Chapter 21 Xiaojie embarked on a path of no return

237.

Bruce's tests were always rigorous, and Jason proved his potential in a short period of time.

Whether it was combat skills, observation, or the ability to adapt to changing circumstances, he performed quite well, even exceeding Bruce's expectations.

"Not bad," Bruce commented calmly after a training session, a rare hint of affirmation in his tone. "Jason, you're tougher than I thought."

Jason wiped the sweat off his face, his eyes filled with pride. "Then... can I join the mission?"

"Don't be too happy too soon." Bruce said calmly, "This is just the beginning, not the end."

"I understand." Jason nodded heavily, tightening his grip on the crowbar, his eyes filled with determination. "I will keep working hard and won't let you down."

Dick, who was standing aside, smiled like a sunny little golden retriever, "Bruce, it seems you have picked up a piece of gold."

"Even gold needs to be polished." Bruce answered expressionlessly, but we all knew that there was a hint of pride in his eyes.

238.

At night, Jason lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep for a long time.

After a while, he sat up, picked up the notebook on the bedside table, and opened it to find a few pages of training experience.

The notes were densely packed with records of his daily feelings and experiences, as well as some goals he had set for himself.

He turned to the latest page, bit the tip of his pen, and wrote a line: "Become a member worthy of this family."

After finishing writing, he pursed his lips, closed the notebook and put it back on the bedside table.

Moonlight streamed into the room through the curtains, illuminating his quiet profile. At this moment, he looked less stubborn and more composed.

"He's so cute. He even writes in a diary." Dick smiled as he watched Jason sleeping quietly in the surveillance video.

"You really act like a pervert right now," Barbara complained.

"Look at it brightly. At least we won't be reading his diary like other families." I shrugged and called up the surveillance footage to pause and analyze it frame by frame.

"Yes, you don't read his diary, you use the surveillance camera to watch him write in the diary." Barbara ran her finger between the two of us.

Hey, it's just a little Batman quirk. Don't you dare say you haven't seen it, Barbara?

239.

The next morning, Dick suggested taking Jason out for a walk around Gotham.

"Why do you suddenly want to take him shopping?" I asked curiously.

"Let him get familiar with Gotham and know what we are fighting for." Dick blinked his blue eyes and smiled frankly. "Also, I think he should understand the other side of this city."

"The other side?" Jason raised his eyebrows, a little confused.

"Just follow me, little guy." Dick patted his shoulder. "I promise, I won't pry open the tire side."

Jason rolled his eyes but followed Dick out the door.

240.

Arriving at the Gotham neighborhood, Dick took Jason through the bustling markets, busy streets, and the schools built by Bruce as part of his charity work in Gotham over the years.

"This place doesn't look like Crime Alley." Jason muttered, his eyes complicated.

"Of course it's different." Dick stopped and looked at the children chasing and playing not far away. "Gotham is not just dark, it also has hope."

Jason was silent for a moment, his eyes gradually softening.

"The meaning of our existence is to keep these hopes alive." Dick turned to look at him and smiled. "Remember this. No matter what you do in the future, don't forget it."

Jason nodded, his eyes full of seriousness, "I'll remember that, Brother Dick."

Don't worry, I have recorded it.

When Dick heard the word "brother", the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise, and he couldn't help but ruffle Jason's hair, "So good."

“Stop rubbing it!” Jason slapped his hand away and turned his face away in pretending to be impatient, but the tips of his ears turned red.

Dick chuckled softly and continued walking forward, holding Jason's hand.

At this moment, Gotham's sunlight shines on them through the stacked buildings, outlining a quiet yet warm picture.

241.

Xiaojie successfully inherited Dick Robin's title (Dick was very happy to show off to us and was beaten up by Barbara and me). The process was much smoother than expected.

Six months of training made his abilities improve by leaps and bounds, and Bruce had to admit that Jason's resilience and learning ability far exceeded his expectations.

"You're ready." Bruce said to him solemnly after a training session, "From now on, you are the new Robin."

