“Why are you like this? Today’s protagonist.”
“It must be Catherine.”
A cold and sharp gaze illuminated somewhere in the bright moonlit garden. The indifferent expression seemed languid, as if exhausted.
“In terms of popularity, my brother would overwhelm.”
Mikhail, leaning against the terrace railing with a lit match for his cigarette, shook the match in the air.
The crimson light flickered here and there and soon disappeared.
“You should reflect.”
A monotonous voice flowed through the rising smoke like mist.
“Sure.”
Mikhail chuckled and flicked his hand towards the horizon beyond the terrace glass.
A servant holding champagne flutes approached, and Mikhail smoothly raised his glass to greet.
Mikhail, with a cigarette in his mouth, held two glasses and offered one to Johann.
“For the future Countess!”
Mikhail, raising his glass slightly, winked at Johann.
As always, Johann, showing no particular reaction, turned his gaze to the other side after taking a sip of champagne.
“Shouldn’t you go and take care of your fiancée? Someone might think you’re engaged to Chris, seeing you together.”
Johann, with a dry tone, placed the half-empty glass on the railing and continued, “Am I the only one suspicious?”
“If you’re curious, go inside and ask.”
Johann said dryly, placing the half-empty glass on the railing. The crystal glass sparkled with light.
Mikhail turned the topic to Johann’s unresponsive reaction.
“Saw the Countess. Oh, no. Miss Blanshet. Yeah, Miss Blanshet.”
Johann, who had been facing forward all along, finally glanced slowly at Mikhail.
“She didn’t recognize me. Isn’t that too much?”
Mikhail pretended to cry, clasping his chest.
“Where.”
A low voice rang out briefly.
“Dublin Club.”
Mikhail looked at Johann slyly and said, “It was kind of strange with Ed. Did something happen?”
The unburned tobacco fell with a light tap between the white gloves.
Johann Leopold, a man who was intimidating by mere presence, was as arrogant as he was imposing.
With no definite expression, the occasional glimpses of emotion were entertaining. Like now.
Mikhail grinned.
As one of the few acquaintances who knew about Johann and Ed’s relationship, he enjoyed this small pleasure.
“Miss Blanshet also smiled. I think it was the first time I saw her. Did she often smile in front of her brother?”
Johann tried to say something but bit his lip.
He did show smiles in the early days of their marriage, but well, it was different. The smile in the photos was different.
There was a subtle difference. Whether it was a smile arising from different emotions or because the person was different.
“She changed her hairstyle.”
“Yeah.”
Johann replied vaguely, and Mikhail’s eyes widened in shock.
“Huh? What? I said, ‘Yeah.’ You knew?”
Johann, not having much to say in response, lifted the glass.
Look at this guy. Mikhail looked dumbfounded with an incredulous expression.
“No, really? Yeah, I said ‘yeah.’ Now? Did you know?”
Johann had no words to reply, so he lifted his glass.
No, look at this guy. Mikhail seemed utterly dumbfounded, with a face that said he couldn’t believe it.
The man who was so cynical seemed to have trouble sleeping tonight without knowing the reason why he knew about his divorced wife’s insignificant changes one after another.
“How did you know? Have you met her?”
“No.”
“Then? Are you spying on her, by any chance?”
Johann, putting down the almost empty glass, rubbed his temple as if tired.
“Regret?”
Johann tilted his head slightly, speaking.
“How about it? Should I go, or do you want to go?”
Although the flowing voice was very sweet, in the end, it meant to extinguish.
“I’ll go in. Listen to the answer. It’s not regret, right?”
“It was worth it. That’s it.”
Cutting off Mikhail’s words without mercy, Johann glared at him.
It’s regrettable, isn’t it? Mikhail turned the topic casually, not forgetting to observe Johann’s reaction. Johann, with no expression, deeply sucked on his cigarette.
“You played tennis since when? You even trampled on Russell Junior, who played for ten years.”
While watching for Johann’s reaction, Mikhail didn’t forget to gauge his response. Johann, with no particular expression, took a deep drag of his cigarette.
“It couldn’t have happened when you were a viscount. Did you play together?”
