Lin Wanxing was not surprised to receive Chen Weidong’s call.
"Chen Weidong, are you feeling unwell?" Lin Wanxing asked with concern.
"No, no," the boy’s voice was low and tense.
"What’s wrong then?"
Silence lingered on the other end of the line.
Suddenly, Lin Wanxing understood—Chen Weidong had made his own choice, which was why he had called.
After a moment, as if steeling himself, Chen Weidong said, "Teacher, I won’t be coming tomorrow."
"Ah, alright," Lin Wanxing replied.
The light on the rooftop was dim, so aside from the moonlight, everything else was shrouded in darkness.
Wang Fa, drying his hair, sat down across from her.
Lin Wanxing didn’t hang up, and of course, neither did Chen Weidong.
The faint hum of the phone line filled the space as Lin Wanxing waited for Chen Weidong to continue.
"Teacher, I mean I won’t be coming tomorrow, and I won’t be able to come anymore after that!" the boy emphasized again.
"I understand," Lin Wanxing said.
Just like when Wang Fa had said he was leaving earlier, Chen Weidong had given her advance notice days ago, and Lin Wanxing had been observing him since.
Unlike Wang Fa, Chen Weidong was her student. After careful consideration, she couldn’t force him to stay and could only respond this way.
"Today, I… You can say I’m cowardly or timid, I’ll admit it, but I was really scared—it felt like everything went black, like I was going to die. I’m a regular sports student, and I have a track and field competition next month. Football is too intense; the risk of injury is too high. Besides, even if this team achieves a ranking, it won’t count toward my record. I still need to compete in track and field to earn a provincial ranking for university admissions."
As if opening the floodgates, Chen Weidong poured out everything he had been thinking.
Lin Wanxing suddenly realized the issue—it was something she had never considered. She quickly said, "That’s my oversight. Can we add your name to our football team’s roster? That way, if we achieve better results in the future, you’ll have a record too, and you can still apply as a sports specialty student. I’m just not sure if that’s feasible at the moment."
"It’s not about that, Teacher, you don’t understand. Even if my name is added, football is too exhausting and dangerous for me. I think running is more suitable."
Chen Weidong sounded troubled. "Actually, I’ve always felt like I don’t belong with them. They grew up together and have been playing football since they were kids. I’m an outsider, and I’m not even in this major. I thought playing one match would be enough, but I didn’t expect it to go on for so long. Honestly, playing with them was fun, but it just got too exhausting later on."
By this point, Chen Weidong had laid out all his concerns and considerations.
He was afraid of getting injured, worried about affecting his main focus on track and field, and felt a lack of belonging.
Lin Wanxing paused as well, thinking carefully.
In truth, Chen Weidong had already thought things through clearly, and even she couldn’t offer better advice.
In the end, she could only say, "I understand."
That was her response.
Hearing this, Chen Weidong grew anxious again and continued, "Teacher, I told you before to find another substitute. I’ve never seen a football team with only 11 players anyway. I’m telling you now because there’s still plenty of time before the next match, so you have time to find someone."
"Mm, I know."
"Um… If you really can’t find anyone next time, I can still come," the boy added."Thank you," Lin Wanxing said.
At this point, the call should have ended with goodbyes.
Yet Lin Wanxing could almost visualize the boy clutching the phone, radiating anxiety and reluctance on the other end.
So she kept the line open.
"What's wrong?" she asked softly.
"It's just... why didn't you try to make me stay? I feel so unnecessary!" Chen Weidong finally blurted out.
Lin Wanxing's hand rested on the computer keyboard, her eyes fixed on the email draft saved moments earlier. She switched the phone to her other hand and spoke deliberately: "Chen Weidong..."
"Huh?"
"Though I've said this many times before - I trust this is your carefully considered choice. Your decision isn't mine to interfere with."
"But teacher, please don't be angry with me. I really like you... Wait, are you mad because I quit the team? Do you not see me as your student anymore?" The boy rambled nervously, betraying that typical adolescent fear of adult disapproval. "You were just making noncommittal sounds earlier, and it made me feel awful..."
"Xiao Chen, this might sound sentimental, but you'll always be my student. To me, you're no different from anyone else." Lin Wanxing paused, a hint of laughter in her voice. "So as long as you follow your heart when making decisions, I'll support you unconditionally. You need to believe in yourself too."
"I was just afraid you'd be angry."
"And afraid you might be making the wrong choice?" she countered.
"Mhm..." came the faint reply.
"It's not like there's no chance to correct course. This isn't some life-or-death decision - you can always come back whenever you want."
"Really?"
"Really."
As if a weight had lifted, Chen Weidong's voice finally relaxed.
After exchanging a few more words with her student, just as Lin Wanxing was about to hang up, Chen Weidong suddenly asked: "But when the coach was leaving, you tried to make him stay, right? You definitely tried to persuade him to stay, didn't you?"
"Me?" Lin Wanxing suddenly laughed, glancing toward the person across the wooden table.
Wang Fa was busy preparing that evening's drinks.
"He never wanted to leave in the first place."
She said this.
——
Over these past days, Lin Wanxing had pondered many things.
What should she do?
Because the football team only had eleven members and couldn't afford to lose anyone, should she persuade Chen Weidong to stay?
