Chapter Eighteen: Gwen Stacy

Jinsha was no longer in the prison infirmary, so she wasn't wearing her usual loose white coat. Instead, she was dressed in a sporty style. Sleek black athletic pants with white stripes accentuated her voluptuous curves, while her top was a deep blue sports bra covered by a thin knit sweater. Her sculpted abs were boldly revealed to the air. Her blonde hair was tied into a ponytail with a ribbon, and she now exuded far more youthful energy than the calm composure she displayed as a doctor in the infirmary.

At her right hand, she held a little girl of about ten. The girl's golden hair gleamed even more brilliantly in the sunlight, the morning rays caressing it and bursting forth in dazzling gold. Her petite nose was as exquisite as carved jade, her small lips rosy as cherries without a hint of makeup. Like Zhong Shenxiu, she had a pair of pure, sky-blue eyes that blinked, making her look like a delicate porcelain doll. She wore an ivory princess dress with lace cutouts, white socks, and adorable little leather shoes.

"Dr. Jinsha," Zhong Shenxiu concluded his appraisal and responded with a smile.

Noticing Zhong Shenxiu's calm demeanor, Jinsha realized he probably hadn't escaped from prison, and her tension faded. She asked, "Shenxiu, how are you out and about? You gave me a fright! Haha, I thought I must have mistaken you for someone else... I was thinking, that can't be right, it's only been a day since I saw you. Who would have thought we'd meet in Queens?"

"I was acquitted just yesterday," Zhong Shenxiu replied, not wanting to dwell on the details. He changed the subject: "I didn't expect to run into you either. Aren't you supposed to be at work today?"

After a few days in the prison infirmary, Zhong Shenxiu had learned the staff schedules, and by all rights, today should have been Dr. Jinsha's shift.

Jinsha smiled and stroked the golden hair of the little girl beside her, explaining, "I took the day off today. My brother is always so busy, so I brought Gwen out to do some shopping."

"Oh, right, I forgot to introduce you two." Jinsha bent down slightly, brought her head close to Gwen, and pointed at Zhong Shenxiu as she introduced, "Gwen, this is the amazing Zhong Shenxiu your aunt has told you about."

"With no formal training at all, his medical skills completely crushed your aunt, who spent eight years earning her master's degree. Do you remember?"

Little Gwen nodded, her big blue eyes studying Zhong Shenxiu intently, as if trying to see for herself what sort of "medical genius" her aunt had been talking about.

Jinsha straightened up suddenly, her chest quivering slightly—a testament to the authenticity of her figure. She laughed and introduced, "Her name is Gwen Stacy, my brother's daughter."

Gwen Stacy. That name was all too familiar to Zhong Shenxiu—Spider-Man's ex-girlfriend, and in some parallel universes, she even became Spider-Woman.

As for her being her brother's daughter, that must refer to George Stacy, the chief of the New York Police Department. No wonder Jinsha's words had such weight with the warden; it all made sense now.

While Gwen was sizing up Zhong Shenxiu, he, too, took a closer look at her. Thus, their sky-blue eyes met in the air for a fleeting moment. Little Gwen quickly looked away, her cheeks blushing pink.

So handsome.

Jinsha, ever perceptive, immediately saw through Gwen's little crush. She smiled helplessly and tapped Gwen gently on the head to snap her out of it. Then she pointed to Delmar's Deli behind them and asked Zhong Shenxiu, "You're here for a sandwich too?"

Zhong Shenxiu nodded. "Yes, a friend told me they have the best sandwiches in Queens. I wanted to try them."

To his surprise, Jinsha immediately put on a serious face, wagged her finger, and said, "No, no, Sevinhai’s is the best."

"Not true! They use too much bread!" little Gwen immediately chimed in to object.

Without another word, Jinsha flicked Gwen on the head, and the girl whimpered, rubbing her head with her tiny hands. "I just like bread," Jinsha asserted, relying on her "reasoning."

But when she realized Zhong Shenxiu was still standing there, her triumphant expression froze instantly. The atmosphere turned slightly awkward—

Ruined, ruined, ruined... Ten days of carefully crafted ladylike image gone in an instant... Ruined, ruined...

In the end, it was Zhong Shenxiu who broke the silence. "Shall we go? Weren't we going to get sandwiches?"

"Ah, yes! Let's go get sandwiches... My treat today, Shenxiu, to celebrate your release!"

—

"You said you need to buy some thin bedding?" After finishing their sandwiches, sitting in the Italian-style shop, Jinsha asked.

"Yes. The quilts at home have all rotted away—can't sleep on them," Zhong Shenxiu replied.

"I heard this is the most humid year on record in Queens," Gwen added, taking a big bite and finishing off her sandwich, her little face smeared with white salad dressing.

Seeing this, Zhong Shenxiu handed her a napkin, and under her grateful blue gaze, he said, "Yes, that's probably the reason."

"Well, we might as well go together. I need to get some daily necessities for Gwen over by the furniture store. She has a science summer camp coming up and will be staying at Oscorp with her classmates for a while," Jinsha explained, her eyes lighting up.

But Zhong Shenxiu shook his head. "Things at the furniture store are too expensive. I'll just grab some basics at the supermarket."

"Oh, that reminds me—Gwen, didn't you tell your aunt before that you didn't want to use anything too fancy?" Jinsha fixed Gwen with a "kindly" gaze.

Having just wiped the sauce off her face, little Gwen instantly turned pale. She nodded her head mechanically. "Y-yes, that's right."

Jinsha, satisfied, nodded and quickly turned to Zhong Shenxiu with a surprised smile: "Well, since Gwen said so, I'll shop at the supermarket too. What do you say, Shenxiu? Shall we go together?"

At this moment, Zhong Shenxiu truly understood the saying: Only when you are handsome enough do you realize how forward girls can be...

After leaving Delmar’s Deli, they got into Jinsha’s car—a red MINI.

The little MINI tore through First Avenue in Queens like a runaway Akhal-Teke stallion, weaving wildly through the endless flow of traffic. The roar of the engine was deafening.

Sitting in the back seat, Zhong Shenxiu quietly buckled his seatbelt. After a moment, deciding that wasn't enough, he reached up and grabbed the handle beside him.

From the east end of First Avenue to the west, a journey that should have taken at least ten minutes given the traffic and the distance, Jinsha finished in under five.

But when Zhong Shenxiu got out and saw little Gwen's pale, trembling legs, he realized the "Drift King of Akina Mountain" was only showing off for the moment.

The western end of the avenue was a well-known cluster of supermarkets in Queens, with all kinds of major chains lined up in a row. Amid those giants was a relatively smaller supermarket—small only by comparison, for it was still sizable.

At that moment, a loudspeaker outside the small supermarket was shouting, "Supermarket promotion, supermarket promotion! Answer a question and take whatever you want for five seconds, answer a question and take whatever you want for five seconds..."

The words "take whatever you want" attracted a crowd of poorly dressed homeless people.

Jinsha noticed Zhong Shenxiu's gaze lingering there and immediately suggested, "Shall we go take a look?"

"Yes, yes!" little Gwen answered eagerly, bouncing up and down.

Zhong Shenxiu nodded as well, agreeing to go.