Puluo State, Greenwater Bay, Greenwater City, Hundred Joy Gate Dance Floor.
The handsome Jade-Faced Shala, holding a glass of red wine, sat at a round table beside the dance floor, quietly sizing up his target for the night.
The target appeared: a lady in a deep purple cheongsam, gently biting on a ladies' cigarette holder, silently watching the center of the dance floor.
She exhaled a puff of smoke that lingered over the teardrop mole beneath the corner of her eye, as if telling of her loneliness and solitude.
SKREEECH!
The phonograph switched to a new tune.
The tango, "A Stone's Throw Away."
Jade-Faced Shala stepped to the unique rhythm of the tango and approached the lady. Extending a hand, he performed a perfect gentleman's bow and asked, "Beautiful lady, may I have the pleasure of this dance with you?"
The lady looked at Shala, hesitating slightly.
Shala took a rose from his jacket pocket and presented it to the lady.
