Midtown High School.
Su Yu dropped Peter Parker off near the school, parking the SUV a short distance away.
Peter stepped out of the car, waving.
"Thank you, Mr. Su. Sorry for troubling you."
"Heh, don't mention it."
Su Yu nodded with a smile.
Aunt May had worked so hard; helping out a little was the least he could do.
They were practically family—no need to be so formal.
"Alright then, goodbye, Mr. Su. Drive safely!"
Peter waved as he walked off.
Su Yu started the car, turned it around, and prepared to head back.
Just then, a police car drove past and stopped ahead of him.
From the car emerged a girl.
She had golden hair and a stunningly beautiful face, as if sculpted by nature itself.
Su Yu instantly recognized the girl.
"Gwen Stacy? Wow, she's gorgeous. Definitely heroine material!"
At that moment, Gwen seemed to sense someone watching her.
She turned to look at the SUV by the roadside, her eyes meeting Su Yu's through the window.
Her gaze brightened instantly.
"Wow, so handsome!"
Gwen felt her heart race uncontrollably as she stared in awe.
Honk! Honk!
The sharp sound of a car horn interrupted the moment.
A middle-aged man in a police uniform got out of the car, glaring at Su Yu in the SUV before turning to push Gwen toward the school.
Su Yu overheard Gwen complaining.
"Alright, Dad, I just saw a classmate... I know, I know! I'll come straight home after visiting Oscorp Industries this afternoon. Don't worry!"
As Gwen walked away, the middle-aged man passed in front of Su Yu's SUV.
"Young man, this is a school zone! Don't park here too long. Move along!"
The man scowled at Su Yu.
"Seriously, Officer Stacy?"
Su Yu shrugged and pointed to the police car blocking his way.
"You're the one in my way, yet you're lecturing me? That's a bit much, don't you think?"
"You—!"
The man was momentarily speechless, his face darkening.
With a snort, he stormed off, returning to his vehicle.
The police car's engine roared to life and sped away.
"Heh, a strict father indeed," Su Yu chuckled to himself, unbothered.
He glanced at Midtown High School and exchanged a smile with a certain blonde by the school gate before driving off.
Meanwhile, Gwen covered her mouth to stifle a giggle at the gate.
Not far away, Peter Parker stood dumbfounded, his heart racing as he broke into a lovestruck grin.
"Hey, Gwen, that smile of yours is really something," teased the girl next to Gwen.
"Betty, you're dead!"
Blushing furiously at her friend's teasing, Gwen quickly composed herself.
Suppressing her fluttering emotions, she retorted, "If you're so free, maybe practice your guitar instead. We've got a band performance coming up!"
"Hehe, she's flustered, she's flustered!" Betty continued to tease, undeterred.
Gwen, now genuinely flustered, chased after her friend as they ran into the school, leaving Peter staring after them, entranced.
Later at Home
Su Yu soon returned home.
Not wanting to disturb the still-sleeping Aunt May, he had breakfast and then crawled back into bed, wrapping his arms around her.
He slept soundly until late morning.
When he woke, it was already afternoon, and Aunt May was nowhere to be found.
Su Yu wasn't concerned; she had work to do, after all.
How else would she support him?
Of course, this was just a joke—Su Yu had no intention of being a freeloader.
After some light exercise to kill time, he received a message from Aunt May around 4 or 5 p.m., asking him to pick up Peter from Oscorp Industries.
Midtown High had organized a student trip to an industrial expo that day.
"Oscorp Industries, huh?"
Hearing the name piqued Su Yu's curiosity.
He seemed to have an inkling of what was coming.
Sure enough, when he met Peter Parker, the boy had a bandage on his hand.
"What happened, Parker? Did you get hurt?" Su Yu asked casually.
"Oh, this?"
Peter looked a bit annoyed as he explained, "We went to a biotech exhibit today, and I got unlucky—a bug bit me. But it's nothing serious."
"Ah, I see."
Su Yu nodded, keeping his thoughts to himself.
Glancing over at Gwen, who stood chatting with her friends nearby, Su Yu prepared to leave with Peter.
But just then—
BOOM!
A violent explosion echoed through the city, sending clouds of yellow sand swirling between the skyscrapers.
Shattered glass and debris rained down as terrified screams erupted from the crowd.
Su Yu's eyes narrowed as he focused on the chaos.
Amidst the swirling sand, a humanoid figure began to take shape.
"Damn you, Norman! You bastard, show yourself!"
The Sandman's furious roar reverberated through the area.
His gaze briefly lingered on the panicked crowd before he bellowed again:
"You liar! If you don't come out now, I'll destroy Oscorp Industries with my own hands! You wouldn't want anything to happen to all these people at the expo, would you?!"
"Ahhh! Help! Don't kill me!"
Hearing this, the crowd became even more frantic, and chaos ensued.
With a wave of his hand, the Sandman unleashed a tidal wave of sand, trapping many people in its grip—including Gwen and her friends.
Peter Parker's face fell as he shouted in panic.
"Gwen?! This is bad!"