America: A Prodigy of Stereotypes

"The tedious basic skills training is over." The old man stood up, clapped his hands, picked up a red-lacquered staff from the corner, and walked towards Liqun.

"What's next?" Gwen asked.

"Let's do some real combat training."

The old man swung his stick at Liqun, but Liqun, hearing the whistling sound, instantly blocked the stick.

The old man's movements weren't very fast, but each move was very powerful, and Li Qun's hand on the stick went numb from the impact.

Peter and Gwen instinctively kept their distance from the two sparring partners, but their frequent practice sessions kept them glued to their screens.

The old man gradually increased his speed, and Liqun also kept up with his speed, and the two fought faster and faster.

"This is kung fu?!" Gwen's mouth dropped open.

"They're even more outrageous than when I last came!"

The stick in Liqun's hand was knocked away by his father, who also threw away his stick. The two then began sparring bare-handed again.

The rooftop space was not large, and the two of them moved around and countered each other in this extremely limited space.

Peter and Gwen were dumbfounded until Liqun was knocked to the ground by his father in one move.

Li Qun was soaked in sweat.

Sparring with my dad is not only physically demanding, but also puts me under immense mental pressure.

My father claims to be over seventy years old, but his body is still as agile as a monkey, and his arm strength is even greater than that of my cousin Shuangxi.

"Take a break."

Li Qun stood still, adjusted his breathing, and focused his energy in his lower abdomen.

"Liqun, take the weights off your wrists and ankles later," the old man said.

"it is good."

"Carrying weight?" Gwen looked at Peter in surprise once again.

"Is the wrist brace Li Qun wearing on his wrist for weight-bearing purposes?" Gwen asked.

“That’s right. One can carry 5 kg,” Peter said.

"Why didn't you tell me that Liqun carries 20kg of weight to school every day?"

“You didn’t ask either,” Peter said.

"This is insane training."

“That karate kid who provoked Li Qun is in trouble,” Gwen said.

“But I feel that Li Qun can beat that guy right now, so why does he need special training?” Gwen asked, puzzled.

"Dad hates JP the most."

“It’s not enough to just win; it has to be a spectacular victory. I need to give that karate kid a crushing defeat he’ll never forget,” Li Qun explained to Gwen.

“Gwen, stop asking. You just need to know that this is a historical issue,” Peter whispered to Gwen.

"Ok."

Gwen decided to take some time to go to the city's public library to borrow some history books to study the historical issues between Aurora and JP.

Today, in Chinatown, Li Qun has opened a door to a new world for Gwen.

Completely different cultures and languages, two ethnic groups of the same skin color harboring generations of hatred, incredible kung fu, and comforting cuisine...

Gwen Stacy gradually becomes immersed in the endless vortex of curiosity that "Aurora" brings her.

As for Peter, he was already deeply involved.

Today's kung fu training started early and lasted longer than usual during school. Seeing that it was getting late, Dad asked Li Qun to finish today's training and then asked Li Qun to take Gwen and Peter home.

“Dad, I want to buy something to take home as a souvenir,” Gwen said in her father’s pawn shop.

"Pick whatever you like, I'll put it on Liqun's tab," the old man replied with a smile.

Gwen carefully searched through the old items in the pawn shop for things she liked, and finally took a porcelain bottle and a porcelain bowl home.

Chapter 24 So what is the price?

The old bus stopped in front of Gwen Stacy, Peter Parker, and Liu Liqun, and they could clearly smell the unpleasant exhaust fumes emanating from it.

The bus door slammed open, and the bus driver turned his head to look at the three high school students who were about to board.

The driver scrutinized Li Qun and his companions, watching them insert the coins.

Before Peter and the others could even settle into their seats, the bus driver slammed on the gas and drove off. Li Qun reached out and helped Peter and Gwen up.

"I've had enough."

“It’s better to withdraw the bonus all at once. More tax deductions are fine. Who can guarantee that a hundred dollars will still be worth the same ten years from now?” Gwen said unhappily to Li Qun and Peter in a low voice.

“Gwen, you’re not thinking of buying a car, are you?” Peter looked at Gwen, and Gwen nodded.

“We learned to drive together, took our driving tests together, and drove the same used car together,” Gwen said with a smile.

"This way we can go wherever we want on weekends without waiting for the bus or taking the subway."

"Wait."

“Gwen, are you sure we really have a $200 million lottery ticket?” Li Qun once again stopped Gwen’s daydreaming.

"There won't be any problems. My dad and I watched the lottery draw on TV last night and checked it repeatedly."

“My dad will take the day off next Tuesday, and he’ll personally take me to claim the prize,” Gwen said softly.

The three people sat in the last row of seats on the bus, talking in hushed tones, their eyes scanning the other passengers as if they were spying on them.

“What is the price?” Li Qun asked.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Gwen and Peter looked at Li Qun in confusion.

“I am quoting a famous line from The New York Times.”

“Whenever the New York Times reports a news story, it always adds a question at the end of the article, ‘So what is the cost?’ to make people think,” Li Qun explained.

What will this two million dollar prize bring us? What price will we have to pay?

“Liqun, aren’t you overthinking this?” Peter said to Liqun.

There's an old saying in China: "There's no such thing as a free lunch."

"We should be cautious at least until this money is safely in Gwen's bank account."

"Ok."

When the bus arrived at the station, the three of them carefully got off.

Li Qun's words made Gwen and Peter nervous.

Gwen also started to worry: what if someone knew which store she bought the $200 million lottery ticket and then came to her house?

Li Qun and Peter flanked Gwen, protecting her from the middle, and the three of them nervously made their way to Gwen's house.

It was past seven o'clock, and the sky was getting dark. Fortunately, I didn't have to go too far to take Gwen home.

A police car slowed down and drove past the three of them on the side of the road. Gwen's elderly father, George Stacy, tilted his head and looked at the three of them.

"Is that your daughter?"

George Stacy's African American partner drove up to George and asked him a question.

"It's time to get nervous."

“Shut up, Morales,” George Stacy said to her partner.

“You can get out of the car now. Walking home with your daughter and her friends will allow you to better connect with your daughter,” Morales, the Black partner, said to Sheriff George.

"Okay. I'll trust you this once."

The police car stopped in front of Gwen and the others. George Stacy got out of the car and greeted Gwen.

"These are the Peter and Leon you mentioned, Gwen!"

“Peter, Lyon, this is my dad,” Gwen introduced.

"Hi, Uncle George, good evening."

"uncle?"

George Stacy glanced at Li Qun and slowly nodded, accepting that he was being called "uncle".

“I am Peter Parker.”

“I know your Uncle Ben Parker.” George Stacy nodded to Peter.

George Stacy came over and hugged each of the three children, thus completing the entire ceremony of their first meeting.

“You can stop here. It’s getting dark, you should go home soon,” George said to Peter and Li Qun.

"Oh, this is Gwen's."

Li Qun handed the two bags he was carrying to George Stacy, but Gwen immediately reached out and took them from him.

Uncle George's eyes darted between his daughter and Li Qun.

It's not very common for a boy to carry things for a girl, especially in the eyes of Sheriff George.

"Be careful on the road!"

“I have a flock protecting me!” Peter said.

The two waved goodbye to Gwen Stacy, and Gwen and George watched Peter and Lillian walk away.

"Did you tell them about that?" George asked Gwen.

"Of course."

How could you tell them?

“It was all Lyon’s suggestion, otherwise I wouldn’t have bought that lottery ticket.” Gwen was very dissatisfied with her father’s tone.

“You’ve only known each other for less than a month, you don’t know if you can trust them,” George lectured Gwen.

“I’ve known Peter for a long time.”