“Jiho, I’ll get off at the crossing over there.”
Lee Soo said, holding her bag as if preparing to get off.
There was still about one bus stop left to go to school.
“Why all of a sudden?”
Jiho looked back at Lee Soo with puzzled eyes.
“It’s awkward to get off the car with you. Everyone at our school recognizes you.”
“What does that mean?”
Jiho’s head, with a frown on his eyebrows, turned sideways sharply.
“If anyone sees me going to school with you in the morning, it would be a perfect situation for misunderstanding.”
Lee Soo cautiously spoke, pausing for a moment while subtly checking Jiho’s reaction.
“I wish no one knew about us meeting.”
“I don’t like it. Why should we do that?”
She expected Jiho’s reaction, but she did not expect him to directly refuse.
Is there no room for consideration?
“I told you. I feel uncomfortable and dislike being the center of attention. If rumors about me meeting you spread… I don’t know about you, but I think I’ll feel very uncomfortable.”
Lee Soo shook her head as if the thought alone was terrible.
People would inevitably say that Jiho was wasted on her, she would have to endure glances wherever she went, and she would have to accept all the jealousy and envy of people she didn’t even know.
Lee Soo didn’t think she could calmly bear that.
“Just ignore it and don’t care.”
“I can’t do that. This is one of the reasons I thought you were hard to handle. I want to avoid it if I can. As long as we don’t reveal it in front of people, it’s not difficult.”
Jiho was baffled by Lee Soo’s firm attitude.
They had just confirmed each other’s feelings, and now she wanted to meet secretly.
He didn’t dare outright refuse for fear of Lee Soo withdrawing again.
Jiho sighed heavily in frustration.
“I got it. I’ll think about it.”
“I’m sorry to ask you this, but I hope you can say it’s okay.”
Lee Soo could not compromise on this issue, at least.
“I don’t like you feeling uncomfortable either, but honestly, I’m not confident I can hide it.”
Every morning, going to school with Lee Soo, waiting after school to take her home, having lunch together, drinking coffee…
Jiho’s plans to share everyday life with Lee Soo were falling apart from the start.
He laughed bitterly at the fact that he had been excitedly contemplating today’s lunch menu without knowing that Lee Soo was thinking like this.
“Ah! The signal is on now. I’ll get off here. See you later.”
As soon as the car stopped, Lee Soo quickly opened the car door and got out.
Before Jiho could catch her, the car door slammed shut.
As if she had been waiting for the moment to get off, Lee Soo got off without hesitation.
((()))((()))
Lee Soo walked with heavy steps.
Although she got off the car as if running away, the problem was what came next.
As she looked at the school in front of her, she felt a bit overwhelmed.
The meaning of meeting Seo Jiho.
She was not unaware of what it meant, but when it actually hit her, she was worried.
She felt sorry for asking Jiho unilaterally, but it was a fact that it would be troublesome if it became known, so she could not deny it.
As she was walking in such a troubled mind, her cell phone rang.
It was Dongwoo.
“Oh, Dongwoo, I was a step behind again. I was going to call you first…”
Yesterday, there were several missed calls and text messages from Dongwoo.
When she arrived home, she was already exhausted, so she left only one text message saying she would call the next day.
And she had completely forgotten about it because of Jiho’s sudden appearance.
[Haha, I should have waited a bit more. Where are you?]“I’m in front of the school right now.”
[Then can you wait at the main gate for a bit? I’m almost there.]“Okay. I got it. Take your time.”
Lee Soo stopped in front of the main gate and looked around.
She could see Dongwoo running from the bus stop.
Although she told him to take his time, as always.
Lee Soo crossed her arms in front of her chest and watched Dongwoo with a big smile.
Dongwoo, who was running in large strides, arrived in front of her in no time.
“Why are you running? You’ll be out of breath since morning.”
“You were waiting. Whew… Want to get some coffee? Do you have time?”
Even though he was out of breath, Dongwoo had a bright smile on his face.
“Sure. I have about 30 minutes left.”
“Did you sleep well yesterday? Your face looks much better than yesterday.”
The last time she had seen Lee Soo’s exhausted face was when they had arrived at the mountain.
She had been worried and curious as she couldn’t contact her all day yesterday.
“Uhhuh. I fell asleep early last night, woke up to the alarm this morning. Only a little muscle pain in the legs remains.”
“Wasn’t it hard coming down?”
“Yes, I rested a lot until I could gather my strength, and I also rested frequently while coming down.”
“You did well.”
She was bothered that she had been with Ji Ho, but she was glad she came down safely anyway.
The two walked side by side towards the cafe inside the school.
((()))((()))
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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