Snowy Night Campfire (End)

When Alberto left, it was already dark, and before Schiller could even rest for a while, the doorbell rang again.

This time, it was Bruce who appeared outside the door. He was wearing a turtleneck sweater and a trench coat, and he looked very smart. When Mrs. Miller passed by, he smiled and nodded at him, which made Mrs. Miller happy.

When he sat down across from Schiller at the table, seeing Bruce's increasingly serious expression, Schiller said, "You haven't been to the Gotham University psychiatric clinic in a long time, and this time you've booked treatment at Arkham Hospital. What's wrong?"

"It's been a long time since you've been to the Gotham University psychiatric clinic, Professor."

Schiller sighed and said, "You're the one who booked the therapy session. Don't talk like you're in a business negotiation, trying to gain the upper hand. Are you the Doctor or am Doctor?"

"If you're determined to win every negotiation, I suggest you go home and talk to the wall."

Bruce's lips moved slightly, then he said, "Actually, it's Alfred..."

"Your butler? What happened to him?"

"Evans stayed at my house for a few days before, Alfred was very happy, but after he left, I could clearly sense that Alfred was somewhat disappointed..."

Schiller looked Bruce in the eye and said, "Isn't this normal? Anyone would be a little upset about losing a friend, right?"

"I think you've thought of that, so what's making you sad now is that you've realized Alfred has always been in a state of loneliness, and you haven't paid attention to him before..."

"He was there for me as I grew up. I know his interests. I once prepared opera tickets for him, and I thought about letting him travel or building a nursing home for him, but he didn't want any of those things..."

"You think he's unhappy because he really liked Evans, and Evans left?"

"Isn't that so?"

Schiller shook his head and said, "I think he's happy because you agreed to let Evans stay over, or rather, he's happy because you made friends at college."

"But..."

"Are you saying you don't need friends? Or to go further, do you think you don't need those unnecessary feelings? Then what kind of feelings do you have for Alfred?"

Bruce's lips moved again, but he didn't say the word, seemingly unwilling to mention it. Schiller pretended to hear it and said, "I'll just compare Alfred to your parents, and I don't think you'll object to that analogy."

"Generally speaking, normal parents feel happy and gratified when their children bring classmates and friends home and get along well. Most of this is because they are gratified by their children's growth in interpersonal skills, but part of it is also because their emotional and rational judgments are both happy that their children have the ability to give normal emotions."

"If your child has the normal ability to give and receive emotions, it means that the child can feel the love of their parents. When you are sure that your love is received by others, you will feel very happy because this is a common emotional feedback mechanism."

"Conversely, if your child appears indifferent to everyone around them, as if their heart is dead, then parents will begin to worry whether their child is not feeling their love, or whether their child's ability to give and receive emotions is problematic because they haven't loved them enough..."

"Alfred is the same way. He's like your parent, placing all his emotions on you. When you show any negative changes, he'll reflect on himself, and when you make some positive changes, this positive feedback will also be returned to him, making him feel happy."

"This is the most normal emotional relationship between parents and children in the world. Put yourself in their shoes and feel what they feel."

"Now you should understand why Alfred is experiencing some of these emotional fluctuations, right?"

Bruce nodded, indicating that he fully understood the theory, and then said, "So what do you think I should do now?"

"You'll have to ask yourself that. I think Alfred knows you very well. He should know which one is the real you, which of your emotions are genuine, and which are feigned."

"Now that he's happy about your friendship with Evans, can I infer from that that you actually get some positive emotions from this friendship?"

Bruce remained silent. Schiller said helplessly, "You can't take this for mind reading, Bruce. Are you trying to make me guess if you don't give me the answer?"

"If the positive emotions you're referring to are the drowsiness of not being able to sleep and the helplessness of being dragged to listen to some old-fashioned operas, then there are indeed some."

"I remember bats are mammals, not birds..." Schiller looked at Bruce, Bruce also looked at Schiller, wondering what he was going to say by suddenly changing the subject. Then Schiller said, "Even birds aren't as stubborn as you."

"The exhaustion of not being able to sleep? Why didn't you mention that when you were out fighting criminals all night in your bodysuit? The helplessness of being dragged to listen to some old-fashioned opera? If Evans could beat you, he wouldn't have needed to use a bomb to blow himself into a crater in the church..."

Bruce showed no embarrassment at being exposed; he remained expressionless and said, "I'm here to seek a solution. I can't let Evans live in my manor indefinitely. Even if Falcone has no objections, Selene will be very angry..."

