“You didn’t take good care of yourself.”
Suddenly, Athia felt a sense of guilt.
When Leo found out about her being under dark magic, he shed tears. Remembering him genuinely crying, saying he knew about the pain, it was enough to make her heart ache.
“Kiiya.”
Kevin extended his short arms, seemingly asking to be embraced.
Athia held him in her arms again.
Kevin, with concern, cupped Athia’s cheek with one hand and blinked his eyes.
“I want to see Uncle Jjamchon.”
“You miss Uncle?”
“Yeah, want to see Uncle. Uncle, give this. It’s so good.”
With one hand on Athia’s cheek and the other fondling a doll, Kevin spoke.
“Uncle gave you that, and you’re so happy?”
“Yeah.”
Even with unclear pronunciation, Athia could understand what Kevin was saying.
With Kevin’s blue eyes fixed on Athia’s fair skin and Kasus’s blue eyes, he already showed signs of growing into a remarkable handsome young man.
Staring at his face, Athia chuckled.
“I shouldn’t say this since you’re my son, but when you grow up, you’ll make a lot of girls cry.”
“Oh, Uwe!”
“Don’t cry?”
“Yeah, no cry.”
Whether Kevin knew that saying “no cry” implied something negative, he gestured disapproval.
“Since we’re already here, how about taking a walk together? I want to walk a bit.”
“Yeah!”
Athia, glancing at Kesha who was using equipment, spoke.
“Kesha, I’ll take a walk with Kevin.”
“Yes, Mistress! Have a good time! I’ll be exercising here!”
Holding Kevin’s hand, Athia left the gym.
Because it was hard to focus with Kevin right beside her, and she thought it would be good to organize her thoughts while walking, Athia took Kevin’s hand and left the gym, walking through the garden. As they walked, a black figure quickly rushed towards them. Coming at an extremely fast speed, it was…
“Thud!”
“Hekgu!”
It was Hekgu.
Hekgu, the mansion’s mascot, had received the gardener’s love and transformed into a complete dog. The Hekgu that had aged with the Duke was now wagging its front paws and acting cute towards Athia and Kevin.
“Thud! Thud!”
Hekgu, seemingly aware that Kevin was a child, lowered its body as much as possible and comically started rubbing against the ground.
“Kkihahaha!”
Seeing this, Kevin burst into laughter.
Hekgu worked harder, making itself a clown by rubbing against the ground more vigorously.
“You adorable thing!”
Athia petted Hekgu’s head.
Hekgu, or rather Cerberus, the superior demon, is said to have a lifespan of about 40 years. 40 years. Whether it’s a long or short period, since Athia first met Hekgu when it was a puppy, they could spend a significant amount of time together.
“Hekgu, you have to live the longest among superior demons. I’ll make sure of that.”
“Kkiing.”
“Understand?”
“Kkiing!”
Hekgu wagged its head and flipped its front paws against the ground, as if trying to gauge Athia’s words.
“Just stay like this.”
As Athia petted its head, the creature’s tail gently moved.
Athia pressed on Hekgu’s skull with her fingers, giving him a simple massage, the one he enjoyed the most. His tail moved faster in response. Athia walked with Hekgu and Kevin, exploring the indoor garden and touring the backyard. As they walked, a good idea came to her.
“Oh! They say the hiking trail is completed, so we can head there.”
“Hmm?”
Kevin tilted his head curiously.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Let Leo know that I’m looking for him, Kesha.”
“Yes, madam.”
Athia asked Kesha to convey the message, and Leo, upon hearing that Athia was looking for him, grunted in response.
“Why? What’s the matter?”
Leo appeared in front of Athia, who was in the office, and flexed his fist.
“Why haven’t you come for our one-on-one training?”
Athia asked Leo.
“Me?”
“Yeah, you. Is there someone else here?”
“Oh, I couldn’t go because I’m busy with work. Sorry.”
Leo answered nonchalantly.
“Sorry? We made a promise. You were supposed to come out.”
“I agreed to one-on-one training, but we didn’t set a timeframe. So, it doesn’t matter when I go, right?”
Despite Leo’s attempt to act cool, Athia could read his expression.
What should she say to an eighteen-year-old boy with strong pride?
Athia shrugged and said, “Then clear some time for a hike.”
“What?”
“My father built a hiking trail. It’s about to be completed.”
Upon hearing the word ‘hike,’ numerous emotions crossed Leo’s face.
“Suddenly hiking?”
“We’ve been once before.”
“That was in the past… When was that? Why are we suddenly going hiking?”
“It’s about spending quality family time together. Come on, it’s been a while; let’s go together.”
“Together?”
“Yeah, together. We’re family!”
“…F-family.”
As the most vulnerable word echoed in Leo’s heart, he looked at Athia with a hesitant expression.
“We are a family…”
“Then let’s go.”
“…”
Leo was caught in contemplation.
Back then, who knows, but now, with Kevin around…
“Are you afraid of water? We don’t have to go near the lake.”
“No, who’s afraid?! Treating me like what…?”
“Then let’s go together. It’ll be fun.”
Athia gently smiled and extended her hand to Leo.
“Hmm…”
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
_____
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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