A Rainstorm Was Perfect for the Heartbroken

As Parker walked the streets of New York, reflecting on the past few days, a sense of unreality arose within him. To be honest, he was very happy with Russell and Deadpool; in fact, he could say he had never been so happy.

It would be a lie to say I wasn't tempted by Russell's invitation to join the team, given how good the offer was.

It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Now, if he were asked to move into a studio apartment again, he would be utterly resistant.

He wouldn't mind continuing to be a hero, shining brightly for those in need, but he didn't want to live such a stifled life. He wanted to be like Russell, a superhero while enjoying the glitz and glamour of the world.

With that in mind, Parker made up his mind, found a phone booth by the roadside, and contacted Aunt May. He didn't say much, only that he was going on a long trip soon and would be back in a while.

Aunt May didn't think much of it. Even though Parker's tone carried a hint of sadness, it suited his character perfectly, given his miserable background. Aunt May would have found it odd if Parker had excitedly announced that he'd won a million dollars in the lottery.

"Kid, I know you broke up with Jane and want to go out and clear your head. Have fun and have a good trip." The phone call ended, and Parker fell into a daze as he heard the dial tone.

Mary Jane!

A name that was hard to let go of a few days ago, but now seems somewhat unfamiliar to Parker. He vaguely remembers that after losing her job, she found work as a waitress in a bar.

Parker decided to go and see her. His inner darkness led him to have two extreme attitudes toward Mary Jane: nostalgia and disgust. So he used the excuse of showing off and slapping her in the face to go and see her as a farewell.

A poor boy becomes rich overnight, his ex-girlfriend fails to hook up with a rich man and ends up as a liquor saleswoman, and the two meet again... This plot wasn't considered outrageous in 2003, and Parker gets a little excited just thinking about it.

The loser hadn't realized that the reason he had such immature ideas was because he still cared!

The scene shifts, and Parker finds the bar where Mary Jane works, following the address he remembers. The location is so-so, not exactly bustling.

After Parker entered, he asked for a seat in a corner. In his current opinion, the bar was terrible. The facilities were outdated, the service was poor, and the drinks were all low-quality, not befitting his millionaire status.

"Sir, would you like something?"

The waitress greeted him with a smile, and it was clear that Parker's clothes were expensive. If she could persuade him to order a couple of bottles of high-priced wine, she could earn a commission.

"A glass of ice water!"

Unable to find the high-end drinks he wanted on the menu, Parker, following Russell's example, ordered a low-key, luxurious, and sophisticated beverage.

What a stingy guy!

The waitress cursed under her breath, then her face lit up with joy, her eyes filled with affection, as Parker held a Franklin note between his hands and handed it to her.

"Here's your tip, extra ice, less water."

"Please wait a moment, I'll be right back."

Parker enjoyed it all; the money earned him respect and made him even more determined to say goodbye to his previous miserable life.

At this moment, the bar's resident band changed their style, and Mary Jane, dressed in an evening gown, walked onto the stage, picked up the microphone, and began to sing.

Life was tough. In addition to working as a waitress, cleaner, beverage salesperson, and warehouse manager, Mary Jane also worked part-time as a singer. As a former leading lady at the Grand Theatre, singing a few popular love songs was a piece of cake for her.

To be fair, Mary Jane's singing skills were quite good. Because theaters don't allow lip-syncing, she developed a great voice and quickly gained applause.

"Sir, your ice water!"

The waitress hurried over, presented the iced water with both hands, and stood smiling next to Parker. The voices of those who needed service were ignored by her.

Want her enthusiastic service? No problem, just give her a $20 tip first.

"This female singer sang well. This is my tip for her. Take it up." Parker took out a wad of US dollars from his pocket, counted out ten bills, and threw them to the waiter.

"Please wait a moment!"

In the America, someone carrying large denominations of US dollars, especially a wad of cash, is highly suspicious. But the waitress didn't care; she was convinced Parker was a rich kid and that the wad of dollars was his spending money for the day.

When the thousand dollars was brought onto the stage, the atmosphere in the bar instantly became lively, with people Parker and thinking that there was a high chance he would take the singer away that night.

Mary Jane looked pale and, upon seeing Parker, felt the dollar in her hand become incredibly heavy, causing her to sing several notes off-key, which clearly demonstrated...

