布鲁斯躺在病床上,哈维微微抬起上半身,给他倒了一杯水.
布鲁斯有些沮丧地抱怨道:"她不可预测,喜怒无常,就像一只猫一样.我无法弄清楚她.现在我只担心她的脾气会伤害到别人.我拥有哥谭最好的医疗资源,但其他人可能没有.
"你应该感谢你的肾脏没有破裂.匕首很短,只在你的器官上留下一个浅浅的划痕.否则,你现在就只剩下一个肾了.
哈维放下水壶,回忆道:"我上学的时候,有一个我喜欢的女孩.我为她疯狂.我热切地追求她.然后有一天,当我们约会时,她故意把一个瓶子扔得很远,以逗弄清洁工.
"我不明白她怎么能做到这一点.她太卑鄙了,不值得我爱.但后来我意识到,正是我对她的爱在我脑海中创造了一个理想的形象.现实中,她总是脾气暴躁,嘲笑别人,看不起服务行业的人.她从不改变.但因为我强烈的爱,我对她有无限的期望.
"我和她分手了,她觉得莫名其妙.那个时候,我不知道我看起来像个疯子.先是我不顾一切地追求她,坦白自己的感情,但后来我突然干净利落地和她分手了.这是对任何人的侮辱,所以她非常生气.
"后来,我意识到这很正常."
布鲁斯觉得有点尴尬,但还是说:"那个女孩的问题比你前女友的问题严重得多,而且可能会伤害别人的身体.
"问题不在于她,而在于你.当你第一次见到她并爱上她时,你不知道这个缺陷吗?
布鲁斯想知道他是否不知道.他非常了解,甚至在她的犯罪活动中遇到了她.
他不禁产生了一个荒谬的想法.他怎么会爱上一个罪犯?在她的犯罪现场?
哈维离开后,布鲁斯因疲劳而睡着了.
在他的梦中,珠宝店的璀璨灯光照亮了地上散落的珍珠项链.突然,所有的灯都熄灭了,仿佛一切都回到了那条黑暗的小巷,只剩下珍珠项链的微弱光芒.
蝙蝠侠从不喜欢任何珠宝,尤其是闪闪发光的东西,就像真正的蝙蝠一样.
但他的脑海里全是那个拿着闪亮宝石的女孩,带着狡黠的笑容.
朦胧中,他记忆中珍珠的光泽突然变得不那么令人厌恶了.而在梦境的最后,一群阴暗的蝙蝠仍然在天空中翱翔.
The next day, when Schiller sees Bruce in the counseling room, he is quite surprised. He looks Bruce up and down and says, "You're healed already? You can walk so soon?"
"It still hurts a little, but it's fine. My internal organs aren't heavily injured, and they're almost healed now."
Schiller says, "Looks like you don't need me to waste my coffee then." He only pours himself a cup of hot coffee, leaving Bruce a bit speechless. Bruce stiffly says, "Could you give me a glass of water?"
After they both sit down, Bruce says, "Harvey still doesn't know my true identity, and I think it's better not to tell him for now. But I'm troubled now, that female thief who stabbed me keeps appearing in my dreams."
"I even feel some resistance towards putting on the Bat-suit now. Once I meet her, I don't know how to face her."
Schiller never expects that the first psychological counseling issue Batman would open up about would be Bruce's teenage love troubles.
It is well known that Batman and Catwoman are in love in the comics. Editors devote a lot of pages to their love story. Indeed, a dark knight with deep vendettas and a cunning, beautiful criminal, even in the immensely dark backdrop of Gotham City, still manages to attract a large number of readers.
Schiller says, "It seems like Harvey has already tried to console you, but it doesn't seem to work?"
"Harvey makes a valid point. I already know she is a thief before falling for her, and I even meet her while she is stealing from a jewelry store. I don't know how I can fall in love with a criminal. It's ridiculous..."
Schiller says, "What do you think causes you to become Batman?"
Bruce ponders for a moment and says, "Many things."
"And what do you think causes her to become a thief?"
Bruce falls silent.
"So, you're sulking here without knowing anything about a woman's past and family."
"Are you sure you genuinely like her? Or do you just want a romantic one-night stand?"
"We haven't even been intimate yet," Bruce groans.
"Should I applaud your purity?" Schiller sneers, then his gaze falls to Bruce's side, "She stabs your kidney even before having sex. Now I'm a bit worried about your safety."
"Do you think I should talk to her?" Bruce asks.
Schiller sighs, "You like the thief, so why don't you talk to her instead of me? If you like someone, go and have a relationship with them, understand?"
Schiller somewhat helplessly says, "Otherwise, what do you think a relationship is? Two people running around Gotham rooftops for days and not even knowing each other's parents? You don't have sex with her, don't have a relationship with her, and don't get to know her. If I were her, I would've stabbed you too."
Bruce pauses for a moment and says, "Alright, I'll talk to her."
The next day, Batman catches Catwoman at another exhibition hall. Although he doesn't know much about Catwoman's past and family, he is well aware of her habits.
