"...A little progress."
Scholar glanced at the painting in Zhou Yao's hands, then nodded slightly.
"Really?"
Zhou Yao grinned, showing off his pearly white teeth. "Hehe."
"I think I've improved too."
"Don't get cocky."
Scholar reminded the boy, "You still have a long way to go."
"I know."
The smile on Zhou Yao's face didn't fade. "But I'm always improving, aren't I?"
"One day, I'll paint just as well as you, Teacher."
The promise he'd made back then still rang in his ears.
In the end, though, he hadn't been able to keep it.
But...
Teacher had been the first to break his promise...
After graduating from middle school, Zhou Yao got into the high school's art program, just as he'd hoped.
The moment he found out, his first thought was to share the news with Teacher.
He hadn't studied painting with Teacher for a long time, since he'd been giving the high school entrance exams his full attention.
It had also been a while since he'd seen Teacher.
After the exams, his parents had taken him on a trip.
When they got back, his results were out too.
At last, he had time to go see Teacher.
"Teacher!"
He pushed open the warehouse door.
"Teacher, I got—"
His voice abruptly cut off.
"...Teacher?"
The familiar figure he always saw as soon as he came in wasn't in the usual spot.
Zhou Yao slowly walked over to the easel.
Sunlight streaming in through the little window above fell across the paper, giving it a faint white glow.
"Teacher?"
A strange unease seized his heart.
He took a deep breath.
"Teacher, where are you?"
"Teacher?"
Zhou Yao told himself that Teacher must have had something to do and stepped out for a while.
Teacher would surely