Addiction to Temptation: His Mischievous Sweetheart Captivates Him-Chapter 199: I Can’t Stand Staying in Altara for Even One More Day
Natalie Vaughn smiled as she moved the chair to sit across from Julian Sutton.
"To treat the problem, you have to address the symptoms. You won’t tell me who he is or how you argued, how am I supposed to help you?"
But Julian Sutton turned his head away, no longer looking at Natalie. He really didn’t want to trust Natalie any longer.
Seeing his reaction, Natalie understood that she had indeed played with his emotions a bit earlier.
"Cough, cough, don’t you want to make up with him?"
Julian Sutton turned his back.
"Hey! Let me tell you, a little quarrel can spice up a relationship, but the most taboo thing is the silent treatment. When I used to give my husband the cold shoulder, I’d always leave him a chance to reach out to me."
Julian Sutton still refused to turn back.
Natalie crossed her legs and leaned back against the chair, looking completely relaxed.
"Being coy has its limits. Overdo it, and when you can’t make it up, it’ll be you who ends up crying."
Julian Sutton was a bit swayed.
Seeing this, Natalie had a slight smile on her lips, looking quite confident.
"Oh yeah, they say women are hard to please, but sometimes men are even harder, ridiculously hard. Plus, when men decide to let go, they can do it without any remorse, as if they have no heart."
Julian Sutton was completely defeated.
He turned around, looking at Natalie with sad eyes.
"Natalie, if you mess with me again, I won’t let you off easily."
Natalie immediately moved her chair closer and raised two fingers.
"I have professional integrity."
Julian Sutton couldn’t be bothered with Natalie’s wording anymore, despite being "heartbroken" by her, he trusted her character.
Besides... she would definitely help keep it a secret.
"You know him too."
Upon hearing this, Natalie suddenly widened her eyes, scanning every corner of the set. Which one was the actor? Or the crew member?
Julian Sutton gently uttered a name, and Natalie jumped out of her chair.
"What?!"
The loud voice attracted quite a bit of attention.
Julian Sutton frowned, and Natalie quickly smiled and waved to the onlookers. Once everyone was back to their tasks, Natalie leaned in close to Julian and asked hesitantly.
"Is it the Jason Lynch I know?"
Julian Sutton confirmed.
"Jason Lynch! The end of the universe is your Jason Lynch?!"
Julian Sutton gave Natalie a cool look.
"One more word and I’ll tell your man, wasn’t he angry last time?"
"Last time?"
Natalie’s brow furrowed, and then her eyes suddenly widened.
"You were there last time too?!"
"Mhm."
Last time, forget Zane Thorne, he listened to the slogans from the whole sports arena and furrowed his brow.
Natalie felt she was getting quite the scoop today, and this scoop was especially juicy.
"You said you flew back to see Jason Lynch’s performance. Since you could hear my voice, it means you were close to me. Wow, Julian Sutton, you really have guts to sit so up front."
Julian Sutton crossed his legs again.
"No one knew anyway."
Indeed, in the eyes of the public, Julian Sutton and Jason Lynch were people from completely disconnected worlds.
But... still very bold.
"Is this outright favoritism?"
Julian Sutton chuckled.
"Speaking of which, I still have to thank you."
Julian Sutton’s reputation was far greater than Natalie’s. Naturally, more people kept an eye on his whereabouts—not just fans but haters, stalkers, all sorts of paparazzi, even rival companies. Many were watching him.
If it wasn’t for that time when Natalie had made headlines with her scandal with Theodore Langdon, his trip to Astra City might have been exposed.
After all, many live off trending topics.
Natalie also remembered that incident. She never expected the singer she admired was actually a pair with Julian Sutton.
Julian Sutton, seemingly overwhelmed by the silent treatment, was a bit anxious.
"So, quickly tell me how to please a man."
"Let me think, after all, he’s my idol."
Julian Sutton:...
Damn, why did he feel asking Natalie was a mistake? Would she not seize the chance to show off to Jason Lynch?
...
Someone captured a scene between Natalie and Julian Sutton, but they didn’t interpret it as romantic but rather as an intense friendship.
Primarily Julian Sutton maintained a gentle image in the public eye, while Natalie, as a newcomer who’d been trending a few times, had already ingrained herself in the public as a daring heiress.
The scene looked very much like even the most gentle of award-winning actors couldn’t resist an heiress.
Coupled with the age difference between the two, fans didn’t see much potential for romantic sparks. Furthermore, the drama’s character bonds influenced opinions, making their friendship a story of mutual enjoyment.
Still, fans, to avoid impacting the main characters, kept their gossip contained and didn’t cause much of a stir.
Julian Sutton’s agent noticed this trend and reported it to him, to which Julian simply said to let it develop.
Natalie taught him a trick: the bitter meat strategy.
What exactly did Natalie say at the time?
"Jason Lynch is in Astra City, it’s convenient to come to Veridia too. So close, using the bitter meat strategy is the best choice."
Naturally, Julian Sutton wouldn’t know that this was also a tactic Natalie had used on Zane Thorne.
...
During the days Zane Thorne was away, Natalie poured all her energy into filming, wishing for an extra forty-eight hours a day to finish early.
Sometimes, due to uncontrollable factors preventing more shooting, she’d go to ROX’s training base in Veridia, practicing the bends Zane Thorne loved that Quentin Donovan taught her.
Veridia had a retired racing coach who was now planning domestic racing events, more than capable of hanging out and training Natalie.
Of course, at Natalie’s request, the coach hadn’t mentioned this to Zane Thorne. But the bodyguard couldn’t possibly not inform Zane.
Thinking of Jay Sterling doing something similar, Zane Thorne essentially confirmed that Natalie was indeed improving her driving skills.
Furthermore, with her sneaky attitude, keeping it hidden from Jay Sterling and the coach, was she aiming to surprise him?
With that thought, Zane felt this young girl was even more adorable. He really couldn’t stand Altara for another day.
Zane Thorne once again pushed open Gideon Sheffield’s hospital room.
Since that day on the rooftop, Gideon hadn’t spoken to anyone, including Zane, and now he looked terribly thin.
Today, the snow was falling heavily again, it was very cold.
Zane asked, "Do you want to go home for the New Year this year?"
Gideon curled up in the corner without responding.
"Your hometown is south, though it’s not snowing this time, it gets terribly cold, always raining."
"Uncle and Aunt are getting older, last year they often went to the hospital around this time."
"The weather is both damp and cold, their legs and feet can’t take it."
"Other families have lively, festive reunions, Uncle and Aunt just manage to get by, during the holiday there’s barely any dishes on the table."
Zane lighted a cigarette and took a deep puff.
"No matter what, you’re still their son."
With those words, the person curled up in the corner moved slightly.
