The second general meeting of the Hongjing Eighth Middle School soccer team, minus Wen Chengye, officially convened in the school’s sports equipment room.

The attendees gathered in great numbers, crowding the not-so-spacious equipment room to capacity.

Some students were visiting for the first time and were surprised that the school had such a place. They circled the warehouse shelves several times, exhibiting a somewhat incredible excitement.

With the number of people exceeding capacity, the sports equipment room didn’t have enough stools. So Lin Wanxing asked the students to bring out the soft mats used for sit-ups.

Qin Ao and Chen Jianghe stood to the side with dark expressions, refusing to lower themselves to sit down, which led to the other boys also standing still.

Lin Wanxing first sat cross-legged on the mat herself, looking up. The tall boys stood in the small gaps between the mats, looking quite awkward.

She smiled and patted the space beside her — “Alright babies, sit down first.”

The boys looked at each other. Before Qi Liang could say “People shouldn’t sit with dogs,” Lin Wanxing cut in — “Let’s keep an eye on each other. Those who don’t get along should sit separately.”

At this, even Qi Liang was bewildered.

The boys sat down in small groups, though some still refused. Lin Wanxing didn’t bother with them and just tilted her head back slightly, saying to herself — “You all probably know why I called you here, right?”

“Teacher, you’re not going to tutor us, are you?” Goalkeeper Feng Suo had the loudest voice; when he shouted, the entire small equipment room rumbled.

“No, don’t misunderstand.”

Lin Wanxing sat on the mat and calmly explained to the students that their parents were worried about their academic performance and therefore didn’t approve of them continuing to participate in soccer matches.

Regarding their grades, the students had probably heard so much at home that their ears had grown calluses, and they showed no reaction. But when soccer was mentioned, they visibly became irritated.

“I believe you should decide for yourselves whether to participate in the upcoming match, so I advocated for you.”

“And your advocacy resulted in tutoring us?” Chen Jianghe asked.

“Not just that. I also promised them that their first monthly exam scores in senior year would improve.” Lin Wanxing paused, and before Qin Ao could mock her with his darkened face, she said, “But by then, your additional match should be over, so whether there’s an improvement or not shouldn’t matter, right?”

“Teacher, are you saying we definitely won’t win the additional match?”

“What I mean is that promising your parents to tutor you was just an expedient measure. I don’t intend to force you to study,” Lin Wanxing said. “Similarly, I’m not requiring you to play in the next additional match. You can also make your own choice based on personal wishes.”

After Lin Wanxing finished speaking, the entire sports equipment room fell completely silent. The students always seemed at a loss when it came to free choice.

The tall boys crowded together, and Lin Wanxing sat in front of them, having to lift her head slightly to see everyone’s face.

“Hmph.” Qin Ao finally kicked a broom by the wall, looking annoyed, but not knowing where to start venting his anger.

“So, teacher, you’re not going to manage us?” Yu Ming seemed to finally understand.

“How am I not managing you? I’m still helping shield you from your parents’ thunderbolts, aren’t I?” Lin Wanxing smiled.

“Then what… what should we do?” Yu Ming looked around and found that his classmates, like him, didn’t know what to say.

“You can go out now and do whatever you want to do,” Lin Wanxing still sat cross-legged, supporting her chin with one hand, and said very sincerely, “But I suggest not breaking the law, otherwise it’s troublesome.”

“We can leave now?” Feng Suo looked back at the door, finding it incredible.

“Yes.”

Qi Liang was shocked — “So you called us here just to tell us that you never thought about tutoring us, never thought about forcing us to play soccer, and that we’re free?”

“You can choose to do what you want. Isn’t that important?” Lin Wanxing was also shocked.

They stared at each other for a while, and some impatient students had already stood up, ready to leave.

At this moment, Fu Xinshu spoke up — “If we decide to train and prepare for the next match, what help can you provide us, teacher?”

The students who had reached the door stopped and looked back at her.

“To the best of my ability,” Lin Wanxing said solemnly.

“What best ability do you have?” Qin Ao asked disdainfully.

This indeed sounded like just a nice thing to say.

But Lin Wanxing said very seriously — “If you want to train, you need to solve problems in both hardware and software aspects. The main hardware issue is the venue. I can first talk to the teachers in the physical education department to see if the school playground can be our training field.”

“Just that?”

“If the school doesn’t agree, and you still want to continue training, we can look for other training venues.”

“What about software?”

“You need a coach,” Lin Wanxing said.

“Teacher, is your primary school classmate willing to be our coach?” Upon hearing this, the student’s eyes suddenly brightened, seemingly remembering yesterday’s match and the coach who suddenly appeared.

“If you want to prepare for the upcoming match and are willing to train, I can ask,” Lin Wanxing took out her phone and looked at her students, waiting for their answer.

The students were stunned again, as if every time they had to make a choice, they lost their direction.

“Teacher, you seem to always…” Zheng Feiyang said.

“Always what?” Lin Wanxing asked.

“I can’t quite put it, it just feels strange.”

“You always seem to be waiting for us to say something.”

“Yes, like you want us to say we want to play soccer before you find a coach for us.”

At this point, the students all showed somewhat displeased expressions.

“That’s right,” Lin Wanxing looked at a group of confused babies and said very gently. “First, I don’t want to influence your choices. Second, I don’t want to bear the responsibility of influencing your choices.”

“What do you mean by the responsibility of our choices?”

“Let me give an example.” Lin Wanxing snapped her fingers. “In front of you is a four-way intersection. If you go left, there’s a lottery store. You might buy a ticket on impulse and win five million yuan. If you go right, there’s a very beautiful girl, and you’ll meet the love of your life. And I’m just a passerby standing with you at the corner. How could I tell you whether to go left or right?”

As they talked, the students unconsciously sat down.

“Of course, five million yuan!” Yu Ming shouted.

“Yeah, with five million yuan, you’d get a girlfriend!”

“Don’t all women like money?”

The young straightforward boys spoke one after another, as if they had won five million yuan and were that happy. Lin Wanxing was also rarely at a loss for words.

Qin Ao raised his eyebrows at her as if mocking her example.

At this time, Chen Jianghe spoke up — “Then what if we go straight ahead?”

He asked.

“I don’t know,” Lin Wanxing smiled regretfully. “No one knows what lies ahead.”

The equipment room shelves stood in succession, still a dim and somewhat stuffy space.

The only electric fan above their heads spun with a whooshing sound.

“Sounds nice, but you just don’t want to manage us, afraid of taking responsibility.”

Qin Ao sneered.

But perhaps even he wasn’t clear why he felt so displeased.

Lin Wanxing answered — “Don’t you not want me to manage you? What’s wrong with what I’m doing?”

Qin Ao widened his eyes, unable to utter a single word.

“Besides, I’m not afraid. It’s just that from childhood to adulthood, you’ve always been listening to others. When parents say go to school, you go to school; when teachers say study, you study; when someone sends you to play soccer, you start playing soccer. But now, you’re about to turn eighteen or already have. The most important thing for adults to understand is this: people have the right to choose their life path, and no one will bear responsibility for them. After all, the five million yuan is yours, the love of your life is yours, and your life is your own.”