“Young man, wake up.”

Someone gently patted his shoulder.

Wen Chengye didn’t want to open his eyes, but the person persisted, tapping his shoulder.

“Hello, please wake up?”

It was a gentle and warm female voice, somewhat similar to one he had heard before.

Wen Chengye slightly opened his eyes. Seeing the policewoman’s cap, he instinctively pulled his scarf up, trying to cover more of his face.

“Are you Wen Chengye?”

The policewoman bent over. She held a cup of warm water in one hand and a phone in the other, as if verifying his identity against a photo.

So he was found after all. Idiots deserve what idiots get.

Waking from a cramped and endless dream, Wen Chengye didn’t feel any sense of relief. Looking at the police uniform before him, this was his first thought.

The sound of his parents’ angry quarrels seemed to already be ringing in his ears.

He neither nodded nor shook his head; he didn’t want to respond to anyone.

Actually, from the moment he decided to put on his backpack, walk out the door, and get on that bus, he should have known the consequences.

Why hope for a result that doesn’t exist?

Why act like an idiot?

Wen Chengye clenched his fist. He kept thinking, feeling as if he was still in that sunless track.

Just then, a paper cup of warm water was placed in his hand.

“If you’re Wen Chengye, please turn on your phone and check it. Your teacher is very worried; she’s looking for you.”

That’s what the police officer told him.

Why had he turned off his phone?

When people do stupid things, of course, they want to keep it secret, not wanting the whole world to know.

And when that stupid act is exposed, they want even less to be found, preferring to delay the inevitable even for just a second.

But for some reason, when the police said “Your teacher is very worried,” he couldn’t help thinking of Lin Wanxing’s face.

Would she be worried?

Why worry?

Wen Chengye slowly finished the cup of water.

Finally, he took out his phone and, as if making a momentous decision, pressed the power button.

Missed call notifications immediately bombarded his phone, followed by various text messages and WeChat messages.

Haven’t you learned to be considerate to adults in all these years?

Where are you exactly?

If you don’t want to study abroad, couldn’t you just say so? Do you know how hard it was to find that agency instructor for you?

…

…

After reading his parents’ messages, Wen Chengye returned to the WeChat main interface. Scrolling down, he saw Lin Wanxing’s profile picture.

Her avatar was a black fat cat.

Wen Chengye remembered that the cat was called Xiao Qiu, a new stray cat in their neighborhood. Xiao Qiu was very fat, and Lin Wanxing loved fat cats, so she had made several attempts to capture Xiao Qiu for herself.

And now, there was a bright red number “2” on the fat cat avatar.

2 unread messages.

Lin Wanxing

[Video]

On the football field by Dongming Lake, the thin mist was gradually condensing into something tangible.

The air was heavy with moisture; each breath felt like it required all of one’s strength.

It was hot, very hot, with sweat flowing down foreheads freely.

Fourth ball

Qin Qiechu received the ball at the edge of the penalty area, forcefully turned to break away from Zhi Hui’s defense, and under the double-team of Zheng Renhe and Zheng Feiyang, he found his opportunity and took a shot.

The football flew like a cannonball toward the goal, and goalkeeper Feng Suo dove to save it.

The next moment, the ball was covered by a body, and everyone let out a cold sweat.

Fifth ball.

Yongchuan Hengda made a cross from the flank, and their center forward competed for the header under Qi Liang’s tight defense, with the ball barely grazing the crossbar. Qi Liang collided heavily with the opposing center forward, and after falling, he didn’t get up for a while.

Shaky camera work with severe background noise.

It was a phone recording, zoomed in to capture the action near the goal, so the images were particularly blurry.

The videographer wasn’t particularly skilled; when Qin Qiechu took his shot, the camera didn’t immediately track the ball.

Everyone collided together.

The screen showed a patch of bright, dazzling sky, and Wen Cheng instantly became alert.

The video ended, and the screen darkened.

The short video returned to the beginning. Wen Chengye gripped his phone tightly and clicked the triangle to replay it.

The opposing players wore blue and white uniforms; he had played against them before and knew they were from Yongchuan Hengda.

Play, drag, confirm.

Yongchuan Hengda took a shot, and the ball was saved.

Wen Chengye breathed a sigh of relief.

Grass particles flew, and the scene was misty, but it seemed there was also a scorching wind blowing through.

Wen Chengye’s heart raced as he opened the second video.

Yongchuan Hengda’s base, football field.

Upon learning that Wen Chengye was at a highway rest stop, Lin Wanxing’s heart eased slightly.

She held her phone, and the wind from the field brushed her hair. In her chat window with Wen Chengye, the status showed “typing…”, indicating that Wen Chengye had turned on his phone.

