Young Scholar bent down and picked up the scroll.
He unrolled it.
The familiar image on the paper made him freeze.
What a coincidence...
The painting was of the black little thief he had drawn.
Young Scholar didn't know how to react.
After a long while, he pressed his lips together.
Then he rolled the painting back up.
Young Scholar looked around the room.
After hesitating for a few seconds, he tucked the scroll behind the bookshelf.
He still couldn't bring himself to tear up the painting.
He didn't know why...
Since he couldn't bear to tear it up...
He didn't want to look at it, either.
So he would hide it away.
Somewhere it wouldn't be easy to find.
Young Scholar sat down in a chair.
He took a deep breath.
He touched his chest.
His heart was still beating irregularly.
What had happened today was too strange.
He didn't understand...
Was the black little thief an illusion only he could see?
No.
That couldn't be it.
Young Scholar shook his head.
The steamed buns had really been stolen and eaten.
That much was certain.
The question was...
Who had eaten them?
He had thought it was the black little thief.
But neither his older brother nor his sister-in-law had seen the black little thief.
In their eyes, he had just been putting on a one-man show...
Ha.
He wanted to laugh.
But he couldn't.
What was going on?
Could someone give him an answer?
"Bang!"
Young Scholar rapped himself hard on the head.
He'd told himself not to think about it...
Thinking wouldn't get him anywhere.
It would only waste his time.
He had more important things to do.
Young Scholar rapped himself hard on the head again.