“Shall we return?”
When Adeline extended her hand towards the duke, a lavish carriage was entering the city.
Although unadorned, it was clearly a high-end carriage at first glance.
The carriage, crafted from precious ebony and wrapped in platinum, gradually neared Adeline’s location.
Soon, as the carriage entered the city center, its door opened.
A glimpse of an elegant shoe peeked through the door, and a man in a dark grey suit stepped out.
The man, after alighting from the carriage, adjusted his cravat and then spoke to a knight following him.
“Bail, let’s prepare for a brief pause before departing.”
The knight, silently nodding, had his epaulettes concealed by black cloth.
Adeline had been indifferent to the carriage’s arrival, until she heard that voice.
She found herself unable to look away from the man.
Was this what it meant to be devoid of emotions? His hair and eyes, swirling in shades of grey, radiated a detached air.
Even without a family crest, his noble aura and imposing presence were unmistakable.
Adeline recognized him at a glance. He was her father, Duke Severus Credion.
‘Why is father here…’
Adeline’s heart began to race wildly.
Why would he visit this tranquil place, so far from the capital? Adeline glanced at the duke stealthily.
The first thing the Duke noticed upon alighting from the carriage was a doll with black hair and red eyes.
His indifferent gaze swept past the puppeteer, the children, and headed towards the fountain.
The moment his gaze met Adeline’s, she instinctively bowed her head.
“Ah.”
It was as if her breath had stopped. The Duke’s cold eyes seemed to chill her to the bone, even in the height of summer.
Adeline’s motion to leave had long ceased with his arrival.
“Del.”
At the sight of Adeline, frozen and head bowed, the duke called out to her.
Yet, even at the sound of the duke’s voice, Adeline remained motionless.
The Duke’s scrutinizing gaze felt like an invisible noose, tightening around her.
It seemed as if she would be dragged away by the Duke and thrown in front of the Crown Prince.
Unknowingly, Adeline wrapped her trembling hands around her neck in self-protection.
‘I should have returned sooner.’
While Adeline was mired in regret and fear, the Duke collected his emotionless gaze.
She was the only one perturbed.
Once out of the Duke’s gaze, Adeline exhaled the breath she had been holding.
‘My father won’t recognize me.’
Human emotions are indeed complex. Adeline felt a sharp pang in her heart, even amidst relief.
Her father, who couldn’t even recognize his own daughter, wouldn’t protect her from the Crown Prince.
The Duke’s doll-like eyes, devoid of any emotion, would surely cast her before the Crown Prince.
‘I must escape. Right now.’
Adeline didn’t want to be this close to the Duke. But the path home was blocked by his carriage.
She didn’t have the courage to pass by him.
Quickly, Adeline pulled the duke into a restaurant opposite the Duke’s carriage.
She wanted to distance herself from the Duke as much as possible.
The Duke, brought into the restaurant without understanding the reason, sent her a puzzled look.
“Weren’t we going back?”
Adeline decided to wait until the Duke left the area and it was safe.
She made up an excuse.
“Food! Let’s eat before we go. I’m hungry.”
The Duke, perplexed by Adeline’s urgent demeanor, simply decided to go along.
Adeline, having entered the restaurant to avoid the Duke, couldn’t hide her dismay.
In her haste, she hadn’t fully noticed the restaurant’s exterior.
‘The windows are too big.’
A restaurant filled with abundant sunlight streaming through large windows, it was an interior anyone would love.
Everyone, except Adeline, who needed to avoid attention.
‘Of all places, why choose this one.’
She needed to secretly watch the Duke’s carriage leave the city, but instead, it seemed as if she was advertising her presence.
No matter where one sat, the large windows framed the city center like a masterpiece painting.
Unaware of Adeline’s concerns, the Duke chose the prettiest spot for their impromptu restaurant date.
A seat where ruffled chiffon curtains beautifully accentuated the large window.
‘The inside of the restaurant won’t be so visible from the outside.’
Adeline consoled herself and carefully took her seat.
As they were choosing the menu and the table setting and dishes were being arranged.
The Duke kept noticing Adeline glancing out the window.
Her gaze seemed to repeatedly drift towards a silver-haired nobleman outside the city. The same man Adeline couldn’t take her eyes off earlier.
‘Could it be… she came to the restaurant to steal glances at that man?’
The Duke’s eyes fluttered restlessly.
As if sensing the Duke’s unease, Severus took steps closer to the restaurant.
As the man approached, Adeline seemed increasingly agitated, tightly gripping the tablecloth.
‘Not to my liking.’
Still a distance away. Seeing Severus through the window, the Duke frowned.
The icy gaze of the Duke and the fiery stare of the Duke clashed in mid-air.
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.]
