Chapter 120: Family

When the Zhongshen Clinic was made public, it signaled that this farce was nearing its end.

Mr. Eugene's face gradually showed a hint of appeasement... but the Indian woman clearly didn't notice. She curled her lips disdainfully and said, “I thought it was something big, but it’s just a small clinic; how could they possibly treat my child...”

“Shut up!” Mr. Eugene was exasperated by his wife’s lack of tact. He hurriedly scolded her, then took a couple of steps forward and bowed apologetically. “Sorry, Mr. Zhongshen. My wife is uneducated; please forgive her and don’t mind her…”

Zhong Xiu gave him a sidelong glance but said nothing, merely nodding lightly.

He was well aware of the considerable reputation the Zhongshen Clinic had earned across New York in recent months, so Mr. Eugene’s reaction was actually quite normal.

As for the Indian woman... she epitomized thoughtlessness.

“Do you still want me to treat your son?” Zhong Xiu asked.

“No, no, it’s such a trivial matter; there’s no need to trouble you.” Mr. Eugene immediately shook his head vigorously like a rattle. Then, taking quick strides, he slapped Thompson, who was pretending to be unconscious on the sofa, awake. “Let’s go!”

The dark-skinned, chubby little Thompson blinked, still dazed and unsure of what was happening.

But Mr. Eugene paid no mind, pulling the boy toward the exit. When he looked back, his wife was still there, pouting as if sulking about her husband’s rebuke.

Mr. Eugene’s expression darkened suddenly. He grabbed his wife’s arm and pulled her away, then turned to Zhong Xiu at the door and apologized once again. “I’m truly sorry, Mr. Zhongshen.”

Before Zhong Xiu could respond, the two quickly left the office as if he were some terrifying beast.

Seeing this, Zhong Xiu knew that the matter at Peter’s school was finally resolved for today.

When he realized Thompson was lying on the sofa unscathed, feigning unconsciousness, Zhong Xiu roughly guessed the real reason behind the Eugene couple’s commotion.

Simply put, last time Peter had beaten Thompson and sent him home, but because Peter had controlled his strength carefully, Thompson hadn’t been hurt at all. They had suffered a silent defeat.

Now, encountering it a second time, they naturally wanted Thompson to put on a more pitiful act. Even if they couldn’t extort money, at least they wanted to save face.

From this perspective, it was indeed Peter’s fault for hitting someone, which was why Zhong Xiu’s tone had been relatively mild earlier.

But in truth, Thompson had bullied Peter for years. Receiving a couple of mild beatings was frankly a bargain.

Overall, things went smoothly. If Mr. Eugene had been as thoughtless as his wife, Zhong Xiu was prepared to contact some gangsters casually. But since the man showed some sense and had heard the clinic’s great reputation in New York, there was no need for Zhong Xiu to do anything further—they admitted fault and fled on their own. That was acceptable.

“Um… Mr. Zhongshen, are you really the owner of the now super-famous Zhongshen Clinic?” Carly, who had been silent all along, finally couldn’t hold back. She timidly asked Zhong Xiu. Thinking that the man standing before her was someone whom every wealthy circle in New York respected deeply made her nervous.

Zhong Xiu nodded without uttering a word.

“Really?” Carly’s eyes lit up. She couldn’t wait to ask, “I’ve always been curious—does Tony Stark really go to your clinic often for kidney weakness treatment?”

Zhong Xiu’s face stiffened. He didn’t know how to respond to such a glaring joke.

“Where... did you hear that?”

“From the news. They said a new Zhongshen Clinic opened in New York, and Norman Osborn went several times. After that, his old, nearly collapsing body suddenly came to life. When Tony Stark heard about it, he immediately went to the clinic too. Makes sense—Tony Stark’s such a playboy, always surrounded by women; kidney weakness is quite normal, isn’t it?” Carly laughed.

Hearing this, Zhong Xiu suddenly felt deeply suspicious.

