The eleventh day since Lin Wanxing left.

Wang Fa finally learned about those deeply hidden stories.

In the afternoon, he took his students away from Yongchuan. Before leaving, Qin Ao and Wen Chengye made an agreement with Professor He that if they could make it to the finals, they would invite Professor He to watch the match in person!

For the students, they deeply respected and appreciated Professor He, and wanted to do something for him. But looking around, besides playing football well and studying hard, they couldn’t change anything else.

The twelfth day.

The students who didn’t go to Yongchuan learned why Lin Wanxing had left after Wang Fa returned, and none of them slept that night. Compared to when they knew nothing, understanding more only made them more unsure of what to do.

They gathered together and talked a lot. Apart from training and study time, they were all thinking about what they should do.

Sometimes they wanted to go directly to Lin Wanxing and tell her, we’re not that kind of people, please look at us.

But sometimes they asked themselves—

Why couldn’t she leave, couldn’t escape, couldn’t avoid seeing things she didn’t want to see? Who had the right to tell her that things had passed and that she must be strong, brave, and pull herself together?

The thirteenth day.

The semifinal schedule was decided.

Hongjing No. 8 Middle School would face the Hanling Victory Team at their home ground, Hongjing Pearl Club Stadium.

Meanwhile, discussions about “what should be done” had almost reached an impasse. As the teacher once said, everyone is an independent, free individual, so why couldn’t she do what she wanted to do?

The fourteenth day.

Wang Fa stayed up all night reviewing all available materials and match recordings of the Hanling Victory Team and formulated new training tasks.

On this day, he bought a train ticket, very much wanting to go to a certain city to meet someone. But in the end, he just sat on the rooftop alone, letting the departure time pass.

The fifteenth day.

Everyone gathered together and made a decision.

Wang Fa opened that email account.

They would give the choice to Lin Wanxing.

The sixteenth day.

It began to rain in Hongjing.

There were many training items, and they were all tougher and more monotonous than before. When the rain stopped, everyone would continue training. When it rained, they would hide under the eaves, sometimes reviewing their academic subjects, sometimes staring blankly at the field.

And every afternoon, Wang Fa would go to a certain place and stay for a while.

…

The twenty-first day.

Spring rain fell continuously for several days.

On the twenty-first day, the players of the Hongjing No. 8 Middle School football team stood on the grass of Hongjing Pearl Sports Stadium.

The players of the Hanling Victory Team had already started warming up.

In the quarter-finals, the Hanling Victory Team defeated the Fengchun City Team with a crucial penalty in the final moments of the match, advancing to the semi-finals. There were rumors that they were a famous “favored son” team—Hanling Electronics was a sponsor of the Youth Super League, so the organizers would make sure they reached the finals one way or another.

This matter was revealed by Jiang Xun.

When Wang Fa received the call, he didn’t have much reaction, only saying he would prepare well.

Jiang Xun was somewhat worried.

Now there were no more secrets, and the behind-the-scenes gangs were standing directly on stage.

A viewing delegation appeared at the match site. Not only were the four teachers from the school’s sports department—Zhao, Qian, Sun, and Li—all present, but Chen Weidong and another sports student were also brought to the substitute bench to prevent some extreme situations.

The weather was fine, with warm humid air bringing a muggy breeze.

Chen Weidong lowered his head, zipping up his jacket to the highest point. Because he had run away before, he was afraid of being confronted by his former teammates and had buried almost half his face in his school uniform collar.

But seeing him again, the other teammates no longer felt the anger they had before.

Qin Ao even took a sip of water, patted his shoulder, and indicated for him to warm up together.

Chen Weidong stared wide-eyed, a bit incredulous, feeling that these teammates were different from before.

An unfamiliar female teacher was arranging seats on the sidelines.

Chen Weidong followed along for a couple of laps, but couldn’t help it anymore. He moved closer to Fu Xinshu, the easiest to talk to, thought for a moment, and finally asked, “Where’s Teacher Lin?”

The team, focused on warming up, momentarily faltered in their steps, but quickly, everyone continued running, with no one speaking.

On the sidelines.