"Before seeking a solution, you'd better ask your question first."

"I've already addressed my issue. I've noticed that Alfred has been living in a state of loneliness, and I want to make a change."

"I've already given you the answer to this question: if you're happy, your butler is happy; if you're unhappy, he's unhappy."

Bruce fell silent again, realizing that Schiller had led him into a dead end once more. If this theory was correct, then the way to make Alfred happy was simple: just make him happy on his own.

This solution should theoretically be very effective, but in reality it is almost impossible to implement because Batman is unhappy all the time.

It's not that I was unhappy, but rather that my emotions didn't fluctuate much.

The atmosphere in the room fell silent again. Schiller did not continue to offer Bruce advice, because if things went according to the normal procedure, he would then have to delve into Batman's mind to explore why he was unhappy and how to make him happy.

Considering that conducting research on this topic could potentially constitute academic infringement against the Joker, Schiller decided it was best not to delve into it further.

"Do you think it's possible to prevent him from placing all his emotional burdens on me?" Bruce raised another possibility.

"This is indeed a direction. We will still follow that theory. Parents will go through such a mental journey. If they really start to detach their emotions from their children and return to their personal lives, then there are two possibilities."

"Either they are convinced that their children are happy enough and can live well even without them, and understand that the greatest source of their children's happiness is no longer their parents' care."

"Then they will actively transfer their emotions, either to others or focus on themselves."

Schiller capped his pen with a soft click, then looked at Bruce and asked, "Do you have any plans to get married anytime soon?"

Bruce was taken aback by the sudden change of topic.

"I'm not kidding. If you have any plans to get married soon, Fred should be able to get out of this situation. Or you and Selene could just have a baby, and that would solve the problem at its root."

Bruce shook his head slightly, Schiller continued, "Another possibility is that some unmet obsession of the parents is greater than their love for their children. When they rekindle this obsession, their emotions are drawn away from their children and instead invested in this obsession."

"Obsession..." Bruce muttered to himself, frowning. Schiller continued, "It may be offensive, but I still want to ask, does your butler still have any relatives alive?"

Bruce shook his head again, Schiller asked, "So, was he ever married or had anyone he liked?"

Bruce paused for a long time, then shook his head. Schiller asked, "Is it that you don't have it, or that you don't know?"

"I know some things, but not in enough detail, and that might be the problem. He knows me well, but..."

"Okay, you've investigated everyone around you, even memorizing information about strangers you've only met once on the street, but you don't have a detailed understanding of your closest butler... Perhaps that's proof that he's special to you."

"I'll try to figure something out," Bruce finally said.

The fireplace in the room was burning brightly, but conversely, as darkness fell, the temperature dropped, and when the rain started to fall again, it turned into tiny ice crystals, which then turned into pale snowflakes.

It's hard to imagine a city on the East Coast that gets snow in the fall, but Gotham has been absurd for a long time, so a little weirdness won't make a difference.

Schiller sat there behind his desk, while people came and went in front of him.

In Cobblepot's eyes, who was struggling with life choices, the desktop became the ice sheet he stood on. The small bird waddled off the table and fell into the sea, where he saw a faint flame in the deep blue water.

Evans, a man of two sides, walked in, and the room became his stage. Outside the window, lightning flashed and thunder roared. When the lightning struck, suddenly, a blinding light split the entire room in two, half black and half white. When a flame ignited on this boundary, it was brighter than the sun.

Before Evans had completely disappeared, Batman walked in. The vast snowy night in his heart was darker and colder than anyone else's. The flame was almost too weak to be seen at all, but he still stood there, as if the illusory light could provide him with a little warmth, even if it was just psychological.

Three figures stood alone by the campfire. Soon, more figures came over. Some of their faces were familiar. After standing for a while, they walked into the wind and snow. Others, however, were ethereal, as if separated by a cosmic barrier.

As the cold wind picked up and the flames grew weaker, people coming and going threw firewood into the fire, and the crackling sound of burning started again. Just then, the doorbell rang urgently. Schiller looked up and saw a green-haired figure standing outside the door, holding a bottle of wine.

Seeing the protagonist work another long day at work, the author burst out laughing.

Readers laughed when they saw that the author had worked hard all day to write.

Seeing that the reader had worked another long day at work, the protagonist laughed out loud.

The world of Fun-seeker has been achieved!