Wuchuan Road Stadium is located between Hongjing No. 8 Middle School and Wutong Road. Lin Wanxing could see it from her rooftop at home.
She grew up in this neighborhood as a child, and so did her students. Because they were so familiar with it, they had developed the habit of adding "old" before its name.
"Old stadium," "old swimming pool," "old gym"—for the children living near Hongjing No. 8 Middle School, these all referred to Wuchuan Road Stadium.
It was quite legendary—Wuchuan Road Stadium had a history of over a hundred years. During the Qing Dynasty, it was a military training ground, and in the early Republic of China era, the province's first modern stadium was built here. After a century of upheavals, Wuchuan Road Stadium had now become a "playground" for nearby residents.
Qin Ao, Yu Ming, Chen Jianghe, and many others had grown up playing soccer at Wuchuan Road Stadium. Next to the stadium was the gymnasium, which had an outdoor swimming pool. Rumor had it that an Olympic champion had started their swimming career here.
After school, Lin Wanxing and her students gathered at the entrance of Wuchuan Road Gymnasium, right when the outdoor swimming pool was at its liveliest.
A group of children were practicing breathing and kicking under the guidance of a swimming coach, white splashes flying everywhere. Meanwhile, the high school students from Hongjing No. 8 Middle School's football team were even noisier than the splashing waves.
"Why are we at the gym?"
"Did the coach really ask us to meet at the gym entrance?"
"Is the coach making us do extra swimming for physical training? The swimming tickets are 20 yuan each—that’s a bit expensive."
The students’ questions kept coming, eager to know the coach’s full purpose for gathering them. Lin Wanxing had no answers, so she leaned against the iron railing by the pool and ate her Chocolate Crispy Ice Cream.
Wang Fa arrived at the agreed time, but he didn’t come through the main entrance—he emerged from inside the gymnasium.
Following Wang Fa was a young man.
The young man wore a fluorescent green tank top. Though not very tall, he had dark skin, glossy muscles, and a neatly trimmed beard on his chin. If he hadn’t looked somewhat familiar, Lin Wanxing would have suspected Wang Fa had gotten involved with some kind of gang enforcer.
Lin Wanxing waved to Wang Fa from a distance. The young man in the fluorescent green tank top also waved at her enthusiastically and shouted, "Sis, you’re here!"
His voice was rough and hearty. He appeared to be in his thirties, and being called "Sis" by him made Lin Wanxing’s first reaction: "How can I accept this?"
The boys burst out laughing, but then, the muscular young man greeted them just as warmly: "Bro, you’re all here!"
The high schoolers froze in place. Lin Wanxing felt her mindset balance out.
By the pool, someone plunged into the water with a "splash."
Lin Wanxing shuddered. The muscular young man’s dark, enthusiastic smile filled her vision, and she could only ask, "You are…"
"Sis, it’s me, Xiao Sun! Don’t you recognize me?!" the muscular young man introduced himself exuberantly.
"Xiao... Sun?" Lin Wanxing looked at Wang Fa.
"You don’t know him?" Wang Fa asked in return.
"How would I know him?" Lin Wanxing was shocked.
"But he lives downstairs from us," Wang Fa said.
"That’s right, Sis! You’re my landlord! You and Brother Wang live upstairs from me. Do you really not remember me?" The muscular young man sounded a bit hurt.
Wang Fa wore a look of amusement. Lin Wanxing quickly said, "Ah... Xiao Sun! I remember now!"
But in truth, she still didn’t remember...
Fortunately, Comrade Xiao Sun was talkative. Without her needing to ask questions, he explained everything as he led the way.
Xiao Sun’s full name was Sun Baili, and he was the tenant of Room 402, 4th Floor, No. 17 Wutong Road.
He used to work in IT in a big city as a homebody, but later he fell in love with fitness. He eventually returned to his hometown and found a job at the Wuchuan Road Stadium Fitness Club. His position was Health Consultant, which in layman’s terms meant he sold gym memberships.
Lin Wanxing had never met Xiao Sun before mainly because the gym didn’t open until after 12 p.m., so their schedules completely conflicted.
