Lin Wanxing said very sincerely.

The young man turned his head, gesturing for her to look toward the field.

The sky was gradually darkening, and most of the lights around the field had come on. The students had already run several laps. Led by Fu Xinshu, they were preparing to do warm-up exercises on the field.

The students’ movements were lazy, still chatting and laughing in small groups, not looking like they were fully prepared to “go into battle.”

“Do you think they look lazy and scattered, not like they could stick to good training every day?”

The young man neither confirmed nor denied this. He crossed his long legs, just calmly watching the students on the track beside the field.

“But don’t you think this state is also pretty good?” Lin Wanxing said. “If you were truly once a professional coach, meeting those children who are fully committed, training hard, striving to walk the professional path, then suddenly encountering a group of ‘slacker’ players, leading them to a comeback victory—wouldn’t that be a novel experience for your coaching career?”

“It doesn’t seem so,” the young man said.

Lin Wanxing was stunned for a moment. Just then, the young man’s lazy voice sounded in her ear.

“I don’t know what misconceptions you have about children, but first, there aren’t that many players who fit those descriptions you gave.”

“Huh?” Lin Wanxing was suddenly at a loss for words, feeling like the conversation couldn’t continue.

“Also, I’ve experienced leading a team to a comeback championship, so it’s not novel either.”

The young man spoke with a sense of having seen it all. Lin Wanxing was stunned for a long time, and finally could only say, “You’re so good at showing off, can you teach me?”

Meanwhile, Fu Xinshu jogged up to the stands. While reporting that the warm-up was complete, he wanted to ask the “coach” for guidance on the next training.

“Keep running,” the young man looked up and said.

Fu Xinshu didn’t quite understand. “Do you mean physical training? How should we run?”

“Run around the field.”

These four words were concise and to the point. Fu Xinshu’s face showed a very obvious bewildered expression.

But probably out of respect for the coach, he didn’t ask further, just bowed and ran back to the other players to arrange today’s training task.

Lin Wanxing noticed that when the students heard Fu Xinshu’s words, there was a small commotion.

Just at this time, a familiar figure appeared at the entrance to the field.

Student Qin Ao had his Eighth Middle School uniform hanging on his right arm and his backpack on his left shoulder. He looked up at the stands, then reluctantly walked toward his teammates.

Fu Xinshu was extremely delighted and smiled.

Although Qin Ao had an indifferent look on his face, he still threw down his uniform and backpack and joined the jogging.

Lin Wanxing just sat in the stands like this, watching them.

From the setting sun to the gathering dusk, the lights of thousands of homes gradually brightened, but the field grew increasingly dark.

Most things people do have inertia.

Without realizing it, the students had been jogging for almost half an hour.

Their speed gradually slowed, from being able to laugh and chat casually at the beginning, to gradually becoming quiet.

Slowly, even the hustle and bustle outside the stadium grew quieter, and the field became increasingly silent.

It was as if someone had erased most of the background around them with an eraser, leaving only a dark track in the entire space, where only the moving steps on the track could be seen, and the sound of shoes rubbing against the ground could be heard.

Tap tap… tap tap…

Lin Wanxing also fell into silence. When she came back to her senses and looked at her phone, it was almost 7:30.

She instinctively looked at the person beside her. The young man was still watching the field with a zen-like posture, showing no intention of calling a stop.

The moment Lin Wanxing realized this, the students on the field also seemed to sense something. Someone pulled Fu Xinshu and said something.

Young Fu looked toward the stands, thought for a moment, and ran over to them.

After the long run, young Fu’s face was flushed, his body drenched in sweat, looking very tired.

He was slightly out of breath when he asked, “Coach, should we continue running?”

“Continue,” the young man said, somewhat dismissively.

Fu Xinshu was stunned again. “About how much longer do we need to run?”

“If I tell you how much longer, it won’t achieve the training effect,” the young man said.

Fu Xinshu was at a loss for words. Still trusting the coach, he bowed again and jogged back to the field.

The students on the field were all waiting for Fu Xinshu.

Hearing the answer, some instinctively continued to move their feet, while others showed slight dissatisfaction.

