They say the first night of marriage opens up a new world, twinkling with stars before your eyes.
The first night with the male protagonist is the highlight of a romance novel.
In every novel I read, there was always a description of how strong and warm the male protagonist’s arms were as he embraced his beloved bride.
Just like the man beside me now, radiating a warm heat.
With crow-like black hair and deep, dark eyes, he was undeniably handsome.
And that man was now in bed with me. I was trying my hardest not to acknowledge this fact.
‘Calm down, Anette! Nothing should happen here! Evangeline must be watching over me with an axe from beyond the Sanzu River!’
Whizz, whoosh. It seemed like I could hear Evangeline’s non-existent axe sounds.
Spit, as if spitting into my hand… Ah, I’ll stop imagining more! I am a protagonist of a romance novel, after all!
Surely, tampering with the protagonist’s man in a novel meant death for an extra.
Just sneak a quick one before the actual protagonist shows up, and then put everything back in place?
Those who laid a hand on the protagonist always ended up complicating their lives.
‘So, I should just be Darius’s wife in name, having had the wedding and a nominal first night, but in reality, just friends who sleep together.’
Easy, right?
‘Maybe it’s quicker to find the original novel somewhere in the real world and tear it up with my own hands. That might open up a new escape route for me.’
“……Is there anything uncomfortable?”
“Huh?”
What did he just say? I’m so tense right now that I can’t really hear anything.
“Is there anything you found different than expected now that you’re here? If there’s anything you want, I’ll make sure to take care of it.”
“Huh?”
“Anette.”
As he called my name, I immediately put distance between us on the bed and clutched the blanket.
It was a reflex.
No sacred axe chops from Evangeline!
“I, I, I think I’m not mentally ready yet? Actually, I made a special vow at the temple, and that means…!”
“I was just about to say that we should just sleep tonight. Aren’t you tired after all that moving around?”
My train of thought about what kind of vow to make at the temple to avoid this night halted.
“If you want something tonight.”
Darius said, avoiding my gaze.
“It’s your right, but I’d like to have my consent as well.”
Wait, that’s what I wanted to say! Can we rewind time a bit?
Why are you the one refusing? Why are you acting unwilling? I didn’t want it either! I was going to refuse too!
As if I’m the one who’s initiating!
Darius thought Anette might be disappointed.
When two people marry, the consummation of the marriage on the first night is a duty of the spouses.
Anette had a spirited personality. Although they hadn’t known each other long, she probably thought it best to get it over with quickly.
“Are you really not going to touch me?”
Just asking this question indicated her thoughts.
“I want to be clear tonight so I can sleep peacefully. If I can avoid it, I prefer not to.”
Her blue eyes looked sharply at Darius.
Darius felt uncomfortable in this situation. He mostly moved with his knights and didn’t have many opportunities to see women of his age in the harsh North.
To him, women, or rather Anette, seemed too small and soft.
Anette, having bathed carefully for her first night as a bride, had pale skin. Her hair was also annoyingly silky. All of this internally tensed Darius.
The thought of embracing Anette, whom he still found awkward to be around, was challenging.
‘How do people usually handle marital relations?’
Even if postponing the conjugal duty of marriage invites criticism, I still wanted to close my eyes and pretend not to see, longing to just sleep. He was only 20 years old, having immediately been sold into a marriage of convenience as soon as he reached marriageable age.
“There’s no need for it to be tonight.”
“I want to support the Duke’s mindset and stance. If you let me know when that day will be, it will be a significant reference for my life…”
“Do you really want to sleep with a man you’ve barely known?”
“No.”
When Darius finally asked back with a flushed face, Anette also jumped back and retreated.
‘I had to go this far to make him back off.’
“No, I don’t.”
Darius, tense and unaware, didn’t notice the undertone of injustice in her voice.
“I know you’re my wife, and I understand we have duties to fulfill as a couple.”
He wasn’t going to shirk his duties. He just needed time. Time to get used to sharing a bed with someone, not just sleeping alone…
He didn’t want to carry out the marital duty just because it was expected of a couple, without really knowing who he was with.
He married Anette Fosche. The realization kept disturbing him after lying down in bed. His reluctance to do anything tonight was separate from the fact that it kept coming to mind.
He had a wife now. The bedroom that used to house one person’s breath now echoed with two.
“Still, you should visit my bedroom often.”
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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