After the rain, the wind stopped in front of the river. - Chapter 1

Lin Yuluo Has No Money

It was the hottest day of the year, made even worse by a power outage. When Lin Yuluo climbed out of bed, she looked as if she had been fished out of water, her entire body soaked in sweat, her hair plastered to her face, and her white camisole dress drenched until it was nearly flesh-colored. She quickly changed into a T-shirt and went out, planning to arrive early at the yoga studio and stay there. 

Her phone rang. It was Fang Liu, the owner of the studio, and her voice sounded irritated.

“Yuluo, a client wants a private home lesson. Can you go?”

“Does the client have air-conditioning? What kind of practice do they want? If it’s hot yoga, I’m not going,” Lin Yuluo asked. Her body was already at its limit, if she did another session of hot yoga, she might as well leave her life in this city behind.

“Yes, yes, of course there’s air-conditioning. I’ll send you the address,” Fang Liu replied.

“Okay,” Lin Yuluo said.

Lin Yuluo checked the time, gritted her teeth, and ordered a ride. 

Once she got into the car, Fang Liu sent over the client’s information. It was a long-time client of the studio. Private lessons cost one thousand yuan per session, and the client always bought a hundred sessions at a time, one in the morning and one in the evening, every day. 

Previously, the senior instructor Zoey had been teaching her, but Zoey was on leave today. Everyone else was fully booked, so Lin Yuluo was the only one left.

“I don’t turn down work,” Lin Yuluo replied.

She had been in this city for two years. Her income had risen from four thousand to six thousand yuan, and she had gone from being a beautician to a yoga instructor. She had been getting by like this, just barely making ends meet. If she could continue working here long-term and eventually earn more than ten thousand a month like the other instructors, that would already be a good life for her.

The client’s surname was also Lin. When Lin Yuluo arrived, she called her.

“Hello, Sister Lin. I’m Yuluo, the substitute instructor. I’ve arrived.”

“You’re here? Go register first. I’ll have someone come down to pick you up,” Sister Lin said.

“Okay, thank you,” Lin Yuluo said.

While Lin Yuluo was registering, the young security guard struck up a conversation.

“A yoga instructor? I haven’t seen you before,” the security guard asked.

“I’m filling in today,” Lin Yuluo replied with a friendly smile, handing him the folder and stepping aside to wait.

A man came down with his hands in his pockets. He was wearing a black V-neck T-shirt, with a pair of sunglasses hanging from the collar. He looked Lin Yuluo up and down and asked, “The yoga instructor?”

“Yes,” Lin Yuluo replied.

“Come up.” 

He tossed out the words and turned away, lips pressed tightly together, clearly in a bad mood.

Lin Yuluo followed him into the elevator, shrinking into a corner and barely daring to breathe.

“How long have you been teaching?” the man asked.

“Three years,” Lin Yuluo replied.

The studio where Lin Yuluo worked catered to high-end clients. She had entered the profession halfway through her life. If it hadn’t been for her looks, Fang Liu would never have hired her. As Fang Liu once said.

“Your experience as a yoga instructor isn’t really enough, and you don’t have many certifications , but that face of yours can fool the clients. If anyone asks how long you’ve been doing this, just say three years.”

The man gave her another look, raised his brows slightly, and clearly didn’t believe her.

“Really,” Lin Yuluo added.

He said nothing, only turned his head and gave a faint smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

When they entered the apartment, Lin Yuluo was genuinely stunned. It was the first time she had ever seen such a large living room in real life, nearly ten times the size of her own. One entire wall was made of floor-to-ceiling windows, two of them open for ventilation. When the wind blew, the sheer white curtains billowed softly in the morning light.

“Junchuan, have the instructor change into slippers,” Sister Lin’s voice called from inside.

“The yellow ones,” Junchuan pointed towards the shoe rack.

“Okay, thank you,” Sister Lin said 

“Junchuan, take another guest to the changing room. I’ll be done washing off my face mask soon,” Sister Lin said.

“Mm.”

He answered and walked away.

When Lin Yuluo came out after changing, Junchuan was still being sent on errands. This time it was to take the instructor to the yoga room. He looked impatient, but still led her there.

Lin Yuluo stopped at the doorway. The wall of mirrors reflected her figure, straight posture, smooth lines, a long neck supporting a striking face. Junchuan leaned against the door, playing with his phone, occasionally lifting his eyes to glance at her.

When Sister Lin arrived, she patted him on the back.

“That’s enough. You did well. I’ll look for you after I finish.”

It was Lin Yuluo’s first time seeing Sister Lin. She had heard the woman was sixty, but the person in front of her was impeccably maintained and looked no older than forty. Lin Yuluo couldn’t quite tell what the relationship between her and Junchuan was, if he were a younger lover, it wouldn’t be surprising.

She had just thought that when Junchuan caught her looking. His gaze flickered, and she quickly averted her eyes, embarrassed at being caught prying into someone else’s private affairs.

“Yuluo, how long have you been at this studio?” Sister Lin asked gently.

“More than half a year,” Lin Yuluo replied.

