Chapter 27: You Eat So Uniquely

"Swish! Swish!"

Parker's House.

The fallen leaves in the courtyard were swept together with a broom, accompanied by a slight dust rising.

Peter and Uncle Ben were sweeping the leaves together.

As the weather cooled, the leaves in the yard became more abundant.

"We've been spending quite a bit lately, and the bills are starting to pile up, Anna. I didn't expect it to be so costly."

In the kitchen, Aunt May was on the phone with her friend.

With a "bang," she closed the refrigerator door, holding her phone in her left hand and a long bill in her right.

"I know, we've been using the credit card, but this isn't a long-term solution. Maybe I need to find a new job."

Aunt May hung up the phone with a headache, placing the bill on the dining table.

Family expenses were giving her a headache.

She had started considering finding a job.

In the courtyard, Peter heard Aunt May making a phone call.

Under the influence of his alien genes, his hearing was different from ordinary people's.

Even though separated by several meters and a wall, Aunt May's voice could still be clearly captured by him.

Hearing Aunt May worrying about the family expenses, his brows furrowed.

He did have a sum of money stolen from the Hand.

But how to make Aunt May and Uncle Ben accept it was a rather tricky issue.

"Don't you feel uncomfortable, Peter?"

He was pondering how to make the two of them accept the money when Uncle Ben's voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

Uncle Ben swept away the last piece of fallen leaves, looked up, and said to Peter, "You didn't look well at the church yesterday."

"I'm fine, Uncle Ben, just feeling a bit short of breath, maybe the air there was too stifling."

Peter casually made up an excuse to appease Uncle Ben.

Yesterday at the hospital, he was discovered by Gwen, and although he wanted to brush it off, under Gwen's persistent questioning, he could only explain it with the excuse of "early-stage tumor."

Now he didn't want what happened at the hospital yesterday to happen again with Uncle Ben, so he had to continue with the white lies.

"Well, maybe what happened at school has had a big impact on you."

Uncle Ben sighed slightly and said, "We don't want to see such tragedies happen."

"Do you need a rest?"

After a moment of silence, Uncle Ben put down the broom and walked towards Peter, asking.

"I'm not so weak, Uncle Ben."

"Hehe."

Uncle Ben smiled and sat on the steps of the nearby storage room, stretching.

"It seems that my stamina is a bit lacking. I suddenly remembered a funny story, Peter."

"Uh-huh."

Peter stopped sweeping the leaves and listened attentively.

"At your age, I really hated sweeping leaves. I'd rather spend time painting model trains, and then one day, I had an idea."

Uncle Ben paused for a moment, "If all the people nearby hired me to sweep leaves, then I'd have enough money to buy a train."

Peter nodded, "That's a good idea."

Unfortunately, he couldn't and didn't have the leisure to earn money as a janitor.

Moreover, Aunt May and Uncle Ben would never believe that their nephew could earn tens of thousands of dollars by sweeping leaves.

"What I want to say, Peter."

Uncle Ben continued with a smile, "Sometimes labor may inspire you to come up with new ideas."

"Good idea, Uncle Ben."

Peter neither affirmed nor denied, nodding slightly to Uncle Ben, then continued to sweep the leaves.

Although he didn't tell Uncle Ben anything, it seemed like he could always see through his thoughts.

...

"Ten thousand dollars?!"

Staring at the stack of greenish banknotes in front of him, Peter was stunned.

He was indeed considering money matters, but he didn't expect it to come in this way.

The location was the Sunlight Café near the Elderly Hospital, in the evening.

Just after finishing sweeping the leaves, Peter received a call from Gwen, saying she wanted to invite him for coffee.

As soon as he sat down, Gwen handed him a stack of dollars.

"Sorry, Peter, my original plan was to raise more, but time ran out."

Gwen apologized somewhat apologetically.

She originally wanted to borrow fifty thousand from her father.

But George Stacy, her dad, who knows what he wanted to do, only coughed up ten thousand.

Even though it was only ten thousand, for a middle-class family, it was still a considerable amount.

"Gwen, I don't really need this."

Moved inwardly, Peter slowly looked up at Gwen and said, "I can handle it myself."

"We're both high school students, Peter."

Gwen bit her lip and said, "Even if you go help the neighbors sweep leaves, or become a paperboy, you won't be able to earn much money, let alone you haven't told Uncle Ben and them about your situation."

At this moment, the pale yellow sunlight, filtered through the thin curtains, illuminated Gwen's golden hair, sparkling.

Peter looked at the girl in front of him and suddenly felt that maybe deceiving her was wrong.

But this thought was quickly erased from his mind.

"Anyway, I want to help you, Peter."

Perhaps afraid that Peter wouldn't accept the money borrowed from her father, Gwen earnestly said, "You may think this money is important, but it's not at all important to me."

Gwen lowered her head, staring at the food on her plate. She had the urge to cry but held it back.

"When I was chased to the rooftop by the Hand, it was you who caught me on the other side of the roof; when I was attacked by Frank, it was you who shielded me from behind. Maybe you think it's nothing, but it means a lot to me. If there's something immeasurable, then these are."

Taking a deep breath, Gwen looked up and said to Peter, "Compared to what you've done for me, this money is nothing at all."

Listening to Gwen's words, Peter was silent for a few seconds.

After a while, he smiled slightly at Gwen, "Thank you, Gwen."

"Are you willing?"

With hope filling her heart, Gwen asked.

"Well, even if I borrow it from you, I promise you, I'll be safe and sound, and I'll repay you quickly."

The tension in Peter's mind because of the alien embryo suddenly relaxed.

The anxiety that had been plaguing his heart eased.

"You haven't eaten yet? Let me treat you."

Peter called the waiter and started ordering.

Seeing that Peter agreed to accept her money, Gwen's mood completely brightened, and she happily started ordering food.

Stuffing her mouth with toast smothered in maple syrup, she almost choked.

"Do you always eat like this, Gwen?"

Peter looked at Gwen's expression, as if watching a python devouring the neighbor's pet cat.

Gwen's mouth was bulging like a hamster's, struggling to respond, "What?"

"I mean your table manners, every time you eat, you look so unique."