A lonely and desolated figure walked step by step back to the mansion's gate under the night sky.
With the gate slamming shut, Batman shed off his armor piece by piece, and after a turn, he donned red velvet striped pajamas.
Alfred was still as considerate as ever, having already prepared hot tea and sweet cookies on the coffee table. Batman flung himself onto the soft sofa with a thud, lounging on it, propped up by one hand under his head, listlessly watching the midnight program on the television and tossing cookies into his mouth.
Before he realized it, there was only one last cookie left. Batman, while glaring at the TV screen, reached out to grab it, but the next second, he touched another hand and sprung up with a shout.
Batman turned his head as if seeing a ghost, looking at the figure sitting on the other side of the sofa. The other person picked up that last cookie, threw it into their mouth, took a sip of hot tea, and showed a satisfied expression.
Batman stared at him.
Reclining on the sofa, Shiller was completely oblivious, very interested in the noisy midnight family drama on the television, and still had the leisure to jokingly say to Batman, "I bet that the male and female protagonists will break up within three episodes. They're just not meant for each other, and then this person behind him, yes, the one with the phone, will immediately move in for the kill, and judging by her look, she's definitely plotting to climb up the ladder by having a child..."
Batman, initially furious that he had intruded into his home, and eaten his cookies, now became a bit curious by what he said and retorted with a curled lip, "No, that can't be, the leads are in a good relationship, I watched this drama the day before yesterday, and they've been childhood sweethearts."
Shiller snorted and said, "Just watch."
These family mini-dramas were not long, about 15 minutes per episode. In fact, at the 20-minute mark, the clues started to emerge, as the female lead ran out after an argument and met the second male lead on the roadside, at which point Batman knew trouble was coming.
After reluctantly watching two and a half episodes, the male and female leads were at daggers drawn, the female lead ran off to find the second male, and the third party pointed out by Shiller successfully took her place, even secretly tampering with the safety products.
Batman scoffed, grabbed the remote control, and wanted to change the channel. He said, "You must have watched this drama before, but I'm not one to be addicted to soap operas, I want to watch the political news."
Batman switched channels with the remote control. America's midnight political radio wouldn't broadcast anything very serious, mostly it was the less popular people from both parties sitting there and chattering nonsense, along with some public Q&As and somewhat humorous interviews with third-rate celebrities.
Batman flipped through the channels for quite a while, finally finding a familiar face, an MP he seemed to have met once at a party. Although not very famous, the fact that he attended a party with Batman himself meant he must have had some significance.
The content of his conversation with the host was very general, mainly analyzing the world situation and drawing votes for his party, then he brought up his daughter's marriage, stating both were very devout Protestants, followed by some trivial matters about wedding preparations.
These things seemed meaningless and were inappropriate chat fodder for the public, but American political news always appeared to have a lot of trivial chitchat, every word intending to showcase their party's stance.
The MP was clearly from the Conservative Party; the wedding details he emphasized were those most traditional and classic, resonating with the older generation, a tactic they habitually used.
Unexpectedly, Shiller shook his head and sighed, saying, "It seems his daughter's marriage won't go well."
Batman's attention was once again drawn to him, not that he wanted to keep regarding his uninvited guest. But each time, the latter spoke with such a sure tone, saying things that seemed outlandish.
"Come on, isn't this just a frustrated old politician playing his outdated tricks? How can you tell the marriage won't go well?"
"Did you notice a detail?" Shiller reclined on the single-seater sofa, propped his head up with his hand, and said, "His daughter requested a blue and white balloon arch, but he refused it, saying it didn't match the carpet's color and there might be accidents with the balloons, causing a scare among guests."
"Yes, what about it?" Batman said with an attitude that seemed to challenge Shiller to come up with some grand theory.
"My guess is that it wasn't his daughter who wanted it, but his son-in-law. And the choice of bow tie styles that followed made it even more obvious."
"According to what he said, the current son-in-law is his daughter's first love, and they never cohabitated before marriage. So where did his daughter learn about so many men's bow tie styles, pick one out, and argue with her father about every style's attributes?"
"Are you suggesting that the son-in-law has been using his daughter's voice to influence her father's decisions?"
"What I mean is that this gentleman's daughter has been completely won over by her son-in-law, totally turning her elbow outwards, and is not as traditional and conservative as he describes. In private, she probably cast off convention long ago."
"And how can you tell?"
