Students’ thought processes differed from normal people’s, and Lin Wanxing had long grown accustomed to this.

However, she thought this matter was simple—they had just shared lunch with Jin Ziyang.

But the students didn’t seem to think so.

This group was extremely gossipy. After finishing their exams, they gathered at the soccer field.

The boys, like puppies finally allowed outside after being cooped up all day, happily rushed toward the stands. Upon seeing Wang Fa, they immediately began tattling.

“Coach, today at lunch, a male teacher insisted on eating with our teacher!” Zheng Feiyang jumped up, waving at Wang Fa.

“Yeah, the cafeteria was full of empty seats, but that male teacher had to sit next to our teacher, even asking ‘Is anyone sitting here?'” Lin Lu said.

“We were sitting at the table. Aren’t we people?!” Qin Ao said.

Wang Fa listened to the students’ reports while leisurely walking down the steps.

He lifted the brim of his cap, his features refined and handsome. Seeing his questioning gaze sweep over, Lin Wanxing swallowed.

Yu Ming said, “But don’t worry, Coach. Teacher Jin has no interest in our teacher. The way he looked at our teacher wasn’t like looking at braised pork in a bowl.”

Lin Wanxing couldn’t hold back at this point.

“This guy even said the male teacher isn’t blind! What’s that supposed to mean?” Lin Wanxing patted Qi Liang, also tattling.

“Indeed, are you suggesting I’m blind?” Hearing this, Wang Fa calmly asked Qi Liang.

Lin Wanxing nodded vigorously, then realized something was off about that statement.

Student Qi Liang stood frozen in place, every curly hair radiating stiffness. After a long while, he finally let out a heavy “Damn.”

Seeing him rarely at a loss for words, everyone laughed joyfully.

The daily exam schedule was intense.

For a full three days, students only had two hours of training time after exams ended.

Everyone cherished this time.

According to the match schedule, they would face Shanghai Haibo next weekend.

With exams taking up three days, Lin Wanxing was a bit worried that there wouldn’t be enough training time, but the boys acted as if nothing was wrong.

They enthusiastically participated in the school’s monthly exams and then enthusiastically ran wild on the soccer field.

On Wednesday evening, the last history exam ended.

The bell rang, and the evening breeze blew across the entire campus, causing branches of osmanthus to sway in patches.

Lin Wanxing collected all the test papers from the examination room for the last time, and also for the last time, paid attention to Wen Chengye’s answer sheet.

Like the Chinese test paper on the first day, Wen Chengye’s handwriting was neat, and the quality of his answers was high.

Although she had observed Wen Chengye for three days and found this boy quite strange, she truly hadn’t discovered any problems with him.

If innocent until proven guilty, she didn’t even know what Wen Chengye might be guilty of, so she could only let it go for now.

In the minutes after turning in the papers, the campus seemed to ignite.

Students were clamoring noisily, and those unrestrained sounds of commotion echoed within the teaching building. Regardless of how many days and nights they still had to endure in the future, at least now, everyone got a brief respite.

Outside the examination room, Wen Chengye put on his backpack and left it alone.

Lin Wanxing organized the test papers and delivered the exam packet to the academic affairs office.

After completing her work, she returned to the sports equipment storage room.

When she pushed open the door, she found someone sitting inside.

Teacher Qian himself was holding his signature large tea mug, standing by the window going “duang duang duang” as he drank his tea.

“What brings you here?” Lin Wanxing was surprised.

Teacher Qian turned around and poked the desk with his chubby finger.

On the desk lay a stack of red silk, with a “Crossword” book on top of it.

“I’ve finished the puzzles in this book. Please return it to the library for me, Teacher Lin,” Teacher Qian said.

Lin Wanxing felt awkward, pretending not to remember what she had said last time, and only said, “Then I’ll pick out two more good ones for you next time.”

As she spoke, she directly pulled out the red silk from under the book. Just by the corner of the character “Xiang” on the red silk, she knew it was the banner the boys had hung at the school cafeteria entrance.

Teacher Qian said, “The logistics department said it was taking up too much space, making other announcements invisible, so they delivered it directly to our sports department.”

Lin Wanxing smiled and said, “They were so happy about finally beating a professional team. Sorry for the trouble.”

“I wouldn’t call it trouble. After all, it’s an achievement in the school’s sports development, so it’s only right to promote it a bit.”

Teacher Qian began speaking in officialese while holding his large tea mug. Lin Wanxing stood beside him listening, occasionally zoning out a bit.

“…Finally, we must guard against arrogance and rashness! Keep up the good work!” Teacher Qian concluded.

Lin Wanxing only heard the last sentence and instinctively said, “Guarding against arrogance is impossible.”

Teacher Qian was stunned, his eyes immediately widening.

“I mean, it’s normal for the boys to be proud, and there’s nothing wrong with being proud,” she said.

Teacher Qian smacked his lips, wanting to say something, but ultimately swallowed his words.

The sunset outside the window was fiery red.

Lin Wanxing had been proctoring all day and felt stiff all over. She stretched her neck while looking at Teacher Qian.

Teacher Qian was also looking at her.

Lin Wanxing rotated her shoulders again, pretending to tidy up the desk.

But Teacher Qian still hadn’t left.

She couldn’t hold back any longer, tilted her head, and looked at him innocently, “You’ve finished your tea. Do you need me to refill it for you?”

Teacher Qian looked at his tea mug, then looked at her, “Is Teacher Lin about to get off work?”

“Yes, it’s time,” Lin Wanxing smiled. “But it’s fine if you want to stay, Teacher Qian.”

