Chapter 178 Chapter 178 [VIP]

Self-centered

Megan had changed slightly after she came back from Bain. Her father had been observing her quietly for a while after finishing his own business. He knew that the child had a little secret behind his back, but it would be too boring to reveal the secret and discover her little thoughts too early.

With more than half a month left in Megan's summer vacation, the Joker took her out of Arkham and back to the two-story building.

As for her summer homework, she had completed some of it in the country house and in Arkham, and now only had to do the social studies report and art homework, which were hand-painted or leaf puzzles. The teacher required a certain level of completion and she couldn't be too perfunctory, so she began to worry about it. She just scribbled a few strokes here and made a few random touches there, but there was no real progress anyway.

She was staring blankly at her spread-out drawing paper in the living room when she heard the Joker calling the Special Children's Care Fund. He was dressed in a sophisticated suit and tie, but he was impersonating Arthur's voice and said to the person on the other end, "Hello, Ms. Carter, I'm sorry to bother you, but I have something to tell you..."

What can be said about Arthur Damon, this ordinary and weak man?

He was once so weak that his daughter was lost because of his own mistake, but he could only wait outside the police station. Even the moment he saw his daughter again, he could only shed tears of gratitude. His life later improved with the support of the Wayne Group and the Special Children's Care Fund. Such a small person must have called to ask for help, right?

They're saying how poor they are, how hard it is, and why they need more funding from the foundation? They're saying they've recently encountered a major problem they can't solve. In short, they're either greedy for money or they need some help, right?

However, neither of these are true. Today he wants to tell Ms. Carter about the good changes that have taken place in him and his family!

"I'm so sorry, Ms. Carter. I'm waiting for the situation to stabilize before explaining to you... No! Megan is fine. I'm working for the company where I'm working and I've been promoted to shop floor manager. My salary increased two months ago, and during that time, I've confirmed that my salary can cover all expenses for Megan and me."

His tone was no longer as weak and pitiful as it was at the beginning, and gradually became calm. It was obvious that the salary that could support his family was enough to make him confident and gain sufficient social recognition. He relied on his own hands, paid the price of being away from home for a long time, worked hard and made continuous progress, and finally got a good reward.

This good return made Arthur feel at ease, but only after he confirmed that his salary could cover the expenses of the entire family did he explain to the foundation what his purpose was.

Arthur's voice was calm and firm. He said, "Ms. Carter, I can't trouble you anymore. Can I cancel the foundation's funding? And we no longer need the school's subsidies." So the quota must be returned and given to those in need.

"And I also have some money that I want to donate to the foundation."

Look at what a good little character this is! So different from those despicable and ugly images, who can say Damon is stupid? But who can say he is not a good person? In this era, in the city of Gotham, good people are synonymous with stupidity, but there are always people who do those stupid things, hoping to bring some "good" to others, just like Wayne.

Damon's family benefited from this, so when he became capable, he also wanted to contribute. He was too stupid, but such people have not completely disappeared from the world after all, they are just a little rare, and there are always people who stand up.

Arthur continued to communicate with Ms. Carter, and the final response he received was that the grants from the foundation and the school could be canceled, but he would need to provide proof of his current assets and income, which would need to be reviewed, and there would be a two-month observation period.

If the Damon family's current assets and income are not stable and cannot cover their living expenses, including if they may encounter danger and their income and expenditure balance may be broken, resulting in a debt crisis, then the funding will continue until the family has acquired a certain amount of savings assets and has the ability to bear risks, then the funding quota will be cancelled.

This is a measure that the foundation has introduced with consideration for the families of every special child. Even though it is a bit complicated, it can really help them.

The phone call lasted quite a long time. After the Joker hung up, he waved to Megan who had been watching him for who knows how long. Then the child ran to him and he pinched her cheek. Megan thought she was playing with him and was about to bite his hand with an "Ah-woo". However, he raised his arm high and she couldn't reach it at all.

When he put his hand down, he patted Megan's shoulder. Why did he take so much trouble to play the role of Arthur? Wasn't it for this little kid?

The clown narrowed his eyes and said slowly, "I guess you have questions?"

Megan hummed, "Why is Dad the Joker and Arthur?" She even counted on her fingers to signal to him, trying to prove her curiosity about the reason behind this.