After a moment’s thought, she continued to switch her phone camera to video mode, recording moments of what was happening on the field.

The match situation was completely one-sided.

In one game with a 10-player lineup, how many balls could they defend against?

Lin Wanxing didn’t know the answer either.

By the 29th minute, the Yongchuan Hengda Youth Team’s attacks were relentless.

Hongjiang Eighth Middle School’s players had almost lost their sense of time, knowing only to defend, defend, defend.

They were very passive, only able to run after the ball, using man-marking and movement to disrupt the opponent’s passing, striving to prevent defensive gaps.

As for how tight this defensive line was, only their opponents knew best.

Outside the thirty-meter defensive zone, Yongchuan Hengda could pass freely without interference. But once the ball entered the thirty-meter attacking zone, both running players and ball carriers faced Hongjiang Eighth Middle School’s dense defense and tight marking!

Jumps, headers, collisions, tackles, whistles blowing…

Then another round of attacks.

Physical training can show results in the short term.

These high school students from Hongjiang Eighth Middle School displayed running ability and physical confrontation in the match that had already given Yongchuan Hengda’s players a few solid lessons.

With 15 minutes left before halftime, Qin Qiechu’s boast of scoring 20 goals hadn’t produced even one. The arrogant teenager wasn’t anxious; he felt rarely excited.

35 minutes.

Yongchuan Hengda coaching bench.

Hengda’s head coach and assistant coach exchanged glances.

Although the team had yet to break through the opponent’s goal and the situation differed from what they had envisioned, it wasn’t enough to make them anxious. However, during this time, the overall physical strength and defensive capabilities displayed by Hongjiang Eighth Middle School’s players surprised them somewhat.

Hongjiang Eighth Middle School’s defensive pattern was almost as follows:

After gaining possession, they began constantly passing back. When pressed to the point where they couldn’t pass back anymore, Hongjiang Eighth Middle School’s defender Zheng Feiyang would pass the ball back to the goalkeeper. The goalkeeper would immediately kick the ball far away.

Forward Qin Ao would immediately run toward where the ball was likely to land; sometimes he could win the ball amid their defenders’ double-team, but more often he couldn’t. At that point, Qin Ao would spare no effort and immediately begin pressing.

While he worked hard to press and delay, Hongjiang Eighth Middle School’s defensive line, slightly disorganized from the previous pass, would take the opportunity to recover completely.

Simple, energy-consuming, but clear and effective.

“How long do you think they can hold out?” the assistant coach murmured.

The Yongchuan Hengda Youth Team head coach didn’t answer immediately.

Hongjiang Eighth Middle School had taken their tenacious defense to the extreme; as long as they could disrupt the opponent’s ball possession, Hongjiang Eighth Middle School would spare no physical cost.

This behavior was extremely unwise, but Hongjiang Eighth Middle School’s players did it anyway.

They weren’t afraid of getting hurt, just constantly running, confronting, defending.

Because of the heavy fog, the grass was slippery, and they often fell, but they would get up immediately without a word and continue defending.

With such running, his team’s attacking opportunities began to decrease.

Just as the Yongchuan Hengda Youth Team head coach was thinking, center forward Fang Sulun, who had switched to the wing, broke through with his skills and won a corner kick.

The corner was kicked into the penalty area, and although Hongjiang Eighth Middle School’s number 7 forward came back to defend and immediately headed the ball away, the football was already close enough to Hongjiang Eighth Middle School’s goal.

The girl at the adjacent coach’s bench almost jumped up.

Everyone associated with Hongjiang Eighth Middle School on the field broke out in a cold sweat.

They had the advantage of star players, and Hongjiang Eighth Middle School’s personnel shortage problem was evident in this kind of attack combining individual ability with overall coordination.

Wen Chengye held his phone.

He had just received several calls; news of his whereabouts at the highway rest stop had probably reached home. So he simply hung up his parents’ calls and continued watching the newly received video.

Still the misty field, the match progressed to the 43rd minute.

In the frame, Qin Qiechu, who had dropped back, received the ball from the center circle and then drove straight forward, consecutively dribbling past three players!

When approaching the arc area, he was directly knocked down by Fu Xinshu, who rushed in from the side. The referee awarded Yongchuan Hengda a well-positioned free kick.

Qin Qiechu himself stood in front of the ball to take the free kick.

Hongjiang Eighth Middle School’s players formed a six-person wall, blocking one side of the goal tightly. They were confident that even if Qin Qiechu delivered a beautiful curved ball, they could block it.

The referee blew the whistle to start.