Jason gripped the crowbar tightly in his hand, his eyes filled with uncontrollable excitement and a little bit of uneasiness.

"I believe you can do it. We all do." Bruce whispered as he squatted down and hugged Jason.

A cooked cherry tomato fresh from the bat cave.

242.

When Jason became Robin, he finally started going to school.

During these six months, in order to help him integrate smoothly into school life, our whole family worked together to make up for the basic knowledge he missed due to his years on the streets.

Surprisingly, Jason has an incredible love for literature.

He has been unable to put down his books recently and is reading them eagerly.

"A Tale of Two Cities..." I stared at the book in his hands and raised my eyebrows. "Is this what you like recently?"

"Any questions?" He looked up at me with clear eyes. "I think this book is very interesting, especially the opening line—'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.'"

"Good taste." Bruce stood aside, smiling. "Charles Dickens is really good at capturing the complexity of the times."

Jason nodded happily, then carefully closed the book and put it in his bag. "I want to read more and know as much as you do."

As I looked at his serious face, I felt a sense of accomplishment that my son had grown up.

This child really cherishes the opportunity to go to school, just like a sapling that has been dry for a long time and finally welcomes the nourishing rain.

243.

Soon, Jason made great progress in his studies and we successfully completed his admission procedures.

"Okay, from now on, you're a freshman at Gotham West Junior High School." I handed him the school uniform with Jason's name printed on it and couldn't help but smile. "Xiao Jie, your classmates will definitely think you're cool when they see you."

"Can I wear this uniform?" He pointed at the new uniform hanging in the closet, a hint of uneasiness in his eyes. "Will I look a little silly?"

"Of course not." Barbara came over to help him straighten his collar and said with a smile, "You'll be the most handsome in the class when you wear it."

"Don't worry." I comforted him, "Besides, I heard that your Chinese teacher is very fond of literature. I'm sure you will be able to chat with him."

After hearing what I said, he seemed to relax a little, and the corners of his mouth raised a small arc, "Well... I'll try."

"Yeah, you'll also learn something more useful, like making friends." Dick raised an eyebrow and added, "Otherwise, everyone will just think you're a cold-faced hedgehog."

"I'm not a hedgehog!" Jason glared at Dick, but he was very careful when patting his school uniform.

244.

On the first day of school, Jason got up very early. He was wearing a neat school uniform and carrying a new school bag. He stood at the stairs waiting for us to take him to school.

"You don't have to be so nervous." Dick came out of the room yawning and ruffling his hair. "School is not as scary as you think."

"I'm not nervous," Jason retorted immediately, but the way he gripped the strap of his backpack betrayed his emotions.

"Okay, if you encounter any problems, remember to tell me." Dick smiled and ruffled his hair. "Brother has your back."

Jason curled his lips and said, "Who asked you to protect me?"

Although he refused to admit defeat, his expression softened considerably.

After school, Dick and I took him home and talked about his first day.

"How is it? Are you still adapting?" I asked him.

"Yeah, not bad." Jason nodded, his tone revealing restrained excitement. "Chinese class is very interesting. The teacher even praised my composition."

"What's the topic?" Dick asked curiously.

"'The Most Important Sentence.'" Jason paused and added in a low voice, "I wrote 'Everyone makes mistakes, the important thing is to try to correct them.'"

I was stunned for a moment, then smiled softly. "Well written, Jason."

He pursed his lips and a shy smile appeared on his face.

"Also, one classmate insisted on switching seats with me, saying that my seat had the best sunlight," Jason added.

"Does he want to chat with you? It seems you're very popular. Just like when I was in school." Dick blinked and gave a mischievous smile. "If you have any trouble in the future, remember to tell your brother."

"There won't be any trouble." Jason snorted and jogged ahead, his ears slightly red.

We looked at each other and smiled in tacit understanding.

245.

Jason gradually adapted to campus life and began to show his talent in language and literature.

His compositions were often read aloud in class by his teachers as model essays, and he also joined the school's literary club.

