Buzz.

His phone received a message. The slightly dizzy Gu Sui opened it to see it was from Gu Shi.

“Son, Mom misses you.”

Gu Sui immediately gripped his phone tighter, feeling somewhat more sober.

Every time Gu Shi sent this message, it definitely meant nothing good was about to happen.

He frowned and replied forcefully: “Did you go gambling again?!”

“Don’t misunderstand, Mom didn’t. Mom just wanted to ask, it’s almost New Year’s, would you like to spend it with Mom this year?”

Gu Sui’s expression softened somewhat. He stared at the message in a daze for a long time before replying again.

“I’m going back to Grandfather’s house. If you want to spend New Year’s together, come back. I won’t come looking for you.”

After a while, Gu Shi finally replied: “Mom… can’t go back. Can you send Mom some money?”

Gu Sui took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

“I don’t have any money left. It’s all gone to pay off debts.”

The other party didn’t send any more messages for a long time. Gu Sui let out a cold laugh and locked his phone completely.

He knew it.

She had long since been blinded by the glamour. That small place in An County, she would never want to go back.

Even if she had no money left.

Everything that needed to be packed was already prepared, only the simple photo wall by the bedside remained.

He didn’t want his life to be too miserable, so he tried to keep things as refined as possible in his daily life.

Looking up, it seemed all the most fulfilling moments of his life were frozen here.

When he was little, Gu Shi was still a gentle and dutiful mother.

She would take care of him, play with him. The photos recorded scenes of a young mother holding a small boy sitting on a merry-go-round.

Although old, it was very warm.

But there was only one photo of the two of them together.

Gu Sui stared at that old photo for a long time, only turning away when his eyes started to sting.

As he turned, he caught sight of the clearest photo on the far right.

It was a snowy day, with a woman wearing a heavy cloak standing at a bus stop under a streetlight.

Her hair was in a single bun held by a long hairpin, lonely yet proud.

Her brows and eyes were full of vigilance, her gaze lightly sweeping across the lens, filling the entire image with a pressure colder than snow.

Gu Sui reached out and took down this photo, his slender hand brushing over the woman’s face.

In an instant, it was as if her aloof and vast voice rang in his ears again.

‘Who are you?’

‘Where is this?’

‘Take me home? Alright, 37 Cheng’tian Street, which direction?’

……

“Mu Jiulu, oh Mu Jiulu.”

Gu Sui closed his eyes tiredly, leaning his head back against the bed. A light sigh escaped from between his lips.

“Why did you have to probe into my past at that time…”

Gu Sui fell asleep sitting on the carpet leaning against the bed.

A night of heavy drinking filled his dreams with all sorts of bizarre scenes.

In front was Gu Shi, uncaring and leaving him to fend for himself; behind was Mu Jiulu with her suffocating possessiveness.

The faces of the two flashed alternately, the vortex in the night owl sucking him in, unable to extricate himself.

Gradually, everything in the dream faded into darkness, until some faint sounds came from far away, waking him up.

“Young Master, Young Master, are you awake? It’s getting late.”

Gu Sui opened his eyes with difficulty, his mind momentarily confused.

He remembered that his alarm clock didn’t have this ringtone.

Creaking–

Sui Yu and Yun Mu pushed open the door and walked in.

As Sui Yu lightly lifted the bed curtain, Gu Sui was staring blankly at the intricately carved ceiling.

“Am I in a dream? Did I move house while dreaming?”

Clang!

The water basin in Yun Mu’s hands suddenly crashed to the ground. Gu Sui was startled awake by this sound and hurriedly sat up.

As he looked over, he found two young men dressed alike in the room, both with looks of astonishment on their faces.

Gu Sui’s throat bobbed, wanting to say something, but not knowing where to begin.

What’s going on?! Shouldn’t he be more surprised?

“Um, you guys…” Who are you?

“Sui Yu, did you hear that? The Young Master spoke, the Young Master spoke!”

The young man standing in a puddle of water suddenly started shouting as if he’d gone mad, his expression changing from astonishment to joy.

Before Sui Yu could respond, he rushed out hurriedly, shouting.

“I must inform the family head of this immediately!”

Gu Sui: “……”

Sui Yu suppressed his equally excited feelings, and after hanging up the bed curtains, he tentatively spoke.

“Young Master, do you remember who this servant is?”

Gu Sui was still completely bewildered. He shook his head, not knowing that this made the excitement on the young man’s face even more apparent.

“Excellent, he really has lost his memory. The Imperial Advisor is truly a divine person!”

Gu Sui: “???”

“Um, may I ask, where is this, who am I, and what am I doing?”

“Yes, yes, yes, it’s this servant’s fault.” Sui Yu said with a guilty expression.

“Young Master, you are Gu Sui, the only son of the General’s household. This servant is called Sui Yu, and the one who just left is called Yun Mu. We are your personal attendants.”

“Today is the day of your bride selection at the Yulu Tower. You should get up now to wash and dress.”

“Ah, Yun Mu just spilled the hot water. Don’t worry, Young Master, this servant will fetch you another basin.”

Before he finished speaking, Sui Yu also hurriedly left the room, leaving Gu Sui alone in this spacious and exquisite room to question his existence.

“What on earth is going on?!”

***

“I know she doesn’t love him.” (Female-dominant)

I’ve read this novel twice already. Sis, 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.