However, Qin Qiechu didn’t shoot directly; instead, he chipped the ball toward the right side of the penalty area!

There, a Yongchuan Hengda wing player was making a high-speed run. At the same time, two other Yongchuan Hengda forwards who were also pushing forward simultaneously entered the penalty area.

The three advanced blades. The wing player directly received the ball, gently redirected it, and the football drew a light arc, breaking the 29-minute deadlock!

Goal scored.

Highway rest stop, dark corner.

There seemed to be a new dispute in the hall, while Wen Chengye sat alone in the corner closest to the window.

Holding his phone, he watched helplessly as the referee blew the whistle and pointed toward the center circle.

The final whistle was extremely loud, almost piercing the heavy fog that enveloped the entire field.

Wen Chengye’s hand began to tremble slightly. He pressed play again and quickly dragged the playback to the moment when Yongchuan Hengda’s three-pronged attack entered the penalty area.

If only he had been on the field…

If he had been on the field, he wouldn’t have focused all his attention on the opponent’s possible shot; that wasn’t his task. He would have realized this was a pass, and if he could just drop back in time and interfere in the penalty area, the ball might not have gone in.

1-0.

Goalkeeper Feng Suo knelt on the ground, deeply regretful. They had almost held out until the end of the first half, just a little more—he hated himself for not being faster.

His fist pounded the ground heavily.

Once, twice…

Dark red cleats appeared in his vision; someone walked to his side.

A gentle pat on his shoulder.

Feng Suo looked up to see Qin Ao’s serious face. His entire face was very tense, gaze directed toward the distance.

Over there.

Yongchuan Hengda’s main defender Qin Qiechu made a “1” gesture.

He opened his mouth, showing his teeth, but his voice was serious and sincere: “You guys are pretty good. I’m going to kill you.”

Qin Ao ignored him, just bent down and picked up the football from inside the goal.

The fog on the field grew thicker.

What kind of feeling was it?

Wen Chengye watched the match videos sent by Lin Wanxing again and again.

He knew the referee had already blown the whistle for halftime, and no new videos would be coming for now, but he still held his phone, keeping the chat interface open to his conversation with Lin Wanxing, watching those scenes over and over.

Chaotic camera work, shaky footage, players falling and getting up, sometimes the images were so blurry that he couldn’t help but want to wipe the screen with his hand.

Sometimes the ball flew toward the camera, and the female teacher filming couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise.

He kept watching.

Watching as Hongjiang Eighth Middle School’s uniforms gradually became stained with grass and mud, watching each defensive play, watching the situation become increasingly tense, watching Qin Qiechu’s breakthrough, watching the final unstoppable goal.

If only they could have held on a bit longer, they could have taken the 0-0 score into halftime.

0-0, half a game against Yongchuan Hengda, a result to be proud of.

But they didn’t succeed.

Just that little bit more—if only they could have defended that ball if only he had been on the field.

Once this thought sprouted, it began to spread endlessly, even replacing the towering reeds surrounding the track.

But the track before him was still just a short stretch, just that short stretch.

He was at a highway rest stop; he couldn’t go anywhere.

The phone had stopped ringing, replaced by angry WeChat messages from his father.

I’m already on my way.

Think about what you’ve done.

The referee blew the halftime whistle, but neither side was satisfied with it.

After the first half’s rabid defense, Hongjiang Eighth Middle School’s players had exhausted their energy. They were completely soaked with sweat. The weather was still very cold, cold enough to make teeth chatter.

Lin Wanxing temporarily put away her phone and called everyone to quickly return to the restroom.

No one spoke.

The locker room heater was on full blast, yet the entire space was unusually silent and oppressive.

Normally, halftime was when the coach summarized the first half’s successes and failures and arranged the second half’s strategy.

But Wang Fa just sat in his place, pressing down his hat, seemingly not preparing to speak.

And the students…

Just by looking at their expressions, Lin Wanxing knew they were still immersed in that conceded goal.

“Nineteen…” The brief number came from Qin Ao’s mouth, “Heh.”

Fu Xinshu habitually buried his head in a towel, his fist resting on his leg trembling slightly. Hearing Qin Ao’s words, he said: “It was my problem setting up the back line; I didn’t think they would coordinate like that.”

He said.

Yu Ming: “I was slow to cover.”

Feng Suo: “No, it’s my problem. I could have saved it.”

All their words were saying “I could have.”

Teacher Qian was worried, looking left and right, wanting to say something but not knowing how.

Lin Wanxing hesitated. Just then, Wang Fa looked up at her.

Although he didn’t say a word, his gaze was firm and clear.

Lin Wanxing took a deep breath and announced to everyone: “Wen Chengye is coming.”