Koizumi Katsuko saw Gu Weijing start painting, and she stopped talking to avoid disturbing him.
She held a cup of lemon water, tilted her head, and watched quietly.
Miss Shengzi had a straw in her mouth, and since the moment the work on the sketch paper started to gradually take shape, she hadn't really been drinking for quite some time.
Koizumi Katsuko's teeth unconsciously nibbled on the paper straw's tube wall, as the liquid surface gently rose and fell with her breathing.
The afternoon sunlight outside the window was just right, with the mahogany floor flowing in an amber gloss.
A little girl held a cat and played contentedly on the floor, with only the sound of the pencil tip rubbing on rough paper and the occasional impatient "Miaomiao" from the tabby cat audible.
Miss Shengzi felt a peaceful and serene atmosphere around her, tinged with a golden haze, like a watercolor landscape painting from the Hudson River School.
