Wen Chengye didn’t speak for a while.

The autumn night was clear and peaceful. Under the starry moonlit sky, the rooftop garden was covered in moonlight like white gauze. The climbing plants swayed in the wind, giving off a somewhat desolate feeling.

Fortunately, the lettuce and green onions planted by the students were growing vigorously, and autumn was also suitable for Hangzhou cabbage growth. So looking around, the rooftop garden remained flourishing.

The main caretakers of the garden were Lin Lu, Yu Ming, and Feng Suo. Lin Wanxing assigned them to introduce the garden’s structure to Wen Chengye.

The air was filled with the mixed scent of soil and vegetable seedlings. The students spoke enthusiastically, describing their plans for the garden.

Wen Chengye stood with his hands in his pockets, looking haughty. Though his expression was disdainful, the abundance of the rooftop garden still shocked him.

From the vegetable area to the greenhouse section, Yu Ming showed Wen Chengye the newly planted radishes and lettuce, commenting that Dog Wen was really lucky and would soon be able to enjoy the fruits of their new varieties.

Wen Chengye automatically ignored the nickname.

Then, in front of a large wooden structure, he stopped again.

There were wooden sofas, long tables, a wooden swing, two hanging hammocks, and a giant wooden rack standing against the wall.

The space was filled with wooden items.

Wang Fa hadn’t joined the tour and had been sitting at the long table drinking tea from early on.

Lin Lu demonstrated their self-built wooden sofa and extendable dining table to Wen Chengye.

Young Master Wen was forcibly seated on the sofa, feet resting on a tire footrest, half-reclining to feel the night breeze and the starry sky above.

In the darkness, the Zhangzhou red cherry blossoms bloomed brilliantly on the wooden rack behind him.

“Feels great, right? You don’t have this at home, do you?” Qin Ao said proudly.

Finally, Lin Wanxing introduced her and Wang Fa’s two rooms to Wen Chengye, and they eventually walked to the railing.

Everything was silent. Under the night sky, the vast sports field gradually unfolded before them.

The moonlight was like water. Every blade of grass on the field glistened, and the track was adorned with a string of street lamps, their light soft, and lustrous like a pearl necklace.

The wind that brushed past their ears was cool and refreshing.

“That’s the field where we train every day,” Lin Wanxing said.

All the boys stood at the railing. At that moment, all the squabbling noises disappeared completely.

That quiet yet magnificent field occupied everyone’s retinas. The air held only the sound of their breathing. Yet in a certain moment, all the cheers that had ever been raised there over the past hundred years seemed to sound together.

The stars twinkled.

Rising and falling.

Wen Chengye finally looked at her.

“Welcome to the team,” Lin Wanxing extended her hand to him.

Of course, like Wang Fa, Lin Wanxing never actually shook hands with Wen Chengye.

Although Lin Wanxing was certain that for a moment, Wen Chengye had been touched by the field and the vast emotions it contained.

But he wasn’t the type to be easily moved, so quickly, those unnamed emotions dissipated into the wind.

A banner reading “Warm Congratulations on Hongying Eighth Middle School Campus Football Team’s Victory Over Yuzhou Silver Elephant!!!” hung on the wall.

Wen Chengye’s gaze fell on the cut edge of the red synthetic fiber, and he softly uttered the word “idiots.”

This immediately triggered Qin Ao.

He stepped forward and grabbed Wen Chengye’s collar. “What did you say, idiot? Watch your mouth!”

Indeed, the previous harmony had been an illusion.

Seeing the boys about to argue again, the uncles and aunties sleeping in the building wouldn’t tolerate such commotion.

Lin Wanxing could only start to disperse them. “Alright, the welcome ceremony ends here. Let’s all go back to our own homes.”

“What do you mean it’s over?” Qin Ao’s anger hadn’t subsided. He turned to glare at her, very dissatisfied.

“It means there will be more days to come,” Lin Wanxing gently patted Qin Ao’s shoulder, signaling him to release Wen Chengye.

Though reluctant, Qin Ao still let go.

The students were unwilling to leave, dragging their feet.

Their eyes flickered, each looking back three times at every step as if saying:

“Teacher, how did you manage to do this!”

“You were clearly on our side, how come you have secrets with Wen Chengye now!”