"I really think he's a genius," Barbara exclaimed as she looked at Jason's club brochure. "From a street kid to a rising literary star, that's quite a leap."

"Maybe he's always loved these things." Bruce stood by the window, looking gently at Jason who was flipping through a book in the garden, "He just didn't have the chance to touch it before."

"Now there was an opportunity," I continued, "and he seized it."

Jason may be born with thorns, but deep in his soft heart, he also has a love for beautiful things.

What we need to do is to protect all of this, so that no matter what the future holds, he can always remember the sunshine and fragrance of books at this moment.

Well... after all, he would skip the night patrol to do his homework. You know, in order not to miss a night patrol, Dick even called Superman to help him with his homework.

246.

Since Jason joined the school's literary club, his interests have become more diverse. Not only did he publish articles in the school newspaper, he also tried to contact several local newspapers in Gotham to write some short reports from the perspective of teenagers.

"You actually published it in the newspaper?" Dick said exaggeratedly, holding Jason's article. "'From Crime Alley to the Classroom: My Two Lives', wow, that sounds like a bestseller title."

"Shut up." Jason rolled his eyes at him and reached out to snatch the manuscript back. "I just wrote about my own experiences. It's not that exaggerated."

"I think it's great." Barbara opened the newspaper and read it carefully for a while. "It's very realistic and touching. If you keep working hard, you might become a real writer in the future."

Jason's eyes sparkled. He held his head high and said nothing, but the curve of his mouth couldn't be concealed.

247.

Once, the literary club held a literary exchange meeting and invited several local writers to share their writing experiences with students. Jason also participated, and he was humble and serious throughout.

However, his greatest gain was not the writers' speeches at the exchange meeting, but a conversation he overheard after the meeting.

"Do you know AO3?" a student excitedly whispered to the person next to him. "It's that... website. It has all kinds of stuff. It's awesome!"

Some people around heard her and began to gather around her, whispering with her. They would occasionally burst into laughter, and occasionally there would be loud arguments that could not be suppressed.

Jason glanced at them curiously, but was ignored by the excited girls.

He had never heard of the name of this website, but he remembered it subconsciously.

After returning home, Jason turned on his computer, typed in "AO3" to search, and then clicked on this unfamiliar website.

After a few minutes, he was completely shocked.

248.

At first, he was attracted by a bunch of extremely popular articles and clicked on a story with a particularly eye-catching title.

"'I don't want to be everyone's hero, I just want to be your prisoner' — a love confession from a certain superhero."

Jason felt a little strange at first, but he couldn't help but read on. As the text unfolded, he found that this was not the serious heroic story he had thought, but a super romantic love story.

Halfway through reading, Jason's face quickly turned red.

"They actually..." He stared at the screen, his fingers froze on the mouse for a second, and he closed the website as if he was burned.

But five minutes later, he couldn't help but click it again.

Jason spent the entire night reading all sorts of stories on AO3. Some made his blood boil, some moved him so much that his nose ached, and some... made his ears burn like smoke.

"These people are too bold..." He muttered softly, but his eyes were fixed on the screen, unable to move away.

Finally, he couldn't help but register an account on the website and clicked on many collections.

As Jason lay in bed, his mind was filled with those stories. He wasn't simply drawn in by the plot, but rather by the emotional descriptions. He had never imagined that the relationships between heroes could be written with such nuance and moving emotion.

249.

The next day, Jason was in a state of confusion. He thought the articles were "outrageous," but he couldn't help but think about them.

At one point during lunch, he stuck his fork on the edge of his plate, completely unaware that Ah Fu was smiling at him.

"Is there anything troubling you, young master?" Ah Fu asked.

"Ah? No, no." Jason quickly came back to his senses, but he couldn't hide the secret in his heart - he wanted to try to write something.

That night, Jason opened the AO3 submission page for the first time. Using the username "GrayQuill," he spent an hour writing a short story.

About the content of the novel.

Well... after all, we all know that stories come from life, and it just so happens that Xiaojie's life is full of superheroes.

