Rustica Gennes was only twentyfive this year, but she thought she had been through quite a lot in her life.
She became an orphan at the age of fourteen and made a name for herself as a genius knight in the great Caleta Empire until she was twentyone. Then she lost all her talent in an instant and fled the Caleta Empire.
It’s been four years since she fell into the abyss and lived in a shabby hut in this place, Momentum, a small vassal state attached to the empire, at the far western end of a nameless territory. This is a life that has seen it all.
But on a morning with a headsplitting headache, she found herself lying in bed with a strange man, something she had never experienced before in her life.
“I’ve gone mad because I’m living alone and lonely…….”
Rustica, shortened to Ru, almost screamed but sighed. She’s really gone too far.
“What’s going on…….”
What’s going on? She was in the bar, not drunk enough to black out but drinking heavily, and spent the night with a man sitting next to her, smiling at her.
She quickly made her decision, silently got out of bed, and hurriedly dressed. She was confident she could disappear without a sound. At least she’s done that well since leaving Caleta. One irresponsible and irrational onenight stand should be left as just that.
Ru, shriveled to her core with a hangover and selfloathing, left the room without looking back.
“I’ve gone mad. I’m completely lost.”
Even after losing her talent and trying hard to be wayward, she had never played with fire like this. Once upon a time, she was more modest and exemplary than anyone else, and she feels so pathetic that she can’t think of anything else. Her brown hair was a mess, and she ran without knowing what she was doing.
An hour after the door closed quietly, there was human presence again in the room, which had been silent.
A man who had slept soundly for the first time in years raised his head to the pouring sunlight.
“……Ru?”
Grey eyes under disheveled black hair scanned the room.
There was no trace of the woman anywhere.
The once calm grey eyes began to freeze coldly.
[Star icon]“……Wow…….”
‘In this glaring noon, I’m the one stumbling along, grimacing, and reeking of alcohol. That’s me.’
Ru couldn’t even keep her mouth shut as she stumbled along. What on earth did she do last night?
‘I must be the first goodfornothing to be born into the Gennes family. I don’t know for sure, but neither my father nor my mother has ever been seen drunk, so I must be the only one.’
She should have been able to lift her head in shame. Even though the weather was good, it was too nice. The sunshine was brilliantly dazzling, piercing roughly through the blue deciduous trees, and the limegreen leaves shone transparently. Since the weather was warm, the village kids were undressing and heading down to the stream.
“Wow! Who’s that! Ru sister?”
“Ru sister, you smell like alcohol.”
“You stink!”
“Where did you go?”
She felt like dying from a hangover, but the kids just ran up to her, surrounded her, and chattered away.
After all, how much more exciting could it be in this backwoods village? A sister who suddenly appeared a few years ago and built a hut in the dark forest that even the villagers avoided, played with them, and taught them various things was bound to be the subject of their greatest curiosity.
“Uh……, go away, you rascals…….”
When she spoke in her cracked voice and waved her hands, the kids got even noisier.
“Wow, you sound just like our dad!”
“Sister, you drank at Uncle Ben’s too!”
“Where did you guys learn that…….”
Indeed, she had drunk at the only bar in town, Uncle Ben’s. And she slept in the inn upstairs run by the same bar. Not alone, but with a man.
Rustica Gennes doing such a foolish thing! She who had always lived an exemplary and knightly life was so mortified that she could not even lift her head.
“Mom said not to drink alcohol!”
“You’ll become a fool!”
“So, is big sister Ru a fool?”
“Sister, show us something shiny!”
Whether bigheaded or small, they all clung to her skirts and whined.
Ugh, these annoying brats. Helplessly, Ru rummaged through her pocket. In this village, cheap candies that the little ones could only get on holidays or after the harvest poured out over their small hands.
“Wowww!”
“Each of you eat one. If your teeth hurt, you’ll have to go to the blacksmith to have them pulled out.”
And leave me alone for a bit. Ru had turned her cape around to block the sun, but she had to pull hard on the cape’s hem as the little ones kept grabbing it. The excited children were busy unwrapping the candy, but a few of them still clung to Ru.
“Do you want to eat this too, sister?”
They offered something hidden crinkled in a pocket, like dried pumpkin or unripe apples stealthily brought from the orchard. Ru knew they were expressing their gratitude in their own way, and she smiled despite her hangover.
“I’m fine.”
“Drinking makes your head hurt. Go snore in bed.”
“Okay, I’ll snore.”
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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