Jiang Xun sat down in the stands.

This morning, he had taken the high-speed train from the provincial capital to Hongjing, enduring the journey just to watch a youth football match.

Before the match, he wanted to chat with Coach Wang and the young players. But they had locked themselves in the locker room, and it was only just now that the coach and players had come out to warm up.

The afternoon sun was quite hot. Old Chen patted Jiang Xun’s shoulder and sat down beside him.

Jiang Xun spent every day with the team and understood very well the relationship between team morale and matches. In his view, before important matches, the team should be in high spirits. But, the players of Hongjing No. 8 Middle School weren’t communicating much, and their emotions weren’t so high.

He exchanged a worried glance with Old Chen.

Before the match, in the sideline tunnel.

The players from both teams lined up, with the main referee and linesmen standing at the front of the line, leading the players onto the field.

The suddenly playing athletes’ march echoed above the field.

The players of Hongjing No. 8 Middle School remained calm and unmoved.

The spring day’s pitch was especially bright green.

On the field, the main referee checked the match ball, then placed it at the kickoff point, synchronizing watches with the linesmen.

The loud music was cut off at a high note. The main referee took out a coin, and the captains from both teams stepped forward to call heads or tails.

The captain of the Hanling Victory Team was half a head taller than Fu Xinshu and the whole team wore rare black uniforms. With a black base and red characters, plus they had selected tall and strong players during recruitment, looking over, they had an extremely intimidating presence on the field.

After communicating with the referee, Fu Xinshu chose heads.

Fu Xinshu won the coin toss. He chose the left half of the field and finally shook hands with the opposing captain.

Jiang Xun sat in the stands, watching the young captain on the field.

From beginning to end, Fu Xinshu remained calm, he didn’t even look at the opposing captain or players once, as if immersed in his world.

If Jiang Xun were on the sidelines, he would very much want to remind the players again that Hanling Victory played savage football. Their players had good physical qualities, their forwards were strong in confrontation, their defenders were fierce in interceptions, and they could often deliver beautiful counter-attacks. Add to that slightly biased referees, and they were opponents that could give even strong teams a headache.

If he were the coach, he would hope that the players could avoid their sharp edge, defend well, and not clash head-on with the opposition.

Thinking of this, he strongly identified with the situation, unconsciously sweating from his back.

Fu Xinshu bent down to tighten his shoelaces, stood up, and the referee put the whistle in his mouth. A gust of wind rose on the field.

“Go!” Jiang Xun and several sports teachers next to him shouted together.

At the start, Hanling Victory sounded the bugle of attack with a resounding direct pass.

Hanling Victory’s No. 10 took the ball on the left wing, suddenly changed direction and cut inside. Hongjing No. 8’s No. 10 immediately appeared in front of him. Remembering the pre-game arrangement from the head coach, the Hanling Victory player didn’t hesitate. He immediately kicked the ball, passing it out, trying to play quickly.

But before he could move, a white lightning struck, snatching the ball away with lightning speed that left no time to react.

The clarity of attitude and decisiveness of intent were remarkable.

The football flew out of bounds, hitting the guardrail with a “clang,” and the referee’s whistle sounded!

Hanling Victory’s No. 10 staggered, barely managing to stand, even forgetting that he could fall and raise his hand to signal a foul.

He saw Hongjing No. 8’s defensive player quickly get up from the grass, patting the grass off his shorts, his gaze cold, hard, and determined to the extreme.

Seeing such a gaze, he couldn’t help but clench his fist.

The two teams showed strong tactical intent from the very beginning of the match.

For example, Hanling Victory’s offensive intent was obvious—no matter what, I want to kick the ball into your half. And Hongjing No. 8 used midfield choking tactics, not afraid to commit fouls, intercept, and intercept again.

The sounds of passes and interceptions rose on the field, with banners and fences constantly trembling along with them.

Before long, the students’ jerseys were stained with bright green grass juice, patchy all over.

Jiang Xun sat on the sidelines, sensing something unusual.

Even Old Chen felt something was off. “Why are they playing so fiercely?”

Just as he finished speaking, the referee’s whistle sounded again.

