"Glad we cleared that up."
"Yeah."
"The shop manager had a rough time of it, too."
"What do you mean?"
"This kid was the one who nearly got scared to tears."
"An adult picking a fight with a child..."
"Such a terrible attitude..."
"The manager thought the kid was a thief."
"His attitude was somewhat understandable."
"Then why didn't he apologize after finding out the kid wasn't a thief?"
"...The kid's behavior was misleading..."
"Oh, so an adult was misled by a child..."
"That's not fair..."
"To be honest, the kid's behavior just now really was easy to misinterpret."
"Didn't we all think the kid really was a thief back then?"
"Didn't you think so, too?"
The onlookers gradually dispersed.
The little boy looked around.
Then he hurried off in one direction.
The little boy seemed to be looking for something.
He looked somewhat anxious.
Suddenly, a delighted expression appeared on his face.
He spotted a small alley.
Without hesitation, he quickened his pace.
He hurried into the alley.
The little boy stood in a patch of shadow.
He raised his hand.
He opened his closed palm.
A "turtle" appeared in the palm of his hand.
The little boy grinned.
"Adults are so stupid."
"Are they all blind?"
"They didn't even—"
"They're not blind."
An unexpected voice startled the little boy so badly that he nearly flung the "turtle" from his hand.
But the next second, he hurriedly closed his fingers around it.
He covered that hand with his other one.
The little boy held both hands at his waist.
He glanced around warily.
"Who's there?!"
Xiao Xiao strolled into the alley.
The little boy narrowed his eyes slightly.
The other person's face gradually came into view in the sunlight spilling into the alley.