“I need you to clear enough time to learn dancing with me; you must reach a perfect level before the MV recording.” Finn immediately adopted the tone of a dictator who completely disregarded Andrew's actual situation, demanding that Andrew be at his beck and call. "Of course, a lot of time will also be needed to play the hamster later. After all, this reality show is a long-term program, I don't want the heart of the hamster to be replaced randomly."
Andrew's gaze fell upon the stack of money on the table, his heart stirred slightly at the words "long-term." Could it be.. was Finn using this as an excuse to give him money in a different way, so that he could continue to pay for his mother's medical treatment?
"Are you in?" Finn raised his chin slightly, his manner of acting high and mighty perfectly capturing that air of bullying others with his status.
".. Fine." Andrew really had no grounds to refuse Finn.
Finn watched with satisfaction as Andrew continued to endure in silence.
Based on his past experiences serving hosts, the more a person endures grievances, the more stunning their eventual outburst will be.
Finn couldn't pin all of his quotas on Harry Osborn, not to mention that Andrew Damon himself possessed superpowers, making him far too suitable for that kind of "secretly ruthlessly tormenting a bastard rich second generation, looting him clean, walking away unscathed" drama.
There isn't much time before the Halloween party, there are many things to do. You two go ahead and handle other matters first," Finn said, looking at Steve Montgomery and Matt. He thought that only by sending these two problem-solving friends away could he better break through Andrew's psychological defenses. "Andrew can just stay here and learn to dance with me. I'll have Joseph take you back later.
Finn had originally thought that his close friends, Steve Montgomery and Matt, would speak up to stop him, but instead, the two of them tacitly refrained from saying a single word of objection.
It's just a dance with Young Master Finn, it's no big deal. That hamster dance looks quite simple," Montgomery even secretly encouraged Andrew, whose face was written with "loss of all hope in life," still using a tone of disappointment. "Do you know how precious the opportunity to play a hamster by Finn's side is? Besides, the pay Finn gives every time is more than enough; only you would still make such a reluctant face.
Exactly, Andrew," Matt chimed in from the side. He knew all too well that his cousin was a reclusive and socially anxious person who always loved to hide behind the camera. "Just think, when the time comes, you'll have a hamster shell covering you, no one will be able to see your true self, right? Brave hamsters fear no difficulties!
Steve Montgomery and Matt left quite readily, even feeling that this was a great opportunity for Andrew to train himself.
How could Andrew not know how precious such an opportunity was in the eyes of others?
But clearly, this "luck" that others would long for had become nothing more than actual torture for him.
The massive mirror in the dance studio reflected Andrew's figure; he could clearly see his own limbs, which were completely unresponsive, every movement filled with a clumsy stiffness.
Andrew had lived for so many years in a life that was constantly oppressive and gloomy, like a creature perpetually curled up in a sunless corner. He had never imagined—
Could such a bright and positive activity actually break into his dark and gloomy life?
Such a bright and positive activity.
He looked at himself in the mirror, moving clumsily to Finn's rhythm, like a.. zombie that had just mutated and hadn't yet tamed its limbs, his movements stiff and ridiculous.
He was practically dancing with a face full of despair.
"Young Master Finn.." Andrew squeezed out a few words, his voice filled with frustration.
If he and Finn stood together, even with a shell, he was clearly too gloomy for a hamster.
"What's wrong?" Finn raised an eyebrow, his tone carrying a hint of deliberate nonchalance, clearly asking a question he already knew the answer to.
Andrew felt a surge of frustration in his heart, he even wanted to speak plainly to Finn—
If you can't stand this face of mine that looks somewhat like your brother's, you can give me a beating; I wouldn't mind.
But as the words reached the tip of his tongue, the memory of the Osborn brothers' fierce confrontation here last time, the way Finn had become withdrawn at the dinner table afterward, forced him to swallow them back down. Andrew convinced himself once again that dancing wasn't such a big deal, especially since he was wearing a mask, if Young Master Finn felt any better because of it..
Andrew forced himself to endure another hour in the dance studio, finally welcoming a savior—
Are you.. learning to dance?" Peter opened the door and looked at the two furry hamsters in the dance studio. "Have the mascot suits arrived already?
