Ariante’s chubby cheeks turned bright red with cuteness. Her eyes, unable to hide her bewildered expression, trembled violently, and her confused mind seemed to show that she didn’t know how to respond.
‘So, after all, a child is a child.’
Mayana thought.
No matter how wicked, no matter how smart, a sevenyearold was just a sevenyearold. A sevenyearold, no matter how mischievous or naughty, could never act as sinister or devious as adults. They didn’t know how to make wellcrafted lies or pretend to be indifferent.
Just like how Ariante couldn’t hide her emotions at all.
“Answer me, Princess.”
Mayana’s words made Ariante’s eyes light up in blue. Whether she was annoyed at not having something to say, she tried to push Mayana’s shoulders with both hands, but that attempt also ended in failure.
Mayana, who had already fully figured out Ariante’s pattern, easily blocked the little hand.
“See, I don’t do that, do I?”
“That doesn’t mean you like me. You’re just pretending.”
“Pretending? Me?”
Mayana burst into laughter.
“Why do you think I pretend to like you, Princess?”
“My father gives you money.”
A momentary silence fell. This time, Mayana was taken aback. Ariante seemed to think that the silence was her victory and wore a proud smile. However, she looked uneasy. She looked as if she found this place, this conversation, awkward and uncomfortable, and she wanted to avoid it.
Mayana, who had been silently watching Ariante, spoke.
“Bainty will probably get more money than me, right?”
Ariante’s eyes blinked in surprise. Mayana carefully tied the laces on the child’s shoes, speaking in a calm voice.
“Miss Kosha will probably get much more money than me. How about Teacher Beimen? Even the chef and Mr. Joslyn, the head butler, naturally get more money than me since they’ve worked at the Duke’s house for a long time. But those people yell at the Princess, don’t listen to the Princess, and only do what they hate, right? But I, who get far less money, just a rat’s tail worth, don’t do that to the Princess. What could be the reason?”
Suddenly Ariante furrowed her brows.
“What’s a rat’s tail worth of money?”
Mayana exaggeratedly narrowed her thumb and forefinger and scrunched her forehead as if mimicking Ariante’s expression.
“It means very little. Anyway, I get less money than even the head butler, Miss Kosha, the chef, or even Bainty, but I don’t yell at the Princess. I will listen to everything the Princess says. So don’t say I pretend to like you for money. It hurts my feelings.”
“What’s hurt feelings?”
“It means my heart aches.”
Ariante’s eyes blinked slowly. She had a thoughtful expression.
While she never blinked an eye at any other words, why did the words ‘my heart aches’ elicit such a serious response? What could be inside this little girl’s head?
‘I really need to have a parentteacher conference. If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve eavesdropped when her mother had the conference.’
Mayana thought, holding Ariante’s small hand.
(This is a time marker.)
Duke Valterminster, that is, Sedilroy, returned to his duchy the day after Mayana had a verbal spar with Teacher Beimen.
He came back only after dinner time and stopped by Ariante’s room for a moment. Mayana, sitting on a sofa sewing, watched the peculiar reunion of mother and daughter out of the corner of her eye.
“Father.”
The sound of the door opening caused Ariante to turn her body swiftly and attempt to run with a joyous smile, but then she suddenly hesitated and stood still.
That alone would have been strange enough, but Sedilroy, seeing his daughter for the first time in a few days, couldn’t hide his restrained and awkward expression either.
“Ariante, have you been well? Have you studied hard?”
Ariante glanced at Mayana, perhaps wary. Mayana deliberately ignored Ariante, pretending to focus only on her sewing.
“I worked hard.”
It was a small voice. She knew she was lying. Mayana finally put down her sewing, standing up with a forced smile on her lips.
“Have you returned, Duke?”
“I was about to leave again, but didn’t I greet you then?”
Mayana, who had slightly bowed her head, looked straight at him, rolling her eyes. She was uncertain whether this was a joke or a real reprimand.
“I apologize. I was distracted by the sewing.”
Then Ariante cut into their conversation.
“Father, I… drew a picture. I drew you. Will you look at it?”
A moment of confusion passed over Sedilroy’s face, but it quickly changed to a soft and perfect, truly fatherly smile.
Ariante reacted very sensitively to his changing expressions. It was like small animals that pricked up their ears and became alert to the slightest noise. It was clear she couldn’t relax even to Sedilroy’s gaze, even his breath.
Watching this, Mayana unknowingly bit her lip.
‘It’s strange, no matter how I look at it.’
Sedilroy said,
“If it’s a picture you drew, your father must see it. Shall I fetch it?”
“Yes! Wait just a moment!”
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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