“No.”
Johann denied briefly, exhaling a bluish smoke. He didn’t know much about Olivia’s tennis skills.
“Did you originally have talent for sports?”
The eyes with a chilling air narrowed. Johann compared the end of his cigarette with the ashtray.
Come to think of it, he didn’t know much about Olivia. She had a pretty face, and her body was quite satisfying, just like her face.
“Anyway, in this tournament, I bet on Miss Blanshet. Even within the club, she has quite a high support rate. Oh! Oops. I guess I should stop talking about the former wife.”
Mikhail, who was excited, suddenly put on a gentlemanly smile.
“Some people disappear while getting married twice. It’s time for them to disappear.”
“Only once for me.”
When male lead is the homewrecker
“I know she doesn’t love him.”
I’ve read the novel below twice already. Girls, I’m highly recommending it to you!
The female lead? Not a good person.
The second male lead? Not a good person.
The male lead? Willingly plays the third party, breaking up the female and second male lead’s relationship despite all the warnings from his friends—so yeah, he’s definitely not a good person either.
Basically, nobody in this novel is simple-minded or without scheming.
The female lead starts off as the male lead’s secretary, but don’t worry—later on, she takes over the company while the male lead steps back to support her. He won’t steal her spotlight, overshadow her, or dull her shine.
I love novels where men are out here snatching wigs, tearing each other down, and going to war just to win the female lead’s affection. And this is exactly that kind of novel. Most of Hai Dai Ran’s works have this dynamic. You’ll see the male characters’ emotions being pushed to the absolute extreme.
There’s even a scene where the second male lead exposes the male lead online for being a homewrecker. The brotherhood immediately gangs up on him, dragging him through the mud. I find it compelling —it completely flips reality on its head, where usually, women are the ones fighting over a man and getting torn apart by the sisterhood.
For me, female leads in the novels I read should only struggle in their careers, not in love. But if the brainless romantics in the story are all men? I have zero complaints.
I’ve pretty much read all of Hai Dai Ran’s novels and even translated all of them—her works are just my thing. I’ll slowly upload everything here. One day, when my website is official, I hope I can invite her to join as one of the star authors.
Here’s the story synopsis:
One-line summary: She is his lifelong obsession, to the point where he was willing to be a third wheel, scorned by society, just to wedge his way into her relationship with her fiancé.
Cold-hearted and indifferent female lead + Scheming and subservient CEO male lead
Intro 1:
“I know she doesn’t love him.”
With blood trickling from his clenched fist, Rong Xiu gazed at the woman before him, his eyes clouded with anguish. Hidden in the wardrobe, he had witnessed Fan Xia – the woman he desperately loved – in an intimate embrace with her fiancé. Yet his heart still yearned for her, defying all reason.
Fan Xia, the elegant and composed assistant, carried something mysterious in her eyes whenever she looked at her fiancé, Wen Lan Sheng. Strange occurrences began to surface – secret meetings with the young Gu Jin Yi, an unexplained withdrawal of 5,000 yuan… Then suddenly, her fiancé’s sister, Wen Jing, violently attacked her.
In this matriarchal society, Rong Xiu had risen to become the chairman of a powerful healthcare conglomerate, breaking through gender prejudices. But for the first time, he willingly stepped into the shadows as the other man, disregarding his friends’ warnings to become her secret lover.
Because he had discovered the truth – Fan Xia wasn’t the pure angel everyone believed her to be. And perhaps, he was the only one capable of helping her execute her mysterious plan…
Intro 2:
Rong Xiu’s biggest regret in life was missing out on Fan Xia.
He secretly loved Fan Xia for 7 years.
Watched her go public with her boyfriend.
Watched her kiss her boyfriend at their wedding.
Until that man blissfully nestled in Fan Xia’s arms, obtaining everything he could only dream of.
The crazy jealousy stripped away his hidden secret love, layer by layer, burning like wildfire.
Fan Xia, how can I have you!
【Reading and Trigger Warning Guide】
1. Female dominant, male submissive, male pregnancy
2. Male lead schemes his way to the top, male competition
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Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
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