Yu Prefecture was situated at a lower elevation, surrounded by mountains on all sides, making its climate even colder and damper than Hong Jing. This kind of dampness was something one could not imagine without personally experiencing it.

The soccer field at Yu Prefecture’s Silver Elephant training base was nestled in a mountain valley, so looking into the distance, the entire world seemed shrouded in a thin winter mist.

Lin Wan Xing stepped off the bus, breathing in the heavy moisture in the air.

The boys jostled each other as they disembarked. Wen Cheng Ye sat at the back, naturally making him the last to get off.

The organizing committee staff waited at the registration desk. Lin Wan Xing signed in as usual. The other students, led by Jin Zi Yang, moved noisily toward the locker room.

Wen Cheng Ye walked very slowly. Jin Zi Yang didn’t deliberately wait for or look after Wen Cheng Ye despite knowing him.

Lin Wan Xing and Wang Fa stood by the roadside waiting for a while before the boy finally dragged himself over. His complexion was still poor; apparently, the cold wind on the bus hadn’t helped.

“Motion sickness?” Lin Wan Xing, who had fallen behind and was quite far from the main group, asked the boy.

Wen Cheng Ye remained silent, his gaze wandering left and right as if enduring something.

“If you feel like throwing up, you can go to the bathroom. There should be one near the locker room,” Wang Fa reminded him.

Wen Cheng Ye felt nauseous again. Boys at this age were mostly concerned about saving face, especially someone like Wen Cheng Ye.

Wang Fa stopped talking. He walked with Wen Cheng Ye to the locker room entrance and finally said, “If you’re not feeling well, just stay outside alone for some fresh air.”

The door suddenly opened.

Boxed meals and several cases of mineral water were placed at the locker room entrance, provided by the organizing committee. Qin Ao led the way in carrying them. They were busy moving water and boxed meals.

Wang Fa set up a whiteboard in the locker room and began the routine pre-match preparation.

Lin Wan Xing went out to coordinate with the organizing committee staff. When she returned, she looked around the room and noticed that Wen Cheng Ye was indeed absent.

The locker room was filled with the smell of boxed meals, and the boys’ hastily removed soccer shoes were scattered about. With the doors and windows closed and the air conditioner running, the entire room had quite a strong odor.

Lin Wan Xing counted heads and noticed that Fu Xin Shu was also missing, and Wen Cheng Ye still hadn’t returned.

So she turned and went out to look for them.

The weather was cold, and the Yu Prefecture Silver Elephant Club was deserted. She circled the locker room and soccer field once without seeing anyone. Just as she was about to head back to the locker room following the signs, she noticed a restroom sign on the other side of the field.

Ahead was a small grove with what seemed like cold mountain mist lingering.

“This match is really important for everyone. No matter what opinion you have of me, please play seriously this time!” Fu Xin Shu’s voice, tinged with fierceness, came through the gaps in the trees.

Lin Wan Xing stopped in her tracks.

Wen Cheng Ye maintained his traditional expressionless silence, turning to leave.

Fu Xin Shu continued from behind him, “You can’t ignore orders anymore. If we get eliminated this time, we’ll have no chance to advance.”

Wen Cheng Ye remained silent. As they passed each other, Fu Xin Shu grabbed his arm.

Quick as lightning, Wen Cheng Ye grabbed the hair at the back of Fu Xin Shu’s head and slightly lowered his own.

From Lin Wan Xing’s angle, she could see that Wen Cheng Ye had indeed viciously grabbed Fu Xin Shu’s hair. The younger boy tilted his head back in pain, causing Lin Wan Xing to inhale sharply.

Wen Cheng Ye’s lips moved slightly as if saying something. Then he threw Fu Xin Shu aside like discarded trash.

Fu Xin Shu lost his balance and fell to the ground.

She was about to run over when voices behind her moved faster than she could.

“Fuck you, Wen Cheng Ye!”

“What the hell are you doing!”

The voices of Qin Ao and Zheng Fei Yang suddenly rang out.

Zheng Fei Yang helped Fu Xin Shu up, while Qin Ao had already forcefully pushed Wen Cheng Ye away.

Seeing that Qin Ao was about to fight with Wen Cheng Ye, Lin Wan Xing quickly ran over.

