The schedule for third-year high school students was busy, with monthly plans densely written on the classroom blackboard.

After advancing from the group stage, the students quickly faced various mock exams.

During exam week, everyone always seemed busier than usual.

The students who had been staying at 17 Wutong Road had to return to school every few days to undergo the baptism of “small exams every three days, major exams every five days.”

Their life’s focus suddenly shifted from 17 Wutong Road back to the high school campus.

Returning to school life and taking numerous exams, the students still found it hard to adapt. For instance, they had to adjust their training times and couldn’t take afternoon naps. After finishing lunch in the cafeteria every noon, everyone liked to crowd into the sports equipment room.

Because of this, Lin Wanxing lost her rare leisure time.

She half-reclined in a small lounge chair, listening to students who hadn’t even wiped the oil from their mouths complain about how boring the morning’s Chinese essay topic was.

“A four-panel comic is one thing, but it had to be about animals!”

“Just a few jumping monkeys, and not even well-drawn.”

“Couldn’t figure out what it meant, but we had to write an article based on the comic.”

“So did you write something?” Lin Wanxing asked while cracking small walnuts and chatting with the boys who had just eaten their fill.

“Of course, we wrote something.”

“But we’re not sure about the examiner’s intention, don’t know if we wrote to the point.”

“It’s just a mock exam, write whatever,” Lin Wanxing picked out the walnut meat and tossed it into her mouth.

“What do you mean ‘write whatever’! It’s still the first mock exam!”

“As a teacher, shouldn’t you say something more constructive!”

“Yeah, like ‘focus on the basic points, don’t let difficult questions affect your mindset’—something with some constructive value.”

“Exactly!”

As they became more united on the field, the boys’ verbal coordination in arguments also became more intuitive.

Lin Wanxing often got a headache from their noise and could only resort to perfunctory tactics.

“Keep talking, I’ll record it and play it back to you next time.”

The boys were all exasperated.

Lin Wanxing looked around and suddenly noticed someone missing from the equipment room. “Where’s Wen Chengye?”

“His dad came to see him at noon,” said Qin Ao.

As if echoing something, the rarely ringing landline on Lin Wanxing’s desk suddenly rang.

The students instinctively fell silent.

Lin Wanxing answered the phone to hear a gentle female voice.

“Me? Now?”

“Yes, Principal Liu asks you to come to the office now, Administration Building, Room 301.”

The call ended.

Lin Wanxing put down the receiver, and the students all looked tense.

“Go on, I need to step out. You all go prepare for the afternoon exam,” Lin Wanxing thought for a moment and shooed everyone out of the equipment room.

Lin Wanxing remembered her first interview at Hongjing Eighth Middle School, which was also in the administration building. The building wasn’t tall, only three stories. When she reached the bottom, she saw Wen Chengye walking out of the building.

His father walked ahead of him—this was Lin Wanxing’s first time seeing Wen Chengye’s father.

Father and son stood one behind the other on the steps.

Lin Wanxing looked up slightly.

Wen Chengye’s father wore a pinstriped suit and a gold Rolex watch, looking like a dignified capitalist who knew how to take care of himself. He looked down at her from above, not even bothering to greet her.

Wen Chengye turned and said something to his father, and Mr. Wen walked down the steps alone.

Wen Chengye then came down and stood before her.

Lin Wanxing looked at the young man before her. He was wearing his school uniform today and holding a document folder. His somewhat narrow eyes had lighter pupils in the sunlight. Apart from his hair being cut short and his skin turning a deeper wheat color from recent training, he still looked like the young master she had first met.

Wen Chengye had hardly ever talked to her about his family matters, though Lin Wanxing had heard about a “divorce battle.” It was difficult for her to help resolve private matters in a wealthy family. So after thinking for a moment, she chose the most neutral opening: “How did the exam go today?”

“Don’t worry, I wrote all the answers myself today.”

Lin Wanxing smiled; young Wen was quite direct. So she decided to be direct as well: “So what did your father come to school for today?”

“He wants me to go abroad, and came to supervise me getting some materials.”

Lin Wanxing was stunned for a moment—she’d never heard Wen Chengye mention this before. “Are you going abroad?”

“Just stalling for now,” Wen Chengye said casually. “Don’t worry, we’ve talked about it. I’ll finish high school, complete the matches, and see what happens after the college entrance exam.”

