As soon as she finished speaking, Brucey suddenly stopped, her body tensed like a bow.
Her gaze was fixed on the shadow at the street corner ahead, her pupils slightly contracted.
There were three figures.
Although their clothes made them look like ordinary farmers who had come to the city to sell goods, she had etched those three faces deep into her memory.
Most importantly, the girl they were with had a face identical to hers.
Mom and Dad... and me?
But when she subconsciously blinked and looked again, she only saw an empty street.
Gwen noticed her strangeness and followed her gaze, but there was nothing there.
"What's wrong?" Gwen asked, puzzled.
She could feel that Brucey's body was trembling slightly at that moment.
But Brucey didn't respond, only staring intently in that direction, her hands unconsciously clenching into fists, her knuckles white from the effort.
After a moment of hesitation, she slowly lowered her head, her voice sounding as if it was squeezed from the depths of her throat: "Nothing."
Her fallen hair covered most of her face, making it impossible to see her expression.
Gwen reached out and stroked her head, a gentle smile on her lips, her slow, leisurely tone unchanged: "Little Brucey, if there's anything, just tell your sister. You can also act spoiled with your sister, don't keep it all to yourself."
Hearing this, Brucey's body instantly stiffened, as if a stasis spell had been cast on her.
She was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly shook off the hands on her chest, took a few steps forward, and widened the distance between herself and Gwen.
She looked up, her eyes serious and stubborn, and said word by word: "I told you before, you've been hiding things from me."
After speaking, she pursed her lips tightly, her gaze fixed on Gwen, as if waiting for an answer.
Gwen's lips twitched as she watched Brucey's current reaction.
This way of speaking, this tone, this line, this face.
If the gender were reversed, it would feel like a domineering CEO in a 'chasing his wife to the crematorium' scenario.
No, wait, am I in a female-oriented novel?
Oh, no, this is Gotham.
The current situation feels more like Superman hiding something from Batman, and then receiving Batman's disapproving gaze.
Well, I'm doing pretty well; at least Little Brucey said something to me.
Little Brucey still loves me!
Sigh, although I was prepared, I didn't expect my originally cute and thoughtful little darling to turn into a Bat-Shadow.
Most importantly, Little Brucey and Arcana are still quite different.
Arcana just usually doesn't show much expression, but after knowing her for so many years, I've realized that her inner world is incredibly rich.
But Brucey is different; the current Brucey is as aloof as if she'd been killing fish in a supermarket for 10 years.
However, Gwen actually had some guesses about why Brucey had become this way.
Having learned the news from some unknown source, Brucey discovered Falcone's identity as a mob boss.
Then, as if Batman's instincts were triggered, she immediately suspected Gwen, who was closely associated with Falcone, and that there was something amiss with the Crime Alley incident.
And most importantly, Gwen suspected that Brucey might have found out from some channel that she wasn't her biological sister.
After all, Brucey's increasing resistance to Gwen's closeness likely stemmed from her suspicion that Gwen, as an adopted child, had conspired with outsiders to murder the Wayne Couple to usurp the family fortune and conceal her adoption.
Solving this is simple: tell Brucey that I'm not her biological sister, and tell her that her parents aren't dead, and that they were never absent from our elementary, middle, and high school admissions and graduations.
But the problem is, Gwen felt that if Brucey knew the truth now... she might die a very ugly death.
Haha, Little Brucey! Didn't expect that, did you! Mom and Dad aren't dead!
Oh, my dear Little Brucey, please put down that Bat-shaped dart, sister was wrong.
So... Gwen tilted her head, blinking innocently, and said with a blank expression: "How could I hide anything from you? Little Brucey must have misunderstood!"
Her appearance was as if she truly knew nothing. Brucey, seeing this, snorted coldly, ignored Gwen, turned around, and continued walking forward.
Gwen felt a little helpless inside, but she also jogged to catch up.
The two walked one after another along the road from school for a while and soon arrived at a black sedan.
The car gleamed with a cold luster under the early-lit streetlights, and a middle-aged butler in a crisp suit stood by the car door.
Eight years had passed, and the once robust old butler looked a little thinner, but his spirit remained undiminished.
Alfred looked at his two young ladies, raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping back and forth between them, a knowing smile playing on his lips: "What a memorable day, not only have both young ladies skipped grades and graduated from high school, but I never expected Miss Brucey to be willing to return with Miss Gwen. Miss Brucey, has Miss Gwen caught you in some compromising situation?"
Brucey's face was cold, and her tone was icy: "She insisted on following."
Gwen, however, didn't mind at all, a bright smile on her face, nodding repeatedly: "Yes, yes! I shamelessly followed Little Brucey!"
Alfred shrugged, the smile on his lips undiminished, as he was already used to their strange way of interacting.
He fully assumed that his second young lady had finally reached her rebellious phase.
Alfred opened the car door, gesturing for the two to get in.
The two sat in the car, and Alfred also got into the driver's seat.
Through the rearview mirror, he saw the state of the two sitting in the back.
One had a straight back, hands folded on her lap, a proper smile always on her face, her dignified appearance complementing the car's atmosphere.
The other was much more casual, leaning carelessly by the window, with one leg crossed over the other, propping her cheek with one hand, her gaze fixed out the car window, the neon lights of the street flickering on and off her indifferent face, though she occasionally, subtly, glanced at the other side.
The sedan drove smoothly on the streets of Gotham when suddenly, Gwen broke the silence in the car: "Alfred, please stop the car, I need to get out."
Alfred glanced at Gwen through the rearview mirror, frowned slightly, but didn't ask further, skillfully pulling the car over to the side of the road.
As the car stopped and Gwen prepared to get out, Brucey's gaze, which had been fixed out the window, sharply retracted. She quickly reached out and grabbed Gwen's wrist, her eyes full of vigilance and doubt: "What are you going to do?"
Gwen's lips curved into a gentle smile, and she lightly shook the wrist Brucey was holding: "Don't be nervous, a friend invited me to meet today."
Brucey's eyes were still suspicious, and she pressed: "What are you meeting for?"
"It's nothing bad," Gwen blinked, her tone light, "just discussing graduation trip plans. After all, there's still some time before we go to university, so there's still a chance to travel around, isn't there?"
Brucey's expression remained cold, but her grip on Gwen's hand didn't loosen.
After a moment, she lowered her voice and said seriously: "Don't get into trouble."
Gwen naturally understood what Brucey was worried about.
"Okay."