But Finn was not flustered in the slightest; in just three days, he had tackled the loopholes and accumulated difficulties left behind by the New Energy Base one by one. Not only did he restart all the long-stagnant projects, but he also personally finalized clear milestones and a detailed annual plan, as if he were planning a party. With Harry's support, he even expanded the scale of the New Energy Base, fully demonstrating the genius genes and extraordinary execution power ingrained in the Osborn family.
What shocked the higher-ups even more was that they also saw it in this Young Master—
Saw the inherited sense of oppression that belonged to the Osborn family.
Clearly, Harry and Finn were polar opposites—one cold and the other passionate, their personalities seemingly worlds apart.
Yet they both possessed the exact same talent—
It can make the person on the other side instantly fall into self-doubt.
Harry Osborn's sense of pressure carried the arrogance of a superior. Every time subordinates came to report the various difficulties encountered in the current progress, he would mock you in a contemptuous tone for being unable to handle such trivial matters, making one feel utterly humiliated.
But Finn Osborn was different.
The young man tilted his head and looked at you with a frown, his face wearing an expression of pure, utter incomprehension, as if he truly could not understand how such a trivial question could have caused such a long delay. He didn't utter a single word of mockery, but as you looked into his clear green eyes and saw the undisguised confusion within them, the sense of shame welling up in your heart was even greater than when facing Harry's cold sarcasm.
Of those who could step through the gates of the Osborn Group, which one was not an elite in their industry?
But even for this group of chosen ones, when they clashed with the brilliance of these Osborn brothers, they couldn't help but mutter to themselves.
—Just what kind of brains do the Osborn family members have?
Even Young Master Osborn has personally joined the fray, causing everyone in the entire project base to get caught up in the competition as well.
The first person to be crushed by the competition was—Andrew.
Andrew still remembered back then, when Finn said to him, "Listen to me carefully, there is nothing about me that is inferior to Harry Osborn, naturally, there is nothing about you that is inferior to Harry's secretary."
To be honest, Andrew Damon didn't take those words to heart at all back then.
But Finn's current actions were truly putting him directly on the grill.
At the same time, it also abruptly hoisted him to the same height as Miss Felicia.
While Felicia was standing on a high-rise building, he was perched on a utility pole filled with high-voltage lines.
This feeling is like—
You were inexplicably recruited into a university.
The university leaped into the top ten in the country through its own efforts, yet you clearly aren't anything yet.
What do you mean, "nothing is inferior"? He is inferior in every single way!
Andrew was frantic and anxious.
At least those corporate elites could understand Finn's words and follow Finn's instructions; now, Andrew couldn't even understand the words coming out of Finn's mouth, it had reached a point where his scalp felt numb. What he was recording on camera was no longer a daily vlog, but a science fiction movie.
—The brain of the Osborn family against the brain of an ordinary high school student was nothing short of a dimensional strike.
—Help, he can't exactly go and get a new brain right now!
Moreover, Finn now spends entire days at the New Energy Base, in order to graduate from high school, Andrew can only follow Finn all day on weekends. Fortunately, Max can follow Finn all the time, since Max is a high-level electronic engineer with a good brain, has also worked at the Osborn Group for fifteen years and understands the internal workings of the group well, he can be even more helpful to Finn.
Even Andrew couldn't help but think that he and Max should just swap roles.
—He could be the bodyguard, Max could be the secretary.
Now that Andrew's mother had also been arranged by Finn to receive treatment in the hospital, logically, Andrew should have had a more relaxed mindset. But Andrew did not; he was studying intensely with great tension. While Finn and Max were on a business trip at the New Energy Base, Andrew was either attending classes at school or taking the Secretary Mandatory Course arranged by Noah outside of school.
Andrew never thought about the rat race, but at this moment, he truly felt like a mushroom being forced to do crunches.
And the only way a mushroom could ever learn to do crunches would be by being placed on a charcoal grill to be roasted.
