CHAPTER 91: CHAPTER 91: FIVE YEARS AGO, ZANE THORNE MET HIS LIGHT

This is Zane Thorne’s secret base in the truest sense; even his parents don’t know it exists. The visits from Felix Langdon and others are extremely rare.

Zane isn’t one to fuss over so-called rituals, yet he has given his beloved car a pure paradise.

For the past five years, every time he visited Gideon Sheffield from Altara, he would return here.

For no other reason than that here, he could find peace.

He couldn’t quite explain why he had the urge tonight to bring Natalie Vaughn here.

To show her the car he’s so proud of.

To let her freely choose whichever car she liked.

He even deliberately picked a bottle of aged wine to get her drunk.

...

Zane gently picked up the unusually well-behaved girl after she got drunk and, for once, gently placed her on the bed.

His bed was large, and Natalie seemed exceptionally petite lying on it, with the dark grey duvet and her fair face, hardness and softness.

A stark contrast, yet incredibly harmonious.

Zane sat by the bed, watching Natalie sleep, suddenly feeling calm. Is Natalie beautiful? Undoubtedly.

But he’s seen too many beautiful people, glamorous, sexy, pure; he’s encountered all sorts. Yet Natalie’s face seemed to have a certain magic over him.

She could be glamorous, she could be sexy, and she could be pure. But he loved most her mischievous and lively demeanor in front of him.

She was only like that in front of him. And no one dislikes being the special one.

Now he understood why he brought Natalie over.

He wanted the young girl to see his world, to leave a mark, to leave warmth in his domain. It was too large, too empty, and living here alone was too lonely.

He wanted someone to be with him, even if she didn’t know about the suffering and pain he endured; she just needed to stay here peacefully.

Thinking this, Zane couldn’t help but reach out to touch Natalie’s face.

The man had a coarse and even domineering nature, yet with Natalie, he was using an unprecedented level of care and gentleness.

Was it simply because he found the young girl interesting?

No, it wasn’t.

He had always liked Natalie’s way of doing things and her attitude towards life.

That evening, he sat in the private room watching Natalie. Watching her scold the man harassing her, watching her ask the bar staff about his whereabouts, watching her smartly look up to find where he was.

The first thing that came to mind was not the photo his mother showed him of her being cute and meek.

But five years ago, during his most difficult time, he met a female high school student.

This high school girl, still carrying a backpack, after bravely catching a thief running on the street, led her younger followers into an alley and started a brawl with a group of vocational school students.

It wasn’t a brawl so much as a one-sided beatdown.

The young girl looked obedient, but when it came to fighting, she was more ruthless than anyone.

Her thin arms knocked down a male college student who was a head taller than her.

He saw vitality in her.

Saw life force.

And at that time, he was desperately craving that life force.

When his mother showed him the photo, he didn’t recognize her, but at the first glance in the bar, he recalled that this Vaughn family’s eldest daughter he was about to meet was the hope he once encountered.

The young girl had grown up, but in his eyes, she was still a young girl.

Later he learned why she was so good at fighting; she had been learning karate since childhood.

He also later found out that she was a campus bully at that time.

The man chuckled.

A just and righteous campus bully.

As the memories flooded back, Zane’s heart completely calmed down.

He returned to the window where he had just been drinking but now, instead of looking at the second floor, he was watching the young girl lying on his bed.

He was bad, trying to approach the hope from the past, yet using the shackles of marriage. But he was also fortunate; the young girl was interested in him.

When he didn’t understand love, he kept her by his side.

When he understood love, he started to reflect on his badness.

Five years ago, he destroyed his best friend’s happiness, destroyed his life.

The past five years were worse than death; he had been striving to make amends, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t go back to the past.

In the past, he didn’t want happiness; he didn’t deserve happiness. But now, he wants happiness.

To be happy with his young girl.

After a bottle of wine was finished, Zane slumped against the window, deeply and obsessively watching Natalie; what he carried shouldn’t be borne by her too.

So he could only wait a little longer.

A little longer.

The person on the bed seemed to have sensed the intense gaze, her brow moved slightly, but she didn’t wake up, just turned over and once again claimed Zane’s bed with a wild sleeping pose.

The man, afraid of disturbing her, withdrew his gaze and looked out into the endless black night.

Apart from here, there was no building, no light around.

Five years ago, he had personally chosen a place that would be swallowed by the night.

Five years later, he personally brought his own light here.

These, Natalie wouldn’t know.

Zane didn’t want her to know.

Let it be his secret buried forever deep underground.

It seemed like he was drunk too.

Zane took off his shoes, carefully got on the bed, and pulled the young girl into his embrace.

...

The next day, Natalie finally woke up before Zane.

She was about to stretch, but realized she was tightly held in Zane’s arms.

An arm was wrapped around her waist, and her legs were entwined with his.

Natalie: ...

No wonder it was so hot last night, she couldn’t escape no matter how hard she tried.

Natalie remembered last night’s events but didn’t understand how she got drunk on just one glass.

By the window, the wine bottles and glasses lay cluttered on the floor, indicating that Zane kept drinking long after she got drunk.

Natalie tried hard to remove the arm around her waist, but what made her head ache was how Zane, once unraveled, clung back again.

How did this person suddenly become so clingy?

She was uncomfortable; she urgently needed a bath right away.

The morning grumpiness was coming on too, and Natalie wanted to wake Zane immediately, but as she turned and saw him sleeping, she suddenly stopped her hand from reaching him.

Usually, Zane slept with a domineering and wild demeanor, but this time, why did he seem so meek, even a bit fragile?

Natalie shook her head, wondering if she had seen wrong.

The man, who had been in a deep sleep, suddenly turned over, finally releasing her.

Natalie got up, seeing the man on the bed still asleep, and immediately headed to the bathroom.

But what she didn’t know was that just after she entered the bathroom, the seemingly asleep man suddenly opened his eyes.

Zane sat up, leaned against the headboard, wiped his face, and was once again the wild leopard, his eyes clear and bright.

Just now, it wasn’t merely Natalie, Zane himself also realized.

His craving and dependence on Natalie while asleep.

The man stared at the white ceiling for a long time.