Lin Wanxing thought that this was the biggest difference between her and Wang Fa.

Wang Fa was straightforward—even when confined by inner troubles, he would still carefully contemplate, frankly express himself, and feel no shame about it.

Such people often find their way out of difficult situations.

But she couldn’t do that yet.

What adults need isn’t a life guide, but a moment to face their inner selves.

No matter how tired or weary you are, when heaven’s will descends, you always have the intent to defy it.

If you still want to see more, wait longer, and try again…

So after thinking it through, she could only secretly cheat.

As for how to proceed on the path ahead and what would be encountered, no one knew.

Lin Wanxing didn’t sleep all night.

She sat alone on the rooftop for a while, then lay in bed but couldn’t fall asleep, so she simply went downstairs to clean the tutoring classroom.

While busy with activities, her mind was exceptionally calm.

She thought about many things, about Wang Fa and herself.

The classroom was very quiet in the early morning. She sat scrolling through her phone for a while. Finally, when the sky turned blue, she erased the two email addresses from the blackboard and went upstairs to sleep.

However, Lin Wanxing’s entire sleep period lasted only about one hour and fifteen minutes.

At six-thirty in the morning, Lin Wanxing heard vague sounds of someone moving things outside her room.

Some subconscious influence made her think someone was moving luggage, and she immediately became alert, put on a piece of clothing, and got out of bed.

In the morning sun, Qin Ao was tiptoeing while moving the barbecue grill.

Opening the door, Lin Wanxing and the young man locked eyes. Chen Jianghe was standing on the other side of the rooftop, holding a soccer ball, equally frozen.

Lin Wanxing’s eyes hurt from the morning sun, and she was sleepy: “Early on October 1st National Day, instead of sleeping in at home, you’re coming here for a date?”

Qin Ao immediately bristled: “You, you, you…”

But after sputtering “you” for a while, he couldn’t articulate anything coherent.

Lin Wanxing: “Take your time.”

“You can go back to sleep,” Chen Jianghe maintained his cool guy persona. “We came to get some things and will leave after that.”

Only then did Lin Wanxing notice that Qin Ao was tiptoeing because he wanted to move the barbecue grill to get the marker poles used for soccer training behind it.

And Chen Jianghe was still holding a soccer ball…

She became a bit more awake: “Didn’t we say yesterday that you’d have a holiday for National Day? Why are you still coming to train?”

Qin Ao’s expression turned awkward, and he casually said: “Being idle is still being idle, just came to hang out, not to train, just to play.”

Not wanting others to see how hard they were working, Qin Ao found an excuse to cover it up. This time was even earlier than their usual training, obviously not explainable by simply “being idle is still being idle.”

Lin Wanxing walked to the edge of the rooftop, gazed at the distant field, and discovered two more figures there, running in circles—they were Yu Ming and Fu Xinshu.

“This is too early, did you all have insomnia?” Lin Wanxing turned back to ask.

As if struck at the heart of the matter, Qin Ao became very impatient: “You talk too much. If I tell you to go to sleep, then hurry up and go. Do you know what day it is today? It’s National Day!”

“What about National Day?” Lin Wanxing smiled. “Does National Day mean teachers aren’t allowed to talk nonsense?”

Qin Ao pulled out the marker poles and righteously stuck them in the ground: “There’s a big military parade on National Day this year. We’re here to gather and watch the parade!”

In any case, “watching the parade” would rank in the top three on Qin Ao’s “good excuses” list this year.

Qin Ao took the equipment downstairs and played soccer with Chen Jianghe and the others for more than an hour.

As time passed, three more students came in the morning.

Lin Wanxing didn’t think they had collectively agreed in advance to come to watch the military parade ceremony.

After all, when Qi Liang entered and heard the words “military parade,” he couldn’t help but sneer: “Calling me here for this? That’s so brilliant.”

But he didn’t say much more, taking out a large bag of salted egg yolk-flavored rice crisps and four cans of Mirinda from his backpack. Next, Zheng Feiyang brought two boxes of egg rolls, saying they were gifts his uncle had given to his grandmother during the holiday.

The most exaggerated was Lin Lu, who directly brought a large bag of instant noodles. He sold them directly to Qin Ao, saying: “The boss suddenly called asking us to come watch the parade and bring some food. I only had instant noodles and milk at home.”

As Lin Wanxing was in a daze, the boys formally set up their positions, waiting for the National Day military parade.

At first, they didn’t show much interest in this kind of ceremony. After all, at seventeen or eighteen, they were in their rebellious phase and started yawning sitting in front of the TV.

The TV was tuned to CCTV1, but the volume wasn’t high.

