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*****
Marriage?
The crowd went silent for a moment, followed by a chorus of congratulations.
These two were finally getting married.
For a moment, everyone felt a strange sense of relief, like a collective of "old fathers" watching a couple they had rooted for finally reach their happy ending.
The two had only decided that they would get married; as for the other details of the wedding, they were still in the planning and confirmation stages.
Pepper Potts enjoyed the sense of anticipation that came with slowly preparing for a wedding, and Tony was happy to let her have her way.
After everyone chatted for a while about the wedding, Tony suddenly shifted the conversation toward the recent activities and affairs of the Inhumans.
When the others began to speak, their eyes drifting toward Mike every now and then, Mike raised an eyebrow and said, "You guys chat, I'm going to check on the kids."
Watching Mike leave, the group was stunned, their expressions a bit helpless.
Clearly, Mike didn't want to get involved in this matter.
The group turned to Raven. Raven stood up elegantly and said, "Gwen just called me, I'll go see what's wrong."
Since Mike had already made his stance clear, she naturally had to stay in alignment with him.
The Avengers were taken aback, then gave helpless smiles.
"Lamb! Are you full yet? We're getting ready to head home."
Mike placed his hand on Little Lamb's head and gave it a gentle shake.
Instantly, the piece of cake about to enter the boy's mouth missed its mark, smearing cream all over his face.
Lamb, now sporting a "white beard," looked at his father resentfully. "Dad, did you do that on purpose?"
"Don't talk nonsense! Am I that kind of person?"
Mike looked at Little Lamb with total sincerity.
Little Lamb hesitated for a second, then shook his head and reached his arms out to Mike.
Just as Mike prepared to pick up Little Lamb, the boy's cream-covered hands pressed firmly onto Mike's face.
Mike: (-_-)
Little Lamb: (^▽^)
"You little rascal!"
Mike vigorously rubbed Little Lamb's head, and Little Lamb burst into giggles.
Click!
At the sound of the shutter, the father and son instinctively turned their heads.
Nearby, Gwen was waving her phone, smiling at them. "Wonderful photo!"
"Wow! Big sister is so sneaky!"
Little Lamb shouted, lunging toward Gwen with his cream-covered face.
"Don't you come over here! I'm warning you! Stay away from me!"
Gwen shrieked, watching Little Lamb charging at her with his face tilted up, intent on rubbing it on her. She quickly ran off into the distance.
"Haha!"
Watching the two of them play, Mike wiped the cream from his face, his expression full of fatherly affection.
"Mike." Raven walked to Mike's side and said, "About the Inhuman matter Tony mentioned... what do you think?"
Mike said with an air of indifference, "Don't waste your breath. What is there to discuss?"
He gave a faint smile and continued, "What the Inhumans want to do? What they're planning? What conspiracies they have? None of that matters to me at all, because no matter what they want to do, we can handle it."
Raven gazed blankly at the confident Mike, who seemed to radiate light at that moment. Her face flushed slightly as she said, "You're actually a bit handsome like this."
"Hmm?"
Mike pinched Raven's nose and said dejectedly, "Only 'a bit'?"
"Alright, I admit I'm mesmerized by you."
Raven smiled and offered her red lips.
"Tsk tsk!"
"Hehe!"
Two strange chuckles rang out. Gwen and Little Lamb were hiding nearby, watching the scene with mischievous grins.
The two pulled apart immediately. Mike waved at Gwen, saying dismissively, "Go on! Get away from us!"
"We know, we know! I don't want to eat your 'dog food' anyway."
Gwen said teasingly before pulling Little Lamb away.
"That little girl."
Mike smiled dotingly. In a flash, he caught up to the two and said, "It's getting late, we should head back."
"Fine, fine!" Gwen teased Mike. "You two can continue being affectionate once we get home!"
Mike was speechless, then said menacingly, "I think you don't want next week's allowance anymore."
"I didn't say anything!"
Gwen immediately changed her tune.
"You did!"
Little Lamb raised his hand cheekily. "I'm a witness!"
Gwen rubbed her forehead weakly. "Shut up! Nobody thinks you're a mute."
Little Lamb made a face at Gwen.
"Let's go, say goodbye to them!"
Mike led the family toward the Avengers to bid them farewell, and then they returned home.
Everything was as usual.
