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Chapter 281: Gotham Play House (3)

Selina struggled a bit when she took Aisha from Bruce's hands. After all, Aisha was not a baby, and it was already a bit difficult to carry a three or four-year-old child. Selina was not as tall as Bruce, so it was even harder for her to control the excited Aisha.

Just at this moment, after a brief pause, the aerial acrobatics performance reached its climax again. The dazzling aerial movements completely excited Aisha, and she leaped forward with force, making it impossible for Selina to hold her back.

Aisha jumped directly onto the seats in the front row and then crawled down along the chairs and under the seats of the row in front. Selina followed the same path in pursuit.

However, to their surprise, it was as if Aisha had awakened some kind of superpower. Her speed was unbelievably fast, and she disappeared among the layers of seats in the audience in an instant.

Selina completely lost track of her and could only search row by row.

At the same time, backstage, a small dark figure darted past. The circus owner felt some movement and suddenly turned around, but he didn't find anything.

Meanwhile, the circus owner was holding a saw and approaching the wooden stake that held the ropes for the aerial acrobatics performance.

In the aerial acrobatics, the ropes used for swinging were hung on a higher rope, and the circus owner, with a wicked smile, was approaching the wooden stake that secured the highest rope with the saw.

The circus owner gripped the saw and started sawing the thick rope. He cursed in frustration while sawing, but just as the rope was about to be cut, a small figure suddenly appeared and bit his arm.

Aisha wasn't out to seek justice; she was simply interested in things that moved. When the circus owner was sawing things, his arm was the only thing moving in the dark backstage, so Aisha instinctively bit it without hesitation.

Unfortunately, Aisha was too light, and her bite wasn't strong. It was just like when she would occasionally bite Bruce or Selina's arms; it left a row of teeth marks but didn't cause any substantial harm. It only momentarily slowed down the circus owner's arm.

The thick rope that had already been sawn to its limit was left with only a final thread connecting it, but it eventually snapped.

However, it was during those few delayed seconds that Bruce, who had come out of the restroom, got closer to the stage.

At the moment the rope broke, the two people hanging from it began to fall. But with such a long rope, it would take a few seconds for it to completely detach from the other end. Bruce had already anticipated this issue before grabbing the rope. He grabbed the rope with one hand and wrapped his arm around it twice, then quickly grabbed the nearby curtain.

With a fixed point, the rope stopped being pulled away, and the Grayson couple at the other end of the rope remained suspended in mid-air.

Suddenly, Bruce heard a gasping sound. He turned his head and saw a little boy, claiming to be the heir of the Grayson family, standing behind the curtain.

The boy widened his eyes and opened his mouth, looking at Bruce with a shocked expression on his face.

There was still some distance from the audience seats to the stage, several rows of chairs in front of where Bruce stood, and the stage was higher than the seats. There were also three levels of steps beside it. Yet, within a few seconds, Bruce managed to cross the chairs, climb the steps, grab the rope, and grab the curtain.

His quick reaction, smooth movements, and precise handling made it seem more like an art performance than a heroic rescue. In the eyes of the young Grayson bystand

er, Bruce seemed to be glowing.

Bruce sighed and said, "Stop staring and come help me pull the rope."

Little Grayson, who had recovered from his shock, realized that his parents had almost fallen. His shocked expression turned into anger, and as he helped Bruce pull the rope down, he said, "It must have been that circus owner! He has been eyeing my father for a long time!"

After a while, the rope was pulled back to its original position, and the two actors also returned to the platform. They walked down and thanked Bruce.

Mrs. Grayson was in tears, and young Grayson said angrily, "It must be him! Let's go find him and settle the score!"

"Don't go! Dick! Come back!" Mrs. Grayson called out. Dick, the boy she called, had already rushed out, but in the end, he was called back by his mother.

"Can you explain what happened?"

At this point, Mrs. Grayson was on the verge of a breakdown. She held her husband and cried incessantly. Mr. Grayson also looked defeated. This couple were just ordinary people who had just experienced a life-or-death crisis, fearing that they would fall from mid-air at any moment. The terror had completely crushed their spirits.

As if searching for a vent for their emotions, Mr. Grayson said to Bruce, "I know it was him, the owner of the circus. We didn't want to work there either, but we had no choice."

"There should be plenty of circuses on the East Coast. Why don't you go there?"

Mr. Grayson sighed and said, "You probably don't pay attention to these things, do you? My father, the late Grayson, who was the previous generation's aerialist, made a major mistake during a performance. He not only fell from mid-air but also collided with the edge of the stage prop... He..."

"Alright, I understand. You don't need to go into details. Please accept my condolences."

"It was during a high-profile charity banquet performance. Many of the participants were high-ranking officials who had never seen blood. This bloody death scared many of them. The Grayson family's reputation was ruined, and the major circuses refused to hire us, fearing that we would cause another incident..."

"Only this circus was willing to accept us because it's Gotham. People here aren't afraid of us falling to our deaths..."

