When Spring Burns - Chapter 43

Outside the floor-to-ceiling window lay Yan City’s largest and most bustling CBD commercial center. Skyscrapers stood tall, and at this hour on a typical day, one could overlook the entire commercial hub, shimmering like a galaxy of technology. But now, dark clouds loomed, and a hazy drizzle blurred the view. Below, the streets were filled with people holding umbrellas, having just finished their overtime work.

He Jianxue happened to glance toward the sofa and noticed a cascade of glossy hair spilling over its edge. Pausing her work, she set down her pen and walked over.

A tall shadow fell across the coffee table as He Jianxue looked down at her younger sister, who had fallen asleep on the sofa. A pair of boots lay on the floor, and the defenseless slumbering face, along with her slender and graceful figure, caught her eye. It seemed she had no trouble sleeping in an unfamiliar place. He Jianxue’s gaze drifted to the ankles peeking out from beneath the hem of the skirt, appearing even paler and more delicate under the light, smooth and perfectly shaped.

Her sister had waited for her to finish work until she dozed off.

He Jianxue’s expression grew complicated. For days, she had been trying to keep her distance, but she never expected her sister to seek her out.

Casually, she took off her mink coat and draped it over Sheng Tingmian’s petite frame, covering even the delicate feet exposed to the air. As she left, she turned off the lamp by the sofa, leaving only the light above the desk illuminated.

…

When Sheng Tingmian was awakened by someone calling her, she was still a bit dazed. It took her a moment to realize she wasn’t at home.

The rain outside had lightened considerably.

“Sis, have you finished all your work?” The mink coat slipped from her shoulders, and Sheng Tingmian instinctively caught it. Recognizing it as the coat she had brought for her sister, she finally understood why she had felt so warm and comfortable while sleeping, just like at home.

So, her sister had given her the coat. “Why did you give this to me?”

“I didn’t want you to catch a cold.”

Sheng Tingmian shot her a reproachful look, removed the mink coat, and handed it back before slipping on her boots.

“What time is it, Sis?”

“One in the morning.”

“So late…”

After gathering her things, Sheng Tingmian followed her sister out of the office. In the elevator, she yawned repeatedly, struggling to stay upright. Eventually, she looped her arm through her sister’s and leaned against her, dozing off briefly.

Seeing how exhausted she was, He Jianxue felt a pang of guilt. She changed her original plan to return to the He family home and decided instead to rest at a nearby five-star hotel.

This way, they wouldn’t have to spend over half an hour on the road.

Sheng Tingmian followed her to the hotel. “Sis, have you been staying at hotels these past few days?”

Since going back would take time, and this hotel was only a ten-minute walk from her sister’s corporate building, it made sense.

“Yes, it’s more convenient this way.”

He Jianxue handed her a set of prepared pajamas and told her to change and go to bed.

Sheng Tingmian watched as her sister gathered her things and headed into the bathroom to shower. She had intended to wait for her to come out, but she was simply too tired. The moment her head touched the pillow, she was fast asleep.

In the middle of the night, Sheng Tingmian faintly sensed someone lying beside her. Not long after, she thought she heard a few coughs.

Struggling against her drowsiness, she murmured half-consciously, “Sis, do you have a cold?”

In the vast, quiet hotel room, amid the pitch-black night, this faint, almost inaudible question reached He Jianxue’s ears. She froze, as distant and blurred memories, moistened by the rainy night, suddenly sharpened into clarity.

“A-Jie, do you have a cold?”

Back when she had just become paralyzed, her spirits had been low, and she often lay awake until the early hours. Perhaps her weakened immune system had made her susceptible to the cold, and she coughed incessantly. Yet, pride kept her from letting others know how illness compounded her struggles.

But she couldn’t hide it from He Xiu after all. The moment He Xiu heard her coughing, she immediately grew alert and asked if she had caught a cold. Without another word, she called for a doctor to treat her.

Even when she pulled a long face and insisted that there was no need to call a doctor, He Xiu took her physical well-being extremely seriously, leaving no room for refusal. Beneath her gentle tone lay an unyielding determination.

At the time, she felt that He Xiu was too cautious to speak freely in front of her legs, yet when it came to minor illnesses, she was surprisingly assertive, almost as if her outward strength masked a hidden vulnerability.

Before the paralysis, no matter how He Xiu spoke to her, she would never have gotten angry. As the older sister, she had to be tolerant, especially since He Xiu was the child of her mother’s dear friend. It had taken immense courage for He Xiu to integrate into their family, and she was determined to be understanding no matter what.

Back then, she thought He Xiu had become contradictory. Only now, in hindsight, did she realize that He Xiu had been living with extreme caution, a different kind of caution.

Was it because she didn’t know where her older sister’s boundaries lay, that she could only carefully measure her words when it came to minor illnesses? Worried yet caring, fearful yet deeply concerned.

He Jianxue had a dream. In it, she had just emerged from her first surgery and learned that He Xiu was to be married off in an arranged marriage. She clutched He Xiu’s wrist tightly, begging her not to go through with it, not to agree.

Because she knew what awaited He Xiu, she fought with all her might to hold her back, to keep her from leaping into the fire.

But then her aunt and biological father appeared. One held her down while the other pulled He Xiu away. The grip on He Xiu’s wrist gradually loosened under the interference, and the moment she let go, she saw He Xiu’s clothes slowly transform into a white wedding dress, trailing on the ground. The pristine white hem gradually stained crimson with blood as she walked away.

It pierced her eyes,

“Sister?”

A few calls pulled He Jianxue out of her dream. Opening her eyes, she saw Sheng Tingmian standing before her, her gaze filled with concern.

He Jianxue stared at her for a long time, her expression unreadable. Her throat felt dry, and she realized the sky was already bright.

