Impure Among Friends (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 22
Luxing, ranked among the world’s top 1,000 restaurants for seven consecutive years, was an ultra-exclusive establishment—so prestigious that even money couldn’t guarantee you a table.
Sa Jun had come here to reward Jin Won, a gourmet who’d brought along an excellent dating expert.
Although he also intended to bring Min Tae Hee if Jin Won gave the place his approval, since their tastes aligned.
“I’ll have three pieces of center-cut steak cooked blue rare, and please prepare the dinner special course for one over there.”
The moment the manager left after taking their order, Jin Won happened to walk in.
“Didn’t I meet Park Seo Yeon here?”
“Who’s that?”
Jin Won looked exasperated at Sa Jun’s words.
“Park Seo Yeon—the one who gave you that legendary advice, ‘casually drop it like you don’t care,’ which greatly helped your unrequited love with Tae Hee!”
Ah, that woman—the one who’d given him that iconic piece of advice: “casually drop it like you don’t care.”
“Hyung, go settle her table bill. If she says she likes wine, order some for her too.”
“Okay!”
As Jin Won hurried out, visibly thrilled, Sa Jun turned his gaze toward the window.
He was in an unusually good mood—so much so that he felt generous enough to tip unnecessarily, despite having only done something perfectly ordinary. It felt as if he wanted to ring a golden bell for everyone he met, just because he recognized their face.
Gazing at the Han River bathed in sunset hues, he slowly closed and reopened his eyes, and memories of last Sunday—monotonous yet meticulously planned—came flooding back.
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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What mother isn’t charmed when she hears someone speak so lovingly of her child? Irresistible.