Dubian Che sipped his tea and, through the floor-to-ceiling windows, gazed at the floating clouds in the sky.
He had excellent hearing and faintly caught the sound of a steamer's horn from Tokyo Bay.
"Last time your mom from the Jiutiao family slept over, she told me you play chess very well?"
He shifted his gaze to Mrs. Kiyono, sitting across from him with her finely cut short hair, looking about twenty-five or twenty-six years old.
"How about a game?" Dubian Che suggested with a smile.
Mrs. Kiyono's thin lips curved into a smile as she set down her teacup, turned to her servant, and said,
"Bring the chess set."
"Yes."
The footsteps of the servant leaving were drowned out by the rustling curtains.
Soon, the servant returned with the chessboard.
In front of the window overlooking Tokyo Bay, Dubian Che and Mrs. Kiyono each occupied an armchair with a table between them, on which the chess set was placed.
