In the narrow corridor, Selena carried a large box. Her good friend, Maggie, stood at the door waiting for her. As Selena approached, Maggie hurriedly greeted her and helped carry the box into the room.
Setting the box down, Selena sighed, clapped the dust off her hands, and looked around the room. It was a single-room apartnt in Living Hell. After the renovation of Living Hell Phase One, many residents transford their extra space into single-room apartnts to rent to residents from other parts of the East District.
Living Hell used to be the worst living area in the East District, but now the situation had completely changed. While the rooms were still small and lacked sufficient light, the hygiene conditions had improved significantly. Although the decoration was not luxurious, it was much better than the dilapidated shacks.
Due to the wealth gap, there were still many residents in the East District living in rundown houses, like Selena's friend Maggie, who used to live on the outskirts of the shantytown. Although it was better than the shacks made of corrugated iron and containers, whenever it rained, water would flow down the walls, leaving a large area damp and moldy.
Maggie walked over from the doorway, looking at the small room. She sighed, "I never thought I could live in such a house."
The room was small, only about four or five square ters, just enough for a bed. However, there was a side window and a bay window that expanded the space. Two pots of flowers were placed on the bay window, flourishing at the mont.
Maggie lay down on the bed, showing a happy expression. Selena sat beside her, embraced her, and smiled, "You found a new job at a restaurant in the East District, with a salary, you can rent a better house. If you save so money, maybe you can even buy your own house."
"Oh, co on," Maggie shook her head, "Even buying a house in the East District requires a large sum of money. With my current salary, I'm afraid there's no hope even if I work for ten more years."
"Don't say that. Haven't you heard? Gotham University's technology college has already started. Although the first batch of students is small, the second batch might recruit more people."
Selena shook her head, "I'm not cut out for studying books, but you definitely can. You're patient, good at knitting, and can sing. If you learn so technology, your salary will definitely increase, and buying a house won't be difficult."
Maggie moved her face closer, looking at Selena's beautiful face, and said, "What about you? What's your plan? Hanging out with Wayne every day?"
"I'm not just hanging out with him."
"Yes, you are," Maggie said confidently, "Will he marry you? Will you be his wife? Will you raise children together? I'm not talking about adopted children, but the ones you give birth to yourself..."
"He won't take you to church, won't swear to you, and you two won't grow old together. Selena, I'm saying these hurtful words because I don't want you to get hurt..." Maggie looked at Selena with a sorrowful gaze and said, "Your beauty is an unparalleled asset, but at the sa ti, it's a deadly trap. It may lead you to believe in dreams that others give you in the first half of your life, but when you lose your beauty, you may end up more miserable than others..."
Selena placed her hand on Maggie's hand, saying, "I never expected him to give any promises. He's not responsible for in a relationship, and I don't want to be responsible for him. I don't want to lead my life so seriously."
"Maggie, I know you dream of entering the church with your true love, making solemn vows, and then walking hand in hand into the grave. But I'm different; I find that too dull."
"I know I don't have the capital to enjoy love because I'm just a poor girl from the slums. Lavish conditions won't accompany for a lifeti, but I don't care. If I'm destined to return to the slums, that's fine. I like the feeling of being free."
Selena walked to the window, touched the leaves of the potted plant on the windowsill, and said, "Maggie, you're like this flower. You should wake up on an ordinary morning in a warm bedroom, and the craziest thing you did the night before was give your lover a kiss."
"But at the sa ti, I might be just falling asleep in the morning light, because I spent the whole night roaming on the rooftop of a building or sitting on the roof, watching the light of the jewelry store across. I like this wandering life, and I also like a lover like that."
Maggie sighed deeply and said, "Only soone like Wayne can tolerate you."
"Right," Maggie suddenly rembered sothing and said, "Lately, how co you have ti to help move? Weren't you always with Wayne? "
Selena showed a complex expression. She said, "He's been busy lately, not much free ti."
Maggie suddenly perked up her ears, squinted her eyes, and asked, "Busy? When a man says he's busy, haven't you beco alert yet?"
Maggie pulled Selena back to the bed, turned her face towards herself, and then held her cheeks with both hands, saying, "Look at you, such a charming beauty. Which man would look at your face and say he's busy?"
Selena puffed her cheeks, pushed Maggie's hands away, and said, "Bruce Wayne can. Not only can he say he's busy to , but on the first night we separated and reunited, he even asked to help him research and write a paper all night!"
"My goodness!" Maggie exclaid, "Just like this, and you still think he didn't cheat? Bruce Wayne writing a paper? If you put this in the newspaper, it will be the most popular joke in Gotham for the next ten years!!!"
