Female: No! This heart is extremely precious, it is beating inside your body!
Man: Then tell me clearly, do you love me! Or do you love my heart?
Female: I don't know! I don't know! I'm so confused! Your heartbeat is too loud!
Male: I'll go pluck out the heart right now! I don't want the heart of a love rival!
Female: You dare! If you don't take this heart, I will never forgive you for the rest of my life!
As the video finished playing, both Harry and Peter fell into silence, their expressions hard to describe.
"Does.. people actually like watching this kind of thing?" Peter was the first to break the silence, his voice filled with disbelief.
"This kind of show is incredibly popular right now!" Finn said with great conviction. He even thought about waiting until he was discharged from the hospital to specifically seek out Sophia to discuss whether there were any novel, heart-wrenching plots, so that it would be convenient for him to "borrow" and apply them to himself.
"So, what happens next? How does the plot develop? It can't be that the male lead actually rips out his heart, can it?" Peter's curiosity was completely piqued. To him, that line didn't sound like a heart being removed; it sounded as casual as going to the supermarket to buy a bottle of soy milk.
He gets it removed while lying on the operating table in the next episode," Finn said. "After all, it's a short drama, so the plot moves quite fast.
Unbelievable · Spider-Man: ", then, the end??"
And then the male lead gets a mechanical heart, just to prove that even without that rival's heart, he would still love the female lead to the point of madness." As the exclusive sponsor, Finn directly spoiled the ending. "In the end, he puts the heart he removed into an exquisite box and gives it to the female lead to keep, saying it is [the last bit of dignity left for the rival].
"How did it suddenly become cyberpunk style?" Peter's mouth twitched, feeling as if his perception had been shattered.
—You give gifts, you give "the heart of a love rival"?
—Is it considered dignified to have that ex-boyfriend's heart tossed and turned so innocently, only to be placed in a box in the end?
—To use a sincere heart to witness the love between a girlfriend and her rival? This is truly "heart-wrenching."
"That's the ending?" Harry finally couldn't help but speak up as well.
No." Finn shook his head mysteriously. "There's a huge twist in the ending. After his ex-boyfriend died, his family was unwilling to let him go and sent him to a secret laboratory, equipping him with a mechanical heart and a brain with an intelligent chip. The final scene is that after the male lead and female lead successfully propose and return home, they encounter the resurrected ex-boyfriend coming home with a bouquet of flowers to find the female lead.
That's it?" Peter was completely stunned. "Surely they aren't going to film a sequel for this..
Part two?
After hearing such an absurd and outrageous plot, even Harry felt a sense of speechless shock.
"It's not a certainty that it will be filmed, but
I've already thought of the name for the second part," Finn announced proudly. "The title is: *Love of Heart-Stealing II: Love of Four Hearts*!
Spider-Man: ".." Excuse me, can you wholesale the hearts for your short drama in a supermarket?
Finn was still riding high on excitement, launching into a non-stop monologue about the topic of short dramas, speaking with great joy about the design of all sorts of melodramatic plot twists. Harry did not interrupt, merely listening quietly, his own emerald-green eyes tinged with a rare softness at this moment. Looking at the vibrant vitality that had once again blossomed on the young man's face, Harry felt that the heaviness and oppression weighing on his heart during this period had dissipated significantly.
When can Finn be discharged?" After Harry left the ward, Peter came out to ask, of course, asking on Finn's behalf. Noah had already relented, but Harry had yet to budge. "He's about to die of boredom.
Anyone could see that these few days in the hospital were the most well-behaved days for Finn.
"Don't you think he is in a very good state right now?" Harry asked with a frown in a low voice.
Peter was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood Harry's thoughts.
Previously, every time Harry saw Finn, they were in a state of sharp argument, but now that they could chat so peacefully, Finn could even say so much to him with a smile, it made Harry feel—
It was all thanks to the hospital.
Recalling those previous sharp, meaningless arguments and the caustic attacks that hurt each other at the same time, they were as if they had always been standing at opposite ends of a cold wall, maintaining a tense atmosphere, unable to see each other's worlds.
But now, the air in the ward is warm.
Finn would smile at him, share things he found interesting with great enthusiasm, show his childishness without any reservation—this version of Finn was something Harry had never even dared to hope for.
Everything was so precious.
The hospital was so effective that Harry didn't want to let Finn out at all.
He was afraid that as soon as Finn stepped out of the hospital, the restlessness and sharpness brought by those mental illnesses would come rushing back; he was afraid of a relapse in Finn's condition, afraid that the relationship they had finally managed to ease would return to that previous state of deadlock and coldness.
"You can't keep Finn in the hospital forever, can you?" Peter sighed, advising softly.
