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

It was almost 11 o'clock when I came out of the movie theater.

The escalators in the mall had stopped, so they took the emergency exit. The fire escape stairwell was only illuminated by the white light of emergency lights, casting a cold, pale glow on the fire hydrant boxes on the walls. Xu Momo's high heels echoed with each step on the concrete steps, bouncing back and forth in the narrow stairwell.

Lin Feng walked behind her, watching her back as she descended the stairs. The shoulder line of her suit jacket was still straight and upright, and her pencil skirt was tight around her waist and hips. Her legs were encased in flesh-colored stockings, and when she bent her knees, the stockings stretched a light-colored sheen at the joints.

As soon as I exited the mall, the car sent by the hotel was already waiting at the entrance.

The two got into the car. Xu leaned on his shoulder, one hand resting on his knee, her fingers unconsciously fiddling with the seam of his trousers. The driver kept his eyes fixed straight ahead; the radio on the center console was playing a late-night music program at a very low volume.

Back in the hotel room, Lin Feng swiped his card to open the door, inserted the card to turn on the power, and by the time the lights came on, Xu Momo had already kicked off her high heels.

I walked barefoot to the French windows in the small living room, pulled the curtains open a crack, and peeked out.

The rain outside had completely stopped, and the night view of Suzhou CBD was exceptionally clean after the rain. A few lights were on in the windows of the high-rise office buildings, and the surface of Jinji Lake in the distance was dark, with only the landscape lights of the lakeside walkway outlining a winding bright line.

"You said before that you could dance?" Lin Feng took off his suit jacket and draped it over the back of the sofa, then sat down and lit a cigarette.

Xu Momo turned around, blinked, and said, "My resume says I studied folk dance for three years and participated in a dance competition in college." She paused and then added, "This time when we came to Suzhou for filming, the team asked me to bring a few sets of dance costumes. There's a topic about a dance studio filming traditional Chinese dance."

"What did you bring?"

"It's in the suitcase." She walked to the entrance, laid the suitcase flat, unzipped it, and pulled out a drawstring storage bag from the bottom of the pile of clothes.

Unzip the drawstring and pull out two neatly folded dance costumes. One is bright red, made of light chiffon, with gold thread trim on the neckline and cuffs; the other is royal blue, made of a more fitted fabric, with a phoenix pattern embroidered on the waistband.

"The red one is in the Han and Tang style, and the blue one is in the Dunhuang style." Xu Momo spread the two sets of clothes on the bed, touching the red one with her fingers. "I haven't worn this one yet, the tags are still on."

"Put it on and let me see." Lin Feng flicked his cigarette ash.

Without hesitation, Xu Momo picked up the red set and headed to the bathroom.

Lin Feng finished his cigarette and took a bottle of red wine from the wine cabinet.

The wine was provided by the hotel and had a price tag. It was a Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile, not top-tier but still drinkable. I used the corkscrew to remove the cork, poured myself half a glass, and then turned off the main light in the living room, leaving only the floor lamp next to the French windows on.

The lighting was warm yellow, illuminating a limited area, leaving most of the room in a soft, dark tone.

The bathroom door was pushed open.

Xu Momo walked out barefoot, her footsteps making no sound on the wooden floor.

A red chiffon blouse floated out from behind the door frame, first a sleeve, then the whole person. The upper part of the outfit was a short, cross-collared blouse, the neckline opening to the top of the sternum, tied at the side waist with a thin red ribbon. The chiffon material was thin and sheer, and under the warm yellow light, the color of the skin underneath could be vaguely seen.

The sleeves were wide, hanging down from her wrists. When she raised her hand to steady the door frame, the cuffs slid down to her elbows, revealing a section of her slender, white forearm. The hem was a long skirt in the same color scheme, with a high waist and a band of intertwined branches embroidered in gold thread. The skirt trailed on her insteps, and as she walked, the hem gently swept across the floor.

Her hair was still piled on top of her head, secured with a hairpin, with a few stray strands falling beside her ears. She hadn't removed her makeup; her lipstick was still the same bright red she'd applied before the movie, perfectly matching the color of her dance costume.

Lin Feng leaned back on the sofa, holding a glass of red wine, his gaze sweeping from her face down to the hem of her dress. Xu Momo felt his gaze and stopped in front of the French windows.

Outside the window was the city night view, and the warm light from inside shone on her, making her red chiffon glow with a soft golden luster.

"Let's begin," Lin Feng said.

Xu Momo connected her phone to the room's Bluetooth speaker and played a guzheng piece. The music was slow-paced, and the sound of the strings being plucked had a clean, pure quality in the quiet room.

Standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, she slowly raised her hands from her sides, her wide sleeves sliding down with gravity to reveal her two complete arms. As her arms were raised above her head, the side profile of her entire body was elongated, highlighting her narrow waist, the curve of her hips, and the outline of her legs faintly visible beneath her skirt.

The first movement is a side spin.

With her right toes touching the ground and her left foot as the axis, she turned half a circle, causing her skirt to swirl open like a red flower blooming on the water.

After turning around, she paused for a moment, leaned back slightly, and pushed her chest forward. The neckline of her crossover dress was stretched open a little at this angle, and the curve below her collarbone could be seen rising and falling with her breath under the thin chiffon material.

Lin Feng took a sip of red wine, letting the liquid linger on his tongue for two seconds before swallowing. After the initial astringency, a faint sweetness followed.

Xu Momo continued jumping.

Her folk dance skills are quite good; she controls the strength and range of each movement very precisely. When she bends over, her waist folds in half, her fingers can touch the insteps, her skirt piles up on the floor, and when she stands up, the skirt hangs down again. When her wide sleeves are swung open, they make a sound in the wind, the chiffon fabric unfolds in the air, and the gold thread trim draws arcs of light under the lamp.

After dancing for two minutes, she gradually got into the swing of things, and started to incorporate improvisational elements instead of just standard dance moves.

She stretched out the rhythm of a hip-twisting motion, her waist swaying to the left and then slowly returning to center, the hem of her skirt swaying half a circle along the contour of her hip bone.

Facing Lin Feng sideways, her fingers slid down from his neck, the fingertips tracing the edge of his collarbone, then stopping at the center of his chest, before slowly pulling outwards along the diagonal line of his collar, as if hesitating whether to untie his belt.

Lin Feng stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, shifted his position, leaned back on the sofa armrest, crossed his legs, and rested his hand holding the wine glass on his knee.

Xu Momo smiled when she saw him change his posture.

She turned to face Lin Feng, took a few small steps forward, her waist swaying from side to side with the rhythm of her steps. Her wide sleeves hung down on both sides of her body, swaying gently with the movement of her hips.

She stopped in front of the coffee table and spun around again, this time faster than before. When her skirt swirled open, it was almost parallel to the ground, revealing a section of her calf and bare instep.

After she finished turning, she stopped, leaned forward slightly, placed her hands on the edge of the coffee table, and let her neckline swing down.

From this angle, Lin Feng could see the few centimeters of chiffon fabric separating from the skin beneath the collar, revealing a glimpse of the snow-white skin of Xu Momo's breasts. Xu Momo paused in this pose for two or three seconds, then straightened up and continued jumping.