Arthur pulled up a chair and sat close, right in front of Reina.
Close enough that their knees overlapped, Reina looked at him awkwardly tensed.
Arthur took her hand, which covered her face, and pulled it down.
“……”
Reina’s face, layered with illsuited makeup, was fully exposed before Arthur.
Arthur silently gazed at her face.
Reina’s face turned red in embarrassment.
“……”
Reina thought Arthur was about to tease her or laugh with a short joke.
But Arthur just gently brushed over her eyelid, which was covered in makeup, with his right thumb, silently, holding her cheeks with both hands.
“……Should I erase it?”
“Huh?”
“All of it?”
Arthur’s gaze briefly fell, then met her eyes again.
“You don’t like it?”
“……”
Reina blinked her eyes.
It should have been laughable.
But Arthur didn’t laugh at all.
Reina hesitated at his serious face, which was out of place.
“……Isn’t it strange? My face…….”
Arthur smirked as if amused not by her face, but by her words.
“Not much.”
And he lightly stroked her eyelid with his thumb.
“It sparkles a bit more than usual.”
And he lowered his hand and gently touched her lips with his fingertips.
“And it’s a bit more red than usual.”
Arthur looked at Reina with a smile and lowered his hand onto his knee.
“But it’s still pretty.”
“……”
……What’s pretty about it?
Even though she knew it was a blatant lie, her face flushed.
Reina looked at him with a ticklish and confused feeling.
“……Lord Arthur, you’re surprisingly good at lip service.”
Arthur chuckled.
“I don’t really need the ability to lip service to compliment your appearance.”
He said so casually that for a moment she doubted if he really thought she was okay.
Reina looked back at the mirror in a fluster.
“……”
It was terrible.
Feeling a little wronged that she had been made fun of, Reina looked at Arthur with a resentful gaze.
“……You’re a liar. Or you just don’t have an eye for it.”
Arthur laughed shortly and looked at her again with eyes filled with laughter.
“That might be.”
“……”
Arthur picked up a clean white cloth from the vanity and moistened it with makeup remover.
And he approached and started to wipe Reina’s face.
“……”
It felt awkward and embarrassing to be treated this way by a man.
“……I’ll do it.”
Reina tried to subtly pull her body away.
“No.”
Arthur came closer as if to be more cautious.
“I’ll do it for you.”
“……”
His other hand encircled Reina’s neck as if supporting it.
Arthur, with steady concentration, moved the wet cloth over her face.
His gray eyes quietly moved over Reina’s face.
“……”
It’s too close……
More embarrassing than I thought.
She wanted to close her eyes.
But then, it might seem like she’s asking for a kiss.
She couldn’t close her eyes.
“……”
This was the first time she had shown him her bare face.
Reina hardly ever removed her makeup, even before going to sleep.
Wearing a dress and makeup was like putting on another layer of her mask as ‘Christina’ for Reina.
So it felt strange to show her face, completely devoid of makeup, in front of him.
While wiping her face, Arthur looked into her eyes and said,
“Close your eyes.”
“……”
Hand position. Distance.
It felt like the moment just before a kiss.
Reina hesitated, not knowing what to do, and eventually refused quietly.
“……Can I do it? This is a bit…… embarrassing and awkward.”
“I like it.”
Arthur smiled.
“Don’t you think we lack such times?”
He spoke like a real husband.
Kind and good husband.
She felt weird.
Reina struggled to shake off the increasingly strange feeling, and asked, turning away slightly.
“……What kind of time is it?”
A time to feel like we’re dating?
Arthur answered,
“Time spent only by the two of us.”
「I want to be alone with you!」
“……”
One of the embarrassing memories she had with him came to mind.
Her face heated up instantly.
Reina cast a resentful gaze down.
“……You’re teasing me now.”
Arthur laughed.
Reina hesitated and subtly changed the subject.
“What about the crown prince?”
“……Kyle? Why?”
Reina hesitated for a moment, then muttered quietly.
“Should I… redo my makeup… do you think we’ll see each other again today?”
Despite trying not to give it away, her unwillingness to see him again was evident.
Kevrant, while removing her makeup, smiled.
“You don’t have to.”
Finally, at his words, Marina’s face relaxed.
With a soft sigh, almost unconscious,
She pressed her neck awkwardly, a relieved smile on her face.
A bit belatedly, she glanced at him and asked.
“Did the Crown Prince… not feel upset yesterday?”
Kevrant, while folding the clean cloth again, replied.
“It’s fine. You just need to worry about me.”
Marina inadvertently chuckled.
Was he joking that she didn’t need to worry because of the Crown Prince?
Kevrant, once again holding the cloth to her face, spoke.
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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