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

"Brother Lin, can we really trust that Section Chief Jiang? After all, he's from Binzhou. What if he has some connection with the Chen family? Wouldn't we be walking into a trap?"

"He's Chen Xu's old classmate. Chen Xu has no direct connection to the Chen family; he was just a junior staff member in the Binzhou government office and had no connection with Chen Liangliang. But what you said makes sense; it's always good to be cautious. I'll sound him out first and not reveal my hand yet. Be careful on your end too. If you can still find that person, talk to him again and see if he can remember Secretary Wang's full name or what kind of business her husband is in. Even just a surname or a clue about an industry can help us narrow down our search."

"Okay. Don't worry about me. Those brothers are tight-lipped and know how to behave."

After the two parted ways, Lin Feng went back to his car, picked up his phone, and dialed Section Chief Jiang's number.

The phone rang several times, but no one answered, and it automatically disconnected.

I dialed again after about ten minutes, and this time it rang five or six times before finally getting through.

A middle-aged man's voice came from the other end of the phone, his tone tinged with doubt and weariness.

"Hello, who is this?"

"Hello Section Chief Jiang, I am Lin, a friend of Director Chen Xu. I sent you a message before, I don't know if Director Chen mentioned it to you."

There was a two or three-second silence on the other end of the phone, then Section Chief Jiang's voice suddenly warmed up, tinged with apology: "Oh, Mr. Lin! I'm so sorry, so sorry. Old He called me a couple of days ago specifically to talk about you. He told me a friend is coming to Binzhou on business and asked me to look after him. I've been so busy lately that I forgot to save your number. I almost missed answering when I saw the unfamiliar number just now. I'm so sorry."

"It's nothing, Section Chief Jiang, you're too kind. I'm in Binzhou on a business trip and I'd like to invite you to dinner so we can talk in person. Do you have time tomorrow afternoon?"

"Tomorrow afternoon..." Section Chief Jiang paused, seemingly flipping through a calendar, "I have to go to the hospital tomorrow afternoon, so it's not convenient. How about today afternoon? I happen to be free this afternoon, and I can come out after I finish what I'm doing. You choose the place, and I'll go straight there."

After agreeing on a time and place, the two hung up the phone. Lin Feng didn't know Section Chief Jiang's preferences, so he searched for some well-regarded restaurants in the area on his phone and booked a local restaurant in the old town of Binzhou.

Binzhou's urban landscape is completely different from that of Hehai City. Its main economic pillar is mineral resources, and large trucks come and go on the roads one after another, raising clouds of dust.

There was a faint smell of coal dust in the air, and the leaves of the roadside trees were covered with a layer of gray dust.

The environment and economic development level of this place cannot be compared with those of Hehai City, and the clothes of pedestrians on the street are generally simple.

With Section Chief Jiang working in a place like this, there probably isn't much to gain. He's a completely different story from the incredibly wealthy department leaders in Hehai City.

With plenty of time before the agreed time, Lin Feng returned to the hotel first. He leaned against the headboard and video-chatted with Shen Qianqian for a while.

Shen Qianqian had just finished class and was walking along the tree-lined path of Kyoto University. She showed him the ginkgo trees on campus, saying that she would take him to take pictures on this path when he came to Kyoto.

She also mentioned that her roommates were planning to go to the Great Wall over the weekend, but she didn't really want to go because she thought climbing mountains would be too tiring. However, she was also afraid of being accused of not being sociable.

Lin Feng smiled and said that he could go if he wanted to, and he didn't have to go if he didn't want to. He nodded and said that he would rather not go, as it would be more comfortable to read in the dormitory.

The two chatted about various things until Shen Qianqian said she needed to go to the library to look up information, at which point she ended the video call.

Lin Feng put down his phone, checked the time, and got up to leave.

I arrived at the restaurant ahead of time, chose a window seat, flipped through the menu, and ordered a few local specialties, planning to have Section Chief Jiang add more when he arrived.

After waiting for about ten minutes, a thin, middle-aged man pushed open the restaurant door and walked in. He was wearing a faded dark blue jacket over a white shirt, but the collar of the shirt was slightly yellowed, indicating that he had been wearing it for a long time.

His hair was sparse, his cheekbones were high, his eye sockets were deep, and his skin was sallow. He looked somewhat malnourished and his condition was obviously not very good.

Lin Feng almost didn't recognize the listless middle-aged man in front of him. He was completely different from the old classmate Chen Xu had described as "doing well in Binzhou".

