coach teach you," Zheng Feiyang suddenly winked.
"But I don’t want to train fitness anymore. It’s boring, hard, and exhausting. How would you persuade me?"
"Uh, getting fit makes you strong?"
"You can lose weight."
"Get nice muscle definition."
"You can carry a water bottle up five flights of stairs without getting out of breath!"
The students threw out suggestions one after another, painting her a vivid picture.
"Teacher, why don’t you join us for morning runs tomorrow? With those skinny arms and legs, you definitely need the training!" Qin Ao said.
"Sure," Lin Wanxing agreed readily. "Then, can you design a plan for yourselves to move toward your goals, just like you did for me?" she asked.
"Huh? How would we know how to do that?" Yu Ming was baffled.
"What plan? A championship plan? Your thing is simple—we all know how to do it. But our situation is different from yours."
The boys spoke over each other, confused and uncertain.
Lin Wanxing carefully observed the students’ expressions. She said, "What I mean is, calm down and think about it first."
The night was deep and quiet. From the distant football field, crickets chirped, their sounds rising and falling. The boys gradually quieted down, shifting from confused resistance to thoughtful reflection, recalling their football experiences in the still-warm adrenaline of today’s events.
"Like ‘Tactic One’? We set small goals one by one and master them—like that?"
"Yeah, like today. We didn’t think about anything else, didn’t worry about whether we could beat Green View. Our goal was just to execute ‘Tactic One.’"
"Right, right! Focus on the game, and when we actually did it, it felt amazing!"
Someone brought up today’s victory, and the others’ eyes lit up.
"But ‘Tactic One’ worked because the coach is awesome!" Lin Lu suddenly interjected, buttering him up.
At that moment, the person who had been sound asleep on the lounge chair suddenly stirred.
Wang Fa raised his hand and stretched lazily.
Lin Wanxing heard his slightly hoarse voice floating in the moonlight.
He said, "No, because Teacher Lin is amazing."
Lin Wanxing, who had been immersed in the satisfaction of educating her students, was caught off guard by his sudden remark and couldn’t help but blush.
Wang Fa jumped off the lounge chair and walked toward them.
Lin Lu: "Teacher, is it like when we play games, where you climb ranks one star at a time?"
"Perhaps it’s similar in some ways," Lin Wanxing said, guiding them patiently. "So, what’s the most basic thing about playing Honor of Kings well?"
"Have a good phone," Wang Fa replied.
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