Gwen, in a white hoodie, was adorably sucking on an ice pop in the sunlight. Her short blonde hair gleamed like spun gold in the light. A bit of creamy white residue was stuck to the corner of her mouth, giving her a charming, dazed look.
"Slurp~"
Gwen took a big slurp of her ice pop, her eyes wide with surprise as she looked at the two. "Cassius... Mr. Cassius, is that really you?"
She had just come here to do some grocery shopping and was overjoyed to run into Cassius. Her heart was full of joy, and she hurried over. This was a delightful surprise. She had been planning to find time to see Cassius, but it felt like fate had brought them together.
"What are you doing here?" Cassius's expression was stiff as he looked at Gwen. This wasn't Queens, yet he had still managed to run into Gwen.
"The supermarket near my place was looted, so I had to come to this one," Gwen said with a dazed look, using her nimble tongue to quickly lick at the melting ice cream. She had seen things like that happen so often that it no longer fazed her.
"And this is...?" Wanda finally couldn't help but ask. For some reason, the moment she saw Gwen, she had a strange, inexplicable feeling of familiarity. It was as if she had seen her somewhere before, but she couldn't find a single memory of this face no matter how hard she searched.
For some reason, she even felt that there was a unique affection in the girl's eyes when she spoke to Cassius. Although it was her first time being in a relationship, this might be what they call a woman's intuition.
"Uh... this is Gwen Stacy," Cassius said in a gentle tone. "She's a student from a university where I gave a lecture."
But inside, his mind was a storm of panicked thoughts. 'New York isn't exactly small, so why did they have to meet here?'
And at this moment, no matter which woman made a move, it would be an instant disaster. After all, both of them had an extremely intimate relationship with him. Although Wanda was usually reserved in public, she would still hold his hand. As for Gwen, it was a miracle she hadn't pounced on him yet.
Although he had made up that lie on the spot, he was still not out of danger. As long as the two of them were together, who knew what would happen next?
"Oh, right, I've listened to Mr. Cassius's lecture before. I'm one of his students." Gwen was quick to react. She had almost forgotten that in the eyes of others, she, as Ghost-Spider, was the one who knew Cassius. But right now, she was just a first-year university student. With an outsider present, she naturally had to pretend their relationship was nothing special.
"Oh... a student, I see," Wanda involuntarily breathed a sigh of relief. Although the other person was younger, being younger had its own advantages. And the girl's looks and personality were indeed very appealing.
If she were a competitor, it would have been a lot of pressure. But it was a good thing that the girl was just a student Cassius had taught before. In that case, there shouldn't be much of a problem. She guessed the girl had just come over to say hello because she saw Cassius.
"Cassius, I had no idea you gave lectures before." Wanda looked at Cassius with a puzzled expression. However, she didn't doubt him. After all, she had looked up Cassius's profile online before. He had countless sports and business titles, so it was very likely that he had been invited to give a lecture. Take Tony, for example; he had been invited to give lectures at many top universities.
"It was just a small thing in my life." Cassius forced a smile, his voice trembling slightly. By all accounts, as a man who had been with many women, he shouldn't be so nervous. But at this moment, he realized that this was completely different from his previous casual flings.
He had grown fond of these two girls, who had very different personalities. He couldn't give up on one for the other. This was why his mind was in such a chaotic mess.
'No!' Just then, an idea popped into Cassius's head. If he did this, he might be able to avoid an awkward situation. And even if the three of them stayed together, the chances of being exposed would drop significantly.
"Uh... Gwen." Cassius put his right hand in a fist to his mouth and coughed lightly before speaking. "Let me introduce you to her. This is Wanda Maximoff."
Wanda was taken aback. She hadn't expected Cassius to reveal her identity on his own. But since he had already introduced her, she had no choice but to take off her mask.
"The Scarlet Witch!" Gwen pretended to be surprised, her eyes wide as she quickly extended her right hand. She had her spider-sense, and even though Wanda was wearing a mask, she had recognized her immediately. But since she was Gwen and not Ghost-Spider, she hadn't brought it up herself.
"Hello! I'm Cassius's... friend." Wanda said with a smile. If she were still wearing a mask, she could have introduced herself as Cassius's girlfriend. But after taking off her mask, she was the Avengers' Scarlet Witch.
