America: A Prodigy of Stereotypes

“Why did I ask you to come to me?” Gwen scrutinized Peter.

"The principal wants me to give a speech, but you know I can't do it."

"So you recommended me?"

“I initially recommended Liqun, but the principal seemed dissatisfied and asked me to choose someone else,” Peter said.

“He’s racist,” Gwen said bluntly.

“Don’t say that, we haven’t received our diplomas yet,” Peter said softly.

"Should I go find him now?" Gwen asked.

"Yes."

"Great, I can skip a class now."

Gwen walked toward the principal's office, while Peter turned and went into the classroom.

Li Qun was a little curious, so he tossed Peter a small note, and Peter gave a simple reply.

A class period passed, and Gwen still hadn't returned to the classroom.

"Gwen, how did your talk with the principal go?" Peter asked Gwen curiously in the hallway outside the classroom after class.

“I have to write the speech, and then I have to submit it to the principal for review. It’s too much trouble. Peter, don’t you think you need to do something?” Gwen complained to Peter.

“Liqun, can you help Gwen?” Peter turned to Liqun for help.

“If I were to write it, you wouldn’t be able to handle my graduation speech. Remember the nickname Ms. Rosa gave me? The Shakespeare of Midtown High School,” Li Qun said earnestly.

“Never mind. This is my last speech in high school, and it would be good to leave everyone with a speech they will never forget,” Gwen said to Liqun.

“Parents will be present at the graduation ceremony. Can I add some gratitude education?” Li Qun asked.

"Let's see if we can get past the principal first," Gwen said.

"I think the older generation will appreciate the gratitude education content I've included in my speeches," Li Qun said enthusiastically.

……

……

Bruce Banner stood behind Li Qun, watching him write furiously.

"What kind of speech is this?" Dr. Banner asked, puzzled.

“It’s for the graduation ceremony,” Li Qun replied, head bowed.

You're going to give a speech at the graduation ceremony?

“Gwen gave the speech, and I helped her write the speech,” Li Qun replied.

"How long will the speech last?" Dr. Banner asked.

“Gwen didn’t tell me, but I think it should be within eight minutes,” Li Qun replied.

“What a grueling eight minutes. How about we shorten it to five minutes?” Dr. Banner suggested.

“Dr. Banner, you must have a lot of experience in public speaking, right?” Li Qun looked up at Bruce Banner.

“Very rich.” Dr. Banner nodded.

"Dr. Banner, are you ready for your speech at Columbia University's commencement ceremony?" Li Qun asked with concern.

“I’m not ready yet. Should I prepare a speech now?” Dr. Banner asked.

“I’ll remind you from time to time that we’ve been very busy lately, haven’t we? Don’t forget about things while we’re busy,” Li Qun said.

"I've already finished writing it."

Bruce Banner pulled up a chair and sat down next to Li Qun, took a few sheets of Li Qun's manuscript paper, and began to write.

Li Qun turned to look at what Dr. Banner had written on the manuscript paper. There was not a single perfunctory word in it. He even felt that it could be published as a collection of famous speeches of the 21st century without any modifications.

"Be careful," Dr. Banner said to Li Qun.

"Be careful of what?"

"Be careful you don't get chosen to give a speech as a freshman when college starts," Dr. Banner said.

"Is it my turn now?"

"Just wait and see," Dr. Banner chuckled.

Li Qun and Bruce Banner quietly wrote their speeches, with Li Qun finishing first.

After carefully checking it over and reading it aloud, Li Qun recorded the time it took to read the entire speech and then made further revisions to it.

"They're checking your hands, giving you hugs, and saying things like 'You've worked so hard.' Some parents and children will burst into tears on the spot," Dr. Banner joked to Li Qun.

Did you know that a quarter of children come from single-parent families?

“I’m not in that quarter,” Liqun told Dr. Banner.

“Your heart is as hard as Batman’s,” Dr. Banner said.

"Dr. Banner, have you started to like Batman jokes too?"

"You and Wade have been talking in my ear way too much," Dr. Banner complained.

Old Man and Wade emerged from the portal, put down what they were carrying, and curiously walked to the table to see what Li Qun and Bruce Banner were writing.

"When is your graduation prom?" Wade asked Li Qun.