Lin Wanxing nodded, and after a moment, her gaze fell on the transparent document folder in Wen Chengye’s hand. “What about you? What are you leaning toward?”

“Going abroad is quite tempting for me. Mainly because no matter what, studying abroad, being closer to clubs—even if it’s a very small club—would be better than staying in China, right?”

Wen Chengye must have rationally considered these issues and had a general direction, but Lin Wanxing fell silent.

“Are you using these grades to apply to foreign schools?” Lin Wanxing pointed at the transcript visible in his folder—the grades he’d obtained through cheating.

Wen Chengye suddenly froze.

He slowly lowered his head to look at the folder on his chest, at first seemingly at a loss. But quickly, he composed himself and looked at her earnestly, trying to read something from her expression.

Children are always like this.

From almost right after birth, they gradually learn to recognize adults’ expressions to understand their emotions—this is the beginning of their socialization.

Lin Wanxing maintained her composure, letting Wen Chengye observe her.

In fact, they both knew well that regardless of how the team appeared now, there were still some unresolved issues that had been set aside.

“I don’t know where your answers came from…”

Lin Wanxing had just begun speaking when Wen Chengye interrupted her.

“Jin Ziyang gave them to me,” the young man uttered this name.

Thinking of recent rumors at school and Jin Ziyang’s consistently ambiguous, probing attitude, Lin Wanxing suddenly understood: “Jin… Jin Ziyang?”

“Yeah, don’t you know? Jin Ziyang gives me answers because he’s my mom’s ‘little boyfriend.’ I use this to threaten him.”

The information was too much; Lin Wanxing was thunderstruck and unable to process it. Perhaps because her gaze revealed her emotions, Wen Chengye said very directly: “Don’t worry, my mom’s having an affair, and my dad’s also fooling around. They’re disgusting, and I’m disgusting too. I’ve never been a good person.” Wen Chengye waved the folder in his hand, his meaning clear.

The sun hid behind clouds, and a cool breeze blew in front of the teaching building.

Lin Wanxing looked gently at her student. The boy had indeed tanned quite a bit and seemed more spirited.

As time passes, people always seem to change on the surface. But the coldness and stubbornness on Wen Chengye’s face didn’t seem that different from when she first met him.

Football might make him happy and give him the determination to pursue his dreams, but it couldn’t completely change him.

Lin Wanxing put her hands in her pockets, feeling almost pessimistic.

Wen Chengye turned to leave, seemingly wanting to catch up with his father.

“You despise your parents,” Lin Wanxing said.

“Yeah, so what?” Wen Chengye stopped in his tracks almost immediately and turned back.

“Although you act like you don’t care, you also despise yourself this way,” Lin Wanxing said.

Wen Chengye was speechless but also seemed afraid. He had never planned to engage in any deep conversation with her on related issues, but he couldn’t help saying: “This is who I am. My parents are like that, and I’m like this. We’re all terrible.”

“People are indeed hard to change.” Without saying anything more to Wen Chengye, Lin Wanxing turned and walked up the steps. There was no sound of footsteps behind her; Wen Chengye was still standing in place.

She reached the top of the steps but finally looked back.

The student stood in the shadow of the building, the confusion and bewilderment on his face particularly clear.

Lin Wanxing thought for a moment and still said to him: “Although I also have many problems, I’ve always believed that no matter what, your parents, your family, all these things you’ve experienced—they can never determine what kind of person you’ll become.”

“Then what can decide it, in your opinion?”

“Perhaps, the self you idealize.”

The principal’s office was on the top floor, with nothing behind it.

The door was open, and Lin Wanxing knocked on the doorframe with her knuckles.

Through the office window, she could see the distant sky.

The spring day was fine, with a high, distant blue sky and clouds white as snow.

Wen Chengye must be confused.

Even if he dared to board that bus to Yongchuan, it didn’t mean he could overcome all obstacles, face life’s challenges, and make real choices.

After all, few people know what the right thing to do is.

Lin Wanxing had never been clear whether children like Wen Chengye could be truly changed. Learning, education, even tolerance, and love—whether all of this could genuinely change a person.

Or perhaps people, from beginning to end, simply grow into what their genes predetermine them to be.

At the desk, the principal looked up.

“Principal, you were looking for me?” Lin Wanxing bowed slightly.