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

Every time Yara Yates recalled the events of that day, she felt as if her heart were being sliced by a dull knife.

She and Jane Lancaster had poured so much effort into helping her daughter get back on her feet, bit by bit, shaping her into a self-disciplined and outstanding young woman, only for it all to be so easily ruined by a hoodlum.

Ever since she was young, her daughter had resented her for being too strict, rebelling and refusing to listen. Yara always thought it wasn’t a big deal. After all, blood is thicker than water; her daughter would understand once she grew up.

But as it turned out, her daughter truly would never understand. In fact, she resented her to the core.

Those words—"I’ve never felt like I had a mother"—were simply heart-wrenching.

At that moment, Yara Yates was so overcome with anger that her vision started to blacken. Realizing it wasn’t the time to rush out and argue, she could only choose to turn and leave.

Fortunately, she ran into Jane Lancaster on the way, which finally gave her an anchor, and she calmed down.

Jane Lancaster held her hand and said, "Auntie Yates, please don’t worry. I’ll make Pauline break it off with that guy. Trust me."

So Yara Yates truly let it go and didn’t interfere. Thankfully, after Jane Lancaster stepped in, Pauline Shaw actually listened to reason and turned her life around, once again becoming the outstanding Miss Shaw of the Shaw Family.

Those soul-crushing words became a secret Yara Yates buried deep in her heart, never telling a soul.

"Now can you understand why I absolutely must stop them from being together?"

Yara Yates hadn’t wanted to say anything, but Jane Lancaster had been counseling her during their recent phone calls, urging her to see a doctor or talk to a therapist.

She no longer saw the incident as a source of shame for a mother and chose to speak up.

Caleb Lowell was silent for a long time. "I understand, Auntie."

Jane Lancaster was also quite surprised. ’So Yara Yates had been hiding a secret like this.’

’Mrs. Dawson doesn’t have much of a role in the novel. After all, with the "broken mirror mended" and angsty romance plot, she wouldn’t make her appearance until after the wedding.’

’With Mrs. Dawson being so calculating, you can imagine Pauline Shaw won’t have an easy time later on.’

’Who would’ve thought that even the official side couple would have to face the messy reality of married life after their happy ending?’

’But who knows, maybe Pauline Shaw will enjoy it.’

Caleb Lowell’s face darkened. For that reason alone, he didn’t want his cousin to marry into a family like that.

Jane Lancaster suddenly asked, "By the way, did you just say Uncle Shaw asked you to investigate Gordon Dawson?"

"Yes. Why would Shaw agree to groom an outsider as his successor?" Yara Yates pushed herself into a sitting position.

The key was that he hadn’t discussed this with her at all. Even though she was only the vice president, she handled most of the company’s affairs. It was too strange for her husband to do this.

Caleb Lowell said, "My guess is Uncle wants to retire. He also feels bad that you have to juggle both the family and the company, so he wants to train a successor as soon as possible to lighten your load."

Jane Lancaster said, "If that’s the case, Uncle Shaw could just retire and manage the household himself. That way, Auntie Yates would only have to worry about the company."

Caleb Lowell froze for a moment. "How could that work?"

"Why couldn’t it? He can’t help much at the company, so can’t he just manage the household well and let Auntie Yates work without any worries?" Jane Lancaster said with a smile.

Caleb Lowell didn’t want to argue, but Jane Lancaster was oversimplifying things.

"You know Auntie isn’t in good health. Instead of continuing to wear herself out, it’s better for her to retire early and enjoy her life."

"Is that so? Then I have another idea. Uncle Shaw and Auntie Yates could both retire and hand the company over to a professional manager. At least then they wouldn’t have to worry about being cleaned out."

Caleb Lowell: "..."

"I’m just kidding," Jane Lancaster said, the corners of her lips turning up slightly.

But Yara Yates lowered her gaze, lost in thought.

She was no fool. Jasper Sterling’s earlier comment—"Even the shrewdest woman can be fooled by a scumbag"—had put her on guard.

