stonecrandall Chapter 39 Chapter 39
Chapter 39 Chapter 39
Normally, Jason doesn't attend high society parties.
First, he is always busy. Since he decided to skip a grade and participate in the Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating from September to mid-December this year, his study and training tasks have become heavier than before. In addition, being Robin is Jason's most important thing, so it is natural that he will not waste his time on other things.
The second is that Jason himself dislikes such occasions.
Bruce knew that Jason had always hated those "superior people" who looked at him with condescending eyes. Although he had told Jason that "not everyone is like that, there will also be truly educated and virtuous gentlemen and ladies at the banquet", Jason's discomfort in such occasions was visible to the naked eye, so Bruce did not force him.
As long as Jason learns the etiquette and basic social skills well and there are no problems in future undercover missions, Bruce doesn't care whether Jason attends social occasions frequently.
However, there are occasional exceptions. For example, after Jason's birthday, a charity ice show invited Jason, the winner of the U.S. Championship and the World Junior Championship last season.
Ice performances are when figure skaters gather together to perform and then collect ticket and advertising fees, also known as commercial performances. Charity ice performances are when all proceeds from the performances are donated to charity.
The figure skating season is from September to March of the following year, and the rest of the time is the off-season. If skaters want to maintain their status as performers skating in front of many people during this period, it is cost-effective to participate in commercial performances, which can make money and maintain their feeling. By the way, they can also make friends with people in the circle. Many retired skaters also choose to make a living by performing on ice, and some skaters will choose to debut their new programs of the season at commercial performances.
It just so happened that some things happened in Metropolis that made Superman feel something was wrong, and Batman planned to go there on a business trip. So for Bruce, going to Metropolis to watch his adopted son's ice performance became a legitimate reason for Bruce to go there.
Thanks to his rich father, Jason, who originally just wanted to make some contributions to the charity foundation for the treatment of children with leukemia, became the finale of this commercial performance. In addition to baby Brucie, there were also big names such as Tony Stark and Lex Luthor in the audience, as well as a group of reporters following them.
In short, Bruce watched Jason's ice performance live for the first time, donated a large sum of money, and then took Jason to attend the banquet after the charity ice show.
Jason stood in front of the mirror and tied his bow tie, then turned to look at Bruce who was sitting in a chair with a coffee cup in his hand.
Because I insisted on night patrol last night, I took Jason on a plane to the Met early this morning, and then went to see the Ice Show. Bruce only had two hours of nap time before, and he was getting caffeine to refresh himself when he saw the child coming over and putting a bow tie around his neck.
The little robin has very flexible fingers, which is not only reflected in plucking the guitar strings, but also in his quick movements in tying a bow tie, and the knots he ties are exquisite and beautiful.
Bruce could smell the scent of Jason's shower gel at such a close distance. He raised his eyes lazily and said, "I thought if Alfu didn't come with me, I would have to tie the bow myself."
Jason smiled proudly.
"I am Ah Fu's chief disciple and your chief assistant. You're welcome. This is what I should do."
Bruce snorted, which made him look particularly romantic, the kind of suave and uninhibited type of a rich young man, mature and charming, and even a little tipsy, as if there was alcohol in the coffee.
This is the state of Gotham's baby, a little frivolous and uninhibited, with a sweet smile that makes people want to please him or play tricks with him, but at the same time people will understand that Brucie just likes to have fun, and it's best not to use those tricks on him.
Because of the huge height difference, from the moment they met, Bruce actually looked more at the whorl of Jason's hair. It was a matter of perspective, but Bruce would occasionally take a good look at his adopted son to see how Alfu was doing with his feeding.
Jason has grown taller, although he is still shorter than his peers and his face is full of childishness and immaturity, but he has completed his voice change, and his elongated stature makes him thin and energetic, looking a bit like a teenager.
