The grand chandelier that lit up the high, arched ceiling flickered before her eyes.
After showing the invitation to the two men exchanging several rounds of radio communication, Seo Yoon entered the vast convention hall and stared silently at the chandelier with her noticeably narrowed eyes.
Did a mere engagement ceremony need to be this chaotic?
The vast hall, which was holding the afterparty following the main ceremony, was filled with highintensity lighting, so dazzling that it hurt the eyes.
Seo Yoon pressed her throbbing eyes at the relatively quiet entrance.
The burning sensation in her eyes was because this place was too bright.
Because she had been staring at the unfamiliar light for too long.
“Congratulations on your engagement!”
“Congratulations.”
The laughter of the guests holding up their champagne glasses echoed off the walls in the warm atmosphere.
The man and woman sitting close to the huge sofa spread out in strict rows faithfully received the continuous speeches and gifts at their engagement ceremony.
Seo Yoon, with legs that felt like they were dragging dozens of sandbags, slowly merged into the crowd.
“Instead of a toast, express your deep love!”
“Oh, oh!”
Kim So Ye’s shy face, which was clearly visible as she put her lips on the cheek of her fiancé as if she had been waiting for it, was clear.
A few journalists who had permission to attend did not miss that moment and continuously pressed the camera shutter.
‘It’s our engagement invitation. You have to see it to believe it.’
Her words were not wrong.
Seeing is believing.
Witnessing a dazzling world that she, isolated on a remote island, could not enter was indeed not easy.
Seo Yoon, who had managed to do that difficult task and stabbed herself with a dagger, lowered her gaze and looked down at her feet with thin eyelids.
Just until her birthday, which was less than a week away.
Because it would be too lonely to spend her birthday without him as soon as she left, just until that day.
When Seo Yoon, who was repeating her last excuse, raised her head, her gaze tangled with Kang Hyun, who was staring straight at her.
Despite her sinking heart, Kang Hyun only twitched his straight eyebrows, showing no sign of disturbance.
Continuing to dig into Kim So Ye’s waist, he calmly toasted while sitting with his long legs crossed and holding her in his arms.
Clink, as the crystal glasses made a clear sound, Seo Yoon, who had run out of the hall, faced a familiar face in front of the elevator.
“I will escort you.”
It was Secretary Do Seok Won, the faithful secretary who assisted Kang Hyun.
Kang Hyun’s acquaintance and Jang Yeon Ju, who took care of him like a younger brother, gave him the nickname of Do Sa Gyeon.
“I didn’t come to disturb.”
“You already did. The executive will go down to the room from inside.”
Seo Yoon obediently nodded her head.
If she tried to fend him off and leave, there was a nonnegligible chance that the security guards would block her on the first floor, so she had no choice.
This was the price for standing out in front of Kang Hyun’s eyes.
“Where did you get the invitation?”
After passing through the long corridor, she saw Kang Hyun, just as he was earlier, sitting on the sofa.
Sorry, sister. Seo Yoon, who was apologizing to someone who couldn’t hear her, opened her dry lips.
“Yeon Ju, sister. Don’t say anything to my sister. I asked her.”
“Why?”
Perhaps because she had left her seat in the middle of an important event, a displeasing energy crept into his sharply extended eyes.
She felt sick, feeling like she had become a burden that annoyed him.
“I thought I could give up if I saw it with my own eyes.”
“What do you have to give up?”
“If my brother is going to get married.”
“If he’s going to.”
“……I will get ready to leave. It’s not a phrase that fits our relationship, but it means I want to break up.”
An unusual smirk slipped from Kang Hyun’s lips upon hearing her absurd declaration.
“Let’s hear the reason at least.”
“If my brother gets married, we can’t continue as we are now.”
“Is that possible? The marriage is for a more comfortable life than now.”
Kang Hyun casually untied his neat necktie and pulled Seo Yoon’s hand to his knee.
And he shook the arm that was linked to him as if exchanging pointless jokes.
“I’m serious.”
As Seo Yoon emphasized again, Kang Hyun, not hiding his tired expression, rubbed his eyes.
“Why are you throwing a tantrum that makes no sense? Have you eaten dinner? If you’re hungry, wait while eating room service. I’ll call a driver.”
Kang Hyun, who sat her on his lap after wrapping his hand around her waist, patted her back like comforting a child.
It was an intimidatingly affectionate touch.
“I love you, and you can’t live without me. Do you really have to get married?”
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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