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*****
Inside the restaurant, Harry was helping Gwen try on a dazzling, radiant necklace, while Mary Jane felt as though she had been turned into black and white.
A street, a pane of glass—in Mary Jane's world at this moment, they seemed to have become an impassable chasm and an unreachable wall of sighs.
Harry and Gwen... perhaps they were the best match.
Thoughts like these involuntarily welled up in her heart; along with her dejection, a sliver of jealousy and envy arose naturally.
She liked Harry, and not just because he was the heir to Oscorp Industries, but because of the protection and help he gave her, and even the occasional care he showed her within their small group of friends.
Perhaps due to her childhood experiences, she possessed a layer of anxiety deeper than her peers. While Harry usually seemed carefree and laughing, he was always reliable at key moments. She had lacked love and a sense of security since she was young, and Harry could provide both.
Handsome, wealthy, providing security, reliable, trustworthy...
Harry satisfied all her fantasies.
But now, the colorful bubbles of that fantasy were easily pricked by the scene before her eyes.
It turned out that all of this really was just her own delusion.
Mary Jane cast a reluctant glance at Harry and Gwen before quickly disappearing down the street.
She shouldn't have come out today; if she hadn't, this dream wouldn't have shattered so soon.
Meanwhile, inside the restaurant, the three people—completely oblivious to her—enjoyed a very harmonious atmosphere.
"Gwen, you look absolutely beautiful!"
Harry couldn't help but praise her. Beside him, Norman Osborn nodded in affirmation.
Gwen said calmly, "Thank you."
Fantastic!
This thing looks like it's worth a lot of money!
I'm going to be a little rich girl!
Gwen was cheering in her heart.
"Dry-pot chicken pieces, please enjoy."
The waiter spoke with a smile as he lit the solid alcohol beneath the pot.
But the moment the fire was lit, it was as if a switch had been flipped inside Norman Osborn. Flickering flames appeared in his eyes, his muscles tensed, a low groan of pain escaped the corner of his mouth, and his entire body began to tremble slightly.
"Ugh, ah!"
He suppressed his pained voice. He felt an extreme fear, yet a violent emotion erupted like a bomb in his heart, blowing his senses into a blur and causing his mind to haze.
Immediately, an evil smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. A persona born from long-term suppression, which had never had the chance to emerge, quietly surfaced, replacing the Norman Osborn who had shrunk into the depths of his heart out of fear of the fire.
That great fire had not only given Norman Osborn superhuman strength but had also left an indelible shadow. His second personality had grown stronger through this, reaching the point where it could control his body.
In the next second, as Gwen and Harry looked at him curiously, the look of pain on his face vanished. He smiled at them and said, "I'm fine. Looking at those flames just reminded me of some unpleasant memories."
Hearing this, Harry became even more worried.
At that moment, Norman Osborn stood up, gave them a slight smile, and said, "You two eat. I have some matters I need to attend to."
Some interesting matters...
He added mentally. After smiling at them, he departed quickly.
Watching Norman Osborn's retreating back, Gwen nudged Harry and said, "Go check on him."
After the necklace incident, facing Harry alone felt so awkward! Gwen grumbled to herself.
Harry shook his head. "It's fine. Besides, even if I go out, he'll just make me come back."
Saying this, he flashed a smile and asked Gwen, "Are you finished eating? I have two concert tickets. Let's go listen together!"
Gwen opened her mouth and couldn't help but say, "Harry, I have to go home."
A blind man could see what Harry's intentions were.
But Gwen really didn't know how to refuse Harry's kindness without hurting his feelings.
If their relationship wasn't so good, Gwen wouldn't care about his feelings at all, but now...
Gwen felt like she was going crazy.
"Go home, huh..."
Harry looked a bit disappointed, but he still nodded. "Then let me take you back."
"Okay!"
Gwen breathed a sigh of relief.
Just as the two left the restaurant to head home, Norman Osborn had already driven to the Oscorp Industries building.
Because of the massive fire yesterday that had burned three floors, many reporters were still camped out there. As soon as he appeared, their eyes lit up, and they swarmed toward him like sharks.
"You're Mr. Osborn!?"
The reporters were shocked to their core looking at the "boiled egg" (bald head) in front of them.