At this moment, she had no choice but to keep her distance from Cassius. After all, she didn't want anyone to know about her relationship with him yet.
Seeing the two of them shake hands, the heart that Cassius had in his throat finally went down a little. The reason he had taken the initiative to introduce Wanda was that as soon as Wanda took off her mask, she would have to be mindful of her identity. In this situation, she wouldn't make any intimate moves toward him.
And Gwen wouldn't notice anything strange about them. With Wanda next to them, the chances of Gwen making a move were also low. As long as he was careful, he might be able to pull this off!
"Hello! I'm a huge fan of yours! I'm even the admin of one of your fan groups!" Gwen was so excited to meet her idol.
"That's wonderful! Thank you so much for your support!" In response to Gwen's excitement, Wanda took the initiative and gave Gwen a warm hug. Because Wanda was a little taller than Gwen, Gwen was a little out of breath for a moment.
'This is all real!' Gwen thought to herself. When they hugged, she couldn't help but compare herself to Wanda. After all, the difference between them was a bit too big. This even made Gwen feel a little inferior for some reason.
"Thank you." Gwen thanked her repeatedly after Wanda let go. She really hadn't expected Wanda to hug her on her own.
"You're welcome." Wanda's lips curved into a slight smile. She had to admit that even after just a few minutes of meeting, she had grown a little fond of the girl in front of her. Every move she made was full of enthusiasm, and Wanda could clearly feel the genuine joy in Gwen's heart. This meant that the girl in front of her was indeed her fan.
"Are you two on a mission?" Gwen blinked her sky-blue eyes, asking with a puzzled tone. She had often seen Cassius and Wanda together, and although she had never seen Cassius on TV, she had already considered him a hero who kept a low profile. So when she saw the two of them, her first reaction was that they were probably about to go on a mission together.
"No, Wanda and I are out grocery shopping," Cassius said after a pause. "Wanda is coming over to my place today."
This part was technically the truth. She was indeed coming over, but the nature of the visit was a little different.
"Grocery shopping?" A hint of disappointment flashed in Gwen's eyes. She also wanted to spend time with Cassius. Although Wanda was right there, she didn't want to leave just yet. After a moment of hesitation, she looked at Cassius with a pleading gaze. "Mr. Cassius, can I come over for dinner?"
"Huh?" Cassius was completely stunned. 'What kind of plot twist is this? And if I really bring her back, who knows what will happen?'
He had thought Gwen would just say hello and leave, but he had never expected her to want to come over to his place. If they were all together, the chances of being exposed were just too high!
"Is that not okay?" Gwen's eyes drooped, and she pouted, looking a little dejected.
"It's not that it's not okay, it's just..." Cassius secretly glanced at Wanda next to him, observing the expression on her face. Although he had already made Wanda wear "Ghost Spider's clothes" last time, having the two of them meet was a completely different story.
"My parents aren't home for lunch today, and I don't want to go home and cook..." Gwen took a deep breath, her voice a little hoarse. She looked like a pitiful child.
"It's okay, Cassius. Just let her come with us for dinner." Just then, Wanda suddenly spoke up. After all, Gwen gave her a very familiar feeling. It was as if she had seen her somewhere before, and the more she felt this way, the more she wanted to remember where she had seen Gwen.
"Alright, I guess you can come with us and do some grocery shopping first." Now that Wanda had spoken, Cassius no longer had a good reason to refuse. He had considered using Wanda's identity to refuse Gwen, but before he could even say anything, Wanda had already agreed, so he could only nod.
"Let's go." Wanda put her mask back on and took the initiative to link arms with Gwen. She then walked toward the supermarket, and Cassius shook his head helplessly and followed the two of them.
Seeing how close the two of them were, Cassius was even more flustered. He knew that when girls got together, they would talk about anything and everything. Who knew what kind of earth-shattering information would come out?
"Gwen, is there anything you want to eat?" Cassius took a deep breath and squeezed himself between the two of them, separating them. He had figured out a way to solve this problem: just don't give them time to talk!
"Anything is fine! I'm not a picky eater, as long as it's good!" Gwen, who had wanted to chat more, recalled the breakfast from that morning. Her cravings were immediately piqued, and her eyes were now only filled with a desire for ingredients. After entering the supermarket, the two of them finally let go of each other and stood on either side of Cassius.
