In Lin Wanxing’s impression, Fu Xinshu was a typical impoverished student at the school.

Poverty was not a derogatory label for students; it represented the resilient character forged through harsh living conditions and difficult life experiences.

Although Lin Wanxing had probably only briefly encountered Fu Xinshu and exchanged a few words with him, this didn’t affect her favorable impression of him.

At the moment when “Fu Xinshu’s” name was guessed, all three of them seemed to unanimously accept this answer without discussion.

But sometimes, an answer isn’t just an answer.

Why “Fu Xinshu”?

“So, should we go ask Teacher Qian?” Qin Ao asked first.

“Ask what?” Chen Jianghe responded coldly. “Ask Teacher Qian why you’re playing pranks on us. What if Teacher Qian asks what pranks?”

“It does seem a bit strange…” Qin Ao fell silent.

Both students’ gazes converged on her face.

“What?”

“So what do we do next?” Chen Jianghe asked.

“The best way to determine if an answer is correct is to verify it,” Lin Wanxing pondered for a moment, then said, “Let’s find Fu Xinshu and ask him.”

The young men were decisive and couldn’t wait until class the next day.

They watched her lock the equipment room door and took her to the Wanda Plaza near the school.

Heping Road was located in a densely populated residential area, with lights from countless homes illuminating the surroundings and shop signs shining brightly in the plaza. Just after six o’clock was peak business hours; the plaza was crowded with people, and long queues formed outside some well-known restaurants. Couples, families, elderly people, and children filled the air with laughter, everyone looking peaceful and happy.

Lin Wanxing stood at the entrance for a while, roughly guessing why they had brought her here.

She asked the two students beside her, “It’s so late, is Fu Xinshu working here?”

“He comes over after class every day, from six to nine.”

Wanda Plaza, first basement level.

Compared to the floors above, the basement level consisted of small shops and a supermarket.

The layout was more compact, the prices more affordable, and consequently, the foot traffic was heavier.

Lin Wanxing walked along, looking through glass windows for Fu Xinshu’s figure in the restaurants.

To her surprise, they finally stopped in front of a hair salon.

The shop was called “Dennis Hair Salon,” with a modern luxurious decor style. The salon was busy with customers, all chairs in front of the mirrors occupied. The scent of hair care products greeted them, stylists worked busily, and all staff wore light makeup with fashionable hairstyles.

A shampoo assistant stood at the entrance to welcome them, “Hello, may I ask if you want a hair wash or a haircut and styling today?”

Lin Wanxing hesitated at the doorway, instinctively looking inside. In the corner at the washing station, she spotted Fu Xinshu.

The student was helping a customer get up from the shampoo recliner. He was tall with long legs, a towel wrapped around his waist, and his hair simply styled with gel. Despite this, his gaze remained youthful, looking out of place in the environment.

As Lin Wanxing saw Fu Xinshu, Fu Xinshu also saw her.

Their eyes met, and Lin Wanxing said softly, “I’m here to find someone.”

Fu Xinshu was working and couldn’t come over immediately.

Lin Wanxing waited to the side for a while.

The student escorted the customer he had just shampooed to a seat, served tea and water, draped a towel over the customer’s shoulders, and gave a simple massage. He was familiar with the routine, and only when the hairstylist arrived did Fu Xinshu have time to come greet them.

“Teacher, why are you all here?” the student asked.

Lin Wanxing, Chen Jianghe, and Qin Ao exchanged glances.

Finally, she and Chen Jianghe stepped back together, leaving Qin Ao at the front.

“We have something to ask you,” said Qin Ao, the instigator who had proposed coming to the mall to find Fu Xinshu.

The young man wiped his hands on his apron and nodded.

Lin Wanxing helped Fu Xinshu request leave from the store manager. Although very reluctant, the manager had to agree because she was a teacher.

Hongjing Wanda Plaza was by the river.

Lin Wanxing and the students walked out of the brightly lit mall and sat down at an outdoor food stall by the river.

The summer night’s river breeze was refreshing, lights across the shore twinkled like stars, and the smell of water mingled with the aroma of barbecue.

Cola was served, two plates of fried peanuts were set out, the salt crystals gleaming.

For a moment, there was only the sound of fizzing carbonated drinks and the rustling of the crispy peanut shells being peeled.

“What did you come to find me for?” Fu Xinshu’s hand rested lightly on the plastic cup as he jokingly said to Qin Ao and Chen Jianghe, “Have you two changed your minds, ready to go to the competition this weekend?”

“No way, I won’t play with those nerds again,” Qin Ao’s expression turned cold, very serious.