Now, with Jane Lancaster’s loaded words, she couldn’t help but suspect that her husband of several decades, with whom she had been so in love, might be cheating on her.

If that were true, then his intention to groom Gordon Dawson was far too strange.

Although she was very reluctant to think in that direction, her years of fighting in the business world made her unable to stop herself from speculating—

It was as if he were using the excuse of training a successor to make her willingly surrender her power, thereby smoothly forcing her out of the Shaw Group.

At this thought, her heart sank. If this was really happening, the machinations of the person she shared a bed with were what was truly bone-chilling.

---

Caleb Lowell took Yara Yates back to the Shaw family home, but Jane Lancaster didn’t tag along to join the commotion.

She got into her own car and, after a moment’s thought, called out the system.

’Sys, you guys have hidden plotlines? How did Gordon Dawson get targeted so quickly?’

The system had no choice but to explain: ’The plot has undergone a major change. If Gordon Dawson had managed to lie low and develop his power on the sly, he would have become a dark horse in the business world and driven the Shaw Family to bankruptcy. But now, he’ll probably become the male lead’s helper early and join the protagonist’s camp.’

After a pause, the system sounded confused again.

’Wait, that’s not right either. According to my calculations, he probably won’t be able to join the protagonist’s camp early anymore. Oh no, this is trouble!’

Jane Lancaster was unconcerned. ’What’s the trouble? He wasn’t supposed to be noticed by Caleb Lowell at this point anyway. If he joins the protagonist’s group early, how is his angsty, heart-wrenching romance with Pauline Shaw supposed to play out?’

The system blurted out: ’It’s because the two sides are unbalanced now! If the protagonist’s group doesn’t get some help, are they just supposed to wait around to get beaten?’

Jane Lancaster understood. ’So you’re secretly helping the protagonist’s group?’

’No, it’s just the plot self-correcting to balance the disparity between the two sides.’ The system sounded a bit resentful. ’If you hadn’t tipped off Jasper Sterling, would we be in this situation?’

"What does that have to do with me!" Jane Lancaster refused to admit it, shutting down the system without hesitation.

---

That evening, when Jane Lancaster came up from the downstairs gym, she saw Mama Knight’s face lit up with a pleasant surprise.

"Miss, the Third Young Master called. He said he’s coming back in a few days!"

Alvin Lancaster wheeled himself over, smiling. "Chase made special arrangements in his schedule to attend your engagement party."

Jane Lancaster paused for a moment before remembering her third brother, the one known as the boy genius.

She glanced at his favorability score and almost laughed out loud. ’Another freebie.’

Other people’s favorability scores, like Pauline Shaw’s, had at least reached as high as 90% before, even if they later dropped and were grayed out.

Adrian Lancaster’s favorability score was missing a huge chunk, sitting at a pathetic 4%. There was no grayed-out portion above it; this was his maximum.

’So much for being close. We’re siblings, yet a random passerby has a higher favorability score for me than he does. Is it really okay to be such an easy source of points?’

’It feels like I’ve turned on a cheat code!’

Alvin Lancaster’s hands, gripping his wheelchair, froze. ’Is that true? Is Chase’s favorability for his sister really that low?’

’But why? They’re the closest in age. Once, because she skipped grades, his sister was even in the same class as Chase.’

’It was only for a year, but during that time, the two of them were always together. They never fought, and Chase always said he liked taking care of his little sister.’

’They should have a great relationship. How could Chase possibly dislike his sister?’

"That’s perfect. I was hoping to ask Third Brother to perform at my engagement party. It’ll be so lively," Jane Lancaster said, her face full of anticipation.

Adrian Lancaster was a genius violinist who generally only performed at the Vienna Golden Hall. His musical accomplishments were beyond question.

The key was that he also had the face of an angel. He had once appeared on some kind of informational program, where his stellar performance won him countless fans.

If he really performed at the engagement party, it would certainly make the event a focus of major attention.