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Chapter 285: Early Morning at Wayne Manor

In the early morning, the dim and hazy light fell on the dining table. The gentle clinking of glass against silverware sounded pleasing to the ears. The tablecloth smoothly cascaded down from the table as Alfred placed the final dish. Sitting at the head of the table, Bruce nodded at him, and the contented butler turned and left.

Bruce sat at the head of the long dining table. Across from him was Selena, with Dick to her right and Aisha beside Dick. At first glance, it appeared to be a harmonious breakfast scene for a family of four. However, as soon as Bruce tapped the highball glass with his fork to signal the start of the meal, chaos ensued.

Most children have a peculiar habit of putting everything into their mouths outside of mealtime, only to refuse to eat anything once it is mealtime.

Fortunately, Aisha had an insatiable appetite, or perhaps a bit too much, as she liked to put everything into her mouth at any time and in any place.

With a "crunch," a bite was taken out of the plate containing a sandwich. Dick, who was drinking water, sprayed it out and coughed twice, taken aback. He quickly turned around, patting Aisha's back, urging her to spit out the broken pieces of ceramic.

Dick hurriedly wiped his mouth with a napkin and gestured while saying, "No, Aisha, that's not a part of the sandwich! It's the plate! It's tableware, understand? You can't eat it... wait! Put down that cup!"

With another "crunch," the cup was also bitten by Aisha, causing milk to spill all over her. Dick covered his eyes and then took a towel from Alfred, wiping away the stains on Aisha's body. The old butler had a constant smile on his face, seemingly enjoying the scene.

"Aisha, don't bite the tableware, don't give Alfred trouble," Bruce spoke up, and Alfred, while serving a fresh glass of milk, said, "Oh, it's alright, sir. When you were young, you also spilled milk several times. It's normal..."

Bruce opened his mouth; he really wanted to say that spilling milk and biting a hole in a milk cup were completely different things.

However, Aisha's bite strength was astonishing. Whether it was a ceramic plate, a glass milk cup, a fabric tablecloth, or a wooden table, everything was liable to be bitten off in a single bite.

Dick tried to teach Aisha to hold the fork properly, but whenever she picked up a fork, it went straight into her mouth, resulting in another "crunch." The metal fork's tip was bitten off. Dick stared at Aisha with wide eyes as she chewed the metal fork like it was gum. He glanced down at his arm, which still had visible teeth marks, and swallowed nervously.

Aisha spat out the chewed-up fork. The poor fork had been transformed into an unrecognizable piece of metal, so Dick threw it away. He then asked Alfred for a new fork. Just at that moment, Aisha suddenly exclaimed, "Wow! Wow!!!"

Selena, who had been dozing off, was startled awake. Rubbing her eyes, she said, "Bruce, she's calling you..."

Bruce looked at Aisha, who extended her arm towards him. Bruce had no choice but to set down his knife and fork, approach Aisha's seat, and lift her up. He then asked Selena, "How did you know what she meant?"

"Didn't you notice that Aisha has been learning to speak recently?"

Selena supported her head with one hand, looking very tired because she stayed up late last night. She said, "You weren't home last night, and I was playing with her with building blocks. Then she suddenly screamed like that, and I couldn't understand what happened. Later, I realized that she seemed to be looking for you..."

Bruce held Aisha a little farther away in his arms and observed her carefully. Aisha grinned at him, showing her sharp teeth, and made an indistinct "waah" sound from her mouth. Dick turned around and listened carefully before saying, "It seems like she wants to say 'Daddy,' but she can't pronounce the letter 'P.'"

Bruce carried Aisha back to his seat and fed her a sandwich with a fork. Aisha bit off the sandwich and the head of the fork in one bite. Bruce quickly made her spit it out, but Aisha chewed it a couple of times and swallowed. After swallowing, she stared at Bruce with wide eyes, wearing an innocent expression on her face.

"Don't worry, she's fine," Selena said, taking a sip of juice. "Haven't you noticed that your daughter has many special abilities?"

"...What special abilities?"

"Do you think a normal child can run at a speed of 120 miles per hour in three seconds? Can they jump from the third floor without getting hurt, and still be lively after swallowing three building blocks?"

"Clearly, Aisha has superpowers."

Bruce stared at Aisha in his arms, and Dick's eyes lit up. He looked at Bruce and asked, "Superpowers??... Mr. Wayne, Aisha is your biological daughter, so that means you also..."

"I don't have any," Bruce denied directly. But Dick obviously didn't believe him. Children of this age have an immense fascination with superpowers that can defy the laws of nature. Judging from Dick's expression, he really wanted Bruce to show him how to fly on the spot...

After holding Aisha for a while, Bruce got up again, put her back in place, and then looked at Dick, asking, "Where have you been recently? Yesterday at noon, I wanted you to come with me to fix the car, but Alfred told me that you and Aisha had gone out..."

