The Secret of the Yoga Club: The Women's Identity is Not Simple

It sounded like the phone was muted.

After a full three or four seconds, Wang Feng's voice suddenly rose a half-octave, filled with panic, almost screaming: "Director Ye... Director Ye! I'm sorry! I didn't know it was you! Director Ye, please don't take what I just said seriously, I really am—"

"You don't need to say anything more." Ye Qinghan interrupted him, her voice not loud but each word like a nail driven into the ground, "Your matter will be discussed with the Discipline Inspection Commission later."

He raised his eyes to look at the four police officers standing ramrod straight in front of him, and then glanced at Master Lu and the five thugs behind him.

The man with the pimpled face, who had been staring at her chest, had lost his gaze; in its place was a look of utter disbelief.

Ye Qinghan said to the lead policeman with the crew cut, "These people are suspected of illegally breaking into a private residence, making violent threats, and engaging in forced transactions. Take them all back. Notify the supervisory department to investigate the officer involved, Wang Feng." She paused, then added, "Investigate this person thoroughly; I suspect he's involved in organized crime."

Master Lu's face turned as white as paper.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but two police officers had already grabbed his arms on either side and dragged him out the door.

The five thugs behind him were also led out in single file, each with their heads down, no longer displaying the arrogance they had shown when blocking the doorway.

On the cell phone on the coffee table, Wang Feng's pleading voice continued—"Director Ye, I was really wrong. I was confused for a moment. Please give me a chance—" Ye Qinghan bent down, picked up the cell phone, and hung up.

Lin Feng looked at Ye Qinghan, his ears burning slightly.

He suddenly remembered the night he was hospitalized, and how Ye Qinghan, wearing pajamas, crawled into his bed.

He gave a general account of Luo Ruoxi's father's situation: he had been gambling for a long time and was in debt. He sold his daughter to Master Lu as a bargaining chip to pay off his debts.

After listening, Ye Qinghan glanced at Luo's father and told the police officer next to him to take them away together.

The room suddenly became quiet.

Luo Ruoxi stood in the middle of the living room, her hands still gripping her apron.

Looking at Ye Qinghan, her lips moved several times, but the last words she uttered were halting: "Director Ye, thank you. If it weren't for you and Lin Feng, I really would have..."

Ye Qinghan nodded, her voice softening slightly. "I know a bit about your situation; it's not easy for you to manage alone." She glanced at the slightly ajar door to the master bedroom. "If those debt collectors come to harass you again, just call the police."

Luo Ruoxi's eyes reddened.

He pressed his finger to the corner of his eye and took a deep breath. "Director Ye, I have a favor to ask of you. My father... could you please lock him up for a while? Not too long, just a few months. Let him repent and start anew. Outside, he'll only be used as a bargaining chip."

Ye Qinghan nodded. "Okay."

As Ye Qinghan reached the door, she glanced at Lin Feng. "Lin Feng, could you see me off?"

Lin Feng followed Ye Qinghan out the door. The motion-activated light in the hallway was still broken, and only a little natural light from the stairwell window illuminated the concrete stairs.

Ye Qinghan walked ahead, her leather shoes making a crisp sound on the cement steps. Lin Feng followed behind, the two about two or three steps apart.

"How is your injury healing?" Ye Qinghan asked without turning around, her voice echoing softly in the narrow stairwell.

"Much better. I went to the hospital for a follow-up check-up a few days ago, and Director Bai said there were basically no problems."

Ye Qinghan hummed in agreement.

She walked down a few more steps, then suddenly stopped and turned around. Lin Feng, who was behind her, almost bumped into her.

Standing a step higher than him, their eyes were now level. Looking into his eyes, her tone held something Lin Feng couldn't quite place. "Why haven't you messaged me these past few days?"

Lin Feng scratched the back of his head, opened his mouth, then closed it again. Looking into Ye Qinghan's brown eyes, he didn't know how to answer.

