Morning light streamed through the large windows of Midtown High School's classroom building and into the hallway. Lin Hai leaned against the lockers, waiting for Peter to arrive.
After two weeks of school, he had basically adapted to the rhythm of Midtown High School. Besides textbooks, his locker held several small plants he had secretly cultivated—subjects for practicing his abilities in his spare time.
"Lin! Sorry I'm late! Uncle Ben's car broke down halfway, so I had to run across three blocks... whew..." Peter came running over, panting heavily, his glasses crooked on his nose and his backpack straps hanging unevenly.
Lin Hai took out a mint leaf from his pocket and handed it to Peter. "Chew this. It'll wake you up."
Peter took the leaf and shoved it into his mouth. His eyes widened, and his expression twisted. "Wow! That taste! It's still so strong!"
"Can't you make it taste less terrifying?" This was not Peter's first time eating it, but he had the same reaction every time. His twisted expression could entertain Lin Hai for a long while.
Lin Hai shrugged, looking somewhat innocent. A milder taste meant weaker medicinal effects.
But the main reason was that if he could not enjoy Peter's twisted expression, life would lose one of its greatest pleasures. It was one of his little guilty delights.
The bell rang, and the two hurried to the biology lab. Today's lesson was an observation experiment on plant cells.
"I heard there's a new student today," Peter said as they walked. "The son of Osborn Enterprises—Harry Osborn."
Lin Hai raised an eyebrow. Another important figure of the future—the Green Goblin's son, one of Peter's best friends, and one of the greatest tragedies.
The biology lab was already full of students. Lin Hai and Peter chose a lab table by the window, where the sunlight fell perfectly.
Lin Hai quietly placed his hand beside a potted plant on the windowsill, sensing the flow of energy within it.
"Quiet, everyone," Ms. Clemente, the biology teacher, said, clapping her hands. "We have a new student joining us today. Harry, please introduce yourself."
A blond boy walked in from the doorway. He was tall and slender, dressed in an obviously expensive casual suit, and every gesture carried the elegance and detachment unique to high society.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Harry Osborn." His voice was deeper than those of his peers. "I just transferred back from a boarding school in Switzerland. I hope we can become friends."
Lin Hai noticed the longing and doubt in Harry's tone when he said the word "friends."
At the teacher's arrangement, Harry took the empty seat beside Mary Jane in the front row.
"Whoa," Peter whispered in amazement. "Beside Mary Jane..."
Lin Hai followed his gaze and saw a red-haired girl smiling as she greeted Harry.
Mary Jane—Peter Parker's future beloved. At the moment, she was still a lively, cheerful high school girl, with several purple streaks dyed into the ends of her hair. An artistic air surrounded her.
However, the Mary Jane of this world was not the girlfriend from the Tom Holland version of Spider-Man, because her skin was snow-white rather than dark like actress Zendaya's. Instead, she somewhat resembled Tobey Spider-Man's Mary Jane.
When Lin Hai first saw Peter, he had thought this was simply the MCU Film Universe. But when he first learned about this Mary Jane, he had felt somewhat confused. So perhaps this was a mixed universe?
And Gwen Stacy, whom he met afterward, confirmed it for him.
After being classmates for so long, Lin Hai had gained a basic understanding of Mary Jane. The current Mary Jane was merely a high school student with artistic dreams who was striving toward them. Youthful, lively, and cheerful were her defining traits.
Clearly, she had not yet become the Broadway dancer made more realistic by life in Tobey Spider-Man 3.
Lin Hai felt he had to do something, so he leaned close to Peter's ear as Peter stared at Mary Jane. "Peter, do you like her?"
Peter's face instantly reddened to the tips of his ears. "W-what? No! I mean... Mary Jane is really nice, but we're just neighbors... I've known her since I was little..."
For now, the gap between them really was enormous. Peter was only a somewhat odd, ordinary-looking high school student, while Mary Jane was one of Midtown High School's beauties.
Lin Hai patted his shoulder. Peter was so embarrassed that he wished he could crawl into a crack in the ground.
At that moment, he noticed a blond girl on the other side of the lab table carefully adjusting a microscope.
Gwen Stacy. She looked somewhat like actress Emma Stone, whom people often called Stone, though only her facial features bore a resemblance. She was even prettier than Emma Stone.