And her father said: "This is all for you, Megan. You have to have a clean identity. As for what use it will be? That's not something you should consider." He couldn't help laughing when he thought of these things.

As early as the beginning, the Joker was delighted to see this child, thinking that this child would be his best partner in the future! After all, even Batman already had an assistant, so he also needed a replacement. However, he searched for a long time and couldn't find any child who was qualified. But when he found her, he was suddenly moved -

When he took away this unexpected gift, he got a hollow puppet. He had to charge her energy and program her operating mechanism. He had to put in a thousand times more effort to see a tiny gain, but this was nothing to him. However, this child belonged to him from the inside out. Their destinies were entangled from the moment they met. This was his most satisfying creation.

The Joker put his arm around Megan's shoulders and said slowly, "Back then, I thought you were a source of fun with limited rewards! I was planning on throwing you in front of the Bat at any moment, or using you as a bargaining chip in a confrontation between me and him."

Batman is undoubtedly a tough opponent, but his perseverance and his sense of responsibility to always think carefully and do his best are a huge breaking point. Anyone can find something wrong with him, so Batman needs to work hard and the people around him need to sacrifice as well. After all, these criminals always like to play games with Batman, which are two-choice or multiple-choice questions, because they can see his struggle and his broken heart.

People who want to be perfect cannot always succeed. In the beginning, these criminals did hit him, but later Batman learned to let go... He still carries the darkness and fights against evil, but he knows that he is still powerless. He will try his best to make up for it afterwards. However, even if these imperfect events continue to hurt him, they can no longer hit his heart hard.

What about Megan? In the Joker's original plan, whenever he got bored, he could set up a trap to trick Batman into coming in. After all, look at her, an innocent child with physical defects who was brainwashed and coaxed, who could be easily pulled as his shield. If she was more sober, she could give everything for him.

So what happens with Batman's sense of responsibility?

He would want to save the child and take her away from the vicious criminals, but he would definitely have to pay a price in the process. After all, he wanted to take away the clown's child, a chess piece that had been bewitched. Once he succeeded, he would want to break the child's mental control and hide her somewhere where the clown could not find her.

The Joker knows his old friend's ways too well, and is fully aware of the choices and decisions he will make. But for the Joker, he puts in so much effort and energy just to have Megan snatched away by Bats? This is not maximizing benefits at all. But what role and value can such a weak and ignorant child really play?

So the child fell into his hands.

So unlike what everyone in Arkham imagined, the Joker has not yet revealed his relationship with Megan to Batman, let alone launched any subsequent possible conspiracy.

He maintained the daily experiences of Arthur Damon's identity, and even his promotion and salary increase had clear tracks and changes. Everything was traceable, and there was no way to find any flaws.

The clown thought of these things, and there was no emotion in the deep wrinkles on his face. He recounted the story in a cruel tone, and Megan leaned against him, said "Oh", and said with curved eyes: "You can't bear to leave me." In fact, Megan felt that it was her father who thought she could do nothing, so he always protected her and didn't abandon her.

“…You’re right, sunk costs.”

"Dad, I'm not a sunk cost. I'm your most beloved child." She raised her hands high and counted on her fingers to the clown. "You call me sweetheart, dear, child, and daughter."

The Joker stared down at her, feeling both amused and annoyed, yet deliberately spoke these meaningless words to her, "What about you? You only have one name for me?" He logically changed the subject. Was he aware of Megan's plan? The answer was yes, but he was curious about how the child would react next, and waited calmly.

Megan looked up at her father. She always looked like a child who had not grown up. Her green eyes looked clear and moist. She said, "Dad, I only have one dad."

So even if she was useless, that soft love could still be a performance. In this play, there were only the two of them, two madmen performing a farce. After all...

Didn't Megan learn anything from the world outside Arkham? If she had been exposed to a little bit of the concept of good and evil and accepted legal awareness outside, she wouldn't seem like a criminal seedling, unable to become his accomplice or his heir, and she should have known what a cruel and terrible criminal he was, but she still approached him without reservation?

The Joker was incredibly curious! But he waited for the day when Megan would reveal the answer herself. He had already anticipated the current situation. As Megan's self continued to develop, she would eventually develop her own ideas, perhaps contradicting his own. But then, perhaps there would be even more fun to be had. He was already looking forward to it.

