I couldn’t concentrate throughout the class. Kirian’s awkward gaze wouldn’t leave my mind, and instead of focusing on the lesson, I kept sneaking glances at his face.
Now, as if he had made up his mind to act altogether, Kirian just smiled faintly whenever he caught me looking.
I ended up grabbing Kirian as soon as the class was over.
“Let’s go have dinner.”
I thought that if we had a meal together and talked, I could figure something out. I eagerly planned a barrage of questions to throw at Kirian and waited for his answer.
But instead of answering, Kirian shifted his gaze to the window, where the rain had begun to fall slightly.
“I don’t think we can eat together today.”
“Why? Do you have somewhere to go?”
At my question, Kirian smirked and took off his jacket, throwing it over my head. With the sudden darkness enveloping my vision, I heard Kirian’s voice accompanied by the cool scent of mint.
“It’s raining, wear the jacket.”
By the time I removed the jacket, Kirian was already gone.
I ran out of the building in case, but it might have been foolish to think I could catch up to Kirian with my pace.
In the rain that had begun to fall in earnest, I dumbly stared at the yard, watching other students scurry to avoid the rain.
Is he really hiding something from me?
At that moment, the cold rainwater soaking my head through the colorless jacket stopped dripping.
When I looked up, an umbrella was covering the ashgray sky.
“You’re all wet.”
His, holding the umbrella, spoke softly. Whether he had run to cover me or had hastily thrown on a jacket, the shoulder of his crumpled jacket was quickly getting soaked.
“His.”
It was the first time since that day. I hesitantly reached for Kirian’s jacket, holding it up with my hand.
“I’m fine. I can use this.”
It was absurd to use a jacket instead of a perfectly good umbrella, but my heart sank at the sight of His’s jacket, its color gradually spreading.
No, more than that, it weighed heavily on my mind that His, who always rushed to give me anything, seemed burdensome.
His, who was watching me intently, gave a light smile instead.
“Then, shall we use it together?”
As His took a step closer, the gap between us became almost suffocating, but the umbrella was now covering both of us.
I had to tilt my head back to see His’s eyes in our closer proximity. His, tilting his head, squinted playfully.
“Don’t make that face.”
At the finger pressing my forehead, I asked a bit sullenly.
“What face?”
“Much better.”
His was making strange remarks.
“What’s better?”
“That face that looked so awkward.”
I was at a loss for words. Indeed, His, who had suddenly appeared, had been awkward.
No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t understand why His’s kind and unshakable eyes, filled only with me, were so hard to face.
Why I couldn’t feel the same way as His. I really didn’t know.
If I had been another maiden, in another situation, I might have fallen for His without hesitation.
But since we had met under a contract from the beginning, His had always felt like a good friend, with whom our mutual interests matched well.
A winwin contract relationship, giving back precisely what I received. Anything received beyond the contract always accumulated like debt in my heart.
Even though I knew His would refuse if I tried to repay it, receiving always felt uncomfortable.
So even now, my heart felt heavy, as if weighed down by a stone.
When my eyes wandered again, unable to find a place to look, His lowered himself to meet my gaze.
“I don’t want to be a burden to Reina. So let’s continue as we used to.”
“It’s not that I’m burdened….”
“And don’t apologize.”
His seemed to be reading my thoughts as he spoke.
“If anyone should apologize, it’s me.”
A momentary bitterness seemed to pass over His’s face, but it was quickly erased by his warm smile.
“Why would His…”
“I’m sorry. I pushed my feelings onto Reina too hastily, knowing that her heart is not the same as mine, knowing that it would be burdensome for Reina. If I postponed it, I felt like I would be lying to both Reina and myself.”
All the things that had troubled him were being spoken calmly by Hiss, and I trembled slightly. Not missing that, Hiss immediately furrowed his brows and touched my forehead.
“I heard Reina has been sick these past few days.”
“Really?”
“A personal maid told me.”
I screamed inside.
“No, nothing like that happened. She’s been very healthy.”
But Hiss didn’t seem to believe it.
“I worried a lot that she might have struggled because of what I said.”
“No.”
“So, let’s not feel burdened and continue as we were before.”
I was torn by Hiss’s affectionate words. Even if we went back to how things were, it would certainly not be easy for Hiss.
Simple words, but ultimately, Hiss was saying that he would adjust to me again.
However, I had no confidence to assertively return the money I had received so far and break off the contract engagement.
And more than money, I did not want to lose Hiss as a friend.
So I made a selfish choice in the end.
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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