America: A Prodigy of Stereotypes

"She herself might not be able to hold on any longer." Aunt Mei was very sad.

……

……

Peter changed into a loose tracksuit, put on a red balaclava, and quietly climbed out of the bedroom window.

He started running wildly under the dim streetlights, and after running out of the low-rise residential area, he began to shoot spider webs and swing and leap between the tall buildings. Before long, he caught up with the ambulance that Mary Jane was accompanying her mother.

The ambulance drove into the hospital, and Peter climbed up to the top of the hospital building.

The red light on the operating room door came on, and Philip Watson stood blankly outside the operating room, while Mary Jane stared intently at the operating room door.

In fact, Philip already knew his wife Madeleine was beyond saving on the way to the ambulance. Now, taking her into the operating room for resuscitation was just a formality to declare her dead.

Less than an hour later, the operating room door opened.

The doctor came out and called Philip aside. Mary Jane stared blankly at the doctor in the blue surgical gown, who was talking to her father, Philip, with his head down. She felt her mind go blank and couldn't hear what her father and the doctor were saying.

Peter pressed himself against the hospital building's exterior wall. He didn't know Mary Jane's location inside the hospital; he had lost her. He could only stare down at the hospital's exit, hoping to see when Mary Jane would emerge.

Peter was restless. He took his phone out of his pocket and started looking through his contacts.

He really wanted to call Li Qun and tell him about the unexpected incident that happened at Mary Jane's house that night.

However, it was already past 4 a.m., and his call to Liqun would definitely disturb Liqun's sleep.

Peter didn't know what he was doing either.

Uncle Ben is right, this has nothing to do with him, but he still wants to come along.

After waiting for a long time, Peter saw Philip and Mary Jane walk out of the hospital.

Philip stood by the roadside, scanning the passing vehicles on the street. A taxi drove up, and Philip raised his hand to stop it. He then let Mary Jane get into the taxi.

Philip Watson did not get into the taxi. After the taxi drove away from the hospital, Philip Watson turned around and went back into the hospital.

Peter followed the taxi, swaying back and forth on the silken threads.

Peter got home before the taxi carrying Mary Jane arrived. He then quietly climbed out the window and went back into his bedroom, where he stood quietly by the window listening to the sounds outside.

"arrive."

The taxi stopped in front of Mary Jane's house, and the taxi driver turned around to look at Mary Jane.

"fare……"

“I’ll go inside and get it; I didn’t take my wallet with me when I left,” Mary Jane said to the taxi driver.

"Can you guarantee you have money at home? If you don't, I'll call the police," the taxi driver said calmly.

"There is indeed money kept at home."

"Take a look at the meter..." the driver reminded him.

Mary Jane glanced at the meter; it showed she owed $44.

Mary Jane got out of the car and walked to the door when she realized she hadn't brought her house key.

It felt as if my blood had stopped flowing, and my body went cold.

Mary Jane bypassed the front door and went around to the backyard from the side of the house, hoping to see if any windows were not closed properly, or even better, if the back door was not locked.

Peter noticed Mary Jane's strange behavior and quietly climbed out the window.

"Mary Jane, what's wrong?"

"Peter?!"

Peter appeared behind Mary Jane without her noticing, startling her.

“Peter, do you have any money? Lend me some so I can pay for my bus fare,” Mary Jane said in a panic.

"It's all yours!"

Peter took out his wallet and handed all the banknotes inside to Mary Jane.

"Watfa?" The taxi driver exclaimed softly in the car, his eyes wide and mouth agape.

The taxi driver saw a boy jump out of a second-floor window of the house next door. Immediately afterwards, a girl who was taking a taxi home suddenly hugged and kissed the boy who had jumped off the roof as she walked through the narrow passage between the two houses.

"I didn't drive a taxi in the middle of the night to watch you guys put on a teen romance drama for me..."

Mary Jane and Peter walked together to the taxi, and Mary Jane handed over the fare.

"We've rounded it down for you."

The taxi driver stared blankly at Peter and Mary Jane, took two $20 bills from Mary Jane's hand, closed the passenger door, and sped away.

“Peter, can you still go back?” Mary Jane asked Peter softly.

“I can do it, I know kung fu,” Peter said.

Peter thought to himself, knowing kung fu really is a great excuse.

"Could you climb over into my bedroom and then come downstairs to open the door for me?"

"can."

Peter jumped up, hooked his hands around the eaves, and with a little effort, flipped himself onto the roof.

Peter opened the slightly ajar window of Mary Jane's bedroom and entered. Less than two minutes later, Peter opened the door from the inside and let Mary Jane back into her own home.

Chapter 153 Resurrect, Dryer!

Mary Jane invited Peter to sit at her house, and Peter agreed. He stayed with Mary Jane until dawn.

Mary Jane confided in Peter, who listened to everything like a tree hollow.

Peter finally learned something about Mary Jane's family situation.

Mary Jane's mother, Madeline Watson, has cancer and has been undergoing conservative treatment. In the eyes of Mary Jane's father, Philip, Madeline has been sentenced to death, and he cannot bring himself to sacrifice everything to treat his wife's cancer.

