Splash!
Water spilled from the pot and fell down, transforming into a thin mist before it even touched the roaring flames, and then it flew into the air.
I shivered at the sight of those enormous flames.
Really, I’m going in there? No way. Save me!
“It has boiled, Master Idrrish.”
“Now fetch that.”
“Yes!”
With a thin reply, a scrawny man approached me, shuffling his feet. A giant shadow loomed over my head, and a large hand swiftly grabbed me.
Eek!
I flailed my short arms and legs, but it was futile.
In an instant, I was right in front of the man, who was referred to as master.
His golden pupils expanded and then narrowed vertically. His entire body’s fur stood on end. The man opened his mouth, full of scorn.
“Roast this and serve it at my table tonight.”
The death sentence was handed down.
‘No! Save me! I’m human! I’m human! If you kill me, it’s murder!’
I struggled desperately, but the boiling water was approaching fast.
‘Damn it. I’m dying young again. And that, too, by being boiled alive.’
My mind went blank.
(This is a time divider.)
So I had died once before.
Not in this world, but in another.
I had been sick since childhood. Despite multiple surgeries and never losing hope, the pain only intensified. For the last few years, I had lain in a hospital, enduring pain and listening to audiobooks, as that was all I could do.
So when death came, I was actually relieved. I didn’t have to suffer anymore, or be in the hospital.
I felt a bit sorry for my family, who were weeping and holding my hand, but maybe it was better for them too that I left so soon. They had taken care of me all their lives.
If there was a next life, I just hoped not to be in pain. I closed my eyes with that thought.
It felt like a long time with my eyes closed, yet also like a fleeting moment.
So that means I opened my eyes again.
The first thing I noticed was not the strangely gigantic forest grass, nor the unfamiliar shapes of trees I had never seen before.
‘Huh? Strange. Why don’t I feel pain? Am I dreaming, or is it because I’m dead? Is this the afterlife? Heaven?’
Enchanted, I moved through the grass, as tall as me, and came to a valley where clear water was flowing.
I was thirsty at the sight of the flowing water.
‘Can you be thirsty even if you’re dead?’
I reached out to the water instinctively as I thought.
No, I thought I did, but…
‘Ah, ah! What’s this!’
Instead of a hand, I saw something elongated and unidentifiable.
‘It’s not a hand!’
Where my fingers should have been, there were four small and sharp, dirtcaked claws. A plump pink paw flexed slightly when I applied pressure.
‘My hand has turned into a foot! A very small and insignificant foot!’
I wanted to touch the foot that had become my hand, but I had no hands to touch it with.
‘What’s happening? Does everyone turn into this primal form in the afterlife?’
I approached the water’s edge, astonished.
The ripples I caused momentarily disturbed the water’s surface but quickly stopped. Then the trees and cloudless sky reflected clearly, like a mirror.
In the midst of the water’s picturesque reflection, there I was.
With every breath, my long, pointed nose, like a fairy’s shoe, twitched sharply. My small, black eyes, like dots made with a computer pen, sparkled innocently.
And above my head…
‘Aaaaaaah! What’s this!’
I was shocked, and the spines on my head and back stood stiffly up. It looked like a living pine cone.
I know what animal this is… What’s its name? The cactus that poops.
Right! A hedgehog!
…I must have reincarnated as a hedgehog.
(This is a time divider.)
At first, I was utterly despondent.
It was sad enough to have battled illness all my life and died young in my previous life, and now a hedgehog?
But I couldn’t just waste time feeling sorry for myself.
First of all, I was hungry.
I roamed around and picked up some edible fruits to eat.
‘Oh? This tastes good?’
My eyes widened at the sweet and sour taste.
I hadn’t been able to eat proper food or taste anything when I was sick, so this was a sensation I was feeling after a very long time.
I ate as if mesmerized, and kept on eating.
Only when my stomach was about to burst did I finally lie down, and for the first time, I took in the scenery.
The dense forest filled with bird calls, the red sun coloring the sky crimson, and the clear, fresh air.
‘When was the last time I saw the sky?’
The wind blew, and the thin fuzz on my swollen pink belly swayed gently.
Tears welled up in my eyes for a moment.
‘I’m alive. And not in pain.’
So what if I’m a hedgehog? All my limbs are healthy!
At that moment, I decided to be the happiest hedgehog in the world.
But there was one fatal flaw that could not be ignored in the life of a hedgehog. I realized this a month after I started living in happiness on the mountain.
Somewhere, human voices could be heard. It was the first time since I had come here. I instinctively hid behind a leaf, crouching my body. The voices got closer, and two small figures walked past me.
“Is that rumor true?”
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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