Chapter 256: Campfire on a Snowy Night (End)

By the time Alberto left, the sky had already darkened. Shiler hadn't even waited to rest for a while when the doorbell rang again.

This time, the one appearing outside the door was Bruce. He was wearing a turtleneck sweater with a trench coat over it, looking very tall and straight. When Mrs. Miller passed by outside the door, he even smiled and nodded at her, making Mrs. Miller incredibly happy.

When he sat opposite Shiler's table, looking at Bruce's gradually serious expression, Shiler said, "You haven't appeared in the Cat Getan University psychological clinic for a long time. This time you made an appointment for treatment at Arkham Hospital again. What's wrong?"

"You also haven't appeared in the Cat Getan University psychological clinic for a long time, Professor."

Shiler sighed and said, "You were the one who took the initiative to make an appointment for psychological therapy. Don't take on the tone of a business negotiation fighting for the initiative. Are you the doctor or am I the doctor?"

"If you are holding the attitude that you must win the negotiation, then I suggest you go home and talk to the wall."

Bruce's lips moved, and then he said, "Actually, it's Alfred..."

"Your butler? What's wrong with him?"

"Before, Yin Wensi stayed at my house for a few days. Alfred was very happy, but after he left, I could clearly feel that Alfred was a bit lost..."

Shiler looked into Bruce's eyes and said, "Isn't this very normal? Facing the departure of a friend, everyone would be a bit unhappy, right?"

"I think you thought of this point, so what you are sad about now is that you discovered Alfred has actually always been in a state of loneliness, and you hadn't cared about him before..."

"He accompanied me as I grew up. I understand his hobbies. I once prepared opera tickets for him, once wanted to let him go out traveling, or build a nursing home for him to retire in, but he wasn't willing..."

"Do you think it's because he liked Yin Wensi very much, and Yin Wensi left, so he is unhappy?"

"Isn't it?"

Shiler shook his head and said, "I think he was happy because you agreed to let Yin Wensi come over to stay, or rather, he was happy because you made friends at university."

"But..."

"Do you want to say you don't need friends? Or to go a step further, do you feel you don't need those extra emotions? Then what kind of emotion do you feel you have toward Alfred?"

Bruce's mouth moved again, but he didn't say that word, seemingly not wanting to mention this vocabulary. Shiler just acted as if he had heard it. He said, "I will treat Alfred as an analogy for your parents. I think you shouldn't object to this metaphor."

"Generally speaking, normal parents feel happy and gratified when their children bring classmates and friends home and get along harmoniously. Most of this is gratification at their child's growth in interpersonal communication, but there is also a part because their emotional and rational judgments are both happy that their child has the ability to make normal emotional contributions."

"If your child has the ability to normally contribute and receive emotions, it means the child can feel the parents' love. When you can be sure that your love is received by others, you will feel very happy, because this is a common emotional feedback mechanism."

"And conversely, if your child shows indifference to everyone around them, as if their heart were dead, then parents will also start to worry whether their child can't feel their love, or whether it's because they didn't love them enough that caused problems in their ability to contribute and receive emotions..."

"Alfred is the same. He is like your parents, placing all his emotions on you. When you show any bad change, he will reflect on himself, and when you show some good changes, this positive feedback will also feed back to him, making him feel happy."

"This is the most normal emotional relationship between parents and children in this world, putting oneself in another's shoes, empathizing."

"Now you should be able to understand the reasons for some of Alfred's emotional fluctuations, right?"

Bruce nodded, signaling that he had completely understood this theory, and then said, "Then what do you think I should do now?"

"That has to be asked of yourself. I think Alfred should understand you very well. He should know which one is the real you, and know which of your emotions are real and which are disguised."

"Now, he feels happy for the friendship between you and Yin Wensi, so can I infer in reverse that you indeed obtained some positive emotions in this friendship relationship?"

Bruce said nothing. Shiler said helplessly, "You can't act as if I have mind-reading powers, Bruce. If you don't say the answer, are you planning to make me guess?"

"If the positive emotions you are referring to are the sleepiness of not being able to sleep and the helplessness of being dragged to listen to some old-fashioned operas, then there indeed are some."

"I remember bats should be mammals, not birds..." Shiler looked at Bruce, and Bruce also looked at Shiler, not knowing what he was suddenly changing the topic to say. Then Shiler took a turn and said, "Even birds aren't as stubborn as you."

"Wanderer Starting from Douluo"

"Can't sleep and sleepy? Why don't you say that when you wear a tight suit and go out to fight crime all night? Helplessness of being dragged to listen to some old-fashioned operas? If Yin Wensi could beat you, he wouldn't have to insist on making a bomb just to blow himself into the pit at the church..."

Bruce wasn't embarrassed at all by being exposed. He still said expressionlessly, "I came to seek a solution. I can't let Yin Wensi live in my manor forever. Even if Falcone has no opinion, Selina will also be very angry..."

