“We should break up.”
Those were the words uttered by Louisa, who had been aimlessly staring out the window.
In the dense, foggy dawn, Edward opened the familiar front door.
The gas lamp’s wick seemed almost spent, casting a dim light. Looking at the dark hallway, Edward sighed and closed the door behind him.
Loosening his constricting necktie, he walked down the hallway, intent on finding the house staff.
‘Hey, is the salary I’m paying you insufficient? I can hardly see anything in here!’
Despite the late hour, he was determined to make a point today. He had hired them to avoid such inconveniences.
As he strode along, he noticed light seeping from the parlor door. Someone was still working. To confirm his guess, he opened the door.
The light that spilled out was brighter than he anticipated. Squinting, Edward saw the figure bathed in light.
It was his wife, Louisa Allen, who should have been in bed by now.
“Louisa?”
Noticing his presence, Louisa, who had been staring blankly out of the dark window, slowly turned her head.
Unable to wait for her to speak, Edward initiated the conversation.
“What are you doing here at this hour?”
“I was waiting for you.”
Edward turned to check the clock on the wall.
Just past 1 AM. He frowned deeply and let out a sigh.
“How long have you been sitting here like this?”
“I’m not sure. But it hasn’t been very long.”
Her voice was deep with fatigue.
Considering her usual habits, Edward knew she must have been sitting there for hours. He pushed the door open further and stepped in.
With an irritated gesture, he ruffled his hair and spoke.
“Please, I’m begging you. Stop wasting your time like this.”
Edward irritably turned off the wall lamp in the parlor. Now, only a small lamp on the table illuminated the room.
Louisa remained silent. After a moment’s hesitation, she broached a topic they had gone over many times before.
“Then, on nights like tonight, at least send me a simple message. How can I sleep peacefully when I’m worried about you?”
“I’ve told you repeatedly. If something serious happened, you would’ve been informed. Being late means I’m incredibly busy, and no news means nothing’s wrong.”
“But―”
“And it’s not like my work disappears or my car suddenly speeds up just because you’re sitting up waiting for me.”
Louisa was about to respond, not backing down.
Anticipating the usual unending argument, Edward quickly raised his hand to stop her.
“Please, let’s not do this tonight.”
“……”
“I already have a headache from a pile of troublesome issues. There was an accident during the night shift.”
Surprised, Louisa asked, “An accident?”
“Yes. There was an explosion at the lab. So, I have to visit the hospital tomorrow.”
“My goodness. Was anyone hurt? Is everyone safe?”
“Fortunately, yes.”
As Edward nodded, Louisa placed her hand on her chest, letting out a deep breath.
“That’s a relief. I should arrange for flowers to be sent to the hospital room tomorrow morning. Oh, and notify the newspapers too. The whole town will be buzzing with this news by tomorrow morning―”
“Wait, Louisa.”
Edward interrupted her. Louisa stopped speaking and looked at him.
He sighed lightly and said, “That’s not something you need to worry about.”
“Ed.”
“It’s my problem. There’s no reason for you to get involved.”
“But I’m also part of the Allen family. This is a major accident, and there’s so much that needs to be done immediately―”
“You’re right. But I’m the boss.”
“Edward!”
Louisa raised her voice, but Edward, clearly exhausted, raised his hand to cover his eyes, cutting her off.
“Please, Louisa. I’m really busy tomorrow. I can’t afford to add worrying about you to my list.”
“Me too…”
Louisa repeated his words. As she quieted down, Edward began walking away.
“I’m going to bed now, and you should too. Please, don’t waste your time like this.”
Edward turned away from her without hesitation, as if only tomorrow’s tasks were his concern. Louisa silently watched his retreating figure.
Click.
The sound of the door latch returning to its place echoed.
Louisa stood there, staring blankly at the door of the parlor he had just closed.
The next morning.
The morning newspaper, delivered to the house, featured a large article about the explosion at the Allen company.
“Edward Allen! Will his research ultimately lead to murder?”
“Oh, ma’am, isn’t this your husband’s lab?” asked Rachel, the young housemaid, bringing the mail.
Even to her young and curious eyes, the situation seemed quite serious. As she hesitantly looked around, Louisa took the newspaper from her and opened it.
There was no need to search for the article. A large image of the Allen laboratory, with flames leaping into the night sky, dominated the front page.
Louisa sighed. It didn’t seem like she would be able to focus on the other articles in the paper.
She folded the newspaper in half and handed it back to Rachel, saying, “There was an accident at the lab. It seems one of the researchers was badly injured. I wonder what will happen now…”
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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