Chapter 591 - 587: Substitute?

Cecilia Sterling smiled and politely declined, "No, thank you. Let’s look at the clothes first."

After all, they wanted to browse a few more stores. Luxury brands like this always prepared afternoon tea for their VIP clients, and if they stopped to eat at every single one, it would take up a lot of time.

It would slow down their shopping spree.

Just then, Lily Sterling’s phone buzzed with a text message. She picked it up and saw it was from the bank.

The final payment for her role in *March Alley* had arrived.

"Mom, look!" Lily Sterling happily showed the text to her mother, having no intention of hiding her income from her.

Jasmine Sterling glanced over instinctively and couldn’t help but be taken aback. "Wow, that’s a lot, isn’t it?"

It was even more than what she had earned for *Heavenly Destiny as Phoenix*.

After all, Lily Sterling was the second female lead in this new series, a more significant role. Plus, she had already gained some recognition, so her pay would naturally increase.

And now that she had been double-nominated for the year-end Golden Magpie Awards, her current asking price had gone up quite a bit. If she were to win, her value would skyrocket.

"Mom, I’ll transfer it to you. I’ll just keep some spare spending money for myself."

Hearing this, Jasmine Sterling quickly stopped her daughter. "I don’t need it. Mom isn’t short on money right now. You’re all grown up, so you should save the money you earn."

Although she didn’t want her daughter’s money, her heart swelled with comfort.

After all, with two such successful and thoughtful daughters, who wouldn’t be envious?

Watching from the side, Cecilia Sterling couldn’t help but add, "Mom’s a boss now, too. She’s right. You’re not a kid anymore; you need to start learning how to manage your own finances."

Hearing both her mother and sister say this, Lily Sterling thought for a moment and had no choice but to nod.

But then she added, "In that case, I’m paying for everything today. Neither of you are allowed to fight me on it."

Cecilia Sterling laughed. "That we can do! Then Mom and I won’t hold back!"

"Please don’t! Mom, Sis, I’ve been waiting for this day for so long—to use my own money to buy you lots and lots of things. Pick whatever you want today. I won’t feel the sting no matter how much you spend."

Lily Sterling’s pure enthusiasm was truly endearing. Even the nearby sales associate and manager couldn’t help but smile at her like proud mothers.

Soon, the associate and the manager worked together to bring out all of the brand’s new autumn arrivals for them.

A mobile clothing rack was hung with all sorts of garments.

Handbags and accessories were laid out on the table.

Cecilia and Lily Sterling reached out at the same time. The matching, diamond-paved bracelets on their wrists were exceptionally eye-catching, radiating wealth. The sales associate couldn’t help but stare.

’So sparkly!’

"Mom, this silk scarf is beautiful. It suits you." Lily Sterling held a silk scarf up to her mother’s neck, nodding in satisfaction. "It looks gorgeous. It brightens your complexion and adds to your elegance."

Then she picked up a classic monogrammed handbag. "It would look great wrapped around the handle, too."

"It is quite beautiful." Jasmine Sterling didn’t want to spoil her daughter’s fun; she liked whatever her daughter picked. "I’ll take this scarf and this handbag, then."

"Great! Mom, look at the clothes, too. I saw a couple of camel coats for autumn that are really nice. You should try them on."

The sales associate, quick-witted and proactive, immediately found the coats and presented them to Jasmine Sterling. "Ma’am, as you can see, both of these are new arrivals."

This time, however, Jasmine Sterling waved her hand dismissively. "No coats. Your sister bought me several last autumn, and I haven’t even taken the tags off half of them."

Cecilia Sterling couldn’t help but laugh. It had been right after she returned last autumn, and she had indeed gone on a bit of a revenge-spending spree for her family. She had bought her mother a whole wardrobe full of clothes—a bit of everything—and her mother couldn’t possibly wear them all.

"Young lady, do you have any menswear? I’d like to take a look," Jasmine Sterling asked, suddenly changing the subject.

The associate nodded eagerly. "Yes, we do. I’ll go get some for you. Please wait a moment."

Jasmine Sterling smiled at her two daughters. "I’ve been buying Ethan’s clothes since he was little. He wears whatever I buy him. If I don’t buy him anything, he doesn’t know to buy things for himself."

That was true. Their younger brother had no particular interest in clothes or shoes and wasn’t obsessed with designer brands. He simply wore whatever his mother bought for him.

He had worn plenty of ugly clothes and shoes growing up, but he always managed to pull them off with his good looks.

At the mention of her brother, Lily Sterling pouted with a hint of displeasure. "He doesn’t even bother to come home on the weekend. Who is he even hanging out with at school?"

「At that moment, in the Lorcain U Esports Club.」

"ARGH!"

A wail of agony pierced through the door, immediately followed by Brandon Marshall’s voice. "No way! From now on, Ethan Sterling is banned from our club’s internal scrims! We’re not even on the same skill level. This is just straight-up bullying!"

The other teammates all nodded in agreement.

Ethan Sterling gave a helpless laugh. "Senior, I didn’t even want to play in the first place. Weren’t you the one who insisted I join the scrims? I haven’t even had lunch yet."

"I won’t ask you next time!"

Having lost all three matches, Brandon Marshall was getting tilted. "We’re your seniors, for crying out loud! Couldn’t you have gone easy on us? A best-of-three would have been fine, but no, you had to give us a clean sweep!"

"Oh? Lost that badly, did you?" Just then, Riley Kent came out of the president’s office, having overheard Brandon Marshall. She had an amused look on her face. "The spirit of esports is that giving your all is the greatest respect you can show your opponent. Ethan was just respecting you by playing his best."

Ethan Sterling heard this and looked down, saying nothing.

’The thing is, I wasn’t even using my full strength.’

’Could I really say that out loud?’

Brandon Marshall pouted and looked at Ethan Sterling. "You’re treating me to dinner tonight!"

"I can’t tonight," Ethan Sterling quickly explained. "I really have to go home today. My second sister is back."

Before Brandon Marshall could respond, Jameson Stone, who was standing next to Ethan, raised his hand. "Senior, I’ll treat you on Ethan’s behalf."

Riley Kent walked over to Ethan Sterling and handed him a form.

Ethan took it in surprise and looked down. Riley Kent spoke, "It’s an application form for a substitute player."

"A substitute?" Ethan Sterling furrowed his brow and looked up. "Senior, didn’t you tell me to form my own team? Why are you asking me to be a substitute now?"

Jameson Stone was also surprised. "With Ethan’s skills, shouldn’t he be more than a substitute?"

Brandon Marshall and the others walked over as well, and Riley Kent finally explained, "It’s temporary. The Collegiate Cup Fall Season is about to start, and our team roster was submitted long before you joined the club. So even if you formed a new team now, you wouldn’t be able to register. You’d have to wait for the Winter Season."

"However, the tournament rules state that we can still submit a list of substitute players up to one week before the competition starts. But we can only add one person, which is why I thought of you."

Hearing this, Ethan Sterling nodded in understanding.

But speaking of Lorcain U’s one and only official esports team, Ethan had been in the club for days now but had never once seen a single member of the varsity squad.