Chapter 1547: The Pursuer of the Sun (Eight)_1

Harry stared in shock at the middle-aged Peter, first pointing at himself, then at the middle-aged Peter, and finally at Mayde in his arms. His mouth opened and closed, and then closed and opened.

Peter quickly stepped forward to explain, "This is a matter of another universe. In their universe, Gwen and I…"

"Gwen is dead," said middle-aged Peter, looking down. "So is Harry Osborn, and so is Uncle Ben. They all died because of me, right in front of me."

Harry's mouth fell open but no words came out. All his arguments choked off before they could be spoken. Finally, he managed to stutter, "I...I'm sorry..."

Middle-aged Peter shrugged, "No need to apologize. And it might surprise you further that Mary Jane and I have divorced. We have been apart for a long time."

As expected, Harry's eyes widened in surprise. He couldn't help but turn to Peter and ask, "You... Okay, since Gwen and I are both dead, it's not impossible for you two to be together. But you were married. Why did you divorce?"

"What made you and Mary break up?" The middle-aged Peter retorted.

"Um, we...my father shouldn't have..."

"I asked you, not your father," Peter interrupted. "Do you believe you and Mary Jane could live happily ever after if it weren't for old Osborn's interference?"

"Of course..." Harry started, his voice trailing off weakly. After a pause, he lowered his head and admitted, "Well, maybe not. Mary has always been so independent, I don't think she needs me."

"But that's exactly what attracted us," middle-aged Peter pointed out. "Her independence attracted you because you've never really been independent. Her strength and confidence drew me in during my lowest period because I was feeling lost and doubtful due to the loss of people who were important to me."

"In order to gain a sense of security from her, we tried to get as close to her as possible, or to keep her close to us, you were hoping she wouldn't go to the West Coast for work and would stay with you in New York. I hoped we could live in our own world, staying in our cozy home."

"But she's like a bird that never lands. She chases the sun, while we chase her. In the process, we've both made the same mistake. We tried to slow her down so she could stay with us."

"But you should realize that such a bond couldn't last forever. You're in love with a migratory bird soaring in the sky, not a goose penned in."

"Are you saying we aren't suitable?" Harry slapped the railing next to him, slightly agitated. "We have so many things in common. No one in this world could understand each other better than us. We once...we once loved each other so much..."

His voice choked up towards the end and he turned his face away. The bobbing of his Adam's apple was clearly visible as he spoke in a voice choked with emotion, "I don't know what happened. I don't even know where I went wrong. Shouldn't I have come here to stop my dad?"

Middle-aged Peter came over and patted his shoulder, saying, "The solution is simple. If you want to be with a bird that never rests, you should not be slowing her down but rather speeding up, flap your wings as fast as she flies."

Harry looked up at him as middle-aged Peter patted the head of the red-haired little girl in his arms. "For a long while, I hesitated to move forward in life with Mary Jane. I wished she would slow down and we could stay this way inseparably."

"But Mary Jane's determination is not infinite, she needs a sense of security just like everyone else. And her perfect partner, her source of security, would be someone as strong as her, a comrade marching forward with her, not a child clinging to the same stage in life."

"I ..." Harry tried to argue that he was no longer a child, but middle-aged Peter looked him in the eyes and asked, "Then why don't you confront your father directly? Why do you need to circumvent him by talking to his subordinates? Why don't you tell him that you've grown up and that you can decide who you want to be with?"

Peter, who had been standing by, suddenly seemed to wake up. He turned to Harry and said, "Harry, do you remember? You once stood up to your father when you mistakenly thought he was going to hurt Spider-Man. You could stand up for me, why wouldn't you do the same for Mary Jane?"

Harry didn't respond, but middle-aged Peter saw the understanding in his eyes. "You've come to realize it, haven't you? Your father's influence on you is deeper than you ever imagined."

"You were willing to confront your father for your good friend Peter, but not for Mary Jane. To some extent, you agreed with your father's way of thinking."

"You believe that Mary Jane's venture into Hollywood would end up a mess, thinking she'll naturally come back to you once she sees the harsh reality. But her determination and talent exceeded your expectations."

"In the end, you are here again, trying to be the savior, rescuing her from the threat of your father. You think she will appreciate you and come back to you."

Seeing Harry's trembling lips, Peter knew that the middle-aged Peter's words had hit home. At this moment, he thought of Doctor Shiller's explanation of regression in personality—where people unconsciously start to regress to their childhood personalities and expect everyone to treat them like children.

From an outsider's perspective, it may seem like disruptive behavior, with others deeming them immature, emotionally unstable, or even hostile. But in essence, it's caused by their personality regressing under a long-term high stress level.

"Think about who you are? Who does Mary Jane like? Is it Norman Osborn's son, the heir to Osborn Group, or Harry Osborn?"