“Sister, did you have a nightmare?” Sheng Tingmian removed the damp towel from her forehead. “You wouldn’t wake up, so I called Sister Siyi to come over.”

Since she didn’t know how to summon a doctor from the hospital and doubted she could get one to come, after all, they were on duty, she had no choice but to reach out to Ji Siyi.

He Jianxue didn’t want to talk about the dream. She was past the age of confiding in others. “How long have I been asleep?”

“It’s one in the afternoon now.” Sheng Tingmian sat by the bed, her expression worried. “It must be because you gave me your clothes last night that you caught a cold.”

She sighed, reached out, and touched her sister’s cheek. It felt warm. She took a thermometer from the bedside table. “Sister, let me check your temperature.”

Seeing her take it, Sheng Tingmian no longer worried that she wouldn’t cooperate. “Sister Siyi might take a while to get here. I made some ginger soup for you to ward off the cold. Let me go get it.”

A moment later, just as He Jianxue propped herself up, she saw Sheng Tingmian return with a bowl of ginger soup. Still dazed from the dream, she looked at the soup in her hands, then at her younger sister before her.

It felt somewhat unreal, like a reflection from her dream.

Seeing her pale complexion, Sheng Tingmian sat by the bed, scooped a spoonful of the steaming ginger soup, and gently blew on it to cool it down. “Sister, open your mouth.”

He Jianxue stared at the spoon near her lips, hesitating to open her mouth. Her gaze shifted between the spoon and Sheng Tingmian, her brows tightly furrowed.

Was she being treated like a three-year-old?

“Sister, hurry up and open your mouth, or it’ll get cold,” Sheng Tingmian urged. Noticing He Jianxue’s furrowed brows, she quickly added, “I won’t laugh at you, sister.”

“Can I not drink it?” He Jianxue wanted to refuse.

Sheng Tingmian was slightly taken aback. Her eyes glanced at the thermometer on the bedside table, her sister hadn’t taken her temperature. She couldn’t understand why her sister was being so uncooperative today. “But I went to the supermarket at noon to buy this and cooked it myself…”

The two of them remained at an impasse, neither speaking. Sheng Tingmian was the first to give in, sighing softly. “If you don’t want to drink it, sister, then don’t.”

Sheng Tingmian looked down at the bowl of ginger soup she had prepared. It had been raining for the past two days, and she worried her sister might have caught a chill without realizing it. Not wanting to waste it, she lifted the bowl and took a sip herself.

The strong ginger flavor immediately numbed her senses, and as it went down, warmth spread through her stomach.

Just as she was about to take a second sip, a hand suddenly reached over and snatched the bowl and spoon from her.

Sheng Tingmian looked up in surprise to see her sister, who had been so resistant to the ginger soup just moments before, pressing the spoon with her thumb and downing the entire bowl in one go.

The ginger liquid slid down her throat.

“Uh… sister?”

After finishing the soup, He Jianxue handed the bowl back to her. “I drank it. Are you happy now?”

She couldn’t ignore the disappointment in Sheng Tingmian’s eyes when she had lowered her gaze earlier. Some things might have taken root in her heart like a thorn, never to fully heal. Though it was the same concern, she couldn’t let history repeat itself.

Sheng Tingmian nodded, her eyes lighting up with joy. “Were you just throwing a little tantrum earlier, sister?”

“…” He Jianxue narrowed her eyes, suppressing the urge to spank her, and forced out two words, “…No.”

Sheng Tingmian gestured toward the bedside table. “If not, then why haven’t you taken your temperature?”

“Let’s wait for the doctor to arrive before taking it,” He Jianxue said, sensing her caution.

Sheng Tingmian was almost convinced, but just then, Ji Siyi arrived. Sheng Tingmian hurried to open the door.

As soon as Ji Siyi entered, she saw He Jianxue looking sickly and glanced at Sheng Tingmian beside her. Suddenly, she felt a pang of envy, He Jianxue had such a devoted younger sister taking care of her every need.

Even for a common cold, she had been summoned here.

But it was just as well that Sheng Tingmian had called her. He Jianxue was about to start her third treatment cycle, and if she took medication prescribed by another doctor, it could complicate things.

Sheng Tingmian stood nearby, her voice filled with worry. “Sister Siyi, please check on my sister quickly. Her temperature has been high all day.”

Hearing such heartfelt concern, Ji Siyi couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy. “Your sister this, your sister that. I just got here and haven’t even had a sip of water, and you’re already putting me to work.”

Sheng Tingmian’s face flushed with embarrassment and guilt. “I’m sorry, I’ll go get you a glass of water right away.”

Feeling as though she had bullied her, Ji Siyi felt a bit remorseful and instinctively reached out to grab her slender hand. “Hey, I was just joking, Tingmian. No need to get me water.”

Sheng Tingmian glanced at the woman on the bed, then at Ji Siyi, who had rushed over from the hospital in her white coat. She realized she hadn’t been considerate enough. Ji Siyi wasn’t just any doctor, she was her sister’s friend. She had called her over without a second thought, completely disregarding basic courtesy, only focused on having her work.

The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. She insisted, “No, no, I should still pour you a glass of water, Sister Siyi.”

Ji Siyi dared not let go, this joke had gone too far. “Don’t, don’t. If you pour me water, your sister will skin me alive. I was really just joking.”

“Sister Siyi, let me pour you a glass of water. She won’t blame you.”

“No need, really, no need.”

“Sister Siyi…” Sheng Tingmian bit her lip and looked at her.

Ji Siyi tightly held her hands, almost bringing them to her chest. “I was wrong, okay? I won’t joke like this again…”

Right in front of He Jianxue, the two held each other’s hands, tugging and pulling, completely ignoring the woman whose face had darkened.