Chapter 3
1621 Words
"Hello! Is this the police station? I want to report a crime!"
Wow! Sterling actually called the police!? And the worst part was, she even revealed her identity truthfully!
Georgina Prescott followed Sterling into the room, "I really wonder if you're not afraid of dying."
"No, I am," Sterling replied as she lay on the bed. "I'm very afraid of dying. If I died, I wouldn't have the chance to make more money, and then all the hard work I've done over the years would be wasted."
"That’s it?" Georgina Prescott asked incredulously. "Is there nothing more important in your head besides making money?"
"There is." Sterling turned over, throwing a resentful glance, "Right now, the most important thing to me is—how to get you to shut up! Please, let me sleep in peace, okay?"
"You can still sleep? Aren’t you afraid that if he finds out it was you who called the police, he’ll come after you..."
"If he comes to apologize and guarantees he’ll improve, then maybe I might consider forgiving him." Sterling cuddled into the soft bedding, letting out a contented sigh.
What could be more comfortable than a good night's sleep?
Sterling's voice was already becoming faint, "Aren’t you going to sleep? You still need to go back and pack tomorrow, get some rest early."
"I'm used to it, staying up late is no problem for me." Georgina Prescott suddenly remembered something, hurriedly saying, "Aren’t you going to help me move? I was thinking of waiting until tomorrow night..."
"Tomorrow night? My new job starts then."
At this, Georgina Prescott’s eyes widened dramatically, "Sterling, are you really going to work part-time at the restaurant tomorrow night?"
"Is there a problem?" Sterling said, a bit amused. "I’ll be a hostess at the restaurant. By your expression, it's as if I'm going out to sell jokes."
"But have you considered Zhao Xuesheng?" Zhao Xuesheng was Sterling’s boyfriend and also somewhat acquainted with Georgina Prescott. "I bet he won’t agree."
"Why not?"
"It’s about face for him, he’s that type of person who cares a lot about appearances. He complained about your job at the supermarket as if you were a servant, let alone bowing and scraping to every customer in the restaurant, he would definitely say..."
"Let him say whatever he wants." Sterling cut off Georgina Prescott, "I can’t live my life according to what others say, including him."
Uh? Left with nothing to say but to chuckle awkwardly, Georgina Prescott changed the subject, "Do you think the police have arrived yet? What do you think they’ll find?"
"Don’t worry, if there’s any reward for solving the case, I’ll make sure you get a share."
"You, if you can get through this time without attracting trouble, I'll thank my lucky stars. A reward? As if I'm the good Samaritan of the year!" Georgina Prescott spat out in frustration, then helplessly shook her head.
In the silent night, something seemed to be stirring...
After dismissing the police officer, Reginald Beaumont returned to the room, the lingering scent of conflict still thick in the air.
A pink, delicate-strap dress, a bra, stockings... all were strewn haphazardly across the bedding.
Reginald Beaumont frowned slightly, letting the plaintive wails from the bedside assault his ears.
"Look at you, even the police showed up! Who told you to be so rough? I said I would take it off myself, but you still did this. That dress was custom-made and very expensive..."
Reginald Beaumont knew that if he just closed his eyes and pretended he was dealing with a nagging woman, things might be easier. But that mournful voice belonged to—his "brother"!
With an expression of utter exasperation, he stubbed out his cigarette and stood up. "Reginald Lancaster—" He drew out the name in a tone heavy with warning.
However, the only response was a bout of snoring.
He actually fell asleep!?
Momentarily stunned, Reginald Beaumont sat on the edge of the bed, silently staring at that tear-streaked face.
Was this really his brother, the Ph.D. in biology?
No! In this "striptease battle" that had raged from the living room to the bedroom, Reginald Beaumont had seen nothing but a coquettish seductress!
Reginald Beaumont had always known Lancaster liked to conduct strange and unusual experiments, especially after breaking up with his first love, which only intensified his eccentricity. But this time, he had gone too far!
In some bizarre hormone experiment, Lancaster had transformed every "male" trait of his—from his voice to his physique!
At first, the family thought Lancaster’s drastic changes were due to his inability to accept his girlfriend Tina marrying someone else, assuming it was a temporary mental breakdown. But when the "s*x change theory" surfaced, it sparked a full-blown family crisis.
In the end, Lancaster ran away.
This time, one of the reasons Reginald Beaumont returned to Taiwan was to find him.