A Hanling Victory attacking player forcefully knocked down Lin Lu.

The young man rolled on the ground and couldn’t get up for a moment.

But the referee signaled that Lin Lu had committed a defensive foul. The Hanling Victory player pushed further, pressuring the referee, wanting the main referee to show Lin Lu a yellow card.

The main referee called over Lin Lu and gave him a warning. The young man bowed his head, tying his shoelaces, not complaining about the unfairness. He nodded and directly backed away.

The Hanling Victory player was very unhappy and said to the main referee, “Look at him.”

Lin Lu still maintained his composure, as if no conflict had occurred.

Jiang Xun lowered his head slightly, looking towards the man in the coach’s box on the sidelines.

Watching the match to this point, he was already very clear. Wang Fa didn’t care at all if the referee was biased towards the opponent. What he wanted was a “head-on clash.”

The fierce scrambles were meant to give the opponent a clear signal that ‘I won’t show mercy.’ Rather than letting the opponent near the penalty area and then blocking them, it was better to directly intercept them around the center line far from the penalty area. As long as the actions were clean, the referee couldn’t issue cards.

Jiang Xun explained this to Old Chen, but his brows remained furrowed.

“What’s wrong?” Old Chen didn’t understand.

“In a ‘head-on clash’ match, both sides can easily get overheated and emotions can escalate, making it difficult to maintain rational tactical execution from start to finish. Once the referee can’t control the situation, the best case is a card-issuing battle, and in the worst case, they might directly come to blows.”

The clouds scattered, and the afternoon sun was scorching.

The Hanling Victory players also started playing with fire.

Anyone would be upset if their attacks were constantly interrupted by fouls from the opponent. Moreover, Hongjing No. 8 Middle School consistently maintained the scale of their fouls—clean movements with clear purposes—and they had no way to break through for the time being.

So they also increased their physical play.

After strengthening physical confrontation.

The high school students from Hongjing No. 8 were being knocked down more frequently.

Hanling Victory knew too well how to use their physical and referee advantages. Sometimes they used elbows to squeeze into positions, sometimes they tackled without mercy.

The referee rarely blew the whistle, forcing Hongjing No. 8’s players to defend more effortfully and frequently. They fell to the ground again and again. In just half an hour, the students’ jerseys had completely changed color.

The intense attack and defense continued until the 41st minute.

A Hanling Victory attacking player fell again near the arc of the penalty area. The main referee’s whistle sounded, and Hanling Victory was awarded a free kick from an excellent position.

The players of Hongjing No. 8 Middle School skillfully formed a wall.

These days, they have done a lot of free kick training. They quickly got into position, concentrated, and observed the opponent’s movements.

The captain of Hanling Victory stood in front of the football, with the afternoon sun glaring.

Looking at the wall in front, he took a deep breath.

The main referee’s whistle sounded.

He began his run-up, accelerating. As he approached the ball, he swung his right foot and kicked the ball with force!

The football shot like a cannonball towards the wall. Zhi Hui jumped high. His position was good, able to perfectly block the incoming ball.

But just as he tilted his head, he felt a weight on his shoulder. Someone pulled his shoulder, forcibly bringing him down. Zhi Hui’s back hit the ground heavily, and he felt a blackout in front of his eyes, his chest churning.

The referee didn’t blow the whistle.

The football was immediately deflected by another player, bouncing once and changing trajectory. Another Hanling Victory player followed up, meeting the football and shooting with great power again!

The Hanling Victory player’s follow-up shot was both fast and fierce. Goalkeeper Feng Suo had no time to react before the ball struck the net from his right side!

1-0.

The referee’s whistle sounded, indicating the goal was valid.

The Hanling Victory players immediately began celebrating.

The goal momentarily stalled the players of Hongjing No. 8 Middle School.

So many days of training, many nights of extra practice. Their coach stood at different penalty positions, teaching them bit by bit how to judge the opposing player’s intentions, and how to defend against different forms of free kicks.

However their coach had also reminded them that in the match, there would definitely be situations where the opponent would commit fouls but the referee wouldn’t blow the whistle. But when encountering it, that kind of anger and suffocation could make one lose rationality.

