America: A Prodigy of Stereotypes

Peter heard the sound of a door closing downstairs. He guessed that Aunt May had come home. Peter came out of his room and went down the stairs.

"Uncle Ben? You're back really early today!" Peter was a little surprised.

“Indeed, I’m back two hours earlier than usual.” Ben Parker glanced at his watch.

“Today’s a bit unusual. Mei’s run into a difficult client, so she’ll be back a little late. We’ll have to figure out dinner ourselves,” Uncle Ben said to Peter.

“I’ll make dinner,” Peter said.

“No, no need for that, let’s eat out,” Uncle Ben said.

“Uncle Ben, this isn’t like you. Every time Aunt May plans to take us out to eat, you say that we can cook at home and eat for a week instead of eating at a restaurant,” Peter said.

"Peter, just tell me if you want to come out for dinner with me," Uncle Ben said, smiling at Peter.

"Of course!"

“Change your clothes,” Uncle Ben said to Peter.

Peter went upstairs to his bedroom to change his clothes, not keeping Uncle Ben waiting long.

Experienced driver Ben Parker was driving when he chatted with Peter about the latest neighborhood news.

"Peter, have you ever heard of the Red Hood?"

“Red Hood, what’s that?” Peter’s heart skipped a beat.

“A street urchin who suddenly appears, wearing a red hood and acting as a vigilante,” Ben Parker said casually.

"Are there many people talking about him?" Peter Parker asked curiously.

“Not many people have seen this guy, but the Queens police are certain there’s such a person,” Ben Parker said.

"Is he a good person?" Peter asked expectantly.

"It's hard to say."

"why?"

"According to information circulating within the police station, this guy has a consistent routine in every operation: he steals the criminals' firearms, and nobody knows where those handguns go."

"Oh……"

Peter recalled that the rooftop where he hid his pistols had collected all kinds of popular New York handguns, including Glock, Beretta, Sig Sauer, Smith & Wesson, and so on.

Peter always dealt with criminals using two actions: disarming and knocking them unconscious. He never spoke to the victims and would leave after doing his good deed.

"According to sources within the police station, this red-hooded guy was a double-crosser."

"Why do you say that? Does rescuing someone from an armed robber mean leaving the robber's gun behind?" Peter asked, puzzled.

"For the police, the lack of evidence is a problem."

"Someone called the police, but when the police arrived, the person who was robbed was carrying a gun, while the criminal who was supposed to be the robber but had passed out was not carrying a gun."

Uncle Ben started laughing as he spoke, and Peter laughed along with him.

Uncle Ben parked the car, and the two of them got out and went into a nearby restaurant.

“You know what? This restaurant has been open for over thirty years. When May and I were young, we used to come here on dates all the time,” Uncle Ben said to Peter.

"Mei is tired of the food at this restaurant, but I still like it very much."

“I remember we’ve been here a few times,” Peter said, glancing around the restaurant where they would be having dinner that evening.

“Mei’s cooking is the best I’ve ever seen,” Uncle Ben said.

“But it wasn’t like this before,” Uncle Ben emphasized.

“Mei’s cooking used to be terrible; no one but me could eat it.”

"Such a thing exists?!" Peter exclaimed in shock.

“No one is a great cook from the start,” Uncle Ben said.

“Yes, there are. That’s how it is with Liqun,” Peter said.

“That’s their racial talent, an ability given to them by God,” Ben Parker said.

“Alright.” Peter swallowed his objection. Uncle Ben had been thinking this way for most of his life, and it was something that couldn’t be changed.

Peter and Uncle Ben finished their dinner while chatting. Peter sensed that Uncle Ben had become much more relaxed about the topics of conversation, and Uncle Ben began to tell him stories about his and Aunt May when they were young.

The two men walked out of the restaurant. Uncle Ben and Peter stood under a streetlamp. Ben Parker glanced at Peter and said, "Peter, you're starting to look a bit like your father, Richard."

"Because I'm not wearing my glasses right now?" Peter looked at Ben Parker in surprise.

“He wears glasses, but his eyes are sharp, and it has nothing to do with the glasses,” Ben Parker told Peter Parker.

"He is a brave man, and I am gradually seeing bravery in your eyes."

"Uncle Ben, you are a brave person too."

“I look brave because I learned kung fu,” Peter said.

Chapter 149 is coming soon

Ben Parker and Peter Parker walked into a pizzeria and saw that the pizzeria's signature pizzas were tempura pizza and karaage chicken pizza. Peter immediately took two steps back and went out onto the street to look at the pizzeria's signboard.

