How much had they cried? The somewhat calmed brothers stared blankly into the void. Their tears had stopped, but their minds were still disoriented. Both their eyes were red, and their faces swollen.
The brothers did not want their parents to divorce.
Even Bernard, the oldest among them, was just a young boy. The parents’ divorce would inevitably have a significant impact on their lives, and the absence of their father would be a great wound.
How much pain must my brothers be in when even I, who have lived once before, find this situation unbearable?
“We have to be strong.”
“……”
“……”
Only I met Felicia’s eyes when she spoke.
“Those idiots won’t be any help. Lise, it’s up to us to stop our parents’ divorce.”
“……”
“Lise.”
Felicia approached me as I didn’t respond. With a determined face, she pinched my arm hard.
“Speak if you’re listening.”
“Then give me a response. It feels like you’re ignoring me when you don’t.”
“Okay.”
Felicia scrunched her face in apparent dissatisfaction when I nodded.
“We have to stop our parents’ divorce.”
“Yes.”
“You don’t want them to divorce either, do you?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t you have anything to say other than ‘yes’?”
Felicia raised her voice. I also felt a surge of emotion in response to her irritability. Why was she provoking me when I was already feeling heavy and distraught?
Angry, I glared back at Felicia. I was the biggest victim in this situation, whether our parents divorced or not. Why did no one understand that?
“What exactly do you want me to say?”
My voice was sharper than I expected.
“Think of a solution. You’re the most rational and intelligent among us.”
“A solution?”
“Yes.”
“If this issue had occurred because of a particular incident, I wouldn’t be suffering like this.”
“What?”
“Yes, there’s the conflict about mom’s research, but the real issue is that she no longer trusts dad. You should know the reason well.”
“……But if they talk it out and reveal their true feelings to each other?”
“Do you think a day’s conversation can solve the grudges that have built up over at least ten years? Even if we manage to solve this situation, mom and dad will argue again soon!”
“So you’re just going to stand by and watch?”
Felicia’s voice also had an edge. As she and I argued, our brothers reacted.
“We can’t do anything.”
“Why can’t we!”
“Felicia, Lise, both of you calm down.”
Bernard intervened between us. The twins who had been silent also started to stop me and Felicia.
“You only use your brain when it suits you, Lise!”
“And you can’t use your brain in any situation!”
Felicia and I exchanged glares.
I was ready to dig up all the times she’d been unjust to me in the Marsen family and talk about my position. I was also ready to talk about her vile attitude of seeking me out only when she needed me.
“Enough, both of you! What will change if we fight among ourselves?”
“……”
“……”
“Please!”
Bernard, usually calm, had lost his temper. They say when a usually calm person gets angry, it’s scary.
And it was true. His cheeks were red, his eyes glaring, his previously drooped shoulders stiff, and his gestures rough as he tried to calm me and Felicia.
Bernard looked at each of us and sighed deeply.
Among my brothers, Bernard had always been the most timid, but now he was the scariest.
“Felicia!”
Felicia shrugged off Bernard’s hand and stepped out of the room. Bernard tried to call out to her, but it was futile. I had no reason to stay here either.
As I also headed towards the door, Bernard urgently grabbed my arm.
“……Lise, let’s talk again this evening. I’ll call Felicia. So……you’ll come too, right?”
“…….”
“Lise.”
“……I have violin lessons with Roger today. I’ll probably be late.”
I crossed the threshold after saying those words.
“Hey, Lise. That’s not the right note.”
“……Yeah.”
“What’s wrong?”
While applying rosin, Roger looked at my face intently. The squeaky performance stopped. Seizing the moment, I put down my violin, my arm aching.
“Roger, do you think eternal happiness actually exists?”
“What’s with the oldlady talk? Don’t tell me Count Kito gave you a hard time?”
“Count Kito is kind, isn’t he?”
“Then cheer up. You’re making your ugly face even uglier.”
“……Yurik said I looked pretty.”
At my mumble, Roger’s face suddenly hardened.
“What did you say?”
“Nevermind. Let’s continue the performance. I really want to play this piece perfectly.”
“……What performance? You’re obviously not in a state to practice. Go home and rest.”
Surprisingly, Roger, who never skipped a lesson even when fuming, put down his bow easily today.
Just the day when I didn’t want to go back home! As I hesitated, Roger watched me with suspicious eyes.
I couldn’t focus on practice in this somber mood. It would be more efficient to meet Count Kito and play chess late into the night.
I put my bow and violin back in their case.
“Hey, Lise. You’re going straight home, right?”
“…….”
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.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