Fu Xinshu just smiled and looked toward Chen Jianghe.

“I don’t play meaningless matches,” Chen Jianghe said. “We can’t win.”

“I know,” Fu Xinshu said, “But what if I still want to ask you to participate in this weekend’s competition? Last time, because of me, everyone didn’t make it to the field. Given another chance, I don’t want to give up.”

The river breeze blew as Lin Wanxing looked at Fu Xinshu.

The student still appeared frail, but his gaze was unusually determined.

“We haven’t trained for almost a year; we can’t possibly win,” Chen Jianghe said. “Besides, they aren’t even serious about it. Forcing a match is completely meaningless.”

When Chen Jianghe said “they,” he glanced at Qin Ao.

Qin Ao raised his eyebrows, “Could you beat me if I got serious?”

“Then even if you don’t play, could you at least come to the venue on match day?” Fu Xinshu persisted.

Neither Chen Jianghe nor Qin Ao spoke or nodded.

The atmosphere cooled down. Lin Wanxing rested her chin on one hand, looking at the students on one side, then at those on the other.

She took a sip of cola, “Let’s get to the point.”

Qin Ao was surprised, “Isn’t getting us to participate in the competition your job? Doesn’t that count as the point?”

“Should we chat for five more minutes then?”

Qin Ao: “…”

“Someone’s playing a prank on us,” Chen Jianghe looked at Fu Xinshu, bringing the topic back on track.

He briefly explained about receiving the free ball borrowing card and Qin Ao getting the cigarettes.

Lin Wanxing took out the copied cigarette paper and the ball card duplicate from her small backpack and spread them on the table.

As they reached the end of the explanation, they all unconsciously paused and looked at Fu Xinshu.

“So, what goes in those three empty spaces?” The student asked, lifting his gaze from the grid.

“Your name,” Chen Jianghe said.

“What?” Fu Xinshu seemed to doubt his ears.

“We guess that this ⑩ should be filled with your name,” Qin Ao said.

“Just because it ends with ‘new book,’ you guess it’s me?”

“Yes. You are the intersection point related to us, to soccer, to Teacher Lin, and to Teacher Qian. We can’t think of any other answer.”

“Why me?” Fu Xinshu still didn’t understand.

“They don’t know either, so they wanted to ask if you also received something similar, some strange thing like a prank,” Lin Wanxing said.

Fu Xinshu froze at the table, completely still, as if caught in a whirlpool of confusion. He frowned, seemingly in thought, yet unable to find an answer.

Just then, the barbecue arrived.

100 skewers of lamb, 100 skewers of beef, plus the grilled vegetables and seafood the students had ordered, covering half the table.

The aroma of cumin wafted in the river breeze.

“Let’s eat while we think,” Lin Wanxing said.

The boys hadn’t eaten dinner yet, and without being told, they automatically started on the skewers.

For a while, it grew quiet by the riverbank, with only the sound of water lapping against the shore and distant boat whistles.

Lin Wanxing had ordered a bowl of seafood dumpling soup and sipped it leisurely, observing Fu Xinshu’s expression.

After his initial shock, Fu Xinshu kept his head down and focused on eating.

Several times, Qin Ao and Chen Jianghe looked up from their food, wanting to say something to Fu Xinshu, but seeing him still engrossed in eating, they had no choice but to continue devouring their food.

Through the joint efforts of the three young men, the entire table of barbecue was quickly consumed.

Qin Ao wiped his mouth, indicating he was full, and Chen Jianghe also shook his head. Both of their gazes eventually converged on Fu Xinshu’s face.

Fu Xinshu had been picking up eggplant with his chopsticks, but feeling his classmates’ eyes on him, he finally put down his chopsticks and raised his head.

“I remember now,” he picked up a napkin, wiped his mouth, and said in a very soft voice, “I did receive something like that.”

“What was it?” Qin Ao and Chen Jianghe raised their voices simultaneously.

“Do you want to know? Come to the weekend competition. If we win, I’ll tell you.”

Lin Wanxing suddenly looked up.

Qin Ao and Chen Jianghe were stunned, not understanding why Fu Xinshu would make such a demand.

Their expressions shifted, caught between wanting to know what Fu Xinshu had received and being unable to accept such direct coercion.

But Fu Xinshu didn’t give them a chance to negotiate, “Sunday, 11 AM, meet at the school gate.” With that, he stood up and left the table.

He walked away resolutely. By the time they reacted, he had already descended the steps, crossed the busy intersection, and against the flow of people, headed back toward the mall.