Lin Wanxing thought that this was the biggest difference between her and Wang Fa.
Wang Fa was very straightforward; even when trapped by inner turmoil, he would seriously contemplate and express himself candidly, never feeling ashamed about it.
People like him could often find their way out of difficulties.
But she couldn’t do that yet.
What adults needed wasn’t a life guide, but a moment to face their inner selves.
No matter how tired or annoyed one might be, when fate’s will descended, there was always an urge to defy it.
You still wanted to look a little longer, wait a little more, try a little harder…
So after much deliberation, she could only resort to quietly cutting corners.
As for what lay ahead on the path or what she would encounter, no one really knew.
Lin Wanxing didn’t sleep all night.
She sat alone on the rooftop for a while, then lay in bed unable to fall asleep. Eventually, she went downstairs to clean the tutoring classroom.
Though busy with tasks, her mind was unusually calm.
She thought a lot, about Wang Fa or herself.
The classroom was quiet in the early hours. She sat and scrolled through her phone for a bit. When the sky began to turn blue, she wiped the two email addresses off the blackboard and went upstairs to sleep.
However, Lin Wanxing’s entire sleep probably lasted only about an hour and fifteen minutes.
At 6:30 in the morning, Lin Wanxing heard faint sounds of things being moved outside.
Some subconscious instinct made her think someone was moving luggage. She immediately woke up, threw on some clothes, and got out of bed.
Under the morning sun, Qin Ao was stealthily moving aside a barbecue grill.
Pushing the door open, Lin Wanxing locked eyes with the boy. Chen Jianghe stood on the other side of the rooftop, holding a soccer ball, equally stunned.
The morning sun stung Lin Wanxing’s eyes, and she was still terribly sleepy. "It’s National Day morning. Shouldn’t you be sleeping in at home instead of coming here for a date?"
Qin Ao immediately bristled. "You, you, you…"
But after stammering "you" for a while, he couldn’t get another word out.
Lin Wanxing said, "Don’t rush."
"You can go back to sleep," Chen Jianghe maintained his cool persona. "We’re just here to get something. We’ll leave as soon as we’re done."
Only then did Lin Wanxing notice that Qin Ao’s stealthy movements were to move the barbecue grill and retrieve the training cones for soccer practice behind it.
And Chen Jianghe was still holding a soccer ball…
She became a bit more awake. "Didn’t we say yesterday that we’re off for National Day? Why are you here to train?"
Qin Ao looked slightly embarrassed and casually replied, "We’re just bored, so we came to hang out. It’s not training, just playing."
Not wanting others to see how hard he was trying, Qin Ao made up an excuse to cover it up. The time was even earlier than their usual training sessions, so it clearly couldn’t be explained away as mere boredom.
Lin Wanxing walked to the edge of the rooftop and looked toward the field. She spotted two other figures jogging in circles—Yu Ming and Fu Xinshu.
"This is way too early. Could it be that you couldn’t sleep?" Lin Wanxing turned back and asked.
As if struck by her words, Qin Ao grew impatient. "You talk too much. Just go back to sleep if we tell you to. Do you even know what day it is? It’s National Day!"
"What about National Day?" Lin Wanxing laughed. "Does National Day mean teachers aren’t allowed to talk nonsense?"
Qin Ao pulled out the training cone and planted it firmly on the ground with an air of righteousness. "There’s a big military parade this National Day. We’re here to gather and watch it!"
—
In any case, "watching the military parade" would definitely rank in the top three of Qin Ao’s "good excuses" for the year.Qin Ao went downstairs with the equipment and played football with Chen Jianghe and the others for over an hour.
As time passed, three more students who had come in the morning joined them.
Lin Wanxing didn’t think they had all agreed in advance to gather and watch the military parade together.
After all, when Qi Liang walked in and heard the words "military parade," he couldn’t help but sneer, "Calling me here for this? That’s just brilliant."
But he didn’t say much more, pulling out a large bag of salted egg yolk-flavored rice crackers and four cans of Mirinda from his backpack. Next, Zheng Feiyang brought two boxes of egg rolls, saying they were gifts from his uncle to his grandmother during the holiday.
The most exaggerated was Lin Lu, who directly brought a large bag of instant noodles. He immediately sold out Qin Ao, saying, "The boss suddenly called and told us to come watch the parade and bring some snacks. All I had at home was instant noodles and milk."
In Lin Wanxing’s dazed state, the boys formally settled in, waiting for the National Day military parade.
At first, they didn’t show much interest in such ceremonies. After all, being seventeen or eighteen and in their rebellious phase, they started yawning as soon as they sat in front of the TV.
The TV was tuned to CCTV1, but the volume wasn’t loud.
