When Cryer, who had casually lifted her with one arm, kicked the ground, the soggy earth underneath squashed and splattered with even darker red soil from within.
He asked Olivia, whom he had placed a distance away from what looked like the crime scene.
“Could it be that you can’t smell the scent of blood?”
To his words, Olivia responded as if puzzled.
“I would have to get closer to smell it. Unlike you, I am an ordinary human.”
Her words seemed plausible at first glance, but Cryer did not nod.
“You can’t smell this foul odor?”
When Cryer questioned her, Olivia wrinkled her nose and sniffed around, but she could smell nothing other than the scent of grass.
“Hmm. Rather, doesn’t it smell fragrant? A sweet floral scent? It’s horrendous, you say.”
Having looked around attentively with her eyes wide open, Olivia noticed Cryer, who had by then returned to the empty lot, and called out to him.
“Why are you going alone!”
“It’s better over there. The soil around here has been severely contaminated.”
Upon hearing Cryer’s words, a puzzled look crept onto Olivia’s face again.
“Contaminated?”
Her question was, of course, justified.
There were lush green bushes around, and a sweet floral scent was emanating from somewhere.
There was certainly a suspicious circumstance where the soil had been dug up, but to say it was contaminated.
However, instead of giving Olivia a proper answer, Cryer picked up a broken branch that was lying nearby.
Whooosh.
When he lightly swung the branch, the soggy, black soil split open as if a soft cake was being cut, accompanied by the sound of air splitting.
The spectacle, created with a very thin branch about twice the length of Olivia’s index finger, was hard to believe, but Olivia, the only witness to the scene, wasn’t surprised at all.
What’s there to be surprised about?
He’s the man who collapsed the imperial palace wall, claimed to be the most solid in the empire, with a single swing of his sword.
She wouldn’t even be surprised if he had achieved such a result by merely drawing a line with his finger, not even a branch.
Instead, she raised her legs in a crouch and waved her hands, trying to see something.
“Cryer, say something! What is going on, exactly?”
It was incredibly frustrating, but there had to be a reason why he told her not to move.
She didn’t think he was telling her the whole truth, but she didn’t think he was lying unnecessarily either, so Olivia obediently stayed put as per Cryer’s warning.
By the time one, two, and then three wrinkles appeared on her waiting forehead.
Cryer opened his mouth.
“When did it start?”
“The disappearance?”
“Yes.”
As Olivia, who had meticulously reviewed the documents the previous night, answered, Cryer shook his head.
“It started much earlier. At least a few years ago.”
“What do you mean, even if we go there……”
Before she could finish her sentence, Cryer was right in front of her nose.
Olivia was so surprised that she couldn’t even make a sound and froze with her mouth open, and Cryer closed her jaw for her.
Upon feeling his touch, Olivia closed her mouth tightly and, feeling wronged, glared at him.
“I wanted to show you a little quicker because you seemed frustrated.”
Even though she didn’t say anything, whether Cryer knew that Olivia was annoyed at his behavior of appearing out of nowhere without any signs, he added.
However, seeing the unfairness overflowing from her blue eyes and her still intermittently trembling rounded shoulders, Cryer soon bowed his head.
“I’m sorry.”
“I mean, if you know, don’t……”
“I’ll be doing this in the future as well, so it would be better to get used to it.”
Before she could finish her sentence, Olivia shouted at Cryer, who was shaking his head.
“Is that an apology…… Uh! Uh, uh, uh! Uh!”
When Olivia, whose face was halfcovered by a large hand, beat his hand while complaining, she paused at Cryer’s continuing words.
“Get used to it.”
The oblique shadow obscured Cryer’s eyes, but his faint voice held nothing but sincerity.
“I cannot always warn you and save you in dangerous moments.”
To this, Olivia stared at him intently.
There was no part of his statement that could be rebutted.
As he said, they were in the same boat, aiming for a single goal together.
And that goal was far from something achievable with laughter and joy. It was a dangerous one, with the tip of a sword reaching and retreating at close quarters.
However…
Olivia slowly removed her hand from Cryer’s.
“Cryer.”
At her call, his eyes, as blue and calm as a windless lake, and her eyes, as fiery red as an incessantly burning land, met.
How much time had passed since they faced each other?
Olivia parted her lips.
“You’re right. I should get used to it.”
“Indeed.”
At Cryer’s response, which returned without a moment’s respite, Olivia pushed his chest away and shook her head.
“But still…”
It was indeed a perfect statement for their current situation.
Four times. A total of four times. Cryer had ruthlessly, mercilessly killed Olivia four times.
Even if she knew he was not a murderer who swung his sword wildly and reveled in seeing blood, even if she held his hand…
“I’m scared of you.”
Olivia’s voice trembled faintly as she stared directly into Cryer’s eyes without dodging them.
It was a primal fear.
Like the relationship between a predator at the apex of an ecosystem and its mere prey.
Cryer did not console Olivia.
Because he couldn’t understand or empathize with her fear.
He just sincerely conveyed his feelings.
“I will not kill you.”
How could she not understand the sincerity in his faint voice?
Olivia nodded her head vigorously.
“I know. I know, but my heart’s pounding so hard… what… what are you doing?”
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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