America: A Prodigy of Stereotypes

"The gap is too big."

"You can soar into the air like a bird and even do a 180-degree flip."

"So you're starting to doubt that I'm not human? Well, Gwen, you might be even more surprised later," Li Qun said.

"after?"

“Yes.” Li Qun smiled.

Gwen thought Liqun was referring to his own future amazing feats, but Liqun meant Peter Parker, who was standing beside them. The future Spider-Man Peter Parker would perform even more outrageous feats than he did today, such as single-handedly stopping a speeding train.

“Peter, did you take any pictures?” Gwen asked Peter.

“Of course, I took a lot of pictures, and I’ve used up all the film,” Peter replied.

"How long did I fight with Miyagi?"

"Twenty minutes? Almost half an hour." Peter glanced at his watch.

"I didn't even realize we'd been playing for so long."

Li Qun was surprised. He recalled for a moment and realized that he had forgotten how he had fought with Miyagi Goro in the past half hour.

“You two were like two super soldiers, you stunned everyone,” Peter said.

Chapter 41 Steve, Vanished into History

"Super Soldier? Peter, is that a new term you just came up with?"

“This isn’t a new word; it’s a very old one,” Peter said.

“This is the first time I’ve heard this word either, Peter,” Gwen said to Peter.

"What? You guys don't know about super soldiers?" Peter found it hard to believe.

“Liqun, you’ve read 'How the Steel Was Tempered'? I thought you knew Captain Steve.” Peter said in surprise.

"Captain Steve, who is he?"

A name popped into Li Qun's mind: Steve Rogers, Captain America.

In the memories of the old world, Captain America is an iconic figure of World War II, the original superhero, an American youth with a strong sense of patriotism, and the embodiment of American spirit.

Stan Lee ate at his uncle's Chinese restaurant, Peter Parker became his high school classmate, and Li Qun kept wondering why he didn't see any cultural symbols related to Captain America Steve Rogers in New York.

"Peter, are you trying to draw a comparison between Paul and Captain Steve?" Li Qun asked Peter seriously.

"Uncle Ben actually has a tattoo, a five-pointed star, on his back."

Peter began to speak in a low voice.

“When I was very young, I accidentally saw that five-pointed star. I was very surprised that my uncle Ben also had a tattoo, so I asked him what the five-pointed star meant.”

"Uncle Ben told me that they were commemorating a person, a hero who has been erased from history, and that five-pointed star tattoo was his mark."

“Paul in How the Steel Was Tempered is a fictional character, but there are indeed idealists like Paul in real life. Uncle Ben said that Captain Steve is America’s Paul.”

"He went to the European battlefield, led his squad in guerrilla warfare against the Nazis, and ultimately sacrificed his life on the battlefield of World War II. He sacrificed himself to liberate the oppressed and abused people of the world."

"Wow." Gwen was shocked that she couldn't understand anything; history was her weakness.

“Peter, I want to know more. Let’s find a time, somewhere else, in a park, not the place to talk about Captain Steve,” Li Qun whispered to Peter.

“Of course, Li Qun, you can come to my house. Uncle Ben will probably show you his Captain Steve collection.” Peter was very excited.

“Liqun, when are you going to finish reading 'How the Steel Was Tempered'? I want to read this book too; I can’t find it in bookstores,” Gwen whispered.

Li Qun nodded to Gwen.

Li Qun had already realized from Peter's brief introduction the reason why Captain Steve Rogers had disappeared from the public's memory.

It was an unseen hand of America that erased Captain Steve's current existence.

……

After having lunch at a Chinese restaurant, Liqun told his uncle that he was going to Peter's house in the afternoon.

“Go and say a few words to your parents, tell them what happened this morning,” the uncle said to Liqun.

"it is good."

Li Qun went up to the second floor, walked to the feng shui spot in the house, and looked up at the glass photo frame hanging on the wall.

