When Spring Burns - Chapter 19

Upon hearing this, Sheng Tingmian widened her eyes and snorted sharply through her nose, expressing disdain and anger at her aunt’s way of thinking.

“Auntie, how could you think like that?”

Sheng Tingmian even felt a bit upset. “It’s really not good for us to ‘scheme’ against someone like this, it makes us seem like we’re just trying to climb the social ladder.”

“Auntie, Sister treats us sincerely. Wouldn’t doing this break her heart? It hasn’t been long since she lost her sister. How is this any different from a sparrow seizing a magpie’s nest…”

The more she spoke, the sadder she became, her nose tingling with emotion.

How could they possibly scheme against someone like this?

Seeing her strong resistance, Sheng Xiaoyun reflected and realized it wasn’t appropriate, quickly comforting her: “Alright, alright, your aunt was just saying it offhand. Don’t take it to heart.”

Sheng Tingmian stared directly at Sheng Xiaoyun, making her stance clear: “No matter whether Sister acknowledges me as her sister or not, I will always regard her as a respected elder. Auntie, don’t entertain such messy thoughts.”

Seeing her firm attitude, Sheng Xiaoyun raised three fingers and swore: “Okay, your aunt understands. I promise I won’t bring it up again.”

Only then did Sheng Tingmian feel satisfied, though her expression remained serious as she watched her aunt. Seeing that she didn’t continue the topic, she finally relaxed: “I’m going to change my makeup. Auntie, please keep the gold leaf safe for me.”

“Alright, alright.” Sheng Xiaoyun watched her retreating back and sighed.

This child’s sense of justice is just too strong.

…

After finishing her second performance, Sheng Tingmian hurried back to the dressing room to remove her stage makeup and apply light makeup. After saying goodbye to her aunt, she got into He Jianxue’s car.

“Sister, have you finished discussing everything with the director?” she asked while fastening her seatbelt.

“Yes, it’s settled. Your troupe will have some new arrangements soon, so be prepared.”

“I’ll follow your lead.” Sheng Tingmian had long been prepared to travel for work. Such a great performance opportunity was something she wouldn’t have dared to dream of before.

“By the way, Sister, the old doctor will be back from his business trip tomorrow. Let’s go to the clinic again tomorrow.”

Sheng Tingmian observed her expression and noticed that He Jianxue didn’t agree immediately. Hesitantly, she asked, “Sister, do you have something else to attend to?”

“I do, but it’s nothing major. I’ll go with you tomorrow.”

Sheng Tingmian lowered her eyes in self-reproach. If she had been better prepared earlier, her sister wouldn’t have made a wasted trip, and tomorrow she wouldn’t need to adjust her schedule to accommodate her.

If only she could have done better.

He Jianxue patted the back of her hand. “I said it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

Sheng Tingmian asked, “Really?”

If the clinic couldn’t find anything wrong either, her sister would have made another wasted trip.

He Jianxue emphasized, “Really.”

Sheng Tingmian’s mood improved slightly. When they arrived at the restaurant, she followed He Jianxue to a private room.

As soon as they were seated, the waiter brought Western food. While eating her pasta, Sheng Tingmian was startled when a hand suddenly lifted her plate. She looked up in surprise at He Jianxue across the table, who had swapped their steaks.

“Sister?” Sheng Tingmian was confused. Had her sister taken the steak she had just cut for herself?

“Eat. I cut it for you,” He Jianxue said, continuing to cut the next piece.

Sheng Tingmian, who had been twirling pasta on her fork, now reached for the neatly cut steak in front of her. Her sister had even cut the steak for her.

Her heart felt both sweet and sour. Her aunt was right, He Jianxue really was very good to her. But precisely because she was so good, scheming against her would make them utterly ungrateful.

“Sister, why did you give me such a large gold piece?” Sheng Tingmian was curious about why she was being so good to her.

If it was about daily life and Sister taking care of her, she could still attribute it to being a sleeping companion. But when it came to work, there was no need to give such a grand reward.

Moreover, the theater troupe wasn’t profitable yet and was still operating at a loss.

He Jianxue paused. “You don’t like it?”

Sheng Tingmian shook her head. “I do like it, I’m just a little curious.”

He Jianxue set down her knife and fork, her red lips curling into a smile. “Because you deserve it. Your opera singing is better than others, the most pleasing to the ear. Traditional culture shouldn’t fade away.”

