“To conduct a smooth AI interview, we are starting an environment test. Please wait for a moment.”
A laptop borrowed from Lee Hyun was operating in front of Lud. He was in a study café, preparing for a video interview, adjusting his avatar to office attire and checking the camera.
“All that practice, and now this.”
For about five days, they met diligently at home and study cafés, practicing relentlessly, even in dreams with the Chaos Ruler. Yet, in the end, it’s an AI interview.
Feeling slightly disappointed, Lud rubbed his hands together. He had prepared so hard. The absence of a ‘stress interview’ felt somewhat anticlimactic. Noticing his disappointment, the Chaos Ruler consoled him with an indirect message.
[Well, mere mortals can’t withstand your gaze for long. Face-to-face interviews were always going to be impossible, the Chaos Ruler shrugs.]“Yeah. That’s true.”
Those who make prolonged eye contact with Lud feel intense fear. Lud has tried to mitigate this with illusions over his cornea, but the effect lasts only a few minutes or, at most, a few dozen minutes.
It was impossible to stop this in a situation like an interview, where prolonged eye contact and conversation are necessary, unlike a fleeting encounter inside a gate or through a screen.
Both Lud and Lee Hyun had forgotten about this issue during their practice sessions.
If Lud had been sitting in a real interview room, the interviewers wouldn’t have been able to conduct a proper interview due to the terror he emits.
“It might be for the best.”
Besides, his social phobia hadn’t disappeared. Although the mock interviews with Lee Hyun and the Chaos Ruler were one thing, whether Lud could withstand the pressure of real interviewers was another matter.
If he failed due to not overcoming it… Lud shook his head, dismissing the thought.
‘No, I have to buy that house.’
Every morning when he woke up, his dad would be preparing breakfast, his mom getting ready for work. Lud would reluctantly go to school with a friend who came to pick him up, and in the evening, they would watch TV as a family.
No matter what anyone said, that place held precious memories for Lud. Now, that house had become a den for thugs and was in ruins.
That couldn’t be. Lud lived in the past, not the present. He couldn’t afford to lose that.
“……Let’s focus and do it right.”
Lud slapped his cheeks a couple of times, a habit he picked up from being around Lee Hyun. Soon, the AI interview started.
[Please start your self-introduction. You have 1 minute.]“Ah, hello. I am Lud, applying for the permanent recruitment at the Sanctuary.”
As he spoke, Lud was taken aback. He had practiced arrogantly during rehearsals, ‘intimidating the interviewers’ style… and had trained that image multiple times…
[You can’t do that in a real setting, right? the Chaos Ruler snickers.]Oddly enough, he couldn’t do it. He wanted to spout arrogant remarks befitting the world’s number one and confidently pass the interview…
Practice and reality were different. No matter how strong Lud was or how many guilds would welcome him with open arms, when it came to the interview, nothing worked.
Lud, with the number one ranking and the capability of a one-man army, was actually a pathetic coward who couldn’t socialize or mingle with others. He was terrified that this might be exposed.
‘If, if this were a real interview and not AI… it would have been a disaster…’
The ‘social phobia’ status effect was stronger than he thought. Originally, Lud’s core personality was not firm, and he was psychologically quite reclusive, which naturally led to this outcome.
[This is a significant improvement, the Chaos Ruler commends you.]
‘Well, even speaking fluently in front of an AI monitor like this is a huge step forward for me…’
Thankfully, the study sessions seemed to be effective, and Lud, despite some stammering, was able to speak naturally. For someone who had been a reclusive loner for ten years, this was a significant achievement.
Then, the final standard interview question appeared on the monitor.
[What motivated you to apply to our company?]Naturally, Lud recalled the interview consulting sessions he had with Lee Hyun.
“Alright! Let’s start the interview special class!”
In a study room downtown, Lee Hyun stood in front of a whiteboard dressed in office attire: a white shirt, black tie, and rimless glasses. Lud, sitting cross-legged on a chair, scanned him from head to toe.
“What’s with that outfit?”
“Huh? Oh, this. I copied it from a job-seeking content on a video site. Job King Park… Does it not suit me?”
“No, weren’t you on morning shift today? Did you wear that to work?”
“No, I brought a change of clothes and got dressed here! Atmosphere is important for this!”
Lee Hyun chuckled. To think he changed into this outfit after work to conduct these interview classes… Lud couldn’t fathom the level of dedication required for that.
“Does it look weird?”
“No. It suits you.”
“Hehe, thank you…”
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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