But what good was it to go through all the trouble to find him?
After days of reliving the same exasperating scenes, Reginald Beaumont finally agreed not to force Lancaster to move back to the family estate because this Reginald family’s second son, who could transform into a stunning beauty at any moment, was simply not fit for public exposure.
So Reginald Beaumont chose to stay, to monitor Reginald Lancaster’s "condition."
Lancaster woke up, his eyes empty and tired.
"I told you not to worry about me..." he murmured softly.
"That’s not possible," Reginald Beaumont replied coldly.
"Uh?" Lancaster tilted his head, staring directly at that stern face. "So, what you're really afraid of is me going through with the s*x change, leaving the responsibility of continuing the Reginald family line on your shoulders?"
He took a breath and then cursed, "You’re the eldest son of the Reginald family; it's not like I’m the only one who can carry on the family line. I think you’re just trying to shirk responsibility!"
"Exactly."
"Huh?" Lancaster was stunned. He didn’t even argue back?
Clinging to a last thread of hope, he said, "I’m sure you came back to Taiwan this time with important things to take care of, so why don’t you go handle your business and leave me alone, alright?"
"No." Reginald Beaumont slowly replied, "I made a point of returning early this time, so I have plenty of time. I’m not leaving, at least not until you return to normal."
What? Staring up at that unyielding face, Lancaster silently wailed and cursed in his heart.
Demon! The man before him was a demon! Only a demon would so shamelessly commit such acts, so confidently accept accusations, and so utterly lack any trace of compassion!
"I’ll wait for the result I want," Reginald Beaumont said, lighting a cigarette, his voice drifting in the curling smoke.
Result? Reginald Lancaster slumped his shoulders. "Haven’t you already seen the result over the past few days?"
"I haven’t seen anything." Reginald Beaumont tossed a set of clothes to him, his voice tight with suppressed emotion as he commanded, "Put them on. From now on, I only want to see what I want to see."
"So what if I change back into men's clothes? I’m not even..." Lancaster grumbled reluctantly as he took the outfit.
"Finish your sentence."
"I’m not even interested in women. I’m starting to realize I might be attracted to men..." Lancaster finally admitted, hesitating.
Reginald Beaumont raised his hand, stopping him from saying anything further.
That’s enough! The "embarrassment" on Lancaster’s face made it clear just how bad things had gotten.
The silence that followed was deeply unsettling.
"So, even if you tie me to a bed with a woman... if it doesn't work, it doesn't work." Lancaster stated plainly.
"Whether it works or not, we’ll find out," Reginald Beaumont replied, stubbing out his cigarette and delivering his conclusion.
"Find out? Find out what?"
Reginald Beaumont tossed a newspaper at him, then calmly waited for the inevitable outburst.
"What is this...?" Lancaster began to wail, pointing at the circled matrimonial ad, "This is ridiculous! It’s not like we’re animals breeding!"
"You’re right about one thing—keeping the family line going is the priority for the Reginald family. It’s also something I promised Aunt Hui."
"What did you promise my mom, Reginald Beaumont? Since when did you start listening to her?"
"This isn’t about obedience. It’s just mutual benefit," Reginald Beaumont replied coolly.
"You two made a deal, didn’t you? That’s what this is all about, isn’t it?" Lancaster froze for a moment before realizing the truth.
"A normal son in exchange for my mother’s whereabouts, that’s all," Reginald Beaumont stated plainly.
Lancaster suddenly fell silent. Though he had never met Reginald Beaumont’s biological mother, he knew that Reginald had never given up on finding her. Now that he understood the "deal," he knew better than to hope he could convince Reginald otherwise.
But still, this was his life they were talking about, so Lancaster decided to try a "softer" approach.
"Reginald Beaumont, my mom’s just your stepmother, but we’re brothers, right? Same father, different mothers, but still blood. So why would you help an outsider against your own brother?"
To save himself, he was even willing to label his own mother as an "outsider"?
A slight smile played on Reginald Beaumont’s lips as he replied with unyielding resolve, "You’ve already damaged yourself; I’m just helping to fix it."
"You..."
"And I’ll use whatever means necessary, as long as it works."
Lancaster slumped onto the bed, crumpling the newspaper in his hand. "What results? Like anyone would respond to this ad!" His tone shifted to one of worry as he asked, "By the way, who was that at the door earlier?"
"A woman."
- Writer
