If anyone asks if we were dating, I'll just say I don't know.
When the time comes, you can advance or retreat; even if you truly break up, you won't have to worry, because you can just say you were never dating to begin with.
“How are you going to edit this?” Although Andrew didn't participate in this spin-off variety show, as a member of the Avengers, he had naturally come along as well. He turned to ask Anthony, "One look and it's obvious—those two are definitely dating."
“……” Anthony frowned silently as he watched Peter and Finn, who were stuck together.
Even though they were in a duo.. it shouldn't be like this, constantly pulling him along without letting go.
"Believe it or not, if you moved the levels from your first and second themed competitions here, Peter could carry Finn through the entire course on his back." Andrew naturally felt that these little challenges designed by humans would be effortless for Spider-Man.
I believe it. So where on earth did Finn dig up this kind of athlete?" Anthony found it inconceivable. The third themed competition hadn't even started yet, Anthony was already certain that Peter would become the only triple crown winner in his show. "The previous Max was the same, able to generate power from his entire body; it was simply too ridiculous.
Andrew: ".." I have superpowers too.
The atmosphere at the recording was fantastic. After two themed matches, everyone had become familiar faces among the challengers from the Human camp. Once the recording ended, the participants didn't leave right away; instead, they gathered around Finn to ask about his Christmas plans. The Halloween Party Finn had organized previously had been such a massive sensation online that it seemed unlikely he would do nothing for Christmas.
“I really haven't thought about it.” Finn truly hadn't thought about it; the Osborn Group and Rat Rise alone had filled up his life, not to mention that he now had to date Peter every single night.
"What are you thinking?" Finn asked, looking at Peter.
Peter was a bit surprised to be suddenly called upon, as he had always followed the precious schedule of Young Master Osborn.
"Didn't you say you were going to spend Christmas with me?" Finn asked candidly again.
As soon as Finn said this, the friends around them immediately started jeering, each one wearing a knowing, smitten smile.
"Maybe.. I could go somewhere fun?" Peter Parker did indeed have some ideas, but he didn't actually have that many. After all, Finn Osborn's schedule was always packed, Peter Parker also had to consider the thoughts of Harry Osborn and Noah Hart.
“Then let's go together!” Anthony said immediately. "We haven't been out to have fun in a long time."
"Is that so? Why don't you ask Peter? Does Peter want you to be a third wheel?" Montgomery asked with a laugh.
Everyone around them burst into laughter again.
I don't care." Anthony was determined this time, his eyes staring intently at Finn, still carrying a hint of lingering resentment. "You said back then that you wanted to be my Hamster Partner, but then you turned around and went to inherit the family business, leaving me to shoulder the burden of the Hamster Planet all by myself. Now that your brother has finally come back to work, you're turning around and trying to brush me off with talk of dating?
Andrew, you'll definitely be going since you're Finn's secretary, Finn, your gold-medal bodyguard will definitely be going too, right? Since they can both go, why shouldn't I?" Anthony had been driven to distraction every day by the show Rat Rise, he needed to take a vacation during Christmas to give himself a chance to catch his breath. "No, no matter what, we are spending Christmas together.
"Peter, if you don't agree, I'll expose you during the third themed stage," Anthony threatened, narrowing his eyes at Peter, already beginning to abuse his authority.
"I'm fine with anything," Peter said amusedly.
Actually, Peter felt it didn't matter much whether it was a group of people celebrating Christmas or just the two of them. Peter simply wanted to spend this first Christmas of their relationship with Finn.
Then how about we go to the West Coast for fun?" Finn suggested casually, thinking that it felt like it had been a long time since he had hung out with his best friends, "New York is getting colder and colder, while the weather on the West Coast is much clearer—sunshine, coastlines, beaches..
Beside him, Andrew was still silently calculating the cost of booking flight tickets when he heard Finn continue speaking:
When the time comes, we'll just borrow a plane from the Osborn Group to go have some fun.
Andrew: ".." As expected of Young Master Finn, such a lavish way to speak.
Since Young Master Osborn had spoken such words, almost everyone enthusiastically agreed, then they began planning what they could do for fun on the West Coast.
