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

The downpour arrived as expected, with large raindrops pounding against the floor-to-ceiling windows on the top floor of the Keda Hotel, creating a dense, pattering sound.

The city of Hehai outside the window was shrouded in rain, and the streetlights on the cross-river bridge turned into blurry halos in the rain and mist.

Zuo Ning stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, holding a glass of red wine in her hand. The wine shimmered with a dark red luster under the flashes of lightning.

Standing beside him was a man in his early thirties, wearing a dark gray custom-made suit, with a slender cigarette between his fingers, the smoke slowly rising between the two of them.

Wang Hao.

Wang Feng, the mayor of Hehai City, is the only son.

Ten years ago, Mayor Wang was just the county magistrate of a county under his jurisdiction. At that time, Zuo Ning's father was at the height of his power, with businesses spread across half of the river and sea, and the number of high-ranking officials and dignitaries he associated with could fill several tables at a banquet.

With his keen eye, he selected Wang Feng, who was then relatively unknown, from among many promising talents. He spent money to pave the way and act as a go-between, gradually helping Wang Feng rise to the position of mayor.

The old man has been gone for many years now, but the connections he made back then are still playing a role in various departments, though in mostly insignificant positions; they are useful but not highly influential.

Wang Hao took a drag of his cigarette and turned to look at Zuo Ning.

The two are about the same age and have been in the same circle since childhood, so they know each other very well.

He was always aware of Zuo Ning's methods; the entire plan targeting Ye Qinghan and Lin Feng was orchestrated by Zuo Ning himself.

First, they used drugs and murder to cripple Shuntong Logistics and send Lin Feng to detention; at the same time, they used whistleblower materials to drag Ye Qinghan into the Discipline Inspection Commission, leaving the police leaderless; then they had various departments take action simultaneously to wipe out all the industries under the Longlin Group.

The three attacks were launched simultaneously, closing in almost at the same moment. Most people would have been rendered helpless by this combination of blows.

But Ye Qinghan is no ordinary person—she is Shen Ping's sister-in-law, and her father is the former deputy minister of the Organization Department of Jiangbei Province. The power behind her is not something that can be easily challenged.

Without solid evidence, the disciplinary committee could only detain her for a few hours.

"Lin Feng and Ye Qinghan have both been detained." Wang Hao flicked his cigarette ash into the crystal ashtray on Zuo Ning's desk. "But from what I've received so far, neither side has obtained any substantial evidence. The Discipline Inspection Commission is waiting for dawn—if the detention period expires and there is no new evidence, they must be released."

Zuo Ning's fingers tightened slightly as she held the wine glass, but her expression remained calm and unhurried.

He walked behind his desk and sat down, placing his wine glass on the table and slowly tracing circles on the rim with his finger. "Lin Feng is a shrewd guy. Last time, the people I sent to secretly photograph him were all dealt with—they and the car were gone, not a single hair was left. Now I only have a homeless man's statement, and no crucial physical evidence. Those photos of the car interior were actually taken by someone I hired, not by those two people—I wanted to try and trick them, but those two were both incredibly patient, and neither of them fell for it."

He paused, then looked up at Wang Hao. "Could you put some pressure on Lin Feng? If he admits to his relationship with Ye Qinghan first, we can move on to the next step. We can also put pressure on Ye Qinghan at the same time. If either side's testimony doesn't match, the Discipline Inspection Commission will have grounds to continue the investigation."

"Bai Xu is my dad's man, and he happens to be in charge of this interrogation. I can have him intensify the interrogation and apply as much pressure as possible within the detention period." He stood up, a cigarette dangling from his lips, and straightened his suit jacket collar. "But you also need to find substantial evidence as soon as possible. My dad is currently at a crucial juncture in his campaign to become the municipal party secretary, and we absolutely cannot afford any mistakes at this time. If we still haven't found anything by tomorrow when the detention period expires, we must release him. When Ye Qinghan comes out, the first thing he'll do is investigate who's behind this, and neither of us will escape."

Zuo Ning nodded without saying anything.

He escorted Wang Hao to the office door, and the two exchanged a few more words in hushed tones. Then Wang Hao turned and walked down the corridor toward the elevator.

Zuo Ning closed the door, returned to her desk, picked up her phone, found Ma Jinli's number, and dialed it again.

The same cold, electronic female voice came through the receiver: "The number you dialed is currently switched off." He threw his phone on the table and tapped his fingers impatiently on the surface.

This morning he sent several groups of people to look for Ma Jinli. They searched all the places he might be going, including his wife's house, his mistress's house, the mahjong parlors he frequents, and even the gate of his son's school, but there was no news at all.

A person simply vanished, phone switched off, no credit card transactions, no hotel check-in records on their ID card—like a pebble thrown into a river, leaving no trace.

Ma Jinli knew too much about him; any one of the dirty jobs he had handled over the years would be enough to get him shot several times over.

If he escapes, if he falls into someone else's hands...

Zuo Ning shook his head to suppress the thought, picked up the glass of red wine and took a big gulp.

Downstairs, Wang Hao drove a black BMW out of the underground parking lot of the Keda Hotel.

The windshield wipers swung rapidly from side to side on the windshield, pushing the torrential rain to the sides, but visibility remained severely obscured.

I gripped the steering wheel and turned onto the main road, heading west into the city.

He didn't notice that a white BYD Qin with a "XX Travel" sticker was following him at a distance of a few dozen meters behind him.

There was only one person in the car, Shangguan Jinghong. She had removed her signature dark red lipstick, put on a pair of frameless glasses, and was wearing an inconspicuous dark gray sweatshirt. She looked no different from any other ride-hailing driver on the street.

Wang Hao goes to the western part of the city, to an ordinary residential community, two or three times a week. Lin Feng had figured out this pattern several weeks ago, and even made Kui Zi stake it out for a whole week to confirm it.

Lin Feng said at the time, "A mayor's son who doesn't live in a luxury house and regularly goes to an old neighborhood every week must have something going on there."

Today, Shangguan Jinghong drove for several hours in the pouring rain, just to find out what Wang Hao was hiding in that residential area.

Wang Hao's car turned into the west gate of the residential area. Shangguan Jinghong didn't follow him in; instead, he parked his BYD on the side of the road opposite the residential area, turned off the engine, and shut off the headlights.

Through the car window, I watched Wang Hao get out of the driver's seat, open a black umbrella, and walk towards the apartment building.

Just as Wang Hao was about to step into the building, an elderly man with white hair and a cane came out from inside.

The ground was slippery from the rain, and the old man's steps were unsteady. As he passed Wang Hao, his body suddenly swayed, and he leaned towards Wang Hao.

Wang Hao instinctively reached out and supported the old man's arm, helping him steady.

The old man looked up and thanked him repeatedly. His aged voice trembled slightly in the rain as he said that he had lost his footing and that he was very grateful to the young man.

Wang Hao smiled and said it was nothing, then helped the old man into the apartment building lobby before letting go. The old man thanked him a few more times and slowly walked towards the entrance of the community, leaning on his cane.