Chapter 221: At Least He’s Not Scheming

Jane Lancaster spent a few days in the hospital with nothing to do.

On the day of her discharge, Julian Lancaster didn’t appear, but he still sent Lucy Finch to get her.

Lucy Finch didn’t know what kind of conflict was going on between the siblings. She looked at Jane Lancaster, and though she had many things she wanted to say, she swallowed them all back down when they reached her lips.

Their group had been personally promoted by Julian Lancaster, so naturally, they were fiercely loyal to him.

But at the same time, Julian Lancaster also required them all to obey Jane’s orders...

That was why when Calvin Cole was sidelined, everyone understood. They even felt he deserved it for daring to offend Jane, knowing she was Julian’s biggest sore spot.

But now, they no longer thought that way.

Years ago, there were whispers in the Lancaster family that Timothy Lancaster’s intended heir was actually Jane Lancaster.

Back then, Julian Lancaster had just started learning to manage the company. The upper management inevitably looked down on him, and his lack of understanding on many matters led to poor communication.

At the time, voices of doubt arose, suggesting that if Jane had taken charge, things wouldn’t have been nearly so difficult.

It was only after Jane Lancaster openly declared her support for Julian Lancaster in an executive meeting that those voices of doubt were finally silenced.

If Jane Lancaster had truly wanted to contend for the position of heir, it was very likely that Julian Lancaster would have been forced to step down as CEO.

Lucy Finch saw Jane Lancaster home. She was about to leave when Jane stopped her.

"Do you know where Alvin is right now?" she asked.

Lucy Finch answered cautiously, "Are you hoping to visit Alvin? His condition is unstable at the moment. The doctor said he shouldn’t have any visitors."

The other day, no sooner had Jane Lancaster entered Jean Hughes’s hospital room than Julian Lancaster came and took Alvin Lancaster away.

At the time, Jean Hughes had made a gesture of goodwill, saying the psychiatric department at that private hospital was mediocre and not conducive to Alvin Lancaster’s treatment, so there was no need for him to stay there.

No matter how you looked at it, the act felt like a hostage exchange.

Jane Lancaster saw the wariness in Lucy’s eyes and waved her away.

After a moment’s thought, she decided she couldn’t be bothered to guess where Alvin Lancaster was and just called Adrian Lancaster directly.

"Adrian, are you the one looking after Alvin now?"

Adrian Lancaster had already gotten a call from Lucy Finch, who told him that Jane was asking about Alvin Lancaster’s whereabouts.

"Alvin’s condition is unstable. He’s currently undergoing treatment." Adrian Lancaster rubbed the injury on the back of his head. It still hadn’t fully healed from Alvin’s attack that night.

It had even given the makeup artist a hard time at the commercial shoot today; it wasn’t easy to conceal.

"This isn’t a good time for you to visit him. Seeing you will only agitate him and worsen his condition."

’Doesn’t she have any idea who’s to blame for Alvin ending up like this?’

Jane Lancaster retorted, "Is that head on your shoulders just for decoration? Jean Hughes already admitted he used hypnotism to drive Alvin mad. Seeing me won’t make his condition worse; your haphazard treatments will."

With that, she hung up the phone.

Adrian Lancaster stared at his phone, stunned into silence for a long moment.

’Did Jane Lancaster just call me brainless? That’s outrageous!’

’What did she mean, ’is that head on your shoulders just for decoration’? Who insults people like that?!’

He angrily tried to call her back, but she hung up on him immediately. He tried again, and she hung up again.

"Adrian, what’s wrong? Who made you so angry?" a voice asked from nearby.

Adrian Lancaster looked up at the newcomer, his expression softening considerably. "It’s nothing."

He casually switched off his phone’s screen.

Quincy Usher craned his neck to glance at the phone, his eyes filled with curiosity. "You have a sister?"

Adrian Lancaster wasn’t surprised that he’d seen the caller ID, but he was surprised by the young man’s complete lack of tact.

