It's not that I don't believe in love, it's just that I believe five million won't lie to me.
"Stop asking. If you keep asking, I'll break your hand."..
Finn looked on, suddenly his eyes lit up as he had a new inspiration.
System PP's alarm rang wildly in his mind.
[Host, it's impossible for Peter Parker to break up with you for five million dollars.]
“And what if I add more money?” Finn asked earnestly.
System PP: 【??】
Finn posted an anonymous poll directly online—
[Suppose you don't want to hurt the person who likes you, but you have a reason why you must refuse, that reason is something you cannot say out loud. The only thing you can offer right now is money. You don't want him to hate you, but you want him to give up on you completely while still remaining friends and maintaining a good, decent impression.. Is one hundred million US dollars enough for him?]
System PP was completely stunned: 【??】How much did you say?
It's like this." Finn explained solemnly. His father in heaven truly had been constantly chasing him around to feed him; he was genuinely afraid that he would achieve nothing and starve to death. "I don't have that much cash on hand right now, but I've checked, my father left me a marriage fund—a whopping one hundred million US dollars.
“Peter Parker and I can get married, then get divorced, then I can cash out and give the money to Peter Parker.”
System PP was dazed, unable to recover for a long time: [Host, you.. you're already calculating marriage?]
The Host's bizarre train of thought left even the System in awe.
—You really are too outrageous.
Even though getting married and then getting divorced sounds absurd." Finn hesitated a little himself, but when he thought of that number, his tone grew a bit more firm, "But it's one hundred million dollars! With that kind of money, who would still cling to a relationship? Isn't that the best compensation for Peter?
System PP: [..] It seems I've actually been weirdly persuaded by this twisted logic.
An hour later, Finn checked the anonymous online votes again, clearly, 100% of everyone had voted one hundred million US dollars.
The comments section was even more lively:
[One hundred million dollars to maintain a friendship? Never mind that, I wouldn't mind becoming father and son.]
[I'll perform a dignified exit right then and there, offering gentle blessings and never looking back.]
【Forget a hundred million, I'll take a thousand dollars!】
Is the person asking this question mentally ill? I don't believe you have a hundred million, I certainly don't believe you'd just casually give a hundred million to someone else.
Is he so poor that he only has money left? Just how much does he dislike the other person that he's willing to throw away a hundred million dollars just to ensure a dignified breakup..
System PP looked at these comments, then looked at Finn, who was thinking with a serious and solemn expression, fell into a long period of complete withdrawal.
He had completely realized—
When Finn engages in external conflict, he exhausts others to death.
When it comes to internal friction, he exhausts System PP to death.
“Is it really not possible?” Finn asked his system earnestly. “Peter likes me, I don't want to reject him directly; we could spend a pleasant time together. When it comes time to break up, I'll give him a hundred million dollars so he can forget all the pain and have a fresh start. Peter is young, smart, serious, brave, sincere, he's also Spider-Man. If I provide him with an additional hundred million in assets, wouldn't that just be the glorious state of reaching the pinnacle of life?”
“While it's true that money can't buy everything, having money really does make you happy!"
[Host, do you like Peter Parker?] System PP finally asked the core question.
What counts as liking someone?" Finn was stumped by the question, falling into a state of confusion. "I like many people. I like Harry, I like Noah, I like Elias.. I like all my friends, I like the Wilsons, I like you too, PP.
Finn's mind grew increasingly muddled, until finally, he just disregarded everything and sent several text messages to Peter—
Get married?
My father left me a wedding fund of two hundred million US dollars.
I really, really want to get this money.
Don't worry, no matter what happens next, I will split one hundred million US dollars with you.
Nervous and Anxious · System PP: [..] Host, you aren't having an episode, are you?
“Peter is a very sincere person; he will definitely be angry when he sees this information,” Finn continued to think to himself, his mind racing. “He might feel like I am using money to trample on his sincerity, also trampling on the sanctity of emotions and marriage. He will think it's unreasonable of me to say such things, he will also feel that I am blinded by greed and using him for a marriage fund.. If he is disappointed because of this, wouldn't this count as a way to make him give up on this relationship?”
If he can truly accept it, then when we divorce, I can just give him the entire hundred-million marriage fund, can't I?" Finn continued to calculate, feeling that this plan was both flexible and strategic. "No, wait, if we divorce then, he can take half of my wealth, right? If I work even harder during this time, Peter can get even more.
System PP: 【..】Is this even how a normal human thinks?
Finn waited anxiously, but Peter never replied to his message.
It wasn't until Spider-Man knocked on his window.
Finn was a bit surprised. Why did Peter go out of his way to change into the Spider-Man suit just to find him?
