The wealthy district was serene and peaceful at night, the sound of footsteps heading home was even less noticeable here. Every prosperous and peaceful person here longed for the embrace of home.
The switch on the mailbox, inscribed with cursive English words, clinked in the wind. The mailbox was engraved with the name "Wayne". One Hand pressed the jiggling switch, turning it upwards.
Bruce pushed open the mansion's front door, saw the warm light streaming from the windows, and felt a touch of ease.
As soon as he walked into the mansion's hall, a figure pounced him. Bruce instinctively spread his arms and hugged the rushing Aisha, while Alfred, trailing behind, cleared his throat.
Bruce brought Aisha to his front, speaking to her sternly, "You can't pounce on people..."
"Daddy! Daddy!" Aisha called out twice before struggling out of his arms, running to Alfred's side, shaking her head at him. Alfred picked her up, and Aisha said, "Daddy! No smell! No alcohol!"
Bruce shook his head, and Alfred smiled at him, saying, "Master, have you finished your homework?"
As Bruce walked towards the sofa, he replied, "Yes, I've handed in some of it."
"I heard from Mrs. Bird next door that the competition among Gotham University's top graduates this year is intense. Are you confident, Master?"
Bruce looked around the hall and then turned to Alfred, "Where's Dick? Shouldn't he be staying at home today?"
"He's playing in the backyard. Shall I call him for you?"
"No need." Bruce stood up again, saying, "I'll go take a look."
Bruce passed through the hall, along the corridor, and went to the backyard, only to find not only Dick but also Selina there.
At that moment, on the lawn in the backyard, Selina was playing with a gymnastic wheel, the kind with two rings and a brace linking the two rings parallel.
Selina held on to the two iron rings, spinning them and performing various acrobatics within the rings. She instructed, "Look at me! I'll teach you Nine Linked Rings! You start like this, see? Support two arms on the rings, then use inertia to shove the upper body forward, roll——"
With a agile push, Selina spun upside down, holding onto the sides of the ring. After swinging for a bit, she stood securely on top of the rings again.
Bruce could feel his blood pressure surging,
Unexpectedly, Dick planned to give it a try. He jumped onto the rings, supporting his hands on both sides of the rings, asking, "How to do it? Um… push the upper body forward… oh my god!"
As Dick leaned forward, his center of gravity shifted and he fell from the rings directly. The heavy rings fell on him, causing him to scream in pain. Bruce quickly walked over, moving the rings off him.
Dick got up from the ground, rubbing his waist. Seeing Bruce, he nervously took a step back, saying, "Oh, Mr. Wayne, sorry, I shouldn't have played with this here, it will smash the lawn ..."
"What's there to be afraid of? He is a big spender, if it's ruined, just fix it." Selina shrugged indifferently, trying to push the ring away from Bruce's hand, but Bruce held onto the ring tightly, staring at Selina. Selina looked up at him innocently and asked, "What? Did I say something wrong? Are you really worried about the lawn?"
"Don't you guys have any safety precautions for exercise?" Bruce asked, "And aren't there supposed to be prior drills before jumping on equipment?"
Selina displayed a helpless expression, waving her hand and said, "Mr. Wayne, can you stop nit-picking? We are just looking for something fun, just to get some exercise..."
"Besides, Dick and I have had gymnastics training. You think this thing is hard? I guarantee you, less than ten minutes, and he'll be more skilled than me. You underestimate him!"
"I'm not stopping you from practicing gymnastics, but you should at least take some protective measures, right? If this thing hits your spine, you could be paralyzed."
Selina rolled her eyes and grimaced, showing a helpless expression, saying, "What a pain, worrying about unnecessary things!"
"Sorry, Mr. Wayne, I'll go back to study now." Dick apologized and was about to leave, but Bruce, noticing the hesitation in his voice, paused and said, "Wait, can you really master this thing quickly, like Selina said?"
Dick's first reaction wasn't to answer but to glance at Bruce's expression. Seeing this, Bruce frowned; certain psychological terms and explanations began to appear in his mind.
Given the previous marathon of writing papers, certain things he hadn't focused on memorizing were now in his memory. Now, when the need arises, they immediately came to mind.
"Selina, demonstrate again. Dick, come here..." Bruce pointed at the iron ring, saying, "If you're going to play with this thing, be sure you take protective measures, and there should be a third person present. Otherwise, if your spine breaks, there'll be nobody to get you to the hospital."
Dick nodded. Selina got onto the ring again and swung around. However, this time when Dick went up, his arms started trembling; his push was even worse than before, and he fell straight down again.
