Chapter 772: Bruce? Not Familiar at All! (Part 1) (Patreon)

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"Hey, Jason, you finally made it!" Sliphead sat in his seat, waving to Jason and pointing to the seat next to him. He said, "Come on! I saved you a great spot here in the front row, really close to the teacher. You can see the diagrams crystal clear!"

"Oh, okay, I'm here." Jason seemed a bit absent-minded as he put down his burrito. Sliphead took it from him, and as he touched the burrito, he commented, "Hmm, why is it a bit cold? No offense, you know I don't like to eat things too hot, but why did it take you so long to finish your breakfast? It's been almost an hour, right?"

"Yeah, well..." Jason hesitated a bit and said, "While having breakfast, I met a professor, Professor Schiller."

Sliphead looked surprised and asked, "Did he give you a hard time? Did he turn you into an ice block?"

"No, not at all. We had a pleasant chat, but just before leaving, he suggested that I change my major."

Sliphead widened his eyes and said, "You don't want to study auto repair anymore? We promised to invent cars together, remember?"

"Of course." Jason sat down, put his arm around Sliphead, and said, "I'm a man of loyalty."

Sliphead shrugged off his hand and said, "Come on, Jason, I know you well. Actually, you don't really like fixing cars, do you? I saw you dozing off in class yesterday."

"Not exactly." Jason felt a bit awkward. "But he said psychology could answer some of my questions, you know, those peculiar ones I told you about."

"Oh, you mean questions about rich and poor, where money comes from, and stuff like that?" Sliphead scratched his head. "I haven't studied psychology, so I don't know what it specifically teaches, but that professor wouldn't lie to you, right?"

"That's what I think too. He told us before that the courses here would make you more interested, and it turned out to be true. Besides, he has no reason to deceive me."

"Are you planning to go for it?" Sliphead asked. "I'm not trying to stop you, but I think that subject might be tough. Can you really understand it?"

Then Sliphead looked around, lowered his voice, and said, "I heard that even Bruce Wayne has to retake the course under him. You'll probably get scolded terribly!"

Jason shivered a bit and hesitated, "Well, if Bruce Wayne is really Batman, he must be formidable. If he can't graduate, can I really make it?"

"And there's another problem," Sliphead said very seriously. "Now, there's no such major in the technical school. Where do you plan to transfer? Are you going to the main campus? But there are many out-of-town students there, and you don't know them at all. They might give you a hard time."

Jason's expression became even more hesitant. Just then, the whole class heard two coughs from the back of the seats, and everyone sat up straight, not daring to whisper anymore.

Schiller sat down, picked up his notebook for the lecture, stood up before starting, and pointed to two seats in the front row. He said, "You two, sit separately. Don't think I didn't see you chatting just now."

Sliphead and Jason, who were pointed out, grinned and quickly sat at the two ends of the row. Sliphead gave him a meaningful look, as if saying, "See, I told you he's not easy to deal with."

Jason shrugged and made a funny face, and they both laughed.

Soon, the morning class was over. Sliphead felt quite enriched, combining today's knowledge, he finally understood the difficulties from yesterday. Jason also gained a lot; he slept soundly and even had a feast in his dream.

At lunchtime, before going out, Jason saw Schiller standing behind his seat, waving at him. Jason waved back at Sliphead, saying, "You go ahead and eat. I'll join you in a bit."

Approaching Schiller, Jason asked, "Professor Schiller, is something wrong? Anything I can help with?"

"Nothing much. What are you planning to have for lunch?" Schiller packed his things and walked towards the exit.

Jason scratched his head and said, "Just the usual stuff from the student canteen. I want a big burger and a side of bean soup..."

"Always eating those unhealthy things. Come on, I'll take you to the faculty restaurant. You'll like the lamb chops there." Schiller walked briskly towards the door. Jason hesitated and said, "Isn't the faculty restaurant for teachers? It might not be appropriate for me to go in..."

"No problem, teachers sometimes bring students in. Do you know? They have a dish there that's famous throughout Gotham, even better than the most famous Italian restaurant in the north district. It's a traditional Italian steak with roasted vegetables..."

"The steak is cooked just right, and when you cut it, the juices flow out. The best part is the roasted vegetables. There's no broccoli that I dislike, and the other vegetables are delicious. Do you like broccoli?"

Jason's facial features twisted in disgust. "No, that's too terrifying. It's the worst vegetable in the world."

"It seems we have a common understanding in this regard."

As they chatted, they arrived at the classroom restaurant, which was actually closer than the student canteen.

The faculty restaurant and the canteen were completely different in style. The faculty restaurant was more like an outside restaurant, with luxurious decoration, a stable and tasteful dark brown floor, complemented by wine-red velvet curtains and deep red round wooden tables and chairs. The gleam of metal cutlery and the distant glow of light created a harmonious atmosphere.

More importantly, the faculty members who ate here had a kind of demeanor that Jason had never seen before. This kind of demeanor was rarely seen on the people of Gotham, but he had to acknowledge that he liked it here; there was a comforting atmosphere.

Schiller took Jason to the front desk and said, "I have a reservation. This is one of my students; I'm bringing him here for a meal. Could you please register us? Oh, and later, have the waiter take our order; I have other guests coming later."

