That was the first time Lin Wanxing had a concrete concept of what Wang Fa meant by “I’m worth it.”

Money is something that gives specificity to many vague things.

Like items on a shelf—which products are within easy reach, which require standing on tiptoes, and which are high above? They are categorized, clear, and distinct.

“That’s a lot of money,” Lin Wanxing remarked, using her chopsticks to fish for shrimp paste in the hotpot, trying twice without success.

At that moment, a skimmer inserted from the side, helping her scoop up the shrimp paste.

Lin Wanxing looked up as Wang Fa naturally placed the shrimp paste in her bowl. Then he withdrew his hand, the metal skimmer making a light “ting” sound against the porcelain.

Lin Wanxing understood clearly that when Wang Fa stated his two-year contract amount, he was explicitly refusing to stay and coach at Hongjing Eighth Middle School.

“I don’t understand,” after thinking for a moment, she still said, “If you want to change jobs, why not stay abroad? The foreign football market is more prosperous. Whether for passion or personal development, it seems the path you were on before was better.”

By now the sky had completely darkened, with only two lamps hanging under the eaves lit on the terrace. The light was yellowish, the broth boiling, white steam rising, and silence all around.

Wang Fa seemed surprised by her question. He leaned sideways in the plastic chair, his facial features sharp in the dim shadows. He rotated the cola can in his fingers once, then looked up, “Teacher Lin seems to be treating me like one of your students.”

The remark sounded detached, implying she was trying to intervene in his life, but Lin Wanxing smiled after hearing it.

“Your conversational tactics are quite skillful, coach,” she rested her chin on her hand, watching him. “You don’t want me to keep asking, so you’re pretending we’re not close, right?”

Wang Fa was visibly taken aback.

Lin Wanxing picked up the skimmer and took the opportunity to scoop some shrimp paste for him, “My students are much easier to handle than you.”

“What did you study?” Wang Fa suddenly asked.

“Huh?” Lin Wanxing didn’t know how the topic had changed so abruptly.

“I’m asking what you studied in university.”

“My bachelor’s was in Applied Psychology, and I chose Educational Psychology for my master’s,” Lin Wanxing answered honestly.

“No wonder.”

Wang Fa stopped there. Lin Wanxing didn’t understand why he wanted to ask this.

Just as she was about to speak, Wang Fa placed his finger vertically against his lips, signaling her not to talk.

“Huh?” Lin Wanxing also lowered her voice instinctively.

Wang Fa pointed to his ear.

Listen carefully.

Nearby, the gas stove flames made a “hissing” sound, the hotpot broth bubbled, and farther away was the muted background noise of the city at night. Vehicles pressed over the road, and somewhere a small dog gave a sharp “woof,” the sound piercing the night sky.

The night was quiet—too quiet.

At some point, the alternating snoring sounds had disappeared from the terrace.

Lin Wanxing pushed back her chair, stood up quietly, and chose a path where she wouldn’t be seen from her room as she walked toward it.

She gripped the handle and pushed the door open.

In the pitch-black room were pairs of obviously startled eyes. They all looked at her in unison, like thieves caught in the act.

The students who had been sleeping had awakened at some point.

Qi Liang sat stiffly on the floor, Chen Jianghe was in a strange position, and Fu Xinshu bit his lip with desk impression marks on his face.

“Damn, scared me!”

Finally, Qin Ao shouted, breaking the standoff.

“How did you wake up?” Lin Wanxing smiled.

“Well, don’t know who kicked me, so I woke up,” Feng Suo answered.

“Teacher, what are you doing? Coming in without knocking?”

“Yeah, yeah, scared us to death!”

“You woke us all up!”

The boys started clamoring again.

Lin Wanxing just smiled, “First of all, this is my home, isn’t it normal for me to come in? And… aren’t you hungry?”

The boys, like those spring toys often seen at stalls outside schools, bounced up one by one from the floor and sofa, rushing outside.

They ran while shouting, pretending nothing had happened earlier, “So hungry, so hungry, so hungry!”

“Teacher, you and coach ate secretly without calling us!”

“On purpose! Scheming adults!”

The students rushed to the dinner table one after another, scrambling for plastic bowls and chopsticks.

Only Qi Liang was the smartest, leisurely taking control of the skimmer first. When the other students were struggling with their chopsticks, a skimmer slowly extended into the hotpot broth, scooping up a large chunk of fatty beef.

“That’s disgusting!”

“Damn.”

After a while, the other boys came to their senses, shocked by this operation.