—Very good, this metaphor is far too fitting for him.
"Do you want to find another secretary?" Andrew finally couldn't help but ask.
"Why? Do you not want to do it anymore?" Finn looked at him strangely.
No." Fearing he might be misunderstood by Finn, Andrew frowned and explained in a panic, "I just feel that I cannot assist you the way Miss Felicia does.
It's fine, you just need to do what you're good at," Finn said indifferently. "I'm very good at things that require using my brain.
"But—" Andrew felt that Finn could clearly choose many more people who were more qualified and capable than him.
The videos you post get a lot of traffic; I can tell you put a lot of heart into them. If you like and are good at doing this, then just keep doing it; don't worry about anything else." Finn said to Andrew with a smile, comforting him, "Don't worry, someone is helping me.
"Who?" Andrew looked at Finn, puzzled.
Finn tilted his head back, revealing an exceptionally bright smile: "My split mind."
Trembling Andrew: ".." I'm even more worried now.
Andrew always felt uneasy in his heart; he was afraid that Finn's mental illness would get even worse. Regarding Finn's mental illness, Andrew had no way to communicate with Montgomery or Matt, so he could only tell Peter about his concerns.
It doesn't matter." Peter naturally knew that Finn had such a great helper as System PP, so he didn't think much of it. "Having a schizophrenia that can respond to you, encourage you, brainstorm with you anytime and anywhere—isn't that actually quite good?
".." Andrew's eyes suddenly widened, staring at Peter—who had always been his pillar of mental support—with pupils trembling in shock.
So—you aren't normal either.
————————
To put it simply, this novel is going to be much longer than I imagined, the first half has come to an end now.
The second half is about to start falling in love with Spider-Man~
Additionally, superheroes will be making their appearances one after another.
I have planted quite a few subtle details previously, which will be revealed and unfolded later. There will be some angst, but overall, it is a sweet story.
Finally, in case my little reader angels are worried about plot twists, let me reiterate:
System PP is a real system, but Finn also truly has a mental illness debuff.
Everything revolves around the fact that Finn is a former system, while PP is a rookie system.
When Finn himself begins to feel confused and starts to doubt this.. that will be the time for his next episode [Spoiler Alert].
Chapter 57 Sunrise°Cute
When Finn received Peter's call at five in the morning—
Everyone was stunned.
It wasn't even dawn yet, Finn stared at the jumping [Peter Parker] on the screen, momentarily thinking he was still trapped in a dream.
He couldn't think of any reason why Peter would call him at five o'clock.
But it didn't feel like it would be good news.. Surely, it couldn't be that aliens are invading New York, right?
"Peter?" Finn answered the phone cautiously.
"Sorry for waking you up." The young man's voice on the phone was very soft, carrying an apologetic tone.
"It's okay, what is it?" Finn sat up while clutching the quilt, feeling quite nervous to be honest, fearing that Peter, in his identity as Spider-Man, would say something about the Earth being on the verge of destruction and tell him to run away immediately.
"Want to go watch the sunrise?" Peter asked.
Finn: "?"
Finn: "!!"
Didn't you say you wanted to go see the sunrise after you sprained your ankle at home?" Peter's voice continued, carrying a clear hint of laughter, "I checked, the sunrise today is at about 6:31. If you want to go, we should head out by 5:45 at the latest.
I'm going! Of course I'm going!" Finn jumped up from the bed in excitement; he hadn't even expected Peter to still remember this. "Wait for me, I'm going to change my clothes right now! Where are you now?
There was no response on the other end of the phone, followed immediately by a few light knocks against the window.
Finn suddenly turned his head.
In the shadows outside the window, Peter was hanging from the windowsill with one hand, half of his body leaning into the darkness where the morning light had not yet reached, smiling at him with squinted eyes. The identity of Spider-Man had long ceased to be a secret, they had tacitly agreed not to expose one another; now, meeting like this by climbing through a window felt entirely natural.