Middle-aged Peter put a hand on his shoulder and said, "If it's the latter, then you should talk to her as Harry Osborn, not as anybody else. Don't bring up your father or anyone else's opinions. Just talk about yourself and her."

Harry finally looked up and met Middle-Aged Peter's eyes, asking somewhat uncertainly, "Will this work?"

"It definitely won't work if you just stand there doing nothing." Middle-Aged Peter withdrew his hand and said, "From what I know about her, if you don't have an explanation for her within twelve hours, she'd rather give up her Hollywood dream and disappear completely from the world you're familiar with."

Harry immediately started to panic. He first took out his cell phone and dialed Mary Jane's number. After several failed calls, someone finally answered on the last try, and the next second after the connection, Mary Jane's roar nearly tore through the roof of the parking garage.

"Cool down, cool down, Mary. We need to talk... No, I've never sided with my dad. I repeat, we need to unite here; our quarreling is exactly what he wants. If you lose control of your emotions, you're falling into his trap..."

Harry's figure gradually disappeared at the entrance of the underground parking lot. Middle-aged Peter looked at his retreating back, shook his head, and said, "Old Osborn isn't that easy to deal with, they have a long road ahead."

"But it's a good start, isn't it?"

Peter showed a smile. Turning to Middle-Aged Peter, he sincerely said, "Thank you so much for this. Without your personal experience as a demonstration, I wouldn't know how to console Harry. After all, Gwen and I are a completely different kind of couple than him and Mary Jane."

Then Peter lowered his head and said, "Indeed, the Spider Legion is incredibly talented, and I have a long way to go as well."

Middle-Aged Peter patted his shoulder, and the two of them walked into the sunlight at the entrance together.

Peter took out the suspension ring from his pocket, but just before he opened the portal, the cell phone in his coat pocket rang.

"Hello? Mr. Stark, wait, you're on vacation in Los Angeles? My god, why didn't you tell me before?... Yeah, I'm in Hollywood, okay, I'll come to see you."

Stark hung up the phone in his vacation villa and turned around, only to see more than a dozen pairs of spider eyes staring at him from the ceiling.

Stark spread his hands and said, "It seems Peter is still completely unaware of this matter, I bet his expression will be quite interesting when he finds out the truth."

Among the countless Spider-Men hanging from the ceiling, a white figure jumped down. Gwen Spiderman shook her head and said, "If it weren't for Miles overhearing this from Dr. Banner, we wouldn't even dare to believe it."

"Can you tell me the details now?" Stark grabbed a chair and sat down to ask.

Gwen tossed her head back and gestured towards her back, "Miles, your turn."

A Spider-Man in a black and red uniform hopped down from the roof, shrugged lightly, and spoke in a typical Brooklyn accent, "I went to work in Dr. Banner's lab, you know, I've always wanted that cool lightning gun, so I need to earn more course credits."

"When I arrived, Dr. Banner was tidying up some things, he seemed to be on the phone with his girlfriend. I asked him out of curiosity and he told me that Gwen had gone to his girlfriend Betty's house last night, and told Betty that her father was not mentally well, possibly suffering from illusions."

"I was curious, so I asked a few more questions. Then Dr. Banner told me that Gwen's father, Chief George, knew she was dating Spider-Man, and he even wanted Gwen to marry Spider-Man."

Gwen Spiderman by her side threw her hands up in surrender, "News of the end of the world coming tomorrow wouldn't be as explosive as this, you guys have no idea how stubborn my dad is!"

Miles added, "Gwen also said that her dad was acting like a madman, insisting there was some terrifying killer watching her, saying she absolutely should not leave home, and that no matter where Peter was, he should come home immediately."

"Gwen just couldn't stand it anymore, so she ran out and went to Betty's house. Now she should be on her way to Los Angeles to find Peter."

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." Gwen Spiderman's eyes lit up behind her mask as she looked at Stark, "We all know that George is the last barrier between Peter and Gwen. They have been in a relationship for six or seven years, and it's time to take the next step!"

Stark touched his chin and said, "Actually, I asked Peter before why he didn't propose to Gwen. They've been in a relationship for such a long time and they're very stable, they should've gotten engaged a long time ago. Thinking about it now, he didn't want to establish a more firm relationship, fearing that once George absolutely refused, Gwen would have no way back."

Gwen Spiderman tilted her head to one side, emphasizing, "Yeah, that's just like Peter Parker — always worrying about this and that. Even the President doesn't worry as much as him."

The dozen or so Spider-Men hanging behind her started looking around; some studied the structure of the beams, others the height of the doorframes.

"Alright then, seems like we have to help them." A seemingly more mature Amazing Spiderman jumped down. He glanced back at his companions, then looked at Gwen Spiderman, sighed, and said.

"After all, which Spider-Man hasn't dreamed of marrying Gwen?"