Eric, who had no siblings, was concerned about how Edward would react to what he had just seen.
He had cautiously mentioned it, thinking it would be uncomfortable for his sister to be seen embracing a man, but Edward was surprisingly indifferent.
“It’s no big deal. They weren’t even kissing.”
“Pfft.”
Eric choked on his water in surprise.
Edward, however, remained unfazed and continued speaking as if nothing had happened.
“Even if they were kissing, it wouldn’t matter. Honestly, I don’t care what my sister does. She should handle it herself.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, but there is one thing that concerns me.”
“What is it?”
“To be honest, it doesn’t seem like my sister and you are very intimate.”
“Cough, choke.”
As Eric choked, Edward naturally patted him on the back and asked,
“Do you not want to be close to my sister?”
“What?”
“They say that’s what people do when they like each other.”
“Who says that?”
“My older brothers. If you like someone, you want to hold hands, and then you want to hug, and then you want to kiss, and then—”
“Stop, stop. What are these kids teaching the young one?”
“I’m not a kid.”
‘No, you are. I should never have left you alone with them,’ Eric thought as he glared at his subordinates organizing tools in the distance.
Alicia would be furious if she found out about this situation.
Eric’s vision darkened, but Edward simply grinned.
“It’s not childish to discuss this with you.”
‘That’s what’s weird about it.’
“You and my sister are getting married, right? I’d like for you to have a good relationship like our parents.”
“Why, do you think we won’t?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve never even seen you hold hands. What happened earlier doesn’t even qualify as physical contact.”
“No, it’s not that we don’t—”
Eric stopped himself from completing his sentence.
“Let’s stop talking about this now.”
“Do you find my sister unattractive? Don’t you want to be with her?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Do you like my sister?”
If it were like before, he would have answered right away. They were engaged, so of course.
But now he didn’t want to speak so lightly.
‘I do like her.’
He felt the weight of those words for the first time.
Edward stared intently at him as Eric took too long to respond.
But Eric’s gaze was not on Edward; it was focused on Alicia, who was chatting with Allen.
“I do like her.”
It’s said that words take on substance once spoken.
He understood that meaning now.
The feelings he had been avoiding due to contractual obligations became clear.
So he added,
“I like her very much.”
Their eyes met, and Alicia smiled and waved.
Edward, noticing the happy expression on Eric’s face, looked at Alicia too.
“Brother.”
“Hmm?”
“Women don’t like being neglected too much. You know, my sister is rather impatient?”
“…”
Even a child could see it.
Though he felt pathetic, he still managed to smile at Edward.
(This is a time marker.)
After sending Alicia and Edward home, Eric went to his office and took out a document from the safe.
It was the engagement contract.
He placed it on his desk, sat down, and lost himself in thought.
‘If a sincere person appears, the contract will be terminated.’
What to do if that sincere person turned out to be the contractual partner was not specified.
He never thought it would happen, and so never considered it.
‘Is there any point to the contract now?’
If Alicia felt the same way as Eric, the contract would be pointless.
What if Alicia didn’t accept his feelings?
Either way, he had no intention of continuing this relationship.
The contract wouldn’t last either way.
‘I do like her.’
‘I like her very much.’
Just thinking about it made his heart beat faster in a pleasant way.
‘She’ll be surprised.’
Probably so.
It had been barely 30 minutes since we parted, but I missed him. A lot.
(This is a time separator.)
In the moving carriage, Alicia asked Edward.
I was curious about what they had been talking so seriously about at the training ground.
“What were you talking about with Eric?”
“Huh? Oh, earlier?”
“You looked serious.”
“No, it’s not that serious. We were talking about you.”
“About me? What about me?”
“He was curious why you and he haven’t really done anything.”
“…What?”
Alicia looked at Edward with a bewildered expression.
“Why are you curious about that?”
“I’m not that curious, you know? I don’t really miss him either.”
“Then why did you ask?”
“But you and he are different from Dad and Mom.”
“How are we different?”
“You don’t even hold hands or kiss. It’s weird.”
Alicia looked embarrassed, but Edward simply stared back at her.
It was even more embarrassing.
It’s true our parents are fond of each other, but they are exceptionally so.
“My brothers said that’s what people do when they like each other.”
“What are these people teaching? I sent you to learn fencing, and what have you been taught?”
“Come to think of it, Dad and Mom do that, but you and he are too—”
Not knowing which word to use, Edward paused to think.
“Ah, right. You’re dry. You’ve gotten better than before, though.”
“…”
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
_____
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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