“Sir Shonli is here, master. I have guided him to the reception room.”
Philip checked his pocket watch.
“It’s already this time… only 5 minutes left.”
He nonchalantly put the pocket watch back.
“You go up first.”
“Alright.”
I grabbed the hem of my dress and went up the stairs.
Then I felt a gaze on the back of my head and looked back.
“……?”
Philip was standing upright with one hand behind his back. He looked elegant, but I couldn’t understand why he was doing that.
“There are 5 minutes left, aren’t you going?”
A gentle smile hung on his lips, like clouds on a spring day.
“I will watch you leave. It is a gentleman’s way to see someone off.”
He raised one hand and made a small gesture, signaling me to go.
“……?”
I didn’t understand even after his explanation.
Why would Philip be nice to Ellen? He’s been overly kind to me all day.
‘Why is he like that?’
I couldn’t voice my cognitive dissonance. I silently closed my mouth and headed upstairs.
But when I was in a position where he couldn’t see me, I quickly crouched down.
‘Has he gone mad? Why is he doing something he never did?’
Then the servant asked Philip cautiously.
“Master? Are you alright?”
“Why?”
“You’re different than usual. Did you perhaps have a good moment with the madam……?”
Apparently, the servant thought Philip was acting strangely too.
“Quiet.”
Philip waved his hand as if shooing a fly. There was no other answer.
I didn’t get an answer either, and headed to where the purchaser was. But Philip’s unexpected action lingered in my mind.
“Why is he like that?”
Revisiting the day’s events with Philip, I soon realized.
“Ah!”
Two things clicked.
The incident where I told him not to kill the injured dog and the fact that I agreed to teach Taekwondo seemed to have earned his favor.
Especially teaching Taekwondo? Maybe for the future queen’s safety?
Thinking that way, everything seemed to fit together.
‘Wow, a supporting character’s cooperation towards the protagonist. Indeed, the novel revolves around the main character.’
I let out a chuckle, feeling relieved that I also had planted a survival flag.
.
.
.
“You’ve come at a perfect time. I just finished appraising all the items.”
The purchaser rubbed his palms together and smiled brightly as he saw me. Then Mild the steward handed me a document.
“The purchase price and the current appraisal value have been organized.”
Mild Kyeong whispered to me as I was about to check the documents.
“There are a total of 452 items. But it seems that the purchaser is slashing the evaluations.”
“That’s true… I had a feeling when I saw him appraising earlier.”
“I have marked the items that look like they were appropriately evaluated and sold.”
As he said, the documents were wellorganized and there were quite a few checks.
I was impressed.
“Who did this?”
“I did it.”
“You’re quite skilled, aren’t you?”
At my compliment, Mild Kyeong grinned.
“You flatter me. I just did my job.”
At the same time, I also inwardly cheered.
Not only the content of the documents but also because our future looked bright.
I hadn’t even started the business yet. But with Mild Kyeong’s organizing ability, I could do anything much more smoothly.
I spoke to the purchaser.
“The current appraisal value is the amount you said you’d buy it for, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“Good, take all the items that are checked here.”
“What?”
The purchaser’s tone rose.
It made sense. Most of the items that were the same or higher in value compared to the purchase price were the ones the purchaser had sold.
I feigned ignorance and calmly retorted.
“Why? Is there a problem?”
The purchaser grinned.
“It’s just… I’m wondering if you’re selling too few items.”
“Too few?”
I looked over the documents again.
He could purchase as many as 100 items.
“100 items, how is that too few?”
The purchaser forced a smile.
“You know, I’m known for my big spending in this industry. Countess, can’t you sell a little more?”
“No, just take these.”
I cut him off. Then the purchaser reluctantly stretched out his hand.
“Countess, the Mermaid Crystal Award doesn’t worth much. Don’t you want to sell it?”
“The Mermaid Crystal Award?”
It was an item that the purchaser had valued at 2 gold coins.
“I bought it for 10 gold coins?”
The purchaser raised his voice.
“It’s not a special item, it’s a music box used by a young princess of some fallen country.”
‘Music box?’
I hadn’t thought of that. The mermaid statue was quite large.
I went back to examine the mermaid statue. I had glanced at it earlier, but now it looked beautiful with its smooth sculpture.
“Look at the material. There’s no gold or jewel setting, and the crystal isn’t that good. And if you look closely, they put marble inside.”
Trying to persuade me, he lowered his voice, watching my reaction.
“If the price is a bit disappointing, how about I add 2 silver coins?”
I weighed the value of gold coins in my head. Roughly 1 gold coin was worth about 1 million won.
It wasn’t difficult to convert, but it was a bit uncomfortable for me.
‘If it was in the won unit like the world I used to live in, the calculation would be easier…’
Having reevaluated the scale of the money, I shook my head.
“I still don’t want to sell.”
“What?”
“I like it. That’s why I called for it then. The amount doesn’t matter.”
What could he do when I said I liked it? Losing words to my invincible defense, the purchaser smacked his lips in disappointment.
Now all he could do was try to persuade me to sell other items.
“I also like the other things, so I don’t want to sell them yet.”
In the end, the purchaser took the items that were marked on the document.
His expression was not that of satisfaction, but since the purchase price was the amount he publicly said he would pay, there was nothing more to say.
I wrote up the sale contract with Domingo’s help.
A considerable number of items and various prices were listed long on the contract. And right above the signature line at the bottom, the total amount of the sale was written.
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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