“Welcome. May I have your name?”
A uniformed staff member, stepping out of the taxi, deeply bowed to Hyojin as they entered the luxury department store.
“I am Bong Hyojin.”
The employee, checking the reservation list through earphones, confidently escorted Hyojin, taking the lead.
“I will guide you.”
Why of all places here? Is she planning to embarrass me in front of people?
I promised to stay by Dad’s side until he wakes up, why did she want to meet again?
The VIP room in the luxury department store that Jihyun invited Hyojin to was dazzling to the point of being eye-catching.
“Oh my, who is this?”
Sitting on the antique sofa that the staff had guided her to, Hyojin, who was nervously waiting, was startled by the voice dropping from above her head.
“Why are you here? This place is only accessible to membership holders. Did you come here by mistake?”
Damn. Why did Jihyun want to see me? Was she invited to embarrass me together with Kang Hanna?
“Since when has this place become accessible to just about anyone? Did you check the membership card here?”
Hanna pointed at Hyojin as if she were pointing to something dirty.
“No? I didn’t.”
“Are you here for a job interview or something?”
The employee, embarrassed, brought a cup of black tea in a fancy ceramic cup to Hyojin, who was nervously sitting on the antique sofa.
“It seems there might be a misunderstanding. VIP members specifically invited you.”
At the employee’s explanation, Hanna’s eyes narrowed even more fiercely.
“VIP member? Who is that?”
Could it be Choi Gyu-hwan?
“I invited her.”
With a clear voice resonating from behind, Jihyun approached, making the floor echo.
“Long time no see, Teacher Bong.”
Hanna couldn’t believe it.
Was Jihyun smiling at her before greeting Hyojin before her…?
“Your mother invited her?”
She called me over like this?
Naturally, Hanna, who thought she would persuade Jihyun by meeting her first, was dumbfounded and couldn’t speak.
‘Do you have time today by any chance? I’m planning to go shopping after a long time.’
She thought that even if she saw her and asked Jihyun to forgive her father just once, she could convince him. But to invite that woman.
“Suddenly contacting me, it was quite surprising, wasn’t it?”
Just like Hanna, Hyojin, who received an invitation, was equally bewildered.
“Ah, yes. How have you been?”
Rising from her seat, Hyojin greeted politely without delaying her tension.
“Let’s skip the greetings for now. Manager Jung. Bring some clothes here.”
“Yes, madam.”
Jihyun’s personal shopper brought a mobile clothing rack filled with clothes while standing neatly beside her.
“While I was waiting, I picked some clothes that would suit you. If you don’t like them or if the size doesn’t fit, let me know. Manager Jung, come here and help. It might be unfamiliar for the first time, so please take good care of her.”
“Yes, madam.”
The woman named Manager Jung smiled gently, bent her knees to match Hyojin’s eye level, and approached.
“How about this dress? It’s white, and with your fair complexion and slender arms and legs, it seems like it would suit you very well.”
In this unfamiliar atmosphere, Hyojin, not paying attention to the clothes, didn’t hear a single word the staff was saying.
“Just a moment.”
Hanna swiftly grabbed the dress that was laid out on Hyojin.
“Isn’t this the outfit I arranged for a sponsorship? How could you sell my clothes to this woman without saying anything to me? Is this how you manage your customers?”
“I apologize. Madam said she would inform Kang Anaouncer directly.”
“What?”
Mother did?
Upon hearing Manager Jung’s explanation, Jihyun, who seemed to have been waiting, stood up and looked down at Hanna.
“Why? I personally chose it because I thought it would suit Teacher Bong. What’s wrong with that?”
“Huh, did Mother personally pick it?”
For the daughter of the enemy who killed her daughter-in-law?
“I stayed by Gyo-hwan’s side when he was in pain, but it’s not enough with just this.”
Jihyun waved off Hanna’s anger as if to say, “What’s there to be surprised about?”
“Mother, isn’t this too much? Even if Dad and Oppa don’t get along well now, this is too much. How could Mother do this to me? In front of this woman.”
“Even I don’t understand.”
Jihyun, with a sly smile on her lips, looked at Hanna, who was trembling with anger, as if she couldn’t overcome her nature.
“When Gyo-hwan was about to die, you said you liked Gyo-hwan so much. Can’t you understand this much? I thought you would understand, considering I stayed by your side. Did I overestimate you too much?”
“Mother…!”
As if presenting it, Jihyun took the hanger from Hanna’s hand and handed it to Hyojin.
“Teacher Bong, would you like to try it on?”
“No, I’m fine. It doesn’t seem like it would suit me.”
“Is that so? If Teacher Bong doesn’t like it, then whatever.”
Politely declining, Hyojin’s rejection was passed back to Hanna as Jihyun seemed no longer interested.
However, the outfit that was about to be touched by Hanna soon fell to the floor as Jihyun let it go.
As if it were discarded.
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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