I am a Big Player
Chapter 392 - 387, 3 Thieves with Red Scarves (Third Update)_1

Chapter 392: 387, 3 Thieves with Red Scarves (Third Update)_1

Richard brought Ren He to the surveillance room, where Ren He saw a few bumbling thieves with red scarves on the screen, struggling just to climb through the window on the first floor of Richard’s house. It was amateur hour indeed...

Ren He stood to the side, arms crossed, covering his face to keep from laughing out loud.

Who else would steal things wearing red scarves if not Knight fans? And it’s not really a problem if three or four impulsive types out of millions of Knight fans turn out to be bumbling thieves; they’re adorably foolish.

To the average person, it would be thunderbolt out of the blue to find such a large safe in an ordinary studio, right?

To make a special trip in the dead of night just to experience utter despair—now, that’s really something. And what’s up with keeping a safe in your studio? It’s simply against human nature.

There were three people in the burglary gang. Richard wasn’t sure if there were others involved and asked Ren He seriously, "Should we call the police?"

Ren He thought for a moment. Theft is an affront to moral principles regardless of the motive, and stealing is not a good thing.

But these were his fans, after all. He felt somewhat uneasy at the thought of them ending up in jail because of him.

Ren He was not a police officer. It’s not his duty to catch thieves, and most ordinary people in his position would probably act from their heart, not the law.

It must be said that these thieves got lucky with their red scarves. If they hadn’t worn them, they might have really ended up in jail, considering the advanced state of technology these days. With the school’s surveillance and street cameras, it wouldn’t be impossible to track them down.

They didn’t have any anti-surveillance experience, after all.

However, Ren He decided to let the matter of calling the police go. He did think they might return, possibly with tools to break into the safe. If that were to happen, he’d really have to administer some kind of punishment.

Perhaps this would be a way to steer them onto the right path, after all, stealing is not exactly commendable.

At that moment, Richard suddenly said, "Whether you report them or not, you have to move this painting out quickly. It’s not safe here."

Ren He thought about it and agreed. The painting "Stubbornness" was currently valued at 19 million US dollars on the market. Even though the price would drop through shady deals, it could still sell for several million dollars.

This wasn’t an exhibition with professional security. The only security here was the college’s amateurs, and with students coming and going at night without any curfew, the safe might stop bumbling thieves, but not real master thieves.

The school wouldn’t increase security for just one painting, nor did they have any obligation to do so.

So the best course of action was for Ren He to have the painting transported away as soon as possible.

Ren He immediately asked An Si to arrange for a security transport company to take care of it and insure it. The transport company would be responsible for any issues during transport, and then Erbao would take charge of receiving it in the country before secretly moving it to Ren He’s Courtyard House in Liu Hai Alley.

The painting held extraordinary personal significance for Ren He. It was the deepest insight he had after achieving a clear mind, and it was truly his own work.

Whether it was a piano composition, writing songs for Yang Xi, or writing Harry Potter, none of that was truly his, so parting with them didn’t affect him much.

But the painting "Stubbornness" was different. It was his own work, a keepsake.

At least, that was how it felt to him.

However, a small issue arose when contacting the security transport company: The earliest they could complete the payment, insurance, and travel planning, among other procedures, wouldn’t be until tomorrow. Before then, the company was reluctant to undertake the risk without a meticulous plan, which meant that the painting would have to remain at Old Richard’s for another day.

At that, Old Richard’s face darkened. What did this mean, to leave it here for another day? What if the thief came back and still didn’t steal his painting? Would the damage be repeated? Wasn’t once enough?

Of course, those were frivolous thoughts. The serious concern was, what if the thief came tonight and stole ’Stubbornness’?

When Ren He painted ’Stubbornness,’ he used a larger canvas, making it quite conspicuous due to its size. Rashly moving it out would attract a lot of attention, especially as it had just been delivered back, and even some students had a deep impression of it.

Even if one covered the painting with a cloth to move it out, it would merely be a futile attempt at concealment; it was obvious that it was ’Stubbornness’.

What to do? After pondering for a moment, Ren He said, "I’ll stand guard over it tonight."

Old Richard’s mouth opened, and after a long pause, he said, "What good will your standing guard here do, if they come with three men?"

"No problem," Ren He said with a confident smile. "Even if they come with ten, it wouldn’t matter. Rest assured, sir."

His daring to make such a statement came from his courage. The saying that ’skill gives boldness’ is apt; having faced down guns before, he wasn’t afraid of a few bumbling thieves. With master-level fighting skills, even ten bumbling thieves were no match for Ren He; they were not at his level.

After Old Richard pondered for a while, he returned to his office and took his paintings home. If you want to guard it, then guard it, Old Richard just didn’t want to suffer any more devastating blows.

He handed over his office keys to Ren He and left without any further instructions.

Ren He then went back to his classroom to continue with his lessons; nothing was likely to happen during the day, and moving such a large oil painting like ’Stubbornness’ out of the school posed a challenge. Moving it himself would be too noticeable, and the same applied to anyone else.

Upon returning to the classroom, classmates who hadn’t paid any attention to Ren He before greeted him with mixed emotions: "What did the dean want with you?" inquired one of them, probing.

Having seen Ren He’s sketches, they were aware of his level of skill. A student capable of being admitted to Columbia University won’t be lacking in sketching; rendering an object or a person with lifelike detail is fundamental.

The problem is, regardless of what they draw, everyone can tell at a glance that it is a drawing; this is the difference between art and reality.

Yet, the sketch that Ren He had just completed was different; the girl in the sketch seemed to live within the drawing, smiling at those outside the canvas, with a hint of shyness.

This was truly remarkable, and his skill indeed qualified him to be the personal student of the Old Dean.

Seeing the curious looks from everyone, Ren He chuckled and said, "Nothing much, just some paperwork for enrollment." He certainly couldn’t say that his painting was going to be stolen, that he needed to check the surveillance footage, or contact the security transport company, right?

Who is he trying to impress with that, the security transport company...

But just some paperwork for enrollment? Even that sounded too far-fetched, leaving his classmates bewildered. They couldn’t grasp that someone could lie so shamelessly with such a straight face!

Your family’s enrollment paperwork is handled by the dean? Is your bluff meant to reach the skies?

...

Extra reward for the additions, and one more Chapter to go.