Speaking of which, Peter, haven't you already received your offer from Columbia University?" Since Claudy, a student from the same school as Peter, was also present, the conversation was suddenly pulled back to Peter from the scattered topics of the group. "Young Master Finn is also taking a gap year; are you two planning to attend Columbia University together next year?
Finn froze for a moment upon hearing this; he hadn't heard Peter mention this matter before.
Finn Osborn had only taken a one-year gap year before choosing a university, but in just a few months, Finn had already accomplished a great deal. Now, Finn had risen to become a top-tier celebrity and had also become a recognized leader of the Osborn Group, just like his brother Harry Osborn, but no one truly believed that Finn would actually give up his offers and skip university when the time came.
Peter didn't dare bring up university to Finn, because this matter.. was clearly too far in the future.
College? I really hadn't thought about it.
Finn really hadn't thought about something like going to university; his choice to take a gap year at that time was, of course, because—
He felt that one year was more than enough time for him to complete the Misery Value tasks.
But, plans change.
And to be honest, Finn felt that with his current 88.09% Misery Value progress, he didn't even know.. how much longer he could hold on.
Finn even felt—
He wasn't even trying to accumulate Misery Value right now; he was clearly doing everything in his power to avoid it.
I think I used to go to school too?" Finn couldn't clearly remember his school days, but he had accompanied the Host to school many times, had even passed cheat sheets to many different Hosts. "I never thought I'd actually have the chance to attend university.
Hearing Finn's inner thoughts, Peter was a bit surprised.
—The system.. so there are actually schools to attend?
—A system school? Once the training is complete and the certification is obtained, can the system then be distributed to a Host to start working?
Spider-Man's mind even began to fantasize about a bunch of robot-like systems sitting in rows in seats, quietly listening to the Main Brain's lecture. Finn would definitely be the most well-behaved and most proactive one among them, a little system baby who memorized every single "System Code of Conduct."
We'll see when the time comes." Finn hadn't even figured out how to have a peaceful breakup with Peter yet, let alone think about things like going to university hand-in-hand with him. He turned back to Peter and asked, "Are you sure about Columbia University?
Of course," Anthony interjected jokingly. "Peter is your boyfriend now; why would he choose a university that isn't different from yours? Besides, Columbia University is a prestigious school to begin with; why would he reject the offer?
“My family is in New York, so I didn't want to leave anyway,” Peter explained quickly, fearing he might pressure Finn. “Before I met Finn, I had already decided which schools to apply to. Columbia University was always my first choice.”
If it weren't for Finn, Peter might have spent some time weighing his options between the offers.
There is no need to consider it now.
“I've got some special gossip for you.” Claudy loved joining in on the excitement and gossiping. With the atmosphere just right and no other topics to jump into, he leaned in and winked to draw everyone's attention. "There's a woman outside the school who specifically went to the high school gate to wait for and chase after Peter. She's several years older than Peter, she's a very attractive older sister type!"
"Claudy!" Peter was so shocked he nearly choked; he never expected Claudy to suddenly blurt this out.
It's normal, it's normal." Steve Montgomery immediately laughed to smooth things over, his tone teasing. "Everyone knows by now that Peter Parker is a Diamond High School Boy, right? He's handsome and has a great personality; isn't it normal for people to pursue him?
Peter's appearance was indeed not like Finn Osborn's, who possessed that kind of exquisite, unforgettable young nobleman image.
But now, the public's keen eyes jokingly say that Peter possesses an—Innocent First Love Face.
Especially after the news of Peter Parker's widespread secret crushes broke out, Noah, in addition to dressing up Finn Osborn, also dressed up Peter Parker as well. After all, everyone was discussing Peter Parker and Finn Osborn together now; even if Peter Parker was just a high school student, he could not afford to fall behind in terms of aura or appearance, as that would lower Finn Osborn's value.
Just like how the temperature in the recording studio was a bit high this time, everyone was wearing custom short-sleeved shirts from 【METAL HUMAN】. Noah had noticed early on that Peter had beautiful muscle lines, so he specifically paired them with a pair of armbands, which perfectly highlighted his lean and attractive arm muscles, clearly serving as a major bonus.
Noah was quite satisfied, even teasing himself about becoming the little hamster's god-like godfather.
Besides, a high school boy with a physique like Peter's, who has such explosive stamina, is naturally very popular with girls," Matt agreed. "It's called boyfriend material.