The kid looked very cute in the suit, especially when he looked up and smiled, which made people feel lighter and brighter, and reminded Bruce of Jason's wet smiling face when he took off his mask when they first met. Perhaps it was that smile that made Bruce decide to let this kid participate in his life and career.
Bruce told Jason: "If you find it noisy later, you can focus on the food or find a corner. I know you are good at this."
This allowed Jason to continue to avoid socializing, which made him subtly feel that he was being indulged by his father, and his mood index also rose accordingly.
Looking at the child's happy back, Bruce sighed softly.
He knew that Jason was growing up well, which was natural, because due to Bruce's financial resources and generous donations, Jason was arranged by the organizer to be the last to perform, but he put on a performance worthy of this order of performance. Even people who didn't understand figure skating thought his performance was very beautiful and artistic.
Considering Jason's age and the time he has been involved in figure skating, to be able to achieve this can only show that he is a genius, and how strong his desire for Bruce's recognition and praise is, and how much effort he has put in for this performance.
Sometimes Bruce would wonder if it was a good thing that he had such a great influence on Jason, because his attitude could determine Jason's mental state, but this was in line with his original expectation, to take on the position of "important person" in Jason's life, guide him onto a good path, and finally grow him into a good adult.
Jason didn't think as much as Bruce did. He picked up a lot of delicious food from the buffet table and then found a corner to eat.
Lamb chops, foie gras, smoked salmon, black truffle macaroni... Jason has a good appetite and his food always tastes delicious. While he was eating the ice cream cake after the meal, another person appeared on the leather sofa covered by the curtains.
The 1.86-meter-tall Tony Stark sat down with a thud, slumped on the sofa, stretched out his long legs, and snapped his fingers in Jason's direction.
"Kid, long time no see."
Jason put down the plate silently and said politely, "Good night, Mr. Stark."
No matter how much he normally behaves like a hedgehog, he is willing to be a polite and good boy when facing Tony Stark, a stranger and semi-idol.
"Good night."
Tony looked like he had drunk a little, his cheeks were slightly red. "You skated well, and I donated money, too. Did you see that? Although not as much as your father, but since you are his son, I won't compete with him for first place this time."
Jason didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but still said, "Thank you."
"You're welcome. After all, you were injured just last month. How could you still do a triple jump on the ice today? It was a triple jump, right? You're pretty good."
Tony gestured, and Jason's expression changed slightly. Tony glanced at him sideways, with a natural expression as if he just said this unintentionally, but Jason felt that this cunning man might know something again, or perhaps he said this on purpose.
Jason was indeed injured last month when he was Robin. The incident caused a big stir and was considered the most serious incident in Gotham this year - Poison Ivy escaped from prison, and Bane and the Joker followed her out.
Then Poison Ivy attacked the municipal building, and Bane attacked Blackgate Prison and released many prisoners. As Robin, Jason had to risk his life to rush into the poisonous gas to save the life of the bald fat mayor. Then after being hit, he was trapped in a cage by Bane's men and hung on the top floor of the municipal building.
The Joker jumped out at that time and told Batman that he had placed bombs in three places: the municipal government, the orphanage, and the hospital. The switch was in the cage where Robin was imprisoned. As long as the cage fell from the top floor of the municipal government, the bombs in the other three places would not explode.
To be honest, Jason hated the Joker so much at that moment. He cursed a few times at the Joker and decided not to let Batman choose between his life and other people's lives. He resolutely cut the rope on the cage himself, and then when the cage was halfway down, Nightwing appeared and pulled him away, saving his life.
However, little Robin was kicked hard by Bane during the battle, which caused him to have a slight bone fracture. He could not do any strenuous exercise for two weeks and had to spend his time with books and homework.
Outsiders only know that Jason was affected by the aftermath of the Arkham Prison Break, so he stayed at home for a week before returning to school, but there are many people like him, and Jason doesn't believe that Tony will pay special attention to these things.
And his words and actions at this moment made Jason feel that this was a rough and straightforward temptation, and Tony hardly concealed it.
