Chapter 3: Meeting and Parting - Let's Cook Together, Dick...
The continuous heavy rain seemed to wash away the dust that had been lingering in the gaps of the forest, and suddenly a rainbow bridge descended on the sky, which had melted away like cotton candy, leaving only a blue lake. As the clear light descended, it became particularly conspicuous.
When Dick woke up, he was just in time to witness the sudden appearance of the Rainbow Bridge. However, apart from the scenery outside the window and the slight trembling of leaves and branches in the wind, it seemed like there was nothing else. He didn't realize it until a bird flew over the branches in the distance and made an unpleasant sound, at which point he suddenly understood.
"Serd, isn't Fia here?"
There was a window right in front of him. He used one hand to brace himself against the windowsill and jumped, easily vaulting over the not-so-small window and landing lightly on the ground. Excellent, 10/10. After giving himself a perfect score in his mind, he met a pair of wolf eyes that held a human-like, speechless emotion. Dick smiled nonchalantly.
Serd glanced at Dick, turned and walked away, then casually flicked the wolf tail at him with a little force. Dick commented that it didn't hurt particularly much... well, probably?
"Alright, alright, then please lead the way, my great Miss Serd."
"Awoooooo".
Only then did Serd feel satisfied and sprint over. She didn't even care whether Dick kept up, and she sped up. Fortunately, Dick had practiced a little and kept up easily. The gray wolf was not too bad. She passed through the narrow woods that she had deliberately chosen, and Dick's nimble figure slipped through the gaps.
This was the perfect transition from day to night, and back to day again. Light filtered through the dense trees, casting iridescent spots of light that floated in the air like glitter. The dappled light fell on her face, revealing the fine downy hairs on her fair skin, and the sleeping rabbit on her green dress, which unconsciously twitched its ears.
Miss Gray Wolf deliberately stepped on his shoe with her paws, and she looked up to signal him to do something. Dick thought for a moment.
"Maybe you need me to help you carry her back, right?"
After all, Enid hadn't eaten or slept for the first three days, and today was finally the fourth day. The punishment was over, and she could finally rest. Dick felt a little guilty about this, since he had done it all to take her in. So, Seid moved her paw away, and Dick went over and gently picked up Enid, who was sleeping against the tree trunk.
She was almost completely unprepared, and even when Dick picked her up in his arms, she didn't seem to notice anything and fell asleep in his arms. For some reason, Dick subconsciously thought that maybe he should tell her what it meant to be wary.
He not only thought this way, but even after she woke up, he said the same thing, "Good afternoon, Sleeping Beauty? Perhaps you should know what 'it's always good to be wary of others' means?"
"No, no one in the forest can hurt me, and... I don't need to be on guard against you, do I?" Her eyes were brighter than the blue sky that had been like a lake just moments before. He couldn't say anything else, so he changed the subject. "It's an honor to be trusted by this beautiful little deer. But now, our lovely sprite, what would you like to eat?"
“I remember a classmate gave me a cookbook before, but unfortunately I’ve never cooked with it. Maybe we can cook together? I hope you won’t mind if I get in your way.”
Enid recovered quickly. She immediately got out of bed, barefoot, and pulled Dick into the kitchen. She took out a beautifully wrapped notebook from a cupboard drawer. Dick took it and saw that it contained exquisite watercolor drawings and handwritten, printed English text. Every step was written in great detail, making it seem like a thoughtful gift.
"It seems she's your friend, right?"
“Yes,” Enid nodded, her eyes full of smiles, but her answer wasn’t a quick affirmation. “Actually, I only found out when I received the gift, because she didn’t seem to talk to me much at school, and my mother was critically ill when I left school, so this was actually the first time I opened it, but I hope she won’t be angry.” She was a little worried because it had been half a month, and so long since she received her graduation gift, and she hadn’t replied.
"Your friend won't get angry, maybe you could try being affectionate with her? Hmm...yes, a video call!"
Dick's memories were far too complex. It took him a long time to awkwardly extract such a word. Soon, Dick rummaged through his body and found his phone. Just as he was about to turn it on, Enid rushed over to stop him in a panic, covering his hand with hers.
"Sorry... this can't be used here."
Can I know why?
Dick put it away, looking a little confused. Enid was a bit embarrassed. "Because this is a forbidden area. High-tech products and other foreign items are not allowed here, and there might not be Wi-Fi or signal either. Of course, I'm not a caveman. Maybe you'll be able to use it in half a month."