Mary Jane's mother, Madeline, was on painkillers every single day, and these painkillers gradually made Mary Jane feel that her family was becoming a nightmare.

Mary Jane discovers that her mother's dose of strong painkillers has mysteriously decreased, and after observing secretly, she discovers that her father, Philip, is secretly taking her mother's strong painkillers.

After taking her mother's strong painkillers, her father, Philip, would lock himself in his study. Mary Jane didn't know what he did in there, but she could imagine the scene: just like her mother's soul leaving her body after taking the painkillers, he would be leaning against the desk chair with his eyes vacant.

Mary Jane's father, Philip, was a bestselling novelist, and her mother, Madeline, was a drama student with dreams of becoming an actress. The two married because of an unplanned pregnancy.

Madeline gave up her acting dream to become a housewife, while Philip earned enough from publishing a bestselling novel to buy the house and car they now live in. The couple's married life was initially quite happy.

After Mary Jane was born, the couple's family underwent some unfortunate changes.

Philip felt his luck was running out; his new book was a flop, and his novels were no longer popular. Philip tried writing a new series, but this time, the usually friendly publisher rejected his manuscript.

Thanks to Philip's initial series of novels, Mary Jane's family was able to make ends meet with a quarterly income. However, after Madeline was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago, Philip felt that he was completely plagued by bad luck, the kind that he couldn't escape.

"The dryer broke down. They bought it when they got married. When he found out, he said it was time for my mother to get married too."

Mary Jane was trembling all over, and Peter was at a loss for what to do. In the end, he just took out a tissue and wiped Mary Jane's tears.

No wonder Mary Jane never talked about her family at school, and Peter, her neighbor, knew very little about it either. So that's why.

Mary Jane and her mother Madeline have been working very hard to maintain a respectable image for their family in front of others, but the husband, Philip, has become somewhat self-destructive.

“Mary Jane, take me to see the dryer. I think I can fix it.”

“Peter, you can’t do it…” Mary Jane covered her face.

“I’m Peter Parker. Before Li Qun transferred here, I was always number one. Repairing electrical appliances has always been my forte, you remember? I’ve been good at fixing things since I was a child.” Peter suddenly felt a surge of courage and looked at Mary Jane with a determined gaze.

“Okay…but Peter, we don’t have any repair tools at home,” Mary Jane said.

"It's simple. Would you mind if I walked through your bedroom?"

Mary Jane shook her head to indicate that she didn't mind.

Peter and Mary Jane went upstairs. Peter climbed out of Mary Jane's bedroom window, jumped back onto his own roof, and then climbed back into his room through the window. A few minutes later, Peter returned to Mary Jane's house with his toolbox. The whole process was completely silent.

“Perhaps I always mention Li Qun, but what Li Qun says is like Shakespeare's words: ‘The world is broken and shabby, but there are always people patching it up.’” Peter said to Mary Jane as he carried his toolbox to her basement.

Peter easily moved the dryer out, carefully removed the outer casing, meticulously inspected every part, and began disassembling and repairing it after identifying the problem.

“Heat pump dryers are the most expensive type of dryer,” Peter said.

"Is it also the hardest to fix?" Mary Jane asked.

“The structure is very complex; I need to study it,” Peter replied.

Before dawn, Peter fixed the heat pump dryer, and both Peter and Mary Jane felt a sense of relief.

“Mary Jane, if you need money, you can tell me. I… can lend you not just a thousand or two, but tens of thousands,” Peter suddenly said.

"Do I need money right now?" Mary Jane asked Peter.

"Burying Aunt Madeline must cost a lot of money, right? The cost of buying a burial plot..." Peter felt his mouth was very dry, so dry it tasted bitter.

Aunt Madeline was a very, very good person in Peter's memory. When Peter was a child, Aunt May would leave him in Aunt Madeline's care for a period of time when she had to take care of some things.

“My father will provide the money…” Mary Jane said this without much confidence.

Perhaps her father, Philip, wouldn't buy a burial plot for her mother, but would instead keep her ashes somewhere in the house.

"..." The two fell silent.

For her mother's sake, Mary Jane has been arguing with her father Philip more and more often this past year. The way they look at each other has become hostile, their relationship is fading, and it seems to be turning into enmity.

Mary Jane had a premonition that once she graduated from high school and turned eighteen, her father, Philip, would kick her out of the house. He didn't want to live under the same roof as the daughter who had brought him bad luck, let alone pay for her to go to college. She would have to apply for student loans herself to have any chance of going to college.

Mary Jane glanced at Peter Parker furtively.

Peter's future is bright, filled with loving family and good friends with whom he can support each other.

“My father is quite concerned about his image; that’s his biggest flaw,” Mary Jane said.

……

……

A few days later, Aunt May had dealt with the difficult client from the South and returned to her normal home schedule. Aunt May no longer needed Peter as her bodyguard.

Mr. Walter called Uncle Ben to tell him that he could now visit his father, Mr. Goodman. Uncle Ben and Jameson went to Mr. Goodman's house to visit him and met Mr. Goodman, who was paralyzed from the waist down and sitting in a wheelchair. Fortunately, Mr. Goodman could still speak.

Peter spent most of his day with Mary Jane.