#20 - Admit it, hero, you got lucky.

Gwen and Mary Jane were chatting casually when, after about 20 minutes, a doorbell interrupted their conversation.

Gwen tried to get up, but Mary Jane stopped her and went to the door. Looking through the peephole, she saw Peter and Yang Le standing outside with shopping bags.

"Welcome back, gentlemen," Mary Jane said with a smile, opening the door. "Peter, did you go with Happy too?"

"No, I happened to see Happy on my way here, so I helped him carry these."

After experiencing a life-or-death crisis with Mary Jane, Peter seemed to have unlocked some hidden potential, as he could now talk to her normally. Yang Le, standing aside, nodded in satisfaction, feeling like his child had grown up.

Mary Jane, however, remained composed, seemingly unaware of Peter's change, and turned to Yang Le, asking,

"What kind of lavish dinner is our chef preparing for the princess?"

"Princess?" Yang Le was taken aback by the title, but then realized who she meant.

"You mean Gwen? Be careful, she might give you trouble for teasing her like that."

Mary Jane dismissed Yang Le's warning with a flick of her tongue.

"As long as she doesn't hear it, and you guys won't snitch, right?"

"Too bad, I heard you, Mary."

Mary Jane's body stiffened at Gwen's voice. She turned around and saw Gwen, who had changed back into casual clothes, leaning against the hallway wall with her arms crossed, watching her.

"Oh, everyone must be starving. Let's hurry up and start cooking."

Mary Jane clapped her hands, immediately changing the subject, and snatched the shopping bags from Peter, running towards the kitchen.

However, in her haste, Mary Jane didn't notice the rug by the door and tripped. Peter, with quick reflexes, grabbed Mary Jane to prevent her from falling, but the ingredients in the bags flew towards Gwen.

Everyone thought Gwen wouldn't be able to dodge in time, but everything slowed down in Gwen's eyes, like a special effect in a movie. Everything went into slow motion.

Hawthorns flew out of their box, drinks were about to hit the ground, and pork chops spun towards her.

Gwen took a step forward, catching the box of hawthorns with her left hand and using the box to catch the hawthorns one by one. Her right-hand fingers pinched the spinning pork chops, and she extended her left foot, the drink bottle landing horizontally on the back of her foot.

All of this happened in just two or three seconds. When Gwen came back to her senses, she found Yang Le and the others staring at her in disbelief.

"Wow, Gwen, I didn't know you were so amazing," Mary Jane said, looking surprised.

"That was so cool, Gwen!" Unlike Mary Jane, Peter looked at Gwen with admiration. "It was like a special effects movie."

'Was Gwen bitten by the spider? Is this the Spider-Gwen universe?' Yang Le subtly walked to Gwen's side, took the ingredients, and rescued Gwen, who was standing on one leg.

"Looks like you've recovered well," Yang Le said, using his concern as an excuse to look Gwen up and down.

"Uh, not bad," Gwen said, a little dazed. She didn't know how she had done it. Could it be the spider?

Gwen couldn't help but let her thoughts wander, leaving Yang Le aside. This was exactly what Yang Le wanted. He stood aside and continued to look for bite marks. The two of them stood silently in the middle of the hallway.

However, these two people's hidden agendas looked like a lovers' affectionate display in the eyes of others. Mary Jane, with black lines all over her forehead, complained,

"Alright, you two, if you want to show off your little romantic moments, please choose a time when no one else is around."

"Sorry, I'm just a little worried about Gwen," Yang Le said, snapping back to reality. To play the part, he could only continue what Mary Jane said, and also tugged at Gwen, who was still in a daze.

"Huh? Right, right, I'm also hungry," Gwen said, snapping back to reality, but she hadn't heard the previous conversation and could only change the subject.

The group walked into the kitchen amid the joking and playing. Yang Le laid out the ingredients one by one.

"Happy, what are you going to make?" Gwen went to the side, ready to help.

"I'm going to make stewed beef, and the patient should sit aside and rest," Yang Le said. Of course, he wouldn't force himself to make Chinese food for three native-born Americans. The dietary differences were too great, and they might not be used to it.

The Chinese food that survives in the United States has been improved locally and is basically high in oil and sugar. The sweetness is so high that even candied sweet potatoes would be slapped twice.

So Yang Le chose the most versatile option: stewed beef. However, Gwen frowned when she heard Yang Le's choice.

"Won't that take a long time? Beef can't be stewed until it's soft and tender in a short time."

"That's why I bought hawthorns," Yang Le said, pointing to the hawthorns on the side. "Hawthorns can not only remove the muttony smell of beef but also soften the beef fibers, allowing the beef to soften and tender faster."

"Oh, I didn't know you were such a chef," Gwen said, gently nudging Yang Le with her elbow like a good buddy.

"After all, when you live alone, you naturally learn more."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"Alright, Gwen, we already talked about this," Yang Le said, seeing that Gwen, who mistakenly thought he was an orphan, was about to break down, and quickly pinched his thigh to stop the topic.

'I'm lying to her about being an orphan to make her feel guilty.'

'I brought up Happy's sad past again.'

'I'm so damned!' Yang Le and Gwen thought at the same time.

Not to mention the two people in the kitchen blaming themselves, Mary Jane, sitting at the dining table, looked at everything that was happening in the kitchen with a 'I ship it' expression.

"Peter, don't you think they're really a match?"

Peter, blushing, looked at Mary Jane, who was whispering in his ear, and nodded in agreement.

"Indeed, Gwen has been much more cheerful since she met Happy."

"Aren't you jealous?" Mary Jane looked at Peter with a gossipy expression, but her eyes flashed with a strange light. "Aren't you and Gwen childhood sweethearts? Have you never thought about pursuing her?"

"Me?" Peter shook his head in a panic when he heard Mary Jane's words. "I don't have that kind of feeling for Gwen. Gwen and I are more like…soulmates?"

"Yes! Soulmates!" Peter nodded affirmatively. "Gwen and I met through music, and then whenever I encounter trouble, Gwen will stand up and help me. Uh, it might sound more like a big brother and a little brother."

"I've always been very inferior in front of Gwen," Peter said, lowering his head in shame, his hands fidgeting together. "It's ridiculous, isn't it? A boy always being protected by a girl. Without Gwen, I wouldn't even dare to leave the classroom at school."

"Oh no, you don't need to denigrate yourself like that, Peter," Mary Jane said softly, reaching out to hold Peter's hands.

"Your performance today is not something a coward can do. You are the bravest man I have ever met."

"Uh, thank you, Mary Jane. I don't know what was going on at that time. I just ran out involuntarily."

Peter's face was as red as a monkey's butt in the face of Mary Jane's praise, and he was about to stammer again.

"I don't know what that was about either," Mary Jane said, flicking her hair and exuding confidence. "I only know, hero, you hit the jackpot. (Note)"

"Hit the jackpot? What do you mean?" Peter scratched his head, not understanding Mary Jane's meaning.

"Then I'll wait until you understand," Mary Jane said, winking playfully.

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(Note: This sentence comes from Peter and Mary Jane's first meeting in the comics. Interestingly, before they met, Peter always thought Mary Jane was an ugly girl.)