Chapter 217: We Are Their Gods

Beverly Lynch still had something else on her mind: Pauline Shaw had actually blocked Willow Summers, who was trying to warn her at a critical moment.

’Was it a misunderstanding, or did she do it on purpose?’

No matter what her reasons were, it didn’t justify what she did.

At least, Jane Lancaster would never do something like that. Back then, if it wasn’t to save Pauline Shaw, Jane would never have even been at that abandoned school building, fighting for her life against those thugs.

The reason Beverly Lynch was so sure was because she had personally seen Jane Lancaster leave the school that night.

"She had no reason to turn back unless she discovered Pauline Shaw was in danger."

Hearing about this old affair, another piece of the puzzle fell into place for Jasper Sterling.

According to the information he had gathered, Pauline Shaw was the second person to be kidnapped, and Luna Morgan was the third.

It seemed Pauline had concluded from this that Luna Morgan was her true savior.

As for why Jane Lancaster was there, she had never even considered it.

After saying her piece, Beverly Lynch left. She trusted that Jasper Sterling would get to the bottom of things.

She had also noticed that Pauline Shaw’s several attempts to get on her good side were all aimed at isolating Jane Lancaster.

’Telling me that Willow Summers had been bought off by Jane Lancaster long ago... wasn’t she just hoping to see me turn against Jane so she could gloat over our misfortune?’

As Beverly Lynch figured this all out, she sneered inwardly.

’Pauline Shaw is destined for disappointment. Not only will I not become Jane Lancaster’s enemy, I’m going to smash that hypocritical facade of hers to pieces.’

***

Jane Lancaster got an update on the situation from Willow Summers.

Willow didn’t hide anything, telling her how Pauline Shaw had blocked her earlier that day.

Willow Summers had always thought there was something wrong with Pauline Shaw, but it was normal for friends to have conflicts after a while. Plus, she wasn’t in a position to meddle in their close friendship, so she couldn’t say much.

But what she did today was too much. Willow just couldn’t understand it!

Jane Lancaster, however, wasn’t surprised by Pauline Shaw’s reaction. "Maybe she’s just busy with something lately."

Pauline Shaw was fundamentally a self-absorbed, high-maintenance person; she wouldn’t be that concerned with other people’s problems.

’Besides, the Shaw family is probably in total chaos right now, right?’

Jane Lancaster pulled herself from her thoughts and turned her head to see Jasper Sterling standing outside the hospital room.

"Are you okay?" she asked, a little worried. Jasper Sterling had been soaked to the bone when he arrived, looking utterly disheveled.

But even so, it did nothing to diminish his beauty. The rain seemed to have washed his skin even fairer, making it almost glow in the gloomy daylight.

He had changed into a different suit jacket, but the shirt underneath still seemed to be damp; he hadn’t had a chance to change it.

Jane Lancaster said, "Oh, right, there’s a bathroom in here. Why don’t you take a hot shower?" Autumn was setting in, and she didn’t want him to catch a cold.

Jasper Sterling smiled. "Then I’ll take you up on that offer."

Gavin brought over a change of clothes, and Jasper went straight in to wash up.

Willow Summers still had work to do, so she took her laptop and went with Gavin to work in the adjacent room.

The hospital room fell quiet. Jane Lancaster lay on the bed, closing her eyes to try and rest, but her mind was a mess, and she couldn’t sleep.

"Senior." Hearing his voice, she opened her eyes and saw Jasper Sterling standing before her bed.

He was wearing a bathrobe, which made him look less formal and added a touch of languid, understated allure.

But because he had such a great presence, he looked like he was walking a runway or posing for a magazine cover—not at all lazy.

If anything, his aura was even more powerful than when he was in a suit and tie, giving off a strong, predatory vibe.

Jane Lancaster’s gaze unconsciously drifted to his delicate collarbones, and then traveled further down to his...

"Why are you dressed like that?" Jane Lancaster bolted upright. ’I must resist this temptation!’

Jasper Sterling couldn’t help but chuckle. "I’m staying the night to look after you. Why can’t I dress like this?"

He leaned over to look at Jane Lancaster, a teasing expression on his face. "Why don’t you dare to look at me, Senior?"

"Why would you say that?" Jane Lancaster looked up at him, then sighed.

’How am I supposed to look at you? I’d love to feel those abs, but I can’t, can I?’

Jasper Sterling’s gaze fell to her hands, which were wrapped up like rice dumplings, and his expression darkened.

"I’m sorry." He sat down in the chair beside her, his gaze gentle and focused. "Do your hands still hurt?"

Before Jane Lancaster could answer, he continued, "They must hurt a lot. The anesthetic has probably worn off by now, right? This hospital isn’t the best for nerve recovery in hands, but don’t worry. I’ll find a specialist to take a look at them for you."

Jane Lancaster thought of Claire Sheffield and wasn’t too concerned. "It’s fine. There’s no rush."

’I’m not like Claire Sheffield. He’s the one who needs to hold a scalpel, not me.’

’Once my mission is complete, I can go offline and leave this world, so it won’t even matter if my hands heal properly or not.’

Jasper Sterling’s eyelid twitched violently. He grabbed Jane Lancaster’s arm. "Jay!"

He paused, taking a deep breath. "Don’t go putting yourself in danger like that again."

He had been in a rush to deal with Theodore Hughes and had underestimated the extent of Jean Hughes’s madness.

Just thinking about it now made his heart pound with lingering fear.

But he also knew she most likely wouldn’t listen to his warnings.

The path she was on was like walking a tightrope over a cliff. One wrong step, and she would be smashed to pieces, doomed beyond recovery.

"By the way, what were you thinking about just now with such a solemn expression?" he asked, changing the subject. "Were you wondering why Beverly Lynch is suddenly being so warm to you?"

Jane Lancaster lowered her eyes. "...It’s not sudden. She’s always been quite warm. I was just too cold and neglectful."

Lying in bed just now, she had recalled many small details. The more she thought about it, the more she felt like a scumbag—or rather, that the original owner of this body was a scumbag.

’She never really did anything to me. On the contrary, I was the one who kept helping Pauline Shaw humiliate her.’

’That clarification statement last time, too... when Beverly Lynch did that, she was really slapping Caleb Lowell in the face!’

’...You should know that going against the male and female leads never ends well!’

Jasper Sterling stroked her head. "Alright, don’t overthink it. Are you hungry? I had someone bring food over."

He was starting to understand now why Jane Lancaster would talk a big game in her head about seducing him but never actually went through with it.

She was determined not to drag them down with her.

Perhaps this was her own way of protecting them.

Jasper Sterling gazed at the gloomy sky outside the window, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

’If the world they lived in really is a book, then who is the divine hand manipulating the plot?’

’Could there be a pantheon of lofty gods existing above this world, peering into each of their fates?’

***

「Aethelgard.」

Sensing a gaze from far away, the man narrowed his eyes sharply.

"Lord Priest, is something wrong?" the person next to him couldn’t help but ask.

The black-haired priest looked thoughtfully toward a certain star. "Tell me, do you think it’s possible someone has discovered our existence?"

"Huh?" The other person was baffled. What kind of question was that?

"Of course they have!" a nonchalant voice chimed in as a red-haired man wearing a Star Robe approached.

He leaned over, looking down at the brilliant river of stars below, where countless stars drifted along their orbital paths.

"In these three thousand lesser worlds, is there any place where people don’t pray for divine protection? Don’t they all know that the gods are watching from just overhead? We are their gods."