"This steak looks good!" Gwen jogged over to the freezer and looked at the ingredients inside.
"Wanda, what do you want to eat?" Cassius's hand subtly moved to Wanda's waist. He even moved it down a little and gently pinched her.
Just that one action was enough to make Wanda's face instantly turn crimson. She turned to look at Cassius in disbelief. She had never expected him to be so bold. After all, Gwen was right in front of them, and even though there was no one around... she quickly jogged over and stood in front of the freezer with Gwen. She didn't want Gwen to see what had just happened.
"This ingredient looks pretty good. Judging by the date, it should still be quite fresh." Cassius said, pointing at one of the grass-fed filet mignon steaks.
Wanda's gaze also followed Cassius's finger. At that moment, Cassius placed his left hand on Gwen's palm and lightly scratched it. Just that one simple action...
"Hmm..." Gwen's face instantly turned red. She had never expected Cassius to do something like this in front of Wanda. But a feeling of happiness still surged in her heart. Although the two of them hadn't made their relationship official, Cassius hadn't ignored her. Cassius's hesitant look from before also disappeared from her mind.
In fact, she could also understand that since Cassius's identity was so special, it was normal for him not to reveal their relationship before they had made it official. But she still decisively held onto Cassius's left hand at that moment.
If someone were to look at them from behind, they would see a very enviable scene. He was holding the hand of a young college student with his left hand, while his right hand was occasionally moving around the body of another girl dressed in red.
After a while, Cassius finally took his hand back and picked up the steak in front of him. "Let's go with this one. After all, Wanda, your body is too weak. You need to eat something to replenish yourself so you don't pass out every time."
As soon as he said that, Wanda's face instantly became extremely hot. How could she not understand what Cassius was implying?
"Your body is the one that's weak!" Wanda said with a flushed face. This guy was really so filthy all the time.
"Ms. Maximoff looks great, though." Gwen tilted her head and said with a puzzled tone. Wanda looked very healthy. Could it be because of internal injuries from her previous battles? After all, it wasn't impossible.
"A wood ear mushroom that has been nourished by rain, of course it looks great." Cassius said with a sly smile.
"Oh..." Gwen nodded in confusion. Although she didn't understand what he meant, it sounded pretty impressive. But she could also feel that Cassius treated Wanda very well.
Wanda's face was flushed, and she quietly reached out and gave Cassius's waist a hard pinch.
Although Gwen didn't see any strange movements, a ripple of unease still spread in her heart. She could feel the atmosphere between Cassius and Wanda. They didn't seem like ordinary friends; their relationship was very good.
'The Avengers risk their lives every day, so their relationships must be really good, right?' Gwen thought to herself. She could only attribute all of this to the friendship between comrades.
Cassius and the two girls finished their shopping and walked out of the supermarket.
"We bought so many groceries, are we going to be able to eat all of this?" Wanda muttered, looking at the full shopping cart.
"With me around, I'll make sure you can't close your mouth." Cassius gave Wanda a playful smile, and with just a look, Wanda's expression became unnatural.
"That child!" Suddenly, Wanda noticed a one-year-old child stumbling near the road. A black car was speeding toward them, and from the driver's seat, it was clear the driver wouldn't be able to stop in time.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a white figure leaped out. She used her agile moves to grab the girl and leaped up at the same time, as the car sped past underneath them!
"Oh my god..." Wanda's eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at Gwen. "Cassius, your student's skills are amazing."
"Yeah." Cassius nodded subconsciously. This was nothing special for Gwen, after all.
"You're welcome." Gwen brought the girl back to her mother, and kindly reminded her to watch her child carefully.
"She has a great sense of justice." Wanda really admired Gwen.
"Maybe she has what it takes to be a superhero." Cassius smiled. Gwen would risk her life to save others no matter the danger. Perhaps this was the sense of justice of Ghost-Spider.
"Yeah, you said she has what it takes to be a superhero..." Wanda suddenly looked at Cassius. "Don't you think she's a lot like someone?"
"Who?" Cassius's heart sank, and he had a bad feeling.
Wanda turned to look at Cassius with a calm expression, and her red lips slightly parted. "Ghost-Spider."
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