Finally, after ensuring the last of the wild boar family had safely crossed, Arabella let out a sigh of relief.
Now it was her turn. With each cautious step, she felt the frayed ropes of the bridge giving way.
“Just a little more, just a little more…”
She prayed fervently, gripping the bridge to cross. The forest was almost within reach.
‘Just five more steps.’
She smiled at the animals waiting for her, but then…
Snap, snap.
The sound of breaking ropes echoed behind her, and suddenly,
“Aaah…!”
The bridge snapped, sending Arabella plummeting down the abyss.
Her falling body…
suddenly stopped mid-air. A strong arm snatched her waist, pulling her into a broad embrace.
Her wide eyes, once shut, followed up a long neck to meet burning red eyes looking down at her.
A moment of relief was quickly replaced by a tremor that engulfed her body, more intense than the flames she had fled. She wanted to look away, but her eyes remained fixed on the Emperor.
The Emperor had vowed never to create a weakness in his life. The most fatal weakness for a human is someone they wish to protect. Maxwell’s father’s weakness was his wife, Maxwell’s mother.
He accidentally learned the truth about his father’s death. Contrary to what people knew, the target of the demonic black panther was not his father from the start.
The reason it invaded the Imperial Prince’s residence was his mother.
His father could have evacuated to a safe place. However, he charged at the black panther to protect his wife, resulting in his unrecognizable, mutilated corpse.
Prince Luka, expected to surpass Emperor Alexander and bring the third era of prosperity to the Empire, was admired by all. He was the rising sun and pride of every Imperial citizen. But his father met a tragic end due to his one weakness.
The sun, which had not even risen, fell into darkness without fulfilling its ambitions. Recalling his father’s futile death, Maxwell deeply ingrained the decision not to create a weakness in his life.
The sight before him left the Emperor both dumbfounded and infuriated to the point of losing his reason. He saw Arabella guarding the rope and evacuating the animals amidst the flames while racing his horse through the fire.
He hesitated momentarily when trees blocked his path, but fortunately, Arabella was crossing the bridge.
Just as she was about to reach the forest on the other side and he was about to sigh in relief, the ropes of the bridge started snapping.
The blood-stained hand gripping the horse’s bridle whitened with tension.
No one can be a weakness in my life. A tender-hearted woman who risks her life to save insignificant creatures will not become my weakness.
In a flash, Arabella’s small body plummeted downwards.
Maxwell spurred his white horse across the breaking bridge, leaped from the horse in mid-air, and lunged into the void.
The horse landed lightly in the forest on the other side. As the Emperor fell, he reached out and grabbed a hanging rope with one hand and caught Arabella’s waist with the other. Only when he held her frail body in his arms did the pulsing veins in his neck calm.
The Emperor bit down on his molars, refusing to acknowledge it.
He refused to accept that he had risked his life in a moment of suspended rational thought to save this woman.
Holding Arabella in one arm, the Emperor climbed the cliff using the rope. As soon as his feet touched solid ground, heavy rain began to pour from the sky.
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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