Chapter 317: Richard's Relics
"Let's go! We should get more exercise too!" Frieda said, looking at Felicia's toned figure—she wanted that for herself as well.
With that, Frieda grabbed Ned's arm and ran off in the direction of Gwen and the others. Ned could only look back at Peter with a helpless expression.
Watching Ned leave, Peter returned to Silas's side. The empty hallway was now left with only the two brothers.
"Silas, what do you think of Gwen?" Peter was now certain that he had truly fallen for the girl.
"She's great. If you like her, you should take the initiative to pursue her. You know, there are plenty of guys in class who have their eye on her," Silas said, nudging Peter.
Peter naturally understood this, but every time he was alone with Gwen, he never knew what to say. It was always Gwen who took the initiative to find topics to chat about. He knew that boys who didn't speak much and weren't humorous weren't exactly popular with girls.
"What kind of topics do you think are better for chatting with girls?" Peter asked. After all, Silas had experience.
"Just chat about whatever. If a girl wants to talk to you, she'll be interested in any topic you bring up," Silas shared his wisdom.
"Is that really how it works?" Peter asked doubtfully.
"Of course," Silas nodded. "Think about it. As long as she's interested in you, she'll follow along with any topic."
"I see." A glint of realization flashed in Peter's eyes; he seemed to have understood something.
Seeing Peter deep in thought, Silas felt that he was a promising student.
"By the way, where did Misty go to school?" Peter turned to ask about Misty's whereabouts.
Silas looked ahead and said, "Her? She went to Massachusetts to attend MIT."
"Cool~" Peter hadn't expected Misty to attend MIT. If he could, he would have liked to study there too. However, the costs there weren't low, and since it was in Massachusetts, given their family situation, it was better for them to apply to Empire State University.
"Don't you miss her?" Peter asked curiously.
"Miss her? Don't forget I have Shadow Teleportation. I can go see her whenever I want," Silas said, exasperated. Every time he was free, he would go check on Misty. He also had the Shadow Ninja Corps protecting her; anyone who dared to mess with her would get a lesson.
"It's a pity Misty went to MIT. If she were at Empire State University, it would be much more convenient," Peter said.
The two walked out of the school, where Ben Parker had been waiting at the gates for a long time.
"Get in, boys," Ben Parker said with a smile as he unlocked the car doors.
Click!
Peter and Silas sat inside and closed the doors.
"Be more careful during the next lab class, Peter," Ben Parker said helplessly, turning to look at Peter.
"I understand, Uncle Ben," Peter laughed sheepishly. He had been distracted at the time, which had led to the series of mistakes in class.
The Secret in the Basement
On the way home, Peter caught Silas's eye. Silas gave a subtle nod of support.
"Phew~" Peter let out a breath and asked, "Uncle Ben, didn't you say before that you were going to give us some of our parents' things?"
Ben Parker, who was driving, paused for a moment before saying, "Yeah. If you hadn't reminded me, I would have forgotten. Haha."
"You both are grown up now. There are some things you ought to know. We weren't trying to hide things from you on purpose," Ben Parker began to mutter to himself.
Peter and Silas listened patiently in the back. Before Ben could finish speaking, they arrived home.
"You two go on inside. I'll park the car in the garage," Ben said.
The Parker brothers stepped out of the car and headed into the house. After backing the car into the garage, Ben Parker opened the underground storage unit and walked in alone.
Dust swirled the moment he entered, making Ben cough. "Cough, cough! It's been a long time since I cleaned this basement."
Covering his nose and mouth, Ben walked to a small corner where a wooden box about twenty centimeters long was placed. The box was covered in a thick layer of grey dust. Ben slowly knelt down, gently wiping the dust away with his hands before lifting the box and heading upstairs.
He whispered to himself, "The kids are grown. I think they can handle the truth now."
The Inheritance
Peter and Silas were waiting for dinner when Ben Parker walked in through the back door, his clothes covered in dust.
"Uncle Ben, what happened?" Peter stood up quickly to ask.
Ben Parker smiled and shook his head. "Nothing. Just getting something. I'll give it to you after dinner."
Peter nodded happily, while Silas guessed that Ben had gone to get their parents' relics.
After dinner, Ben Parker brought the small wooden box to Peter's room, where Silas and Peter were sitting.
"These are the things your parents left behind. They're a bit dirty, though," Ben said, using a tissue to wipe the box.
Peter took the box from Ben's hands and looked up. Ben nodded to him.
Click!
Peter unlatched the small wooden box. Inside were old photographs of his parents, including a large group photo of them. Peter first picked up a photo of his parents; he wanted to use his memory to burn their image into his mind forever.
Then, he put that photo down and picked up another group shot. He asked Ben Parker in confusion, "Who is this?"
"I'm not sure. Probably a colleague of your father's," Ben replied, shaking his head.
Aside from three group photos, there was one of Richard with another man, but no one recognized him. Peter felt a sense of curiosity about this stranger. He then picked up a work ID badge that belonged to his father.
"Oscorp..." Peter's eyes widened. This was an Oscorp employee badge. Had his father, Richard, worked there before?
Silas, meanwhile, picked up a few other items: two notebooks. Upon opening them, he found they were diaries. One was Richard's diary, and the other was Mary's. Silas flipped through them at random and saw the stories of their lives.
"You two take a look first. I'm going to the restroom," Ben Parker said, patting Peter and Silas on the shoulder before leaving the room. He felt like he was losing control of his emotions and needed a moment to compose himself.
"Silas, these are our parents," Peter said, holding up a photo and giving a strained smile.
"Yeah." Silas looked at the diary, focusing on two of the most important entries: the birth of Peter Parker, and his own.
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