"You're actually here already!" Finn immediately opened the window with excitement.
Peter nodded with a smile; he knew Finn would be in complete agreement with him.
It's only 4°C outside right now, wear more layers." Peter nimbly flipped into the room and then hurriedly closed the window, fearing the cold night wind outside would freeze Finn, who was still wearing thin pajamas, "Put on your gloves, too.
Okay." Finn's green eyes brightened as he stared intently at Peter. "Where are we going? And how are we getting there?
This spontaneous plan to go watch the sunrise made Finn especially excited.
It was like having a handful of sweet popping candy, crackling and exploding in his heart.
"We'll go to Coney Island, I'll take you there on my motorcycle." Peter did have a motorcycle; it was a birthday gift from Aunt May on his eighteenth birthday. A motorcycle or web-swinging were the only ways Peter traveled these days.
That's so cool!" Finn's eyes widened even further. The thought of Spider-Man riding a motorcycle to take him to see the sunrise made his heart pound with excitement. "I have a motorcycle suit! Wearing that with a motorcycle will definitely look super cool! Just wait for me here for a moment.
Fearing he would wake Mr, Mrs. Wilson, Finn tiptoed to the cloakroom to rummage for that motorcycle suit from his memory. Upon returning, Finn even made a point of showing it to Peter, who was sitting in the armchair, saying, "I originally wanted to wear this suit while riding a motorcycle; you know I have a motorcycle in my garage too. But during that time, Noah happened to see news about someone having a motorcycle accident on the highway, he refused to let me ride a motorcycle out, no matter what I said."
"Noah has always been very protective of you," Peter said with an understanding smile.
I know, but it's such a shame. Peter, you can ride my motorcycle too. I sold several, but I still have one super cool motorcycle left." While speaking, Finn began unbuttoning his pajamas in front of Peter, his movements for changing clothes so natural and unguarded, "Elias also gave me one for my birthday.
Peter's earlobes instantly turned bright red.
The young man could hardly process what Finn was saying. He hurriedly averted his gaze, feeling the temperature in his cheeks steadily rising. To pretend as if nothing were wrong, he pulled the soft, sunken kitten in the bed directly into his arms, feigning a very serious expression as he looked down to pet it.
Emily is really well-behaved," Finn continued to lament to Peter. "Her schedule is almost the same as mine now; she sleeps with me every day, or goes to sleep even earlier than I do. She sleeps with Catherine in the afternoon. Cats really can sleep for a long time every day.
"Host, do not change your clothes in front of others." System PP's electronic voice rang out again at the opportune moment, carrying a hint of helplessness in its reminder.
Why?" Finn asked back in his mind, feeling puzzled as he pulled on the sleeves of his motorcycle jacket. "What difference does it make in front of Peter? I've changed many times in front of Noah before.
System PP: 【..】It's different, it's different. Some people see you as a younger brother, but others—
Although Peter could not hear the voice of System PP, he could guess the general idea from Finn's rhetorical question, his heart was racing with anxiety. He even felt that System PP, who acted like a bystander, had probably seen through the thoughts he kept hidden in his heart, unable to speak them aloud.
Spider-Man just didn't know when System PP would expose his thoughts alongside Finn.
Finn zipped up his motorcycle jacket, turned to look at Peter, who was still "concentrating" on petting the cat, walked over with light steps.
"Your ears are so red." Finn looked at Peter's reddened ear tips.
Peter's Adam's apple bobbed as he tilted his head back and opened his mouth, not knowing how to explain himself.
“Is it because it's cold outside?” Before Peter could answer, Finn reached his own conclusion. He leaned forward slightly and reached out with both hands, gently covering Peter's ears. The soft warmth from the young man's palms transferred delicately, carrying a hint of apology, "Have you been waiting for me downstairs for a long time? Your ears are red from the cold."
Spider-Man froze on the sofa, even holding his breath.
The warmth from the palm spread through his ears and across his entire body like an electric current.