Peter, you're here?" Finn excitedly spun around to show Peter the newly arrived hamster mascot suits, "What do you think?
It's quite cute, the texture looks very good." Looking at the energetic Finn, Peter couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile, then his gaze shifted toward the other hamster standing stiffly, "Is this.. Andrew?
"It's me." The wilted hamster slowly pulled off the hood, revealing a face drenched in sweat. The bangs in front of his forehead were soaked with perspiration, clinging to his pale skin, his eyes were filled with desolation, as if all his vitality had been drained away by Finn.
Peter: ".." It seems I'm still too late.
"How's the learning going?" Peter asked hesitantly.
"We'll perform a dance for you!" Finn immediately commanded Andrew with excitement.
After watching Andrew's forced performance, Spider-Man could only express one thing: he saw a sense of the harder one works, the more heartbreaking it becomes.
Finn looked energetic, while Andrew looked as if he could barely stand.
"Actually, I have an idea." Looking at these two with such a stark contrast, Peter couldn't help but speak up.
"What?" Finn asked in a lighthearted tone.
"Shall I dance with you?" As soon as Peter's voice fell, Andrew, who was beside him, suddenly snapped his head up.
Even through the thick hamster mascot suit, one could clearly feel a sudden, flickering spark of life erupting within the eyes of the young man inside.
Even at this moment, Spider-Man seemed to hear Andrew's series of inner pleas: "Save me, save me, save me."
“Even though I can't dance, I am quite agile.” Peter, of course, also knew of Finn's intention to make things difficult for Andrew, so he naturally intended to stop him. "I think these movements shouldn't be too difficult for me, I can even do some.. higher-difficulty moves? Maybe they'll be even more eye-catching?"
Finn hesitated slightly.
"Let me try." Peter walked straight to Andrew's side.
Andrew cast a grateful look toward Peter.
Without a moment's delay, Andrew stripped off his hamster mascot suit at top speed, then, with weak and sluggish steps, slowly shuffled toward the most remote corner of the dance studio.
The young man huddled in the corner, looking exactly like a mushroom that had been completely wilted by the scorching forty-degree heat.
Having finally found a patch of shade, he curled himself into a ball, pulled a camera from his pocket, quietly held it up to film Finn and Peter.
He looked as if he had finally escaped back to his comfort zone, his entire aura relaxing as well.
Finn and Peter looked at the "mushroom" in the corner: ".."
Peter, dressed in a hamster mascot suit, then began to demonstrate a series of agile and robust movements to Finn, even performing a flexible 360-degree mid-air kick. Despite being wrapped in a clumsy mascot suit, his movements remained clean and sharp—the kind of high-difficulty maneuvers that Andrew could never have imagined.
In the corner, Andrew watched with wide, stunned eyes.
—That's right, a brave hamster fears no difficulties!
—It's simply so you, you little rat!
"You're amazing!" Finn also clapped excitedly, "But.." He had his own Misery Value plan.
"Can't I partner up with you?" Peter looked at Finn with an expectant gaze.
"Of course not." Finn shook his head hurriedly.
[A big-shot Spider-Man is playing along with me as a little hamster! How much face will I gain!]
"If you teach me, I'll learn very quickly," Peter said, pressing his advantage.
Finn subconsciously turned his head toward Andrew in the corner, his voice sounding somewhat hesitant, "Then, Andrew.."
Peter is just perfect for it!" Andrew's hand holding the camera trembled slightly for fear that Finn would change his mind, so he quickly followed up, trying his best to make it sound like a great idea for the show's effect, "Even for the music video and future shows, Peter should be the partner.
Finn." Peter looked at Finn earnestly; he was, of course, also aware of Finn's people-pleasing personality. "I'll have plenty of time to play hamster with you, I'm just as excited about this show as you are.
Finn: ".." [Do the math yourself—how many things do you have scheduled every single day now?]
"Alright." But seeing Peter looking so serious, Finn still couldn't bring himself to refuse.
Andrew finally breathed a deep sigh of relief.
Looking at the two lively hamsters on the screen.
—There, now it finally feels right.