Bruce softened his expression as much as possible, but Dick shook his head right where he stood, saying, "I might be out of strength, maybe I should go back and read a book,"
"No, Dick, didn't you do gymnastics before? I think you can give it another shot." Bruce spoke up, Dick widened his eyes, seemingly somewhat surprised, with Bruce watching him continued, "I do not oppose to you practicing dance and gymnastics, or even joining a choir. If you finish your homework, you can play with gymnastic equipment, but you must remember to stay safe,"
Selina flashed a beaming smile, nestled on Bruce's arm, saying: "Can I too? Could you turn a room in the manor into a gymnastics room? I have always wanted to play with the uneven bars!"
Bruce, however, looked at Dick and asked, "Would you like to play? Or to phrase it differently, would you like to be a gymnast? Or a circus troupe member? Or a dance performer?"
"Uh, I..." Dick stuttered, "I don't know."
Bruce lowered his head to Selina, "Go and find Alfred, pick the gymnastic equipment you like, you could turn some of the unused warehouses nearby into a playground or a gymnastics room after they are delivered."
Selina cheered and ran off to find Alfred, leaving only Bruce and Dick on the grass. Bruce said while leaning on an iron ring, "Do you still remember what you wanted to do when you asked me to take you in?"
Dick lowered his head, then nodded and said, "I just wanted to learn some skills, I didn't want to see the Grayson family continue to decline, I wanted to find out about my grandfather's case..."
Dick took a deep breath, then said: "My school grades are not bad, so I..."
"Would you like to give this another try?" Bruce pushed the ring equipment slightly, then said, "I can hold you up there, that way it will become easier for you to exert strength."
Dick shook his head and said, "No, it has been a long time since I last played with the circus. My limbs have grown a bit stiff, I might still fall."
"Are you afraid of falling very much?" Bruce asked.
"No, it's just that..." Dick paused again and said, "Don't you think it will be quite embarrassing? Falling on the ground, getting hit by the ring, staining my clothes with mud, and causing trouble for Alfred to wash my clothes..."
"I have known already, I shouldn't do these here, I can't tell my classmates that I have done gymnastics before, nor when I was praised by the teacher for my flexibility during ballet, that I can only smile and can't let them know that I am a member of the circus troupe, otherwise, they would laugh at me..."
Bruce saw a mask again on Dick's face. Perhaps, when he didn't care about Dick's school life, Dick could only try to blend into the group in this way for comfort.
The formation of the mask is not a one or two-day matter, or caused by one or two people. When people in this society desire love, they would willingly put on a mask.
And to take off this mask, there are only two ways, one is to fully understand that society won't give him love, another is that other people can give him enough love.
"Come on, Dick, if you think your limbs are stiff, do some warm-up exercises, then try it multiple times. I can control this ring, you won't fall." Bruce walked to the other side of the ring, and then said, "If you want to learn skills from me, of course, you can't be afraid of falling."
"I have to go out tonight, if you want to follow me, you have to jump off a high place, then swing up with a grappling hook. If you have a fear of heights, then there is no way for you to fly."
Dick stared at Bruce, his eyes lighting up a bit, he said, "Are you willing to take me out? Just like Batman? Weaving through the alleys and between the skyscrapers, really?"
"The precondition is that you have to finish your homework." Bruce shrugged and said, "but I think it shouldn't be hard for you. If you have finished your homework, play with the gymnastics equipment for a while, then follow me to the basement, I will teach you how to use a grappling hook."
Dick showed a surprised expression, supporting himself on the ring equipment, he said: "Really? Can I really become Batman's assistant? Can I fight crime with you?"
"I..." Bruce paused for a while, but still said, "Yes. Exactly, I need your help, tonight."
Dick started stretching exercises again after a long time, and when he did, Bruce noticed that his flexibility was amazingly good. Forward bends, splits and high kicks were easy for him, impeccable balance and flexibility.
After he got on the ring equipment, Dick took a deep breath, gripped the equipment with his hand, his fingers moved a bit, exertion in his waist, forward leaning of his upper body, he rolled straight out — a beautiful roll-over, and returned to his original position.
Bruce raised his eyebrows, he found out that Selina hadn't lied, Dick possessed an extraordinary balance and muscle memory, in simple words, he is an athletic genius.
The excitement was visible on first-time successful Dick, but soon, he calmed down and feigned profundity by coughing, and then said, "Not bad, right? I guess I was a bit lacking in warming up just now..."
"Can you do something even more difficult?" Bruce asked, "Just like what Selina did just now?"
Dick stamped his foot excitedly, saying: "I should be able to, but...but you have to hold me, I'm afraid I might fall..."
Bruce was silent for a moment, then softly said, "I'll hold you...don't be scared."