She grabbed Qin Ao’s fist.

Qin Ao glared with wide, angry eyes, incredulous, “You’re seriously breaking up the fight? He fucking hit someone, and you’re still taking his side?”

Lin Wan Xing was stunned for a moment, thought briefly, and then said, “Theoretically, I’ve always hoped for your self-governance, so if you want to fight, should I let you fight freely?”

Qin Ao glared furiously, “Is this the time to discuss your educational philosophy?”

“Thinking through some things is still useful. For example, if Wen Cheng Ye attacked Fu Xin Shu, then Fu Xin Shu should be the one to retaliate. That would be reasonable…”

While she was creating this diversion, Wen Cheng Ye walked away without looking back.

Qin Ao shouted at Wen Cheng Ye’s retreating figure, and Lin Wan Xing released him.

“I’ve always seen that you favor that Wen dog.”

“This useless piece of trash hit someone, and you don’t even deal with him!”

“But I equally don’t deal with any of you,” Lin Wan Xing consoled Qin Ao in a calm tone. After speaking, she turned to look at Fu Xin Shu.

The young boy’s face was pale, his entire face scrunched up.

Lin Wan Xing said, “Move around slowly and see if there’s anything wrong with your body?”

Fu Xin Shu seemed immersed in fear, unable to recover.

Seeing this, Qin Ao was about to explode with anger.

Zheng Fei Yang was also extremely upset, “What’s Wen Cheng Ye’s problem? Not coming to training for days is one thing, but now he’s acting like the whole world owes him during a match!”

“Forget it,” Fu Xin Shu’s weak voice suddenly sounded.

He forced himself to maintain his spirit, jumping a little on the spot, and said, “Let’s just focus on the match.”

The weather was cold and damp, the surroundings quiet. One could almost hear the whistle and running footsteps from the field.

Lin Wan Xing knew that Qin Ao, including Fu Xin Shu—they were all hurting.

They had finally developed incredibly grand dreams and goals, wanting to earnestly accomplish many things, only to suddenly discover that many things weren’t just as simple as they wanted them to be.

So they were angry, sad, wanted to vent, wanted to change Wen Cheng Ye, but could do nothing.

Lin Wan Xing returned to the locker room with the students.

Opening the locker room door, Wen Cheng Ye wasn’t inside.

Fu Xin Shu’s clothes were a bit dirty, his hair disheveled, and his complexion poor.

Seeing this situation, the other students in the locker room naturally guessed that something had happened outside again.

The other boys surrounded Qin Ao, asking questions.

Qin Ao directly told the other students about Wen Cheng Ye’s attack on Fu Xin Shu.

“Damn, why is Wen dog so arrogant?”

“Is he targeting you, Old Fu? Last time he also caused trouble before the match!”

Everyone instantly became agitated.

Jin Zi Yang exercised his role as the team teacher, advising the students to prioritize the bigger picture and unite.

Lin Wan Xing was accustomed to this and didn’t interfere. Instead, she sat down beside Wang Fa.

Wang Fa was often very quiet.

Even in the noisy locker room now, no matter how chaotic the surroundings, he seemed to be in his own independent space, undisturbed.

Just then, the organizing committee came to deliver two more cases of water. The students were all gathered around Qin Ao denouncing Wen Cheng Ye, paying no attention.

Wang Fa naturally stood up to move the water, and Lin Wan Xing followed him out.

Outside, the thin mist still enveloped everything. The distant hills were tinged with winter’s earthen yellow. Taking a deep breath of the mountain air brought a piercing chill.

The locker room door closed, instantly silencing the surroundings. Lin Wan Xing stood beside Wang Fa, suddenly feeling calm as well.

“Was there a fight?” Wang Fa tore open the packaging and pulled out a bottle of mineral water to hand to her.

Lin Wan Xing softly recounted Fu Xin Shu’s previous conversation with her, as well as his confrontation with Wen Cheng Ye.

“Hmm.”

Wang Fa listened and then summarized very concisely and cleanly.

Lin Wan Xing nodded vigorously, looking hopefully at Wang Fa.

But after waiting for a while, Wang Fa offered no other explanation.

Lin Wan Xing exhaled, and the faint white mist gently dissipated from her nostrils. The boys’ noisy voices and curses about “Wen dog” filtered through from behind the locker room door.

