Ah.
Christoph let out a deep sigh without realizing it. The word “tedious” became a dagger, sharply piercing his heart.
Marianne’s turquoise eyes, which always contained him, were now sparkling without him.
“……What do you want?”
A voice, cracked like dry fields, flowed out. If she wanted something, he wanted to tell her he’d make it happen. He wanted to say he’d help her achieve it by his side. So, he said so.
Only after seeing a hollow laugh escape her lips did Christoph realize he had made a mistake.
But he didn’t know what it was. He wanted to catch Marianne as she turned away, but he didn’t know how to do it.
Until now, holding on to her had not been his responsibility. Marianne had stayed by his side of her own will. He realized too late that it was a will that could be taken away at any time.
Gleaming Violet.
Pride.
The image of the purple flower appeared vividly before his eyes. Christoph, who had been rubbing his jaw, hurriedly opened his mouth.
“I will do what you want. By my side. If you want to become a lawyer, I will help you. If you want to work at the police station, do so. I can introduce you to the chief of police in the capital. The environment there will be much better, as you know.”
“I told you, Christoph. I want to be a shining star on my own.”
Suddenly, something hot welled up inside. It felt like a redhot iron rod was thrusting into his stomach. A sharp and burning pain swirled around.
Christoph clenched his jaw, staring at her with intense eyes. For a moment, wild emotions surged.
“What are you talking about, Marianne? You don’t mean to say that you no longer love me, do you?”
To that question, Marianne stared at him, holding back an empty laugh that tried to escape. He was proud even in this moment, as if it were impossible for her not to love him.
Unfortunately, his arrogance was correct. She still loved Christoph, but she did not want that fact to be discovered.
She hated the life of waiting for him, who never looked back. That dull time had made her no longer Marianne Clozé.
Marianne nodded slowly, still looking him in the eye.
“Yes, Christoph.”
“!”
For the first time, Christoph looked surprised. No, perhaps a desperate expression.
His eyebrows rose, and his black pupils widened. His lips parted slightly.
It was unbelievable. That Marianne did not love Christoph. It was as absurd as water flowing upward.
Then slowly, expression began to fade from his face. He felt the blood inside him cool. The emotionless face was overtaken by sheer anger.
“Marianne.”
The voice that called her name was also cold and hard. Suddenly, Christoph’s gaze shifted downward.
Marianne guessed what he was looking at. The finger where the wedding ring was missing. Now only the empty finger remained with its trace.
Over time, even the white mark would disappear. Marianne desperately wished her heart would do the same.
As time went on.
“No.”
Christoph declared coldly. The voice that seemed angry, sorrowful, and enduring climbed up Marianne’s heels, slinking and coiling around her.
And finally, it wrapped around her like a cold, persistent snake.
“You can’t, Marianne.”
Marianne silently stared at her own feet at his stubborn, arrogant voice. A soft murmur dispersed from her mouth.
“No, I can.”
That affirmation, sounding like a pledge to herself, however, reached Christoph’s ears right in front of her. His eyes glinted with a strange light.
A desolate wind, unsuited to the warm season, brushed between the two people and passed by.
(This is a time separator.)
The sky was dyed the color of Marianne’s eyes, and the streets had grown quieter than earlier. It was time for everyone to go home and have dinner with their families.
From some house, a boisterous laugh erupted. The laughter, trailing a long tail, muffled the sound of her footsteps.
Tap tap.
A few steps more, and now a fierce scolding shook the evening air. Whether scolded harshly or not, soon after a child’s sorrowful wailing followed.
Standing still.
Marianne stopped walking. The quiet footsteps that had been following her since a while scattered behind her.
She swallowed a silent sigh and looked back.
“When will you stop following me, Christoph?”
Christoph stood six paces back, gazing at Marianne blankly. As if looking at something unfamiliar, with an unfamiliar look.
After a long while, his lips opened again. A tone of voice that had lost its edge flowed out.
“The sun has set.”
“…….”
Instead of answering, Marianne faintly furrowed her brows. Because the words sounded almost like he was worried about her.
No, that couldn’t be.
Marianne stomped on the bud of hope trying to bloom again, lowering her head, careful not to let him see that she was affected. Her lips tightened.
Although things had become more equal than before, the title of Count was still a position so high that one could not dare to look up to it.
So when Christoph, the heir to the Count Schneider, announced he would marry a common woman, her name practically plastered the daily papers.
「A love story that transcends class!」
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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