That was the mechanism he had set up beforehand.
The rabbit was currently docilely lying in a special hidden pocket under his tabletop.
Kuchiha's fingers curled and uncurled at her side, her nails almost digging into her palm.
She slowly lifted her head, her gaze passing over the crooked lenses, sweeping past the left hat, then the right one.
Finally, her sight landed on the middle magic hat.
That's it.
Kuchiha's heart beat fast and heavy, thumping against her eardrums like a drum.
She extended a slightly trembling finger, pointing to the middle top hat.
"Th-that one." Her voice was as thin as a mosquito's buzz, almost swallowed by the surrounding noise.
"Are you sure, student?" the magician asked with a smile.
He knew clearly that there was nothing inside the middle hat, or any of the three hats for that matter.
Kuchiha pressed her pale lips together, her finger stubbornly not lowering, only nodding with a minuscule movement.
She didn't even dare to look into the magician's eyes again.
The curve of the magician's lips didn't change as he grabbed the brim of the top hat.
The watching children held their breath, and the faces of the mischievous boys who had pushed Kuchiha also showed smiles of anticipation.
They seemed to already see Kuchiha's disappointed and awkward embarrassment after guessing wrong.
Finally, the brim was sharply lifted!
A snow-white ball of fur was quietly curled on the black felt lining.
Its ruby-like eyes, with a hint of bewilderment and curiosity, stared directly at Kuchiha, who was closest to it.
The playground instantly fell into a dead silence.
The sound of the wind, the distant clamor from the sports field, all seemed to be sucked away at that moment.
Everyone looked as if they had been struck by a petrification spell, their eyes wide and their mouths unconsciously agape.
The expressions on the faces of the mischievous boys completely collapsed, leaving only pure astonishment and bewilderment, as if they had been struck by lightning.
The magician, like a weathered stone statue, suddenly lowered his head to look at the position of his hidden compartment.
It was empty.
Cold sweat instantly soaked the back of his cheap suit.
What on earth was happening?
Kuchiha was also completely stunned.
She looked at the snow-white little life in the hat.
The rabbit seemed to have a spirit; its hind legs gently pushed off, and it directly leaped into Kuchiha's arms.
She instinctively caught the warm bundle, not even looking at the magician's "I've seen a ghost" expression, nor paying attention to her frozen classmates around her.
Kuchiha only buried her head, her cheek rubbing against the soft fur on the rabbit's head, her nose suddenly stinging.
Then, she immediately hugged the warm, soft bundle in her arms, turned, and ran.
Her two braided pigtails swung rapidly behind her shoulders as she rushed towards home without looking back, her slender figure quickly disappearing into the crowd.
As dusk deepened, Kuchiha, holding the warm, soft bundle, hurried into her familiar yet oppressive neighborhood.
On both sides of the alley were crowded, old apartment buildings with peeling paint.
Her home was on the first floor of one of them, its window covered with an unremovable layer of grease, emitting a dim and faint yellow light.
"I'm home..." Kuchiha's voice carried a hint of imperceptible joy, and she subconsciously hugged the rabbit in her arms a little tighter.
But... no one answered.
Kuchiha was certainly not an orphan.
In the cramped living room, the television was loudly broadcasting a horse racing program.
Her father was sprawled on the worn-out old sofa, its foam exposed, holding a half-empty bottle of cheap shochu, his eyes cloudy as he stared at the flickering screen, while her mother, with her back to the door, slowly washed a few dishes by the sink, the faucet dripping.
Still, no one acknowledged her.
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