"Then how do you know Xiao Sun?" Lin Wanxing asked Wang Fa.
"Is it possible..." Wang Fa led them up to the second floor of Wuchuan Road Gymnasium.
"What?"
"That he’s the one who slips gym flyers under the rooftop door every day," Wang Fa said.
Lin Wanxing suddenly understood.
——
Wuchuan Road Fitness Club was tucked away in the southwest corner of the second floor of the old gymnasium.
Unlike the enthusiastic and cheerful Comrade Xiao Sun, the fitness club itself truly had the decaying feel of a century-old stadium.
The entire space was dim and dilapidated. On one side of the entrance stood two large metal lockers for guests to change clothes, while the other side had a shoe cabinet. The small area was packed to the brim.
Further inside, it opened up slightly.
A row of fitness equipment stood by the dust-covered floor-to-ceiling windows. Fortunately, the equipment was complete—treadmills, ellipticals, stationary bikes, and even rowing machines and stair climbers...
The large equipment area had many machines, more professional than those in ordinary gyms. The only issue was the floor, which was pieced together with colorful plastic mats, their edges blackened, worn, and old. Even more exaggerated were the dumbbells and barbells—Lin Wanxing had never seen rusty equipment before.
"So, Sis, how is it? Our place isn’t bad, right?" Xiao Sun lifted his bearded chin proudly and said, "This place used to be for the weightlifting team, badminton team, and swimming team. After they moved out, our boss took over, but the professional standards are still top-notch."
"Uh... I actually don’t know much about this," Lin Wanxing said, looking at Wang Fa.
"Brother Wang said that you make all the big and small decisions at home."
"Ah? De... decisions about what?"
"Getting a membership!" Xiao Sun said bluntly.
"For them?" Lin Wanxing looked at the students and asked Wang Fa.
"For players, twice-weekly gym equipment training is essential," Wang Fa said.
Behind her, the students were still looking around the gym, completely unfazed by its shabbiness. Their faces were filled with hope, as if they couldn’t wait to start training on the equipment right away.
"So, how much does it cost here?" Lin Wanxing asked Xiao Sun.
Comrade Xiao Sun immediately beamed: "Sis, I’ll definitely give you the biggest discount!" As he spoke, he guided her toward the rest area. "Take a seat for a bit. I’ll get you some tea and slowly explain the pricing."
"Wait," Wang Fa suddenly interrupted them.
"Let’s try out the equipment first. How about an trial session?" Wang Fa said to the students.
The eleven boys seemed to instantly grasp Wang Fa’s meaning. They immediately lined up, rubbing their hands in anticipation.
Xiao Sun’s eyes widened: "You still want an trial session? Do you need a personal trainer? There are quite a lot of you."
"No need for a personal trainer. I’ll lead them myself, just teach some basic movements," Wang Fa said, then turned back, completely ignoring the gym’s fluorescent green-clad salesperson.
Lin Wanxing heard Wang Fa instruct her: "You go listen to the prices first. Try to stall for time. The longer I can use this place for free, the better."
Comrade Xiao Sun: "..."
——
The summer evening breeze brushed by as the iron door to the rooftop of No. 17 Wutong Road opened and closed.
Coach Xiao Sun, who lived downstairs, had just visited. In the evening, Lin Wanxing had seriously discussed the pricing with him, and he went to consult his manager. Now, after work, he brought the final discounted price list.
Single-entry gym price: Original 40 yuan, discounted 30 yuan
50-entry pass: 50 entries, discounted price 999 yuan (single user only)
Annual membership: Unlimited entries, group discount for 10+ people: 1200 yuan/person
Lin Wanxing and Wang Fa sat on either side of the small round table on the rooftop. The wall lamp under the eaves cast a dim yellow light.
She read through it herself, did some calculations, then turned the paper around and pushed it toward Wang Fa.
"The group stage schedule is quite long—it’ll take at least two or three months," Wang Fa said.
The implication was that single-entry and entry passes weren’t cost-effective.
"Gyms mainly sell annual memberships, right? Annual memberships are definitely the most cost-effective. And Coach Xiao Sun said that if we get annual memberships, they’ll throw in 20 swimming pool tickets. Is swimming helpful for soccer?" Lin Wanxing asked.
