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

Ye Qinghan sat down opposite Shen Qianqian.

Lin Feng turned his gaze back to the teacup in front of him.

"Qianqian's father passed away early." Ye Qinghan picked up her chopsticks and placed a slice of garlic-flavored pork belly on Lin Feng's plate. "I'm usually busy with work and can't take care of her. She goes to school and eats alone, and she doesn't tell me anything. If it weren't for you last time, I really don't know what would have happened."

Lin Feng looked at the thinly sliced, translucent white meat on the plate. "Auntie, Qianqian and I are classmates. It's only right that I help her in that situation."

Ye Qinghan looked at him.

The boy looked directly at her nose as he spoke, never glancing elsewhere. From the moment he entered until now, she noticed that his gaze had only lingered on her face and hands.

It wasn't a deliberate, tense avoidance; it was natural and proper.

She had worked in the police station for almost seven or eight years and had seen all kinds of people. She could tell at a glance where a man's eyes were looking and how long they were looking.

"Xiao Lin, what did you study at school?" Ye Qinghan asked, picking up her teacup.

"Business School, Business Administration"

What are your plans for the future?

"I haven't fully decided yet. I might go in the direction of sports and health."

Ye Qinghan nodded.

The waiters brought out the hot dishes one after another: steamed sea bass, black pepper beef tenderloin, baby bok choy in broth, and old duck soup with tea tree mushrooms. Ye Qinghan used serving chopsticks to pick up a piece of sea bass belly meat for Lin Feng, and then ladled a bowl of soup for Shen Qianqian.

Are you two in the same major?

"No, I study finance, so some of my courses are the same!" Shen Qianqian picked up a honey-glazed red date and put it in her mouth, her cheeks puffing out slightly as she chewed.

"So how did you two meet?"

Shen Qianqian paused in her chewing of the red date. Lin Feng's fingers brushed against the edge of his chopsticks. "I accidentally bumped into it in the hallway."

Ye Qinghan's eyebrows twitched slightly, but she didn't press the matter. She picked up her teacup, took a sip, and her gaze lingered on Shen Qianqian's face for a moment.

Shen Qianqian was looking down and poking at the soup in her bowl, her ears slightly red.

"Xiao Lin, please look after Qianqian at school. She's not good with words and keeps everything to herself, even when she's wronged." Ye Qinghan put down her teacup. "You two are classmates, around the same age, so you can talk to each other."

Lin Feng nodded. "Don't worry, Auntie."

Ye Qinghan looked into his eyes, and two faint smile lines appeared on her round face.

"Eat your food, stop talking." She picked up the serving chopsticks and put another piece of beef tenderloin on Lin Feng's plate.

The three of them ate and chatted for the rest of the time. Ye Qinghan asked him how many people were in his family and what his parents did, and Lin Feng answered them one by one.

She said that Qianqian had learned piano when she was little, but stopped after three years because her teacher was too strict. Shen Qianqian poked at the baby bok choy in her bowl with her chopsticks and said, "Mom, don't bring up the past."

Ye Qinghan's eyes crinkle when she smiles.

After finishing the meal, Ye Qinghan took out a red envelope from her bag and pushed it over.

Lin Feng didn't take it. "Auntie, really, you don't need to."

"It's not about the amount of money, it's about our family's sentiments." Ye Qinghan placed her hand on the red envelope.

"Auntie, Qianqian and I are classmates. It's only right for classmates to help each other. I'm already very grateful that you treated me to this meal, so I really can't accept the red envelope."

Ye Qinghan looked at him.

The boy's eyes were fixed when he spoke; it wasn't a coy refusal, but a genuine refusal. So he put the red envelope back in his bag.

"Okay. If you need any help from Auntie in the future, just tell Qianqian."

The three people went downstairs.

The lanterns in the alleyway lit up, their red light falling on the blue brick pavement. Ye Qinghan walked to a black Audi sedan, turning around before opening the door.

"Xiaolin, where do you live? Auntie will give you a ride."

"No need, Auntie, I can take the subway, it's very convenient."

Ye Qinghan didn't insist. She got into the driver's seat and rolled down the window. Shen Qianqian stood beside the car, her floral dress clinging gently to her thighs in the evening breeze. She turned her head to look at Lin Feng, her lips moving slightly.

Thank you for coming today.

"Of course."

