“Good morning, Grandfather,” chimed a bright voice, filling the spacious living room.
Ji-Pil, sitting on the sofa reading a newspaper, shifted his gaze.
He looked fondly at Chae-Yoon descending the stairs towards him.
“Yes. Chae-Yoon, did you sleep well too?”
“Yes.”
Chae-Yoon replied with a smile, prompting Ji-Pil to set aside his newspaper and ask,
“Where’s Jae-O?”
“He’ll be down soon.”
Ji-Pil nodded, glancing between Chae-Yoon and upstairs, then said,
“Chae-Yoon, come here for a moment, sit with me.”
Chae-Yoon, heading to the kitchen, changed direction towards Ji-Pil.
Sitting down, Ji-Pil asked cautiously,
“Are you and Jae-O still… just like that?”
It was an infrequent question.
Chae-Yoon, slightly embarrassed, nodded.
“Yes.”
“Nothing more than that?”
“…”
Unable to respond, Chae-Yoon just smiled, causing Ji-Pil to click his tongue.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, that boy, even after three years, nothing changes.”
Ji-Pil’s words tightened Chae-Yoon’s lips.
Then, footsteps sounded from upstairs.
Chae-Yoon’s eyes followed the sound.
Differing from her casual attire, a man, impeccably dressed in a suit, descended with an indifferent expression. It was her first love and now husband, Han Jae-O.
Three years ago, 21-year-old Chae-Yoon became a married woman following her father Haesang’s death.
Her mother passed away early, and Haesang was everything to Chae-Yoon.
Suddenly learning of her father’s death was unbelievable.
Having barely stepped into society, the loneliness of being left alone in the world overwhelmed her.
She was scared of how to live from now on.
The one who reached out to her was Jae-O.
“Let’s get married.”
Marriage? An unexpected proposal from a man who only saw her as a sister and was engrossed in work.
She asked, “Why me, all of a sudden?”
He replied, “I need you.”
His gaze was intense, full of purpose.
Her heart fluttered, hoping maybe he had grown fond of her.
“Specifically, your father’s company.”
Her budding hopes died with his words.
“Why do you need my father’s company?”
“It has unmatched technology in chemistry and bio, a gap in Taeeil’s portfolio. I can’t afford to lose this.”
Disappointed, she realized it wasn’t about liking her, but about her father’s company.
He continued, “Marrying me isn’t a bad deal for you.”
“Why?”
“You have company management issues, and it’s better to stay with gr
“Is this political marriage you’re proposing?” Chae-Yoon asked.
“In a way, yes,” Jae-O replied.
Chae-Yoon couldn’t refuse Jae-O’s proposal. For him, marriage was a business necessity, and it could’ve been any woman, not necessarily her.
Her crush had lasted a year.
Though Jae-O, busy with business, rarely visited Ji-Pil’s home, Chae-Yoon cherished their brief conversations. When Haesang passed away, Jae-O was the first person she thought of.
That’s why, deep in her heart, she couldn’t bear to see Jae-O marry someone else. Realizing she could be of help to him, Chae-Yoon accepted.
“I’ll do it. I’ll marry you.”
That’s how their marriage began.
Despite preparing herself for a marriage of convenience, Jae-O exceeded her expectations.
“When will we have the wedding?” she asked.
“A wedding… now?”
His face showed he hadn’t thought about it.
“Do we really need to do it now?”
Jae-O’s reluctance was clear. Chae-Yoon didn’t want to pressure him.
“If you’re busy, we can wait.”
“Alright, then.”
She hoped once he was less busy, he’d pay more attention to her.
But three years of indifference left Chae-Yoon feeling drained.
“Han Jae-O.”
Ji-Pil called out, pulling Chae-Yoon from her thoughts.
Jae-O looked at him.
“What is it?”
“Don’t you have anything to say to your grandfather?”
Ji-Pil’s morning complaints didn’t faze Jae-O.
“Are you unwell?”
“No.”
“That’s it, then.”
With a disinterested reply, Jae-O walked away.
Ji-Pil’s frown deepened as he watched Jae-O leave without a backward glance.
“Have breakfast before you go!”
“…”
“Han Jae-O!”
Despite Ji-Pil’s calls, Jae-O kept walking, soon disappearing from their view.
Chae-Yoon watched him go, feeling dejected.
‘Even if he’s busy, he should eat.’
Jae-O, always working late, seemed busier lately. He looked thinner, probably skipping meals.
Worried, Chae-Yoon got up and headed to the kitchen. She asked the helpers to prepare simple salad and sandwich ingredients. Soon, she had a lunchbox ready for Jae-O.
“Thank you.”
After thanking the helpers, she went upstairs to get ready for the day.
In her large room, almost the size of a small apartment, two queen-sized beds sat side by side.
When Chae-Yoon first entered this room, the memory of that time surfaced. It was shortly after they had signed the marriage registration.
“How do you want to use the room?” Jae-O asked without any common courtesies of asking if she had settled in well after moving.
Feeling slighted by Jae-O’s abrupt focus on the room arrangement, Chae-Yoon responded nonchalantly, “Do as you please, Oppa.”
“We can share the room, but not the bed,” Jae-O declared.
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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