“Miyagi Pizza, I knew it,” Peter muttered to himself.

Back inside the pizzeria, Uncle Ben had already ordered two 12-inch pizzas for them to take home: a signature tempura pizza and a Hawaiian pizza.

Uncle Ben ordered his pizza, tilted his head back, and looked at the various innovative pizza menus and pictures hanging in the Miyagi Pizza shop. He couldn't help but laugh.

"How did this shop even get started? Didn't the Italians cause any trouble for the owner?" Uncle Ben muttered.

Uncle Ben glanced at the cashier behind the counter and the few helpers in the kitchen; the men looked to be of Italian descent.

These aren't the traditional Italians; it seems they don't mind if pizza is innovated upon.

"Sir, your two 12-inch pizzas are ready."

"Thank you."

Peter took the pizza and went back to the car with Uncle Ben, who then drove home.

“If Mei sees the pizza, she’ll say, ‘I came home so early and all I prepared for her dinner was two pizzas.’”

“It feels a bit like the last time Liqun and I went to Gwen’s house, Liqun brought Gwen a Mexican meal from a street food truck,” Peter said.

"Haha..." Uncle Ben laughed.

“When we got home, Aunt May must have been home too, right?” Peter said.

“When Mei returned home, she found no one there and no one would call us. We haven’t received a single call yet.”

Peter took out his phone and glanced at it; there were no missed calls.

After performing acts of chivalry a few times, Peter began to realize that New York's security situation was not good, and he became vaguely worried.

Peter thought that Aunt May was driving, so she shouldn't be as likely to be robbed as ordinary people on the street.

Back home, Uncle Ben turned on the TV, and Peter opened the pizza box to check it. Seeing that the pizza was intact, he closed the box again.

Peter and Uncle Ben watched the news for half an hour and chatted for a while. Aunt May drove home and heard noises in the driveway. Uncle Ben went out to greet her.

Peter stood by the window and glanced outside. He looked twice and then stopped. After many years of marriage, Uncle Ben and Aunt May's feelings for each other had not been diluted by time.

Aunt May returned home and was pushed by Uncle Ben to sit down at the dining table. Uncle Ben showed Aunt May two pizzas.

“Okay, okay. Pizza is convenient; I can take it to go for lunch tomorrow,” Aunt May said.

Two 12-inch pizzas were too much for Aunt May to finish by herself, so Peter also took a couple of bites.

"What kind of client is it that makes you come home this late every day? That would be quite troublesome," Uncle Ben said.

“Don’t worry, I can handle it,” Aunt Mei said.

“If you’re always coming home late, I feel like I need to keep you company,” Uncle Ben said.

"It's better to let Peter come and keep me company. People will misunderstand if you come," Aunt May said with a smile.

……

"Well, Aunt May has encountered a rather picky client. Until Aunt May is done with her work, I may have to act as her bodyguard for a while."

Peter was on the phone with Li Qun, telling him that he couldn't come to his father's place for martial arts practice that afternoon.

"It doesn't matter where you practice, as long as you don't give up on your kung fu," Li Qun said on the phone.

"If you're going to be a bodyguard, Peter, what will you wear?" Li Qun asked.

"Can't I wear my usual clothes?" Peter asked.

"You usually seem so intimidating, like anyone could bully you."

"Don't dress too much like a student. Put on the jacket Harry bought you, and don't button up all the buttons on your shirt. Try loosening the top two buttons."

"Let me see……"

Peter put down his phone, took out some clothes from the closet, changed, and scratched his hair.

“I feel like a… rock singer right now,” Peter said to his phone while looking at his reflection in the mirror.

"Remember not to talk or laugh unnecessarily," Li Qun said.

"How about wearing glasses?"

Peter picked up his non-prescription glasses, which instantly made him look harmless.

"Maybe I shouldn't wear glasses, or maybe I should wear sunglasses," Peter muttered to himself.

Peter took off his jacket, intending to dress like this when he went out with Aunt May tomorrow.

……

The next morning, Peter went downstairs for breakfast. Peter, dressed in a black jacket, plopped down at the table like a tiger descending the mountain.

Ben Parker slowly put down the newspaper in his hand, his gaze sweeping over Peter's face and body.

“That’s a cool jacket. I think I had one like that when I was younger,” Ben Parker said, taking a sip of his hot coffee.

“The three of us, Harry, Liqun, and I, bought these together last time we went shopping; we each have one,” Peter said.

"Wow!" Aunt May turned around with the toast in her hand, startled by Peter's dark aura.