When Catwoman sees him, she curses under her breath and immediately wants to escape.
But she doesn't get away. Batman grabs her cape again. Catwoman curses, takes a deep breath, and turns to gabbles, "Let me alone! You freak! Don't make me use my knife!"
Batman says, "Let's have talk."
"What do we have to talk about? I'm working!"
Ten minutes later, the two stand on the rooftop of the exhibition hall. Catwoman reluctantly waves her hand and sighs, "Fine, fine, my little boy. What do you want to talk about? Give me a lecture? I practically have your lectures memorized."
"No, I just want to hear your story," Batman utters.
Catwoman is somewhat surprised. She pauses for a moment, glances at the pointed ears on top of Batman's head, and says, "Well, considering your taste in attire, fine."
"...I come from the Eastern slums, you know, the biggest and messiest one. My mother is an alcoholic, my father a drug addict. But I am lucky enough not to fall into addiction. I grow up with a madam who teaches me a lot of things. Of course, she has a terrible temper and I get beaten up quite a bit, but at least I learn some useful skills."
"When I'm 12,she tries to sell me to some smelly middle-aged man,so I run away."
"Later, there is an interfering orphanage that wants me to live there. I think fine. But then I offend the manager there. He wants to mistreat me, so I steal his diamond necklace and run away again."
"I meet the boss of a group of thieves. We all call her Lucky Mama. She specifically trains girls like me to steal for her. I practice acrobatics and have some good skills.It makes me her favorite child."
"But good times don't last. She discovers the diamond my hiding necklace. You know, it is worth a lot of money, enough for her to retire. She wants me to hand it over, but I refuse, so I run away again."
"Later, I meet a friend named Maggie. She is kind to me, but her boyfriend always beats her, even wants to kill her. When he is about to hurt her, I kill that man and become a wanted criminal. I don't want to involve my friend, so I drift around ever since, but sometimes when I earn money, I send some back."
"That's it, a pretty boring story, not very exciting. I guess your life experiences are much more thrilling, right? Great hero."
Batman seems somewhat silent. He says, "Not exciting enough? You think it's not exciting enough?"
Catwoman shakes her head, "Oh, I forgot, you're a young master who grows up in the rich district. All of you there are supposed to go to school, right?"
"But in our neighborhood, it's not like that. There are one or two students in the whole block. Actually, my mother loves me, but she is controlled by alcohol. She spends more time on her cats than on me."
"My parents don't have money to afford my education. The same goes for our neighbors. Having one parent with clear thinking is good enough, at least they won't starve to death. I've also heard stories where both parents were completely drunk, and as a result, their child climbs onto the stove and gets burned to death."
"Of course, the experiences of people like us are quite similar. Those luckier, like me, learn a skill, and the best option is to work for the mafia. If you can become a dealer in a casino, that's really a respectable job. Maggie's boyfriend is a casino enforcer, and he is quite popular. Several hostesses there are fond of him."
"Actually, Lucky Mama treats me pretty well too. Sometimes, she acts like a real mother. Whenever I steal many jewels for her, she praises me and even gives me some candy. Of course, she scolds those kids who can't steal anything. But in my eyes, they are just too young, with a few more years of practice, they can barely manage."
Catwoman speaks in a lighthearted and lively tone, intermittently telling her story. She describes her life in an intriguing way.
For example, when she practices acrobatics for the first time and falls from the eaves, she accidentally hits someone. As a result, that unlucky drunkard who has just stolen dozens of dollars from someone else ends up in Catwoman's hands. She uses that money to buy food for her mother's cat and even receives a kiss from her mother.
Batman remains silent the whole time, listening quietly. Catwoman eventually stops speaking and looks at Batman, saying, "Well, well, I know this story must disappoint you. I don't have an eventful and exciting college life, nor understand your career goals. We are completely different people from two different worlds. You rich folks probably aren't interested in the life of the slums, after all, it sounds dirty, chaotic, and poor."
Batman's voice becomes somewhat low as he says, "No, this is the most exciting story I've ever heard."
Catwoman raises an eyebrow and says, "You are so sweet, I'm almost embarrassed by your praise. I'm happy too,because not many people are willing to listen to these from me. Maggie she's not well enough to leave the room.When we chat, she prefers to hear me talk about wandering through the affluent areas, about the dresses and necklaces worn by wealthy ladies."
Batman asks, "Do you really just like jewelry?"
"I knew you were going to ask that question," Catwoman blinks her eyes and says.
"Initially, it was only because these precious jewels could get me better treatment from Lucky Mama. I didn't want to get beaten up."
"But later, when Lucky Mama asked me to give her that diamond necklace, I realized that what I loved was their luster, not how much they could be sold for. The thought of Lucky Mama selling these treasures for money made me heartbroken."
"That enchanting luster, especially when it's illuminated by lights. It's the most beautiful thing in this world! My lifelong dream is to have a huge castle filled with all these beautiful gems..." Catwoman's tone becomes increasingly cheerful, as if happiness bubbles are about to burst out.