In Lin Hai's memories from his previous life, she was the lover of the Andrew Garfield version of Spider-Man in another universe. At this moment, she existed in this world as a top student.
She was the one who confirmed for Lin Hai that this had to be a Marvel mixed universe: the Tom Holland version of Spider-Man, the Kirsten Dunst version of Mary Jane, and the Emma Stone version of Gwen Stacy. It could not possibly be any more mixed.
"All right, everyone," Ms. Clemente announced. "Today, we will observe plasmolysis in onion epidermal cells. Collect your materials by group and begin the experiment."
During the experiment, Lin Hai secretly used his ability to speed up the recovery of the onion cells, allowing Peter to observe changes that would normally take several hours to complete.
"This violates the basic principles of osmotic pressure!" Peter murmured, his eyes gleaming behind his lenses.
But that did not stop Peter from excitedly recording the relevant data, completely absorbed in this "scientific miracle."
A sudden commotion came from the front row. The onion slice from Mary Jane's group accidentally fell to the floor. When she bent down to pick it up, her long hair brushed across Harry's experiment notebook.
"Oh, sorry!" Mary Jane hurriedly apologized.
"It's fine." Harry smiled and handed her a new slice. "Your hair color is beautiful, like autumn maple leaves."
Mary Jane blinked, clearly not expecting the wealthy young man to compliment her like that. "Thanks! I dyed it myself."
"Artistic creation?" Harry asked, his voice carrying sincere interest.
"Yeah, I prefer stage performance, but visual art is fun too." Mary Jane's answer made Harry's eyes light up.
Lin Hai saw Peter's expression dim for a moment. Just as he was about to say something, a voice came from beside them. "Your method of recording data is quite unusual."
At some point, Gwen Stacy had appeared beside their lab table. Her blond hair was tied into a neat ponytail, and her blue eyes curiously studied Peter's notebook.
"Ah! This is... uh..." Peter suddenly began to stammer. Facing this genius girl, who was not only one of Midtown High School's beauties but also ranked first in their grade, his confidence in science seemed to vanish.
"We're trying to explain cellular activity using Eastern medical theories of energy," Lin Hai calmly took over. "The balance of yin and yang has similarities to the exchange of substances inside and outside cells."
Gwen's eyes lit up. "That's a very novel perspective. You're Lin Hai, right? The exchange student from Huaxia?"
Lin Hai nodded, surprised that she knew who he was. Gwen held out her hand. "Gwen Stacy. I'm very interested in Eastern science, especially the intersection between traditional medicine and modern biology."
When Lin Hai shook her hand, he felt a subtle current. Gwen's hand was warm and strong, unlike the shy restraint of ordinary girls.
He noticed Peter's mouth hanging open beside him. Clearly, Gwen taking the initiative to speak to someone was an extremely rare occurrence on campus—rare enough to become a school hot topic.
"Are you interested in joining Friday's science seminar?" Gwen asked. "We're looking for scientific perspectives from different cultural backgrounds."
"Of course," Lin Hai replied, then added, "Peter also has insights into interdisciplinary research."
Peter looked like an actor suddenly shoved onto the stage. He nervously adjusted his glasses. "I just have some ideas about quantum biology..."
Gwen smiled and nodded. Before leaving, she gave Lin Hai a meaningful glance. "I look forward to hearing your insights, especially the part about 'energy flow.'"
After the lab class ended, Peter let out a long breath as though he had learned how to breathe again. "Oh my God! Gwen Stacy talked to us! She usually only discusses things with teachers!"
"She seems very smart," Lin Hai commented as he packed up the lab equipment.
"Smart? She's the number one genius in the entire school! I heard she's already received an early admission offer from MIT!" Peter said excitedly. "And she was actually interested in our research. It's unbelievable!"
"Better than you?" Lin Hai asked.
"Uh, actually... well... okay, she is a little better than me right now, but I'm working hard to surpass her!" Peter became somewhat conflicted. He did not want to admit that someone his age was better at studying than he was, but reality was reality. Peter was indeed a little worse than Gwen at the moment, so he lacked confidence.
But Lin Hai believed Peter could do it, because he was Peter Parker.
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