Weren't the reports saying Norman Osborn was severely injured, even burned to a crisp? Why was he standing before them now looking perfectly fine?
What was going on?
"Mr. Osborn, were you injured? Why do you look unscathed now? Was the reporting wrong? Or is there another reason?"
"That's right, Mr. Osborn, please tell us!"
"Is this a new technology from Oscorp?"
A bunch of flies...
Disdain flashed in Norman Osborn's eyes.
Pausing his steps, he looked at the surrounding reporters and said indifferently, "I received help from others, and my injuries have been healed."
He paused, looked at the building not far away, and let out a disdainful smirk. "As for this building, even if it burns down completely, I have other buildings I can use."
With those words, he continued walking toward the building.
Several reporters tried to block him, but he pushed them aside with ease.
Seeing this, the reporters looked at each other in bewilderment.
Norman Osborn entered the building. Under the shocked and suspicious gazes of the security guards, he walked straight to the private elevator that required fingerprint verification and took it down to the third basement level.
B3 stored many of Oscorp's scientific achievements.
Weapons. Vast amounts of high-tech weaponry that had never been displayed to the public.
Most of the weapons here were suspended from use because their costs were too high for mass production or there were too few buyers.
And a portion of them had never been shown to anyone from the moment they were developed until now.
"Let me see these little darlings."
The corners of Norman Osborn's mouth curled up slightly. He stroked the weapons one by one as if caressing a lover, a mad idea forming in his mind.
"Your behavior was too cowardly, Norman..."
He whispered, grabbing a sphere-shaped bomb. He sneered, "Cooperation isn't something you beg for; it's something you fight for. If you can't win it over, then just find a different partner."
Now, he had the power to do it.
"Goodbye, Gwen."
Harry stood by the car, waving with a smile as Gwen walked toward her house.
Gwen thanked him, hurried inside, and closed the door without looking back.
"Phew!"
Leaning her back against the door, Gwen let out a soft breath.
This awkward night was finally over.
However, if she wanted to avoid this kind of thing in the future, she still had to "resolve" Harry... er, resolve this idea of Harry's.
"I'm really not interested in you..."
Gwen murmured, a bitter smile appearing on her face.
"Who are you not interested in?"
A head suddenly popped out, giving Gwen a fright. she nearly screamed.
"Lamb!"
Gwen cried out in embarrassed anger.
Little Lamb chuckled, his eyes darting around as he said, "I know! Big sister is in love!"
"No! Don't talk nonsense!"
Gwen glared at Little Lamb.
"But you're clearly still holding a gift box!"
Little Lamb gestured toward the necklace box in Gwen's hand. "And Brother Harry was the one who dropped you off."
"You definitely went on a date with Brother Harry!"
"Don't talk nonsense!"
Gwen slapped her forehead and said, "I have no interest in Harry."
"No interest, yet you agreed to a date with Brother Harry!"
Little Lamb looked at Gwen in shock and stuttered, "Could it be... that Big Sister is the legendary 'scum girl'?"
"Scum girl your foot!"
Gwen was so angry her nose nearly went crooked.
She marched over to Little Lamb, pinched his ear, and said fiercely, "If you keep talking nonsense, I'll throw you into hell!"
Little Lamb quickly covered his mouth, but his eyes continued to size Gwen up.
Gwen rolled her eyes, gave Little Lamb's ear a gentle rub, and asked, "Didn't you go to the zoo with Dad today? What animals did you see?"
"I saw a lot!"
Sure enough, Little Lamb's attention was immediately diverted.
His eyes shone as he described what he had seen today, saying proudly, "We went to the Chinese Panda Base! Those little 'tuan tuan' (fluffballs) were so cute!"
Talking about the pandas, Little Lamb became completely excited.
The two siblings talked as they walked upstairs.
Suddenly, Mike's head appeared from the kitchen. He stroked his chin and muttered, "A date with Harry? Is that kid Harry after our Gwen?"
"Ah! Well, of course! My Gwen is beautiful and outstanding; it's only natural people would fall for her."
"But, it looks like Gwen isn't interested in that Harry kid."
Rubbing the stubble growing on his chin, Mike laughed softly. "That's fine too. Gwen is still young; there's no rush for dating and such."
