Sharti glared at the man.
“The soldiers of the New Eiton Empire don’t leave loose ends.”
Her handwriting was slightly shaky.
“You asked me for help. I agreed to help you, fully aware of the risks. So, don’t start backtracking now.”
“I…,” the man grimaced, unable to clearly express his conflicted feelings.
Frustrated, he was about to stroke his face when Sharti put her finger to her lips.
‘Shush.’
The flapping of wings echoed nearby. A flock of birds seemed to be flying away in a frenzy.
‘Have they closed in on us already?’
Sharti hurriedly rummaged through her bag.
Small pouches familiar to the man appeared.
“You’re not thinking of throwing these at the soldiers, are you? If you do that…,” he whispered.
Sharti shook her head and scattered the contents of the pouches around the spring.
“…A sweet smell?”
Immediately, Sharti grabbed the man’s hand and started to run.
‘Ugh!’
Her right leg, already on edge, finally sent out a signal of distress. Sharti bit her lip and ran as fast as she could.
The man’s gaze was fixed on Sharti’s right leg.
‘Please!’
Sharti opened the pouches and scattered their contents on the ground.
“Over there! Chase them!”
A loud shout rang out, making Sharti clench her teeth.
Their footsteps, messy from running, made it easy for the soldiers to track them.
The only consolation was that the ground was all muddy.
“…Can’t see clearly!”
“He’s huge, that’s for sure.”
“Capture first, then verify!”
The soldiers’ voices grew closer.
Sharti had used up all the pouches.
“Hold tight.”
As soon as Sharti gasped, the man picked her up and ran fast.
Soon, they reached a grassy area beyond the mud.
‘There! Hide there!’
Finally, they arrived at the spot Sharti had in mind. A place with large rocks scattered around, as if a giant rock wall had collapsed.
Rustle. The man hid behind the sturdiest looking rock with Sharti.
In a hurry, Sharti took out a jar of fruit jam from her bag and prayed.
‘This has to work!’
She threw the jar with all her might behind the rock.
Crash! Fortunately, the jar hit a stone among the grass and shattered.
“!”
Startled by the sound, the man looked around, but Sharti quickly covered both of them with her robe.
‘Bear with it even if it’s stuffy!’
As she covered them, Sharti’s hair brushed against their faces, bringing them even closer. Meanwhile, the soldiers appeared one after another.
“Commander! The trail ends here!”
“What, where did they go?!”
Their long shadows stretched under the moonlight among the trees and bushes.
“Search around! They can’t have gone far.”
Crunch. The commander, Dodint, noticed something under his foot.
It was a piece of glass from the jar Sharti had broken.
“What’s this?”
“A jar, isn’t it?”
“Hmm? Something sticky and grainy mixed in…”
“It’s hard to tell with all this mud.”
The soldiers murmured among themselves.
Not far from their conversation, Sharti’s heart felt like it was about to burst.
The man, too, was having his own rapid heartbeat for different reasons.
“Enough. Stop worrying about it and keep searching!”
“Yes, sir!”
Dodint’s order made Sharti close her eyes tightly.
‘Hurry!’
The man held Sharti’s trembling body tightly.
Footsteps approached.
“!”
“!”
“Creak…”
Sharti and the man held their breath as the sobbing sound came right beside them.
Something was poking the robe they were hiding under.
Sniff, sniff. Then, moving away and past the rock, was a black bear.
“Co, commander. Isn’t that… a bear?”
The creature that had poked Sharti and the man, then emerged from behind their hiding rock, was a black bear.
“Looks like a cub?”
Indeed, it was a bear cub, sniffing around the bushes.
“Could this cub be what we’ve been chasing?”
One of the soldiers asked with a dumbfounded face.
The bear cub was boldly sticking its nose under several soldiers’ feet.
“No way! The one we’re after is definitely a huge creature!”
“But the bear appeared from the direction we were chasing. If what we’re chasing is a human, why would this bear come towards us?”
The bear cub was fearlessly licking the soldiers’ boots.
“Damn it… It was definitely a human.”
Dodint gritted his teeth, surveying the surroundings.
The man hiding behind the rock was in a tough spot.
“…”
In a situation where even breathing carefully mattered, his body and head were growing hot.
Sharti’s curly hair was tickling his nose and cheeks, and her faint breath brushed against his neck.
‘This is driving me crazy.’
He awkwardly flexed and relaxed his fingers.
Before the soldiers appeared, Sharti had hastily taken off her robe and now sat on his thighs. She had confidently positioned herself on top of him under the spread robe.
‘Why is she so close…’
Each breath brought the strong scent of herbs from Sharti’s body, stimulating his sense of smell.
All the medicines she made had different fragrances, but combined on Sharti’s body, they smelled pleasantly.
‘Did I lose my sense of smell along with my memory?’
But there was another problem.
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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