Fu Xinshu was rolling on the ground clutching his ankle, while Wen Chengye sat slumped, holding his forehead.
“Are you alright?” Lin Wanxing asked urgently.
Wang Fa bent down, reached out to touch Fu Xinshu’s ankle, and examined it carefully.
“Get an ice pack,” Wang Fa said to her.
Lin Wanxing hurried off the field and returned with an ice pack and a splint.
The boys gathered around Fu Xinshu, their faces filled with anxiety.
After his examination, Wang Fa applied the ice pack to Fu Xinshu’s ankle.
“How is it?” Lin Wanxing asked again.
“My assessment is that it shouldn’t be too serious. The main issue is the lack of cushioning upon landing, but I still recommend going to the hospital for a check-up,” Wang Fa said.
“Is it that bad?”
Upon hearing the word “hospital,” Qin Ao’s eyes widened with anger. He stormed over to Wen Chengye and yelled, “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
Wen Chengye, still holding his forehead, seemed dazed from the impact and didn’t react immediately.
Fu Xinshu’s face was smeared with grass stains as he clutched his ankle, his pain evident.
Wen Chengye sat on the grass, covered in hot sweat and cold mud. He looked up at Qin Ao but said nothing.
Lin Wanxing still held the ice pack.
She pressed it against Fu Xinshu’s ankle, her fingers stiff and aching. As the winter wind blew, she couldn’t help but shiver.
The referee’s voice cut through: “Players of Hongjing No. 8 Middle School, do you wish to substitute a player?”
“We don’t have any substitutes,” Lin Wanxing told the referee.
Frowning, the referee glanced at the empty bench.
“Do you mean there are no substitutes on the field right now, or are they in the locker room? Should you go and call them?” The referee sounded surprised.
Lin Wanxing shook her head.
“Normally, teams have substitute players listed. Did they not come along?”
“Yes, because we didn’t expect any emergencies while playing in another province, so the substitutes didn’t come with us,” Lin Wanxing quickly apologized.
“Then what do you plan to do about the match?”
It was as if a stillness spell had been cast. The students exchanged uneasy glances, and the anger that had flared up against Wen Chengye instantly faded.
Fu Xinshu’s weak voice broke the silence: “Let’s keep playing. I think I’ll be fine. The ice pack is helping.”
Hearing this, Lin Wanxing looked at Wang Fa.
In the cold wind, Wang Fa’s expression was stern and resolute.
He stood up, raised his head, and addressed the referee: “We need to take our player to the hospital for a check-up. For this match, we forfeit.”
Wang Fa’s words were concise but carried undeniable authority.
Having spent a long time with Wang Fa, Lin Wanxing knew him well. He usually appeared indifferent and nonchalant about most things, often remaining ambiguous and unpredictable.
This was almost the first time he had taken such a clear stance.
The students were stunned.
Lin Wanxing looked up at the sky.
For some reason, hearing the word “forfeit” gave her an inexplicable sense of relief.
It felt as though they had unknowingly reached this point, and there was no other way.
The boys stood in the wind. Mist spread like water across the mountains and fields, as if the path ahead had vanished from sight.
Chapter 96: Cold Rain
A fist slammed heavily into a cheek.
Wen Chengye wiped his lips, his eyes fixed defiantly on Qin Ao, and taunted, “Of course I did it on purpose. What else did you expect?”
The students didn’t end up fighting on the field and receiving red cards or suspensions, all thanks to Wang Fa’s decisive call.But the anger did not subside. When they helped Fu Xinshu back to the locker room, another argument broke out. Qin Ao stood up for Fu Xinshu, demanding that Wen Chengye apologize to him.
Wen Chengye sneered coldly.
This dismissive attitude, treating Fu Xinshu like trash, completely enraged Qin Ao.
All his emotions poured out at that moment. He grabbed Wen Chengye by the collar: "What the hell are you pretending for? We haven't settled the score from the year before last—did you really think everyone forgot?"
He cursed as he threw punches.
Wen Chengye’s cheek swelled quickly, but of course, Young Master Wen was never one to take a loss lying down. So he retaliated with a heavy punch, slamming it hard into Qin Ao’s abdomen.
Qin Ao instantly choked up, unable to utter a word. He released Wen Chengye’s collar, bending over slowly in pain.
Wen Chengye straightened up, narrowed his eyes, and scanned everyone in the locker room. His gaze held no warmth whatsoever.
Fu Xinshu was wrapped in a towel, a slender wrist peeking out. Whether from pain or cold, his entire body trembled.