But that was only for Mike's household.
In the world outside, undercurrents were surging, ready to kick up a monstrous wave at any moment.
Beep, beep!
The shrill sound of an alarm rang out. Peter groggily picked up his phone, expertly turned off the alarm, and then his eyes drifted shut again.
But after only a few seconds, his eyes snapped open and he sat bolt upright.
He still had to go to school today; he couldn't be late.
Of course, the most important thing was that he had to save a seat for Gwen.
Saving a seat...
Thinking about the things he did for Gwen every morning, Peter unconsciously broke into a smile.
Even though it was a small thing, as long as he could do something for Gwen, he was very happy.
He got out of bed, brushed his teeth, and headed downstairs with nimble movements.
"Peter! Try the pizza I just learned to make!"
The hot-bodied May Parker called out to Peter, placing a plate of pizza in front of him.
Peter stared blankly at the brightly colored pizza.
"What's wrong? Try it quickly, it should be delicious."
"Oh..."
Peter took a helpless bite and couldn't help but sigh.
"What's wrong? Is it bad?"
May Parker asked with some concern.
"It's not that it's bad." Peter shook his head and praised, "The taste is actually pretty good, but... who eats pizza first thing in the morning!"
"That doesn't matter, as long as it tastes good!"
May Parker breathed a sigh of relief. "Hurry up and eat, then get to school."
"Okay!"
Peter responded, quickly finished his breakfast, and rushed out of the house.
Carrying his backpack, he walked for a few minutes to reach the bus stop a few streets away from his home.
After waiting for a while, the school bus arrived and Peter boarded.
In just a few more stops, he would see Gwen.
The mere thought made Peter incredibly happy.
Gwen...
Even just thinking of the name made his heart throb.
He had fallen, and he was stuck for life.
Though he was still young, he was absolutely certain of it.
Sometimes, he even thought it was a blessing that his Aunt May hadn't pursued anything further with Mike Kent back then, otherwise he and Gwen would have become family.
He silently counted the stops as they passed. When he saw Gwen's familiar face, his heart felt as sweet as if he'd eaten honey.
As usual, he gave up his seat for Gwen. Peter stood beside her, chatting with Gwen and Luke as they traveled to school.
"Peter, what classes do we have today?"
Gwen yawned and asked Peter.
Last night, she had gone out again to find trouble for some criminals, resulting in a lack of sleep today; she had been yawning non-stop.
"Today? Isn't today the day the school organized a field trip to visit Oscorp Industries?"
Peter pushed up his glasses and said with a smile.
"Oh right! A visit to Harry's house."
It clicked for Gwen.
"It's not Harry's house, it's Oscorp Industries."
"Oh, there's no difference!"
Gwen waved her hand. "Is everyone going today?"
"Of course!" Peter nodded. "The school reached out to Harry and got him to help arrange it to make this visit happen."
Peter lowered his voice and added, "I heard there will even be some relatively secret projects that few people know about for us to observe."
"Really?" Gwen's eyes lit up. "Oscorp Industries has a lot of excellent technology in biotechnology and biopharmaceuticals."
"Yes, that's also an area I'm quite interested in."
"You guys are so boring..."
Luke watched them and couldn't help but complain.
"Gwen!"
Mary Jane walked over with a light step.
Gwen looked over, and her eyelids twitched.
Good grief, this outfit... are you planning to meet Harry's father?
Exquisite makeup, a short skirt, and leggings that looked cold just by looking at them...
"Beautiful lady! It's winter right now, aren't you cold?"
Gwen couldn't help but criticize.
Although it was early winter, the temperature had already dropped.
"Cold? How could I be?"
Mary Jane flashed a brilliant smile.
A fire was burning in her heart right now.
"D-d-d..."
Mary Jane's lips quivered slightly.
Gwen's eyes widened.
You're literally shivering, hey!
"This is probably the typical case of 'beauty over life,'" Luke lamented, earning a roll of the eyes from Mary Jane.
"Alright, stop talking, it's time to gather."
Peter urged, pointing not far away.
Gwen and the other two nodded and headed to the assembly point together.
Everyone boarded the school bus. The winter sun spilled through the windows, appearing less fierce and more gentle, making people feel a bit lazy as it hit them.
Gwen closed her eyes, her head nodding in every direction as she dozed off.
