The Tester of Marriage

Jingle Restaurant was one of the best in City Y. Its gilded hall was full of men in suits and women in ceremonial dresses; they were either the couples, business partners, or singles from the upper-class drinking alone.

There was a small platform in the middle of the dining room, and a band was playing melodious tunes.

Sitting before a table in the west of the stage, a pretty woman in a long red dress was holding a goblet and smiling gracefully at the man in front of her, saying, "Cheers."

She had fair skin and delicate features. Although she perhaps was not ranked the top in City Y, where there were so many beauties, her existence was unique and eye-catching.

In sharp contrast with the beauty, the middle-aged man in a suit had a potbelly and commonplace, even somewhat ugly features. He stared at the woman with a greedy look in his eyes, raised his glass as well, and said, "Miss Porter, after this meal, let's go to Q Inn to talk about life and dreams, how about that?"

The implication and seduction in his tone were rather apparent.

The woman tapped her own reddish lips with her slender fingers, replying, "Life and dreams? Sounds awesome. As long as you fancy that, we surely can take our time. But, let's me be frank with you, Mr. King, I can be quite picky and will not go to a hotel with any man if the price is not clearly specified."

A hint of fiery desire quickly crossed Mr. King's eyes when he could not help grabbing the woman's hand. "How much do you want? As long as you agree to be my secret mistress, set the price at your will."

The woman blinked her eyes, asking, "Really?"

Her smile was coquettish, and a winning gleam flashed across her crescent-moon-like eyes.

"Of course, I mean it."

Faking a vexed frown, the woman slowly withdrew her hand, saying, "But you already have a wife; I can't destroy your family."

"My wife is nothing but an ornament for me, and we haven't had sex for a long time. Miss Porter, I really like you and will give you anything but the status of wife."

"But... It's unfair to your wife for us to do this."

Seeing that the woman flinched, Mr. King continued in a rather grave tone of voice, "I don't think it's unfair to her. It's her blessing that I'm raising her. Isn't it common in our society that successful men have pretty lovers?"

While disdaining the man's remarks inwardly, the woman curled up the corners of her mouth into a meaningful arc, saying, "But what if I do not like you?"

At the words, Mr. King became shocked. "Are you messing me around?"

The woman elegantly finished the last bit of red wine in her goblet, her cheeks flushed, but the look in her eyes was standoffish. "Yeah."

When she stood up, and Mr. King tried to grab her, a shriek extremely familiar to the man reached his ears. "Jack King! Son of a bitch. Is our three-year marriage nothing to you in comparison with your three-day relationship with the woman? You bastard, how dare you to cheat on me? I've long known that you're having an affair, but you never admit it! How are you going to explain all this? I'm divorcing you!"

"What? Divorce?" Mr. King turned his head to see his wife rushing at him angrily.

"I'll kick you out of the house with empty hands. Let's see what kind of woman will be attracted to you after you become a penniless vagrant!"

Jack had not abandoned his wife before because he did not want to divide his assets into two parts after the divorce. Unexpectedly, his wife ambushed him and took the initiative to propose the divorce.

"I'm just playing with a woman. What's all the fuss about?"

"Just playing with a woman? You shameless rubbish. I'm emasculating you so you can't play with any women for the rest of your life."

...

The other woman in a red dress curved the corners of her mouth, and she gracefully left Jingle Restaurant before the horrible fight got her involved.

She did not realize that someone was gazing at her while she walked away.