Chapter 58: Laughing

...

Silence swept through the living room like a prairie fire, and his entire body was suddenly engulfed in a sea of confusion. Thoughts raced through his head, leaving him bewildered.

Bruce sat there stiffly, like a puppet, for a long time. After a while, he slowly raised his hand and closed the surveillance video.

Shame burned his heart.

His cheeks burned, and Jack's words still echoed in his ears.

...An invitation?

No...no, no, he wouldn't go.

He needed to keep his distance from the Joker—he must not indulge his desires—the Joker was different from Selina, Vicki, and the others. He and the Joker could never develop a long-term, stable relationship...

A long-lost voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

"But you want—you can't escape forever."

"..."

These words were like a poisonous insect, coiling around and gnawing at his heart.

"You wanted it," the voice repeated, its tail rising like a barbed hook. "You can fool anyone, but you can't fool yourself."

Bruce closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and whispered,

"I can't."

"But you've already taken that step, Batsy." The Joker laughed gleefully, his words dancing a joyful tune. "Remember? You pinned him down on that tattered stage, and he kissed you, and you didn't say no."

"That doesn't mean anything," Bruce retorted.

"Really?" the voice languidly, its tone undisguised with amusement. "But your brain says otherwise, Batsy. It remembers the feeling of that moment, the touch of lips, the softness of tongue, the—"

"Shut up."

But no matter how Bruce protested, the Joker's words lingered. The voice paused, then continued,

"Poor little Batsy, that was the best kiss you've ever had in your life. The conquest was unleashed, the satisfaction you've never felt before—"

"That's not—" Bruce protested.

"Ha! I don't want to expose you, Batsy," the Joker let out a short laugh, his tone thick with sarcasm, "but it's clear that you simply don't want to face your own heart."

"..."

Bruce stood up, ignoring the harassment. Reason told him he should shower quickly, or find somewhere else to relieve himself. He walked towards the bathroom—

"He invited you, Batsy." The voice suddenly softened, lingering, penetrating like a stream of water. "He's known you were looking—don't you want to actually see him in that dress? Or would you like to try the other one he mentioned? How do you think he'd welcome you?"

...

"It's an invitation—" The Joker repeated the last words Bruce had heard in the same tone.

For a moment, fantasy and memory overlapped.

Jack's pale, thin body, the deliberately exposed collarbone and chest, those wolf-like eyes... that ambiguous invitation.

All the teasing, flirting, and seduction just now flooded back into his mind.

He stopped.

"Yes, Batsy," the voice said, a faint laugh laced in it. "You just need to calm him down, calm a madman... calm a restless, dangerous clown... You just need to control him, disarm him, teach him a lesson, and make him behave—"

Bruce's Adam's apple rolled, and his hesitant gaze fell on the apartment door.

He told himself to turn around and go to the bathroom—

but his body didn't move.

His hand slowly reached for the coat on the chair.

"You just want to make sure... make sure he doesn't have any dangerous objects on him, that he doesn't have a bomb hidden under his skirt, so that you can feel at ease—"

Bruce grabbed the coat and put it on, heading for the door. His mind was still blank, but his body seemed to have its own consciousness...

When he came to his senses, he found himself standing in the doorway next door.

...

He took a deep breath, hesitated for a few seconds, raised his hand and pressed the doorbell—

"Click!"

A strong electric current shot from the doorbell button into his fingertips, running along his arm, and the muscles in his body twitched, paralyzed in an instant.

"!!!"

Bruce took a deep breath. This was so sudden that he was thrown back three or four steps by the electric shock, fell to the ground, and almost fell into the stairwell.

Five seconds later.

He climbed up dazedly, the arm that touched the button still trembling. He stumbled over to observe the doorbell -

there was a miniature electric shock device hidden underneath.

At this moment, the device was emitting a faint buzzing sound, as if mocking him.

"..."

Bruce took a deep breath, clenched his teeth, and a few blue veins popped out on his forehead.

- Very good.