The program was still showing interviews and introductions before the parade ceremony.

The boys weren’t noisy either, just silently eating snacks, looking as if they each had something on their mind, their mood not very high.

At nine o’clock sharp, the parade ceremony officially began.

The room was very quiet, with the curtains half-drawn, the room dimly lit.

The commander announced the raising of the national flag and the playing of the national anthem.

From different homes upstairs and downstairs, the sound of the national anthem emerged simultaneously.

Different equipment, different sound quality, and the melodies floating in the air had slight time differences. But they collided with each other, forming a wonderful ensemble, gradually becoming majestic and grand under the clear skies.

In the room, the boys were infected and began to hum along.

After the song ended, even Lin Wanxing sat up straight, feeling as if awakening from a dream.

Perhaps it was singing the national anthem that made everyone open up.

The process that followed was both solemn and joyful.

When the commander inspected the troops, every time the TV shouted “Comrades, hello,” the boys would follow with a shout of “Commander, hello,” creating a strange sense of interaction.

The majestic symphony began, and with the commentator’s passionate introduction, armored vehicles rumbled past, making the boys even more excited.

They pointed at the new military equipment on the TV.

Things like anti-ship missiles, Dongfeng-17 hypersonic missiles…

Lin Wanxing discovered that Zheng Ren, who was usually quiet and reserved, was a military enthusiast, knowledgeable about various weapons, answering questions from the “novices” beside him.

Watching and chatting, the boys became increasingly excited, their shouts growing louder, regaining their usual vigor.

Lin Wanxing accompanied the students through the entire parade, her earlier drowsiness completely gone, and her heart filled with many feelings.

With the snacks mostly eaten, the boys stretched lazily on the carpet, still savoring the moment.

Lin Wanxing picked up the remote control and turned off the TV.

The room suddenly fell silent.

“What are you doing?” Qin Ao turned his head.

“I’m going to take a nap,” Lin Wanxing yawned. “You guys can leave now, right?”

Yu Ming showed a hurt expression: “Teacher, do you want us to leave that badly?”

“What nap? We even brought lunch and you’re taking a nap?” Qin Ao said.

They made a commotion, essentially refusing to leave.

Lin Wanxing replied: “I had insomnia last night, didn’t sleep well.”

Yu Ming: “Teacher, did you also lose sleep because the coach left?”

The word “also” was quite thought-provoking. Lin Wanxing said: “Not just because of that.”

“Teacher, why are you only telling half the story? What can’t you say? You’re just worried about our monthly exam after the holiday ends,” Zheng Feiyang spoke frankly.

Lin Wanxing continued to nod.

“Anything else?” she asked.

The boys looked at each other, thought for a while, and Chen Jianghe said: “Also, not knowing what to do next, whether we can continue playing in competitions.”

“Yeah, not sure if we should continue making money. Making money is good, but it also feels like something we shouldn’t be doing right now.”

“I see.” Lin Wanxing finally understood why the boys had been behaving strangely all morning, each looking as if they had something on their mind.

Qi Liang sneered: “Actually, it’s because the coach left, and Qin Ao was afraid you’d be lonely, so he asked us to keep you company.”

Qi Liang was indeed skilled at making people uncomfortable.

With one sentence, he directly made Qin Ao squawk in protest: “I didn’t say that, it was Old Fu who said it!”

Lin Wanxing was also stunned. Qi Liang had killed two birds with one stone, making her attempt to drive them away seem truly “heartless.”

Lin Wanxing helplessly said: “Actually, I’ve never worried about your monthly exam.”

“Why not?”

“Don’t tell us again that it’s not your business! That you want us to study freely.”

“My mom told me last night that she’s letting me run around now, but if my grades aren’t good later, I’ll have to go straight back to attending school classes.”

Lin Wanxing smiled: “Would going back to school make your grades better?”

“Of course not!” Yu Ming said proudly.

Chatting casually with the boys, Lin Wanxing also roughly figured out the reasons for their “insomnia,” which were many.

First, Wang Fa’s departure made them feel uncertain about their soccer future.

Second, their money-making venture had temporarily ended. This gave them a sense of security and satisfaction, but they weren’t sure whether to continue.

The monthly exam following the National Day holiday, along with pressure from parents, made them anxious.

They didn’t want to leave their current free life without school, but they had no idea how to study properly.

Soccer, life, studies, future…

Even adults find it difficult to handle all these things perfectly at the same time.

But despite all these troubles, they still spared some thought to worry that she might be feeling sad because Wang Fa had left.

All these reasons prompted them to gather together, coming to the rooftop for the holiday.

Lin Wanxing said: “Then let’s discuss together about these things you’re worried about.”