Peter looked at Gwen's profile, his face turning slightly red. He leaned gently toward Gwen, tilting his shoulder slightly, wanting to give her something to lean on if she fell over.
Under the bright sunshine, Gwen resting on my shoulder...
Just thinking about it made Peter's face burn.
But...
"Are you that sleepy?"
Luke muttered, gently pressing Gwen's head to make her lean on his shoulder. To the groggily opening eyes of Gwen, he said, "Sleep. I'll wake you when we get there."
"Mm."
Gwen gave a low response and closed her eyes.
Watching this scene, Peter, sitting to Gwen's left, felt like he was about to crack apart; he instantly felt terrible.
He gave Luke a resentful look and turned his head away.
Out of sight, out of mind.
But...
"Hehe!"
Across the aisle, Mary Jane gave Peter a teasing smile.
Peter's face flushed. Knowing his thoughts had been noticed by Mary Jane, he simply closed his eyes.
Seeing this, Mary Jane covered her mouth with a laugh and turned her head as well, looking forward to meeting Harry in a bit.
A month had passed since she and Gwen had talked about her liking Harry.
The day after that conversation, Gwen had gone to be honest with Harry.
Before he could even officially confess, he was rejected by Gwen. Harry had been depressed for a few days because of it and hadn't even come to school.
However, if he had been rejected while confessing, Harry would have found it even harder to bear.
Just as Luke said, after a few days, Harry adjusted his mood. When he came to school, he was still the same Harry as before.
Their bond as friends hadn't been affected by it.
And from that day on, Mary Jane regained her hope.
She knew Harry was very outstanding, so she was working hard to make herself even better.
Looking at her reflection in the bus window, Mary Jane flashed a smile.
She would definitely succeed.
After driving for half an hour, the bus slowly came to a stop.
Luke woke Gwen up.
Gwen stretched, feeling much more refreshed than when she had boarded the bus.
"Students, stay close!"
The teacher called out to them from the bus door, and the children got off with looks of curiosity and anticipation.
Gwen and the others followed the crowd closely. Although they were looking forward to today's visit, they weren't as excited as the others.
After all, Harry was their good friend; if they ever wanted to come, they just had to ask him and it wouldn't be a problem.
Stepping into the Osborn building, a boy dressed in a suit and oozing a noble temperament appeared before them, accompanied by an Oscorp employee.
"Hello, teacher."
Harry greeted the teacher politely and said, "This is Ollie, she will be leading your tour here."
They would be at Oscorp Industries all day.
The tour would take place in the morning, they would have lunch here at noon, and in the afternoon, they would go to the lab for some practical operations.
The day's schedule was packed tight.
After Harry introduced both parties, he nodded to the teacher and walked into the crowd of students. Under the gaze of many pairs of eyes, he made his way over to Gwen and the others.
Immediately, looks of jealousy appeared in the eyes of some students watching the group.
Why didn't they have a friend like that?
"Hey! I have to say, you look a bit different today compared to usual," Gwen said to Harry with a grin.
Harry gave a faint smile and said to Gwen, "Pretty handsome, right? Do you regret rejecting me yet?"
Upon hearing this, Peter and Mary Jane tensed up, while Luke quipped, "As long as Gwen is willing to reveal her identity—as long as Uncle Kent says Gwen is officially looking for a boyfriend—the line of people coming for her could stretch from Oscorp Industries all the way to Planet Kent. Do you believe it?"
Harry's mouth twitched.
That actually seemed quite possible.
"So..."
Luke sighed as he patted Harry on the shoulder. "Gwen has her pick of every man in the world. Under those circumstances, do you really think she'll have regrets?"
Hearing this, Harry looked speechless, while Peter silently clenched his fists.
"I'm so envious..." Mary Jane murmured.
Gwen lightly punched Luke and said, "What are you talking about? What do you mean 'my pick'? Do you think I'm shopping for groceries?"
"Hehe!" Luke gave a sheepish laugh.
"Speaking of which, Gwen, what kind of person do you plan to look for in the future?"
Mary Jane's eyes darted around as she provided Peter with an assist.
Sure enough, Peter's ears perked up the moment he heard the question.
"What kind... I haven't thought about it. It's still too early!"
Gwen said with a giggle. "Come on, let's go! The tour is starting!"
(End of Chapter)