Time seemed to return to that night of light rain.

They were on the wet grass for possible rainy match conditions, practicing free-kick defense.

Their jerseys were soaked with sweat and rain.

Their coach used almost worse methods, pulling down players.

They didn’t understand why this was happening at the time.

On the rainy road, all the suppressed emotions seemed to explode in an instant.

They didn’t know why the teacher would encounter such a thing, nor did they know why they were still playing football here.

They didn’t know what was ahead, what they could do, why the world was like this.

Anger, arguments, various emotions were completely vented towards the coach at that moment.

They even forgot that after Lin Wanxing left, he actually had no necessity to stay.

But that night, their coach didn’t leave.

He maintained a lonely and calm tone throughout.

He explained to them that no referee could guarantee the absolute fairness of a match. He also told them how to compete for favorable conditions in the face of upcoming rulings.

“Even if the referee has a momentary inclination to keep the match fair, it is our opportunity to defeat the opponent later,” he said.

By the end of the argument, everyone apologized to Wang Fa.

On that night without stars or moon.

Their coach was also soaking wet, and he said, “Stay rational, win the match, that’s the greatest justice you can fight for on the field.”

Zhi Hui sat up.

Wen Chengye took a deep breath and went to check if Zhi Hui had any problems.

Qin Ao unclenched his fist, and together with Fu Xinshu, surrounded the main referee, explaining the fact that Hanling Victory had pulled a player, committing a foul.

“It was a physical collision within normal range,” the main referee said.

“But our player fell, the match should have been stopped,” Fu Xinshu said.

“Since it’s not a foul, if your player falls, the opponent actively stopping the match is moral, but not stopping can’t be said to be problematic,” the main referee explained.

Hearing this, the captain of Hanling Victory finally felt he had vented some anger.

As he brushed shoulders with the captain of Hongjing No. 8, he asked, “How was our free kick?”

Everyone from Hongjing No. 8 felt they were very unlike their usual selves in this match.

On one hand, they felt cold inside, as if still in the cold rain during training, without much emotional fluctuation. Their thoughts were completely attached to this field, only wanting to win this match.

On the other hand, it was as if a nameless fire was burning in their chests, so dull yet so scorching.

The 0-1 score was maintained until halftime.

In the halftime break room, there was only the smell of pain relief spray in the air. Including Wang Fa, no one in the entire break room spoke.

The break time was so short, that the second half seemed to start again in an instant.

The 7th minute.

A direct pass from Hanling Victory after breaking into the penalty area was cleared out of bounds. The referee awarded Hanling Victory a corner kick.

The Hongjing No. 8 Middle School players got a brief respite in the intense confrontation.

Their muscles hurt, their joints were sore, and the pain from falling earlier seemed to still cling to their bones. Many times, when they closed their eyes, they felt the color of this field was deep, rich black.

But for some reason, they saw this stadium more clearly than ever before.

The corner kick was taken by Hanling Victory’s No. 9 captain.

The ball he kicked was very slow and at the right angle, and was directly caught by Feng Suo.

The transition from defense to attack happened in an instant.

Feng Suo immediately kicked it long, and the football flew like a cannonball toward the front field.

In the front field, Chen Jianghe steadied the ball.

He quickly kicked it, passing the ball to Qin Ao who was supporting, while he himself cut forward.

Qin Ao didn’t waste any time, immediately passing the ball diagonally to Chen Jianghe who was inserting forward—a two-man combination that beat the offside trap!

The coordination between the two was fast and precise, cutting through the defense line like a surgical knife.

Hanling Victory’s left back wanted to directly poke the ball away from under Chen Jianghe’s feet, but Chen Jianghe, at the same time the opponent kicked, used his toe to gently poke the ball, and the football lightly passed between the defending player’s legs.

He then immediately changed direction, passing the opposing defender, and arrived inside the large penalty area.

A pair of feet appeared in Chen Jianghe’s peripheral vision, as a Hanling Victory player tackled from his left side.

