When Spring Burns - Chapter 35

Heavy rain enveloped Yanshi.

By nine o’clock in the evening, Sheng Xiaoyun had already searched both the theater and her home. As a last resort, she rushed to the He family’s residence, clinging to a final shred of hope.

She asked the butler, “Has my Sheng Tingmian returned home?”

The butler looked puzzled. “She didn’t come back today. We assumed she went back to your place.”

“She didn’t…” Sheng Xiaoyun held an umbrella, her pants soaked from the knees down. “She disappeared at the TV station…”

How could these two girls vanish into thin air?

It made no sense. The only explanation she could think of was that something terrible must have happened.

Powerless and without influence, the memory of the program director’s disdainful expression earlier that day was still vivid in her mind. Sheng Xiaoyun’s chest tightened as she suppressed a familiar sense of helplessness, placing her hopes on the He family. “Could you please call Miss He for me…”

Butler Liu glanced at her and took out his phone. “Please wait a moment…”

After several attempts, the call finally connected. Fortunately, Miss He was still awake.

He reported, “Miss He, something may have happened to Miss Sheng… I’ll let her aunt explain the details.”

With that, Butler Liu handed the phone to Sheng Xiaoyun.

Overwhelmed with gratitude, Sheng Xiaoyun took it. “Miss He, Tingmian and Du Jingya went to the TV station today to participate in the competition. After they finished their makeup, they disappeared… Yes, we’ve searched everywhere and still can’t find them.”

The voice on the other end asked, “What about the TV station?”

Sheng Xiaoyun replied, “We couldn’t search the TV station. The staff refused to let me check the surveillance footage, and now everyone there has already left for the day…”

After understanding the situation, the voice paused briefly before saying, “I see.”

Sheng Xiaoyun gripped the phone tightly, her hope rekindled.

On the other end, after hanging up, He Jianxue immediately ordered an investigation into the matter. Once it was confirmed that the girls had indeed vanished at the TV station, she dialed Director Zhao’s number.

“Director Zhao? This is He Jianxue. My apologies for disturbing you so late.”

Director Zhao straightened up upon seeing that it was Chairwoman He calling, their station’s largest advertising investor. “Ah, Chairwoman He, what brings you to call at such a late hour?”

“It’s like this,” He Jianxue explained. “My younger sister and her partner participated in your station’s Dragon Boat Festival opera program selection today. They seem to have gotten lost at the TV station and haven’t returned home yet. I’m afraid they might have been too playful and lost track of time, trapped inside the station.”

Director Zhao was startled. “Have you searched everywhere else?”

He Jianxue replied, “We have.”

Having been in the industry for so many years, Director Zhao understood the underlying message in her words. On the surface, He Jianxue was making a polite request to open the station and search for her playful younger sister.

But in reality, participants in such competitions were hardly the type to fool around. It was far more likely that someone had tampered with the competition and targeted the wrong people.

If this truly was the TV station’s responsibility, and He Jianxue decided to hold them accountable, the station could suffer significant losses.

With the rise of numerous media platforms, traditional TV stations had already lost the majority of their audience. Their influence had waned, advertising investments had plummeted, and many local stations had cut programs or even shut down entirely to survive, shifting to self-sustaining business models.

The He Group was their deeply cooperative advertiser, and thanks to their long-term advertising investment, the Yan City Television Station’s channel had avoided being shut down by the regulatory authorities. If this matter wasn’t handled properly and all the advertisements were withdrawn, the Dragon Boat Festival program would lack any decent big-name sponsors, which would undoubtedly be a significant loss for the television station.

Director Zhao pondered for a moment and sighed, “Chairman He, why did you only tell me about such an important matter now? I’ll have someone go to the station immediately to look for your sister.”

…

Lights in the television station flickered on one by one.

Sheng Xiaoyun and the security guards searched room by room, while the chief broadcasting director, roused by a call from Director Zhao, was dispatched to handle the situation.