Black and white photographs were displayed in glass frames, and an altar stood in front of them. Li Qun lit an incense stick and placed it in the incense burner on the altar, then silently reported to his parents in the black and white photographs.

Father, Liu Zhonghua.

Mother, Huang Furong.

After telling her parents what was on her mind, Li Qun went downstairs and went to Peter's house with Peter and Gwen.

……

It was Sunday, but Uncle Ben wasn't home; Aunt May was.

Uncle Ben is like a workaholic; he's always thinking about work.

"Hi, kids, good afternoon! Come in, come in!"

Aunt May opened the door for Peter and saw Li Qun and Gwen laughing happily behind him. She reached out and took Li Qun and Gwen's hands, one on each side.

Before April of this year, Peter had never brought a friend home.

Aunt May pulled Li Qun and Gwen to sit down on the sofa and whispered in Peter's ear.

"Peter, go and tidy up your room."

"Oh!"

Peter jumped upstairs in a flash, and Aunt May opened the refrigerator to pour chilled juice for Li Qun and Gwen.

Peter left home very excitedly this morning, and neither Ben nor I asked him where he was going.

"We agreed to go to the park for morning exercise this morning. It's the end of the semester, and this is to prepare for the physical education exam."

Liqun immediately came up with a reason for them.

You can't tell Aunt May that Peter went out on his bicycle early this morning to watch him fight with someone.

"Aunt May, is Uncle Ben working overtime today too?" Peter's head popped out from the stair railing.

“You know Peter, he’s a restless man,” Aunt May smiled.

“Can we go up to the attic and take a look?” Peter asked Aunt May.

Be careful.

"We will be careful."

"I'll go find the keys for you."

Uncle Ben's "big house" has a garage, a basement, and an attic. The most frequently used spaces in the house are the rooms on the first and second floors.

While waiting for Aunt May to find the attic key, Li Qun and Gwen went to visit Peter's room on the second floor.

Peter also has a computer in his room, but Li Qun's attention was drawn to the bookshelves in Peter's room. The books Peter was reading didn't seem like what a high school student would read.

Gwen, however, looked out the window of Peter's room.

Peter's room window faces the room on the second floor of the neighbor's house across the street. Judging from the pattern of the curtains in the opposite room, it is a girl's room.

“Peter, have you met your neighbor across the street?” Gwen asked Peter.

“Gwen, do you know who Peter’s neighbor is?” Li Qun laughed.

"Who?"

“It’s Mary Jane Watson, the red-haired girl in our grade,” Li Qun said.

“Girl, Liqun, I thought you would describe her as beautiful,” Peter said.

“We have different standards of beauty when it comes to girls,” Li Qun said to Peter.

"What do you think of Mary Jane's looks?" Peter asked Li Qun curiously.

"It's just average, nothing that attracts me."

“So what do you think of my appearance?” Gwen asked Liqun and Peter.

"..."

"Don't worry about me getting hurt, we're sincere with each other," Gwen said earnestly.

“Then I’ll tell you.” Peter’s eyes darted around.

"I want to laugh." Peter chuckled.

"What did I do that made you want to laugh?"

"I just feel like laughing."

“Peter, you laugh because you think something is funny, not because you feel like laughing.”

"What's the difference?"

Not only Peter couldn't understand what Gwen meant by that sentence, but even Li Qun didn't get it.

"Children, I've found the key." Aunt May stood at the door and waved the key in her hand to them.

Chapter 42 With great power comes great responsibility

Peter climbed the ladder and used the key to open the attic.

In the cramped triangular space of the attic, the wooden planks were covered with a carpet of fine dust, and Peter felt his nasal cavity filled with dust with every breath.

“Liqun, Gwen, you'd better not come up here. It'll definitely trigger your asthma.”

Li Qun and the others heard Peter making quite a commotion upstairs in the attic, and Aunt May thought that Peter had hit his head.

Peter, are you alright?

"Aunt Mei, I'm fine!"

Peter's legs appeared on the attic door, and he backed out of the attic, slowly taking down a box.