Aesthetics are deeply personal, and opera singing is no exception. Some prefer the tones of Peking opera, others the melodies of Yue opera. But this was the first time Sheng Tingmian had been praised so directly and sincerely for having the most beautiful opera voice.

Her breathing grew slightly uneven, and her face flushed bright red.

“Sister, you… you’re making me a little embarrassed with your praise. I still need to practice.” Sheng Tingmian didn’t dare meet her eyes, yet couldn’t help stealing glances, clearly overjoyed.

Seeing how flushed she was from the compliment, He Jianxue smiled gently. “Just take it as your sister supporting your career. Be more confident.”

Sheng Tingmian immediately straightened up, a gesture that made He Jianxue laugh.

“We’ve been eating and living together for so long, why are you still so reserved around me?”

Sheng Tingmian quickly relaxed, murmuring, “Sister, let’s just eat.”

Her restraint came entirely from a sense of guilt. Her aunt had just spoken those words to her, and now Sister was taking it a step further by supporting her career. The contrast was stark, and her guilt only deepened.

Sheng Tingmian comforted herself inwardly, vowing to repay Sister’s great kindness one day.

…

Early the next morning, Sheng Tingmian took her role as her aunt even more seriously, taking care of her sister and ensuring all documents were prepared. She had even called ahead to schedule a specific appointment with the elderly doctor.

With everything in order, she got into the car and headed to the clinic with her sister.

Upon arriving at the traditional Chinese medicine clinic, Sheng Tingmian eagerly explained her sister’s condition to the elderly doctor, even presenting some of the medical records from previous hospital visits, mentioning something about nerve damage.

He Jianxue sat in her wheelchair, watching as Sheng Tingmian solemnly produced these documents and listened intently to every word the elderly doctor said, afraid to miss a single detail.

After reviewing the materials, the elderly doctor set them aside and gestured for He Jianxue to place her hand on the cushion. Sheng Tingmian immediately understood it was time for a pulse reading. She took her sister’s wrist, rolled up her sleeve, and placed it on the pillow.

“Doctor, please take a look at my sister’s condition.”

The elderly doctor began feeling her pulse, and the clinic fell into silence.

As time passed, Sheng Tingmian watched him closely. Seeing his expression grow increasingly grave, a sense of foreboding crept over her.

The moment the doctor released her wrist, Sheng Tingmian anxiously asked, “Doctor, how is my sister?”

The elderly doctor glanced at the youthful Sheng Tingmian, then at He Jianxue. It was clear who was in charge.

“Please follow me to the examination room for further checks.”

Unsure of the situation but complying nonetheless, Sheng Tingmian wheeled He Jianxue into the room, allowing the doctor to conduct a more thorough examination of her sister’s legs.

This was the first time Sheng Tingmian had seen He Jianxue’s legs. Usually, she wore loose pants while sitting in her wheelchair, making it impossible to discern the condition of her legs.

Now, with her pant legs rolled up, she saw a pair of slender legs. The calf muscles that most people have were almost nonexistent on her sister. She knew this was muscle atrophy caused by long-term lack of exercise.

The old Chinese medicine doctor examined her thoroughly, his expression grave as he repeatedly compared the documents they had brought.

He Jianxue spoke up, “Sir, please speak frankly.”

Sheng Tingmian also looked over.

Only then did the old doctor reveal his diagnosis: “From the pulse readings just now, your leg condition doesn’t seem to be due to pathological nerve damage. Rather, it appears to be the result of an injected substance that caused the inability to walk…”

Sheng Tingmian’s eyes widened. “Sir, what do you mean?”

“Ah Tong, take Mianmian outside to wait.”

Sheng Tingmian turned abruptly to see He Jianxue, her expression serious, instructing her assistant to take her out.

Understanding that her sister wanted to speak with the doctor alone, she obediently followed the assistant outside and waited.

Pacing back and forth outside, the doctor’s words echoed repeatedly in her mind.

Not nerve damage, but an injected substance?

Could it be that her sister’s legs were deliberately crippled by someone?

The more Sheng Tingmian thought about it, the more panicked she became. She then recalled her sister’s family situation, aside from her sister He Xiu, she had never met her sister’s parents or any other relatives.

And not long ago, He Xiu had attempted suicide by drinking poison…