"That's great, but how will you communicate with her?"
"Lyra can deliver the message for me, um, that ferry bird, the one you've seen."
Hearing her name called, Lyra poked her head out of the window, her claws gripping the windowsill tightly, her eyes bright and alert. Enid suddenly felt a little embarrassed. She stuck out her tongue. "Let's just cook!" She had originally wanted to write to her that evening, but ultimately gave up, because no one could go out now.
Dick sensed something and didn't bring up the letter again. He didn't know it was because she couldn't go out; he just assumed that this cute little girl was still struggling with social anxiety, and he planned to find a way to help her later.
The wind blew right through the windows on both sides, brazenly passing by and flipping a page of the notebook, revealing the contents: Century egg, lean pork, and vegetable congee? A small note read, "Consume with caution."
"Preserved egg?" Dick asked, puzzled.
Enid's eyes widened, and she had to stand on tiptoe to catch a glimpse of the pattern. Dick quickly placed the notebook on the table so both of them could see it. She looked down and saw that the black egg was written in both Chinese and English. Unlike Dick's standard Mandarin, Enid spoke with a slight accent, "Century egg... um..."
After thinking for a long time, she seemed to suddenly realize something.
"These are really delicious eggs. She brought them over before, but she said no one else liked them. I was the only exception. Oh, right, I have some here. She gave them to me. Wait a minute!"
Enid jumped up excitedly and skipped over to the "magic refrigerator." She opened it and took out an egg that was covered in dried soil. It was fine and not spoiled. So she took out the rest, making a total of four. Enid took them out, removed the soil, washed them, peeled them, and stacked them on a plate.
The black egg seemed to have a different smell than ordinary eggs. Dick looked at them and seemed to stiffen up a bit. Actually, he had no intention of making this dish, but it seemed that now... He took another look at the egg, and Enid's excited voice came over.
"Would you like to give it a try, Dick?"
...
The eggs that traveled across the ocean exuded a terrifying aura that made them hard to swallow. It wasn't because of their color, as they looked quite normal; it was their name and the overly realistic images on their packaging that resembled demons often depicted in religious legends. Black was also occasionally associated with negative adjectives, except in Gotham and Broodhaven, of course.
As Dick Grayson looked at the preserved egg his colleague handed him, the image that flashed through his mind was Enid smiling as she handed it to him. Her face was pale from staying up all night, but it also made her emerald eyes look like clear and captivating gems.
"Why are you spacing out, Grayson?"
"Oh, it's nothing, it just looks a little scary."
"Hahaha, my wife brought this from China. I heard people there really love it. It's to celebrate your recovery and return. Want to try some?"
The middle-aged man whose face was freckled from the sun was his colleague at the police station. He happened to have the same red hair as Enid. Hmm... Dick suddenly felt that he might be acting a little out of line. He felt as if she was right beside him, never having left, but that was clearly not the case.
"Then thank your wife for me. This looks like a good thing. I hope I don't go to hell."
He smiled and took the egg from his colleague, then opened it. Well, just as he expected, it was a completely black egg. Even his colleague, who knew what was going on, was slightly startled and stared at him with a strange look, as if he were a warrior. Dick, however, didn't care and stuffed it into his mouth in one gulp.
"It tastes good." It tastes the same as what Enid handed me in the kitchen that day, no... not quite the same. "The one from that day was better."
"You've eaten this before?" His colleague suddenly became curious. Dick paused for a moment, probably considering how to describe the scene. "It was not long ago. A friend of mine treated me to it once."
"I guess it's not because the eggs are different, but because the person who treated you is different. How can an old fart compare to a beautiful woman?"
All of Dick Grayson's colleagues knew how popular he was with women, so it was just a joke. After the unexpected event, it was forgotten by everyone. Only Dick himself knew that although the words were mentioned lightly, the content of the joke was absolutely true.
He couldn't deny one thing: he loved Enid, even now.
The night in Brudhaven was somewhat similar to that in Gotham. The weather didn't look very good tonight, and the moon was completely obscured, much like the last night he spent in the forest, a silent night without the moon.
He remained silent until he woke up to find himself outside the forest, his lost memories fully restored. As a price, he lost the girlfriend he had just confessed his love to.
Great, the shortest relationship on Dick Grayson's list of girlfriends has appeared. They only dated for half a day before breaking up, and he was the one who got dumped. Fortunately, this hasn't become the latest record on the Batman family's list of his dark history, because he didn't say anything about it. Please, who would want their father and brothers to know about their dark history, right?
