Lin Wanxing had long grown accustomed to her students’ unconventional thought processes.
She thought the matter was simple—just everyone having lunch with Jin Ziyang.
But the students seemed to think otherwise.
This group of bootlickers gathered on the field after the exam.
Like puppies finally let out after being cooped up all day, the boys cheerfully dashed toward the bleachers and immediately started tattling to Wang Fa.
"Coach, at noon today, a male teacher insisted on eating with our teacher!" Zheng Feiyang jumped up, waving at Wang Fa.
"Yeah, the cafeteria was full of empty seats, but that male teacher just had to sit next to our teacher and even asked, 'Is anyone sitting here?'" Lin Lu said.
"We were sitting right there—aren’t we people?!" Qin Ao chimed in.
Wang Fa listened to the students’ reports as he leisurely descended the steps.
He lifted the brim of his cap, revealing clear, handsome features. When his questioning gaze swept over her, Lin Wanxing swallowed hard.
Yu Ming added, "But don’t worry, Coach. That Teacher Jin definitely has no interest in our teacher. The way he looked at her wasn’t even as appealing as braised pork in a lunchbox."
Hearing this, Lin Wanxing couldn’t hold back anymore.
"And this guy even said that male teacher isn’t blind! What’s that supposed to mean?" Lin Wanxing patted Qi Liang, joining in the tattling.
"Oh? So you’re saying I’m blind?" Wang Fa asked Qi Liang unhurriedly in response.
Lin Wanxing nodded vigorously, then realized something was off about that statement.
Qi Liang stood frozen in place, every strand of his curly hair stiff with tension. After a long pause, he let out a heavy "Damn."
Seeing him unusually flustered, everyone burst into cheerful laughter.
—
The daily exam schedule was intense.
For three full days, the students only had two hours of training time after their exams ended.
Everyone cherished it.
According to the match schedule, they were set to face Shen Cheng Hai Bo the following weekend.
With exams taking up three whole days, Lin Wanxing was a bit worried about insufficient training time, but the boys acted as if it were nothing.
They took their monthly school exams with great enthusiasm and ran freely across the field with equal excitement.
On Wednesday evening, the final history exam concluded.
As the bell rang, the evening breeze swept through the campus, rustling clusters of osmanthus branches.
Lin Wanxing collected all the exam papers from the test site one last time and, once again, paid special attention to Wen Chengye’s answer sheet.
Just like the Chinese exam paper from the first day, Wen Chengye’s handwriting was neat, and the quality of his answers was high.
Although she had observed Wen Chengye for three days and found the boy rather peculiar, she hadn’t discovered any concrete issues with him.
If one were to presume innocence until proven guilty, she didn’t even know what "crime" Wen Chengye was suspected of, so she could only let it go for now.
In the minutes after the exams were handed in, the campus seemed to ignite.
Students chattered noisily, their unrestrained clamor echoing through the teaching building. No matter how many days and nights lay ahead, at least for now, everyone had found a moment of brief relaxation.
Outside the exam hall, Wen Chengye shouldered his backpack and left alone.
Lin Wanxing tidied up the exam papers and delivered the packet to the academic affairs office.
After finishing her work, she returned to the sports equipment storage room.
As she pushed the door open, she was surprised to find someone sitting inside.
Teacher Qian himself was standing by the window, holding his signature large tea mug and gulping down tea with loud "duang duang duang" sounds.
"What brings you here?" Lin Wanxing asked, taken aback.
Teacher Qian turned around and pointed a chubby finger toward the desk.A stack of red silk was spread out on the table, with a copy of "Crossword" resting on top.
"I've finished the puzzles inside. Could you please return this to the library, Teacher Lin?" Teacher Qian said.
Lin Wanxing felt a moment of awkwardness, pretending not to remember what she had said last time, and simply replied, "Then I'll pick a couple of good ones for you next time."
As she spoke, she directly pulled out the red silk from under the book. In truth, just from the corner of the character "elephant" visible on the silk, she knew it was the banner the boys had hung at the school cafeteria entrance.
Teacher Qian said, "The logistics department said it was taking up too much space, blocking other notices, so they sent it directly to our sports group."
Lin Wanxing smiled. "They were just so thrilled about beating a professional team. Sorry for the trouble."
"It's no trouble at all. After all, it's an achievement in the school's sports development. Publicizing it is only natural."
Teacher Qian held his large tea mug and began speaking in official tones. Lin Wanxing stood by, listening, occasionally zoning out a little.
"...Finally, they must guard against arrogance and rashness! Keep up the good work!" Teacher Qian concluded.
Lin Wanxing only caught the last part and instinctively said, "Guarding against it is impossible."
Teacher Qian froze, his eyes widening in surprise.
"What I mean is, it's normal for the boys to be proud. There's nothing wrong with a little pride," she explained.
Teacher Qian smacked his lips, wanting to say something, but ultimately swallowed his words.
The setting sun outside the window glowed crimson.
Lin Wanxing had been proctoring exams all day and felt stiff all over. As she stretched her neck, she glanced at Teacher Qian.
Teacher Qian was also looking at her.
Lin Wanxing rotated her shoulders again, pretending to tidy up the desk.
But Teacher Qian still hadn't left.
She couldn't hold back any longer and tilted her head, giving him an innocent look. "Your tea is finished. Would you like me to refill it for you?"
Teacher Qian looked at his tea mug, then at her. "Are you heading off work, Teacher Lin?"
"Yes, it's time," Lin Wanxing said with a smile. "But you're welcome to stay if you'd like."