Could it be that I was looking at fake news?

He remembered the reports praising his miraculous skills, saying he single-handedly raised the health index of the entire city. How did it come to this? According to Carly, he was just some male doctor specializing in kidney weakness?

“Fake news! Fake news! Tony Stark is not kidney weak at all, and I’m not a male specialist!” Zhong Xiu firmly denied.

Seeing Carly’s mouth open again, he hastily stopped her: “Peter will be in your care from now on. If there’s nothing else, I’ll take him home.”

Carly had to suppress her curiosity and said reluctantly, “Alright then. Be careful on the way. It’s best to talk more with Peter when you get home; this kind of thing can be quite hurtful to a child’s psyche.”

“Thanks for the advice. I will.” Zhong Xiu nodded and left the office without further words.

——

Just outside the office, he saw Peter, bored, leaning against the wall with his small backpack, gazing at the sparsely populated campus, lost in thought.

When Peter saw Zhong Xiu step out, he withdrew his gaze and said, “Xiu, I just saw Thompson being dragged out by his parents…”

“Mm.” Zhong Xiu nodded and added, “I’ve handled everything. I guess his parents will emphasize to him at home so much that Thompson won’t dare to bother you anymore.”

“Xiu… thank you…” Peter’s face bore no smile, but when he looked up at Zhong Xiu, those eyes held nothing but sincere gratitude.

“What do you mean ‘thank me’? I’m your boss.” Zhong Xiu ruffled Peter’s hair with a smile.

He glanced around but didn’t see Gwen anywhere. “Where’s Gwen?”

“Oh, she left. Her mom picked her up a while ago,” Peter replied, lowering his head like a kitten enjoying a scratch.

“Let’s go home. Rest for another day.”

“Okay.”

——

“Why did you pull me back? That little runt, barely grown, dared to talk to me like that. If you hadn’t stopped me, I’d have cursed his entire family for generations!” Inside the car, Mrs. Eugene was clearly upset with her husband’s earlier behavior, sulking in the front passenger seat.

“Sigh… how can I explain it to you?” Mr. Eugene sighed and then earnestly explained, “That’s the Zhongshen Clinic! Haven’t you heard of it? Haven’t you seen the news?

“Not just among New York’s elite; even Tony Stark is a regular client there.

“If he complains to Tony Stark about me, this director of mine, who looks so impressive, will be fired instantly, do you believe that?”

Hearing this, the Indian woman seemed to realize the gravity of the situation. She whispered to her husband, “Is it really that serious...?”

“Of course!” Mr. Eugene shot a sideways glance at his wife, then looked at Thompson in the backseat through the rearview mirror. He warned, “Don’t think I don’t know what you two are thinking.

“If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t say anything. But Peter Parker? You better never mess with him again.”

“Oh…” Thompson curled his lips, apparently indifferent.

This casual attitude infuriated Mr. Eugene, who yelled, “Did you hear me?!”

“Y-yes…” Thompson shrank his neck in fear. He had never been scolded so harshly by his father before, and this was the first time—because of Peter.

“Alright, alright, he’s still young. Why be so harsh?” Mrs. Eugene tried to smooth things over.

“Ten years old is not young!” Mr. Eugene snapped, then sighed, “It’s all your fault for spoiling him…”

“How can it all be my fault? You’re always saying you’re busy with work. Do you even care about the child?” The Indian woman snapped back unhappily.

Watching the tense parents quarrel ahead, Thompson hunched his head even lower.

More than wondering why his parents were arguing, he was baffled by how Peter, such a timid coward, had suddenly become like this.

——

Nightfall.

At the Stacy residence.

A simple dinner was placed on the white granite dining table. The entire house felt somewhat empty, lacking the lively atmosphere of past days.

Gwen sat at one corner of the table, silently eating spaghetti twirled on her fork. Helen Stacy ate a vegetable salad beside her, trying to diet.

