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."
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.
Mrs. Kiyono, who appeared innocently girlish, proved aggressively competitive at chess.
Midway through the game, Lin Kiyono arrived.
She declined a chair from the servant and stood behind her mother, hand on chin, contemplatively observing the chessboard. Latest content published on novel•fire.net
Dubian Che, finding a moment of respite, eyed Lin Kiyono on May 28th.
She was wearing jeans and a light beige long-sleeve today; not a bit of skin was showing, yet she still appeared utterly captivating.
Particularly in those blue jeans, the beautiful curvature of her hips and her long legs were simply stunning.
Dubian Che averted his gaze from her. If he continued, it would get noticed—perhaps it already had been. She was quite lenient about him ogling her legs, rarely admonishing him for it.
Dubian Che glanced at Mrs. Kiyono and found the mother and daughter's thoughtful expressions matched perfectly.
The light streaming through the window made the white chess pieces shine.
Before Mrs. Kiyono could move her piece, Jiutiao Meiji and her mother also arrived.
"We've had the luggage loaded into the car; let's set off," Mrs. Jiutiao announced as she entered.
Approaching and spotting the chessboard, she exclaimed "Oh?" and rested her hand on Dubian Che's shoulder to take a closer look.
Jiutiao Meiji glanced at her mother's hand then stood by Dubian Che's other side, arms crossed.
After a while more of play, Mrs. Kiyono finally sighed.
"I've lost," her tone carrying the weariness of having exerted all her energy. "Mr. Dubian, you're really good."
"You're very good too," Dubian Che, holding the white queen in his hand, responded with a smile. "Even for me, it's really difficult to win against you."
"You're very confident, aren't you?" Mrs. Jiutiao patted his shoulder.
"Just showing off since I won against a beauty," Dubian Che said.
"Beauty?" Mrs. Kiyono laughed, covering her mouth with her hand.
Lin Kiyono snapped out of her contemplative state and looked at Dubian Che, "Do you usually let me win on purpose?"
"That's just a sign of my maturity," Dubian Che laid down the chess piece.
"Do you also let me win on purpose?" Jiutiao Meiji's warm hand caressed his neck.
Taking her hand off, Dubian Che affectionately held it: "Family doesn't care about winning or losing."
"You do have a way with words," Mrs. Kiyono chided.
"I'm the only guy here, who else should say the nice things?" Dubian Che stood up. "Let's go."
"Alright." Mrs. Kiyono stretched her arms to ease the fatigue from being so focused.
Then, she swiftly stood up.
Taking a few steps before turning back to the servant, she said, "Put a chess set in the car; I will win it back over these three days."
"Not satisfied with losing, huh?" Mrs. Jiutiao joked.
"The women from the Kiyono family never accept defeat," Mrs. Kiyono, linking arms with her daughter, declared. "Right, Lin?"
"Of course," Lin Kiyono nodded lightly.
"How coincidental," Mrs. Jiutiao linked arms with her own daughter. "The women from the Jiutiao family are the same."
Completely indifferent to winning or losing, Dubian Che followed behind them, reflecting on what had just happened.
Mrs. Kiyono had praised his chess skills, but the temporary event was not completed.
'Initiating a game of chess and then securing a victory, does that count as manipulation?' That was his try.
It was uncertain if the praises from the three others for this game would suffice to achieve the task.
Lacking the data, it probably wasn't likely.
The task was harder than he had imagined.
Doing something without the ambition to be praised, for someone like him with an exceptional memory and ability to multitask, was nearly impossible.
If his memory had been poorer, he might have momentarily forgotten about the system task;
Or if he had been a libertine, lost in the fun with the ladies and solely acting to win their favors;
Or if he were someone who liked to show off, flaunting his strength, sweet words, or incredible gadgets just to elicit amazement;
But he was none of those.
He remembered well, had rejected Lin Kiyono, and was not fond of showing off.
Arriving outside the "palace," a spacious car was already waiting.
"Shall we drive?" Dubian Che asked.
"I have a knack for driving," Mrs. Jiutiao casually tossed her car keys.
"The first time I met you, you were in a kimono. Was that really you?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? Of course, it was me," Mrs. Jiutiao opened the car door and sat inside. "Get in!"
Dubian Che intended to sit in the passenger seat, but Mrs. Kiyono was quicker. He reluctantly opened the back door, letting the two ladies get in first.
Despite their wealth, the car's back seat wasn't individual seats but another plan by the two mothers.
Facing the open door, the ladies didn't move inside.
"I won't sit with her," Lin Kiyono stated.
Jiutiao Meiji folded her arms and scoffed disdainfully.
Eventually, Dubian Che ended up sandwiched between them.