The rain poured heavily, and with insufficient staff and the late hour, even hailing a taxi was difficult. Realizing the severity of the situation, the chief broadcasting director urgently summoned the monitoring room staff, who hastily retrieved the surveillance footage from earlier in the day.

When they saw the two leads of The Peony Pavilion heading toward the abandoned studio with the two leads of The Jade Hairpin, the chief broadcasting director’s heart skipped a beat.

“Director, Chairman He is here.”

Outside the television station, a low-key sedan pulled up, and a tall figure stepped out. A sharply tailored black leather jacket draped over her shoulders, her assistant holding a black umbrella. Her understated yet commanding presence merged seamlessly into the pitch-black rainy night, impossible to ignore.

Striding confidently in high heels beneath her trousers, she made her way inside.

The chief broadcasting director led her to the dilapidated studio, followed by a crowd of people.

Arriving at the studio, the director signaled for someone to open the door. Once inside, they discovered the inner broadcasting hall was also locked and hurriedly unlocked it.

As the door swung open, everyone saw the two opera leads trapped inside.

One was dressed as Pan Bizheng, the other as Chen Miaochang. Their appearances and the quality of their costumes exuded an air of distinction.

For a moment, everyone fell silent.

These two, who should have been shining brightly on stage, had been confined to this small studio for over ten hours.

The young actress playing Chen Miaochang, her face pale, leaned weakly against the other’s shoulder, eyes tightly shut, clutching the other’s arm anxiously.

Du Jingya, startled by the sudden light, opened her eyes to see a crowd of adults before her. Overwhelmed with a mix of joy and fear that it might be a hallucination from hunger, she weakly nudged Sheng Tingmian beside her.

“Sheng Tingmian…”

“Sheng Tingmian, I think I see your sister coming to rescue us. Wake up…”

Hearing the word “sister,” Sheng Tingmian’s fear of opening her eyes finally subsided. She slowly lifted her head and opened her eyes. The moment her sister’s familiar figure came into view, tears welled up uncontrollably.

“Sister…”

Her lips parched, she called out weakly. With Du Jingya’s help, she stood up, and her sister stepped forward. Carrying the chill of the rainy night, Sheng Tingmian, her eyes red, threw herself into her sister’s embrace, clutching her waist tightly.

He Jianxue saw the exhaustion and pallor that even the heavy opera makeup couldn’t conceal. Moved, she gently stroked Sheng Tingmian’s back and whispered soothingly, “I’m sorry I’m late.”

Sheng Tingmian sobbed in her arms.

Standing to the side, Du Jingya watched in astonishment. Despite the thick makeup staining Miss He’s expensive clothes, there was not a trace of disdain in her expression, only genuine heartache and compassion for her sister.

Amid such a touching display of sisterly affection, Du Jingya couldn’t help but recall the moments over the past ten-plus hours when she had held Sheng Tingmian, comforting her. Little did she expect that it would be Miss He who would ultimately break the deadlock of their life-and-death predicament in the studio.

The fairy wore a pink woman’s cape, a blue-checked robe, and a celestial crown, with a Daoist nun’s headscarf. Her slender back exuded an ancient charm, yet it harmonized strangely well with the black leather jacket and trousers.

Her Chen Miaochang belonged to her for only a dozen or so hours. Pan Bizheng’s Chen Miaochang could only play out the scripted scenes on stage. But at this moment, Chen Miaochang, the celestial nun, had broken free from all rules, regulations, and lines, weeping and throwing herself into another’s arms in a studio.

She belonged to Miss He.

Sheng Xiaoyun, who had followed closely behind, rushed to the studio and stood behind the crowd. Seeing Miss He holding her niece from behind, even though she couldn’t see Sheng Tingmian’s actual condition, this scene was enough to ease her anxious heart.

…

He Jianxue took her back to the He residence and had the servants help her change out of her costume and take a bath.