Mother and daughter spoke little, trying instead to make their eating noises louder to fill the empty house.

Gwen had experienced countless times like this since childhood.

Kinsa didn’t live with them, so when work got busy, she often didn’t come by. George, the New York Police Commissioner, was even busier, often away for days and going on late-night calls.

Sometimes Gwen thought about persuading her parents to have more siblings, hoping the children’s presence would make the house less lonely. But every time the thought came, she couldn’t bring herself to say it... she was afraid of being scolded.

“When will dad come back this time?” Gwen finished her plate of meat sauce spaghetti, wiped her cherry-red lips, and finally asked Helen.

Helen paused, smiled gently, and said, “It’ll probably be a few days. This mission is said to be more difficult; it will take more time.”

“Ah? Is it dangerous!?” Gwen asked anxiously.

“It’s okay, just a simple pursuit mission.” Though she said this, the slight furrow in Helen’s brow revealed her inner worry.

Routine pursuit missions weren’t usually dangerous.

But this time, the Police Commissioner himself was leading the operation, so the danger level was understandably high.

Who were they after? Gwen wondered silently.

Though she had stopped being Spider-Woman, her past experience told her that ordinary gangs and criminals were not especially hard to handle and wouldn’t require the Commissioner’s personal leadership for days.

Unless it was some vicious crime syndicate—or perhaps... a superpowered individual.

Either possibility was hardly safe.

Thinking of this, Gwen grew worried. She considered suiting up and following her father tonight to see what was really going on.

But soon, she dismissed the idea.

She had already decided: no more being Spider-Woman.

She wanted to live a normal life as an ordinary girl, achieve top grades, get into the world’s best university, graduate, and find a good job so her parents wouldn’t worry.

From now on, she wouldn’t reveal her powers again. She would bury them deep in the river of time.

Gwen admitted she was avoiding reality, but she had no other choice. She was utterly disillusioned with the path of heroism... she no longer had the spirit to say, “I want to be a superhero like Peter!”

“It’s okay. This has happened so many times; dad always comes back safe. Don’t worry, Mom,” Gwen said, comforting Helen while also trying to convince herself.

Seeing Gwen suddenly so mature, even comforting others, warmed Helen’s heart, and she smiled deeply. “My little Gwen is growing up... becoming so caring!”

She stood, intending to give Gwen a bear hug.

But Gwen swiftly dodged with a playful giggle and bounced a short distance away. “Heehee, you can’t catch me~”

“Don’t run! I’m going to catch you right here and now—”

In an instant, laughter filled the house, and the once empty room was suddenly filled with life.

——

2:43 a.m.

Lying in the soft, spacious bed, Gwen suddenly opened her eyes, feeling an inexplicable flutter of anxiety.

Was it just her imagination? Gwen wondered.

She sat up and looked around but saw nothing unusual in her room. Thanks to her keen hearing, she could tell her mother was also sound asleep next door, with no strange noises.

She glanced at the clock, yawned deeply, and crawled back under the covers.

…

3:27 a.m.

Gwen opened her eyes again.

This time, it wasn’t anxiety but a noise that had woken her.

Footsteps hurriedly echoed from downstairs... it was her mother’s.

Why was Mom pacing around downstairs in the middle of the night?

Curious, Gwen got up, pulled down her loose pajamas to cover her fair midriff, rubbed her sleepy eyes, and headed downstairs.

Descending the stairs, she soon arrived in the living room.

The bright light there was dazzling. Helen was hurriedly packing something.

“Mom, what’s wrong?” Gwen asked.

Hearing her voice, Helen froze for a moment before mechanically turning to face her.

Gwen saw her mother’s eyes were red and streaked with tears.

Panic gripped Gwen. She asked again, “Mom, what happened to Dad? Talk to me!”

“Mom, please say something!”

After a long silence, Helen choked out, “He… has been kidnapped…”