Stella…
The voice, whispered and simultaneously familiar yet strange, reached her. Stella pretended not to hear anything and pulled the blanket over her head.
Tap! Tap-tap!
The sound tapping at the window was very faint.
On windy days like these, it was not unusual for leaves to hit the glass, making such noises. But Stella consciously turned her body away from the sound.
Tap-tap! Tap!
The sound persisted.
The being outside the curtain-covered window, still calling Stella’s name persistently, hoped she would look at it.
Its black, round eyes stared quietly at Stella, hidden under the blanket.
Even without seeing, the presence that could be felt was growing impatient, as if challenging time, multiplying from one, to two, then dozens, echoing in her ears.
Stella.
Stella.
Stella…
The voice was singular, then doubled, and suddenly multiplied into dozens, creating a disorienting echo in her ears.
Go away.
Her grip on the blanket tightened. But Stella’s voice was swallowed inside her throat, never making it out as sound.
The voice that suddenly appeared on her lonely, utterly cheerless tenth birthday had completely changed Stella’s life.
“Who are you?”
“Who are you?”
“Why are you copying me?”
“Why are you… copying me?”
The being that quietly appeared outside her window at dusk, like a child learning a foreign language, mimicked Stella’s words, giggling joyfully.
Too small to be human, yet too similar to be an animal, with an excessively large mouth, it mimicked her speech and laughed in delight, appearing almost cute.
Its height barely reached a span, with short arms and legs, a round face, and eyes black as berries. They never spoke their own name, only mimicking Stella’s words or silently listening.
Unable to have a proper conversation, Stella was still overjoyed to have a presence that made eye contact and smiled at her. Finally, she had a friend.
“Mother, look! I made a friend!”
Stella, treasuring one of them in her hands as if a precious jewel, ran to her mother’s room.
Upon opening the door, the sickening smell of perfume, alcohol, and vomit hit her. The smile quickly vanished from Stella’s face, replaced by worry, anger, fatigue, sadness, and despair, mixing as chaotically as the stench in the room.
Holding back her overwhelming grief and fear behind a strained smile, Stella walked slowly to the bedside.
The bed was a mess, as if a battle had taken place.
Her mother, lying diagonally across the large bed, her fine blonde hair cascading down like a waterfall, hand loosely holding a bottle of alcohol. The spilled liquid had dampened the white sheets and silk pajamas.
Half-eaten fruits, vomit beneath the table, broken glasses, and her mother, passed out from drunkenness.
She slept peacefully, oblivious to the chaos around her.
“Mother.”
“Hmmm.”
As Stella called her softly, her mother writhed like a snake. Searching for someone else in the spacious room, she found only herself and her sleeping mother.
About to call again, Stella changed her mind, sighed, and approached the bed. The closer she got, the stronger the scent of alcohol and perfume became. Yet, Stella didn’t cringe.
Although her mother often got drunk, yelled, cried, or hit her, on the days she was sober, she would comb Stella’s hair, smile with eye contact, and sometimes hug her.
Stella carefully placed the little friend on the table, then gently removed the liquor bottle from her mother’s hand. She brought a dry towel, laid it on the wet blanket, and pressed down firmly. The little friend sat on the table, silently watching Stella’s actions.
“Ummm.”
Stella shushed her friend mimicking her mother’s moan, putting a finger to her lips. The friend did the same, stretching its short fingers to its mouth and chuckling with its wide, horizontal mouth.
That’s when it happened.
“What are you doing here?”
Her mother’s harsh voice came from behind. Startled, Stella turned towards the bed.
Her mother, despite the painful expression from a headache, was as beautiful as a painting. Stella proudly presented the little friend, seated on the table, to her mother, holding it up with both hands.
“What’s that?”
Her mother, frowning, looked down at Stella’s hand.
“It’s my new friend. It won’t talk, so I’m thinking of naming it.”
Stella waited expectantly for her mother’s reaction, hoping for praise. Her mother always scolded her for being alone. Surely, she would be happy that Stella had made a friend. But instead…
“You’re ignoring me too.”
Her mother’s response was nothing like what Stella had hoped for.
Confused, Stella stuttered, unable to find words. Her mother suddenly got up from the bed, staggering slightly from the alcohol. She pushed Stella’s shoulder roughly as she brushed her disheveled hair away.
“Ouch!”
Stella fell to the floor with a thud, still clutching the little friend to protect it. She quickly got up, fearing her mother’s anger.
Her mother’s hazelnut-colored eyes bore into her, making Stella involuntarily step back.
“Say it again. What did you say you have?”
Her mother’s breath, heavy with the smell of alcohol, stung Stella’s nose.
“A f-friend…”
Her mother’s gaze fell on the little friend in Stella’s hands, which she presented again.
“It’s this one, but… I don’t know its name.”
Stella’s voice, squeezed out nervously, trembled with tension. Her mother stared at her hand, chuckled mockingly, and then harshly slapped her face.
Slap!
The brutal smack turned Stella’s head sideways.
As her vision cleared from the darkness, her mother’s angry face came into view.
“There’s nothing there. You’re ignoring me too. How have I raised you! After all I’ve gone through because of you!”
Her mother’s voice grew louder and more torn with each word.
“No, it’s really here. Look!”
Stella’s cheek turned red-hot, but she felt no pain; the sadness of being misunderstood by her mother was greater.
No, I didn’t ignore you, Mom. There really is a friend here.
“It’s really here…”
But the more Stella spoke, the angrier her mother became. Eventually, the maids who rushed in also started getting hit.
“Can’t you see…?”
No one in the room could see the being on Stella’s palm. Her gaze slowly shifted from her mother and the maids to the little friend.
“Can’t you see?”
The little friend repeated Stella’s words, stretching its lips long. Its button-like, round eyes shone black as jet.
“Gasp!”
Startled awake by a nightmare, Stella’s entire body was drenched in sweat. She pulled the blanket up to her neck to ward off the chill, but her body still trembled uncontrollably.
It was a dream she often had around this time of year. After realizing that no one else could see the small beings, Stella pretended not to see them too.
Even to young Stella, the idea of seeing something no one else could was far from normal. If her mother ever caught her talking to them, she would cry bitterly, claiming that her only daughter must be mad too, as if the world had ended.
Though Stella often resented her mother, she hated to see her cry because of her.
No matter how much the little beings jumped around or called her name, she ignored them, pretending not to hear or see them. Eventually, they gradually faded from her presence.
However, when the season of their first meeting returned, Stella would dream about that day once more.
Still half-asleep, it seemed she could still hear her name being called from somewhere.
A month ago, her mother, who had been suffering from alcoholism, passed away. Since then, Stella had been living alone, recently moving into the castle. Even after a week, the room still felt unfamiliar, its air strange to her.
Knock! Knock!
Staring blankly out of the window, Stella jerked her head around at the sudden knocking sound, as startled as she was when she woke up.
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.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