Yu Ming grew frantic: "Fuck your mother! How dare you fight back!" He charged forward and shoved Wen Chengye hard. Wen Chengye’s back slammed into the lockers, and the cold mask on his face finally shattered.
A biting wind swept by, and damp, chilly clouds drifted swiftly over the mountains. Raindrops pattered noisily against the locker room window frames.
Lin Wanxing felt as if she were wrapped in a drum membrane, with someone pounding violently around her.
It was unclear whether it was a chaotic brawl or a one-sided beating.
The locker room filled with the sounds of punches, kicks, and curses.
The students fought fiercely, each blow landing solidly.
Lin Wanxing retreated helplessly to a corner, struggling to breathe. Amid the chaos, something as cold as ice water seemed to drip onto the crown of her head.
She glanced inadvertently toward a corner of the locker room.
There, Wang Fa stood with his hands in his pockets, watching everything unfolding in the locker room.
His gaze was calm and detached, like still water.
In her ears, the roaring echoes of the shouting seemed to linger.
But the floor had already transformed into the snow-white tiles of a hospital.
Yuzhou People’s Hospital, the main hall.
The hospital was old, but the hall was bustling with people.
Qin Ao settled Fu Xinshu onto a bench.
Lin Wanxing went to line up at the registration window.
There were several people ahead of her.
About an hour earlier, the boys had still been fighting in the locker room. The specifics of what happened felt to Lin Wanxing like a pencil drawing smudged by a hand, its edges blurred and chaotic with toner.
All she knew was that Jin Ziyang had eventually persuaded Wen Chengye to step outside for some air, while they brought Fu Xinshu to the hospital for a check-up. The remaining students, worried about Fu Xinshu, had all followed along.
Lin Wanxing looked at her palm. Perhaps because of the cold, damp weather outside, her hand still trembled slightly.
Her shoulder was tapped gently. Lin Wanxing jerked her head up to find a handsome yet grave face—it seemed to be Wang Fa.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, then immediately realized the problem with her question.
Wang Fa said, "Fu Xinshu mentioned you might need his ID card for registration, so I brought it to you."
Looking down, she saw the white card between his fingers—it was indeed Fu Xinshu’s ID card.
Lin Wanxing reached out to take it, but the moment her fingers touched the card, her hand was grasped firmly.
The hand was large, its palm warm and rough. Lin Wanxing couldn’t help but shiver.
She froze in place, as if struggling up from underwater, and the noisy sounds around her suddenly became clear.The cacophony of patients, family members, and medical staff flooded their eardrums. Warm air blew from the hospital vents overhead, mingling with the pervasive scent of disinfectant.
Lin Wanxing took a deep breath and began coughing.
Wang Fa gently patted her back. Though they stood half an arm's length apart, her forehead inadvertently brushed against his shoulder several times.
The metal snap on her windbreaker collar felt icy cold.
As the pungent disinfectant filled her lungs, she finally felt somewhat alive again.
"I'm fine, it's just too cold outside," Lin Wanxing straightened up.
"Go sit down, I'll handle the registration," Wang Fa gave her a long look but ultimately only said this.
Fu Xinshu sat on a chair in the outpatient hall, the others standing around him like protective bodyguards.
Wang Fa soon returned with the registration and led them through a door from the outpatient hall to the emergency surgery department.
The emergency surgery department could be considered one of the hospital's busiest units.
Ambulances continuously delivered patients, medical staff rushed about their work, and monitoring equipment periodically sounded.
There were also low, pained moans.
Sitting in a hospital-rented wheelchair, Fu Xinshu seemed somewhat intimidated by the scene.
"Teacher, my foot doesn't really hurt anymore. I can just ice it for a couple days when we get back," Fu Xinshu said in a fluster.
Lin Wanxing crouched before him: "Better get it checked. You're so nervous - haven't you ever been injured playing football and come to the hospital before?"
"Huh?" Fu Xinshu's face paled further. "I... never during football."
He said this.
"Goddamn it," someone among the group muttered under their breath.
Wang Fa wheeled Fu Xinshu into the examination room. After the doctor's checkup, they soon emerged with paperwork requiring an X-ray. The radiology department was crowded. Wang Fa scanned the registration slip at a hospital machine and glanced at her.
Understanding, Lin Wanxing arranged for the students to wait in a relatively distant corridor where they wouldn't disturb other patients, then walked over.
"How many ahead of us?" Lin Wanxing asked.
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