But soccer players themselves have decent physical strength, and this was just unrestricted jogging, so everyone continued running.

Tap tap… tap tap…

The team running on the track moved slower and slower, with some even “slacking off,” obviously dragging behind.

The night wind gradually grew colder, and Lin Wanxing felt her stomach rumble.

She rubbed her belly, glanced at the young man beside her, and silently took out a bag of cheese puffs from her bag.

The young man still maintained a calm gaze on the track. Sensing her glance, he looked toward her.

“Can you promise me one thing?” Lin Wanxing slowly began.

“Go ahead.”

“A bag of snacks, my snacks—I should eat two-thirds, you eat one-third,” Lin Wanxing said, holding the opening of the bag.

“This is your effort to persuade me?” the young man asked.

Lin Wanxing was stunned, realizing the young man was referring to her declaration to “try her best to hire him as a coach,” so she thought for a moment and conceded, “Then half each, showing my sincerity through fairness.”

“Then open it first and count.”

Hearing this, Lin Wanxing opened the bag, but it was dark now, so she could only pour them out to count.

She gestured for the young man to hold out his palm, intending to pour a small amount to get away with it. But because the bag opening was too wide, she directly poured out more than half with a whoosh.

“Thanks.” Quick as a flash, in the dim light, the young man cradled the cheese puffs and started eating them on his own, showing no intention of counting half.

Lin Wanxing immediately realized she had been tricked again, but as a future boss trying to make an effort, she could only say seriously, “Let me tell you, this is coming out of your salary!”

“Feel free,” the young man said while crunching the crispy snacks.

Perhaps it was the leisurely “sharing” of snacks on the stands that finally made the students feel something wasn’t right.

Some students started walking directly, while others nudged Fu Xinshu, asking him to inquire again.

Fu Xinshu was already looking very tired. He ran up to the stands for the third time, and this time, standing behind young Fu were his “loyal generals”—the rebellious Qin Ao and Chen Jianghe.

“What’s the point of making us run for so long?” Qin Ao asked, breathing heavily, drenched in sweat.

“No point,” the young man said leisurely while eating snacks.

This seemingly perfunctory attitude angered Qin Ao. Young Qin shouted heatedly, “So that’s all we’re training today?”

“Yes, just this.”

“What’s the meaning of such long-duration jogging? It’s useless for improving our fitness,” Chen Jianghe said.

“Indeed, it’s useless,” the young man nodded and acknowledged, then said, “Moreover, long-term steady-pace long-distance jogging training will affect your speed and explosive power.”

“Damn, you never planned to train us properly, did you?” Qin Ao immediately became furious.

He looked like he wanted to swing his fist again, but for some reason controlled himself, finally swinging his arm angrily and turning to leave.

Other students gathered around the seats.

“Coach, are you torturing us?” Goalkeeper Feng Suo looked like he had been fished out of water. He wiped away a stream of sweat and asked.

“Like in the movies, it has that vibe,” Qi Liang said.

“Occasional long-duration jogging is torture for you?” the young man said leisurely.

“Then why did you arrange this jogging training?” Chen Jianghe asked.

“I was waiting for you to ask this question. Why didn’t anyone ask me before we started training?” the young man said.

With these words, the area around the stands grew quiet. The students’ faces showed confusion and puzzlement.

They looked at each other, and finally, Fu Xinshu took the initiative and said, “It’s my fault. Coach, I didn’t ask clearly.”

“Obedience makes people numb. In my view, players who only receive instructions without thinking with their brains are committing a crime.” The young man’s voice wasn’t cold, and his expression was calm, but under the cover of night and the dim light of the field, it carried a sense of sternness.

This was perhaps completely different from all the training experiences the students had previously had. Even their breathing became lighter as they listened very quietly.

“I hope you can come to training with your brains engaged, not blindly following the coach’s authority, understanding the purpose of each training session. Most importantly, learn to ask questions.”

“Then Coach, can we eat your cheese puffs?” After a silence, Qi Liang’s voice rang out.

“Not mine, but hers are fine,” the young man said.

Lin Wanxing: “???”