Sylas had long since removed his jacket to cover the sleeping Sisi, leaving him exposed to the biting wind through his thin shirt. Despite the shivering caused by the wind penetrating his clothes, Sylas tried to maintain a composed posture.
However, at his young age, he couldn’t fully hide his anxious feelings.
Sylas, who had been looking up at the sky several times, spoke.
“If it gets dark like this, we’re in big trouble. If the wind blows and it rains, it could be really bad… I heard you could even get pneumonia.”
“What’s pneumonia, Sylas?”
“I haven’t had it, so I don’t really know. But they say you cough a lot and it hurts a lot. If things go wrong, you could even die.”
Ariante, with pursed lips, raised her eyebrows for a moment.
“It’s okay. It won’t rain. And there’s still plenty of time before it becomes night. It’s just cloudy.”
“Aren’t you scared, Ariante?”
When Sylas asked, Ariante nodded, clenching her fist.
“I’m not scared. I’m fine.”
“Brave of you.”
Ariante smiled faintly.
“If we have to live in the forest like this, trust me! I’m good at making fire and gathering fruits! And I’m good at slinging stones. If we wander around, we might find a lake! Then we can drink water there. Don’t worry, Sylas! I can take care of it.”
Her vivid blue eyes sparkled with determination and energy. Sylas, looking at Ariante’s face, which was covered in dirt and full of vitality, smiled and responded.
“Really amazing. I don’t know how to do any of that. What should I do?”
“You’ll learn, and you’ll be able to do it. You’re ten, Sylas! Since you’re older than me, you can learn quickly.”
At that moment, Sylas, who had been contemplating something, said.
“Wait here for a moment.”
Ariante nodded her head. Sylas, after looking around for a while, walked towards a small cliff on the downhill path they had slid down.
Sylas seemed to be searching for something by running his hands through the grass, then began tearing something apart with a rhythmic sound. After a while, he lowered his head and stood still.
“Sylas, what are you doing?”
Unable to endure, Ariante approached with curiosity. It was only then that Sylas turned towards Ariante.
“Want to reach out your hand, Ariante?”
“Hand? Left hand? Right hand?”
With a blink of his eyes, Sylas spoke in a slightly diminished voice.
“Any hand. No, left hand.”
Curious about what he was doing, Ariante extended her left hand with an inquisitive look. Sylas carefully wrapped something he was holding around Ariante’s fourth finger.
“What’s this, Sylas?”
“Look closely. What does it look like?”
Ariante, closely examining her hand, exclaimed in a delighted voice.
“A flower ring!”
What Sylas had been intricately making for a while was a ring made by intertwining two clover flowers.
Although most flowers had withered into a purple hue, almost at the end of summer, Sylas managed to find two fresh clover flowers.
“Just stay still for a moment. I’ll make a knot for you.”
Sylas gently turned Ariante’s hand and skillfully tied a knot with the stems, preventing it from coming loose. Trimming unnecessary parts with his fingernails, he created a quite convincing and adorable flower ring emitting a sweet fragrance.
Watching Ariante, who was overjoyed and didn’t know what to do, Sylas looked at her with a pleased expression and said, “In spring or summer… when there are many fresh flowers, you can weave several stems together to make a crown. If you like the ring, I’ll make a crown for you next spring.”
Ariante widened her eyes, “Really? You promise!”
Sylas nodded with enthusiasm and asked, “Do you like the ring?”
“I love it! It’s the prettiest and my favorite among all the rings I’ve seen. Thank you, Sylas.”
Suddenly, Sylas felt a warm and tiny pressure on his cheek. As he widened his eyes in surprise, a smacking sound followed. Ariante, who had kissed Sylas on the cheek, gave him a mischievous smile.
“Thank you so much. I’ll cherish it dearly.”
Blushing, Sylas lowered his head slightly.
The ten-year-old boy felt quite confused by the unexpected kiss. It was nothing when his mother or governess kissed him while growing up… but now, it was different.
His entire face turned red, and despite the mild temperature, it felt like there was sweat in the palm of his hand. Suddenly, he wanted to hug Ariante tightly.
Hug her? Why on earth?
Ariante, looking at the ring made of nothing more than clover flowers as if it were a diamond, was an utterly innocent little girl—in the eyes of ten-year-old Sylas, at least.
Is she not the same age as Sisi, who is seven? Sisi occasionally gave Sylas a farewell kiss when leaving, but it never felt awkward then… why does it feel so awkward now?
Turning abruptly toward Sylas, Ariante said something unexpected.
“Sylas, you know. I really, really like you.”
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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