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

Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Do You Think She’ll Listen?

"You know perfectly well whether you were eavesdropping!" Jim Jenson paused. "Otherwise, tell us—where were you just now?"

"I don’t understand. Shouldn’t *you* be the one explaining why you’re slandering me?"

"Instead of arguing here, why don’t we all go look at the security footage?" Jane Lancaster suggested with a sincere expression.

Perhaps they were just enjoying the drama, but a few guests still lingered in the hallway. They were clearly interested in seeing what would happen next.

Besides, their business was concluded, and they had nothing better to do. They were more than willing to act as witnesses for the young woman.

The more sinister Jim Jenson’s glare became, the wider Jane Lancaster’s smile grew.

’He really doesn’t dare look at the footage, does he? Is he afraid the other man will be exposed?’

’He’d rather let me turn the tables on him than use the footage to clear his name. In that case, I think I know who the other man is.’

Pauline Shaw couldn’t help but glance sideways. ’So who on earth *is* this man?’ she wondered. ’Why is one of them so insistent on the footage, while the other is so desperate to keep it hidden?’

"Since you’re refusing, don’t you think you owe me an apology?" Jane asked.

Jim Jenson glared at Jane Lancaster, and the viciousness in his eyes made Willow Summers shudder inwardly.

Jane held his gaze without flinching. After a few seconds, Jim Jenson was the first to look away.

The two words, "I’m sorry," sounded as if they were being squeezed out from between his teeth.

Jane said, "You still haven’t learned how to apologize, just like always. But I can be generous and offer a suggestion: you could have a chat with Chloe Dave. He has plenty of experience with it."

SNAP! Unable to control himself, Jim Jenson broke a tree branch.

Willow’s heart clenched. As Jim Jenson’s sinister gaze swept toward her, she quickly bowed her head, feigning meekness and hardly daring to breathe.

His face dark, Jim Jenson turned and left without another word.

’Sigh, how boring. He actually just left.’

Pauline Shaw couldn’t believe her. Didn’t Jane see how terrifying Jim Jenson looked with that dark expression? She suspected he might snap and attack someone at any moment.

’Why does Jane always have to pour fuel on the fire?’

"Jay, you should know when to let things go," she finally couldn’t resist saying.

Jane said, "You’re right, Pauline. He’s way too aggressive. So arrogant even when he’s in the wrong. Is the whole Jenson Family this domineering? If so, maybe people should just stop doing business with them."

’She’s definitely doing this on purpose!’ Pauline was so angry she just shut her mouth.

An elderly gentleman on the covered walkway even chimed in with a smile, "The young lady is right."

Pauline: "..."

The elderly man departed, and the other guests followed suit.

After a moment’s hesitation, Willow Summers walked over and said bleakly, "Jane Lancaster, you’ve really screwed me over."

Her heart sank. Men are all about saving face. After today’s fiasco, her chances with Jim Jenson were probably shot.

And that wasn’t the worst of it. She’d been caught ’eavesdropping’ with Jane! Jim Jenson would definitely think they were in it together!

"I don’t even know how I’m going to explain this to Young Master Jenson," Willow said, grabbing a handful of her hair in frustration. "I’m wracking my brain so hard I feel like I’m going to go bald."

Pauline said coldly, "That’s your problem."

She had always looked down on women who were solely focused on social climbing. Now that she knew what Willow was really like, she certainly wasn’t going to be pleasant to her.

"Then don’t explain," Jane chimed in. "Explaining is for the person in the weaker position. He’s the one pursuing you, so why should *you* be the one to explain anything?"

Pauline: "..."

’Is she crazy, or am I? Willow wants to marry into a wealthy family. If she doesn’t placate the man, is she expecting him to placate her?’

Willow sneered. "You want me to completely upend the natural order of things? Forget it. I’ll just put all the blame on you. After all, it’s your fault for framing me in the first place."

She mused, "Then again, I *was* coerced by you to begin with..."

’If I play this right,’ she thought, ’I might even be able to salvage the situation!’

Pauline said impatiently, "Then hurry up and go cry to your precious Young Master Jenson."

’Seeing her refuse to give up, what Jane’s inner voice said was probably true. The two of them must have ended up getting together.’

Willow didn’t hesitate and turned to leave.

"If you go back now and just cry a little, Jim Jenson will surely drop all his suspicions, start showering you with gifts, and spoil you rotten."

Pauline couldn’t help but frown. ’Is that true?’ she wondered. ’Is Jim Jenson some kind of Casanova?’

Willow stopped in her tracks. "He does seem to really like me," she said. "He’s not like those other guys who are all talk."

"To get me to go out on a date, he even sent me a bracelet worth millions, but I refused it."

She wasn’t some naive idiot; she could tell if a man was being sincere or not.

So many men talk a sweet game, but are actually incredibly stingy—they’d even make her pay for her own meal on a date. If she asked why, they’d say they were afraid she was just after their money.

Willow admitted she was ambitious, but a con artist? To hell with that! She never scammed poor men, nor did she ever plan to just grab some cash and run, or become someone’s mistress.

She’d probably met too many terrible men, so Jim Jenson’s generosity and attentiveness had genuinely started to win her over.

’Too bad Jim is just using her as a stand-in. He loves to shower women with gifts, always jewelry worth millions, but all of it belongs to his mother.’

’Once he’s got the girl, he has his mom report the jewelry as stolen, and Willow has no choice but to give it all back.’

Pauline was fascinated. ’You can do that?’ she thought. ’What a scheme.’

’And here Willow is, smugly showing off. She’s about to pay the price for her short-sightedness.’

"He’ll ’secretly’ slip that bracelet into your bag. So generous, right? Except after you sleep with him, you’ll find out in less than three months that he stole it from his mom."

Willow froze, turning to stare at Jane.

Pauline also stared at Jane in astonishment.

’If I remember correctly, this is the first time since I started hearing Jane’s thoughts that she’s actually helped someone change their fate.’

Willow asked, "How do you know he stole the bracelet from his mother?"

"Maybe he didn’t steal it, who knows? But either way, his mom is going to file a police report. Do you think you’ll be able to keep the bracelet then?" Jane said with a smile.

"This is all just speculation. It’s not real," Willow said, her mind in a turmoil.

Jane said, "Then let me tell you something that *is* real. Jim Jenson was extremely promiscuous when he was abroad. Aren’t you afraid he’ll give you an STD?"

’Jim is the one who gives you genital warts, and then he turns it around and blames you for being promiscuous, you know.’

Willow was completely stunned.

"I suggest you google some pictures of genital warts. I guarantee you’ll be in for a surprise," Jane added.

"You’re lying," Willow said, her face deathly pale. Refusing to believe it, she turned and stumbled away in a panic.

Pauline couldn’t help but speak up. "Do you really think she’ll listen? If Jim Jenson is as generous as she thinks, she won’t be willing to let him go."

Jane looked unconcerned. "If she doesn’t listen, she doesn’t listen."

’It’s only normal if she doesn’t listen. After all, even though we’re partners in crime, we’re really just using each other for our own ends.’

’Then why did you help her?’ Pauline raised her voice. "Not only that, she’ll go straight to Jim Jenson and tattle on you for spreading rumors!"

Jane gave her a strange look. "Are you mad? Fine, I’ll stop meddling."