“Then why haven’t I seen you before?” Sister Lin asked.

“I used to teach group classes,” Lin Yuluo replied.

“And before you came here?” Sister Lin asked.

“I worked at another studio for over two years.” 

Lin Yuluo repeated exactly what Fang Liu had taught her to say, then placed her hands on Sister Lin’s shoulders.

“I’ll help you relax first,” Lin Yuluo said.

Lin Yuluo didn’t speak much. She knew the more you talked, the more mistakes you made, so she only said what was necessary.

Sister Lin had a solid foundation, so the private session wasn’t difficult. The Sun Salutation sequence was even easier than what Lin Yuluo usually taught in group classes. Even her bad mood, worsened by days of heat and power outages, lifted slightly.

Near the end, Junchuan passed by the door with a sports bag slung over his shoulder and sunglasses on. Broad-shouldered and long-legged, he walked straight ahead without glancing sideways, striding away briskly.

Lin Yuluo noticed Sister Lin’s expression, withdrew her gaze, closed her eyes, and focused on guiding her through the final relaxation.

When the session ended, Sister Lin noticed the sweat on Lin Yuluo’s forehead and invited her to use the guest bathroom to shower. Lin Yuluo tried to decline, but Sister Lin waved it off.

“It’s fine. Teacher Zoey showers every time before she leaves too. Otherwise it’s uncomfortable,” Sister Lin said.

Left with no choice, Lin Yuluo awkwardly closed the bathroom door and stared at the enormous space. The room she rented in a village-in-the-city was only twenty-five square meters, and she rode an electric bike to work every day. This was the first time she had ever seen a bathroom as large as her entire room, and it made her feel painfully small.

After showering quickly and saying goodbye to Sister Lin, she paused to glance back once more as she left the apartment. The custom-made automatic door slowly slid shut, sealing off another world.

When she returned to the yoga studio, several instructors were already there, sitting by the window and eating. When they saw her, they pushed her meal towards her.

“Sister Fang is going to see you later.”

“What’s wrong?”

“She brought the performance sheet. She says your client sign-ups and renewals this month are terrible.”

At that, Lin Yuluo set down her soy milk, suddenly unable to eat.

The studio charged extremely high fees for private lessons. To bring in new clients, she would have needed to know wealthy people, but everyone she knew couldn’t afford such expensive packages. Because she lacked experience, whenever someone walked in on their own, Sister Fang always assigned them to someone else.

“How many have you signed?” Instructor Xinxin asked.

“Still zero.”

While they were talking, Fang Liu called her over from the consultation area. Lin Yuluo tensed and went to sit across from her.

Fang Liu thought Lin Yuluo was too soft-hearted. Even Fang Liu herself sometimes struggled with the prices, and Lin Yuluo felt guilty every time she talked to clients. 

Earlier, Fang Liu had given her two old clients to renew, but when they asked, “Why did the price go up?” she panicked.

“It’s almost the end of the month and you’re still at zero,” Fang Liu said coldly. 

“What can that little base salary even support? Today, stay next to Xinxin. Don’t talk, just watch how she negotiates.”

“Okay.”

“How was Sister Lin today? Easy to get along with?” Fang Liu asked.

“She’s very nice,” Lin Yuluo replied.

“Then you’ll keep teaching her for now. Zoey might not be coming back, her father is ill. Sister Lin still has five sessions left. When you go tonight, remind her to renew.” Fang Liu said.

“Okay,” Lin Yuluo said.

“Don’t mess it up.”

With Fang Liu’s warning, don’t mess it up, weighing on her mind, Lin Yuluo returned to Sister Lin’s apartment. Once again, it was the ‘young boyfriend’ who came down to pick her up. 

Back when she worked as a beautician, she had heard countless stories like this, good-looking men who didn’t want to struggle, choosing instead to cling to wealthy older women. But Sister Lin’s ‘young boyfriend’ seemed different. He carried himself with confidence, even a hint of arrogance, as though he looked down on everyone around him.

Because she was thinking about the renewal and didn’t want any trouble, Lin Yuluo forced a polite smile in the elevator.

“What are you smiling at?” the young boyfriend asked.

She didn’t know how to answer such a strange question. It was just a courtesy.

“Sister Lin is going to renew her classes, right?” he asked again.

Her anxiety was instantly exposed. Lin Yuluo nodded hesitantly.

“I’ll help you get the renewal,” he said. “In return, you help me with something.”

“You want a commission?” Lin Yuluo assumed she understood. 

“That’s fine. I get five percent, I can give you half.”

As long as her performance wasn’t zero, anything was better than nothing.

The elevator doors opened, and he didn’t reply. 

Lin Yuluo let out a quiet breath, thinking they had reached an understanding.

Inside the apartment, she bent down to change her shoes when she heard him say casually, “Isn’t it time to renew your yoga classes?”

“How do you know?” Sister Lin asked.

“How could I not?” he replied, pulling out his phone and transferring money to her. 

“Go renew them.”

Lin Yuluo froze. For a moment, she couldn’t even tell who was actually supporting whom.