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

He yawned and stepped aside to let him in.

"What time did you get up?"

"Half an hour ago." Su Mengya walked to the sofa, plopped down, curled her legs up, and patted the seat next to her. "Come sit down. Tell me about your exam."

Lin Feng sat down next to her.

On the coffee table were a plate of washed grapes, two bags of potato chips, and two cans of iced cola. A variety show was playing on the TV, with laughter and applause mixed together.

They briefly discussed the exam, then talked about the trip to Xiamen tomorrow. After listening, Su Mengya picked up her phone from the coffee table and swiped the screen a few times. Lin Feng's phone vibrated in his pocket.

He took it out and looked at it; the screen showed that Su Mengya had transferred two thousand yuan.

"Sister Mengya—"

"Here you go." Su Mengya opened a bag of potato chips, her eyes fixed on the TV. "You need to have money when you're out and about so you can eat whatever you want. When I have money, I'll take you on a trip."

Lin Feng put his phone back on the coffee table. "Last time you went on a business trip, I wanted to treat you to dinner. But you left. This time you're back and you're the one transferring money to me again."

"Then you owe me a meal. Make it up to me when you get back." She turned to look at him, a smug smile on her lips.

When a funny segment came on TV, Su Mengya laughed so hard her shoulders shook, and her body unconsciously leaned towards him.

Her shoulder was pressed against his arm, separated by two thin layers of cotton fabric. Lin Feng reached for a grape on the coffee table and popped it into his mouth.

Su Mengya handed him the bag of potato chips, and he reached in and grabbed a handful. His fingers touched hers inside the bag, feeling cool and covered in potato chip crumbs.

He pulled his hand back, picked up the remote, and changed the channel.

The two of them sat on the sofa, eating snacks and watching TV. Su Mengya stretched her legs out and put them on the coffee table, her ankles resting next to the remote control.

Lin Feng leaned back on the sofa, his arm draped over the edge of the cushion behind her. Afternoon sunlight streamed in through the balcony's floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a warm yellow hue across the floor.

Footsteps could be heard in the hallway.

Su Mengya pulled her legs off the coffee table and sat up a little straighter. The sound of a key turning in the lock filled the air.

Su's mother came in carrying groceries and smiled when she saw Lin Feng. "Xiao Feng's here? We'll be eating at home tonight. Auntie bought some fish."

Lin Feng stood up. "Thank you, Auntie. I'll head back now; I still need to pack for my trip tomorrow."

Su Mengya saw him to the door. As she changed her shoes, she leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. "Message me when you get there. Don't just sit there playing."

"understood."

When Lin Feng got home, Zhang Xiulan had already prepared dinner. After eating and taking a shower, Lin Feng lay down on the bed.

My phone vibrated; it was a video call from Zhou Mei.

The call connected. The screen lit up. Zhou Mei sat on the edge of the bed in the bedroom, with the familiar warm yellow bedside lamp behind her. Her hair was loose over her shoulders, as if she had just taken a shower.

"Have you packed your things?" she asked lazily.

"There's not much to pack. Just bring a few clothes."

Zhou Mei switched the phone to her other hand. As she did so, the thin strap of her nightgown slipped down her shoulder a little, revealing her fair skin below her collarbone.

They didn't immediately pull the thin strap back. "It's hot in Xiamen, just bring a short-sleeved shirt and shorts. Did you bring a swimsuit?"

"I brought them all."

"I bought a few clothes, can you help me see which one looks good?" She got up from the bed and walked to the wardrobe.

She propped her phone up on the bedside table, the camera pointed at the bed. First, she took out a black one-piece swimsuit from the closet; the neckline was a deep V, plunging all the way to the middle of her chest.

She held up her swimsuit in front of her and compared it to her body.

"Isn't this too revealing?"

"There is one thing: I can get jealous."

She then pulled out a white bikini. "What about this one?"

Lin Feng paused for a second, revealing over 80% of his inner thoughts, then said, "Teacher Zhou—"

"Just kidding." She put the bikini back and took out a dark green one-piece swimsuit with a strapless neckline, a more conservative style. "This one."

"This one looks good."

Zhou Mei folded her swimsuit and put it into an open suitcase. She picked up her phone again, lay back on the bed, and turned to face the camera.

"Meet at the school gate at 10:00 tomorrow. Don't be late."

"I know."

"That's settled then. Go to sleep early."

Goodnight, Teacher Zhou.

"Goodnight." She reached for her phone on the bedside table, and the screen flickered. Before hanging up, Lin Feng saw a small smile curving at the corner of her mouth.

The phone call had barely ended when Shen Qianqian's message popped up: "What should I wear tomorrow?" followed by a photo.

She stood in front of the full-length mirror in her room, wearing a light blue short-sleeved T-shirt and white shorts, with the pearl sandals she had bought last time on her feet.