Ye Qinghan's lips twitched slightly as she watched him remain silent. She didn't press further and turned to continue walking.

When she reached the first floor and opened the unit door, the sunlight from outside rushed in and shone on her face.

With one hand pushing the door open, she suddenly turned around and looked up at Lin Feng.

"Xiaolin, do you like Aunt Ye?"

Lin Feng was stunned.

This question... I really don't know how to answer it.

Ye Qinghan was still holding onto the doorknob of the building, and the wind blew her hair back and forth.

She looked at him, but her gaze wasn't the one a bureau chief would give a subordinate; it carried a hint of expectation, a touch of trepidation, and a nervousness she herself might not even be aware of.

After a few seconds, Lin Feng nodded. "I like it."

Ye Qinghan got the answer she wanted, closed the door and walked over, reaching out to wrap her arms around Lin Feng's waist, resting her head on the side of his chest where he wasn't injured.

Her hair brushed against his chin, and her voice was so soft it was as if she was afraid of being overheard, or perhaps afraid of being heard herself. "Auntie likes you too."

After speaking, he loosened his grip, took a step back, straightened the collar of his police uniform, and resumed his usual capable and efficient demeanor.

Lin Feng stood at the entrance of the building, watching Ye Qinghan's police car taillights disappear around the corner of the alley.

She stood there for a while, her fingers unconsciously touching her right chest, where the faint scent of her shampoo still lingered.

Ugh! What a mess this is.

I took a deep breath, turned around, and went upstairs.

When the security door was pushed open, Luo Ruoxi was sitting on the sofa with her hands clasped together on her knees.

The beer bottle was still on the coffee table, with a small amount of yellow liquid left at the bottom. Next to it was the sofa cushion where Luo's father had sat, the dent still showing.

The living room was so quiet that you could hear the occasional beeping of the electrocardiogram monitor in the master bedroom.

Luo Ruoxi looked up at Lin Feng, her lips moved, and she forced a smile.

Her smile was forced; the curve of her lips could only be halfway up before it gave way, making her look even more tired.

He stood up from the sofa, walked to the coffee table, picked up the beer bottle and threw it into the trash can, then flipped the sofa cushion over and patted it.

"I'm sorry you had to see this." Her voice was very soft, her back to Lin Feng, her shoulders slightly tense.

Lin Feng walked behind Ye Qinghan and watched her pat the sofa cushion again and again. The cushion was already so smooth that it couldn't be smoother anymore, but she kept patting it.

"Stop taking pictures. Sit down for a while."

Luo Ruoxi's hand stopped.

She slowly straightened up, and when she turned around, her eyes were red, but she didn't cry.

He sniffed, walked to the sofa, sat down, took off his apron, folded it neatly, and placed it on his knees, repeatedly folding his fingers along the edge of the apron.

"My dad wasn't like this before," Ye Qinghan began, her voice flat, as if she were talking about something that happened to someone else. "When I was little, he was incredibly good to me. He would ride his bicycle to take me to school every day, and on rainy days he would cover me with his raincoat and get soaked himself. My mom was still healthy then, working in a textile factory, a tough three-shift job, but we managed to get by. Later, the textile factory went bankrupt, my mom was laid off, and my dad started looking for work outside. I don't know when it started, but he learned to play cards from the people on the construction site."

He folded the apron into a small square, then unfolded it again. "At first, it was just small-time gambling, losing a few dozen yuan a night. Later, those few dozen became hundreds, and those hundreds became thousands. By the time I was in high school, he had gambled away all the family's savings and owed high-interest loans. That's when my mother's health started to deteriorate; she got sick from the stress."

Lin Feng sat down next to her without saying a word, just listening quietly.

Luo Ruoxi continued, saying that her tuition for her first year of college was raised by her mother pawning the last gold necklace in the family, while her father had been gambling for a day and a night and lost eight thousand.