Although Fu Xin Shu had said a lot, Lin Wan Xing knew clearly that the problem wasn’t just there.

Why did Chen Wei Dong leave?

He said it was because of conflicts with other sports activities, but everyone knew that was just an excuse.

The essence was that they weren’t strong enough, and lost matches, and to ease the pain of losing, they began blaming each other, creating gaps and friction.

This kind of gap and friction was inherent in team cooperation projects. Wen Cheng Ye’s existence might just give others a more sufficient reason for “we can’t win.”

Mist swirled through the mountains. Perhaps if she said something, managed Wen Cheng Ye a bit, she could make him temporarily “listen” and get everyone to work together.

But even if she did all that, she still couldn’t achieve what they truly wanted—winning the match.

The person with that kind of transformative power was probably only Wang Fa.

Wang Fa likely understood what she was thinking. He leaned against the wall outside the locker room, arms crossed, leisurely looking toward the mist-shrouded mountains in the distance.

“Does the coach have any instructions?” she asked Wang Fa.

“Actually, no,” Wang Fa was quite straightforward and wasn’t teasing her.

“Everyone wants victory. Even Wen Cheng Ye wants to win, right?” Lin Wan Xing said.

“Hasn’t Teacher Lin always believed that in soccer, there’s something that transcends victory?” Wang Fa countered.

“You’re just like Wen Cheng Ye,” Lin Wan Xing smiled helplessly. “I just wanted to assign a more thought-provoking winter holiday assignment, it doesn’t mean I hold any definite opinion.”

“Really?” Wang Fa turned to look at her, the young man’s pale eyes holding deep, dark meaning. “Then just consider that I want to see if there is such a thing,” he said.

In the afternoon, the thin mist over the mountains dispersed somewhat.

But the weather was still cold, the air heavy with dampness. The students felt hot in their long-sleeved shirts and trousers.

Lin Wan Xing wrapped her down jacket tightly, standing at the edge of the field. The grass beneath her feet was particularly wet and slippery.

The Yu Prefecture Silver Elephant team players had arrived earlier than them; this was their home field.

With the home-field advantage, the Yu Prefecture Silver Elephant youth team players were in high spirits and full of confidence.

In the first three rounds of matches, the Yu Prefecture Silver Elephant players had only earned one point. This made their advancement situation very precarious. This match against Hong Jing Eighth Middle School was one they couldn’t afford to lose.

But for the Hong Jing Eighth Middle School players playing away, this was equally a match they couldn’t afford to lose.

The sun couldn’t be seen in the sky, much like the current atmosphere in the team.

Wen Cheng Ye never returned to the locker room, so they only had 10 players who reached the field.

The students felt that Wen Cheng Ye had a terrible attitude and had no intention of playing properly. They were all holding back anger, and even Fu Xin Shu hadn’t suggested going to look for Wen Cheng Ye.

But once on the field, as everyone began warming up, they looked around anxiously, appearing somewhat uneasy.

“Boss, should I go find Wen Dog?” Lin Lu tentatively asked Qin Ao. “Are you just stupid? Go find him?”

“But we don’t have enough people to play the match,” Lin Lu said.

“Then we’ll play with just the 10 of us. It’s the same whether Wen dog is here or not,” Qin Ao said arrogantly, but his wandering gaze betrayed him.

“Win or lose, it doesn’t matter if he’s here,” Qi Liang said nonchalantly, hands behind his head.

“What do you mean? We didn’t beat Yu Prefecture Silver Elephant last time, so what? You’re just building up others’ confidence while destroying our own?”

“Haha, you’re fierce,” Qi Liang laughed.

“You think I won’t hit you?” Qin Ao clenched his fist.

“Even fiercer now,” Qi Liang whistled.

Qin Ao glared, his fist raised midair.

But the next moment, he suddenly froze, staring fixedly at the entrance to the field.

Following his gaze, someone appeared at the field entrance.

The only person who could instantly cast a spell on Qin Ao was Wen Cheng Ye.

From a distance, Wen Cheng Ye’s figure seemed to emerge from the misty air, with the undulating mountains of Yu Prefecture behind him.