"I don't know what's wrong with him; it seems like he's changed, but I can't pinpoint exactly what has changed." Selena leaned her head on Maggie's shoulder, and Maggie's internal alarm bells began ringing louder. She said, "You have to trust your instincts. When you feel a man has changed, things are probably just as you imagine."
"Are you saying he's really cheating? That can't be. I've talked to him about it before. If he gets bored, he promised he would tell , and we would break up. He assured that he wouldn't seek other won before breaking up with ." Selena widened her eyes, expressing so confusion.
"Do you really trust the playboy's assurance?!" Maggie glanced at her and said, "You better keep a close eye on him. Even if you don't need his wealth and status, he's still your boyfriend. If he cheats, won't it imply you lack charm?"
Selena imdiately bounced off the bed, gritted her teeth, and said, "If he dares to cheat, I'll definitely kill him!"
But after a while, she deflated, sat back down with a sowhat dejected expression, and said, "Recently, Bruce has been hiding in Gotham University, and I can't get in there."
"Can't get in? There's a place in the whole of Gotham that you can't enter?" Maggie looked at Selena with great puzzlent.
"No, it's not that. If I want to climb over the wall, how can security stop ? But there's a terrifying professor there, and I dare not provoke him; otherwise, I'll surely be in trouble." Selena shivered and continued.
"Professor? But aren't university professors supposed to be gentle? The type that knows books, well-mannered?" Maggie held her face with both hands and said, "I quite like that type, at least not like those gangsters with shootout on their minds."
"Not really," Selena waved her hand in front of her and said, "Don't you rember the adventure I ntioned last ti when I went to tropolis?"
Maggie nodded, "Of course, I rember. You said you were trapped in a manor due to a heavy snowfall, encountered a group of agents, and a helicopter that could fly in the sky. Frankly, Selena, I think you might have had a fever, or how else could you have such hallucinations?"
"I wasn't feverish," Selena emphasized, "I didn't tell you before, but when I was trapped in the manor, I had a dream, to be precise, Professor Schiller pulled into his dream."
"Initially, everything was fine. I was wandering around a super-sized amusent paradise where all the rides were free, even the shops selling balloons and fishing toys were free. I was so happy; I wished to try every facility!"
"But just when I was enjoying myself, suddenly there was an earthquake, no, perhaps, it sounded like sothing exploded. In an instant, the whole appearance of the paradise changed."
"Everything started cracking, various fragnts combined to form strange-shaped monsters, and all the facilities in the amusent park exploded. I had to flee frantically, dodging those fragnts."
Selena covered her chest with her hand and said, "At that ti, I was on a Ferris wheel. When it fell from mid-air, I was almost scared to death!"
"To escape, I ran a whole kiloter, but then I ran into a monster from so dream, I don't know which one..."
"In short, Professor Schiller's mind has many terrifying things..." Selena shivered and said, "If I dare to break into Gotham University, he will definitely kill !"
Maggie sighed, "Even if these things aren't your imagination, Gotham University is so vast. If you just stick to the outskirts, how could he happen to find you?"
"Moreover, you're active at night, right? At that ti, these teachers should already be asleep. Even if you were caught, you're just going to see your boyfriend; it's not like you're doing anything wrong. This is a common occurrence, so what reason does he have to kill you?"
Selena hesitated for a mont, thinking that Maggie's reasoning also made sense. Gotham University is so large; she shouldn't be unlucky enough to encounter Schiller right after entering, right?
And she's not going in to steal anything; she's just going to find Bruce. If she's caught, at most, she'll get scolded. It shouldn't be a big deal.
Thinking this way, Selena stood up, dusted off her clothes, and said to Maggie, "It's getting dark soon. I'm going to wander around Gotham University and see if there's a place I can slip in."
After so stretching inside the room, Selena jumped out of Maggie's room through the window.
Not long after, she arrived at the vicinity of Gotham University. Although she felt she wouldn't be discovered, she still found the most secluded place and agilely climbed over the fence.
Selena landed behind a shrub in a green flower bed. Just as she poked her head out of the shrub, she felt a dark shadow covering her head.
Instinctively, Selena leaped aside, jumped up along the nearby lamppost, and climbed to the very top. Schiller pointed at her with the tip of his umbrella and said, "Co down."
Selena shook her head vigorously, saying, "I'm not coming down."
"You co down."
"I'm not coming down."
"Why aren't you coming down?"
"Why don't you co up?"
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