Chapter 22: Conversation

"A knife wound may heal, but sorrow remains; lifting a cup may dispel sorrow, but it only brings more."

Sitting on an old oil drum, Jekyll, with an artistic demeanor, finished his beer in one gulp and then sighed deeply.

Of course, he wasn't drinking alone. His drinking companion, Walker, who claimed to have once been the villain Moth, sat beside him with a wry smile on his face.

"So, you asked Harley for my number, then rushed over here with a few cases of beer just to tell me this? Nonsense written by third-rate online media—don't tell me you actually believed it and got jealous, Jekyll."

"Jealous? Come on, what would I be jealous of?"

Jekyll nearly sprayed the beer out of his nose, then cleared his throat and said seriously.

"First of all, I'm not Harley's boyfriend, I just happen to look a bit like her ex-boyfriend—whether Harley Quinn has a relationship with anyone doesn't concern me at all. However, I'm just worried that Harley might be deceived by someone. After all, it's been three years since her ex-boyfriend, the Joker, died, and if some old man with ill intentions took advantage of her mental vulnerability..."

Although he said that, Jekyll knew in his heart that he did feel uncomfortable about the possibility of Harley having some ambiguous relationship with Gordon.

Not to mention, living together with a charming beauty who often flirts with you, intentionally or unintentionally giving you some benefits—it's hard for any man not to have any thoughts, especially considering that Jekyll didn't have much luck with women in his previous life and was even less resistant to such temptations.

At this moment, suddenly realizing that she might have some ambiguous relationship with another man outside, feeling green or angry about it wasn't necessarily the case, but melancholy and discomfort were inevitable.

It's like when you're in school, and a close and pretty female classmate suddenly tells you that she's in a relationship with someone else—it's a complicated feeling that many people can understand.

However, Jekyll still had to save face, he couldn't really act like a control freak.

"In short, as Harley's roommate, I'm just showing some concern for her, so please don't misunderstand. So, getting back to my initial question, do you know anything about Harley's private dealings with Gordon?"

Walker's mouth twitched slightly, as if he were suppressing a smile, then after pondering for a moment, he slowly replied.

"Well, Jekyll, honestly, although I don't have a good impression of the GCPD, I should say we're in hostile relations. However, I think James Gordon is still an upright man. This is probably just the fanciful imagination of some third-rate paparazzi; you're probably overthinking it."

Hearing Walker's words, Jekyll took another sip of his drink, still looking somewhat unsettled.

"In fact, I used to think like you at first, but appearances can be deceiving, you know? Just like how I may look like a bastard, but I'm actually a law-abiding young man. However... there's something I'm not sure if I should tell you."

Jekyll glanced at Walker, with a look that seemed to say, "Aren't you curious? Come on, ask me." Walker scratched his head and quickly went along with it.

"Go ahead, Jekyll, it's okay. We're all on the same side, and it's for Harley's sake. There's nothing we can't talk about."

Jekyll nodded in satisfaction, then leaned in close to Walker, speaking in a mysterious tone.

"Well, yesterday, when Harley came back, she went to take a shower, right? Her phone happened to be on the table, and mine was right next to it. Suddenly, her phone received a notification sound from a social app—"

"Ah? You peeked at Harley's—"

"Cough, cough, it's not peeking, I accidentally picked it up! I thought it was my phone, so I glanced at it— and I didn't expect Harley's phone to be able to unlock with my face, so it accidentally unlocked and opened."

Walker hesitated to speak, looking at Jekyll, as if he wanted to say something. Mainly because Jekyll didn't know many people in Gotham, and he didn't have any social app friends, so the excuse of mistaking phones was a bit lame.

But now that it had come to this, Walker was also curious, and he leaned in mysteriously towards Jekyll and asked:

"So, who did you see and what did they say—"

"'Dear sweetheart, I've prepared what you want for you. But you'll have to use your body as payment. Come to my place tomorrow night, I can't wait to see you.'—That's the message I saw."

Jekyll's face darkened as he whispered softly.

Walker's mouth was almost wide enough to fit an egg, looking at Jekyll in disbelief.

"N-No way, Gordon, that old man really—wait a minute, something's not right. Are you sure it was from Gordon? Was his name really in the message?"

"No, I'm not sure. Harley was about to finish her shower and come out, so I immediately put down the phone without carefully checking the sender—I only saw that the profile picture was a bright flower. Doesn't that seem odd for a standard middle-aged man's profile picture? Besides, even if it wasn't Gordon, it's still inappropriate for anyone else to send something like that to Harley."

Walker frowned, downed a can of beer, then suddenly slapped his thigh.

"Right! I just remembered something. I have a few 'friends' inside GCPD. I'll have them check Gordon's schedule for tonight, then we'll know. I heard Gordon's night shifts are very diligent, often working late into the night."

Jekyll's eyes lit up, urging Walker to quickly send a message to his friends.

A moment later, Walker's phone signaled a message. The two leaned in together, both feeling nervous as they opened the message.

"Commissioner Gordon has applied for a full-day leave today, citing personal reasons."

"Hiss—"

Both men simultaneously gasped, then exchanged shocked looks.

"Can't be this coincidental, can it?"

"Looks like it's really solid evidence—"

"Solid evidence my foot!"

Suddenly, Jekyll felt someone kick him hard, and the next moment, he was sprawling on the ground. But he wasn't alone for long. In the next instant, Walker also fell beside him, landing on his backside.

Just as Jekyll was about to lift his head, someone pushed him back down with a foot—hmm, the hardness of the shoe sole and the brute force felt very familiar.

"I'm so furious, the more I hear, the more I can't stand it. You, a freeloading rogue who eats and drinks for free, dare to peek at Harley's phone messages, and even secretly fabricate rumors about her. It seems like you haven't been beaten enough, right?"

"We're just worried that Harley is being deceived by that divorced, greasy middle-aged man. Aren't you worried, Dinah? It's obvious that Harley is being caught by this scumbag—"

"Nonsense, what Gordon? That message clearly is... hmm, I've got a great idea."

Jekyll felt the foot on his head leave, then his collar was forcefully lifted by someone.

"No need to say more, it's a waste of time. Why don't you go see for yourself? Then you'll know how despicable your thoughts are, and truly feel guilty towards Harley."

Jekyll felt perplexed by Dinah's words.

"Go see for myself—but I'm currently wanted."

"Don't worry."

Dinah lightly brushed Jekyll's face with her fingers, then revealed a mysterious smile.

"Today, Ms. Dinah happens to be teaching you a lesson on stealth. Let you personally experience the mystery of disguise."

°°°

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