She sang live!

The waitress returned with a smile, and Parker gave a cold smile at the stage, raised his hand to put his arm around her waist, and pulled her into his arms.

Mary Jane's face darkened further. Parker was captivated by the vengeful thrill and took out his dollars, stuffing them one by one into the waitress's collar.

Exactly ten cards, no more, no less!

On stage, Mary Jane finished singing the song with tears in her eyes, then hurriedly returned backstage with her head down.

Don't ask, the answer is simple: I loved him!

Seeing Mary Jane's tears, Parker felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him. Feeling utterly disheartened, he pushed the waiter away and walked out of the bar with a desolate back.

The rain pouring down over New York City foreshadowed Parker's mood; the thought of Mary Jane's tearful face filled him with mixed emotions.

"God, what am I doing..."

Clang! Clang! Clang—

Around the corner of the bar, on the church bell tower, the wind swept through and the bells rang.

Parker instinctively looked up and saw the Cross standing atop the church. He felt a jolt in his heart, touched the black spider uniform inside his shirt, and his eyes flickered.

He wants some peace and quiet!

Inside the church, Eddie, an unemployed young man, sits in the church, pleading with God with devotion and awe for Peter Parker to die in a car accident.

Eddie was the photojournalist who used fake photos to smear Spider-Man. During that time, Parker was possessed by Venom and became as petty as a needle. When he learned that he had been framed, he took revenge and exposed Eddie's dirty secrets to the public, making him infamous in New York and unable to continue working in the journalism circle.

Eddie lost his job, his girlfriend left him, he lost his stable income and was kicked out by his landlord. He had nowhere to go but to pray to God for help.

Just then, the bell tower began to chime, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes soft, sometimes loud...

Eddie cautiously peered closer, and with the professionalism expected of a paparazzi, he figured there were hundreds of millions of dollars at stake. It was a pity he'd been blacklisted by the journalism community; otherwise, he could have easily earned a small fee for publishing a gossip story.

Next, Eddie witnessed an unbelievable scene: a naked man undressing on the clock tower. When clothed, the man was Spider-Man; when undressed, he transformed into his nemesis Peter Parker.

Eddie finally understood why Parker attacked him like a mad dog when he was criticizing Spider-Man: because Parker was Spider-Man.

Eddie is so angry! If you were Spider-Man, you should have said so earlier! If you had, we could have teamed up to take some staged photos and make money. One of us would have provided the technique, and the other would have provided the pose. Why did you have to kill me off like this?

Besides hatred, there was also envy; he also wanted to be Spider-Man. Being a hero was impossible; he only wanted immense power so he could do whatever he wanted.

The Venom stuck to Parker's body, and the host refused to leave, which was a bit embarrassing to admit. He had spent the last few days with Russell and had tried to sneak up on him several times but hadn't dared to.

It chickened out!

Venom decided to hold back and wait until Parker had swelled up before taking revenge. As it turned out, Parker did swell up, but in the wrong direction; he actually tried to shake Venom off.

Without me, how can you become stronger, how can you fight fifteen people!

Venom was unwilling to let go, but the sound of the clock tower's tremors weakened it, and it was gradually sloughed off, dripping like water onto Eddie, one of the onlookers.

Meanwhile, on the rooftop of an apartment building far from the church, two figures stood in the rain: Russell and Deadpool.

"Dude, why are you only holding the umbrella for yourself and leaving me to get soaked?" Deadpool complained.

The two stood side by side, the rain parting on its own above Russell's head, while he was soaked to the bone. That wasn't the worst part; not only did Russell not offer him an umbrella, but the rain was also pouring down on his head more than on the rest of his body.

"Wade, I'm setting the mood for you. A gloomy, rainy day is perfect for heartbroken people."

Russell glanced at Deadpool: "You were right, Parker really isn't coming back. What should we do now?"

"There's a kind of love called letting go. If you can't have him, wish him happiness. If Parker doesn't want it, then so be it!"

"Huh, you're actually so open-minded?" Russell was quite surprised, thinking Deadpool would say that if he couldn't have him, he would destroy him.

Deadpool gazed at the clock tower, at Parker, reborn after being stripped of his Venom, and exclaimed, "This is the Spider-Man I love! That silly kid from the other day... I have absolutely no interest in him!"