Everyone Can Hear My Thoughts, and Now They're Panicking

"Chase, why haven’t you left yet?" Alvin Lancaster asked. "Don’t keep Jay waiting."

"I have a last-minute livestream for a show promotion," Adrian Lancaster said. "Eldest Brother said I don’t have to go."

He paused, then added, "Eldest Brother also said Jay doesn’t need to go either. He’ll just have his assistant send a gift to show our regards."

Alvin Lancaster was taken aback. "Didn’t you say it was a must-go event?"

He had seen the messages in the group chat. If his sister was saying that, she must have had her reasons.

This was exactly what Adrian Lancaster wanted to talk about. "It’s a one-year-old’s birthday party. Do you really think it’s a must-go? Why should it be?"

For this kind of banquet, unless you were a close relative or a particularly important business partner, there was generally no need to make a special trip.

The Lancaster family and the Hughes family weren’t relatives, and they had no business partnerships at the moment. Plus, they were all young people; there was no need to be so overly attentive.

"She’d rather go join the fun at the Hughes’ place than come to the hospital to visit Luna, that’s all."

Adrian hadn’t wanted to say it, but his second brother was just too soft-hearted and easily deceived. It was better to let him see their sister’s true colors sooner rather than later.

"Besides, have you forgotten? Her reputation as Stratton’s top socialite started with the Hughes family back in the day."

If it wasn’t a deliberate publicity stunt, how could she have become Stratton’s top socialite when she was so young, not even an adult yet?

Think of all those daughters of high society and wealthy madams in their prime. Which one of them wasn’t exceptionally beautiful?

Alvin Lancaster felt conflicted. "Don’t talk nonsense. Jay isn’t that kind of person. She hasn’t been to the Hughes’ house in years."

In the two years before she fell into a coma, she hadn’t once set foot in the Hughes’ home.

In their family, only Eldest Brother and Chase would occasionally attend the Hughes’ banquets.

Adrian Lancaster’s gaze was calm. "Exactly. That’s why she’s so desperate to attend the Hughes’ party and get back into the social scene. After all, she’s been out of touch with society for too long and needs the social interaction more than ever."

Being deeply calculating and mercenary is far more terrifying than being a thoughtless pleasure-seeker.

"When it comes to that kind of talent, I’m afraid the three of us brothers combined are no match for our dear sister."

Alvin Lancaster was silent for a moment. "I’m going to check why the takeout I ordered isn’t here yet."

This was a VIP ward, and the entire floor was restricted. Deliveries couldn’t be brought up, so he had to go downstairs to pick up the food.

Alvin Lancaster picked up the food and had just re-entered the inpatient building when he saw a young woman walking toward him.

"Um, excuse me..."

Alvin Lancaster immediately grew wary. Adrian was a popular idol with a huge fanbase, after all. Although this was a private hospital with good security, and Adrian rarely left the VIP ward, who knew if they might run into a fan?

He pretended not to hear and quickened his pace toward the VIP elevator.

Unexpectedly, she chased after him. "Wait, I’m sorry! I’m not a bad person. I—I just want to thank you for saving my life!"

Alvin Lancaster breathed a sigh of relief, though his suspicions weren’t entirely gone. "Saving your life?"

"Um, it’s about the stabbing incident that happened in this hospital a few months ago. I was in the outpatient area when an attacker broke in and stabbed me in the stomach a few times..."

Shirley Lane clutched her stomach; she had walked so hastily that even her wound seemed to be aching faintly.

To this day, she could still remember the pain of the knife piercing her stomach. She had been so terrified that she froze, unable to react or even cry for help.

The attacker had been about to strike again, but he heard the sound of a fire escape door being thrown open and gave up, rushing toward a consultation room instead.

Shirley Lane held out the item in her hand. "I melted down a gold locket my family gave me when I was a child and personally crafted this hairpin. I hope the young lady who saved me will like it."

It dawned on Alvin Lancaster that she was one of the victims from the incident.