Shen Qianqian opened the car door and got in. The car slowly drove out of the alley, its taillights receding into the shadows of the ginkgo trees until it disappeared around a bend.

The subway wasn't crowded. Lin Feng sat against the wall of the carriage, and the tunnel lights outside the window flickered and receded into the distance.

The words Ye Qinghan had said, "Qianqian's father passed away early," echoed in my mind. I also remembered coming home from school as a child, my mother cooking in the kitchen, my father squatting on the balcony fixing something, and the news broadcast playing on TV.

I always thought these days were ordinary, nothing special. But since Shen Qianqian was in the third grade, her mother has been the only one at home.

Shen Qianqian's phone vibrated and sent a message: "I'm home."

He replied with "Get some rest" and put his phone back in his pocket.

When I got home, my dad was sitting on the sofa watching TV, and my mom was washing dishes in the kitchen. My mom glanced at me. "You don't look well. Are you tired?"

"No. Mom, I'm going to bed now."

I went into the bedroom, took off my misty blue short-sleeved shirt, folded it, and placed it on the bedside table. I lay down on the bed and pulled the blanket up to my chest.

When I close my eyes, I picture Shen Qianqian sitting in the private room, poking at the baby bok choy in her bowl with her chopsticks, her ears turning red.

The floral print sundress she wore today revealed a subtle cleavage at the neckline, and her fair collarbone shone brightly in the lantern light.

He rolled over and faced the wall.

I have Zhou Mei's class tomorrow.

When the alarm clock rang the next morning, grayish-white light was already seeping through the gap in the curtains.

Lin Feng sat up in bed, stretched his neck, and stood up to do a set of warm-up exercises: Mountain Pose, Forward Bend, Plank, Upward-Facing Dog, Downward-Facing Dog.

My body slowly relaxed from the stiffness of sleep, and a thin layer of sweat appeared on my back. I took a shower, changed into a clean T-shirt, slung my backpack over my shoulder, and headed out.

The classroom was almost full.

Everyone arrived early for the classes before the final exams, and the front rows were all taken. Lin Feng walked to his usual seat in the back row and took out his textbook and notebook, placing them on the table.

Shen Qianqian walked in through the front door of the classroom. Today she was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt with a light blue bow tie at the collar, and a dark blue pleated skirt that reached just above her knees. Her hair was tied in a low ponytail, revealing her fair nape.

As she walked in, the eyes of several boys in the front row followed her for a short distance.

He walked straight to the back row, stood next to Lin Feng, put his backpack on the empty seat to his right, and sat down.

The classroom was silent for about two seconds.

Someone in the front row glanced back, then turned away again. A boy diagonally opposite nudged the person next to him with his elbow and gestured with his chin toward Lin Feng.

Shen Qianqian took out her textbooks and pencil case from her schoolbag and placed them on the table. She then took out a bottle of yogurt from her bag and placed it next to Lin Feng's notebook.

Good morning.

Lin Feng looked at the bottle of yogurt, then at her. "Shen, the class beauty, with you sitting here, I'm about to become public enemy number one among the boys."

Shen Qianqian pushed the yogurt towards him again, a faint smile appearing on her baby face. "Drink your yogurt."

Lin Feng picked up the yogurt, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip. It was strawberry flavored, sweet and sour.

Shen Qianqian lowered her head and opened her textbook.

Actually, her fingers were slightly clenched at the edge of the book, and her heart was beating faster than usual. She herself couldn't explain why she had sat down there.

She has always sat alone since she was a child, in the last row of the classroom by the window, with her schoolbag on the empty chair next to her.

She had no shortage of suitors, but she ignored them all. Her mother said she was bad at talking, but it wasn't that she was bad at talking, it was that she didn't want to talk.

When she talked to those boys, their eyes kept glancing at her; these guys thought they were hiding it well.

But Raymond Lam is different.

The first time he bumped into her in the stairwell, his hand was on her chest, and she thought he was just like everyone else.

Later, he rushed back into the alley with a brick, his arms covered in blood, and asked her, "Are you alright?" Yesterday at dinner, her mother sat opposite him wearing that form-fitting dress; he only glanced at her before turning his gaze back to his teacup.

She noticed all of that. When he looked at people, he looked into their eyes, not anywhere else.

She felt safe when she was with him. She couldn't explain why, but like that time in the alley, when he stood in front of her, those three thugs didn't dare to come any closer.

That's the feeling.