After Manager Song and Manager Shin left, Se-kyung, standing by the window, immersed herself in deep thoughts. The words Manager Song had spoken kept echoing in her mind repeatedly.
“Well, actually, this afternoon the CEO caught a suspicious person in front of the company. But as it turned out, that person was a reporter. Kang Executive checked the CCTV and found out that this person had been lurking in front of the company for several days. It seems like that person has been following the CEO for a few days.”
Manager Song mentioned that the man was the reporter who first covered the exclusive story. They didn’t know the details afterward, but probably Executive Kang and CEO Jin asked around to find out who provided the tip.
“Tae-jo has someone following him, so I probably do too. Does that mean they followed me when I went to the hospital?”
Se-kyung tilted her head. After the photos were taken in the restaurant, she had been careful every time she left in her car.
Especially when going to the hospital, she deliberately took a roundabout route and often checked for a car following her in the rearview mirror before entering the building.
Moreover, even if it were known that she visited a maternity clinic after a long time, could they have guessed her pregnancy just from that?
“An anonymous source…”
Checking the article again, Se-kyung focused on the words “anonymous source” that supposedly revealed her pregnancy news.
Who could have leaked such information to the reporter?
Only a very small number of people knew about her pregnancy. Among them, who would cause trouble for her with such information?
Then, did the reporter simply observe her movements and speculate to write the article? But the contents of the article were not entirely wrong…
“I don’t know, really.”
As the complications continued to unfold, her head became even more tangled.
Se-kyung rubbed her throbbing forehead. More than that, she was worried about Tae-jo. It seemed like her mother had seen the article, and she mentioned going to her family’s house today.
Ding-dong!
At the sound of the doorbell, Se-kyung looked at the intercom. When she saw Tae-jo’s face on the monitor, she rushed to the entrance and opened the door.
“Did you go to your family’s house and come back well?”
Tae-jo, nodding, looked at Se-kyung. His eyes were slightly swollen compared to yesterday. There were faint red lines on the white part, too.
“Did you cry?”
Tae-jo gently wiped away the tear stains on Se-kyung’s eyes with his fingers.
“No.”
“Your eyes are a little red.”
“The house might be a bit dry.”
Se-kyung made excuses, playing the fool in front of Tae-jo’s persistent gaze.
Although she had cried a bit, tears had welled up in the afternoon. How he could notice it again like a ghost.
“There are still reporters outside. When did Manager Song and Manager Shin leave?”
“A little while ago. More importantly, did you see your mother when you went home? What did she say? Did she get angry because I didn’t say anything until now?”
“Ask one by one slowly. I’m not going anywhere.”
Se-kyung’s gaze shifted downward. Only then did she notice Tae-jo’s feet, still without his shoes.
“Dinner?”
“I haven’t eaten. I didn’t feel like it. What about you, Tae-jo? Did you eat with your mother at home?”
“No. I’m worried about the situation here, so I might stay here for a while.”
“Oh, then what about something to eat…”
As Se-kyung tried to go into the kitchen, Tae-jo grabbed her hand and pulled her back. Gesturing toward the sofa, he indicated for her to sit down. He scrutinized Se-kyung as if exploring her thoughts.
“Don’t look up separate articles. Did you read the comments like last time?”
“How can I not? It’s about me. Tae-jo’s personal information was exposed too. Everything.”
Se-kyung pouted her lips in frustration. Did Tae-jo see it too? What people were saying about him.
“Did Tae-jo read all the comments too?”
“Not all, just some of them.”
“I’m sorry. I should have been more careful. Even though I expected reporters to follow, maybe I was too lax. Even when I went to the hospital, I was careful, but I didn’t notice someone following…”
“Why are you apologizing for that?”
“Well… if we weren’t getting married, Tae-jo wouldn’t have had to hear anything unpleasant. I heard from Manager Song just now. The reporter kept following Tae-jo?”
“Still, you’re not the one who should apologize.”
Tae-jo lightly tapped Se-kyung’s forehead.
“Did Se-kyung write the malicious comments?”
Se-kyung rubbed her forehead where Tae-jo hit her, looking up at him.
“No.”
“Then, the person who followed me day and night, was that Se-kyung?”
“That’s not…”
…entirely true.
But still, haven’t we been together day and night?
“The person who made a mistake is different, so why are you apologizing to me?”
“Still, it’s true that it doesn’t feel good.”
Se-kyung nestled into Tae-jo’s arms, her lips pressing against his forehead.
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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