America: A Prodigy of Stereotypes

"You didn't sketch us because Peter and I are good models for practicing Tai Chi, did you?" Li Qun asked Gwen Stacy.

How could that be?

“Drawing is just one way of observing,” Li Qun said.

“You are observing Peter.”

“Why can’t I observe you?” Gwen retorted.

"Okay, you can observe me too."

Li Qun's words made Gwen Stacy laugh.

“You are different from other Asian students.”

"What makes me so obviously different from them?" Li Qun asked.

“You became friends with Peter, instead of forming a clique with classmates of the same skin color.”

"Also, aren't you afraid of those people from Flash's group? The look in your eyes..."

Gwen moved closer and met Li Qun's gaze.

"It carries a sense of disdain and provocation, along with an inexplicable pride and self-confidence."

"What?!" Li Qun leaned back, putting some distance between himself and Gwen.

“I don’t see anything in Peter that would make you inseparable from him,” Gwen Stacy said.

Peter is a very nice person.

“He is kind, has a sense of justice, and has no prejudice against others, plus we have similar family backgrounds,” Li Qun told Gwen.

"family……"

Gwen realized something.

“You probably don’t know much about me or Peter.”

“Peter and I both lost our parents. My guardian is my uncle, and Peter was adopted by his uncle.”

"I'm sorry, I really didn't know that..."

Gwen's subtle finger movements betrayed her panicked state of mind.

"It's ok."

“Peter lost his parents when he was very young, while I was the only one who survived a car accident involving my whole family. That’s why I transferred schools,” Li Qun said.

"You have strong hearts."

"Aren't you going home?" Li Qun asked Gwen Stacy.

“I don’t need to go home too early. My dad often works overtime and I’m never home. When I get home, I’m all alone,” Gwen said.

"Your home..."

“My mother passed away from illness, and my father was a busy New York Police Department sheriff,” Gwen said.

"Are you waiting for Peter to finish class so you can go home together?" Gwen asked.

"We've arranged to watch today's preliminary rounds of the street fighting tournament with Stan Lee."

"Do you know Stan Lee? The old janitor at our school who always wore sunglasses."

"Oh. He spoke to me too."

Gwen remembered who Li Qun was talking about.

"Can I come with you to the game?" Gwen asked.

“You need tickets, but they’re expensive, costing a hundred dollars. Peter and I worked part-time for several weeks to earn enough for the tickets,” Li Qun replied.

“I happen to have enough pocket money to buy the tickets,” Gwen laughed.

Chapter 17 Where do you live?

Li Qun and Gwen stood in front of the bulletin board in the corridor outside the classroom. Li Qun explained the details of the street fighting tournament to Gwen while looking at the poster.

In the era when mobile phones were still feature phones, there was no opportunity for street fighting competitions to be broadcast online, and related news could only be seen in newspapers with photos. Most of the content was passed on by word of mouth among fans.

The information Liqun provided about past street fighting tournaments to Gwen was all based on Stan Lee's popular science explanations.

"I have a vague recollection of it."

“Last year, my dad was called on a police call that was related to this competition,” Gwen said.

"Someone wanted to prevent a contestant from advancing to the next round, and several people attacked the contestant together."

"What was the result?" Li Qun asked.

“Those people got their way,” Gwen replied.

"How many people have signed up for this year's competition?" Gwen asked.

"I heard that more than 20 people participated in the preliminary round, while the organizers of the main competition only need eight contestants."

“Stan Lee said there were far fewer people and the quality of the event was much lower than in previous years,” Li Qun replied.

“After all, it’s not a formal competition; it seems to have a gang background,” Gwen said.

"You decided to come with us to watch the game at the last minute. Will your dad be worried about you?" Li Qun asked.

"He's worried about me, but I'm more worried about him."

“I’m always afraid that one day he won’t be able to come home,” Gwen said.

"Have you ever thought about changing jobs?" Li Qun asked.

"His position as sheriff is something he's proud of; I've asked my dad that question."

"And you? Have you thought about what kind of job you want to do in the future?" Gwen asked Li Qun.

“I might stick with Peter and start a tech company with him to improve people’s lives.”

"And you?" Li Qun asked Gwen.

"I haven't decided yet, maybe I'll become a doctor or something."

“I want to go to university abroad. Tuition in America is too expensive, and I don’t want to be burdened with loans that I can’t pay off for most of my life,” Gwen replied.

Do you think combat sports are too violent?

Li Qun steered the conversation back on track.

"Violence is the most common thing in life."

“Violence during the game is tolerable,” Gwen said.

"Is this acceptable...?"

"Do you know how to fight with kung fu?" Gwen turned to look at Li Qun, her gaze sweeping over him from head to toe.

“If I get into a fight, it’s only because I have no other choice,” Li Qun replied.

So you know kung fu?

"I'm learning kung fu."

"Every day?"

"Of course, every day."

"After you've mastered the skills, will you be able to take on ten people by yourself, walk without making a sound, and even dress up as Batman and uphold justice in the dark like Batman?" Gwen asked.

"That's a bit of an exaggeration."

“I know self-defense. As long as I attack a person’s weak points, I can take on multiple opponents,” Gwen said.

"You know self-defense? Can you tell me how it differs from combat?" Li Qun asked.

"The key to self-defense is to protect yourself, and the best way to protect yourself is to make others lose the ability to harm you before they can harm you."

"When you decide to use self-defense techniques on someone, don't hesitate at all. Strike the opponent's vital points immediately to incapacitate them, or just run away."

"Have you ever tried it?" Li Qun asked curiously.

“No.” Gwen smiled. “I hope there will never be a day when I need to use it.”

"Me too."

Peter came out of the classroom with his textbooks after class and saw Li Qun and Gwen Stacy standing together, chatting and laughing. He thought he was seeing things. Peter pushed up his glasses and looked closely, and realized that Li Qun really was chatting and laughing with "the witch" Gwen.

Gwen was given a nickname by the other girls at school: "The Witch." This was not only because Gwen was always alone, but also because she was taking advanced college courses in biology and chemistry.

“Peter, Stacy also wants to come with us to the game; she’s already prepared the money for the tickets,” Li Qun explained to Peter.

“I have no objection,” Peter smiled.

After meeting up with Stan Lee, the four of them took a bus to the second preliminary round venue.

"The two players in today's preliminary round may have a pretty intense match."

"One uses Muay Thai, and the other uses kickboxing."

Stan Lee, dressed in a brown leather jacket, served as the commentator, while Peter, Liqun, and Gwen, three high school students wearing thick glasses, stood out conspicuously among the audience.

“I’m going to take a lot of pictures today,” Peter said, raising his camera.

After the referee loudly announced the rules of the match, the fight between Muay Thai and kickboxing immediately began.

The two exchanged blows, with the Muay Thai fighter initially gaining the upper hand and repeatedly kicking the kickboxer to the ground.

The kickboxer was also very resilient, putting up excellent defense against the Muay Thai fighter's elbows and knees. In the end, he lost because he was behind the Muay Thai fighter in points when the three-minute match ended.

Today's preliminary rounds were very exciting, definitely worth the ticket price.

Peter and his two friends, all high school students, were caught up in the enthusiastic atmosphere of the game, and their faces were flushed after the event.

“Alright, it’s time to go home, kids.” Stan Lee put his arm around Peter and Li Qun’s shoulders and invited the three high school students to the hot dog stand next door for hot dogs.

Stacy, is your house in the same direction as mine?

"Didn't you notice?" Gwen was speechless at Peter.

“Now I know,” Peter replied.