The front desk waiter nodded and smiled, saying, "Certainly, Professor. Can we take your order in ten minutes?"

Schiller nodded, then led Jason to a seat. As they walked through the tables and chairs, Jason's head kept turning, curious about everything here.

When the waiter brought water and napkins, Jason felt a bit awkward, squirming in his chair. He said, "Professor Schiller, is it okay for me to sit here? I see others..."

"No need to look at others. They're here to eat, not to watch you. If you really feel uncomfortable, you can try greeting them."

Jason shook his head vigorously, but he still curiously glanced at the people at the nearby table. When an elderly lady across from him caught his gaze, she smiled and nodded at him.

Jason quickly turned his head and covered his mouth with his hand. Schiller chuckled, saying, "No need to be nervous. That's Mrs. Pince. The one across from her is Professor Andre from our department, specializing in materials science."

Jason took a deep breath and turned his head again, saying, "Hello."

Professor Andre had a big beard, and he stroked it before turning to Schiller with a smile. "He's not afraid of you but is afraid of us. It seems your reputation needs to be improved."

"Stop it." Mrs. Pince also laughed and said, "If his reputation improves any more, no one will dare to come to school!"

The three of them laughed together, but Jason had no idea what they were laughing about. He lowered his head, fidgeted with his clothes, and then said to Schiller, "I don't know why, but I always feel like the people here are speaking a language that's not English..."

"Can't you understand the words we're saying?" Schiller asked.

"No, it's just that I feel like the way you speak is different from what I usually hear. I don't know how to describe it, but it feels a bit strange." Jason said, rubbing his hands.

"Maybe you're just hungry." Schiller gently flicked the bell on the table with his finger, and it made a crisp sound. The nearest waiter turned and said, "Professor, please wait a moment."

After a while, the waiter came with the menu. At this time, Victor walked over and sat across from Schiller, saying, "Sorry, I'm a bit late. Two students from the graduation season want to take leave for an internship. I need to check their project proposal first, or else they won't finish writing their thesis later."

"No problem, we're just ordering." Schiller took the menu, ordered a few dishes, and handed the menu to Victor. After Victor ordered, he passed the menu to Jason, looking at Schiller, asking, "Why did you bring him here? Doesn't he have classes in the afternoon?"

"The practical class in the afternoon isn't that important. Anyway, he didn't pay attention at all this morning."

"Uh, I did!" Jason immediately said. Schiller looked at him and said, "Oh? Really? Then what did the teacher talk about this morning?"

"Well..." Jason tried hard to recall and said, "He talked about... um... the transmission system of wheels?"

"That was yesterday's class." Schiller shook his head and said, "But no big deal. Not everyone has to learn to fix cars. For example, I can't."

Victor shook his head and laughed twice, saying, "Yesterday, you didn't have this attitude. Who said in the office yesterday that if every child in Gotham could learn to fix cars, this place would be the next Detroit?"

"Did I? I don't remember. Maybe it's because I didn't sleep well last night... Okay, Jason, look at the menu. See if there's anything you like to eat. Order it when you've decided." Schiller glanced around.

"Oh, I can't understand these words very well, and I don't have anything I particularly like. Just give me something with meat."

Jason returned the menu to Schiller, who then handed it back to the waiter. In no time, steaming dishes filled the table—grilled lamb chops, Italian-style grilled steak, Spanish paella, creamed spinach, pea soup, and more.

Jason didn't feel hungry at first, but after seeing these unfamiliar dishes, he immediately felt hungry.

However, he didn't rush to eat; instead, he observed Schiller and Victor's actions.

Seeing them unfold napkins, pick up knives and forks, Jason followed suit. Although it was his first time in such a restaurant, there was no hint that he was a child from the slums. Instead, he seemed like someone who had received etiquette education in a church school.

Victor signaled to Schiller with a look. Schiller nodded lightly. Then, Victor asked, "How's Bruce's thesis coming along? I've seen you troubled these past few days."

Schiller sighed, splitting a piece of lamb chop with a fork. He said, "The punctuation symbols and format are fine, but new problems have arisen. I hope he doesn't expand too much on unrelated topics, but that's how he likes to write."

"I corrected one section, and the second one is the same. I really don't know whether to say his thinking is too active or if he's just not focused."

"How many times did he submit the one from last week? I remember it's been about five times?" Victor picked up a mushroom and put it in his mouth, saying, "Those students who want to intern have just started writing their project proposal. I really doubt whether they can submit their thesis on time before graduation."

Schiller put down his fork, made a sign of the cross on his chest, and said, "God bless. I hope there won't be more than ten delayed graduations this year. If it continues like this, the classroom won't be able to accommodate everyone."

While Jason ate his meal, he listened to the conversation between the two. He found it very intriguing—a topic he had never heard in Gotham before.

He wondered, would words like study, read books, write a thesis, and graduate really appear in his life?

Could he one day not worry about the next meal and instead sit in a classroom, focused on studying?

This seemed crazy to Jason. He used to think that Gotham had too many lunatics, and without them, this place would be half as bad.

But today, he felt like he was going a bit crazy himself.

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 773: Bruce? Not Familiar at All! (Part 2)