Young boys indeed recover quickly—exhausted like dead dogs a few hours ago, yet full of energy after a short nap. They found sitting inconveniently for adding and retrieving food, so they all stood around the table, surrounding the hotpot, sweeping through the remaining dishes at hurricane speed.

Lin Wanxing held her cola, standing with Wang Fa by the terrace railing. The evening breeze blew against them, with the enormous stadium shrouded in the city’s night in the distance.

The students were ostensibly fighting over the hotpot but eating absentmindedly. They pricked up their ears while trying to minimize the sound of their movements, afraid to miss anything the adults might say.

Lin Wanxing observed the sneaky students, finding it amusing.

Finally, after most had burped contentedly, Lin Wanxing cleared her throat with a couple of “ahem” sounds.

Sure enough, the boys stiffened their backs, like small animals suddenly startled, turning their heads to look at her warily.

“What’s wrong?” Lin Wanxing also burped.

“Why are you clearing your throat for no reason?” Chen Jianghe asked.

“Is clearing my throat not allowed?” Lin Wanxing was surprised.

“If you want to say something, just say it, don’t be coy!”

“Yeah, exactly.”

Lin Wanxing glanced at Wang Fa. The young man was holding an empty cola can, looking innocent at the moment, “Is it okay?”

Wang Fa, “I have no problem with it.”

Lin Wanxing nodded and looked toward the students, “I actually don’t have anything particular to say, but if you have questions, you can now ask them in order, freely.” She said to the students who were fighting over the hotpot.

At first, the boys holding their bowls were confused, perhaps because eating truly makes one’s thinking sluggish. After a while, they came to their senses, first looking at each other, and then realizing they were being invited to ask questions.

Seeing the group about to start arguing, Lin Wanxing said, “One at a time, from left to right.”

The leftmost was Lin Lu, who was rather straightforward and blurted out, “Coach, are you going to Yongchuan Hengda?”

Wang Fa, “Yes.”

Qin Ao slapped Lin Lu’s shoulder hard, “Isn’t that obvious? You’ve even exposed that we were eavesdropping just now!”

Lin Lu, “I didn’t say anything, I didn’t expose anything, you’re the one who exposed it!”

“Then what about us?” Qin Ao asked.

“Shouldn’t you be asking, what about our teacher?” Qi Liang said coldly.

“I said before, I was just temporarily filling in,” Wang Fa said.

“So you’re leaving?” Chen Jianghe asked directly.

“That’s right,” Wang Fa said.

“You’re going to Yongchuan Hengda Club?”

“Will you be the head coach or manage youth training?”

“Head coach.”

“Why did they choose you?”

“Because they clearly understand where my abilities lie. Maybe I’m not so famous as a head coach yet, but I excel at picking promising talents under 10 years old and nurturing them until they’re 18. Do you know what that means? Buying me is equivalent to buying a team’s future.”

He stood in the night, his gaze calm. Normally such words from any young person would seem like boasting, but Wang Fa remained composed throughout, with strong confidence and a perfectly convincing presence.

Having been immersed in this field for a long time, he had a complete set of explanations, making it effortless to explain his work.

And as he answered the students’ questions more specifically, the fact that he was leaving became more real.

Lin Wanxing thought for a moment, trying hard to make the students a bit happier, “Comrade Wang Fa won’t leave until after National Day, that’s still two weeks away.”

The students, minds full of thoughts about the competition, couldn’t help but mutter.

“Two weeks isn’t much use.”

“We can’t learn much in two weeks.”

“We don’t even know when the formal competition starts.”

“In two weeks, if the coach is here, he could still teach you some small tactics,” Lin Wanxing consoled.

Perhaps because they had spent so many days together, with Wang Fa’s figure always present in the stands, the students had developed a feeling that the coach would always be with them. And in daily training, Wang Fa’s professional abilities were so solid that they had become psychologically dependent on him.

So when Wang Fa clearly stated the fact that he was leaving, the students began to waver again.

“What about our future matches?”

“Sigh…”

“Yeah, wouldn’t it be better to just get into a university?”

“I always said we should quit playing. It would be better to work in a factory tightening screws.”

“Playing football is worse than tightening screws, studying is a bit better than tightening screws.”

They spoke one after another, appearing tangled and confused. It was as if they had abundant strength before, but now with the support suddenly withdrawn, they didn’t know what to do.

Lin Wanxing calmly listened to every word they said.

“I have a question,” Lin Wanxing raised her hand at the end. “If you won’t play football without the coach, then if I’m not here, will you still study seriously?”

The boys all quieted down.

On the nighttime terrace, Lin Wanxing said, “If the answer is negative, then may I ask, don’t you have anything you truly want to do yourselves?”