“They suddenly disappeared without a trace two days ago. I’m still heavily criticizing the incompetence of the officers who can’t find my son.”
“I’ve heard stories about Lady Heinz at a party once. She cuts all the food for the kids in case they get hurt by the knife during meals, and in the summer, they can’t even go out in the sun. And her overprotected child got kidnapped…”
“It’s enough to make your eyes roll.”
Marianne stared at him in silence, responding to his lackluster remark. Christoph hesitated briefly before assuming a somber expression.
“It’s sad, losing a young son like that.”
Swallowing a brief sigh, Marianne slowly shook her head. He probably didn’t even know of Lord Heinz’s existence until now.
Lady Heinz and her maid shook off the police officers’ discouragement and finally headed upstairs. It was where the chief’s office was located.
Just then, Maxim entering the office hesitated upon seeing Marianne. His uneven gaze took on an uncomfortable light. She felt an ominous premonition the moment their eyes met.
“Is Mrs. Schneider in a position to be doing such menial tasks?”
Maxim sneered, his hand in his pants pocket. Marianne stopped what she was doing and looked at him squarely.
Maxim walked towards her, his hostility even more apparent. He muttered half to himself.
“Figures. A woman in a police station is strange, it must be a parachute drop. Do you think this is a social gathering for ladies?”
His muttering was too loud to be self-talk, but it was self-talk nonetheless. Marianne’s gaze lengthened. Meeting her eyes, Maxim tugged one side of his lips in a smirk.
“You wouldn’t dare have Mrs. Schneider do paperwork. I will take care of it, so go have some tea.”
Marianne calmly swallowed her breath. Dealing with people like this was not difficult. It’s just that she wouldn’t feel comfortable giving as good as she got.
But it would be foolish to just take it. The moment she appeared easy, the harassment would quickly go too far. Just as Marianne licked her lips with a stern expression,
“Tha—”
“Thank you.”
Christoph slowly rose from his seat. Both Maxim and Marianne turned their gazes towards him. Without looking at either of them, Christoph leisurely unrolled his sleeves.
Wearing a jacket, he finally turned his attention to Marianne.
“Rejecting a colleague’s goodwill isn’t polite, either. They’re asking so earnestly, let Martin take care of the paperwork and let’s go for some tea.”
“It’s not Martin, it’s Maxim.”
“Does it matter?”
Christoph retorted indifferently. Marianne was certain he had deliberately mispronounced Maxim’s name.
Because Christoph was among the people she knew, the one with the most outstanding memory. He would certainly remember not just Maxim’s name but everything related to him.
“Ugh.”
Maxim glared at Christoph with a flushed face. Yet, he couldn’t retort because it was Christoph Schneider, the owner of Blauwburg.
Marianne smirked and stood up from her seat. Sometimes, this kind of response didn’t seem so bad.
“Shall we then, Christoph?”
She looked back at Maxim and smiled. It was an elegant smile, like that of a lady.
“Very kind of you, Maxim. I’ll leave the rest to you. I’ll make sure to convey your kindness to Captain Nicholas.”
Both of them exited the office side by side. Christoph moved on without a second glance, while Marianne put on the hat she had been holding.
Bang.
Maxim kicked the desk.
“Damn it!”
Involuntary curses burrowed into his ears. Marianne let out a light laugh only after leaving his sight.
Suddenly, Christoph, who had stopped walking, looked at her intently. Like a person standing in the sunlight, his eyes squinted.
“Marianne.”
Liam looked at her with a gentle gaze. Outside the window, the darkening twilight had fallen, and the orange light in the restaurant made his smile warmer.
It was quite a cozy restaurant. The band’s music floated around at a volume that did not interfere with conversation, and the food was also excellent.
“Speak, Liam.”
“I thought it was just the two of us dining…”
His words trailing off, he glanced around with a subtle smile. His gaze settled on Christoph, who was sitting next to Marianne. Marianne awkwardly tugged at the corner of her mouth.
“I thought so too.”
“And?”
“And….”
Instead of answering, Marianne tugged at her mouth again. Only Christoph audaciously whetted his knife. Receiving their gazes, he spoke nonchalantly.
“Is there a reason I shouldn’t be here to foster friendship as friends? The saying comes to mind that the more friends, the better.”
Liam, who let out a light laugh, spoke without any trace of discomfort. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes made his demeanor all the more amiable.
“I’m the type to keep a small circle of close friends. And it seems you haven’t heard that I’m not entirely free of ill intentions toward Marianne, Mr. Schneider.”
Christoph slowly lifted his eyes. The elegantly moving knife came to an abrupt halt and landed on the plate with a clang. His frosty eyes stared impassively at Liam.
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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