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

"You don't have to sign," Ouyang Qian said to her in English. "If you sign, you won't be completely free. But if you don't sign, we won't feel comfortable taking you back to China. How you survive in Germany after that is your own business."

Sofia was silent for about half a minute. She looked down at her toes; the wound on the sole of her foot was still covered with a band-aid. The hem of her hotel bathrobe was a little dirty; she had run out barefoot along that path earlier, and although she had washed it, there was still some dirt under her toenails. She looked up, her gray-green eyes turning to Lin Feng.

"I'll sign." Her voice was soft but firm. "You saved me. I don't want to go out on the streets, and I don't want to go back to that place. I'm willing to follow you, cook for you, do your laundry, do anything for you. I'll sign."

Lin Feng didn't speak. Ouyang Qian glanced at him, then took the printed document from Muller and placed it on the coffee table. Sophia walked over, her hand trembling slightly, and signed her name in the "Party B" section. After signing, she took a step back, leaning against the wall, as if she had exhausted all her strength, or perhaps she had breathed a sigh of relief.

Mueller bound the documents, stamped them with a lawyer's seal, and put a copy into his briefcase. He stood up and shook hands with Lin Feng and Ouyang Qian respectively, then said a few words to Sofia in English, essentially congratulating her on obtaining legal status. Sofia nodded, her lips moved slightly, but no sound came out.

After Mueller left, three people remained in the room. Ouyang Qian put the contract into a file folder and handed it to Lin Feng, saying, "Keep this safe. Put it in the company safe after you return to China. She can take it out when she needs to leave the country or change her visa."

Lin Feng took it and put it aside. Ouyang Qian glanced at Sofia in the corner, then looked at Lin Feng, "Is she settled? We were supposed to fly to Copenhagen today. Now that there's one more person, I'll change the ticket later. However, her identity documents aren't finished yet, so she might not be able to leave Germany immediately. To be on the safe side, let her stay in Berlin for a couple more days to resolve her documents and visa issues."

"Okay," Lin Feng said.

Ouyang Qian nodded and walked towards the door. She paused beside Sophia and said in English, "You should thank him. Don't cause him any trouble in the future." Then she opened the door and left.

After the corridor quieted down, Sophia slowly moved to stand in front of Lin Feng, looking up at him. She was tall, and even with her head down, her gaze was almost level with Lin Feng's. Tears welled in her grey-green eyes, but she didn't cry.

"Is that older sister very angry?" she asked softly.

"No, that's just her style of doing things," Lin Feng said.

"She's very good to you," Sofia said, then quickly added, "I'll be good to you too."

Lin Feng didn't respond. He walked to the wardrobe, rummaged through his suitcase, and pulled out a clean white T-shirt and a pair of athletic shorts, handing them to her. "Change into these first. I'll take you shopping for some clothes this afternoon. Don't wear that kind of stuff anymore."

Sofia took the clothes, looked down at her slightly wrinkled bathrobe, and nodded vigorously.

……

Ouyang Qian took care of all the clothing purchases herself.

She asked the hotel receptionist to recommend a nearby mid-to-high-end shopping mall, and took Sophia there to pick out a few basic outfits. Sophia had such a great figure that any clothes looked tailor-made on her.

She wore a pair of ordinary light blue jeans, and the exaggerated length of her legs made the sales clerk next to her take a few more glances. She paired them with a white crew neck T-shirt, the neckline of which was slightly deformed by the curve of her chest, making the loose-fitting style look tight on her.

Ouyang Qian then picked out a light gray knitted cardigan and a pair of white sneakers, changing herself completely from head to toe.

When Sophia came out of the fitting room after changing her clothes, Lin Feng was sitting on the sofa outside drinking water. She stood in front of the mirror, awkwardly tugged at her clothes, and then turned to look at him.

A white T-shirt clung to her upper body, accentuating the exaggerated curves of her chest from the side, while her waist remained remarkably slender. Ouyang Qian stood behind her, smoothing the wrinkles on her shoulders and whispering something in English.

"This outfit is fine," Lin Feng said.

Ouyang Qian glanced back at him. "Clothes make the man. She has a good figure, so she looks good in anything. Let's buy these outfits first, and then we can get some warmer clothes in Copenhagen. It's still a bit cold in Northern Europe."

Sophia stood in front of the mirror, looked down at her clothes, then looked up at Lin Feng, a kind of uncertain joy in her gray-green eyes.

She whispered "Thank you" to Ouyang Qian, then walked up to Lin Feng and asked in broken English, "Is it good?"

"It looks pretty good," Lin Feng said.

On the way back to the hotel after checking out, Sophia stayed close to Lin Feng, her steps much lighter. Ouyang Qian walked ahead, making a phone call to confirm the afternoon's flight information with the airline.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves of the plane trees lining the street, illuminating Sofia's platinum blonde hair.

The flight to Copenhagen departs at 3 PM.

Will drove them to the airport. Before getting out of the car, he shook hands with Lin Feng and said a few words to Sophia in German, basically wishing her good luck.

Sofia nodded and replied in German, "Danke." Lin Feng was a little surprised and asked her when she learned German. She said she was locked up in that shop in Berlin for almost two weeks and was forced to learn a few phrases every day.

The plane was a short-haul European flight with six seats in a row.

Ouyang Qian sat by the window, Lin Feng sat in the middle, and Sophia sat to his right. It was her first time sitting in a business class seat. After sitting down, she didn't dare to move around. She put her hands on her knees, looked around, and finally her eyes fell on the tarmac outside the window.

As the plane climbed, she was tense, her fingers gripping the armrest of her seat. Lin Feng glanced at her and said it was okay, she'd be fine in a bit. She nodded, but her hand remained firmly on the armrest.

"You've never been on a plane before?" Lin Feng asked.

"I took it once, from Kyiv to Warsaw. That was my first time leaving Ukraine." Sofia's voice was a little low. "At that time, I wasn't too scared, thinking I would settle down soon. Later, when I got to Germany, well..."

After leveling off, she gradually relaxed and started chatting with Raymond Lam.

Her English, though halting, was much smoother than yesterday. She said she had studied fashion design in Kyiv for two years, but the school closed due to the situation, and she had been staying at home ever since.

Her dream is to be a model. Her height and looks are considered outstanding among young Ukrainian girls. She was once given a business card by a talent scout on the streets of Kyiv, but the modeling agency later went bankrupt.

Later, her brother went to the front lines.

"Any news about your brother?" Lin Feng asked.

Sofia shook her head, her eyes dimming for a moment. "I haven't heard from him since last month. His phone is always out of service. I sent him a message before I left, saying I would contact him when I got to Germany, but there's still no signal."

She rested her head on his arm and slowly fell asleep.