Chapter 273: Why Would Jasper Sterling Have the Same Dream as Her?

Jasper Sterling gazed at her tenderly. Outside the car window stretched the boundless, lonely night, and his eyes seemed to tell a story that spanned mountains, rivers, and the turning of ages.

The surging emotions were almost too much to contain, but after another long moment, he forced himself to look away.

He knew, of course, that the sensation of being watched was at its weakest right now, almost nonexistent.

But only almost.

The last time he tested it, he nearly paid a terrible price. The memory still sent a shiver of fear down his spine.

He couldn’t take that risk again, not even for a one-in-a-million chance.

"I dreamed about our childhood," he finally said in a soft tone, a dozen thoughts having just raced through his mind.

’Our childhood? Does he mean back in the program for gifted kids?’

Jane Lancaster didn’t understand how that qualified as a nightmare. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly let out a series of sneezes.

Jasper Sterling sighed, pulling out a tissue and handing it to her. Then he lifted her onto his lap and wrapped his arms all the way around her.

Jane Lancaster found this even more strange. She tried to struggle, but he stopped her.

"Don’t move. You’ll warm up faster this way."

Her body was still ice-cold. She had been sitting on the frigid terrace for far too long, and her body just couldn’t seem to get warm.

Jane Lancaster sneezed a few more times. She was probably coming down with a cold.

Jasper Sterling held her, saying, "One hundred years," after every sneeze.

Jane Lancaster almost choked. She shot him a look, suspecting he was deliberately trying to embarrass her.

Jasper Sterling patiently explained, "The nanny who cared for me when I was little was from a place with a custom: if a child sneezes, you say ’one hundred years’ to ward off disasters and illness so they’ll live a long life."

"I’m not a child!" Jane Lancaster protested.

"But I want you to live a long and healthy life," Jasper Sterling said in a low voice.

Jane Lancaster’s eyelashes fluttered.

Of course, she understood his meaning. For a moment, a pang of guilt made her unable to meet his eyes.

Jasper Sterling didn’t seem to mind. He took her hand, letting it rest in his palm as he toyed with her fingers.

His hands were large-boned with well-defined knuckles, long and sensual. Hers, in contrast, were delicate with slender, tapering fingers—truly beautiful, just like the old poems described.

Hands so beautiful, they seemed made for playing the piano, for making music.

Leaning into his warm embrace, Jane Lancaster hesitated for a moment before saying softly, "I dreamed about my childhood, too. I dreamed I went to a banquet at a mansion, but the host was incredibly rude. They didn’t give me any food and made me perform on the erhu."

Jasper Sterling’s heart began to pound. He felt a surge of hopeful surprise, tinged with uncertainty.

"When you fainted last time..." He lowered his gaze, and his eyes met Jane’s.

Both of them were exceptionally sharp; they understood each other’s unspoken questions in an instant.

Jane Lancaster shook her head gently. "It’s all right. Go on."

Jasper Sterling steadied her by her back, his eyes fixed on hers. His voice was heavy. "I had a dream, too. I dreamed that you not only performed the erhu at the banquet, but you were forced to sit in the courtyard, freezing in the wind. There was a house there... and a boy in a dress, dancing, was led inside..."

Jane Lancaster’s eyes flew wide. She thought she must be imagining things.

’How is that possible?!’

Seeing her expression, a terrible suspicion in Jasper Sterling’s heart was confirmed. It felt as if an invisible hand had clenched around his heart, squeezing the air from his lungs.

"So... it wasn’t just a random dream. It actually happened, didn’t it?"

Jane Lancaster’s thoughts were in turmoil. Even for someone as calculating as her, someone whose acting had deceived even the System, this was completely unexpected.

Why would Jasper Sterling have the same dream as her? It was just too bizarre.

"I don’t know. I’ve... I’ve forgotten so much," she said softly. "But I think the things in the dream really happened."

Jasper Sterling’s hands clenched into fists. A heavy stone seemed to settle in his chest, making it hard to breathe.

As a man who had long been an adult, he understood all too well the kind of evil that could take place in a house like that.

’Monster.’ He closed his eyes. ’I will find you,’ he thought, ’and I will make you pay a terrible price.’

Jasper Sterling said, "Butler Forbes told me that when you were little, you used to busk on the streets, playing the erhu. And later, after you went to Solara, you also performed at dinner parties for the wealthy."

’So that’s how it is.’ With her suspicions confirmed, Jane Lancaster felt surprisingly calm.

At first, she had also thought she’d transmigrated into a book. After all, the memory of busking on the street was her own from childhood, but it was missing from the "original" owner’s memories.

But that delusion didn’t last long.

She only had memories of a poverty-stricken childhood; a long stretch of time after that was a complete blank.

And the "original" Jane only had memories from after her family became wealthy, with the memories of how the Lancaster Family clawed its way back up also missing.

Anyone paying attention would have noticed something was off. That’s why, a long time ago, she began to suspect she hadn’t transmigrated into a book at all.

She kept testing her theory, and it wasn’t until she fainted for no apparent reason that she found her definitive answer.

There had never been any transmigration. She was, and always had been, Jane Lancaster.

The girl who was once so poor she had to busk on the streets—that was her. The poised and elegant young lady of the Lancaster Family—that was also her.

Jasper Sterling waited for her to silently process this, then continued, "Butler Forbes wasn’t sure which families you visited. He only knew that the person who invested in Uncle Lancaster back then seemed to have the surname Walden. After going through some names, he seemed to recall that one."

He took Jane Lancaster’s hand, turned it palm-up, and traced a name onto her skin.

Jane Lancaster looked down, her eyelashes trembling, and slowly closed her hand into a fist.

"But the Walden Family is in ruins now. It doesn’t seem possible they could have once come up with an investment of nearly 500 million..."

"No, it was the Walden Family," Jane Lancaster said, her voice soft but firm.

The name was just as unfamiliar to her, but she had a gut feeling. It was them.

Jasper Sterling didn’t hesitate for a second. "All right. I’ll look into the Walden Family."

Jane Lancaster’s thoughts began to drift.

’So the reason Timothy Lancaster is so secretive about the erhu and our past in Solara is because he knows exactly what—and who—he sold, doesn’t he?’

’And since my ’original’ self had conveniently forgotten all about it, he was desperate to bury that past. No wonder he didn’t want me going to Solara.’

’But that raises a question. Butler Forbes is fiercely loyal to Timothy Lancaster. He wouldn’t say a word even when I tried to sound him out. So why would he tell Jasper Sterling?’

"I solved a few small problems for Butler Forbes before I went to him," Jasper Sterling said, answering her unspoken question. "But he probably couldn’t stand seeing you be misunderstood any longer, and that’s why he decided to talk."

Butler Forbes has three children; some have built their careers in the country, others abroad.

He helped his eldest daughter’s child get into a university abroad, facilitated a major partnership for his second daughter, and finally, pulled some strings for his youngest son to switch jobs, landing him an offer with a seven-figure salary.

Butler Forbes knew all along that Jasper was the one helping behind the scenes. Having accepted such a favor, he couldn’t very well remain silent.

He watched her expression and thought, ’Just as I suspected. She’s known for a while that we can hear her thoughts.’

Jane Lancaster said softly, "Alvin Lancaster can’t keep a secret. You figured that out a long time ago, didn’t you?"