In front of him, the opponent’s goalkeeper was positioned forward. The football bounced lightly on the grass, and Chen Jianghe jumped without hesitation. He swung his right foot, his foot surface tightly stretched.

A muffled “bang” sounded!

Chen Jianghe fell to the ground.

His face pressed against the cold stadium turf, and in his narrow vision, the football flew towards the Hanling Victory team’s goal.

Almost grazing the crossbar, the football plunged into the net.

The net pocket pulsated.

Chen Jianghe closed his eyes, clenched his fist, and heavily pounded the grass.

An obvious offside trap beat, an impeccable shot!

The referee’s whistle sounded, indicating the goal was valid.

The adults in the stands erupted in excited cheers!

1-1

Chen Jianghe used an indisputable goal to open Hanling Victory’s gate, tenaciously equalizing the score.

On the afternoon of the twenty-first day after Lin Wanxing left, in the fifty-fifth minute of the match.

The players of Hongjing No. 8 Middle School had taken another step towards their dream of the finals.

The adults in the stands jumped up, celebrating wildly.

The students on the field ran towards Chen Jianghe and pulled him up.

A draw, extra time, penalty shootout—these were not results Hanling Victory could accept.

The head coach shouted from the sidelines.

Physical confrontation was the most important part of football, and since they had the advantage of the main referee, why not use it?

In the following match, Hanling Victory became unscrupulous.

They began to recklessly charge into Hongjing No. 8’s penalty area.

The players of Hongjing No. 8 kept falling, sometimes taking a while to get up.

This was a football match they had never experienced before. Compared to the 10-man defensive battle with Yongchuan Hengda, the pain brought by intense physical confrontation was especially clear.

Sometimes after falling, they would black out and wonder if they could get up.

But as the match continued to develop in the direction their coach had described, their brains became exceptionally clear.

Less penalty area entanglement, and more midfield choking.

Patiently waiting for Hanling Victory to press forward, then launching counterattacks with long passes.

After the forward gets the ball, try to carry it towards the end line area, looking for opportunities, and creating corner kicks or fouls from the opponent.

The 81st minute.

Hongjing No. 8 got a counterattack opportunity, and a long pass once again accurately fell at Chen Jianghe’s feet.

Chen Jianghe planned to repeat the previous tactic, making a two-man combination with Qin Ao and then continuing to insert forward.

But the opposing player had been warned by his coach, and didn’t give him the opportunity to insert forward. As they brushed past each other, the opponent directly entangled him. Physical exhaustion and the large number of fouls the referee had turned a blind eye to made the opponent unscrupulous.

Chen Jianghe was brought down with both hands and feet.

But at this moment, the main referee’s whistle sounded.

When two people fell together, the whistle had to be blown. The Hanling Victory defensive player had almost used a wrestling move to take down Chen Jianghe. Perhaps this was the moment Wang Fa had mentioned.

The referee gave Hongjing No. 8 a free kick from a position almost identical to Hanling Victory’s earlier one.

“I’ll take it!” Qin Ao raised his hand, demanding to take the free kick, attracting everyone’s attention.

He ferociously placed the ball at the free kick point.

The Hanling Victory players set up a wall, staring at him tightly as if they thought he would kick a fireball the next moment and take them all out.

The main referee blew the whistle, and Qin Ao began a long-distance run-up.

Everyone’s attention was drawn to Qin Ao’s angry performance at this time.

And just at this moment, Fu Xinshu, standing next to the ball, suddenly raised his foot and passed the ball diagonally to the other side of the penalty area!

These days, they have practiced a lot of free kicks, waiting for this moment.

Wen Chengye, almost undefended, received the ball in that position. Facing the goalkeeper who hurriedly turned around, he easily kicked the ball. The football whistled past the goalkeeper and hit the net.

2-1, Hongjing No. 8 took the lead again!

The stands erupted in cheers like never before.

Qin Ao was almost kneeling on the ground.

The whole stadium was noisy, yet silent to the extreme.

As they brushed past each other, the captain of Hanling Victory heard one of the opposing players ask him, “What do you think of our free kick?”

The remaining match time was minimal, those were completely dark 10 minutes.

