CHAPTER 101: CHAPTER 101: WHAT REALLY HAPPENED BACK THEN?

Natalie’s situation wasn’t as relaxed as she claimed. After all, it was her first time on a wire rig, and her skin was indeed delicate. The prolonged restraint naturally caused pain.

It was a burning pain.

This kind of pain Natalie could endure, and she felt that since she had agreed to film this drama, she had to endure the hardships it brought.

She was never sensitive about business matters.

Complaining to Zane was purely impulsive; she was eager to see the man’s concerned expression.

But a man like Zane, how could he feel sorry for someone insignificant? Even if she’s his Mrs. Thorne, without any emotional connection, as Zane himself said, he doesn’t need to waste so much time and energy.

He clearly cares about her; Natalie narrowed her eyes slightly, her fingers tapping her chin intermittently, still unable to figure it out.

With Zane’s personality, if he likes something, he likes it, no need to hide anything, even if their beginning was somewhat cliched. But encountering love through a blind date isn’t something laughable.

It’s called destiny.

Gideon Sheffield.

What kind of person are you?

Natalie reviewed all the information about Gideon on her phone and checked the address Felix gave her. No wonder she couldn’t find any details from the hospital James visited five years ago.

The location had already changed.

Natalie thought about the phone call with Phoebe from that day.

She said she might have discovered something, but these days, she hadn’t sent any message.

There’s only one possibility: she’s verifying, confirming whether her discovery is accurate.

But Natalie held no expectations; even Felix didn’t know, even James couldn’t find out, Phoebe would only come back empty-handed.

Just as she was thinking, Phoebe called at that very moment.

The moment she answered, Natalie felt her own nervousness.

"Nina, five years ago, Gideon was supposed to retire, but suddenly registered for that championship. The accident during the championship was significant, and the reasons are varied. Some say it was due to weather, others blame the car."

"In the past few days, I sent someone to find Gideon’s former fiancée and learned one thing: during the accident, Gideon’s legs were crippled, and he had a high-level amputation. It took a lot of effort to save him."

"There’s one more thing..."

Natalie’s throat felt dry.

"Go on."

"Someone from the car modification team during his race left after the accident."

Natalie tightened her grip on her phone.

"So, it’s a problem with the car?"

But race cars must go through rigorous inspection and only those meeting the competition’s standards can participate.

"Still unclear."

Natalie still couldn’t understand.

How could these pieces of information be related to Zane?

If it’s just because Gideon is his close friend, and his friend had an accident leading to leg amputation which caused Zane to retire, that would be far-fetched.

He’s not that kind of person at all.

"The modification team was helped to set up by God Thorne."

Natalie remained silent.

If the car caused the accident back then, the one who fled might be the real culprit.

If the team was indeed set up with Zane’s help, then Gideon’s incident... It’s not impossible Zane might feel guilty.

But is it really true? Natalie still couldn’t quite believe it.

She didn’t believe Zane couldn’t identify such a villain, she didn’t believe Zane would be unguarded, she didn’t believe Zane would retire just for this reason, living heavily for these five years.

She didn’t believe it.

After hanging up, Natalie stood by the window for a long time. Watching the already gloomy sky turn completely dark, her mood was complex.

Zane must be feeling terrible, suppressing even his own feelings.

Suddenly, Natalie forgave Zane for rejecting her on the mountain that day. Feeling suffocated, the oppressive sky made her feel breathless, and Natalie raised her hand to cover her left chest.

It hurt a bit.

At this moment, Natalie still didn’t know, this feeling was love.

In the evening scene, Natalie still needed to be on the wire rig; her co-star was the secondary female lead, Laura, also an artist under The Langdon Group.

Natalie’s mood wasn’t good, immersed in her own world. Fortunately, this scene required somber emotions, everyone thought Natalie was getting into acting.

Laura initially thought Natalie was just an empty vessel, only getting into the group because of connections with Felix and having Zoe mentor her, but she turned out to have some talent.

But so what?

A hint of gloom flashed across Laura’s eyes.

Despite her persistent efforts, she couldn’t get Zoe’s guidance; why could Natalie?

The fighting scenes required extremely coordinated teamwork; both had practiced sparring with instructors but hadn’t truly sparred with each other.

Moreover, they needed to be on the wire rig.

Director Gable wasn’t in a hurry, letting them practice hanging in the wire rig first, planning to shoot just this scene tonight, leaving them plenty of time to slowly get in sync.

"You’re both from the same company, a family, should get familiar fast."

Director Gable said it, but even he didn’t believe it.

How could Natalie be considered family with someone from The Langdon Group?

These words might only fool others in the crew who didn’t understand Natalie’s real background.

Laura was recently able to squeeze into the ranks of leading actresses, hardworking and talented, naturally impeccable in acting. In the public’s mind, only her portrayal of the secondary female could match the word vicious.

Typically, acting alongside a senior brings a feeling of pressure.

But Natalie was lost in her thoughts, just wanting to finish filming quickly.

She didn’t regard Laura’s senior position at all, only viewing her as an acting partner.

Laura was amazed at Natalie’s skill in action scenes, it was as if she had become the junior sister from the drama. Seeing this, she exerted all effort to keep up with her pace.

Their first cooperation was remarkably smooth.

By the third practice, Director Gable decided to begin filming.

"It’s really cold tonight; let’s aim to get it all in one take."

But the chance of getting an action scene in one take was very slim.

Natalie wasn’t sure, but Laura was well aware.

At first, Laura acted with her usual seriousness, without any fault, yet when she was supposed to step back and retract her sword, she continued forward.

The sword nearly aimed at Natalie, causing everyone to cry out in alarm.

Natalie’s expression sharpened, quickly shifting her sword’s direction, pushing on the ground, leveraging backwards.

She successfully avoided Laura’s sword and managed to retract her own sword, preventing them from colliding.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Laura seemed shocked, her sword slipping to the ground.

"Director Gable, I couldn’t control it just now, my body rushed forward instinctively."

Director Gable hurriedly had someone check their conditions.

Laura was unscathed, but Natalie had twisted her waist from forcefully countering the original direction of the wire rig.

Her face was frighteningly pale.