I was so surprised at what I said that I sobered up instantly.
Nathaniel also seemed surprised, his eyes wide open, and he was speechless.
A brief silence passed between us.
With a furrowed brow, Nathaniel slowly opened his mouth.
I reached out and covered his mouth.
“Ah, that’s…….”
I was even taken aback by my reflexive action.
A cold but gentle hand grabbed mine and slowly lowered it.
I suddenly stood up and turned around.
“Let’s go back, us.”
I was scared.
Nathaniel had never been interested in humans from the beginning.
To ask such a man what he thinks of me.
I didn’t want to know the answer at all.
Hastening my steps, Nathaniel caught my hand.
“If you ask, you should hear the answer.”
Seeing his playful face, I was suddenly angry.
Trying to force my hand out, he then grabbed my waist.
His grip wasn’t very strong, but I couldn’t muster strength in my body.
Ah, I knew I shouldn’t have drunk that much.
“I really don’t want to hear it.”
“Why?”
“That, that’s…….”
I didn’t want to show Nathaniel how pathetic I was.
That I was a person who is fearful and afraid of rejection.
I always wanted to look fine to Nathaniel.
‘What’s this, I…… am thinking as if I like Nathaniel.’
It was like a shock to the head.
I like that dragon?
While I was staring blankly at his face, Nathaniel asked me.
“What’s the matter? You suddenly have a face like you’ve chewed on crap.”
“No, it’s nothing.”
No, it can’t be.
I can’t like such a rogue.
He’s just my partner and a pet, that’s all.
Nathaniel reached out and gently touched my cheek.
A strange charm surfaced in his condescending eyes.
At the same time, the grip on my hand loosened.
“I’ll go inside first.”
My body reacted first.
I pulled back from his embrace and staggered back.
“Then come in slowly.”
My face was too hot, and I was out of my mind.
I almost tripped several times on my way back.
So I didn’t see what expression Nathaniel was wearing behind me.
(This is a time delimiter.)
Diana was out of her mind.
Suddenly she danced with the Emperor at His Majesty’s request.
In a moment, the people who had previously ignored her as a country bumpkin changed.
People tried to talk to her, asking what her relationship with the Emperor was.
“It’s just that I didn’t have a dance partner today, so His Majesty said he’d be my partner.”
But most of the aristocrats didn’t believe Diana’s answer.
Emperor Philip in his youth was very beautiful.
With blonde hair and blue eyes, the strong young Emperor.
He used his appearance to enjoy his youth.
He took a woman who would be his strongest ally as his Empress, and had many women as consorts.
Among the consorts, there were beautiful women like Milia, but also ordinary women like Diana.
So there was no guarantee that Diana wasn’t to the Emperor’s taste.
The nobles judged that it would not be bad to look good to Diana.
“Lady Grovan, how long do you plan to stay in the capital?”
“I don’t know. Her Majesty the Empress said I could stay until next year’s social season.”
“That’s very nice.”
Diana struggled to find her fairy among the kind people who flocked around her.
She thought she could meet him if she came here, but no matter how hard she looked, she couldn’t find him.
“Um, I have something I’m curious about…….”
“Just tell me.”
Feeling a strange exhilaration at the attention directed at her, Diana described the man’s appearance.
“Oh, if it’s the handsome gentleman with silver hair, it must be Maximilian Winters, the Young Duke.”
“The Winters family?”
Diana, who had come from the countryside, knew about the Winters family.
Also that they were a family with immense wealth and power.
“The maternal family of the Crown Princess.”
This story was new to her.
Diana confirmed Jaina, drinking water in the distance.
Her head was spinning.
Jaina and Levanfell were already on bad terms, but could they be connected with the Viscount of Winters?
“I wonder who will be the next social season partner for Groban’s young master. Who knows if he will receive His Majesty’s favor before then?”
One of the nobles spoke as if for everyone gathered around Diana to hear, with a mocking tone.
It was an inappropriate remark to make to an unmarried woman.
“Hehe, what an impertinent talk to the young master of Groban!”
Rather, the people surrounding Diana pretended to protect her on the subject they wished for.
But Diana was thinking something else.
It seemed impossible to get the man with the power of the Empress just because of the Duke of Winters.
It was evident that the relationship between the Empress and the Crown Princess was not very good.
‘Maybe if I ask Her Majesty, she might marry me to the man I want.’
Diana was too scared of the Empress.
It seemed that the only person who could defeat such an Empress was the Emperor.
Moreover, Diana could not see anyone highranking connected to the Duke of Winters’ house.
‘Surely you will support my love.’
Though it was brief, the Emperor she had talked to was truly romantic.
So Diana believed that he would help her.
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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