"Hey! Nightwing, are you spacing out? If your injuries haven't fully healed..."
"It's obvious that Gotham has enough of me. You should go back to your Broodhaven."
The voices of Oracle and Robin came through the public channel. He tried to ignore the moon's influence on him and brushed it off with a light joke, "Let's not talk about that, Oracle. Are there any new clues about the place where I disappeared?"
"Does a storm count? There was a severe storm in that area just yesterday, but it only lasted for half an hour."
"This sounds unusual, but..."
"Great, I've found the King of Sauces. How did he get out? I'll go check it out."
Nightwing is suspicious. This was taken from the conversation just now. Red Robin realized this and, as the world's second-best detective, he became quite interested. After all, what could be more interesting than finding out his brother's hidden secret? But he wasn't the only one; others were also very interested.
After being beaten up, Sauce King was honorably sent to where he belonged, and that was it. Apart from the usual robberies and burglaries, the chaotic night was unusually quiet, except for the rustling sounds of the nocturnal creatures.
After Nightwing finished his night patrol, he passed through the rooftops and beams of the crowd and returned to the Batcave in his usual direction, where he met Afro's kind gaze.
"If I could, I would like Young Master Dick to learn what it means to balance work and rest?"
"Hmm, then I'll have to work overtime for a while, after all, I've had half a month off, haven't I?... Don't worry, Afu won't disappear again, I promise!"
He tried to ease the tension with a little joke, but he clearly met Afu's disapproving look, so he quickly raised his hand, probably to swear an oath, and at that moment, for some reason, there was a sudden flash of lightning and thunder outside the window.
"Looks like even God doesn't really believe in you." Jason's voice came through the public channel, with an obvious hint of mockery. Then Batman, who hadn't returned yet, spoke in a deep voice: "I agree. Nightwing, you'd better not participate in night patrols for the time being."
The atmosphere vanished along with the lightning, instantly transforming into a gloomy, foggy night.
Batman clearly knew why, and he actually wanted to say something more. Everyone knew his purpose was out of concern. The channel remained silent, perhaps waiting for the words of an old father. But before he could speak, it wasn't lightning that interrupted him; it had just left.
A red-haired girl stood before Batman. Her eyes looked like unpolished emeralds, and her hair was red silk that hadn't been ironed. She sat on a gray wolf, and her clothes were old, not dirty but very wrinkled.
The gray wolf looked nervous, as did the girl.
Enid never imagined that she would one day come looking for her father.
After her mother's death, she had asked Enid to come and find him, but Enid refused because she somewhat resented her father. This was also the reason she broke up with Dick; after discovering that Dick's adoptive father was Bruce Wayne, she broke up with him and drove him away, not just because of the approaching Dark Storm.
She didn't really know what kind of person Bruce Wayne was. She could only piece together a rough image from her mother's fragmented words: a playboy, irresponsible, unloving of children, and with questionable morals. Although she had wondered why her mother would fall in love with him, her mother never mentioned it, and she had no opportunity to come into contact with the outside world.
This was her first and last time leaving, well, the one for school doesn't count. She walked for almost half a week before arriving in Gotham, and only found it by using bloodline-finding magic. She only vaguely remembered Bruce Wayne's image, and still didn't understand what kind of guy he was, but she knew one thing for sure—he was very rich.
“This is Gotham at night, not a place for you to be right now…” Batman spoke to the silent Enid. His voice was deep and carried a hint of warning. He was going to either send the girl back first, or listen to what she was planning to do. She didn’t look much older or taller than Damian, and her face looked somewhat familiar.
“Bruce Wayne, I am your daughter. Can you give me five million? I can disappear from your and your son’s home and your sight without tarnishing the Wayne family or bothering Mr. Grayson.”
That's enough; she doesn't need a father.
All she needs is money, and then she can return to the Holy Land and rebuild the forest destroyed by the Dark Storm.
Her home was just that place.
A note from the author:
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"One should always be wary of others"—Hong Yingming, *Cai Gen Tan*
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To clarify, the sister's prejudice against Bat is based on her mother's misleading information. This prejudice will soon be dispelled. The mother said many bad things because she was afraid that Bat would take her daughter away. The mother doesn't hate Bat. She carries too much on her shoulders, so she is under a lot of pressure. Her only family is her sister. She only has her sister.
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