Wen Chengye, exhausted from running all over the field, used up his last energy. After being knocked down once more, he could no longer get up. Wang Fa was forced to substitute Chen Weidong, who had been anxious for a long time.

At the same time, Hanling Victory also substituted two attacking players, almost sending out all their forces, collectively pressing on Hongjing No. 8’s penalty area.

Chaotic attack and defense, the taste of blood suppressed in the throat. Hongjing No. 8 often fell, and was elbowed, and the referee’s whistle occasionally sounded. Bones might have broken, or maybe not. Everyone was both tired and in pain, but no matter when they forced themselves to maintain a bit of clarity of mind.

Still, on the rain-soaked Wuchuan Road field, Wang Fa had on that field constantly delivered different types of incoming balls, requiring them to defend and use left and right feet to complete a corner clearance, ensuring the football flew past the midfield.

Like instinct, those training sessions all surfaced on their exhausted bodies. Kick after kick, they tenaciously blocked Hanling Victory’s attacks.

Until—

A Hanling Victory player fell inside the penalty area.

The whistle blew. In the last moments of the match, no one could clearly explain what had happened. Everyone looked blankly at the referee.

The referee didn’t immediately make a judgment. He just looked up at the sky.

In the instant he lowered his head, his hand pointed to the penalty spot.

In the final moments of the match, the referee awarded Hanling Victory a penalty kick.

The sidelines were extremely noisy.

The four teachers from the sports department almost wanted to rush onto the field.

The extremely weak Wen Chengye, dragging his exhausted body, also wanted to jump up and curse the main referee.

Teacher Xiao Xu took out his phone to record, saying he would report and complain.

Wang Fa just stood up and walked to the edge of the field. He put his slightly trembling hands in his pockets.

The captain of Hanling Victory, holding the football, walked towards the penalty spot.

The entire stadium suddenly fell silent.

Everyone’s heartbeat rapidly soared. They either grabbed or gripped, tension causing the heart to pump out large amounts of blood, the impact fast enough to stop the heartbeat.

Feng Suo stood alone in front of the goal.

One breath in, one breath out.

The surroundings faded, in his eyes, only the black and white football remained.

The Hanling Victory player began his run-up, grass debris flying.

He remembered asking the coach, if the referee would give the opponent a penalty, how should he save it?

Wang Fa told him, he must believe he could save this ball, believe more firmly than the opponent.

The football flew extremely fast, but in Feng Suo’s eyes, none of this mattered.

In all the penalty defense training that Wang Fa personally guided him through, the most important rule was: to forget everything, and bravely fall to one side.

He closed his eyes, stretched out his body, and fell heavily on the field, just like in countless goalkeeper training sessions.

With the hard ground, and the heavy impact, Feng Suo’s entire world seemed to plunge into darkness.

After a while.

One beat, then another, the heart slowly pumped out blood.

Pain numbed him, but the feeling in his arms was so clear. It was a ball he was extremely familiar with, soft yet hard, just saved by him, seemingly still burning.

Feng Suo slowly opened his eyes.

In his vision, the captain of Hanling Victory, completely depleted of energy, knelt in front of him.

He had saved the opponent’s penalty which should have equalized.

The final whistle sounded afterward.

The twenty-first day and nine hundred and one minutes since Lin Wanxing left.

Hongjing No. 8 Middle School, with a 2-1 score, narrowly defeated the Hanling Victory Team, finally advancing to the finals!

Wen Chengye, Fu Xinshu, Qin Ao, Lin Lu…

Every player from Hongjing No. 8 Middle School lay on the ground. At the moment of the end, everyone instinctively looked towards the sidelines.

The figure they most wanted to see still didn’t appear in the stands.

Everyone closed their eyes.

Sunlight poured down like heavy rain, drenching each of them.

Countless training sessions, too many reasons not to persist.

This world has so many bumps and hardships, that life’s visitors hurry by, but they still seem to be those youngsters who can’t see the path ahead clearly.

But at a certain moment, at this moment, victory was like a blade cutting through a narrow path.

They knew they could continue to move forward.