Even if Gwen likes him, he has to pass through me first!
Mike roared in his heart and let out a soft huff.
Wanting to date his daughter wouldn't be that simple!
"Pfft!"
Raven looked at Mike with amusement and said with a wry smile, "With you acting like this, who would dare pursue Gwen?"
Mike frowned and said coldly, "If they don't even have that much courage, how can they be Gwen's boyfriend?"
Raven thought about it and, surprisingly, agreed.
"True enough..."
Late autumn.
The morning sunlight was like crushed gold scattered from the sky, plating the world in a beautiful film.
"I'm off to school!"
Gwen shouted softly. Holding a tea egg in her hand, she plugged her earphones in, listening to the booming music. She greeted Luke across from her, and they walked toward the bus stop together.
"This is for you."
Gwen tossed the tea egg to Luke.
Luke caught it with a smile, his eyes lighting up. "Delicious egg."
"It's called a tea egg!" Gwen said helplessly. "I've told you many times."
Luke laughed and slipped it into his pocket. "The fact that I grew this tall is definitely thanks to the food you bring me every day."
"Then you really should thank me."
Gwen stood on her tiptoes and patted Luke's head.
Luke's height was definitely considered tall among his peers. At not even fourteen years old, he was already 1.8 meters tall.
Because of his growth spurt, Luke's father, John, had even taken him to the hospital for a check-up. Only after confirming everything was normal did Luke's parents feel at ease.
Luke smiled and said to Gwen, "I saw Harry come to pick you up yesterday."
"Ah!"
"Is he... toward you..."
Luke looked at Gwen with amusement.
Gwen hesitated then nodded, a bitter smile appearing on her face. "How should I handle it?"
She and Luke had known each other the longest and were the closest of friends—so close that there was no possibility of them becoming lovers. Therefore, Gwen could discuss certain things with Luke.
Luke frowned. "Harry has a very strong sense of self-esteem. If you're going to reject him, it's best to do it early and talk to him privately."
He paused, then flashed a smile. "Based on my understanding of Harry and our many years of friendship, even if you reject the guy, it won't be a big deal. At most, he'll be depressed for a while."
Gwen breathed a sigh of relief. "I understand. I'll find a time to talk to him as soon as possible."
"Then there's no problem."
Luke nodded with a smile. Seeing the school bus arrive, he immediately shouted, "Run! Or we won't make it!"
With those words, he took the lead and ran forward.
The two of them rushed onto the bus.
"Gwen, over here!"
Peter waved at them, happily pushing up his glasses.
"Gwen, you sit here."
Peter stood up, giving his seat to Gwen.
Gwen said with a grin, "Thank you, Peter."
She had refused many times before, but... it was ineffective.
Instead, because of the polite back-and-forth between them, other people would usually end up taking the seat.
So, ever since that happened, she stopped being modest whenever Peter offered her his seat.
"Yo!"
Luke patted Peter on the shoulder and said sourly, "How come you never give me a seat?"
"You aren't a girl."
Peter gave a faint smile.
"I don't see you giving up your seat for other girls, either!"
"Because I don't know them."
"Then why do you clearly come to the stop before our street just to catch the same bus as us, when you could easily take a different one?"
"I want to go to school with you guys, and I want to get some exercise while I'm at it."
Peter's heart began to beat like a drum, terrified that Gwen might see through his little scheme and become upset.
Thinking of this, he deliberately puffed out his chest and said, "Didn't you say I needed to exercise and stop acting like such a nerd? I'm trying to change!"
"Is that so?"
Luke looked at Peter suspiciously.
"Why is there so much nonsense coming out of you!"
Gwen said to Luke with a laugh, "Try being a girl in your next life! You've got no chance in this one."
"I'll try my best!"
"Hahaha!"
The three of them burst into laughter.
Chatting all the way, the three arrived at school. After Luke headed to his own classroom, Gwen and Peter went to theirs together.
After two periods, Gwen ran into Mary Jane during an elective class.
"Mary! My angel, I'm so happy to see you!"
Gwen greeted Mary Jane with a smile, but when she went to hug her, Mary Jane dodged away.
Gwen froze for a moment, asking in confusion, "What's wrong?"
(End of Chapter)