What a great subject, what a great protagonist!

He couldn't bring himself to kill Sister Leona and Sister Barbara, and neither could Alfu, so the remaining choices were easy.

It’s decided to be you!

Dick and Bruce!

With his innate sense of bad taste, Xiaojie wrote the first Night Bat article in his life.

250.

Jason was inspired by God as he wrote, and his ideas flowed like a stream. He didn't even get stuck at the plot point, and he finished the article with great enthusiasm.

Title: Shadow and Light

Pen name: GrayQuill

---

He remembered that when he was Robin, the world was very small and could only accommodate the back of Batman.

"Stay behind me." Batman always says this before every mission, his tone always so calm, like an order and a promise.

At that time, Robin thought that he would follow this man forever, using all his strength to desperately grab his cloak to prove that he could stand shoulder to shoulder with him.

…

"You don't believe me!" he yelled, his voice echoing in the cave. "You always want to solve problems on your own and never let me really get involved! Have you ever considered that I've had enough of this?"

Batman didn't look back, his silence was like a deeper darkness, swallowing everything.

…

After leaving Gotham, he tried to live the life of an ordinary person. He learned to go to bed early and get up early, to be in a daze in the coffee shop on the corner, and to close his eyes in the sun and pretend to be just an ordinary person.

But no matter where he goes, his shadow follows him. Reports about Batman on the TV news, rumors on social media, even a random chat from a stranger, are like invisible threads, gently plucking at his heartstrings.

Sometimes, he would wake up in the middle of the night, his dreams filled with familiar cloaks and darkness. He hated that feeling, but he couldn't help but indulge in it.

…

He didn't know how he ran back to Gotham. He only remembered that when he saw Batman standing alone in the fire, his body began to move uncontrollably.

"You need help." Nightwing's voice was steadier than expected. He stood between the firelight and the shadows, his eyes determined.

Batman looked back at him and said nothing, but he knew that in that moment, all the barriers were left behind.

…

"Why did you come back?" Batman asked, his voice low and calm.

Nightwing looked at him, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, "Because I know you need me."

Batman's eyes moved, as if he wanted to avoid her, but also wanted to get closer. His hands unconsciously clenched the corners of his cape, but finally let go, as if he had finally unloaded a burden.

"I thought you hated me." His voice was so soft it sounded like a sigh.

"I did," Nightwing admitted, his tone softening, "but then I realized that hating you and loving you are the same thing."

Batman didn't answer, but took a step forward. The distance between them was so close that they could almost feel each other's breath.

"You're still the Robin who always annoys me." Batman whispered, with an imperceptible softness in his tone.

"And you're still the Batman who never knows how to speak out." Nightwing retorted, but did not retreat.

Then, they kissed each other, their movements clumsy but eager, like a torrent that had been suppressed for too long finally bursting its banks.

Nightwing's hand slid along the edge of Batman's cape, finally stopping at the back of his neck. He gently stroked the skin, his movements as gentle as if confirming a dream.

"Don't leave me." Batman finally spoke, his voice a little hoarse, like a plea.

"Never," Nightwing replied. His voice was firm, yet also a little fragile, like a promise, like a prayer.

They didn't say anything more, just let each other's presence fill all the gaps.

The first ray of light flashed across the horizon, and they were still standing there, as if shadow and light had finally found each other's home.

---

The entire plot revolves around the complex and deep bond between Nightwing and Batman, which includes both tacit understanding in battle and delicate care in daily life. He perfectly combines Nightwing's warmth with Bruce's composure, even adding a touch of ambiguous physical conflict at the end.

When he finally finished writing the last word, he breathed a sigh of relief, but his heart was beating like a drum. He nervously looked at the "Publish" button on the screen, his finger hovering over the mouse, but he hesitated to click it.

"Is this really possible?" Jason asked himself in a low voice, imagining Bruce and Dick's faces when they saw the article. He could even imagine Bruce frowning, and Dick questioning him with a look of horror as if the sky had fallen.