It reminded Lin Wan Xing of those hunting dogs only seen in certain wildlife documentaries, perhaps called Greyhounds. They had glossy black fur, slender ears, and defiant eyes.

As if born to be solitary, never getting close to anyone.

Just as Wen Cheng Ye appeared, the entire team’s atmosphere froze again.

The boys stood together, and no one wanted to speak to this person who had skipped training without reason and bullied his teammates.

The cold wind was damp; the whistle blew.

Setting aside other factors, Lin Wan Xing still very much enjoyed bringing the students to the field to watch them play.

When the shrill whistle sounded and the students began running on the field, everything seemed to become focused and simple.

Arguments and disputes were like the wind swiftly passing by their ears as they ran, temporarily cast aside.

Yu Prefecture Silver Elephant was under immense point pressure, nearly on the edge of elimination.

This match was equally crucial for them. Logically, the pressure would make people hasty, but on the field, the Yu Prefecture Silver Elephant players performed with unusual stability.

Their coordination was seamless, their positioning frequent. Each pass was met with proactive positioning, active and effective. The entire team moved as one unit, woven into a net that advanced and retreated with precision.

This gave Lin Wan Xing the illusion that her students were like fish fry struggling on this net, completely under control.

Compared to their first encounter, Yu Prefecture Silver Elephant now displayed their true capability. Their unhurried attitude made Lin Wan Xing certain that today’s Yu Prefecture Silver Elephant was completely different from before.

“Yu Prefecture Silver Elephant seems completely transformed this time, they’re so formidable,” Lin Wan Xing sat on the bench, tightening her down jacket, and turned to Wang Fa.

Wang Fa looked at the coaching area next to them and told her, “They’re well-prepared, and their mentality is more stable than last time.”

This was high praise for the opponent.

As they were speaking, Jin Zi Yang, who was watching the match nearby, suddenly tensed.

On the field, Yu Prefecture Silver Elephant’s passes found a gap. Their winger carried the ball, inserting from the flank, and chipped the ball to the center of the penalty area.

Zheng Fei Yang covered the center, while Wen Cheng Ye guarded the far post. However, Wen Cheng Ye didn’t faithfully defend the far post. After Zheng Fei Yang moved up to cover the center, he chose to move forward, running out of the penalty area.

In the contest, Zheng Fei Yang couldn’t win against the opponent’s center forward. The Yu Prefecture Silver Elephant center forward narrowly headed the ball, which was relayed to the far post. At the far post, a Yu Prefecture Silver Elephant forward inserted like a blade, following up to receive the ball. With no one defending, he easily took the shot.

The soccer ball traced a ghostly arc, flying into the goal.

Lin Wan Xing inhaled sharply, not expecting such a quick and simple goal.

The mist stagnated, the grass indistinct, and rain about to fall but not yet falling.

One’s chest also felt like it was stuffed with damp cotton, making it hard to breathe.

The Yu Prefecture Silver Elephant players didn’t celebrate this goal but quickly gathered at the center line, waiting to restart.

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

Goalkeeper Feng Suo picked up the soccer ball. He tossed it to Qin Ao, but his eyes were fixed on Wen Cheng Ye.

As the goalkeeper, no one understood better than Feng Suo the problem caused by Wen Cheng Ye’s positional error. Originally, with Wen Cheng Ye at the far post, there were no gaps in the defense line. However, Wen Cheng Ye abandoned his position and left the penalty area, making Yu Prefecture Silver Elephant’s goal incredibly easy.

Qin Ao caught the ball and directly cursed at Wen Cheng Ye, “If you don’t want to play, you can get lost!”

From the sidelines, Lin Wan Xing couldn’t hear the specific conversation between the students.

But the moment Qin Ao walked up to Wen Cheng Ye holding the soccer ball, she could fully feel the tension, as palpable as if they were in an ice cellar, with the two about to come to blows at any moment.

She couldn’t help but tense up.

Nearby, Jin Zi Yang also sensed the crisis, “Should we call a timeout?”

Lin Wan Xing was stunned, not expecting Jin Zi Yang to ask this.

“Soccer matches don’t allow timeouts in principle,” Wang Fa calmly explained.

“Then what if they start fighting?” Jin Zi Yang asked.