But Lin Wanxing just looked at the boy beside her, smiling without answering.

Wen Chengye certainly wanted to be the first to leave, but she called him back.

“How did you feel today?” Lin Wanxing asked.

“What could I possibly feel?” Wen Chengye adjusted the backpack on his shoulder and asked in return.

“Well, you could feel nothing,” Lin Wanxing smiled. “Can you come on time tomorrow? I just thought, would your parents object to you coming to our classes? Do I need to contact them?”

Wen Chengye laughed instead. “Do you think they care about me?”

Lin Wanxing understood and said to Wen Chengye’s back, “Then remember to submit your homework. We start at 6:30 in the morning. Be sure to come tomorrow.”

Wen Chengye walked straight toward the rooftop door without looking back, completely ignoring her.

The iron door shut with a bang. With everyone gone, the rooftop finally returned to its usual tranquility.

A cup of warm tea was handed to her. Lin Wanxing looked up to find Wang Fa standing beside her with the tea.

The tea was honey-yellow, with a sweet fruity aroma.

Lin Wanxing took a sip and discovered it was passion fruit and lemon with some honey, leaving a sweet and sour taste in her mouth.

Rationally, Lin Wanxing knew very well that Wen Chengye wasn’t suitable to join them.

Although the other students quarreled sometimes, those were normal disagreements among boys.

But Wen Chengye was different. This boy’s moral and ethical concepts were very weak.

He could hurt others for his personal preferences and lacked interest in most things, making it difficult to motivate him.

They couldn’t even watch a movie in peace together. Having Wen Chengye join the team and cooperate with others seemed like a fantasy.

Lin Wanxing could easily imagine everyone arguing with Wen Chengye every day after he joined.

She took another sip of tea and said to Wang Fa, “Although I know it’s troublesome and difficult, I still want to try. That’s strange, isn’t it?”

“Not strange,” Wang Fa said, looking at the distant field.

“Will it cause you trouble?”

Wang Fa seemed surprised to hear this. He lifted his light-colored eyes, raised his cup, and gently clinked it against hers. “Teacher Lin, don’t be so formal. I’m quite free.”

Wen Chengye’s reflection paper on “The Martian” was a drawing.

The next day, when Lin Wanxing collected homework, Wen Chengye had no intention of submitting anything.

Lin Wanxing stood at his desk.

Seeing that she wouldn’t leave, Wen Chengye took out a piece of white paper from his backpack in front of her.

He pressed his mechanical pencil and drew a circle on the white paper.

Young Wen handed over the paper, his gaze full of defiance.

“Hmm, not bad,” Lin Wanxing took it and commented, “It’s quite round too.”

She put away Wen Chengye’s “homework” and looked at the other students.

Different students submitted different “reflections.”

Lin Lu, as the garden manager, submitted his “potato cultivation plan” that he had researched and organized last night. He had drawn a four-panel comic with very clear flow charts, showing good implementation potential.

Fu Xinshu, as always, had written a serious movie reflection, discussing his thoughts on “how people solve difficulties when encountering them.”

Qi Liang raised an interesting question — what would be the difference in taste between Earth potatoes and Mars potatoes?

Lin Wanxing threw this question to Wen Chengye.

Wen Chengye was stunned. But since Qi Liang was already the most accepting member of the entire team toward him, he didn’t mock the question itself but remained silent.

Silence was certainly part of the rebellious phase, but to a large extent, it also meant yielding.

“He can’t think of such things.”

“It’s useless to ask him!”

Seeing this, Qin Ao immediately started mocking.

“The movie’s fiction is just entertainment. Let humans land on Mars first before discussing this. Is there any meaning in this discussion?” Wen Chengye immediately retorted.

“What do you mean fiction? This is science fiction!”

“Without imagination, how could there be scientific progress!”

“Just because we haven’t landed there now doesn’t mean we can’t land on Mars in the future. His brain just doesn’t work properly.”

The boys immediately began arguing eloquently, collectively criticizing Wen Chengye.

While others were aggressive, Wen Chengye frowned, seemingly surprised that they could be so critical, and for a moment, he couldn’t find counterarguments.

Lin Wanxing looked at Wen Chengye, finding his thoughts interesting. “Indeed, movies aren’t necessarily meaningful. You can keep your perspective.”