"Problems like these always arise in such families, it's not hard to see because her father is frustrated in his career and is desperately looking for an advantage. Being in the Conservative Party, he naturally wants to appear traditional and conservative. If he can't do it himself, he tries to shape his daughter into the perfect traditional wife he envisions."
"How do you know he can't do it?"
"I not only know he can't do it, but I also know he can't control his lower half. That guy has probably been cheating for a long time."
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"Although I'm not surprised, how did you figure it out?"
"Remember the two audience perspective cuts we just had?"
"You mean when they cut to the audience laughing during the God joke?"
"Yes, his lover should be in the seats. If you don't believe me, just watch when they cut back later. Second row, third person, the woman with auburn curls, her laughter is clearly different from the others."
Batman was skeptical as he stared at the screen. Soon they told another unfunny joke, prompting the camera to cut to the audience again. This time, Batman focused on the woman Shiller had pointed out, and then he noticed something truly different.
The reactions of the other people were, to put it nicely, professional smiles, or if put unpleasantly, perfunctory. Unsurprisingly, most of the audience appeared to be paid, but the lady with the auburn hair had a pride in her smile.
This pride was strange, not the kind that one shows when a familiar person performs well, but rather like possessing someone and demanding the public to acknowledge her significance with satisfaction and complacency.
This emotion was so obvious that even an ordinary person could glimpse it, let alone Batman.
"If he set an example himself, perhaps I wouldn't so easily deduce his daughter's rebellious ways. But he could do such a thing, you should know what kind of person he is."
Shiller sighed softly and said, "For a child, the scariest thing isn't strict parents. If parents adhere consistently to a principle, even if it's wrong, they wouldn't bring up a divided person or cause a child the pain of inner conflict."
"The most fearsome is inconsistency and logical contradictions, wanting one thing now and another later, using one set of logic for the child and another for oneself and others. In such a family, kids grow up with their spirits torn, ultimately falling into an endless whirlpool of self-pull, drowning in it and becoming misfits in this world."
"Children with such personalities struggle to manage intimate relationships well. 'Vulnerability' might be the best descriptive word, but I prefer to call it 'the forced madness of a sliding door.'
"When people distance themselves, they feel it's because of others, believing they should be above anyone they associate with, and thus desperately bind others to their side."
"When people want to get close, they want to know if they're the closest to them, demanding limitless self-validation from them. If the other party can't satisfy them, then they push them away."
"In intimate relationships, they endlessly repeat this process until they drive all sane, non-sliding door people crazy as well."
"Wait a second," Batman, as if suddenly realizing something, narrowed his eyes and looked at Shiller, "You're talking about the daughter of that politician, aren't you?"
"Of course," Shiller nodded with feigned innocence, "What else could it be? I wouldn't be using an allegory, would I?"
Batman was taken aback, always feeling that something was off, but if he pointed it out, it would seem as though he was taking it too seriously.
After all, they were still in the mood for casual conversation; whoever steered it to serious matters would seem insecure, as if they were relating these symptoms to themselves.
"Of course, these issues reflected in intimate relationships often lead to many adverse effects, like the perpetual sensation of loneliness, the ensuing self-doubt, depression and sadness after indecision, and eventually nihilistic self-denial..."
Shiller began again, his analysis flowing smoothly from his mouth, as if he had a prepared speech ready.
"Unable to handle intimate relationships properly, they often feel lonely, even when surrounded by splendor. This endless doubt prevents them from receiving emotional signals from others effectively, making them feel like outcasts, misunderstood, lonely and isolated."
"The more lively others are, the more their anomaly stands out. So they prefer to avoid any busy occasions, staying alone rather than seeming pitiful, which makes it harder for them to open their hearts, becoming more solitary and lonely."
"Their act of isolating themselves and pushing others away hurts people. Everyone has feelings; we all prefer empathy and reciprocity, not one-sided giving, then getting hurt."
"Then, their once lush gardens wither, the lively scenes disperse, and in the hollow world, only one person remains. The imagined loneliness becomes reality, and the self-constructed scene of desolation becomes truly desolate."
"Although it can't be said this is entirely their own fault, if they could realize the problem lies within themselves, the situation could greatly improve. It's never too late, after all. When one spring passes, there will be another, and there will always be flowers in bloom."
Batman stood up from his chair, suddenly stretching his neck and shouting, "Alfred! Bring me that bottle of good wine!"
"Which one, sir?" Alfred appeared just in time.
"The best one!"
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