“Next Friday,” Li Qun replied.

“Dad, let me see your palm.” Li Qun turned to his father.

"Would you like me to have my palm read, Dad?" the old man asked.

"Dad, the calluses on your hands are really thick, like you're wearing gloves."

Chapter 309 It would be great if we could live together

"Sometimes I really wish there were living superheroes around me."

Uncle Ben put down his newspaper and took a sip of the coffee Aunt May had brewed.

Peter quietly picked up the newspaper and began to read, while Uncle Ben started to eat his breakfast.

"An armed robbery occurred in Brooklyn's East Side, where a Chinese man was robbed at knifepoint by five men. The victim suffered a deep head wound that reached his skull. Three suspects were apprehended at the scene, while two ringleaders remain at large. The victim's stolen credit card was used fraudulently at McDonald's in Brooklyn and Queens. The NYPD has issued a Class A warrant for his arrest."

Peter read aloud the news he had read in the newspaper in his own words, practicing his speaking skills.

Peter was still bothered by declining the speech for outstanding graduates at the graduation ceremony.

“That’s terrible.” Aunt May sat down at the table, eating breakfast while listening to Peter read the news from the newspaper.

"A series of armed robberies have occurred in Midtown Manhattan recently, and it has been confirmed that they were committed by the same criminal gang. The gang has been committing crimes around the Empire State Building and Times Square, targeting bank customers withdrawing cash. The NYPD has issued a citywide alert."

"Why are they all armed robberies?" Peter asked.

“A knife and a gun are different levels of threat,” Uncle Ben told Peter.

"There was also an armed robbery case..."

"The attempted armed robbery at knifepoint in the elevator of an apartment building on 41st Avenue has been unsuccessful. The suspect continued to roam the streets along the route for seven days after the incident, and repeatedly followed lone women. A wanted poster has been released, and the NYPD is conducting a citywide manhunt."

Peter memorized the wanted posters of the criminals in the newspaper, his eyes filled with intense focus.

The crime news reports in the newspapers did not provide much detail about when the crimes occurred, but most of them happened during the day, completely out of sync with my schedule.

Peter comforted himself, thinking that even Superman couldn't stop every crime. This was a question the writers had seriously discussed in the Superman comics.

By the time he goes to university, he should be able to move around during the day, moving beyond his internship where "Spider-Man" could only move at night.

"It's almost time, I need to go to school."

Peter put down the newspaper. As usual, Uncle Ben and Aunt May reminded Peter to be careful on the road. Peter picked up his backpack and walked out of the house.

People rarely look up in their daily lives, and Peter was rarely seen swinging on his spiderweb to school every morning.

Every morning Peter would think that he should be the first student to arrive at school, but Li Qun never gave Peter that opportunity.

Li Qun used a teleportation portal. He had the keys to all the storage rooms in the school, given to him by Stan Lee, allowing him to emerge from any strange corner of the school at any time.

"Hi, good morning, Peter."

"Good morning."

"Would you like to see the speech I wrote last night?" Li Qun and Peter sat down on a bench on campus, with some time before their morning class.

"have a look."

Li Qun opened his backpack, took out the speech manuscript, and handed it to Peter, who read it quietly.

After reading two-thirds of it, Peter couldn't help but wipe away a tear.

"what do you think?"

Li Qun asked Peter.

Peter's eyes were a little red.

“How did you come up with this? I can’t even imagine what will happen on graduation day,” Peter said to Li Qun.

"We have to get past Gwen and the principal first," Li Qun replied calmly.

Gwen drove to school, and among all the students who drove themselves, Gwen's car was the most impressive. The only car that could rival Gwen's minivan was Stephanie's food truck.

"Here you go, the speech. I stayed up all night writing it." Li Qun handed the speech to Gwen.

"You've worked so hard. I'll treat you to McDonald's this weekend," Gwen said, taking the speech.

“What’s wrong with Peter? Does he have a cold?” Gwen noticed Peter’s red eyes and nose.

“No, I was just thinking about Uncle Ben and Aunt May, who work so hard at their jobs,” Peter said to Gwen.

“Read it quickly,” Peter urged.

“Peter, what are you expecting?” Gwen immediately became alert.

"No."

Peter gave Gwen his seat so she could sit on the bench and read her speech.