At his call, her eyelashes quivered and she slowly opened her eyes. Her irises, the same color as her hair, blinked slowly, unable to focus properly.
Calon felt a strange mix of regret, sorrow, and impatience at her unfocused gaze.
Overwhelmed by emotions he seldom felt, Calon inadvertently blurted out words he had been contemplating.
“What bastard did this?”
Calon immediately brought Aelfrie to the branch office.
Nisha, who had been waiting for him, seemed pleased to approach but sensed something was wrong upon seeing Calon’s grim expression.
“Do we have a female doctor in the branch…?”
Forgetting Aelfrie was in front of him, Calon who had been casual with Nisha, suddenly came to his senses.
Before Nisha could answer, Ino shouted, “I’ll go get one!” and ran off.
“Um, it’s alright. These wounds are already healing…”
“Who would believe you’re healed looking like that?”
Calon gestured to Nisha with his eyes. Nisha nodded and led Aelfrie to a sofa.
Upon closely inspecting Aelfrie, Nisha’s eyes wavered.
The visible wounds and bruises under Aelfrie’s hat were quite old. That was even more concerning.
If they looked like this after some time had passed, they must have been quite severe when they first occurred. Yet, there was no sign of proper treatment anywhere.
“Miss Aelfrie, pardon me for a moment.”
“Yes?”
Ignoring her answer, Nisha rolled up Aelfrie’s sleeve.
As her baggy clothes easily slid up, the marks of wounds and burns on her arm were exposed.
A startled Aelfrie quickly pulled down her sleeve, but both Nisha and Calon had already seen the injuries.
Ashamed and saddened, Aelfrie trembled, her head bowed.
She knew it would be difficult to hide, but she hadn’t expected to be so thoroughly exposed right upon her arrival.
“I’m back!”
That’s when Ino returned with a doctor from the branch. Nisha signaled to Calon and Ino with her eyes.
I’ll be outside.
Though her mouth remained closed, her voice seemed to echo in their minds.
Some time later, the doctor exited the room. Calon immediately approached him with a question.
“How is Miss Aelfrie’s condition?”
“It’s serious.”
“Her wounds, as expected…”
“It’s not just the wounds that are a concern, there’s something more pressing.”
“What other issue?”
“That is…”
The doctor hesitated to discuss the patient’s condition with others. After all, Aelfrie had been too ashamed to even lift her head when she showed her wounds for examination.
The sight of the ailing person being embarrassed by her own injuries only intensified the doctor’s sympathy.
Most people tend to reveal their wounds, aiming to inform those around them of their problems and seek help.
But it’s different for those who cannot receive any assistance from their surroundings.
They try to hide their injuries.
People in such situations are wary of their environment, knowing that their injuries could become vulnerabilities easily exploited by others.
So, the moment the doctor saw Aelfrie’s condition, he understood.
He realized that her surrounding environment was close to the worst possible, and she had been exposed to it for so long that she had become resigned to it, rather than attempting to change it.
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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