He stood up and waved to Section Chief Jiang. When Section Chief Jiang saw him, he quickly walked over and shook hands with him. His palms were dry and rough, and his grip was very light.

"Mr. Lin, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Something came up at work and I was delayed for a while."

"It's alright, I just arrived too. Section Chief Jiang, please take a look at the menu and add a few more of your favorite dishes."

Section Chief Jiang waved his hand and said that a simple meal would be fine, no need to spend too much money.

Lin Feng ordered two more meat dishes and a soup, asking the waiter to bring them as soon as possible. While waiting for the food, the two chatted for a few minutes, with Lin Feng asking him about local conditions in Binzhou—polite topics such as economic development, mineral resources, and urban planning.

Section Chief Jiang's answer was perfunctory, and his chopsticks movements were half-hearted, showing that he had no appetite at all.

Lin Feng noticed that his fingers were trembling slightly when he picked up food, and he didn't know if he was feeling unwell or if something was on his mind.

"Section Chief Jiang, you don't look well. Have you been feeling unwell lately?"

Section Chief Jiang put down his chopsticks, shook his head with a wry smile. "It's an old problem, my stomach isn't very good, but it's nothing serious."

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and fell silent again. Lin Feng could sense that he had something on his mind, and it was something very heavy.

Since the other party didn't say anything, he didn't press for details, so he poured him a cup of tea and then tentatively asked a question.

"Section Chief Jiang, actually, besides visiting you, I also wanted to ask you about someone during my trip to Binzhou. I wonder if you know a secretary surnamed Wang—a woman who worked in the Binzhou Municipal Government Office a few years ago. She was Governor Chen Liangliang's secretary at the time, but she suddenly resigned and I heard she married someone in the south. I'd like to know some details about what happened back then."

Section Chief Jiang had just raised his teacup to his lips when he heard the words "Secretary Wang" and "Chen Liangliang," and his hand stopped in mid-air.

Then he slowly placed the teacup back on the table, the bottom of the cup making a soft, crisp sound as it tapped against the glass turntable.

Looking up at Lin Feng, the previous listlessness and perfunctoriness vanished, replaced by an extremely solemn vigilance.

He stared at Lin Feng for several seconds, as if confirming something, his brows furrowing more and more, his lips pressed into a thin line.

"Mr. Lin, why are you asking about this? What kind of business do you run? What's your relationship with Chen Liangliang?"

"I'm in the engineering and medicinal herb business, and I have no direct connection with Chen Liangliang. Section Chief Chen, please don't misunderstand. I have no ill intentions towards Secretary Wang, nor am I someone sent by Chen Liangliang. If you don't believe me, you can ask Director He..."

Section Chief Jiang stared at him for a long time, his eyes swirling with a complex mix of emotions.

There was wariness, hesitation, struggle, and something else Lin Feng couldn't quite put his finger on, something like fear or pain.

His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he swallowed his words back.

He slowly stood up, picked up the old jacket from the back of the chair, and spoke in a low voice, his tone carrying the weariness and warning of someone who had been through it all.

"President Lin, for Lao He's sake, I'll give you a piece of advice—don't get involved in this mess. That's all I can say. I'll remember this meal; I'll treat you next time I'm at Hohai University. Let's pretend today's incident never happened."

After saying that, he pushed the chair back to its original position, nodded to Lin Feng, and turned to walk quickly towards the door.

Lin Feng sat in his seat, tapping his fingers lightly on the table. Section Chief Jiang's reaction was much more intense than he had expected.

He neither denied knowing Secretary Wang nor pretended not to know about the matter, but directly advised Lin Feng not to get involved.

This shows that he not only knew about what happened back then, but he knew it very well, and may even know more. He knew that there was something even more dangerous involved behind that incident.

This person is hiding something, but now is not the time to reveal it. He's clearly under pressure from something, and pushing him too hard could easily drive him to the opposite side.

Let's hold off for now and let Kui Zi continue his investigation. We'll meet with him again once we have more leads on the outside.

With more leverage, the conversation will take a different turn. Lin Feng called the waiter to pack up the remaining food, paid the bill, picked up his coat, and left the restaurant.

The nights in Binzhou are much colder than in Hehai. Large trucks are still rumbling back and forth on the streets, their headlights sweeping across the road and casting a hazy gray dust.

Then, a heavy rain began to fall from the sky!