"What would I stay for? I'm leaving, I'm leaving. Time to clock out." Teacher Qian finished the last few drops in his mug and strode briskly toward the door.
Just as his left foot crossed the threshold, he suddenly seemed to remember something, turning back with an exaggerated motion.
Lin Wanxing tilted her head again.
Teacher Qian lowered his voice. "Are you confident about their performance in this month's exams?"
"Huh?" Lin Wanxing played dumb, pretending not to know that this was what he had been hesitating to ask all along.
"The football team boys. Didn't you promise their parents you'd improve their grades?"
Lin Wanxing laughed. "I'm not quite sure what you mean by 'confident'?"
"Progress, mainly in their grades. Teacher Lin, your team is doing well in matches now. If their academic performance improves too, wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone? A perfect complement?"
"But exam results are their own responsibility. I don't think I can be held accountable for their personal achievements," Lin Wanxing said.
Hearing this, Teacher Qian stared at her, dumbfounded.
—
Night, No. 17 Wutong Road, rooftop.
Lin Wanxing climbed the ladder and hung one corner of the banner on the rooftop wall.
Today's post-exam training had drained the last of the boys' energy. They disbanded on the field and went their separate ways home.
The rooftop was now unusually quiet, a rare moment of peace after many days.“Oh, I have work pressure too.” Under the pale moonlight, Lin Wanxing chattered on about how Teacher Qian had come to deliver the banner that evening.
Just as she was about to turn around to climb down the ladder after mentioning how Teacher Qian asked if she was confident about the students’ results, a pair of slender yet strong hands steadied her.
“So, what did you say?” Wang Fa’s calm voice drifted through the rooftop garden.
“I said, those are their results—what’s there for me to be confident about!” Lin Wanxing hopped off the ladder smoothly, then carried it to the other side of the wall.
She climbed up the ladder and signaled for Comrade Wang Fa to bring over the other end of the red silk.
Comrade Wang Fa didn’t charge for such a small task.
Lin Wanxing: “I told the kids that if they win against Shen Cheng Hai Bo next time, we’ll replace the words ‘Yuzhou Silver Elephant’ on the banner.”
Lin Wanxing took the corner of the banner handed to her by Wang Fa, hung it on the iron nail previously hammered into the wall, jumped off the ladder, and stood side by side with Wang Fa in the rooftop garden.
“Warmly Celebrating Hongjing No. 8 Middle School’s Football Team’s Victory Over Yuzhou Silver Elephant!!!”
The banner shimmered faintly in the night, its synthetic silk glowing with reflective white letters.
“What do you think?” Lin Wanxing asked.
“It’s hung straight.” Wang Fa replied.
The answer was a bit blunt. Lin Wanxing paused, then imitated Teacher Qian’s manner as she looked at Wang Fa.
Wang Fa also lowered his head slightly to look at her.
Lin Wanxing tilted her head.
Wang Fa lowered his head a little further...
The autumn night sky was serene and quiet.
Lin Wanxing cleared her throat lightly: “I meant, what does the coach think?”
“Think about what?” Wang Fa retorted.
“I mean, does the coach think it’s possible for the ‘Yuzhou Silver Elephant’ on our banner to be replaced with ‘Shen Cheng Hai Bo’?”
“You’re asking if we can win against Shen Cheng Hai Bo?”
“Yes!”
“Of course not.”
Wang Fa’s reply was resolute.
Staring at Wang Fa, Lin Wanxing suddenly understood how Teacher Qian must have felt when she left him speechless.
“In this regard, I’m different from Teacher Lin—I am confident.” Wang Fa added, twisting the knife.
—
Clutching her chest as if she were about to cough up blood, Lin Wanxing sat down with Wang Fa at the small table in the garden.
The table had been custom-made by the students. As the garden expanded, they had found an old wooden table from a scrap yard and modified it into the current extendable dining table.
To comfort her, Wang Fa took out some candied lemons from the fridge. He also picked some fast-growing mint leaves from the yard, added them to soda water, and prepared two drinks for her and himself.
Comrade Wang Fa was quite skilled at mixing drinks. Lin Wanxing poked at the lemon with her straw, took a sip—sour and sweet—and finally couldn’t resist asking: “Why?”
“Hmm?”
“Why can we beat ‘Yuzhou Silver Elephant’ but definitely can’t win against ‘Shen Cheng Hai Bo’?”
Wang Fa also took a sip of his sparkling water. His Adam’s apple moved slightly as he set the glass down, filling the air with the cool, refreshing scent of mint.
He asked: “In your opinion, how did we manage to win against ‘Shen Cheng Hai Bo’?”"Well..." Lin Wanxing hadn't expected Wang Fa to turn the question back on her. Adhering to the principle of answering seriously, she said, "First is the month-long training. The daily training feedback helped the students recognize the changes in their bodies, giving them the confidence to complete the match—this is the foundation of victory. Second is the coach's effective guidance in formulating appropriate tactics, repeatedly practicing these tactics in previous matches and training sessions, which fostered excellent coordination among the players. Finally, there's the understanding of the opposing coach and players' psychological state on the field, allowing us to firmly control the pace of the match and offense."
She paused here, looking at Wang Fa.
The young man rested his chin on one hand while gently tracing the rim of his iced drink with the other, his gaze light and calm.
Wang Fa: "Teacher Lin, when you have students summarize things, do you have a simpler way of putting it?"
"Well..." Lin Wanxing seemed to have an answer in mind but couldn't articulate it immediately.
"Actually, the reason the football team won is very simple," Wang Fa said bluntly.
"What is it?"
"Me."
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