Mixed Universe and Peter's Romantic Rival Crisis

Morning sunlight streamed through the large windows of Midtown High School's academic building and spilled into the hallway. Lin Hai leaned against the lockers, waiting for Peter to arrive.

Two weeks after the start of school, he had basically adjusted to Midtown High's rhythm. Besides textbooks, his locker also held several small plants he had secretly cultivated—they were what he practiced his abilities on in his spare time.

"Lin! Sorry I'm late! Uncle Ben's car broke down halfway here, so I had to run across three blocks... whew..."

Lin Hai took 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 face twisted. "Wow! That taste! It's still so intense!"

"Can't you make it taste less horrifying?" This was not Peter's first time eating it, but he reacted the same way every time. Lin Hai could enjoy that twisted expression for a long while.

Lin Hai shrugged, looking rather 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 a great deal of its fun. It was one of his little guilty pleasures.

The bell rang, and the two hurried to the biology lab. Today, they were conducting a plant cell observation experiment.

"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 closest 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 happened to reach.

Lin Hai quietly placed a 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. 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 Swiss boarding school. I hope we can become friends."

Lin Hai noticed the yearning 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. "Beside Mary Jane..."

Following his gaze, Lin Hai saw a red-haired girl smiling as she greeted Harry.

Mary Jane—Peter Parker's future love—was still a lively, cheerful high school girl at the moment. Several strands of her hair were dyed purple at the tips, and she exuded an artistic air.

However, this world's Mary Jane was not the girlfriend from the Tom Holland Spider-Man films. Her skin was snow-white, unlike actress Zendaya's darker complexion, and she instead resembled Tobey Spider-Man's Mary Jane.

When Lin Hai had first seen Peter, he had thought this was simply the MCU Film Universe. But when he first learned about this Mary Jane, he had felt 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. Right now, she was merely a high school student with artistic dreams, working hard to pursue them. Youthful, lively, and cheerful were her defining traits.

Clearly, she had not yet become the Broadway dancer from Tobey Spider-Man 3, made more realistic by life.

Lin Hai felt he had to do something, so he leaned close to Peter, who was staring at Mary Jane. "Peter, do you like her?"

Peter's face immediately 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 was indeed enormous. Peter was merely a somewhat odd, ordinary-looking high school student, while Mary Jane was one of Midtown High'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 that on the other side of the lab table, a blond girl was carefully adjusting a microscope.

Gwen Stacy. She looked somewhat like actress Emma Stone, commonly known as Emma Stone, though only her features bore some resemblance. She was even prettier than Emma Stone.

She was the lover of Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man in another universe from Lin Hai's memories of his previous life, and at this moment, she existed in this world as a top student.

She was the reason Lin Hai had concluded that this was a Marvel mixed universe. Tom Holland's Spider-Man, Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane, and Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy—this could not possibly be more mixed.

"Alright, everyone," Ms. Clemente announced. "Today, we'll observe plasmolysis in onion epidermal cells. Collect your materials 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 muttered, his eyes shining behind his glasses.

That did not stop Peter from excitedly recording the relevant data, completely immersed 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 lab notebook.

"Oh, sorry!" Mary Jane hurriedly apologized.

"It's alright." 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 genuine interest.

"Yeah, I prefer stage performance, but visual art is interesting too." Mary Jane's answer made Harry's eyes light up.

Lin Hai saw Peter's expression darken for a moment. Just as he was about to say something, a voice came from beside them. "Your way of recording data is very unusual."

At some point, Gwen Stacy had come over to their lab table. Her blond hair was tied into a neat ponytail, and her blue eyes curiously fixed on Peter's notebook.

"Ah! This is... uh..." Peter suddenly began stammering. Faced with this genius girl, who was not only one of Midtown High's beauties but also ranked first in their grade, his scientific confidence seemed to vanish.

"We're trying to explain cellular activity through 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 China?"

Lin Hai nodded, surprised that she knew him. Gwen extended her hand. "Gwen Stacy. I'm very interested in Eastern science, especially the intersection of traditional medicine and modern biology."

When Lin Hai shook her hand, he felt a subtle current. Gwen's hand was warm and firm, unlike the shy restraint typical of most girls.

He noticed Peter standing beside them with his mouth hanging open. Gwen taking the initiative to speak to someone was clearly an extremely rare occurrence on campus—rare enough to become a hot topic at school.

"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 some insightful views on interdisciplinary research."

Peter looked like an actor suddenly shoved onto the stage. He nervously adjusted his glasses. "I just have a few ideas about quantum biology..."

Gwen smiled and nodded. Before leaving, she gave Lin Hai a meaningful glance. "I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts, especially the part about 'energy flow.'"

After the lab class ended, Peter let out a long breath as if 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. That's unbelievable!"

"Better than you?" Lin Hai asked.

"Uh, actually... well... alright, she's indeed 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 than him academically, but reality was what it was. Peter was indeed slightly behind Gwen for now, so he lacked confidence.

But Lin Hai believed Peter could do it, because he was Peter Parker.