Standing together, these two were practically the embodiment of the top two spots on any fitness leaderboard.
Living-Dead Andrew: ".." You two really have such a heavy sense of being alive.
Chapter 30: Naive ° Idiot
Peter was truly active, especially after putting on the shell.
His activity level had practically upgraded to a whole new level.
Even Andrew could see that, driven by the novelty of the mascot suit, Peter hadn't been still for a single second since he started dressing up as a hamster.
Finn couldn't help but wonder if it was because Peter was so used to wearing the Spider-Man suit that he had long ago developed the habit of swinging through New York the moment he put on a "shell." In any case, whether it was a shell or not, Finn even felt that as long as a web-shooter were installed on this hamster mascot suit, Peter would still be able to swing through the skyscrapers just the same.
"Spider-Man Retires! The All-New Hamster-Man Makes His Grand Debut!" Finn even added a dramatic, flashy sound effect in his mind to accompany the grand entrance.
Peter: ".." It wasn't really necessary either.
Karen, the leader of [Pulse Lab], arrived to begin teaching in the evening. Finn and Peter took the opportunity to show Karen their latest hamster plushie suits; Karen, of course, had been expecting them for a long time since Finn had mentioned them so often.
That's very interesting." Karen also learned that Finn would be filming the "The Advancing Hamsters" music video at the Halloween party, she immediately gave her approval, "I'll have the members of the dance troupe come along as well.
"That's wonderful!" This good news naturally left Finn overjoyed. After all, [Pulse Lab] was an internationally renowned dance troupe; the prestige and quality of having the entire group join the music video would be on a completely different level.
"That person is—" Karen's gaze swept across the room, suddenly landing on the figure huddled in the corner.
"My dance partner," Finn explained.
"You're joining us too?" Karen looked at Andrew with some hesitation, extending an invitation.
"I.. need to rest for a bit," Andrew said weakly.
Finn saw that Andrew seemed truly exhausted from being tossed around by him, so he did not force him to do anything else. Andrew had said he needed to rest for a bit, then he quietly shrank into a corner, trying his best to minimize his presence as he held the camera to film Finn and the others practicing their dance.
It wasn't until the camera's battery was completely drained and the screen went dark that he quietly moved the device aside to charge it. After that, Andrew sat quietly in the corner, still maintaining that look of trying his best to be inconspicuous, for fear of being noticed by Finn again.
Karen didn't realize there was someone sitting in the corner until she was about to leave, for a moment, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
—He almost felt like this young man was a human camera tripod.
"I have an idea." Seeing that the Hamster Plan had failed, Finn suddenly came up with another idea.
Taking a deep breath, Andrew: ".." Come on, fire away.
In Finn's view, after his series of deliberate provocations, Andrew must have grown utterly fed up with him—much like his previous beloved Host, who, when facing that arrogant, entitled rich second-generation brat, could only feign compliance due to his power, while in his heart, he didn't want to stay for even a single second. In that case, he might as well..
"Come and film me," Finn said.
"??" Andrew Damon stood frozen on the spot, unable to react for a moment.
"It's just social media. I usually only post a few things casually." Finn was actually more active in other people's videos; he preferred managing his drawing accounts, so he didn't post much on his own account as Young Master Osborn.
[Andrew had already disliked him to begin with, now he was forced to hold a camera every single day, filming that "obnoxious" face of his incessantly—wasn't that the ultimate form of torture?]
"Of course, you have to film me in a very likable way. Ideally, like.. Harry Osborn—noble, handsome, smart, possessing a certain aura," Finn said intentionally. He insisted on being beautified by the person he hated most, even though he was clearly just a foolish second-generation rich kid, pretentiously acting like his brother's elite counterpart.
[It would be the perfect opportunity to gather material for Andrew, allowing him to capture my most foolish side—especially that obnoxious look of his, acting all high and mighty and giving orders recklessly just because he has money.]
[After that, I'll just hand my account directly to Andrew, so he can expose my scandalous material in the future.]
Give me a copy of your class schedule. Aside from your class times, you are to report to me." Finn continued to maintain his deliberately harsh demeanor, not forgetting to use the key element of financial humiliation, "Of course, I won't skimp on your pay.