Her hair was tied in a high ponytail, and she had a smile on her baby face. In her other hand, she held up her phone and took a picture in the mirror.

Raymond Lam typed back, "This outfit looks fine."

Shen Qianqian posted a few more pictures.

I tried on several outfits, asking him if each one looked good. Finally, I settled on a white T-shirt and denim mini-skirt combination.

The two chatted until late, until Shen Qianqian sent a yawning cat emoji saying she was sleepy. Lin Feng replied with a goodnight and put his phone on the bedside table.

He got up very early the next day.

I first sent a message to Luo Ruoxi about the trip. I had previously mentioned asking for a few days off, but I thought I should say it again.

Luo Ruoxi replied instantly: "Have fun. Do you have enough money? Let me know if you don't." Lin Feng replied enough, put his phone aside and went to wash up.

I changed into a clean white T-shirt and khaki casual pants, and stuffed my swim trunks, a few spare T-shirts, and a charger into my backpack.

My phone vibrated while I was waiting for the bus outside.

It was a transfer message from He Qianwen, for 5,000 yuan.

A voice message followed: "Teacher Lin, don't be too frugal when you go out. This is your travel allowance from your sister, you can't return it."

Lin Feng typed a few words to decline.

He Qianwen sent another message: "Not accepting payment means you're disrespecting me." He sighed, clicked to accept payment, and replied, "Thank you, Sister He."

My phone vibrated again right after I received He Qianwen's transfer.

This time, it was a transfer message from Yang Ru: 30,000 yuan. It was followed by only four words: "Travel expenses."

Lin Feng almost threw his phone away.

He quickly typed back, "Sister Yang, this is too much, I can't accept it."

Yang Ru replied with just one word: "Receive."

He sent another message: "This is really too much. I don't need this much for a small trip." A few seconds later, Yang Ru replied: "Then take 10,000 and return the rest. Don't make me say it a third time."

As Lin Feng looked at the words on the screen, the image of Yang Ru standing on the mat in dark purple yoga pants appeared in his mind's eye. She was aloof and indifferent, and always kept her word.

I accepted 10,000 yuan, returned the remaining 20,000 yuan, and replied with "Thank you, Sister Yang".

Before I could even put my phone back in my pocket, it vibrated again.

He thought it was another money transfer, but when he took out his phone, he saw it was a message from Shen Qianqian: "I'm at the school gate. Where are you?" He replied "Coming soon" and put his phone in his pocket.

Having so much money suddenly in my hands feels a bit unreal.

A large crowd had already gathered at the school gate.

The girls wore all sorts of dresses, sun hats, and sunglasses, and dragged colorful suitcases.

Most of the boys were carrying bags, and a few were wearing newly bought beach shorts, the creases on the legs still wet from washing.

A bus was parked on the side of the road, and the driver was squatting next to the wheels, smoking. Shen Qianqian stood under the shade of a tree next to the gatepost. She was wearing a white short-sleeved T-shirt and a denim mini-skirt, with pearl sandals on her feet, and her hair was tied in a high ponytail.

She wore very light makeup, with a layer of clear lip gloss that glistened in the sunlight. She was dragging a small light blue suitcase with a white cat sticker on it.

"Is that all you brought?" She looked at Lin Feng's backpack.

"That's enough. It's only four days, not a long time!"

Did you bring your swimsuit?

"I brought it."

Zhou Mei walked out of the school gate.

She was wearing a light blue silk shirt today, with two buttons undone at the collar, revealing a small section of her collarbone and a thin silver necklace around her neck.

She wore white wide-leg pants that fluttered in the wind as she walked, revealing glimpses of her ankles encased in flesh-colored stockings.

She wore a pair of beige flat sandals. Her hair was loose over her shoulders, with slightly curled ends.

She wore those black-rimmed glasses, but her makeup was much more refined than when she was in class, with a light pink lipstick on her lips.

Several boys were secretly watching her, nudging each other with their elbows.

Her gaze swept across the crowd, lingering on Lin Feng for a fleeting moment. The pause was so brief that only Lin Feng noticed it.

Then she clapped her hands. "Class monitors, please count the number of students and board the bus according to the list. We'll talk about the precautions once you're on the bus." Her voice returned to its usual cool tone, but as she passed Lin Feng, a very slight smile curved her lips, and she glanced at him through the edge of her black-rimmed glasses.

Only the two of them understood that look in their eyes.

Shen Qianqian stood next to Lin Feng, her gaze lingering on Zhou Mei's departing figure. She had seen Teacher Zhou buying clothes for Lin Feng at the mall last time, and later saw her staring at him intently during class, but she hadn't asked Lin Feng what had happened.

But she knew some things didn't need to be asked, so she reached out and took Lin Feng's hand, their fingers intertwined tightly.

"Let's get in the car and sit in the back."