Chapter 470: Chapter 470: Mr. Song Bewitched

On the phone, Song Baiyan’s voice was as calm and steady as ever. Hearing her nervousness, he soothed her with a simple phrase, “Life is an endless series of gains and losses.”

Tang Li, clutching her cellphone, couldn’t help but ask, “What if I really have no acting skills?”

“Then you continue to hone yourself.” Afraid that she might spiral into despair, Song Baiyan added comfortingly from the other end of the line, “Aside from acting, there are many meaningful things in life, depending on whether you’re willing to explore them.”

Upon hearing this, Tang Li gradually calmed down.

After ending the call, she looked back at the television. It was already 7:53.

Song Baiyan put away his cellphone, left the office, and proceeded to the second floor rest room of Tan Palace, where Xiao Minglan and Aunt Min happened to be chatting and watching TV on the couch.

Catching a glimpse of Song Baiyan ascending the stairs out of the corner of her eye, Xiao Minglan stopped talking and then asked, “All done with work?”

“Almost,” replied Song Baiyan as he sat down on a single-seater sofa.

Then, he picked up the remote control and changed the channel.

Xiao Minglan turned to look at the TV screen. It was no longer the spy thriller but a contemporary drama on some network, playing the opening theme. Unexpectedly, she spotted a girl on the screen who looked somewhat familiar. Before she could remember who it was, Aunt Min spoke up first, “That… seems to be Miss Tang.”

At that moment, everything clicked for Xiao Minglan.

She turned her head to look at her eldest son.

Song Baiyan appeared as composed as ever, merely reaching out to pour himself a cup of tea.

Later, Xiao Minglan picked up the small basket of needlework from the coffee table and signaled Aunt Min to return to the room. As they left the rest room, Aunt Min suddenly said, “These past few years, I’ve never seen the master watch a TV drama. It’s good to relax a bit under work pressure.”

Xiao Minglan sighed softly, “He’s not relaxing; I think he’s become obsessed.”

The seventh episode of “Original Sin,” which aired, introduced a new case unit. The audience didn’t need to familiarize themselves with the characters anymore. After the opening credits, the first scene was in a dimly lit restroom, the sound of water dripping incessantly, with water spilling over the edge of the bathtub, mixed with blood, spreading towards the doorway.

A second later, instead of showing the victim in the bathtub as the audience might expect, the scene switched to the backstage of an opera house. In the cramped makeup room were dancers scurrying about, holding clothes to change into, and the continuous voice of a coach saying, “Makeup artist, go touch up Wang Juan’s eye makeup! And Zhao Xi, why are you still standing there dazed!”

“You only have ten minutes, hurry up!” The coach glanced at her watch, turned, and walked towards the corner makeup table. Noticing the slim girl with a graceful neckline from behind, her tone softened, “Xuanxuan, how are you feeling today?”

Then—

The girl’s clean and delicate profile appeared on the screen.

She closed her eyes gently, allowing the makeup artist to apply concealer on her face to cover the scrape on her jaw, as her calm voice resonated, “Even if it’s not the best, I won’t completely botch the performance.”

After speaking, waiting for the makeup artist to leave, the girl opened her eyes.

The makeup mirror reflected a pair of clear yet tranquil eyes that instilled confidence in viewers that tonight’s performance would surely be a success.

Just then, the sound of a cellphone rang.

Ying Xuaner picked it up, and from the handset came the nervous voice of a domestic helper, “Miss, can you come home now? There’s been an accident with the younger sister, and upon hearing the news, the master had a heart attack, and the madam fainted.”

The scene switched again, to the Ying Family mansion at the same time.

The sound of police cars echoed throughout the entire community.

Upstairs in the villa, outside a room door, police tape had already been pulled up.