Addiction to Temptation: His Mischievous Sweetheart Captivates Him-Chapter 276: The Gathering

In the evening, Natalie Vaughn’s fever finally subsided. However, she still felt weak, and Zane Thorne was hesitant to let her attend the party alone, so he accompanied her.

The location was a bar near CSM Academy.

By the time they arrived, the place was already lively. Vivian was having a blast among a group of people. This party, ostensibly in her honor, was more like a fun gathering for everyone.

Natalie tightly held Zane’s hand. They wore matching couple sweaters, looking out of season compared to others in their hot outfits and thin shirts.

Vivian spotted Natalie and made her way over through the crowd, a drink in hand.

"Kristin, you’re here?"

Vivian’s eyes landed on Zane, openly scrutinizing him from head to toe, finally letting out an exaggerated "Wow" when she saw his face.

"Kristin, who is this?"

"My husband."

Zane gave Natalie’s hand a gentle squeeze before letting go and whispered in her ear.

"I’ll go sit over there. You two chat."

After saying that, he nodded at Vivian and walked away.

Once he left, Vivian’s gaze was even more unabashed, lingering on Zane’s legs and rear.

"Wow, your husband looks amazing."

Natalie: ... It’s not her with the dirty mind; Vivian just never says anything proper.

"This is the welcome party you mentioned?"

It was clearly just their little playground.

"Come, let me introduce you to everyone. These are some of my friends, former students from here too."

Natalie followed, and as always, Vivian was extravagant, showering Natalie with extravagant praise, saying things like Bartery had always wanted to recruit her, and that she was exceptionally talented, piling all these compliments onto Natalie, finishing with a perfectly apt summary.

"She’s amazing!"

Natalie: ... How does she still remember this word after so long?

Everyone raised their glasses to Natalie. Vivian’s friends were equally eccentric; their self-introductions weren’t complete without adding a remark. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"You’re amazing."

"..."

Natalie just gave a slightly awkward smile, choosing to endure without correcting them. She explained that she couldn’t drink due to a cold, but then downed the glass in hand, considering it a gesture of happiness in meeting them.

After chatting about design, everyone couldn’t help but become curious about the man Natalie brought along.

Honestly, Zane’s face and aura were hard to overlook.

Upon learning that Zane was Natalie’s husband, everyone looked at her enviously.

"Kristin, your husband is willing to accompany you while you study? You’re so lucky."

"Your husband is really handsome!"

"Did you guys buy a house specifically in Kensingport?"

Natalie answered their questions one by one. When they learned that Zane had a company here, everyone gasped in even greater awe, wanting to go speak with him.

Vivian spoke up.

"Today’s star is Kristin. What are you all doing?"

Only then did they stop.

But while others snuck drinks, Vivian couldn’t help but quietly ask Natalie.

"What does your husband do?"

Natalie was a bit amused but didn’t see any reason to hide it, so she told Vivian.

"What?!"

Vivian exclaimed, spilling her drink with a clumsy gesture.

Natalie: ...

"What’s with that reaction?"

Vivian grabbed Natalie’s shoulders, shaking her vigorously.

"Don’t you know the influence GN Group has in Brythania? Anyone even slightly interested in racing knows about GN."

And indeed, Brythania is famous for The Caldera, the cradle of racing, with a nation remarkably keen on motorsports.

In everyone’s eyes, GN Group is like a god, growing so rapidly in just a few years and breaking into the Brythania market.

"Your husband is zheng?"

Natalie slightly arched her eyebrow, realizing that people here all referred to Zane that way, and nodded.

Vivian couldn’t resist glancing back at Zane, who sat by the window with a leg crossed, occasionally sipping his drink, seeming even dashing while interacting with someone and replying to messages on his phone.

Vivian couldn’t help but whistle.

Natalie was somewhat exasperated.

"Aren’t you paying a bit too much attention to my husband?"

Vivian turned her head, swallowing hard.

"Does your husband have any close buddies? I’m free lately, and wouldn’t mind finding a guy to have fun with."

Natalie: ...

"If you don’t mind the one who taught you ’amazing’."

"Joe?"

Vivian shook her head.

"No way, he likes someone else?"

Natalie’s eyebrow shot up.

"How do you know?"

Vivian ordered another drink and took a sip.

"I fell for him at first sight, and when I suggested a one night stand, he turned me down. Oh, that woman is quite famous."

Vivian only remembered she was a professional racer but couldn’t recall the name.

Natalie couldn’t suppress a twitch when she heard "one night stand." With Vivian’s typical beauty, she thought Quentin Donovan’s playful nature wouldn’t refuse Vivian, but the situation was different.

It seemed Quentin indeed had a great affection for Shannon Rhodes.

"You seem to like flashy, ostentatious men."

Vivian waggled her finger.

"No, no, no! I absolutely hate Ian, he’s practically a devil of a boss."

Natalie: ... Not many people seem to like their bosses.

"Vivian, your words would hurt my feelings."

A gentle man’s voice sounded, and someone sat down next to Natalie.

It was the hated Ian from Vivian’s words.

Vivian raised her hand to ruffle her hair.

"You’re like a haunting ghost. Why are you everywhere I am? It’s after work hours, surely you can’t control my drinking, right?"

Ian shrugged.

"I’m not here for you."

He said while giving Natalie a smile.

"Kristin, long time no see."

Vivian rolled her eyes, clearly suspecting that he overheard someone mention the party tonight while in the break room.

"Kristin doesn’t want to see you. You’re so annoying, don’t hover around us."

Ian ignored Vivian, focusing intently on Natalie, with evident interest in his eyes.

"Kristin is studying in Kensingport; we could be friends."

Natalie arched an eyebrow, recalling how Quentin Donovan once played Zane over a car in Kensingport last year.

Heh, not a favorable impression.

Too flamboyant, like Quentin Donovan.

"Being friends? Ian, your intentions are too obvious. Kristin didn’t come alone today; she brought her husband."

Ian raised an eyebrow.

"Really?"

Natalie left Zane alone for quite some time, and with another annoying person arriving, she seized the opportunity to excuse herself.

"Vivian, enjoy a drink with your... boss while I go accompany my husband."

With that, Natalie headed toward Zane.

Ian’s gaze followed Natalie until he finally saw the man sitting by the window.