Wang Fa: "Swimming after exercise can relax muscles and improve muscular endurance. Increasing lung capacity and cardiopulmonary function are more long-term benefits."
Lin Wanxing looked at the three options on the white paper.
Calculating the total cost for 11 players, twice a week, over 3 months:
The costs for the three options were—
Single-entry pass: Total 7920 yuan
50-entry pass: Total 10989 yuan
Annual membership: Total 13200 yuan
She wrote these three numbers on the paper and then looked at Wang Fa.
"Is there a problem?" Wang Fa asked.
"The annual membership is too expensive," Lin Wanxing said. "The single-entry pass can save half the cost."
It was rare, but Lin Wanxing saw Wang Fa pause, as if he had never encountered such a problem.
"The people you met before were all paying to learn soccer from you, right?" Lin Wanxing smiled.
"Our club paid youth training salaries quite well. What you’re talking about are other revenue-generating projects, but we didn’t earn money from those," Wang Fa said.
Lin Wanxing rested her chin on one hand. This was almost the first time she had heard Wang Fa mention details of his previous coaching work. She casually opened a can of tonic water she had just taken from the fridge and poured half into the cup in front of Wang Fa.
"You know, I went to see Teacher Qian today."
She took a sip of the sparkling water. It was ice-cold, with a light quinine flavor—sour and bitter at first, then sweet and pleasant.
Because of this comfortable atmosphere, Wang Fa spoke to her about his past for the first time. And because of this comfortable atmosphere, she suddenly wanted to talk with Wang Fa.
"Who is Teacher Qian?" Wang Fa asked.
"Ah, he’s my direct supervisor in the school’s sports department." Lin Wanxing paused, then blinked at Wang Fa as if sharing a little secret. "I suspect that Teacher Qian is the one who’s been guiding the students toward me all along."
Wang Fa’s slender fingers held the glass, his nail beds pale from the cold: "Why do you think that?"
"Because Teacher Qian, like the mysterious figure who used all sorts of tricks to get the students close to me, has the same goal—he wants the students to study hard with me."
From the early message in the cigarette case—"Bazhong Xiao Lin specializes in curing aversion to school, truancy, and unwillingness to learn"—to the later treasure map that led the students to "Yuan Yuan Cram School," the intent was very clear.
"You didn’t follow their instructions either," Wang Fa said bluntly.
"Not just that—I feel like I’m ‘pretending to comply while actually defying,’" Lin Wanxing laughed. "Guiding them in their studies is actually quite simple for me, and I can do it well. But is that really enough?"
Wang Fa took a sip of the sparkling water, his expression unreadable, and only said, "Everyone has their own path to walk."
"Yeah, but if people are destined to become the person they’re meant to be, then what’s the meaning of my work?"
The sparkling water had no alcohol, but Lin Wanxing found herself leaning on the table without realizing it. She said, "You and I both know that even if everyone follows the same physical training plan, the effects on each person can be completely different. Because the gap is never here..." She tapped her own head, then pointed her finger toward Wang Fa’s chest, saying, "The real gap is there."
Wang Fa was sincere: "In physical training, there’s a professional term called ‘psychological skill.’ That should be your specialty."
"I don’t do research in that field," Lin Wanxing shook her head. "Wang Fa, I also have many areas of uncertainty, but there are also many things I’m sure about."
"What are you sure about?"
"What I’m very sure of is that my students’ families aren’t well-off, especially Fu Xinshu—he’s truly living in poverty. I could persuade the parents to come up with this money so the students can receive gym training, but is that enough?"
The young man lowered his eyes in thought for a moment, then looked up at her. His pupils were naturally light, and under the dim light, he rarely showed such a gentle expression.
It seemed he still felt some guilt because he was about to leave.
"Are you going to say that if it really comes down to it, you could pay this money?" Lin Wanxing asked Wang Fa.
Wang Fa didn’t deny it but remained silent for a moment.
The weather was clear today, and the starry sky above was particularly clear and soft.
Lin Wanxing knew his answer.
"But I don’t agree," she said.
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