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

After leaving the meeting room, Wang Yue immediately went to the fire escape at the end of the corridor, took out her phone, and called her boyfriend, Yuan Hui.

The phone rang twice before being answered. Yuan Hui's lazy voice came from the other end, and in the background, you could vaguely hear light music playing from the BMW 4S store showroom.

"I passed the interview! I can start work tomorrow!" Wang Yue said in a low voice, but she couldn't hide the excitement in her tone.

Yuan Hui congratulated her on the phone and then asked about the company. Wang Yue gave a brief introduction—Shuke Group, a newly established company that handles engineering bidding and project subcontracting. Their office is located in an office building next to the Keda Hotel, in a very nice environment.

She worked as the general manager's secretary, and her probationary salary was already quite high; it would be even higher after she became a full-time employee.

After listening, Yuan Hui remained silent for a moment, then said dryly, "That's good."

Wang Yue sensed the perfunctory tone in his voice, which dampened her excitement by half. However, she didn't say much, only suggesting they have dinner together to celebrate before hanging up.

Wang Yue and Yuan Hui met in college. Yuan Hui was a year ahead of her, a senior, and he had been pursuing her since her freshman year military training, for over a year.

Wang Yue remained tight-lipped, not because she thought Yuan Hui was bad, but because she was inherently cautious about dating.

She received a rather traditional family education from a young age, and felt that establishing a relationship was a very serious matter that should not be taken lightly.

Even after they both graduated and were working in Hohhot, Yuan Hui still picked her up from get off work every week, accompanied her to the supermarket, and helped her fix her computer. It wasn't until recently that she finally agreed to be with him.

The two have only been in a relationship for a little over two months. When they meet, they usually just hold hands. Occasionally, when Yuan Hui tries to take things further, she subtly avoids him.

Yuan Hui hinted several times that she should move in with him, but Wang Yue felt it wasn't appropriate to live together so soon after they started dating, and she always changed the subject.

The two met that evening at a barbecue restaurant on a commercial street in Hehai City. Yuan Hui arrived early and sat by the window, flipping through the menu. He was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt with the top two buttons undone, and his hair was neatly combed back with hair gel, a professional habit he had developed since working in sales.

When Wang Yue pushed the door open and came in, he looked up at her, his gaze lingering for a moment on her outfit: a light gray business suit paired with beige flats, her hair tied in a low ponytail, and light makeup on her face, quite different from her usual look in jeans and canvas shoes.

He muttered to himself that he felt a little uncomfortable that she dressed so formally for a job interview to meet a male boss, but he didn't say anything.

The two people ordered two plates of pork belly, one plate of beef tongue, several skewers of grilled chicken wings, and two bottles of drinks.

The meat sizzled on the iron plate, oil dripping from it. Wang Yue flipped the pork belly with tongs while rambling on about her job interview that day.

She said the company's office environment was very good, and the person who interviewed her was the general manager himself. He looked very young but spoke very eloquently and immediately decided to let her start work the next day.

He became more and more excited as he talked, waving the meat-flipping tongs in his hand, completely unaware that Yuan Hui's expression had changed.

Yuan Hui put his chopsticks on the table.

She asked the general manager his approximate age. Wang Yue thought for a moment and said he looked a bit older than her; she didn't dare ask his exact age, but he was definitely under thirty. Yuan Hui's expression darkened further.

He said that such a young boss made a decision on the first interview without even a second one, and even asked her to start work the next day. He asked her if she didn't think this was a bit abnormal.

Wang Yue's smile slowly faded, and she asked him what he wanted to say. Yuan Hui picked up the drink on the table, took a sip, and his tone carried a hint of sourness and a barely perceptible irritation.

He asked if she was genuinely ignorant or just pretending. A young man hiring a young female secretary and making a decision on the first meeting—did he really need to spell it out?

The implication was that she should change jobs—sales, administration, receptionist, anything—just not be a secretary to a male boss.

Upon hearing this, Wang Yue froze in mid-air with the clip in her hand. Turning to look at Yuan Hui, the excitement in her eyes had completely vanished.

When asked how he could think that way, he replied, "He's a company boss, managing dozens of people. He's seen all kinds of beautiful women; how could he possibly have those kinds of thoughts about her?"

I spent so long preparing for this job, revising my resume again and again, and practicing my self-introduction in front of the mirror all night before the interview.

I'm going to work tomorrow, and he's here to dampen my spirits.

Yuan Hui sneered and said that he had seen plenty of beautiful women. He worked at a BMW 4S store and said that how many of the bosses who bought BMWs did not have female secretaries?

Some bosses even control the color of their secretaries' stockings. Wang Yue slammed the clips on the table, causing the pork belly to slide off the iron plate, its grease dripping onto the charcoal and igniting a flame.

He said he just disliked her working as a secretary for a male boss; ultimately, he just didn't trust her. They'd been dating for two months; didn't he know what kind of person she was?

Yuan Hui was speechless for a moment after hearing what she said. He opened his mouth to refute, but swallowed the words back.

He turned his head to look out the window, remained silent for a moment, and then whispered, "You're right, I was wrong."

He reached out and picked up the piece of pork belly that had slipped out of the iron plate, flipped it over, and lowered his voice a few decibels than before.

Business at the 4S store has been slow lately. The impact of domestically produced new energy vehicles has been too great, and BMW's sales have plummeted. He has not met his sales targets for several months in a row. He is under a lot of pressure, in a bad mood, and speaks without thinking.

Wang Yue placed the grilled pork belly into his bowl, her tone softening. She told him he should trust her instead of questioning her work right away.

Yuan Hui nodded, said sorry, and then congratulated him.

The two continued eating their grilled meat with their heads down. The beef tongue sizzled on the charcoal fire, and the atmosphere had eased considerably compared to before.

After dinner, Yuan Hui escorted her to her rented apartment building.

After Wang Yue went upstairs, she took a shower, lay in bed, and sent Yuan Hui a message saying that tomorrow was her first day at work and she wanted to go to sleep early.

Yuan Hui replied with a quick "Goodnight," and then added another message: "I'm really sorry about what happened today."

Wang Yue replied with a "It's okay" emoji, then put her phone on the bedside table and turned off the light.

I stared blankly at the outline of the ceiling light for a while. I mentally went through the entire interview process from beginning to end.

The way Lin Feng looked at her, the questions he asked her, the tone of his voice when making decisions—there was no frivolity, no hints; it was all businesslike from beginning to end.

Wang Yue silently convinced herself that someone who could establish a group company couldn't be someone blinded by lust.

Yuan Hui's words were definitely just him overthinking things. He turned over, pulled the blanket up higher, closed his eyes, and forced himself to stop thinking about these random thoughts.

The next morning, Wang Yue stood in front of the wardrobe for a long time before finally choosing an outfit that she felt was the most presentable.

She wore a light blue fitted dress with the hemline below her knees, layered with a beige short-sleeved cardigan, and beige flat shoes.

Her hair wasn't tied up; it was loose over her shoulders, with slightly curled ends. She wore very light makeup, with thin eyeliner and light pink lipstick.

I looked in the mirror several times to make sure there was nothing wrong before I picked up my bag and went out.