There's that too?" Anthony was actually surprised. "Doesn't the whole internet know you have an open crush on Finn? Your sexual orientation has been exposed to the entire web, your ideal partner is top-tier like the Young Master Osborn, yet there are actually older women pursuing you at the high school gates? Could it be they think you can't get Finn, so they're planning to take advantage of the opportunity to provide you with the warmth of a caring older sister?
Peter was completely numb.
Everyone began to get curious about his gossip, scrambling to ask him exactly what was going on.
What broke him down the most was that even his actual boyfriend, Finn, widened those beautiful eyes, his face filled with shock, in the next second, he bounced straight up from his single beanbag chair, asking in an incredulous tone, "Are you cheating on me?"
"Me??" Peter's head grew as large as the Hulk's, leaving him speechless on the spot.
[It's coming! It's coming!]
【This melodramatic short drama plot!]
[My boyfriend is seeing another woman behind my back! He's being all shady and physically intimate with her!]
Dazed Peter: "??" Where am I pulling or pushing? Where is this being suspicious??
—Don't you know who I spend every night with!!
[That's how they always act in short dramas!]
【An heir to a corporation who is both handsome and wealthy is standing right by his side, yet the male lead is so blind that he rejects the best and insists on going outside to find that kind of gentle and considerate novelty!]
[A love rival? Or a mistress? Such a common yet rare plotline.. Could this be—a romance-themed misery plot?]
Thinking of this, Finn suddenly felt a little excited.
[Why doesn't Peter talk to me? Is he intentionally keeping it from me? Could he really have other intentions?]
[Wait—then what am I supposed to act like now?]
[Should I immediately take the moral high ground and lash out at him with a barrage of questions?]
[Or should I stand there with red eyes, crying and calling him heartless?]
Should I go undercover to investigate myself, or hire a private detective to investigate secretly? Collect evidence and wait for the perfect moment to slap them in the face!
[Or I could just rush to the entrance of Peter Parker's school and slap that third party right in the face on the spot.]
System PP: 【??】The Host's way of thinking often shocks System PP.
Sometimes System PP really feels that Finn's thinking is erratic and dramatic, just like those plotlines designed to accumulate Misery Value before. But then System PP thought again, after his host became a host.. he received nothing but a hundred consecutive, radical face-slapping counterattack dungeons; Finn being this dramatic had his reasons.
"??" Peter's head was buzzing, his skull felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer.
He could even clearly hear a sense of eager excitement from Finn's inner thoughts.
——Was his boyfriend even jealous?
He was clearly so excited that the melodramatic plot had finally arrived that he felt like stepping onto the stage himself to add more drama.
In just this one short minute, Finn's mind could have come up with a whole script for "The Original Wife is the CEO, Tearing Up the Whole Scene."
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Finn waited expectantly for him to explain.
Peter: ".." First, tell me, what on earth is a "rotating slap-to-the-face"? When you have meetings at the Osborn Building, you aren't actually attending meetings while secretly having System PP stream melodramatic short dramas for you online, are you?
If your brother found out that his brother's top-tier brain, produced by the Osborn family, was ruined by watching these short dramas, would he blacklist the entire short drama industry because of it?
Even Peter's mind couldn't help but spontaneously come up with a series of new short drama titles:
After Young Master Osborn Falls, the CEO Brother Overturns the Short Drama World
Top Tier Brains Ruined by Short Dramas, CEO Orders Removal from All Platforms
Wanted: If You Dare Make My Brother Addicted, The Entire Short Drama Industry Will Pay the Price
"Top Rich Family: Short Dramas Ruined My Brother, So I Will Destroy the Entire Short Drama Industry"..
Spider-Man: ".." It's over, I think my brain is about to break too.
Chapter 77: Liking and Love
Peter, I know you are kind and upright, so you definitely wouldn't do something like cheating.
Under Peter Parker's helpless gaze, Finn felt inexplicably a bit guilty, the urge to perform that had just been sparked was instantly suppressed. He squeezed himself closer to Peter Parker's side and comforted him obediently, "After all, aren't you a Diamond High School Boy? It's only natural for diamonds to be attractive; I definitely believe in you."
【No matter who cheats, Spider-Man would never cheat.】