Old Li never dreamed that a fling he had with a younger woman would end up causing him such misery.

The woman with whom he carried on the affair, Dong Xiaoying, 28, was arrested earlier this week for extortion, according to the Pudong New Area Prosecutors' Office. Her victim was Li.

Court records said that Li, a supermarket manager, stopped by a roadside beauty salon in Sanlin Town in Pudong for a foot massage on July 30.

He was immediately attracted to the young masseuse, Dong, who was nearly the same age as his daughter.

Upon learning that the girl was unhappily married in Heilongjiang Province, he attempted to console her by rubbing her hands. Soon thereafter, they began to live together as a couple in a rented apartment.

Dong seemed to enjoy her new lifestyle, and was intoxicated by love. Li, however, was finding it increasingly difficult to juggle the young lass and his wife back home.

He finally told Dong that he wanted to end the relationship in September.

"He understood at last that the abnormal relationship wasn't going to last. He knew it would have a negative effect on his family," said Yang Jilin of the prosecutors' office.

Dong, sensing an opportunity to profit, told Li she wanted him to pay her 10,000 yuan (US$1,204) as compensation for the anguish he caused. Li reluctantly paid, and she promised not to cause him further trouble.

Time passed, and Dong began to miss her times with her elder beau. But what she missed most of all was his wallet. And so, she contacted Li again, demanding a whopping 100,000 yuan.

Li's failure to reply led her to call his supermarket and tell his colleagues about their tryst. The frightened old man wired 50,000 yuan to an appointed account in Heilongjiang in November, after bargaining.

However, Dong was still not satisfied. She sent Li a message in December, inviting him to resume their affair at her new residence.

Li realized at this point that the woman would continue to blackmail him. On December 3, he reported the case to the police.

His colleagues to this day despise him for his immorality, and his wife, who eventually learned of his secret, is livid.

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