"Before seeking a solution, you had better first propose your problem."

"I already stated my problem. I discovered that Alfred has always been immersed in a state of lonely emotion, and I want to make a change."

"I have already given the answer to this problem. You are happy, your butler is happy; you are unhappy, he is unhappy."

Bruce fell into silence again. He discovered that he had been led into a dead end by Shiler again. If following this theory, then the method to make Alfred happy is very simple: make himself happy.

This solution should theoretically be very effective, but in reality, there is almost no possibility of operation, because Batman is unhappy all year round.

It can't be said that he is unhappy, it can only be said that his emotions don't have much fluctuation.

The atmosphere in the room fell into silence again. Shiler didn't continue to offer suggestions to Bruce, because if following the normal process, next he would have to go deep into Batman's heart, explore why he is unhappy, and how to make him happy.

Considering that conducting research on this proposition is very likely to constitute academic infringement on the Joker, Shiler decided it was better not to delve into it.

"Do you think it's possible to make his emotions not completely placed on me?" Bruce proposed another possibility.

"This is indeed a direction. Let's still look at it according to that theory. Parents will all have such a mental journey. If they really start to detach their emotions from their children and return to their personal lives, then there are the following two possibilities."

"Either they have firmly believed that their child is happy enough, and even without them, they can live very well, understanding that the greatest source of the child's happiness is no longer the parents' care."

"Then they will actively transfer their emotions, either transferring them to others or focusing on themselves."

Shiler capped the pen, making a light sound. He looked at Bruce and asked, "Do you have any plans to get married recently?"

The sudden change of topic made Bruce stunned.

"I'm not joking. If you have plans to get married recently, then Fred should be able to get rid of this state, or simply you and Selina have a child. This situation should be solved from the root."

Bruce shook his head lightly. Shiler continued, "Another possibility is that some obsession of the parents that hasn't been satisfied is greater than their love for the child. When they pick up this obsession again, their emotions will be detached from the child and instead invested in this obsession of theirs."

"Obsession..." Bruce frowned and muttered to himself. Shiler continued to ask, "Although it's a bit offensive, I still want to ask, does your butler still have any relatives alive?"

Bruce shook his head again. Shiler asked again, "Then has he ever been married or had someone he admired?"

Bruce paused for a long while, then shook his head again. Shiler asked, "Is it really none, or do you not know?"

"I know some, but I don't understand it in enough detail. This might be where the problem lies. He understands me very well, but..."

"Alright, you have investigated everyone around you, and even kept the information of strangers you only met once on the road in your brain, yet you don't have a detailed understanding of the butler closest to you... perhaps this is also proof that he is very special to you."

"I will think of a way." Finally, Bruce said.

The fireplace in the room had completely burned up, and the fire was burning brighter and brighter, but conversely, as the sky darkened, the temperature also became lower and lower. When the rain fell again, it had turned into tiny ice crystals, and then turned into pale snow grains.

It is hard to imagine that there would be a city on the East Coast that snows in autumn, but Cat Getan has been absurd for a long time, so it doesn't matter if there is this bit of weirdness.

Shiler just sat behind his desk, and people came and went in front of the desk.

In the eyes of Cobblepot, who was troubled by life choices, the tabletop turned into the ice layer he stood on. This thin and small bird-like creature swayed and fell off the table, but when he fell into the sea, he saw a cluster of faint flames in the deep blue sea.

Yin Wensi, who was one body with two sides, walked in, and the room turned into his stage. Outside the window, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. When the lightning fell, suddenly, the dazzling light divided the entire room into two, half black, half white. When a cluster of flames ignited on this boundary line, it was brighter than the sun.

Yin Wensi's figure hadn't completely left when Batman walked in. The vast snowy night in his heart was darker and colder than anyone else's. This cluster of flames was already so weak that it was almost completely invisible, but he still stood here, as if the illusory light could also provide him with a trace of warmth, even if only psychologically.

The three figures beside the campfire stood alone. Soon, more figures walked over. Some faces were very familiar, and after standing for a while, they walked into the wind and snow. Some figures were very illusory, as if separated by a barrier of a universe.

When the cold wind suddenly rose and the flames became weaker and weaker, the coming and going figures took out firewood and threw it into the fire pile. When the "crackling" sound of burning sounded again, the urgent doorbell rang. Shiler looked up, and a figure with green hair stood outside the door, also carrying a bottle of wine in his hand.

---Author's Note---

Seeing the protagonist work hard for another day, the author laughed out loud.

Seeing the author work hard to code words for another day, the reader laughed out loud.

Seeing the reader work hard to go to work for another day, the protagonist laughed out loud.

A world of all-member trolls has been achieved √ ===== CHAPTER 257 =====