Gwen's Two Younger Brothers

Manhattan, Goreen Apartments!

Ever since marrying George Stacy, Helen Stacy had stayed home as a devoted wife and mother. She was in the kitchen preparing dinner for the day.

Nine-year-old Howard Stacy and eight-year-old Simon Stacy—Gwen's two younger brothers—were sitting in the living room, racing against time to watch TV.

Yes.

Racing against time, because once Helen had a free moment, she would urge them to study.

In Helen's words, their sister Gwen studied so well. Since they had all come from the same womb, the two of them should have been good students too.

But in reality, Howard and Simon's grades were not exactly terrible. They merely hovered around the passing line, and sometimes slipped below it with the slightest carelessness.

Just like this.

Howard and Simon had bombed their year-end exams, so Helen had directly cut an hour from their daily entertainment time.

Just then.

The doorbell rang.

"Howard, Simon, it's time for you to go back to your rooms and read."

"...Okay."

Helen came out of the kitchen and glanced at Howard and Simon on the sofa. She spoke flatly, then watched them obediently resign themselves to heading upstairs to their rooms as she walked to the door and opened it.

Standing outside, Hawk looked at Helen, who gave off a gentle impression at first glance, and greeted her with a smile. "Good evening, Mrs. Stacy."

Helen was briefly stunned when she opened the door, then warmly invited Hawk inside. "Good evening, Hawk. Come in."

Hawk thanked her, then Gwen pulled him into the apartment from beside him.

This was Hawk's first time visiting someone else's home in this life.

Gwen's apartment was also on the top floor, and it was a two-story duplex. It was not particularly large, but everywhere he looked felt warm and tidy.

Hearing the commotion downstairs, George Stacy came down from the second-floor study with a stern expression.

Gwen, who was downstairs quickly helping Hawk get acquainted with her mother, heard the footsteps and looked at George coming down. "Dad."

When Hawk saw George, he politely greeted him. "Mr. Stacy."

George looked stern and meticulous, just like a high-ranking leader who never smiled.

But this was much better than yesterday.

At the very least, George gave a grunt of acknowledgment before walking silently toward the dining table.

Helen found her husband's demeanor somewhat amusing and shook her head. Then she said to Hawk, "Hawk, sit down. Dinner's ready."

Hawk thanked her again. Led by Gwen, he nodded and smiled at George across from him before taking his seat.

Helen then called toward the second floor.

"Howard, Simon, come down for dinner."

"Coming."

Howard and Simon had already been waiting in their rooms with their books for this very moment. They raced downstairs, then froze slightly when they saw the unfamiliar person in the dining room. Even after sitting down, they continued staring fixedly at Hawk.

Hawk noticed and extended his right hand to Howard.

"Hello, Howard. My name is Hawk."

"My name is Howard."

"My name is Simon."

Eight-year-old Simon stood up from his seat as well. After extending his little hand to shake Hawk's, he looked at Hawk and blinked. "Are you my sister's boyfriend?"

Hawk instinctively glanced at George sitting across from him.

Sure enough.

George's face had gone as dark as a Black man's.

Very dark.

But...

He did not object out loud.

Hawk smiled slightly and nodded at Simon, who had the same blond hair as Gwen. "Yes."

The moment he said that.

George's face darkened even more.

Gwen smiled and reached out to rub her younger brother Simon's head.

Nicely done, little brother.

She had decided that before bed tonight, she would give her brother ten dollars as a reward.

As for Howard, he got nothing.

Unlike the way people in the East shared dinner, Gwen's family had a very clear, typically American individual-serving arrangement.

Of course.

That might also have been George Stacy's preference.

No matter what, Hawk was an outsider. Unless someone had known the family since childhood or visited many times, they generally would not use a shared-dish arrangement for a first visit.

Hawk understood that too.

But individual servings aside, the dinner was indeed quite good.

In this life alone, this was the first dinner Hawk had eaten that truly felt like dinner.

There was no need to mention the school food.

As for when he was alone, Hawk did not care about color, aroma, or flavor. As long as it filled him up, that was enough, because staying alive was already difficult enough.

At the dining table.

George ate his dinner in silence, like the head of the household.

Helen, like a gentle matriarch, occasionally asked Hawk whether the food suited his taste and posed a few simple, not overly probing questions.

Meanwhile, Gwen acted as a mediator between her boyfriend and mother, while also serving as an alarm system, keeping a wary eye on her father George across the table in case he suddenly exploded.

Nine-year-old Howard and eight-year-old Simon simply ate the food on their own plates.

They were eating happily.

Just then.

George picked up the whiskey beside him, took a sip, coughed, and cleared his throat.

The next second.

Helen and Gwen's gazes instantly fell on George.

Here it comes.

Hawk silently thought the same and turned his gaze toward George across from him, who had been observing his every move from the corner of his eye.

Just as George was about to speak, Helen met Gwen's pleading look. She laughed inwardly, but still spoke first.

"By the way, George, tell us about your work. Have you caught that Spider-Man?"

"..."

George glanced at Helen, then gave Gwen a faintly amused look before settling his gaze on Hawk. "Not yet, but we will. After all, he's an amateur, and he left us plenty of clues."

After saying that.

George gave Helen and Gwen no chance to interrupt again. He smiled at Hawk. "By the way, Hawk, what do you think about this Spider-Man who suddenly appeared recently? Do you also think he's some kind of vigilante?"

Under the table, Gwen's left hand gave Hawk's thigh a light squeeze.

Hawk received Gwen's covert warning. He chuckled and shook his head.

"Sir, I've been in Maryland these past few days. I only came back yesterday, and today I spent the entire day reading at the library."

"To be honest."

"I'm still a student, so all I care about right now is whether I can get a scholarship from New York University and get the bank to approve my loan application."

"As for that Spider-Man, I don't care whether he's a vigilante or some attention-seeking hippie criminal."

"..."