’Was that really an appropriate question to ask?’ They barely knew each other. In terms of industry standing, Adrian Lancaster was the star of the commercial, while Quincy Usher was just a backup dancer.

The assistant frowned, displeased. The entertainment industry was all about seniority and rank; this newcomer was way out of line.

"Excuse me..." He reached out, intending to usher the young man away.

"It’s fine." Adrian Lancaster stopped him. He was well aware of the industry’s tendency to kiss up and kick down, and he knew that to reach the top, one had to carefully maintain their public image.

There was no need to drive him off over something that could be cleared up in a few sentences, only to have him go back and spread wild speculation.

"She is my sister. My full sister, same mother and father."

Quincy Usher’s eyes widened. "Wow, you’re so nice! I can’t believe you actually answered me seriously!"

"I was just asking offhandedly, you didn’t have to answer. But your sister doesn’t seem very well-behaved... If I had a superstar for a brother, I’d be over the moon..."

Sensing the sudden chill in the air, he scratched his head in embarrassment. "Well, I’ll be going then, Adrian! See you, Adrian!"

He bowed with a smile as he spoke, backing away. Even from a distance, he waved with a grin, his attitude earnest and brimming with youthful energy.

After this little interlude, Adrian Lancaster’s anger subsided.

The assistant muttered, "What’s with that guy? Didn’t his manager teach him anything? How can he expect to survive in this industry with no filter?"

Adrian Lancaster replied nonchalantly, "He’s probably just young. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. At least he’s not a schemer."

’Unlike Jane Lancaster, whose mind is a labyrinth of schemes.’

—

Jane Lancaster didn’t press the issue of Alvin Lancaster’s whereabouts any further.

’Since Julian Lancaster traded for Alvin’s return using me, he’s definitely not going to neglect him. Alvin must be getting proper treatment.’

’But the problem is, in the novel, Alvin Lancaster’s condition deteriorates later on, and he’s eventually sent to a psychiatric hospital.’

’By then, the original Jane’s relationship with the family had all but shattered. She was completely fixated on Caleb Lowell and never once asked about Alvin.’

’She had no idea what exactly caused Alvin’s condition to worsen so drastically.’

’And that psychiatric hospital was where Alvin Lancaster’s path led to ruin.’

’He escaped due to the hospital’s negligence, encountered some stray dogs which triggered an episode, which in turn provoked the dogs’ ferocity. He ended up dying a brutal death.’

’At that time, Julian Lancaster had already been diagnosed with cancer and was frequently coughing up blood. Meanwhile, of his two younger brothers, one had been poisoned and was in a coma, while the other had gone mad only to be mauled to death by dogs.’

’All of this dealt him one heavy blow after another, leaving him utterly spent, like a lamp running out of oil.’

’And yet, he still gently helped Luna Morgan, selflessly sending the woman he loved into another man’s arms without a single regret.’

...

As Jane thought about all this, she started venting to her system.

"I mean, what is this situation! Alvin Lancaster’s Favorability is almost the highest, but he’s already lost his mind! If he keeps following the plot, I’ll never be able to complete my mission, right? No, I have to get him to snap out of it, and fast!"

The system remained silent.

"Hey, Sys, you seem to have something on your mind lately," Jane said.

Sys: [...Something on my mind?]

"Yeah, you’ve been so quiet recently." Jane Lancaster sighed. "Do you systems have human emotions? Do you get worried, too?"

Sys: [I’ve always been quiet.] The system didn’t quite understand how she could read emotions into its silence.

Jane Lancaster smirked. "Then how about you explain why Julian Lancaster’s Favorability didn’t drop to zero?"

Sys: [He probably expected it. It’s not like he just found out today that Timothy Lancaster favors Jane.]

[Besides, that’s the central conflict of his character. He can’t let go of his family ties, so he does many terrible things for their sake. Then, he’s ’awakened’ by the female lead, but his sins are by then unforgivable, sealing his tragic fate.]