The program was still in the pre-parade interviews and introductions.
The boys weren’t noisy, just quietly snacking, each seeming preoccupied and not in high spirits.
At exactly nine o’clock, the military parade officially began.
The room was quiet, the curtains half-drawn, casting the room in dim light.
The leader announced the raising of the national flag and the playing of the national anthem.
From different households upstairs and downstairs, the national anthem could be heard, almost in unison.
With different devices and varying sound qualities, the melodies drifting in the air were slightly out of sync. Yet they collided with one another, forming a beautiful harmony that grew majestic and grand under the vast, clear sky.
In the room, the boys were moved and began humming along.
When the song ended, even Lin Wanxing sat up straight, feeling as if she had just awoken from a dream.
Perhaps singing the national anthem had broken the ice.
The rest of the process was both solemn and joyful.
As the leader reviewed the troops, every time the TV shouted, "Comrades, good!" the boys would echo, "Leader, good!" creating a strange sense of interaction.
As the majestic symphony played and the host’s impassioned introductions filled the room, the rumbling of armored vehicles passing by made the boys even more excited.
They pointed at the new military equipment on TV.
Anti-ship missiles, Dongfeng-17 hypersonic missiles…
Lin Wanxing discovered that Zheng Ren, who had always been quiet, was actually a military enthusiast, well-versed in all kinds of weapons, answering the "clueless" questions from the boys beside him.
As they watched and chatted, the boys grew more and more excited, cheering and howling louder, regaining their usual energy.
Lin Wanxing stayed with the students throughout the entire parade, her earlier drowsiness completely gone, filled with many emotions.
By the time the snacks were almost finished, the boys were stretching lazily on the carpet, still not wanting it to end.
Lin Wanxing picked up the remote and turned off the TV.
The room fell silent abruptly.
"What are you doing?" Qin Ao turned to ask.
"I’m going to take a nap," Lin Wanxing said, yawning. "You all can leave now."
Yu Ming looked hurt. "Teacher, do you really want us to go that badly?"
"Take a nap? We even brought lunch, and you’re going to nap?" Qin Ao retorted.
They bickered noisily, clearly just making excuses to stay.
Lin Wanxing replied, "I had insomnia last night and didn’t sleep well."
Yu Ming asked, "Teacher, were you also losing sleep over the coach leaving?"The word "also" was quite thought-provoking. Lin Wanxing said, "It's not just because of that."
"Teacher, why are you only saying half of what you mean? What can't you tell us? Aren't you just worried about our monthly exam after the holiday ends?" Zheng Feiyang spoke bluntly.
Lin Wanxing continued to nod.
"Is there anything else?" she asked.
The boys looked at each other, thought for a moment, and Chen Jianghe said, "Also, we don't know what to do in the future, whether we can keep playing in matches."
"Yeah, we don't know if we should keep trying to earn money. Making money is pretty good, but it also feels like it's not something we should be doing right now."
"I see." Lin Wanxing finally understood why the boys had been acting strangely all morning, each seeming preoccupied with their own thoughts.
Qi Liang sneered, "Actually, it's because the coach left. Qin Ao was afraid you'd feel lonely, so he asked us to come keep you company."
Qi Liang really had a talent for getting under people's skin.
With that one sentence, he immediately made Qin Ao protest loudly: "I never said that! It was Old Fu who said it!"
Lin Wanxing was also taken aback. Qi Liang had killed two birds with one stone, making her attempt to send them away seem particularly "heartless."
Lin Wanxing sighed helplessly, "Actually, I really haven't been worried about your monthly exam."
"Why not?"
"Don't tell us it's none of your business again! That you want us to study freely."
"My mom told me last night that she's letting me run around however I want for now, but if my grades don't improve later, I'll have to obediently return to school for classes."
Lin Wanxing laughed, "So if you return to school, will your grades automatically improve?"
"Of course not!" Yu Ming said proudly.
After chatting casually with the boys, Lin Wanxing roughly understood that there were many reasons behind their "inability to sleep."
First, Wang Fa's departure made them uncertain about their football future.
Second, their money-making venture had temporarily concluded. While it gave them a sense of security and satisfaction, they weren't sure whether to continue.
The monthly exam right after National Day, combined with parental pressure, was making them anxious.
They didn't want to leave their current freedom of not attending school, but they had no idea how to approach studying.
Football, life, studies, the future...
Even adults would struggle to perfectly handle all these things simultaneously.
Yet despite being troubled by so many issues, they still spared some concern for her, worrying that she might feel lost because Wang Fa had left.
All these reasons had brought them together to spend the holiday on the rooftop.
Lin Wanxing said, "Then let's discuss these things you're worried about together."
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