“Duke.”
Cediloy, who had been slowly sinking into his own thoughts, was abruptly awakened by Mayana’s voice. It felt like she had grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up from being submerged underwater. Momentarily bewildered, then relieved. And an impulse surged within him to tightly grasp her hand.
“Do you have any concerns?”
“It’s the first time you’ve worried about me. Isn’t this quite a refreshing experience?”
Mayana giggled as if acknowledging what Cediloy said.
Cediloy asked, “What’s the meaning behind that laughter?”
“No special meaning. I suddenly remembered the first time I saw you, Duke.”
“When we first met, you were about to hit me with a canned peach.”
“That’s right. I thought you were a robber.”
Cediloy tilted his body with a faint smile.
“It was a can of peaches. Remember?”
“In that situation where I might get hit on the head by that heavy can, you managed to look at me so calmly.”
“I should know what hit me, right? So, my eyes naturally turned towards you.”
Mayana laughed again. This time, it wasn’t a mocking laughter.
Holding the teacup with both hands, Mayana tilted her head, seemingly contemplating whether to drink or not. When Mayana finally took a sip of tea, Cediloy spoke.
“Let’s continue what we were talking about. I laughed because I remembered when we first met. What does that mean?”
A clinking sound followed. It was the sound of Mayana putting down her cup.
“I said what I meant. When we first met, Duke, you left quite a… memorable impression on me. I thought you were like that from the beginning, but it turns out, after becoming the duke, you’re not left with anything but a grumpy demeanor from dealing with official matters every day, right? It felt like what I saw that day was almost like a dream.”
Cediloy almost spat out the tea he had just drunk. After a slight gulp and a light cough, he spoke.
“Was that what you meant by it?”
“That’s what you thought it meant?”
An awkward silence lingered for a moment. No, it was only awkward for Cediloy… He subtly avoided Mayana’s gaze and toyed with the handle of the cup.
“It doesn’t seem that way now. Is that a compliment?”
This time, Mayana moved her gaze with a perplexed expression.
“A compliment… is something you give when someone has done something well. Well, if I were to praise you for not looking as grumpy and tired as if you were about to collapse right now… Should I compliment you for managing your physical condition well?”
Cediloy said, “Did you think my stamina was running out, and I was exhausted?”
“That’s the fundamental cause of fatigue. What are you talking about?”
The corners of Mayana’s lips rose again. It was an expression that seemed to want to burst into laughter.
“If you’re busy, have you ever considered that the more work you have, the more you need to nurture your stamina?”
“Could I be a giant from an old story?”
“If the workload is really burdensome, seriously suggest it to His Majesty. ‘Your Majesty, I might collapse at this rate. If I mistakenly collapse and hit my head on the marble, I might not only lose my diplomatic skills but also lose the ability to distinguish left from right. Do you really want that? Please reduce my workload. If not, I’ll resign,'” she said cunningly.
Due to her slyly confident tone, Cediloy couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“If you say that to His Majesty, all you might hear is ‘Where does it hurt?’ as a response.”
“Then it’s a better opportunity. Say, ‘Yes, Your Majesty, I’d like to request sick leave.'”
Cediloy, now half-leaning on the sofa backrest, was listening to Mayana’s chatter with a relaxed mind.
For some reason, as he listened to Mayana’s carefree stories, the tumultuous feelings in his heart seemed to settle, and time seemed to stop, as if peace would continue forever without any problems.
When had he felt this way before? He pondered deeply once again. It felt like a similar sensation from his childhood when he held his mother’s warm hand and offered evening prayers to God.
The warmth conveyed through his mother’s hand and the feeling of being securely embraced by the existence of God, even though unseen, it felt like that sensation he experienced back then.
Mayana’s voice seemed to lead him back to the peaceful days of his childhood. Cediloy wore a faint smile and said, “Even without that, Your Majesty already mentioned reducing my workload.”
“That’s a good thing. But why did you suddenly say that?”
“If I bring Swan here, we’ll have two more children in the house, so there will be more things to take care of,” he said.
Mayana nodded. “That’s true. Even raising one puppy and two puppies are worlds apart. Having a child will be even more.”
“Did you raise a dog when you were young?”
In response to Cediloy’s question, Mayana chuckled for a moment before smiling.
“In rural areas, it’s common to raise dogs.”
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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