"Oh..." Dick touched the knife and fork awkwardly and said, "I...I made some new friends."

"New friends? Who are they?"

"Hmm..." Dick hesitated for a moment, seeming unable to speak.

Although he knew Bruce wasn't an ordinary person, he still didn't know that he was Batman. In his eyes, Bruce was just a super wealthy old man from the south, and he didn't know if Bruce felt the same way about the poor folks in the East District as other wealthy people from the south.

But Dick got along well with Jason. On one hand, it was because they were close in age, and peers always had more to talk about. On the other hand, Dick didn't come from a good background. The opulent environment of Wayne Manor made him feel uncomfortable and a bit reserved, whereas Jason's dilapidated RottenRotten underground base made him feel more relaxed.

But he couldn't tell Bruce that. He could stay in Gotham solely because of Bruce, and he knew he didn't possess the same ability as Jason to roam the streets of Gotham alone.

After a few days of getting acquainted, Dick understood that in order to thrive in Gotham, he needed more than just martial arts skills. Additionally, due to his young age, his martial arts skills were still lacking, and he lacked practical experience in street fights.

Dick is afraid that if he speaks out, Bruce will cut off ties with him and his group of friends. Dick doesn't want to do that because he finds that street life very interesting. It not only helps him improve his skills but also exposes him to various intriguing experiences.

For example, just yesterday, Jason led the Curly Tail Gang in a fight against the Red Zui Gang from Hongzui Street. Though these street brawls involving the teenage gangs may be small-scale, they cover all the elements. They need to gather information in advance, survey the terrain, prepare weapons, organize manpower, and even assign different roles to their members such as lookouts, fighters, and backup.

In Gotham's child society, the brutal and cruel side of adult gangs is diminished. These kids can't acquire any serious weaponry, so their fights rarely pose a life-threatening risk. However, the thrill, wildness, and violence of these encounters are preserved, easily captivating the young blood like Dick.

However, Dick knows that these wealthy individuals have a different perspective. They would prefer their children to learn things like piano, violin, ballet, and etiquette.

Just as he was thinking about this, Bruce said to Dick, "Since I adopted you, I am responsible for you. I have already talked to Alfred, and starting tomorrow, you will attend the boarding school up north. It's the best boarding school in all of Gotham, not only in terms of facilities but also in terms of faculty. They offer a diverse range of courses like Latin, ballet, and harp..."

Dick looked at Selina as if seeking help, but she shook her head, expressing her inability to assist.

Dick sighed, initially thinking that Bruce adopted him as a nanny for his biological daughter, but now it seemed like he was no more than a nanny.

During this conversation, Bruce finished his breakfast, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and said, "I will be going out shortly, and I probably won't be back until the evening. Alfred will prepare lunch and dinner for you."

Saying this, he left the dining table. Selina stretched lazily, appearing somewhat drowsy, and also left the table to go upstairs and catch up on sleep. Dick sat there and sighed, then he picked up Aisha and said to her:

"Let's go, I'll take you out to play. In a couple of days, my good times will be over, and you won't be able to see me anymore."

Aisha seemed to be unable to comprehend what Dick was worried about. She kept babbling, and from the tone and frequency of her vocalizations, it could be discerned that she was diligently trying to imitate human language.

Dick decided to teach her: "'Papa,' pronounce it like this. Press your lips together and make a soft 'P' sound..."

"This word means father, Mr. Wayne. He is your father, so you should call him 'Papa.' But as you grow up, you can call him dad or father."

"This word is a term used by children. However, all these words mean father, just in different registers. One is an infant's term, another is informal, and the last one is more formal or literary. Of course, the words for grandparents follow the same pattern..."

Aisha, who had been practicing pronunciation just moments ago, was stunned on the spot.

Originally, language is a unique function of orderly creatures. Chaos creatures have no need for such a thing. They are inherently one-of-a-kind, without communities, without the need for communication or mutual understanding. They are born in chaos and will ultimately return to chaos. Anything logical does not exist in their world.

When a chaotic creature suddenly transforms into an orderly creature, understanding the meaning of language itself becomes challenging, let alone learning pronunciation, intonation, words, and grammar.

As the parallax monster transformed into a little girl, she hadn't even figured out how to pronounce the simplest word when Dick told her that there are endless words waiting for her to learn in this world, causing a headache for the monster.

Not wanting to listen to Dick's rambling anymore, Aisha broke free from his embrace and ran outside. Just as she reached the lawn, she felt a somewhat familiar power approaching.

Aisha paused for a moment, looked up at the sky, and vaguely saw two figures, one yellow and one green, colliding with each other.

She made an effort to engage her mind and pondered for a moment, then swung her short legs and hastily ran back into the house, colliding with Dick who was about to follow her outside.

Aisha waved her arms and yelled at him, but Dick couldn't understand what she was trying to say at all. Aisha imitated Dick and, with a hint of frustration, covered her forehead.

She kept uttering "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

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