"Want to go out for a stroll?" the little Spider-Man asked softly.
Although Finn didn't understand, he still nodded.
Then—he lay on Spider-Man's back once again, weaving through the sea of neon lights in the middle of the night in New York. The evening breeze, carrying the scent of the city night, ruffled Finn's hair, making his thoughts increasingly chaotic.
【He must have seen my text message, so why hasn't he mentioned it?】
Is he angry? So he's wearing the Spider-Man suit on purpose?
Is he planning to punish me, a scumbag who tramples on feelings, in his capacity as Peter Parker's friend?
What are you going to do? Drag me into some remote alleyway and give me a beating?
"Is the iron fist of justice finally coming for me? Have I finally received the villain's script?"..
System PP couldn't help but call Finn's thoughts back: [Host, stop daydreaming!]
But Finn relished the feeling of being close to Peter at this moment.
Every time they touched, he felt an immense sense of peace and warmth, as if he had finally found.. the home he had always been searching for.
As the distance from home grew with every shuttle through the high altitude, Finn's heart gradually settled.
He felt neither fear nor panic. As his gaze swept across the lights flowing through New York, he suddenly remembered the words Peter had said so earnestly on the night of his birthday, when Peter had lit up an entire tunnel of stars for him in the hallway.
[The probability of two strangers meeting on Earth and having their lives intersect is approximately one in ten million to one in a billion.]
It was as if Finn only understood those words at this moment.
Even though it was such a minuscule chance, he happened to encounter it anyway.
And what was even more improbable and unbelievable was—Peter Parker liked him.
Such an opportunity is truly too small..
It was so small that it felt as if Finn had accompanied the Host through a hundred lifetimes just to exchange them for this single moment of luck.
If he missed this opportunity, he would never meet Peter Parker again.
He clearly knew what he wanted to do, he clearly knew what his goal was, he clearly knew that he shouldn't get caught up in emotional entanglements, but as soon as he thought of the word "refusal," Finn's chest felt inexplicably heavy.
[Misery Value detected rising, Misery Value +0.5%]
Finn: [Am I torturing myself?]
It wasn't that he had hurt someone else, but rather that he was trapped by his own heart, which was lagging far behind.
His heart had been drifting aimlessly in the high sky, as if it didn't know where to go. But now, being carried by Peter across the neon lights of all of New York, he felt as if he were facing himself honestly for the first time—
He would hope that his heart would beat within this body for just a little bit longer.
He hoped this period of time could last a little longer.
He liked it very much, also envied.. the life of Finn Osborn.
If he were originally Finn Osborn—
That would be so wonderful.
[Misery Value detected rising, Misery Value +0.5%]
Even at this moment, Finn suddenly thought of a little poem he liked very much:
Do not weep at my grave; I am not there, I do not sleep.
【I am the myriad winds that blow through the mortal world, I am the diamond light shimmering upon the snow.】
【I am the warm sun over the ripe valleys, I am the gentle autumn rain.】
【When you wake in the silence of the early morning, I am the birds circling, that light and upward flight.】..
At this moment, Finn seemed to suddenly grasp one of the lines, quietly rewriting it in his heart to belong only to this very moment:
【I am one of the myriad winds that have blown through the mortal world.】
[But right now, I only want to stop by your side.]
Even though he had been thinking about how to leave and how to wrap things up, his subconscious and his body had made their choice even earlier and more honestly than his rational mind.
Reluctant to refuse, even more reluctant to let go.
Although he has a people-pleasing personality, he is not the type of person who refuses nothing just to please others.
Finn's arm around Peter's waist tightened unconsciously, bit by bit.
If he could never say, "I don't like you";
Then essentially—
Is it "I like you"?
Until Spider-Man led Finn back to the secret base where they had come for his last birthday, then, under the young man's surprised gaze, he directly removed his mask.
In the quiet evening breeze, Peter flashed a bright smile at Finn, his youthful and handsome face glowing.
“You—" Finn stared at Peter in shock.
"Haven't you known I was Spider-Man for a long time already?" Peter asked back with a smile.
".. So you did know." Finn replied, stunned.
"Yes, I know," Peter nodded.
Finn glitched again.
"Why bring up marriage to me? Is it to get that marriage fund?" Peter was naturally shocked when he saw the message; he felt it was both somewhat laughable and heartbreaking, feeling as if he had pushed Finn to the point where his system was starting to malfunction.
Finn nodded hesitantly.
Then why don't you ask someone else?" Peter wasn't angry; instead, he asked back with a frank smile, "When you ask me this question, does it mean that I am someone special to you?