In particular, an older man who had put down his pipe looked at me with a piercing gaze. I stared back at him and thought,
‘No, they’re really foolish. If participant number 1, with a permanent number, is buying it, shouldn’t they think there’s a reason?’
People who’d come all the way to the Dark Auction were acting this unintelligent?
The man leaked some words.
“Some participants with permanent numbers have abused unlimited bidding for show before.”
“Eventually, those folks had their numbers revoked and were barred from the auction.”
“It will be the same this time.”
I nodded internally.
Well, if there were people who wasted their money to show off, then it’s understandable they might think I’d do the same.
‘Isn’t it prejudiced to think I’d do the same?’
They will find out soon.
That I have the hand of Midas.
‘Just wait for a week. After that, your bellies will ache.’
But I hid that fact and gave a smalltoothed smile.
Like a naive little noble.
As expected, they erupted in jeers and laughter, all the while being certain they’d hit the jackpot at this auction.
But it didn’t matter.
In the end, I would be the winner of this auction.
I’ll advertise widely about the gold buried in the arboretum I bought, and create the stepping stone for my source of income.
I leaned back against the chair, ignoring their derisive looks.
I heard the captain next to me muttering something. I looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“It’s a curse that collects misfortune.”
“……Huh?”
“This is a magicbound auction house, and I can’t do powerful curses, but I can gather some minor misfortunes.”
“What do you mean by minor misfortunes?”
I tilted my head.
The captain responded in a satisfied voice.
“Don’t know. For some reason, it’s annoying when the kid talks to you. So, I’m going to curse you with misfortune.”
My mouth gaped open.
I began to worry slightly about the child’s future.
“What? Exactly, what kind of misfortune…?”
Seeing my puzzled expression, the captain simply shrugged.
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
The captain narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked their way and muttered to himself again. I followed the captain’s gaze, confused.
It was at that moment.
The man who was smoking a pipe suddenly clutched his stomach.
“Ugh.”
Even let out a groan.
“Hehe.”
The captain glanced at me with a malicious smile.
Sweat formed in my palms as I stared at the man.
The man quickly looked around, then hurriedly got up. His face was almost jaundiced from what seemed like stomach pain.
…I got the gist of it.
‘He’s got diarrhea.’
But the issue wasn’t just him.
People around him who were drinking water suddenly sneezed or quickly grabbed the back of their necks.
‘Over there, someone suddenly got a stiff neck.’
Gabrielle also seemed to be struggling, her neck full of what looked like hives.
‘Gabrielle has an allergy.’
The sudden attack of the curse of misfortune had clearly flustered everyone.
The auction was briefly interrupted by the slight commotion, so I casually called out to the captain.
“Captain?”
“…I was merely exacting revenge for you. Those who speak out of turn must pay.”
The captain sounded very defensive, as if expecting me to blame him.
I gently patted the captain’s head.
“…You did well.”
“…Well, alright.”
The corners of the captain’s mouth turned downward as he tried not to smile.
At this point, I diverted my gaze from the captain.
Because I had been feeling a piercing gaze on me.
It was as if the gaze was asking for my attention.
The owner of the gaze was Acid.
‘Acid, why are you staring at me?’
I couldn’t ask because the moment our eyes met, Acid’s cheeks flushed red like a peach.
I leaned back against the chair again, as if nothing had happened.
That’s when Deadly grabbed my shoulder and asked.
“My lady, is it uncomfortable since your feet can’t touch the ground?”
…Seems she noticed my short, plump legs dangling.
I nodded my head solemnly.
“It’s alright. Let’s continue the auction.”
My dignity may have slightly suffered because my feet were dangling, but!
I watched the resumed auction proceedings with grandeur.
Now that the arboretum was also purchased, it was time to distribute carrots to my close aides. After all, the proper use of incentives is also a tactic.
After skipping over several junklike items, I was finally able to see an intriguing pink necklace.
“Rumored to slightly amplify holy power, made of pink beads.”
“Number one.”
“Oh, the young lady again?”
I arrogantly nodded my head.
“10 gold.”
…Since no one else was bidding, the bead also came into my possession at a dirtcheap price.
Gabrielle might have wanted that bead, but she seemed distracted by the captain’s curse.
I smiled slyly at Acid.
“I’ll give it to Acid!”
But it was strange.
Just like when he made eye contact with me earlier.
This time, just by talking to him, Acid’s cheeks flushed red.
He seemed very shy that I bought something for him.
He lowered his head and whispered softly.
“Ththank you. I will also…”
“Huh?”
“Be of help to you, Lady Cien.”
At Acid’s words, I puffed up my cheeks in response.
“Even now, be a good servant and assist.”
Acid’s cheeks flushed a hue of red that was incomparable to any before.
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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