Wen Chengye’s shoulders relaxed for a moment, but he immediately crossed his arms, appearing unwilling to engage with her.

Based on last night’s movie, Lin Wanxing had prepared video materials about Mars exploration.

The focus of the video was to explain the major challenges of human landing on Mars.

The students then realized that although the Soviet Mars 3 lander had reached Mars as early as 1971, this was just a small step in humanity’s long journey to Mars.

Various countries had begun the long march to Mars, with China planning to launch its first manned Mars exploration mission in 2033.

Wen Chengye didn’t speak the entire time, but he was quietly listening. At one point, Lin Wanxing saw him tilt his head slightly, seriously watching the Mars research being projected.

After a brief introduction, Lin Wanxing distributed today’s reading materials to the students, also about the “Mars Project.”

The materials consisted of two Chinese readings and two English readings.

Lin Wanxing would spend some quiet reading time with the students.

The Chinese popular science articles gave students some understanding of the relevant content, with some thought-provoking questions after each reading. Some were concise summaries of the article content and organization, while others were more complex multiple-choice questions.

The English materials were found by Lin Wanxing from some foreign English learning websites, generally matching the students’ interests for the day.

With the foundation of the Chinese reading section, students could understand the English content to varying degrees.

Lin Wanxing had previously taught everyone some techniques for reading English short articles, such as how to deal with unfamiliar words or reading long, difficult sentences, with grammar being the least important aspect.

However, compared to Chinese reading, English reading required more willpower, meaning students needed to concentrate to complete the reading task.

So in the beginning, they found reading English irritating every day.

First, English wasn’t their native language, making it laborious to read; second, they often encountered unfamiliar vocabulary and long sentences, which made them impatient to carefully read through an entire article.

At times like this, Lin Wanxing knew she needed to lower the difficulty of the reading materials a bit and make the whole process more interesting.

The entire reading time was often longer than the standard 40-minute class period. The topics also frequently changed according to the students’ different interests.

Sometimes when students became interested in certain questions, just watching the videos would lead to extended discussions that they enjoyed and could continue endlessly.

Lin Wanxing would not forcibly compress this process.

The other players were already accustomed to this routine, but it was Wen Chengye’s first time participating.

From beginning to end, he maintained a very “aloof” demeanor.

He refused to answer or discuss any related questions and was unwilling to look at any materials, acting purely as an outsider.

Lin Wanxing didn’t force him to participate.

However, when the other students were engaged in lively discussions, she would occasionally approach young Wen and exchange a few words with him so he wouldn’t feel completely excluded.

At the end of the reading course, Lin Wanxing would review the content they had seen that day with everyone and introduce some books and movies related to the Mars project and space exploration.

Most of the books could be found in her grandparents’ library collection. Students could freely decide whether to read these during their break time after the morning classes.

All of this constituted the students’ morning reading course.

The time was after 8 a.m.

Lin Wanxing announced the end of the reading class.

The boys naturally stretched, preparing to change into their soccer uniforms to begin the upcoming soccer training session.

Everyone packed up their things and left the classroom in small groups, arms around each other’s shoulders. Wen Chengye, having neither experience nor friends, fell behind alone.

Lin Wanxing took out the prepared binder and placed Wen Chengye’s morning submission in it, returning it to him.

“This is your homework for today, just for you,” she said to Wen Chengye.

Wen Chengye suddenly looked up. After more than an hour of non-stop reading in an environment where he couldn’t integrate at all, he was frustrated. “Aren’t you tired? You don’t think you’re something special, do you? What’s the use of all this random stuff you’re teaching?”

Lin Wanxing hadn’t expected such a strong reaction from Wen Chengye.

Wen Chengye was truly angry, but anger was better than silence.

Lin Wanxing thought for a moment and said, “Specifically speaking, our reading class doesn’t seem to have much purpose indeed, because it doesn’t have a clear objective.”

“It’s boring,” Wen Chengye sneered.

“But you know what, I enjoy teaching this class. Because for me, I need a catalyst to maintain curiosity about the world. I check materials every day, prompting myself to learn a bit more about this interesting world.”

Lin Wanxing stopped at just the right moment, leaving Wen Chengye alone, staring at the circle on the white paper before him.