Or perhaps, as Chen Weidong suggested, find a new team member.
But ultimately, Lin Wanxing decided to respect her student, waiting for Chen Weidong to make his decision before planning her next move.
Despite the myriad thoughts swirling inside her, all that remained in the end were simple:
"Mhm" and "Okay."
The call ended, and the rooftop terrace sank back into silence.
The upstairs neighbors had just turned off their television, apparently preparing for sleep.
Wang Fa handed her a glass of pink soda.
Lin Wanxing's fingers brushed the keyboard, and the darkened computer screen flickered back to life.
She took a sip of her drink, reopened the drafts folder, and faithfully recorded Chen Weidong's phone call.
Finally, she added one line:
—Where am I supposed to find someone?
——
Posing questions and solving problems will always be more important than endless complaining and overthinking.
Therefore, when informing the students about Chen Weidong's decision the next morning, Lin Wanxing used this same statement as her conclusion.
But the boys weren't known for their patience. Hearing her recount the entire phone conversation, they immediately erupted in uproar."What the hell does he mean by that?"
"Come and go as he pleases?"
"It's not like he can come and go as he pleases—we were the ones begging him to join. Don't you see the problem here?"
"Damn, but he can't just leave because he's afraid of getting injured!"
"His name isn't even on your list. Shouldn't he focus on his main priorities?"
Qi Liang's voice always chimed in at the right moment, though most of the time, he was targeting Qin Ao. Still, Lin Wanxing could sense his dissatisfaction with Chen Weidong from his tone.
Lin Wanxing looked helplessly at Wang Fa. In fact, she had discussed Chen Weidong's withdrawal with Wang Fa again last night.
Even the cleverest housewife can't cook without rice. No matter how capable Wang Fa was, he couldn't field a football team with only 10 players.
As for the shortage of players, he had expressed that there was nothing he could do.
"Should I go beat him up? Will that make him obedient?" Qin Ao said.
At this point, the discussion had escalated to whether they should resort to forceful measures.
Lin Wanxing quickly interjected, "We have to respect Chen Weidong's own wishes."
"I respect him, but has he ever respected me?" Qin Ao retorted. "This kid quit collecting trash because it was too tiring, and now he runs off after one lost match. I think we still need to go find him!"
"Will finding him help? Isn't it you that Chen Weidong can't stand?" Chen Jianghe said...
"What's there to dislike about me? Just because I said a few words to him yesterday?" Qin Ao was fuming. "So what, I have to go apologize and beg him to come back?"
At this point, Qin Ao inexplicably found himself considering it: "Should I go beg him and apologize?"
Faced with the boy's sincere questioning gaze, Lin Wanxing felt utterly helpless.
"Qin Ao," she called out.
"What?"
"Do you know why Chen Weidong called me specifically instead of telling any of you directly?"
"Why else? Isn't it because the kid's a coward!"
"Because he's afraid of you all, and he knows full well that what he did was problematic. But even so, he still made this decision. He knows exactly what he wants."
"Damn!" Qin Ao cursed under his breath.
"More importantly, he knows I can persuade you, that I'll stop you from going to find him." Lin Wanxing emphasized, "He doesn't want any of you to look for him."
"You?" Qin Ao glared at her. "You think you can stop me? It's only because I'm giving you face."
"Well, will you give me that face?"
Qin Ao hadn't expected her to say that and was momentarily speechless.
"Fine, consider it me letting you have your way!" He unclenched his tightly balled fist. "A real man doesn't fight with women!"
Lin Wanxing nodded.
After the students had vented for a while, much of the panic and dissatisfaction caused by Chen Weidong's departure had subsided.
But the urgent problem remained: where could they find a new 11th player?
After discussing it to the end, Lin Wanxing assigned the students a task: to first look among people they knew. They were to check if any sports-inclined students at school were willing to take Chen Weidong's place.
And on her own list of people to ask for help, there was still one more person.
——
"Teacher Qian, you see, that's the situation. Can you think of a solution for us?"
In the P.E. department office.
Lin Wanxing stood in front of Teacher Qian's large frame, making a pleading gesture.
"Short on players again?" Teacher Qian himself put down his big tea mug, looking equally shocked."Exactly. Look at our match against Shen Cheng Hai Bo, their coach used garbage time to give other substitutes some playing time, while we can't even field a full team."
"So what do you want to do about it?"
"On the roster you submitted earlier, weren't there four substitute players listed?" Lin Wanxing showed Teacher Qian the prepared form.
"They were just fill-ins, they don't actually play football."
"But can I go talk to these four students? Or perhaps you could approach them to see if any would be willing to join the team?"
Teacher Qian stared at the roster, lost in thought.
Lin Wanxing continued: "We've achieved some decent results recently. If they train with the football team, they might even earn provincial rankings, which would help with sports college admissions."
Mentioning college admissions seemed to convince Teacher Qian. He nodded: "Alright then, I'll go ask if any of them are still interested."
"Thank you, sorry to trouble you again." Lin Wanxing said quickly.
Just then, Teacher Qian's gaze fixed on the roster. His cigarette-stained finger tapped on the name in the tenth row.
"What about Wen Chengye? Wasn't he on the team before? He's the real specially-admitted student. Have you approached him?"
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