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.

"Are you interested in the project I'm talking about or not?" Noah Lane's voice sounded again.

The other man, handsome and stunning, did not take his eyes off the woman's departing back and spat two words carelessly through his sexy, thin lips. "Not interested."

"Don't rush to refuse me. Listen, if N.S enters the jewelry industry, those old men working for you will shut their mouths."

Outside Jingle Restaurant, Emma Brooks answered a phone call.

Feeling exhausted, she rubbed her brows, saying, "Yes, it's over. Come on; I am the chief marriage tester of Only Love Marriage Test Studio who has never failed. This time, I finished a case worth half a million yuan in only three days. That's a record, isn't it?"

A marriage tester's primary duties were to verify a marriage's robustness and check if a person was worth marrying.

Emma and her best friend Joyce Mills got investments three years ago to set up Only Love Marriage Test Studio. Emma had no interest in management; thus, Joyce became the director of Only Love. And Emma started as a green hand and became the chief marriage tester two years ago step by step.

In the past three years, she had never failed a single case, and she once completed six missions successfully in one day, which was a record.

"Emma, I have an important order for you."

Emma frowned, replying, "Didn't I tell you that I want to take a vacation after this one."

She had been working continuously for six months and had to take a break.

She felt like she was getting sick after facing the drama of family betrayals, couples turning against each other, and lovers turning their backs on love for so long.

Those who turned to Only Love Marriage Test Studio for help were commonly unconfident in marriage or had doubts about it. It was rare for Emma to meet clients who still held faith and sincerity of love.

"If I don't go on a holiday, I'll end up in a mental hospital. Joyce, you're literally squeezing the last shred of faith I have in love and marriage."

Joyce's voice sounded helpless and somewhat guilty. "Emma, I am sorry. Actually, I wanted to assign this deal to Emily, but her mother is seriously ill. And the client is willing to pay us eight hundred thousand yuan. If anything goes wrong, our studio's reputation will be ruined. You are the chief marriage tester. I can only turn to you for help."

While grabbing the hem of her dress, Emma answered, "Send me the client's info."

"You're the best! Love you."

Ten minutes later, Emma returned to Jingle Restaurant in white heels and a light blue dress with slightly curly hair hanging about her shoulders, giving off an innocent vibe.

She swiftly fixed her eyes upon a handsome man in a black suit. Before his chest, there was a pen.

That was her client.

The man's features were unspeakably delicate and pretty as if he was a masterpiece sculpture. Meanwhile, his clear-cut, angular face presented a standoffish aura.

His nose was straight and high, his eyes were deep, and every move of his sent forth an air of nobility.

After taking a deep breath, Emma thought inwardly, "The man looks simply perfect. If he were my boyfriend, I'd hire someone to test him as well. It's common for handsome guys to tend to cheat on their partners as there are too many women trying to draw their attention."

Who could resist the attraction of such a pretty man anyway?

Wilson Hayes noticed Emma staring at him. A while ago, he inadvertently glanced at her sarcastic smile after triggering a quarrel between a couple. Wilson found it funny and did not take his eyes off the scene immediately.

Undoubtedly, that was a woman full of secrets.

A moment ago, Emma was in a sexy, delicate dress but currently appeared like an innocent college girl. At the same time, pure yet flirtatious air was flowing around her body. Her attraction to men was mixed, and it had nothing to do with love but sex.

"Hey, what are you looking at?" Noah followed Wilson's line of sight, then involuntarily widened his eyes open. "What? You're actually staring at a woman! I thought you don't like women!"

At his words, Wilson gave Noah a freezing glance. The latter shrugged his shoulders, saying, "Fine, I'll shut my mouth. About that project, I'll make a plan for you to think it over."

Wilson took his eyes off Emma and landed upon the red wine in his goblet, replying without lifting his eyelids. "Okay."

Noah glanced at Wilson, an indifferent, ascetic guy, and at the innocent, pretty woman not far away, then curled up his lips slightly. "I'm leaving."

Although Noah knew Wilson had no interest in women, he noticed that Wilson spared extra glances at the woman. Also, the woman was apparently aiming at Wilson too. Noah wondered if something different was going to happen between them.

After sending a message to Leon Hayes, Wilson's gossipy younger brother, Noah strode out of Jingle Restaurant.

On the other hand, Emma was trying to overcome her inner fear. Each time she had to approach a guy, she suffered a burst of fear, major or minor.

This time, her target appeared extremely powerful. Although Emma was about five meters away from the man, her heart pounded quickly, her limbs stiffened, and her brain was out of condition.

At this moment, the man kept his head lowered as if he was contemplating something. Still, the air around him was standoffish.

After swallowing, Emma thought of the eight hundred thousand yuan and walked over to the man with her teeth gritted.

She took little steps and deliberately asked in a soft, sweet voice, "Excuse me, are you, Mr. Lawrence?"

Wilson raised his brows slightly, and the look in his eyes was extraordinarily frosty and stern. "What is the matter?"

Emma decided that the man was her target, Thomas Lawrence.

"Nice meeting you. I'm a student in the department of finance at A University. I want to apply for a job at your company, is that okay?"

Wilson gave a sidelong glance at the girl with a meaningful look in his eyes. "You want to apply for a job?"

"Exactly, I've admired you for long and wanted to work for your company. I sincerely hope that you'll give me a chance to prove myself."

"Admire?"

While smiling on the outside, Emma thought inwardly, "How come the guy has so many questions? I've already dressed up in line with his preferences. As innocent as I appear, he should just cut the crap and nod."

On the other hand, however, Emma knew immediately upon seeing the proud man that the task was nothing easy to complete.

It seemed that she would not get the eight hundred thousand yuan easily.

"Last time you gave a lecture at our university, I was on the spot. Your business expertise is really inspiring. Since that time, I've always wanted to..."

"What's your name?" A hint of strangeness crossed Wilson's mind when he turned to gaze at the woman.

Emma shivered slightly.

She was surprised that the icy expression in the man's eyes became hot in an instant.

Did the guy fall in love with her at first sight?

She was initially confident in her beauty and figure. However, all her confidence collapsed suddenly under this man's intimidating, powerful aura.

"I'm Edith Porter." Emma replied shyly, "You must not remember me."

The man gazed at Emma. Her face was oval, delicate, and pretty, giving off an enchanting and innocent vibe. With his lips curved up carelessly, he repeated, "Edith Porter?"

His voice was mellow, magnetic, sexy enough to impregnate a woman.

A dim light flashed across his eyes.

"Sit down, please."

Emma paused for one second, then sat down obediently.

Soon, Emma realized that it was the man who was leading their conversation.

She had never been this passive in her professional history as the chief marriage tester.