“So what about you, Wen Chengye, do you have something you’re interested in? If so, please fill this circle with it and then give it to me,” Lin Wanxing said.

Lin Wanxing, wasn’t sure when Wen Chengye would be able to fill in his circle.

It might be tomorrow, or perhaps he would never be able to fill it.

The cultural class, which could barely be considered as such, managed to keep Wen Chengye and the other students peaceful, sitting in the same classroom.

However, during the formal soccer training class, the situation was not so harmonious and friendly.

Since no one would accompany Wen Chengye, Lin Wanxing had to personally bring him to the field. The school had no physical education classes during the first two morning periods, so Lin Wanxing successfully requested a two-hour leave from the school, just in case.

On the field, the other ten players and the coach were already prepared.

And she arrived late with Wen Chengye.

Every student on the soccer team had their training record sheet.

The record sheet was clipped to a file board, documenting the training items they needed to complete each day and their daily training results, allowing everyone to visually experience the progress brought by daily training.

Wen Chengye, of course, also received the same file board, but his board currently only had a single thin sheet of paper.

Although it was already late autumn, the midday sun still had quite a scorching temperature.

Wen Chengye stood alone on the grass, while the other team members lined up on the lawn, positioning themselves as spectators.

Wang Fa briefly introduced to Wen Chengye, “We need to conduct a physical test for you first, then based on the test results, we’ll develop suitable training for you. The test items are those on the form. Take a look first to see if there’s anything unclear, and I’ll provide you with detailed explanations and demonstrations.”

Wen Chengye didn’t show much reaction. Under the direct sunlight, he slightly furrowed his brows, looking at the file board in his hand.

Although Wen Chengye didn’t say a word, Lin Wanxing could roughly guess what he was thinking.

On the field, the other team members had arranged themselves to watch. She looked back at them and directly urged them to warm up.

“Why can’t we watch!”

“Teacher, even if you drive us away, we can still see him!”

“I want to see what kind of useless thing this old boy is now!”

The boys immediately started making a commotion, creating a disturbance, refusing to give up.

Lin Wanxing looked at Wang Fa with a headache.

Wang Fa blew his whistle, and the boys suddenly stiffened, instinctively lining up.

Although reluctant, daily training had become a habit, and they naturally began the pre-training warm-up.

Wen Chengye’s physical tests were the same ones that the other team members had done before.

After a simple demonstration, Wang Fa had Wen Chengye complete the tests one by one.

Although the other teammates had left, their earlier words had reached Wen Chengye’s ears. As a result, the entire testing process did not go smoothly.

It wasn’t that Wen Chengye questioned or was uncooperative; he simply displayed a complete lack of effort.

When running, he was too lazy to run; when jumping, he was too lazy to jump. Whether it was shuttle runs or pole tests, he always appeared lackadaisical.

Wen Chengye’s uncooperative attitude was the most difficult to deal with.

And what about their coach?

Lin Wanxing stood beside Wang Fa, looking at the young man wearing a baseball cap.

Wang Fa, however, remained calm. He repeatedly stopped the stopwatch, recording one dramatically long time after another on the file board.

Wang Fa offered no additional corrections or demonstrations to Wen Chengye. He calmly watched his player begin his first training session with an extremely negative attitude.

Lin Wanxing wanted to speak several times but didn’t know what to say.

Time passed second by second. Wen Chengye lazily walked on the rubber track, which was the final classic long-distance running test.

Qin Ao couldn’t stand it anymore and rushed over to complain, “He’s just too lazy to practice properly. Should I go teach him a lesson?”

Lin Wanxing smiled, “Aren’t you supposed to be warming up?”

“Warm up my ass! Teacher, just give the word, and I’ll immediately kick Dog Wen in the butt to correct his attitude!”

“Too violent,” Wang Fa commented.

It was quite funny. Because of Wen Chengye’s negative attitude, it affected the other players as well. After warming up, the boys did their strength training carelessly. They would do a few sets of training and then find time to run to her side to complain.

They were just waiting for her command. As soon as she gave the order, they would immediately deploy to discipline Wen Chengye.

“Compared to Dog Wen, we’re all good kids, right!” Lin Lu proudly raised his head.

Lin Wanxing watched as Wang Fa wrote down Wen Chengye’s 1500-meter result and could only nod reluctantly.

