Carrying Gwen on his back to her doorstep was basically an extreme weighted cross-country run for Peter.
Over a distance of barely six hundred feet, he stopped to rest a total of three times.
By the last time, he seriously felt like his lungs were about to get coughed out of his throat.
"Ding-dong—"
Finally, Peter freed up a hand and struggled to press the doorbell of the Stacy house.
Before long, the door swung open, and a white-haired elderly woman appeared behind it.
It was Gwen's grandmother, Pauline Stacy.
Gwen's mother had passed away early, so she'd been raised by her father and grandmother since she was little.
When Grandma Pauline saw her unconscious granddaughter on Peter's back, her expression changed instantly.
"Oh my god! What happened to Gwen?!"
Her voice was full of panic as she scrambled to check on her granddaughter's condition.
"Grandma Pauline, please don't worry."
Peter panted heavily and explained with difficulty, "Gwen's just... really tired. She fell asleep on the bus ride back."
"Too tired?"
Old Pauline gave Peter a suspicious look and couldn't help reaching out to feel Gwen's forehead.
Her temperature was normal, her breathing was steady and deep, and there was even a hint of peaceful contentment on her fair, pretty face.
After confirming nothing was wrong with her granddaughter, Pauline let out a long sigh of relief, and her tense nerves relaxed.
But that was immediately followed by a deep sense of confusion and curiosity.
How could she, as her grandmother, not know her own granddaughter's constitution?
As the daughter of an NYPD Captain, her son had put her through physical training since childhood to make sure she wouldn't get bullied when she grew up.
Even if Gwen's fitness couldn't match a professional athlete's, she was still a star on the school track team, energetic as a rabbit. How could she possibly pass out from exhaustion just from a field trip?
Furthermore... Old Pauline's gaze swept back and forth between Peter and Gwen, her eyes becoming increasingly knowing.
The way her granddaughter leaned against Peter's back was intimate and natural, and as for this boy Peter... although he was tired as a dog, there was quite a lot of tenderness in his eyes.
In a flash, a bold thought popped into her mind.
Could her granddaughter be using the old "fake sleep" trick to play this clueless boy?
Thinking of this, a smile tugged uncontrollably at the corner of Old Pauline's mouth.
That's my granddaughter!
While she helped Peter get Gwen into the bedroom and settle her onto the soft, large bed, she sized Peter up with the look reserved for a "future grandson-in-law."
"Good boy, that must've been tough on you."
"Would you like to stay for some hot cocoa? I'm baking apple pie—it'll be ready soon."
Faced with the old lady's overly enthusiastic invitation, Peter was pretty awkward.
"No thanks, Grandma Pauline. I... I should probably head back now so I don't bother you and Gwen."
His mind was completely occupied with figuring out how to improve his pathetic physique—he really wasn't in the mood for afternoon tea.
"I see..." A perfectly timed look of disappointment appeared on the old lady's face. "Well then, be careful heading home."
After seeing Peter to the door and watching his heavy-footed departure, the doting smile on the old lady's face couldn't be suppressed.
Sure, this boy Peter's family situation was kinda rough and his body was pretty frail...
But he made up for it by being smart, having a kind and gentle personality, and showing real integrity.
Down the line, he might get into a good university, land a job at a big company, and totally change his life.
Her granddaughter dating Peter was actually pretty reassuring—way better than those sketchy, good-for-nothing bad boys from who-knows-where!
Calculating her granddaughter's lifelong happiness in her head, the old lady turned unsteadily and headed back to Gwen's bedroom.
Looking at her granddaughter sleeping peacefully on the bed, she tentatively called out softly a couple times:
"Gwen?"
"Sweetheart, you can stop pretending. Peter's already gone."
However, the girl on the bed remained totally unresponsive, her breathing still even and her sleeping face serene.
Now it was the old lady's turn to be stunned.
She's actually asleep?
She shook her head with a wry smile and could only helplessly tuck the corner of the blanket around her granddaughter.
What's up with this?
Just a tour of Oscorp, and she gets this exhausted?
Gwen felt like she was having the longest dream ever.
In the dream, she seemed to be soaking in warm spring water, with countless tiny bubbles wrapping around her body, every cell cheering and jumping with joy.
Peter's figure appeared in her dream—his voice was gentle and firm, easily smoothing away all the anxiety and unease in her heart.
"Don't be afraid, Gwen."
"I've got you."
That feeling was so reassuring, so sweet, that she couldn't help getting lost in it, not wanting to wake up.
"Gwen! Dinner's ready!"
It wasn't until her father's familiar shout came from outside the door that Gwen, like a startled kitten, reluctantly opened her sleepy eyes.
The streetlights were glowing outside the window, and glancing at the wall clock—it was actually seven in the evening!
She'd slept through the entire afternoon?
Gwen rubbed her eyes and instinctively tried to sit up.
The moment she moved, she immediately noticed something was wrong.
The blanket... had her sealed in!
This wasn't a joke about oversleeping.
The thin blanket covering her was like it'd been Super Glued to her, sticking tight to her arms and body!
"Huh?"
Gwen let out a confused hum and instinctively used some force, trying to kick the blanket off.
RIIIP!
CRACK!
The sharp sound of fabric tearing rang out along with the groan of the wooden bed being overwhelmed.
That soft, comfortable cotton blanket was as fragile as tissue paper under her feet, torn straight through into a massive hole, revealing flying cotton stuffing inside.
Even more ridiculous, the sturdy wooden bed leg beneath her actually snapped with a loud crack because of her struggling!
Gwen, having finally gotten free, was completely stunned.
Wait... what's going on?
She was so startled by the situation that she instinctively recoiled.
But this slight movement caused her to spring up like she'd been launched, shooting herself straight onto the ceiling!
"Ah!"
Gwen let out a short yelp, but the expected sharp pain of smacking into the ceiling didn't come.
Instead there was an incredibly weird sense of weightlessness and stickiness.
She instinctively opened her eyes, then her eyes went wide with shock at her own reflection in the full-length mirror.
She... was actually stuck firmly to the bedroom ceiling like a gecko in a bizarre, four-limbed posture!
"Thump, thump, thump!"
"Gwen? You okay? What was that noise?"
Her father George's concerned voice came from outside the door along with the sound of knocking.
"It's... it's nothing, Dad! I'm fine!"
Gwen panicked and quickly responded, her voice slightly squeaky from nervousness.
"I just... had a nightmare and accidentally fell out of bed!"
While she hurriedly dealt with her father outside the door, she desperately tried to recall everything that happened before she'd fallen into that deep sleep.
Oscorp Tower... the dazzling array of high-tech exhibits... and... that colorful little spider that bit her!
An absurd thought flashed through her mind like a lightning bolt.
Could it be... I've got spider abilities now?!
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