However, at this moment, Brian Harris had also realized the seriousness of the situation. Noticing the waiter’s suspicious gaze and feeling the loose bills in his pocket, he had already cursed that unlucky kid from head to toe in his heart—damn brat, jinx, just don’t let me catch you next time.

Leisurely flicking out a cigarette, pretending to admire the scenery as if nothing had happened, he was just about to be stopped by the waiter for smoking when, suddenly, exclamations of surprise and amazement floated up from every occupied seat, as if everyone had just seen an alien beauty. Each person was utterly stunned.

All eyes were drawn to a woman with a graceful figure walking up the wooden stairs from the second floor. A black ladies’ blazer hugged her nearly perfect, devilish curves. Her jet-black hair was elegantly pinned up, her outfit sharp and professional, her exquisitely beautiful, rosy face flawless in every detail. Yet, that faintly frosty expression made her seem unapproachable, like a snow lotus on a distant mountain, untouchable and sacred. The beauties on the second floor seemed to pale in comparison to her noble, elegant, and coldly glamorous aura.

At the nearby tables, people forgot all about their sweet talk and began to discuss in wide-eyed amazement: “Isn’t that the new mayor? I’ve seen her photo in the newspaper—am I seeing things?”

“That’s right, that’s right, she’s all over TV and the internet. Evelyn Bennett, Mayor Bennett, so young and already the head of a city, that’s really something.” A shifty-eyed guy chimed in, “Wow, she’s even prettier in person than in the photos. Today was worth coming out.”

The chatter was all about how beautiful and capable she was. Brian Harris shifted his body, trying to hide behind the crowd, and curled his lip: “Everyone on Earth already knows what you’re saying. Tch, there’s nothing technical about it at all.”

The shifty-eyed guy wasn’t having it, glaring at him sideways: “Then say something technical. If you don’t know anything, don’t talk nonsense.”

Oh, picking a fight?

Brian Harris looked at him with disdain, not sure if he was bragging or what: “I even know what color underwear she’s wearing today, hmph.”

“Nutcase.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Careful you don’t twist your tongue.”

All the men looked at him with contempt, and all the women glared at him as if he were a pervert. However, there was one gaze, as cold as if he’d killed her father, that made Brian Harris break out in a cold sweat. He pulled out a tissue to wipe his forehead, nervously humming an unknown tune and pretending to be calm, but his eyes kept darting toward the beautiful mayor. Seeing her gritting her teeth in anger, Brian Harris could only offer an awkward smile. Clearly, that seemingly boastful remark hadn’t escaped the coldly glamorous mayor’s ears.

“Ha, she heard you, didn’t she?” Several gloating men jeered.

“You’re done for, kid. You’d better go apologize, or you won’t be able to get by in Fengyang.”

No wonder people said that. The new mayor’s deeds over the past few months had already spread far and wide—bold reforms, punishing the corrupt, a stern and upright image, all telling the common folk: I, Evelyn Bennett, may be young and a woman, but I’m definitely not someone to be trifled with.

While the gloating onlookers waited to see the mayor explode and Brian Harris get in trouble, nothing happened. Evelyn Bennett merely shot the man a murderous glare, then, suppressing her anger, sat down sullenly at a distance, occasionally casting him icy, venomous glances. Her furious expression was obvious to even a fool, but her restraint without an outburst left everyone dumbfounded. They nudged each other, thinking this guy was absurdly lucky, or maybe the mayor just wasn’t herself today.

“Just afraid tonight won’t be easy…” Brian Harris slumped his head in deep frustration, muttering to himself, “Hmph, what do you guys know? She can hold it in now, but when we get home tonight, she’ll definitely explode. Because this mayor… is my wife.”

Chapter 4: Letting the Wife Pay the Bill

The café wasn’t far from city hall, so during lunch breaks, Evelyn Bennett often stopped by. But today, of all days, she just had to run into him, making Evelyn Bennett curse her luck. What infuriated her even more was that her own husband had, in front of a bunch of men, talked about—about her underwear. The anger she felt was beyond words. At the very least, I’m your wife, can’t you show me a little respect? Even if you want to brag, don’t use me! Wait, that’s not right—when I was changing this morning, I thought I heard something at the door. I thought I’d just forgotten to close it tightly. Now that I think about it… could that shameless jerk have actually been peeping at me?

The more Evelyn Bennett thought about it, the more convinced she became. Her beautiful eyes widened, and her already cold little face grew even frostier, a faint blush spreading across her creamy skin from shame and anger, making her even more stunning.

He was really going to be the death of her. Evelyn Bennett considered herself to have a pretty good temper—at least she could manage to “endure.” But ever since marrying this scoundrel, her temper had gotten worse by the day. Raised in a strict household, even she couldn’t help but feel the urge to hit someone.

Right now, she just wanted to look up at the sky and sigh: “Mom, what’s so great about this rascal? You went to such lengths to set us up—was it just to train your daughter’s willpower and patience? Oh heavens, I regret to inform you, in just this one month of marriage, your daughter’s willpower has absolutely skyrocketed.”