“Fighting? Field brawls are serious violations, and they would be given red cards,” Wang Fa’s tone remained calm as he continued after a pause, “Due to the serious nature of non-soccer related conflicts, they would also face additional match suspensions.”

Wang Fa said these things coldly, so coldly that it was as if this wasn’t the team he was coaching. Lin Wan Xing pondered, “If someone gets sent off, we won’t have enough players for the next match against Yong Chuan Heng Da, right?”

Jin Zi Yang was somewhat dumbfounded, not understanding why she would let the situation develop without intervention.

On the field, Qin Ao’s fist ultimately didn’t fall. He only severely warned Wen Cheng Ye again, then placed the ball back at the center of the field.

Restart.

Already leading 1-0, Yu Prefecture Silver Elephant showed no anxiety. They maintained their orderly advance and retreat, without any reckless attacks that might come with a 1-0 lead or when dominating a weaker team.

Honestly, such a suffocating tide of offense, Lin Wan Xing had only seen in their match against Yong Chuan Heng Da.

Yu Prefecture Silver Elephant’s characteristic was teamwork.

“This is their most outstanding quality. In some sense, Yu Prefecture Silver Elephant seems more like an adult team than a youth team,” Wang Fa didn’t seem very concerned about the field situation but continued to explain Yu Prefecture Silver Elephant’s characteristics after she asked.

“Adult team?”

“An adult team’s goal is to become a single unit to achieve team victory. The team’s benefits always come before the individual’s,” Wang Fa answered.

“Don’t youth teams play like that?” Lin Wan Xing was surprised.

“Youth teams are business,” Wang Fa’s voice was calm.

The wind from the valley blew past Lin Wan Xing’s ears. The white mist from her breath gently dispersed by the field. Somehow, many things sounded more chilling when said by Wang Fa.

What is business?

It’s discovering the most outstanding players in the team, building the team around them, molding them into the brightest stars, and finally selling them for a high price.

Lin Wan Xing looked toward the field.

Both on and off the field, this team was actually in a state of emptiness and confusion, with dark clouds gathering, perhaps never to see the moment when sunlight truly breaks through.

The situation seemed complex and variable, but it generally pushed in just one direction. The Hong Jing Eighth Middle School players seemed to still be struggling in the net woven by Yu Prefecture Silver Elephant.

Even Wen Cheng Ye had become much more docile.

He began to honestly act as a defender in the defense line, rather than positioning according to his own will, randomly charging forward, leaving huge gaps behind him.

But a drop in the bucket, an arm against a chariot—this was exactly the kind of resistance they were putting up.

Soon, Yu Prefecture Silver Elephant scored again.

They completed three consecutive shots in the penalty area. The first two were blocked by Zheng Ren and Fu Xin Shu with their bodies, but the third shot broke through Hong Jing Eighth Middle School’s defense.

The soccer ball fell into the net, rolling gently down.

2-0.

In the students’ running, Lin Wan Xing saw numbness.

During halftime, the students wiped their sweat.

Lin Wan Xing could only encourage them by the cold field side.

“I think our defense is much better!” she tried to say.

“Getting directly scored on three times is called good defense?”

“At least they didn’t expand their lead further.”

“And even if we’re down 0-3, we can still come back in the second half.”

“How could we possibly come back?” Qin Ao said coldly.

“Even if we can’t come back, we can rely on defense to prevent the score from increasing,” Fu Xin Shu wrapped in a large towel—staying warm was crucial during halftime in winter—but he still looked cold. His lips trembled as he looked at Wen Cheng Ye, struggling to get these words out.

Wen Cheng Ye didn’t respond.

But the collapse of the match was indeed like the drop in temperature in winter.

The day before, you might think the weather was warming up, but when you open the window the next day, the world is completely covered in silver-white.

At the start of the second half, Yu Prefecture Silver Elephant launched another attack.

It was a direct cross from the flank to the penalty area. This kind of cross-attack isn’t highly efficient, but Yu Prefecture Silver Elephant’s coordination was extremely seamless.

Moreover, this was just the start of the second half, and the Hong Jing Eighth Middle School students hadn’t yet recovered from the cold environment off the field.

Their thinking and actions were in a state of numbness, and Yu Prefecture Silver Elephant’s sudden change in speed left them unable to react.

They first watched the soccer ball fly past, then began running to cover positions.