Jason had to play dumb: "Well, thank you for your concern. Actually, my injury is not serious. Some of my classmates are worse off than me. Some of them are still in the hospital."
Tony shrugged and said with a cynical expression, "Yeah, there are too many sick people in Gotham. I remember you once said you liked New York. Why don't you let your father send you to any aristocratic boarding school in New York?"
This is a good question. Jason spread his hands: "Well, when I was a kid, I did long for New York, but now I still hope to stay in Gotham forever."
"Why? Because you can't bear to leave your dad?"
Jason nodded honestly: "That's one of the reasons."
"When I was a kid, I longed for New York because the drug rehabilitation welfare institution you donated had the best reputation among similar institutions. Before my mother passed away, I had always hoped to save money to send her to the institution under your name, but then she was gone, and I had no reason to go to New York."
Tony paused, somewhat understanding why the kid had been friendly to him since they met. He raised an eyebrow and said, "The money I donated came from the arms business. Some people say they disdain to accept Stark's dirty money."
Jason smiled. “People who can say this only show that they are not really in difficulty. I don’t care how you make money. Your business is legal, and you are willing to invest the money you have into good causes. This is enough for me to admire.”
The atmosphere fell silent, and Tony leaned back on the sofa again. The purpose of his conversation with Jason today was not to hear what Jason said, but... well, he admitted that what Jason said was beyond his expectations, but it didn't sound bad.
Jason picked up the cake plate and started eating. But after just two bites, Tony said, "I still can't understand. You see, why would guys like you and Robin, who are so agile, smart and likable, insist on staying in a city like Gotham? Even if you could be harmed by a group of mentally ill criminals at any time in Gotham? I would say that group of criminals should have died long ago. But the laws of Gotham have to protect the human rights of a group of patients. Ha, those things that are even less human than arms dealers actually have human rights!"
"New York is still the best. This year, the newspapers have reported two cases where the police killed bad citizens on the street who intended to hinder law enforcement."
Jason: "..."
He didn't know whether Tony was praising New York laws or satirizing the New York police when he said this, but he agreed with Tony that those guys shouldn't have human rights.
Little Robin secretly rolled his eyes and calmly replied, "Perhaps it's because no matter how beautiful and safe other cities are, children raised in Gotham will eventually choose to stay with their mother to save her. Which child really has the heart to abandon his mother these days?"
Tony fell silent again. After a while, he stood up, pulled up his collar, and spoke again in a sarcastic tone.
"I think people who would obsess over these boring rescues are stupid."
Jason replied: "But the world can't be full of smart people. Someone has to do stupid things."
Tony Stark was really too smart. Jason felt that he might have known something, but since the other party had no intention of revealing it, he just went along with what he said, but he also expressed his own opinion.
Thinking back to how bad Katherine was as a mother, Jason never thought of abandoning her. He even stole and cheated for her. Robin's attitude towards Gotham is the same now. There are so many people in this city who need to be saved, so Jason will not choose to leave Gotham.
As early as the moment he became Robin, Jason vowed that he would devote his life to the cause of saving more weak and innocent people. He wanted to use his own hands to save people, save many, many people.
At this moment, a little boy opened the curtain. He had bright blond hair and blue eyes, and looked to be about five or six years old.
Harry Osborn, one of the little guests at the party, looked at Jason with a shy smile on his face, his blue eyes shining like gems kissed by moonlight.
The kid waved, "Jay, are you free now?"
Jason replied subconsciously: "Yeah, there is..."
So Harry trotted over to Jason, grabbed his hand and shook it: "Then I'll take you to the fountain, it's beautiful!"
The child's expectant look was so adorable that Jason only had time to nod to Tony before he was dragged away by the child.
Tony looked at their backs, picked up his glass and took another sip.
The richest man in the United States, who originally just wanted to satisfy his curiosity and tease the child, pinched his nose and chuckled.
"A young, innocent hero."