engagement—ceremony…
[Did you just say engagement ceremony? Mister Kyle J. Alexis—he’s getting… engaged?] [Yes.]The men guarding the elevator pointed once again in the direction of another elevator for the seemingly lost Asian waitress.
Eun Jo, who took a few steps back, scrutinized her appearance.
Tears dropped onto her worn-out sneakers.
She quickly wiped her eyes with both hands, but tears streamed down her now pale, cold cheeks.
Should she laugh or cry?
She didn’t realize she was already crying.
It’s only been… two months!
Just two months and he’s… No, that’s impossible.
I must have misunderstood.
“Who is this? Eun Jo?? Oh my!”
Wang Nana laughed outright seeing Eun Jo hastily wiping her cheeks.
“No way, hahaha—why do you look like that? How on earth did you get here? Hahaha—my stomach hurts.”
“I came to see Jae Ha.”
“Huh? Looking like that? Crazy! You two broke up! Whether it was a mutual decision or not, I know it’s over. Jae Ha even discarded his phone number. How did you even get here? Wow—impressive!”
Eun Jo bit her lips so hard, it seemed like they would bleed.
“It’s like that. I… need to go upstairs? Can I go with you?”
Wang Nana, with narrowed eyes, tilted her head.
Seeing this miserable creature come all the way here means she’s not yet over it.
Same goes for Kwon Jae Ha.
He might be acting on impulse now, but the day he sees her innocent face…
Engagement or whatever—uhhhh—
Just imagining it made her eyes roll.
Drive a stake through it.
Kwon Jae Ha, with his excessive indifference.
It means he still has lingering feelings.
Wang Nana decided she had to drive that point home this time.
“Really, impressive. No matter what, how could you like this—Fine, let’s go up together.”
Yes, she’ll finish things with Eun Jo today.
Wang Nana showed her invitation to the men.
[She’s with me.]The luxurious elevator swiftly took the two contrasting women upstairs.
The thing with Natalie was just a facade made in the heat of the moment, so it won’t last long,
But with Eun Jo, she’s here to stamp her out properly.
Wang Nana laughed maniacally, her shoulders shaking.
Back in Seoul, she did play with the two of them a bit.
‘Two naive souls in love.’
Kwon Jae Ha and Eun Jo.
But Kwon Jae Ha, like he’d lost his taste, announced his engagement not long after returning to the U.S.
With Wiseman, who’s as stubborn and tactless as a man.
The narrative is that without Eun Jo, no one else matters.
The day she heard about the engagement, Nana, unable to contain her anger, pulled out a chunk of her hair.
She gave him up as a lost cause.
But then,
“She looks pathetic. Like a lost dog. Maybe I should—hide and watch.”
“…That’s right.”
Although she knew what was happening,
Even with her resolve to face it,
She couldn’t believe what she saw.
He was laughing.
A sight of him she’d never seen before, looking splendid.
The velvet lapel black tuxedo made him, with his black hair and black eyes, look incredibly dashing.
That bright smile directed at the blonde beauty was—
Eun Jo’s.
Clearly, just two months ago… it was.
“…”
“You’ve seen that woman for the first time, right? She might have appeared on Korean news occasionally. Well, you wouldn’t know—she’s from a completely different world.”
“…”
“Her name’s Natalie Wiseman, a recognized heiress of an American oil magnate. And she’s the only inheritor.”
“…”
“Do you know her, or did you break up because of her?”
“…”
Wang Nana, dressed even more extravagantly than the protagonist, made a snide comment with a serpentine tongue.
“This engagement was almost foreseen from when your brother and she first met at Harvard. You know, rich with rich, good family with good family. It’s more extreme in America. It’s suffocating.”
“…”
“Jae Ha also felt the same. He felt trapped. That’s why he went to Korea for a brief change of scenery and looked at schools.”
“…Change, of scenery?”
“Yeah, change of scenery. Don’t you know? To get rid of discomfort and negative emotions! He had a good break, didn’t he? Stop pretending.”
Eh— Eun Jo covered her mouth as she bent over.
She couldn’t bear the nauseating scent of Wang Nana’s perfume any longer.
The lavish place felt strange and terrifying.
[…Excuse me.]Sorry—She bumped into a few people, even knocking over their glasses, but she quickly left the area.
She didn’t even notice when the strap of the small bag she was carrying snapped off and fell.
Everything seemed hazy; she didn’t know where she was or where she was going.
She just ran.
Towards where Kwon Jae Ha wasn’t.
“Hey! Eun Jo!”
Squeeeak—
Holding the small bag with the broken strap, Wang Nana jumped back, pressing herself against the wall.
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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