Rellia trudged toward the distant imperial palace. She was long overdue for her meeting with the Empress, but she couldn’t speed up.
Her body felt drained of energy. The scene she had witnessed earlier was too shocking to forget easily.
[I brought you some branches from your favorite cherry blossom tree.]On her way to the imperial palace, she happened upon Liurian, emerging from the imperial residence. The joy at seeing him for the first time since the victory party was overwhelming.
She momentarily forgot her lingering resentment and turned toward him. Following him was purely an impulsive act.
Although he had not offered an explanation for attending the party with the Crown Princess, that was no reason to ignore him upon seeing him.
Up until just before the victory party, he had taken affectionate walks with her and looked at her with eyes full of unwavering affection. There was no way he would have attended the party with the Crown Princess for some stringent reason.
The Empress had said the same. That he chose the Crown Princess as his partner for merely political reasons.
Therefore, she had no doubts. Because he had always been affectionate toward her, because what the Empress, the one who could stand toe-to-toe with the Sun of the Empire, had said.
She had consoled herself that the humiliating event that day was just a part of the process toward a happier future.
“But… was it all a lie…?”
Her voice wavered dangerously, boiling with betrayal. It was unbelievable. She didn’t want to believe it, yet she couldn’t not believe it.
He had even left his escort knights behind and walked all the way to the cherry blossom tree not far from the imperial residence. Then he picked only the branches with full blossoms and snapped them off with his rough hands.
It was incomprehensible. Although he used to take walks with her to admire flowers, he was not a man who loved flowers. Why then did he go to such lengths to snap off branches from a cherry blossom tree?
Rellia felt her heart race. There was nothing in sight that could distract her, not even her promise with the Empress, as she shamelessly followed him.
Tears that had started to well up from the moment she sensed where he was headed only fell when it became clear where he had stopped.
[Your Highness… how did you know?] [Know what?] [That I like cherry blossom trees.] They were hidden in a place out of sight, yet cruelly, their voices reached her all too clearly.Lelia clenched her teeth. If she didn’t, she felt like a suppressed moan and tears would leak out.
Staying put seemed increasingly dangerous. With tear-filled eyes, she looked around to find a way out of the imperial palace.
That was when she took her first step.
[Just….] […] [Somehow, I felt you would like it.]Ah…
The suppressed moan finally escaped her lips. It was humiliating, too humiliating to even describe.
He had never gifted her flowers. Not to mention, he had never even cared to know her taste.
Lelia adored tulips. Therefore, when the sun warmed up and the winds grew mild, she often pestered him to go for a walk.
Every time, he showed signs of annoyance. He had gone for the walk, but he never paid any attention to her as she paused a long time in front of the tulips.
So what now?
Evelia would like cherry tree branches, so he meticulously broke some off for her?
“Ah, seriously…”
Lelia felt swear words rise to her lips. She couldn’t freely vent her frustration because every corner of the palace had eyes and ears.
She inhaled deeply, yet her breath still felt obstructed. Her heart was shattered, and the pain was unbearable.
Nevertheless, Lelia forced herself to head towards the imperial harem. She felt she had to see this for herself—what expression would the empress show upon knowing all this?
She clenched her fist tightly. Her face filled with a venomous intent never seen before.
Eustia, heading towards the royal chamber, couldn’t smooth the furrow in her brow. Lelia had just arrived, she was informed, and it was unnerving.
She had arrived much later than the appointed time, which was already unsettling, but the message accompanying her arrival made Eustia’s mood even worse.
[Your Majesty, Lady Lelia has just arrived in the royal chamber.] [Ah, she’s just arrived now?] [Yes, Your Majesty.] [She’s getting bold, isn’t she? Not even a word about being this late, it’s infuriating, really.] “[Ah… But Your Highness, you don’t look well at all.]”“[Complexion? What are you talking about?]”
“[Well… You looked quite stiff, as if you were quite angry.]”
“Looked quite angry,” she repeated the phrase in her mouth and found herself inexplicably displeased.
“How dare you make such a face coming into my palace?”
Unable to contain her irritation, it flowed menacingly through her teeth.
Eustia sharply arched her eyebrows and stood upright. The doors to the hall appeared right in front of her nose.
The maid guarding the front swiftly opened the door in accordance to the rapidly closing distance. Eustia immediately stepped in.
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.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