She suddenly felt that Qin Ao’s suggestion might not be out of the question.

The completion of all of Wen Chengye’s physical tests had taken an exaggerated hour and more.

During the halftime break, Wen Chengye drank water alone at the edge of the field.

Lin Wanxing and Wang Fa sat in the stands resting.

Wang Fa had completed all the test items according to Wen Chengye’s pace without any comment.

This made Lin Wanxing unable to resist asking, “Aren’t you angry?”

“Seeing Teacher Lin so calm, I must also maintain composure.”

“I’m pretending!” Lin Wanxing turned her back to the field, facing Wang Fa with gritted teeth. “I want to beat him up!”

“Well, I’m different. I’ve truly experienced great storms, so I’m not angry.”

“Don’t suddenly act cool!” Lin Wanxing protested Wang Fa’s refusal to align with her.

Wen Chengye’s physical test also counted as his warm-up.

After a short break, Wang Fa continued to “not be angry” and arranged for Wen Chengye to train with the team.

According to the training plan, today’s basic training item was passing and receiving drills with intra-team competition.

Players in groups of two or three passed and received the ball while running, which was a very basic soccer training exercise.

The purpose of the training was to familiarize students with their teammates while running and to achieve on-field rapport through numerous passing and receiving combinations.

The students were already very familiar with the content, and Wang Fa had arranged many training groups before. Everyone was familiar with the entire training process.

Previously, they would automatically divide into groups, but Wen Chengye’s sudden addition left the boys unsure of how to start training. Everyone waited for Wang Fa’s arrangement.

“You play as a defender, right?” Wang Fa, holding his notebook, spun his pencil and asked Wen Chengye.

Wen Chengye was taken aback. He didn’t recall mentioning his specific position before. But thinking that others might have disclosed it, he just nodded.

“Then you’ll be in a group with Qin Ao and Fu Xinshu,” Wang Fa said.

Hearing this, all three students looked up at Wang Fa in disbelief.

Fu Xinshu hesitated, while Qin Ao was more straightforward, “Coach, how could he possibly keep up with us?”

“That’s not my concern,” Wang Fa said.

“No, coach, Dog Wen… you don’t know how long it’s been since Dog Wen played. He doesn’t even know our passing routes. Damn, I don’t know either, so how can he coordinate with us in training?”

“Gradually explore coordination,” Wang Fa said.

When it came to training, Coach Wang Fa was authoritarian, typically having the final say.

He explained today’s training tactics to Wen Chengye and the other students again: quick transition from defense to offense. It was practice in quickly finding gaps in the opponent’s defense before they could position themselves.

Wang Fa outlined the students’ passing routes and running paths in his tactics book. The other students were already familiar with this; it was mainly explained for Wen Chengye’s benefit.

“You and Fu Xinshu move forward to intercept the ball, observe Qin Ao’s movements, and pass at the opportune moment,” Wang Fa said to Wen Chengye. “If Qin Ao receives the ball, he can choose to attack or pass back.”

Straight lines represented attack routes, while zigzag dotted lines represented defensive routes. After Wang Fa finished explaining, he let the students practice.

The defensive team consisted of Lin Lu, Qi Liang, and Chen Jianghe.

Qi Liang started to dribble the ball. Fu Xinshu seized the opportunity to position himself and intercepted the ball, passing it diagonally to Qin Ao who was running forward. Fu Xinshu’s pass was very precise, the result of their long-term training and coordination. Qin Ao stopped the ball with the top of his foot. At this point, Lin Lu began to mark Qin Ao.

Following Wang Fa’s requirements, Lin Lu focused on disrupting the ball, closely marking Qin Ao.

Lin Lu’s interference was indeed effective. Qin Ao began looking for Wen Chengye’s position. Qin Ao opened his legs wide, but in the next moment, Wen Chengye just stood in place without any movement.

“Run!” Fu Xinshu waved to Wen Chengye from a distance, signaling him to run actively.

But at that moment, Wen Chengye just stood still, staring blankly ahead.

The soccer ball rolled on the lawn.

Wen Chengye’s appearance was completely different from his earlier laziness. In this instant, it seemed as if he was the only person in the entire field, and his mind went blank.

He didn’t know what he was supposed to do.