45 SECOND STAR

"I'm going to look at the paintings," said Yibo, fingers already around a glass of champagne, taken from a passing waiter. He'd given one to Hai Kuan, whilst Xiao Zhan had been lost to his thoughts like he was prone to. Hai Kuan went along with him, and Xiao Zhan was left again to his nearly finished bottle of water, and quiet, despite the chatter and music in the gallery.

Yibo looked good. He was polite and professional in public setting, a trace of his personality shining through with Hai Kuan and Xiao Zhan. Their conversation had been short, more so, the lack of conversation surprised him.

Yizhou's hand closed around his arm. "I've got five people willing to buy the paintings already. What do you want to do?"

"We'll ask the painter, of course."