Oh, it actually feels pretty good.

He was eager to try, and writing such a story seemed like a catharsis, an indescribable joy.

"Who cares!" Jason gritted his teeth and slammed the "Publish" button.

251.

In the minutes after uploading the article, Jason refreshed the page again and again, feeling both excited and anxious. He didn't know how readers would react, and he didn't know if they would even realize he had written it.

A few minutes later, the first comment appeared.

"Oh my god! This article is so amazing, the author wrote it so delicately! The conflict and love between Nightwing and Batman were perfectly written! Our CP is real!!"

When Jason saw the comments, he felt excited, but also a little shy. He hadn't expected his article to receive such praise.

Then, the second and third comments followed.

"Nightbat is the best! Please update it soon!"

"This couple is so touching, the author wrote it so vividly!"

Jason's heart beat faster, his fingers tapped on the keyboard, and he felt a sudden urge to create.

"It seems that I really have a talent for writing." He raised his eyebrows and smiled, and had already started to think about the plot of the next article.

252.

Over the next few days, Jason trained and fought with the Bat-Family as usual during the day, and at night he became "GrayQuill" on AO3, sparking a small Night Bat craze in the literary world.

His articles gradually attracted more and more readers, and some fans even began to send him private messages, asking for his views on the relationship between Ye and Bat, and some asked him how to write such realistic emotional descriptions.

Jason was filled with mixed emotions when he read these private messages. He enjoyed the feeling of being recognized, but he was also worried that he had exposed some secrets of the Bat Family, even though these secrets might just be his own imagination.

He couldn't help but swear in his heart:

"Bruce and Dick must not know about this, otherwise I'm really going to be beaten by Night Bat!"

251.

Encouraged by this, Jason began writing novels whenever he had time. His writing became better and better with practice, and his stories became more and more fascinating.

"Xiaojie writes pretty well. I feel like I'm going to be addicted to Nightwing and Batman." I whispered to Barbara with a smile.

"I thought you hated me," Barbara said softly in a dramatic aria.

"I did." I stared into Barbara's eyes and spoke in the same dramatic cadence, "But then I realized that hating you and loving you are the same thing."

"You're still the same Robin who always annoys me." Barbara whispered.

"And you're still the Batman who never knows how to speak out." I held her hand and our eyes met.

We both laughed wildly.

Thanks to Wayne Manor's excellent soundproofing, no one came up and knocked on our door.

Yes, we knew it when Xiaojie posted his first article, and we also contributed his first comment and like!

Of course, we also stopped Dick in a burst of affection, although Dick, who has become more and more shameless in recent years, may not mind too much. But if Xiaojie knew, he would definitely be ashamed and angry, and might even beat himself to death with a crowbar or run away from home.

As for the other protagonist, Bruce? I bet he already knew about it, and he might even analyze his psychological state based on Gon's diary.

He's definitely capable of doing something like this.

To prevent our family from falling apart, we kindly kept Dick out of our brother's privacy.

Dick, did you say thank you?

252.

A few months later, Jason's novel had already attracted quite a few fans on AO3, and some people asked him if he was interested in trying to take on the manuscript.

"Jason, what are you doing staring at the computer so much lately?" Dick couldn't help but ask once. "Doing homework?"

"That's about right." Jason pursed his lips, and the tips of his ears turned very red.

"Why do I feel like you're hiding something from me?" Dick approached tentatively. Jason quickly turned off the screen and turned back with an innocent look on his face: "No, you're overthinking it."

"Yeah, that'd be great." Dick raised an eyebrow but didn't ask any further questions.

Jason breathed a sigh of relief. His ears turned red when he thought about the many Nightwing CP stories he had written.

If Dick knew, I'd just commit suicide by swallowing a bullet.

He thought calmly.

Thanks to Dick for his non-stubborn spirit of inquiry when facing his younger brother, which once again allowed him to maintain the harmony and stability of the family.

Thanks, Dick, you don't need to say thank you for what you didn't say.