“Why would I stay? Let’s go, let’s go, work’s over.” Teacher Qian finished the last few drops in his tea mug and walked stylishly toward the door.

Just as his left foot crossed the threshold, he turned around as if suddenly remembering something, looking extremely affected.

Lin Wanxing tilted her head again.

Teacher Qian asked in a low voice, “Are you confident about their monthly exam results?”

“Huh?” Lin Wanxing played dumb, pretending not to know that this was what he had been hesitating to ask for half the day.

“The soccer team boys. Didn’t you promise their parents you’d improve their grades?”

Lin Wanxing smiled, “I don’t quite understand what you mean by ‘confident’?”

“I mean improvement, mainly academic improvement. Teacher Lin, you see, your team’s match results are great. If their academic results improve as well, wouldn’t that be addressing both aspects, complementing each other?”

“But their exam results are their own business. I don’t think I can take responsibility for something that belongs to them,” Lin Wanxing said.

Hearing this, Teacher Qian stared at her blankly.

Night, 17 Wutong Road, rooftop.

Lin Wanxing climbed the ladder, hanging one corner of the banner on the rooftop wall.

Today’s post-exam training had drained the boys’ last bit of energy. After disbanding at the field, they all went home.

The rooftop now offered a rare moment of tranquility after many days.

“Sigh, I’m a person with work pressure too,” Lin Wanxing rambled about Teacher Qian bringing the banner in the evening under the soft moonlight.

She was just about to turn around and climb down the ladder when she mentioned Teacher Qian asking if she was confident about the students’ results.

A pair of slender yet strong hands steadied her just in time.

“So what did you say?” Wang Fa’s calm voice sounded in the rooftop garden.

“I said, those are their grades, what confidence should I have!” Lin Wanxing jumped down from the ladder smoothly and then carried it to the other side of the wall.

She climbed up the ladder, gesturing for Comrade Wang Fa to bring the other end of the red silk.

Comrade Wang Fa didn’t charge for performing such a small task.

Lin Wanxing said, “I told the kids that the next time we beat Shanghai Haibo, we’ll replace the words ‘Yuzhou Silver Elephants’ on the banner.”

Lin Wanxing took the corner of the banner handed by Wang Fa, hung it on the iron nail fixed in the wall, jumped down from the ladder, and stood side by side with Wang Fa in the rooftop garden.

“Warm Celebration of Hongjing Eighth Middle School Soccer Team’s Victory over Yuzhou Silver Elephants!!!”

The banner had a slight synthetic silk sheen in the night, with white characters reflecting light.

“What do you think?” Lin Wanxing asked.

“It’s hung evenly,” Wang Fa replied.

This answer was quite literal. Lin Wanxing paused, then looked at Wang Fa, imitating Teacher Qian’s manner.

Wang Fa also lowered his head slightly, looking at her.

Lin Wanxing tilted her head.

Wang Fa followed by lowering his head a bit more…

The autumn night sky was serene.

Lin Wanxing coughed lightly, “I meant, what does Coach think?”

“Think about what?” Wang Fa asked.

“I mean, does Coach think there’s a possibility that we can replace ‘Yuzhou Silver Elephants’ on our banner with ‘Shanghai Haibo’?”

“You’re asking if we can beat Shanghai Haibo?”

“Yes!”

“Of course not.”

Wang Fa’s answer was very straightforward.

Lin Wanxing looked at Wang Fa, suddenly understanding how Teacher Qian felt when she had stumped him.

“In this regard, I’m different from Little Teacher Lin. I am confident,” Wang Fa continued twisting the knife.

Lin Wanxing, clutching her chest as if about to cough blood, sat down with Wang Fa at the small table in the garden.

The table had been redesigned by the students. As the garden area expanded, they found an old wooden table from a recycling station and modified it into the current dining table with extendable features.

To comfort her, Wang Fa took out sugar-preserved lemons from the refrigerator. He also picked some fast-growing mint leaves from the yard, added them to soda water, and served two drinks for her and himself.

Comrade Wang Fa was skilled at mixing drinks. Lin Wanxing poked the lemon with her straw, took a sip—it was sweet and sour—and finally couldn’t help asking, “Why?”

“Hmm?”

“Why can we beat ‘Yuzhou Silver Elephants’ but definitely can’t beat ‘Shanghai Haibo’?”

Wang Fa also took a sip of sparkling water. His Adam’s apple moved slightly, then he put down the glass. The air was filled with the refreshing scent of mint.

He asked, “In your view, how did we win against ‘Yuzhou Silver Elephants’?”

“Uh…” Lin Wanxing hadn’t expected Wang Fa to turn the question back to her. Following the principle of answering seriously, she said, “First, the month of training and daily training feedback helped students recognize the changes in their bodies, giving them the confidence to complete the match—this was the foundation for victory. Second, the coach’s guidance was appropriate, establishing suitable tactics, practicing these tactics multiple times in previous matches and training, and forming good coordination among team members. Finally, understanding the on-field psychology of the opposing coach and players, thereby firmly controlling the rhythm of the match and offense.”

She stopped there, looking at Wang Fa.

The young man rested his chin on one hand, the other hand lightly tracing the rim of his cold drink glass, his gaze light and calm.

Wang Fa said, “When Little Teacher Lin has students do summaries, is there a simpler explanation?”

“Uh…” Lin Wanxing seemed to have an answer in mind but couldn’t articulate it at the moment.

“The reason the team could win is very simple,” Wang Fa said directly.

“What?”

“Me.”