Lin Lu ran from outside the penalty area back into it, preparing to join the defense.

The soccer ball was flying a bit slowly in the air. Fu Xin Shu observed while quickly moving his feet.

Wen Cheng Ye was doing the same thing.

All teammates’ attention was on the ball.

The next moment, Wen Cheng Ye and Fu Xin Shu simultaneously approached the same spot, then both jumped…

However, neither of them headed the ball.

The next moment, on the slippery grass, Wen Cheng Ye’s feet slipped, and he crashed straight into Fu Xin Shu.

The dull sound of bodies colliding rang out on the field, followed immediately by Wen Cheng Ye and Fu Xin Shu’s painful cries echoing across the entire field.

Center back Zhi Hui came up and kicked the ball far away.

The soccer ball landed at a Yu Prefecture Silver Elephant player’s feet. The opponent hesitated briefly, then kicked the ball out of bounds.

The referee blew the whistle for a stoppage, and Lin Wan Xing and Wang Fa had already run onto the field.

Fu Xin Shu was rolling on the ground holding his ankle, while Wen Cheng Ye sat slumped, holding his forehead.

“How are you? Are you okay?” Lin Wan Xing asked anxiously.

Wang Fa bent down, extending his hand to feel Fu Xin Shu’s ankle, examining it.

“Go get an ice pack,” Wang Fa told her.

Lin Wan Xing hurriedly ran to the sideline and brought back an ice pack and a splint. The boys all gathered around Fu Xin Shu, each with an anxious expression.

After checking, Wang Fa placed the ice pack on Fu Xin Shu’s ankle.

“How is it?” Lin Wan Xing asked again.

“In my judgment, it’s probably not too serious. It’s mainly that he lost his buffer when landing, but I suggest going to the hospital for a check-up,” Wang Fa said.

“That serious?”

Hearing the word “hospital,” Qin Ao immediately glared with wide, angry eyes. He went over and directly shouted at Wen Cheng Ye, “Was that deliberate?!”

Wen Cheng Ye held his forehead, seemingly still immersed in the shock of the collision, not reacting immediately.

Fu Xin Shu still had grass debris on his face, now holding his ankle, his pain evident.

Wen Cheng Ye sat on the grass, his body covered in hot sweat and cold soil. He looked up at Qin Ao without saying a word.

Lin Wan Xing still held the ice pack in her hand.

She pressed the ice pack on Fu Xin Shu’s ankle, her fingers stiff and painful. The cold winter wind blew, and she couldn’t help shivering.

The referee’s voice sounded, “Hong Jing Eighth Middle School players, will you be substituting a replacement?”

“We don’t have substitute players,” Lin Wan Xing told the referee.

The referee frowned, looking at the empty seats.

“Is it that there are no substitutes on the field now, or are they in the locker room, and you need to call them?” The referee was very surprised.

Lin Wan Xing shook her head.

“Normally, there would be substitutes on the roster. Did they not come along?”

“Yes, because we’re playing in another province and didn’t anticipate any emergencies, so the substitute players didn’t come with us,” Lin Wan Xing quickly apologized.

“So what do you plan to do about the match?”

It was as if some freezing spell had been cast. The students looked at each other, and the anger that had been directed at Wen Cheng Ye instantly subsided.

Fu Xin Shu’s weak voice sounded, “Let’s continue playing. I should be fine; the ice pack has helped a lot.”

Hearing this, Lin Wan Xing looked toward Wang Fa.

In the cold wind, Wang Fa’s expression was stern and resolute.

He stood up, raised his head, and looked toward the referee, “We need to take the player to the hospital for a check-up. For this match, we forfeit.”

Wang Fa’s words were concise but carried undeniable power.

Having spent a long time with Wang Fa, Lin Wan Xing knew him well. He appeared indifferent and unconcerned about most things, often noncommittal, with an inscrutable attitude.

This was almost the first time he had clearly stated his position.

The students were all intimidated.

Lin Wan Xing looked at the sky.

For some reason, when she heard the word “forfeit,” she felt an inexplicable sense of relief.

It was as if they had unknowingly reached this point, but this was also the only option.

The boys all stood in the wind. The mist spread out through the mountains like water, as if the path ahead could no longer be seen.