"I can’t accept this; it’s far too valuable." The hairpin had a classic, antique charm and was exquisitely crafted; it was clear a great deal of effort had gone into making it.

Alvin Lancaster knew that traditional aesthetics were making a comeback and that many influencers focused on intangible cultural heritage. He occasionally scrolled through videos and knew that such craftsmanship was incredibly time-consuming and rare.

"Not at all. It’s nothing compared to her saving my life," Shirley Lane insisted.

Alvin Lancaster said, "Luna has always enjoyed helping others and never asks for anything in return. She’ll be happy just knowing you’re safe and sound."

’So Luna secretly went to save someone? When did this happen? Why didn’t she tell me?’

’But that’s not right. Didn’t Luna arrive after the incident, just like I did?’

Shirley Lane looked hesitant. "I don’t think that’s Miss Lancaster’s name. I’m talking about Jane Lancaster. Your sister, Jane Lancaster."

"Huh?" Alvin Lancaster said.

He was dumbfounded, instinctively taking two steps back. ’Not Luna, but my sister?’

"Are you sure you’re not mistaken?" he asked hurriedly.

"It was Jane Lancaster! She saved my life!" Shirley Lane said with certainty. "If she hadn’t chased after the attacker to stop him, it wouldn’t have just been me. A lot of people would have died."

That man had muttered something about how killing one person meant breaking even, and killing two was a profit. He was completely out of his mind, on a deranged rampage to take as many people down with him as possible.

It took a long time for Alvin Lancaster to process this. In a strained voice, he asked, "But... what if the attacker only went on a rampage because she provoked him?"

"What are you talking about?" Shirley Lane stared at him in astonishment. "Don’t you dare say that about her! Do you have any idea? If she hadn’t rushed into the examination room to block a knife blow for my mother, my mom would most likely be dead!"

Her mother had been in a consultation room at the time. When Shirley saw the attacker burst in, her heart had sunk.

"My mom said she saw Jane Lancaster block the knife with her own arm. Is her arm okay?"

Although Shirley thought her mom’s eyes might have been playing tricks on her—it was impossible for someone to be cut and not bleed—her mother swore up and down that she had seen it with her own eyes.

Alvin Lancaster’s mind was a tangled mess. In a flash, he suddenly remembered how Jane Lancaster’s fingers had been practically spasming, and the inner thoughts he’d heard about ’it hurting like hell’ and ’side effects’.

’Back then, I thought it was a side effect from slapping someone, but was it actually because she had blocked a knife?’

’That was so reckless! What on earth was she thinking? That was a knife! Wasn’t she scared at all?’

No, that wasn’t right. This wasn’t the first time she had blocked a knife for someone. During the hostage incident years ago, she had done the same thing for Luna Morgan, blocking a knife before dragging the attacker off the building with her.

His chest felt tight, as if it were about to burst, yet in the next instant, it felt completely empty, unmoored.

Alvin Lancaster took a deep breath. Just as he was about to say something, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

’If my sister isn’t a cold-blooded person, then why won’t she come visit Luna Morgan?’

’She risks her life to save complete strangers, so how could she possibly be the pleasure-seeking, heartless, manipulative, and mercenary person Chase described?’

Something was going to happen at the banquet tonight. In that instant, his intuition told him so with absolute certainty.

His phone suddenly rang. It was a call from Adrian Lancaster. "Second Brother, what’s taking you so long to pick up takeout?"

"Chase, I have to go find Jay," Alvin Lancaster said, his voice trembling slightly. "Just ask a nurse to order food for you. I’m leaving."

With that, he hung up the phone, shoved the takeout into Shirley Lane’s hands, and said, "It’s yours."

Then he ran outside. He had to get there as fast as he could.

Shirley Lane stared at the takeout in her hands. "..."

’I came to give a thank-you gift, so how did I end up getting a free dinner instead?’

This place wasn’t cheap; it was a famous local private kitchen she had only ever heard of but never been to.

She sighed. ’This family is just too kind.’