There was no answer from the gods just because she cried. Nothing would change in this situation.
‘My heart has weakened.’
Being surrounded by good people, growing up unnoticed alongside Isabel, her heart became gloomier.
Discovering that anyone could live so brightly without any suspicion, she began to resent her own life.
She wanted to depend on someone, wanted to confess honestly to anyone.
“I’m too tired. Scared. Overwhelmed by loneliness. It feels like I’m suffocating. In reality, there hasn’t been a single moment of comfort.”
Ariana wanted to express her inner feelings like a child.
“Remember, Ariana.”
Ariana scolded herself.
“You remember the moment you died. You only wished for one thing.”
She had pledged to live carrying the burden of her original sin.
“Don’t envy those who have lived a life of love. There’s no need to lament a life where you always have to be on edge. You are just born that way.”
She thought she had accepted it, but the White family was too warm to maintain that mindset.
Ariana suppressed her turbulent emotions and raised her chin. She glanced at the statue of Arhun, placed gracefully on the table.
“It doesn’t have to be you. But watch me this time.”
A chilly smile appeared on Ariana’s lips.
“Watch how the abandoned child you discarded will meet his end, O great god.”
+++
As Ariana was heading towards the inn, an unpleasant scene caught her eye.
In front of a shop, a man was mercilessly beating a boy.
The boy seemed to be a delivery boy for the shop, judging by his thin and ragged clothes, resembling those of a poor household.
“You! Really! Are useless!”
“I’m sorry. I made a mistake.”
Ariana couldn’t interfere in every incident happening among commoners, and although she knew the boy’s circumstances were harsh, she tried to pass by pretending not to know.
However, the man’s beating was so severe that the boy looked like he might collapse at any moment.
As the boy turned around, glancing as if seeking help, Ariana’s eyes met his.
The boy’s eyes pleaded for help. In those eyes, Ariana found her past self—lonely and powerless Ariana from the time when she desperately wished for someone to extend a helping hand.
Unable to ignore, she approached, and the man stopped beating when he saw the knights standing behind Ariana. He stepped back hesitantly.
“He, this boy made a big loss for the shop because of a mistake. I hit him because he deserved it.”
Even though Ariana didn’t say anything, the man muttered excuses. Ignoring him, Ariana bent down and lifted the boy to his feet.
The boy’s pupils trembled.
“It must hurt.”
“I-I’m fine.”
The boy sniffled while trying to act fine, despite having bruises all over.
“Where is your home?”
The boy pointed somewhere.
“I’ll take you home.”
As Ariana made a gesture, Lancer took out a silver coin from his pocket and handed it to the man.
“With this money, you should be able to cover the losses caused by the boy.”
Ignoring the man who grinned at the sight of the silver coin, Ariana headed toward the place where the boy’s home was.
The boy spoke hesitantly.
“Thank you for helping me. I’d like to treat you to a drink as a token of my gratitude.”
The boy, who spoke awkwardly, was somewhat cute.
With nothing else to do, Ariana replied casually.
Lancer said, “Our group won’t fit in your small house, so we’ll wait here.”
Ariana, accompanied only by Sini, followed the boy into the house.
It was a narrow space with no distinction between the kitchen and bedroom. The house consisted of a small fireplace and a seemingly handmade table.
A man and a woman, presumably the boy’s parents, hurriedly approached Ariana. The boy spoke.
“She helped me. I want to treat her to some tea.”
“Oh, you helped our child. Thank you so much. Thank you.”
The boy’s father said.
Ariana felt that something was a bit strange, but she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was. It was related to the child, and she let her guard down, thinking it might be reminiscent of her own childhood.
Following the guidance of the boy’s parents, Ariana sat in a dining chair, and she drank the tea they offered without suspicion.
The tea tasted unusually bitter, and when she realized something was wrong, she felt her strength draining from her entire body.
‘I didn’t ask anything!’
Only then did she realize what was wrong.
The boy’s parents didn’t ask why Ariana had rescued the boy.
She tried to scream, but she couldn’t make a sound. She attempted to signal Sini to escape, but the opponent was faster.
The boy’s father struck Sini on the back of the head with a club.
Although Ariana saw Sini’s body slump, she couldn’t do anything for Sini.
Her mind was clear, but she couldn’t move her body as if it wasn’t hers.
As the small fireplace moved, several men appeared from the space behind it.
The boy’s father whispered softly.
“We can’t do it here. There are knights outside.”
“What about him? We only had a deal for the sky-blue-haired one. I don’t want to commit unnecessary murder.”
A man pointed at Sini and spoke.
“He’s knocked out, so he won’t be able to get up for a while. Let’s escape quickly before they discover the secret passage behind the fireplace.”
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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