The reason was both absurd and reasonable, and Bruce couldn't come up with any argument. He asked the Graysons, "You're not from Gotham, are you?"

"In fact, we've been here for a long time and even bought our own house. We're halfway locals, but our hometown is in Brooklyn."

"Let's go back, back to Brooklyn!" Mrs. Grayson said, sobbing. "Give up, we can't let little Dick live in this fearful environment..."

Mr. Grayson pursed his lips, his face worn out. Mrs. Grayson continued crying and said, "I know, I know you've always wanted to revive the family's career, but it's really not working out this way. You have to think, if we die, what will happen to poor little Dick? In Gotham, an orphan without parents will likely be sent to that dreadful foster school, and then..."

Mrs. Grayson started crying again. Bruce caught some of the information in her words, but it wasn't appropriate to inquire further at the moment. Young Grayson approached and comforted his mother, and the three of them hugged each other.

When Bruce walked backstage, Selina had just finished tying the final knot. The person she had bound was the owner of the circus, and Aisha was still biting his arm, not letting go.

Bruce thought he would have to struggle with Aisha again when he went to embrace her, but to his surprise, she easily let go of her grip.

Seeing the saw next to them, Bruce understood what had happened. He called Gordon and then, holding Aisha, left the circus with Selina.

Just as they were about to get in the car and drive home, a figure appeared in

front of their car. Bruce let go of the steering wheel, turned his head, and looked at the figure. He asked, "Dick? What's wrong? What are you going to do?"

Dick circled around the front of the car and stood next to the driver's door where Bruce was sitting, saying, "My parents are planning to go back to Brooklyn."

"Well, congratulations to them. It's much better there than Gotham. You should be able to live a peaceful life."

"But I don't want to go back..."

"Why not?"

Dick pursed his lips. Though young in age, he had a determined expression. He said, "My grandfather's death was no accident."

"How do you know?"

"I investigated," Dick said firmly. "The crossbar he used for his final performance was tampered with. I examined the rope, and the marks on it indicated an incorrect knot. The knot used to secure the crossbar shouldn't have been like that..."

Bruce squinted at him and asked, "So what?"

"You're not an ordinary person, are you?" Dick grabbed the car door, looking at Bruce. "I've been learning acrobatics from my father for a long time, and I know how difficult your moves are. The muscle control and techniques you use can't be improvised. You must have trained for a long time..."

Dick continued to purse his lips as he said to Bruce, "My parents gave up, but I won't. I will stay here and restore the Grayson family's reputation. And I will avenge my grandfather."

"More importantly, if I can't uncover the truth behind my grandfather's death and find his killer, my parents won't be safe."

"But..." Dick wore a helpless expression and said, "I know what Gotham is like. The skills I learned from my father won't be enough for me to survive here, and I can't convince my parents to let me stay. So..."

Dick took a deep breath, a melancholic expression on his face that didn't match his age. He looked at Bruce and said, "If you allow me to learn from you, I believe that one day I can fulfill my wish. And since you saved my parents, I don't think they would object if I follow you..."

Before Bruce could answer, Dick said, "...well, I know this sounds really absurd. How could I expect a rich person..."

Dick let go of his hand, sighed, and waved his arm, signaling Bruce to drive.

He also knew that his impulsive decision to stay in Gotham alone, against his parents' wishes, and learn from the world's richest person was nothing more than a pipe dream.

Bruce looked at Dick and felt a strange sensation. There are moments when one sees oneself in another person. In fact, Dick's appearance and personality were nothing like his own, and he was just a seven or eight-year-old boy who couldn't be said to have a well-defined character. But the way he spoke made Bruce feel that he was special.

Perhaps there are two people in this world whose chemistry naturally harmonizes. In any case, Dick found Bruce very appealing, and Bruce found Dick very appealing too.

But even though he found him appealing, Bruce had no intention of adopting another child. Having one daughter was already driving him and Selina crazy.

Wait, a daughter...

Bruce turned to look at Aisha, who was securely fastened in a child safety seat but still restless. He then glanced at Dick, who seemed much more mature than his peers. Just as Dick was about to leave, Bruce called him back.

Half an hour later, inside Wayne Manor, Bruce, dragging Aisha by the armpits like a pet dog, presented her to Dick and said, "This is your sister."

"Wait, are you planning to adopt me? I..."

Before he could finish, Aisha opened her mouth, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth, which startled Dick. In shock, he asked, "What's going on with her teeth?"

"Natural dental deformity. She's too young for orthodontics," Bruce answered without thinking.

"Uh, okay... Wait, her eyes also seem..."

"Iris heterochromia. Takes after her mother," Bruce replied naturally.

"Really? But why can't she speak?"

"Childhood autism. I've already scheduled an appointment with a psychiatrist," Bruce replied smoothly.

"But..."

At that moment, Alfred descended the stairs, his face filled with hope. He asked Bruce, "Sir, is this the young master? Have the legal matters been settled? I believe we can..."

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