Ethan had barely taken a few steps when a pretty decent-looking girl approached him.
"Hi, you're Ye, right?"
"Ye" was Ethan's English name—a simple play on the original pronunciation of "Ye Su."
His full name used to be Ye Su... which, when read aloud in English, sounded suspiciously close to "Jesus."
So, he'd reversed it to "Ethan Ye", to avoid any awkward misunderstandings.
The girl smiled warmly, and for a second, Ethan thought—is this the classmate girlfriend from the system?
On closer inspection, she wasn't exactly his type. But since "pretty" had become a casual compliment nowadays, she was definitely attractive enough to deserve it.
Still... her expression gave off more "confused freshman" than "top student."
"I heard you're good at photography. Are you free Friday night?"
"Uh…"
So direct?
Before Ethan could even respond, the girl explained quickly:
"I want to take a photo of my boyfriend's car, get it framed, and give it to him as a birthday present. Could you help me out?"
Immediately, a strange wave of déjà vu washed over Ethan.
It wasn't just the usual hippocampal effect—the brain tricking you into thinking something's familiar.
No.
This was different.
He knew this scene.
The girl asking for a photo of her boyfriend's car...
The guy named Flash, who had just smacked him with a basketball...
The couple making out near his locker...
All of it was too familiar.
This whole situation was setting off every Spider-sense in his memory—only it wasn't Peter Parker standing here. It was him.
And then that feeling reached its peak.
As he picked up his books to head to class, he saw her.
A blonde girl sitting on a desk, legs crossed in a skirt and tall boots, absorbed in a book.
[Ding! "Pretty Scholar Classmate" has been received.]
[Character: Gwen Stacy.]
[Current affection level: 20 (Acquainted).]
[Friendly reminder: The girlfriend card only offers a possibility. A beautiful future requires you to strive for it with your own hands. Go create miracles, young man!]
With that message from the system, Ethan finally understood.
That Flash wasn't just some random jock—he was Flash Thompson.
And that strange feeling of déjà vu? It wasn't just his imagination.
Everything happening around him was straight out of the opening scenes of The Amazing Spider-Man.
The blonde girl reading at the desk—she wasn't just anyone.
She was Gwen Stacy, the brilliant scholar and love interest of the second Spider-Man.
And she was here now, in a world where she originally didn't exist.
Because he had activated the girlfriend card, Gwen Stacy had appeared—along with others tied to her storyline, like Flash Thompson.
Which meant... he was stepping into Peter Parker's place in Gwen's story.
Becoming her boyfriend.
Maybe even becoming... Spider-Man?
Was that what the girlfriend card actually did?
Added an entire DLC storyline to the world—with him as the protagonist?
The thought sent a jolt of excitement through him.
As far as he knew, this world was still the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
At this point in the timeline, Spider-Man hadn't officially debuted yet.
Peter Parker—specifically, Tom Holland's version—wasn't on the scene yet.
So taking up the mantle temporarily? That didn't seem like such a bad idea.
With Spider-Man's powers, could he really struggle in the MCU?
At least in the early stages, things were relatively quiet. No Thanos. No multiverse madness.
He could enjoy a little peace... and maybe some popularity.
And as for the future—when galactic-level threats would inevitably arrive—how was a Spider-Man without Tony Stark's tech or Avengers backup supposed to survive?
Ethan grinned to himself.
That was a problem for another day.
After all, this girlfriend card system didn't stop here.
Spider-Man? That was just the beginning.
Surely, more powerful—well, more beautiful—girlfriends and even greater abilities were waiting for him down the road.
By then, he'd be the powerful one—not needing to rely on anyone.
Thinking of this, Ethan suddenly felt at ease about his future.
Looking at Gwen in the distance, sitting with a seemingly elegant but actually very alluring posture, Ethan took out his camera.
Now he understood that his dream last night—learning skateboarding and photography—was all preparation to play the role of Peter Parker.
Click!
The image froze, capturing a beautiful moment.
For now, one photo would be enough. Too many could make him seem like a creep.
With only 20 points of affection, he didn't want to risk lowering it further—or even going negative.
"Ouch!"
Just as Ethan was taking a photo of Gwen, a spider suddenly appeared out of nowhere and bit his hand when he wasn't looking.
"What the… so sudden?"
Ethan looked at the bite mark on his hand but couldn't find any trace of the spider.
"Was this an accident? Or was that spider the legendary radioactive spider?"
Ethan wasn't sure, and just then, a commotion sounded in the distance.
"Eat it! Eat it! Eat it!"
"Eat your veggies, Gordon!"
Clearly, the classic scene of Thompson bullying a classmate was about to play out.
Ethan didn't really want to go up and get punched by Thompson, like Peter Parker.
But considering this might be an opportunity to gain Gwen's favor, he reluctantly decided to step in, not wanting to miss his chance with her.
The result was similar to the movie.
Thompson bullied someone and demanded Ethan take a photo of it.
Of course, Ethan, standing tall, refused decisively, and Thompson stepped up to hit him.
Having anticipated this, Ethan wasn't about to let him succeed so easily.
From the start, he kept a table between himself and Thompson.
Finally, as Thompson tried to attack, Ethan circled the table, playing cat and mouse with him.
It proved that while Thompson was strong, his mind wasn't sharp—just a small table was enough to throw him off.
After half a minute, Thompson, getting frustrated, was about to flip the table like a gang member when Gwen appeared.
Gwen, as expected of a top student, chased Thompson away with a few words and even gave Ethan a thumbs up.
"You're great! Brave, and also quick. Much better than those idiots who just go headfirst and test Flash's fists with their faces!"
"At least this way, there's no risk of a concussion."
Ethan shrugged. "I just do what I can. I know myself pretty well."
The two turned and walked toward the classroom, and Gwen suddenly introduced herself.
"I'm Gwen, Gwen Stacy."
Ethan turned and smiled. "Ye. I'm Su Ye, or Ye Su."
"Nice to meet you, Ye Su."
> [Ding! Gwen's affection level increased. Current affection level: 40 (Familiar).]
Ethan raised an eyebrow—raising her affection level didn't seem all that difficult.