While waiting, she received a call from Director Zhao, who first expressed concern for Sheng Tingmian and then subtly inquired about how she planned to handle the matter.

This involved a scandal at the Jinyuan Opera Troupe, two opera students had used underhanded means to push out their competitors. The head of the Jinyuan Opera Troupe was acquainted with Director Zhao, and the surveillance footage was in his hands at the television station.

“Director Zhao, my sister has just been through a fright, and she’s still unsettled. Let’s discuss this tomorrow,” He Jianxue brushed him off.

As soon as she hung up, she saw that Sheng Xiaoyun had called.

Sheng Xiaoyun said on the other end, “Xiao Ya has returned home safely. It’s late and the road is long, so I won’t come over. I’ll entrust Tingmian to your care, Miss He.”

He Jianxue replied, “She is my sister too.”

After learning the full story, especially that Tingmian had been trapped in the studio for over ten hours, Sheng Xiaoyun felt heartache, particularly when she recalled Tingmian’s experience at age 15. “There’s something I’m not sure if I should mention.”

“Is it about Tingmian?”

“Yes.”

He Jianxue sensed that Sheng Tingmian’s aunt was hiding something. “Please, go ahead.”

Sheng Xiaoyun hesitated for a moment but ultimately spoke up.

When Sheng Tingmian was 15 years old and in her third year of junior high, preparing for the high school entrance exams, she had somehow offended someone and was locked in a classroom where a student had just hanged themselves, left there for an entire night.

Sheng Xiaoyun still remembered finding Tingmian sitting on the steps of the podium, hugging her knees and staring blankly at the door.

She had been terrified at the time. Tingmian had always been frail, having lost her parents at a young age. Sheng Xiaoyun had struggled to raise her into her teens, and now, after sending her to school, she had been locked in a haunted room. Even if nothing had happened, a child as young as Tingmian could have been scared into mental illness.

Sheng Xiaoyun had been furious, causing an uproar and demanding an explanation from the school. However, the principal shielded the culprits, ignoring her protests and dismissing it as children’s mischief. To put an end to the commotion, they even expelled Tingmian.

Within a couple of days, Sheng Tingmian developed a high fever. With no other choice, Sheng Xiaoyun took her to see a doctor. After several days of treatment, the fever subsided, but she remained listless and devoid of energy.

Sometimes, one has to believe in certain things. Sheng Xiaoyun took her back to her hometown overnight to seek help from her family. A spiritual practitioner told her that Tingmian had been frightened by something.

After performing a ritual, Tingmian eventually recovered. But at 15, she was old enough to remember, and it was impossible to forget that experience. Worried about her mental state, Sheng Xiaoyun guided her to talk about it once she was better.

It was then that she learned Tingmian had indeed seen something unclean that night, leaving her pale with fear.

Sheng Xiaoyun still remembered the way Mianmian nestled in her arms, comforting her aunt in a calm voice, saying she had actually performed the Kunqu opera role of Hu Sanniang that night, claiming she had recovered precisely because of Hu Sanniang’s protection.

If only she hadn’t been powerless and without influence, if only she, as an aunt, hadn’t been so useless, Mianmian wouldn’t have had to seek solace in a fictional opera character out of sheer terror, relying on that intangible figure to endure that horrifying night.

No one could truly know how terrified a young girl had been that night.

Later, unable to continue her education and struck by this calamity, the aunt and niece faced an undeserved misfortune with nowhere to seek justice. They had no choice but to look forward. Back then, if a middle school student struggled academically, parents often sent them to vocational schools to learn a skill. But Sheng Xiaoyun feared Mianmian might encounter bullies again and worried she wouldn’t be able to protect her. So, she simply brought Mianmian along to perform opera by her side.

And now, Mianmian had been locked in the studio for over ten hours. Even with Xiao Ya by her side, Sheng Xiaoyun still worried she might recall those terrifying memories.

After hearing about Sheng Tingmian’s experience at the age of 15, He Jianxue remained silent for a long time.