What’s Love Without Money

Taking down the school bully was just a small diversion for Su Ye, nothing to be particularly proud or happy about.

He now possessed Spider-Man's abilities, and his journey was aimed at the stars and the vast sea, not these trivial school matters.

After finishing his meal, he left the cafeteria on his own, ignoring the stares of his classmates around him.

However, he did glance at the person whose tray Thompson had snatched.

A girl with glasses and a bun—he didn't really remember her name, but she seemed like one of those background characters who always appeared nearby when the second Spider-Man was bullying or being bullied. She was quite pretty.

"Get Flash to pay you back for your meal. If he doesn't, come find me."

With that, Su Ye left.

He still had a lot to do.

Designing his suit, buying fabric and paint—now that he had Spider-Man's powers, he was, of course, going to live it up a bit.

Swinging between buildings, roaming the night, taking down injustice, patrolling the city.

To be a hero, he definitely needed a suit. Otherwise, he wouldn't look cool—no superhero goes around in normal clothes.

And with a suit covering his face, it would save him a lot of trouble.

Spider-Man had built-in tailoring and art skills, so he didn't need anyone else to make his suit.

The previous two Spider-Men had classic red and blue suits, which matched the U.S. flag colors.

Those colors didn't appeal much to Su Ye; if he could choose, he'd go for red and yellow—red for blood, yellow for light, and maybe add a few stars.

Unfortunately, Iron Man had already taken that color scheme. Su Ye didn't want to look similar to him, and besides, it would be too obvious and could bring unnecessary hate to China.

So, he settled on a red base with black accents—the same colors as Holland's Spider-Man.

Once he saw the mock-up, it looked pretty cool.

Next up was the web shooter, which was the most important part.

The suit was just Spider-Man's form; the web shooter was his soul.

Though Su Ye had gone through the original Spider-Man's mutation, his body was like the second Spider-Man's, without the glands to shoot webs from his wrists.

So, he'd have to make his own web shooters. It was a bit of a hassle, but better than having two organs that could shoot out white fluid.

Even if it was more convenient, having those organs exposed to the air and constantly spraying felt a little strange.

From Su Ye's perspective, web shooters were better. At least he'd still feel like a normal person.

He had already gotten the concept for making web shooters from his dream last night. As a DIY enthusiast, this kind of task wasn't difficult for him.

Su Ye skipped his afternoon classes, ordered all the materials for the suit and web shooters online, then went home and started tinkering in his landlord's unused workshop.

The sooner he finished his gear, the sooner he could go out swinging.

Su Ye still remembered watching The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in 3D for the first time. That opening scene where Spider-Man descended from the sky, switching to a first-person view as he swung between buildings—it was awe-inspiring.

Now, he finally had the chance, so of course, he wanted to prepare everything as quickly as possible.

But just as he was tinkering with his web shooters amidst a pile of random equipment he couldn't even name, someone rang the doorbell.

When he opened the door, he saw Gwen standing there, along with a school official in a suit and a uniformed police officer.

"Mr. Ye Su," the school official said with a strictly professional expression.

"We need to ask you some questions regarding your actions against Eugene Thompson today in the classroom and cafeteria."

Next to him, Gwen whispered, "You were acting in self-defense, so don't worry. Just be honest."

"Miss Gwen Stacy," the officer called out with a frown, though there was no scolding in his expression. He seemed somewhat familiar with Gwen.

Gwen made a funny face, pretended to zip her lips, took a step back, and gave Su Ye an encouraging fist pump.

Only then did Su Ye realize that Gwen's affection level had somehow reached [60 (Friendly)], rising quite quickly.

Su Ye hadn't felt any guilt over the incident, and with Gwen's support, the case was ultimately classified as self-defense.

Su Ye not only didn't have to face any legal consequences, but he also didn't need to pay any medical expenses.

Soon, the matter was settled, and the school official and police officer left, but Gwen stayed behind.

"Thank you, Gwen."

Su Ye thanked her. Even though he didn't think he was in the wrong, it was clear that the officer knew Gwen and had subtly sided with him, so he wouldn't ignore her kindness.

Gwen put her hands behind her back and smiled, nodding.

"Thank me? Just with those few words? I thought you might at least treat me to a meal or a movie."

Hiss…

Su Ye was once again stunned by the straightforwardness of American girls. Dinner and a movie—was that a thank-you, or a date?

So, does that mean she's chasing after me?

Su Ye chuckled to himself. It probably wasn't exactly her chasing him; more like she was attracted to his good looks and bravery and wanted to get to know him better.

Su Ye, of course, wasn't going to reject Gwen's offer, but he didn't even have a hundred bucks on him.

He'd already spent all his money on a skateboard, camera, and all the equipment materials.

It's impossible to pursue a girl without money.

And giving up a date because of no money? Absolutely not.

After making weekend plans with Gwen, she left, and Su Ye started looking through the newspaper.

He was broke, and asking his parents back home was embarrassing, so he searched the paper for any quick jobs that could earn him some fast cash.

He searched, and before long he actually found something.

"Amateur wrestling contestants wanted. Three minutes in the ring, $3000 reward. Requirements: must be optimistic."

Three minutes for $3000—that's a rate of $60,000 an hour.

Working eight hours a day would be $480,000. Twenty days a month would be $9.6 million. Twelve months a year…

Oh my God, a millionaire in a year!

Is my personality optimistic enough for this?