He still has a lot to do after he leaves Arkham, such as providing Arthur's income certificate to the foundation. It is foreseeable that he will have to negotiate with the foundation staff a lot, and these things cannot be done by just any actor with poor acting skills, after all, Wayne is still paying attention.

The clown left immediately after telling Megan to finish her homework patiently and not wait for the teacher to call her after school starts to increase her workload.

And Megan still has to worry about homework.

She spent two days finishing most of her homework, and then she received an invitation from Sarah to go shopping and strolling together.

The two children agreed to meet in the downtown area near Old Gotham. After meeting up, they headed to a nearby shopping street, where there were many food trucks. They bought juice, hot dogs, and desserts, ate some of them on a bench, and then excitedly set off again. In the mall, they grabbed dolls, played simple video games, and tried various rides at the youth amusement park...

For lunch, we chose a Chinese restaurant outside the mall. Of course, the children talked while eating, and there was background music playing in the restaurant. Unless we were too close, we could not hear the conversations at every table.

Sarah talked about her summer vacation experience. Her family went on a trip, but they stayed in the United States. However, there didn't seem to be much fun there. They just stayed in hotels. The food was a little different in new places, and there were local festivals. She said, "I might as well stay at my grandmother's house. At least there were ducklings to watch."

Her grandmother lived in the countryside, but not in Gotham. Instead, she lived in a metropolis across the sea, which was particularly suitable for agriculture. Sarah's grandmother had a small farm where she could see ducklings in the summer. When she was young, she was the duck king. Whenever she went out, a flock of ducks would follow her. When she was even younger, she would watch the ducklings swimming in the water next to the waterwheel.

It was Megan's turn to talk about what she did during the summer vacation. She thought for a moment and said, "I went to the countryside with my dad. I watched him make furniture, repair the roof, and decorate the house. He also made toys and puppets for me."

If she had anything else to say, she curled her eyes and said, "And Dad said that his salary had increased, so I won't need to receive funding anymore. But he called the people at the foundation and said that there were still some things to deal with, and it would take some time to confirm." Megan didn't think the cancellation of the funding was a bad thing, because Arthur seemed very determined, so she thought it was right.

Sarah looked at her best friend beside her, and seeing her carefree eyes, she felt her heart soften and happy. She had discovered before that her best friend was a little special, and some people talked behind their backs. Those people were bad, but Sarah would not be easily influenced and separated from her friends because she took the initiative to make friends with them.

She later watched Megan and her family get better and better——

When Megan first entered school, she was a little awkward and timid, but later she gradually became cheerful. This is not to say that she took the initiative to get to know many people, but that the expression between her eyebrows and eyes became more open. There are also some small details that prove that her family conditions are getting better, such as her clothes, utensils, pocket money for going out, etc.

So even though Megan is a little special, she is trying hard to break free from the mud. When the rain stops and the sky clears, Megan will stand in the sun and welcome her smooth and solid future.

Sarah was convinced of this.

"That's great! Both your father and you are fine," Sarah said. "So what should we do after lunch?"

Megan looked at her good friend, her face full of thoughts. It was obvious that this bad bear had another idea. Her eyes were bright and she said arrogantly, "Dad gave me cash and a bank card." So what should she do?

"Let's go buy toys and dolls!" Megan didn't feel sorry for her father's money at all, and her eyes were full of interest.

Sarah knew Megan could be naughty sometimes, but she would never do anything rash. Her father had given her cash and a card, so that meant they could definitely be used. So she nodded and said, "Okay~"

When they returned to the mall, Sarah turned her head to look at her friend beside her. Megan's eyes were clear and transparent. In the United States, there are many people with blonde hair and blue eyes, but in fact, many people's blonde hair is dyed. Most people have light brown hair. Blue eyes are just more common, and light brown eyes are more common. Pure green eyes are very rare. Megan has a pair of green eyes.

There is no haze in her eyes, no hurt. Even if she is timid, it fades away quickly. She is always full of vitality. She will not hesitate to express herself when interacting with people around her. It is obvious that the adults in her family protect her very well.

Sarah loved Megan's eyes and the little bits of herself she gradually expressed. Megan has always been a great friend.

The author has something to say:

The update was late due to work, so I will give out red envelopes in the comment section of this chapter~