"I know." Harry's voice grew a bit low as his gaze fell upon the ward door being guarded by Max.
There's already a positive change happening, isn't there?" Peter said encouragingly. "Don't worry too much; it's not like your relationship will go back to square one just because Finn is being discharged from the hospital. If you keep him locked up in the hospital, he'll really go crazy from boredom.
"Then let it be." Harry looked at Peter, who had been supporting and encouraging him all along, felt a surge of confidence in his heart as he said with a light laugh.
When Harry, who was in a relatively pleasant mood, went to the parking lot, he discovered that Noah was actually standing by his car waiting for him.
Harry's visits to see Finn had always been at fixed times, Noah always intentionally avoided him, never meeting him. Waiting here specifically this time, he clearly had something important to say.
"I have something I want to ask you." Noah met Harry's gaze.
"Let's talk in the car." Harry nodded.
After the two of them got into the car, the driver stood outside waiting.
The air in the carriage was silent for a few seconds before Noah was the first to break the silence.
It's about Finn's condition," Noah paused and added, "Dr. Thomas said that the crux of Finn's condition might be related to his childhood experiences. But he has always been very evasive about mentioning his childhood. How much do you know about Finn's childhood?
I'm not sure," Harry Osborn said candidly. "Our father, Norman Osborn, raised Finn and me separately. The relationship between us isn't like the brotherhood you imagine; we didn't grow up together in the same environment.
"Why is that?" Noah frowned, unable to understand.
I don't know either." Harry had never looked deeply into the reasons behind this before, he spoke with a rational attitude, "Perhaps it's just because my father wanted to conduct an absurd long-term experiment, letting a pair of biological brothers grow up in two completely different environments to explore the influence of genetics and environment on personality, behavior, the future.
Noah looked at Harry with a look of disbelief, clearly unable to understand.
I can't think of a reasonable explanation, I can't exactly go and ask Norman Osborn either," Harry said with a light chuckle, his tone laced with sarcasm. "Of course, it's more likely that he just wants to groom a suitable successor, a good son who can stay by his side to please him.
Then what about those two scars on Finn's back?" Noah frowned. "He said they were birthmarks.
Harry remained silent, seemingly weighing whether or not to tell Noah the truth.
That's a scar caused by intervention technology." Finally, Harry spoke in a low voice, "Our Osborn family has hereditary genetic diseases. Our father, Norman Osborn, died from this very genetic disease.
"Of course, I inherited it too." Harry's eyes began to churn once more with a struggle and despair that others could not understand.
"So, Finn, he also—" Noah's heart sank suddenly, his voice tightened.
"He doesn't!" Harry interrupted him, his tone clinical.
Finn is a child bred by Norman using genetic engineering. Norman used intervention technology in advance to excise the so-called cursed genes from his body. He is healthy, completely healthy." Harry let out another light laugh, but there was an indescribable hint of self-mockery in his smile. "But it's also possible that this technology indeed has flaws. After all, Finn is incredibly naive, isn't he? With a personality like his, he doesn't act like an Osborn at all.
Harry felt that every time he thought things were moving in a positive direction, such shadows would always appear without warning.
The curse within his body flared up from time to time to remind him that the dark abyss was always watching him.
—He is trying to start being a good older brother, but then what? How long can he keep it up?
—What if he dies too? What will happen to Finn? Will he become even more desperate after being truly abandoned by his only relative?
—Will Finn hurt himself again? Will his condition become even more severe?
Harry felt that sharp pain in his head begin to surge toward him once again, overwhelming him.
"Does Finn know about this?" Noah asked in a hoarse voice.
He doesn't know. Father never told him; he always lied to Finn, saying his condition was caused by chemical radiation." Harry clenched his fists and shook his head, feigning composure, a flicker of complex emotion passing through his eyes. "Don't worry, I won't tell him either. Even if I am dying from my illness, I will find a reasonable explanation just the same.
Noah stared blankly at Harry, never having imagined that the Osborn family carried such a heavy and cruel secret.
Finn has no need to know any of this." Harry seemed to suddenly remember something, his gaze turning sharp all at once as he stared fixedly at Noah, his tone carrying a warning, "And you must certainly not let him know.
Noah could clearly see a sense of paranoia in Harry's cold green eyes.
He truly does not want Finn to be sad because of the Truth.
I've thought about it seriously, I don't hate Finn." Harry's voice was very soft, as if he were murmuring to himself, or perhaps rationally confessing his heart, "But I am jealous of everything my younger brother possesses.
"That's why I've been deliberately ignoring him, disregarding him, suppressing him." A hint of bitterness entered his voice, as if he were blaming his past self.
Harry paused, his tone tinged with a sense of bewildered self-mockery and despair: "I even feel that even if my father gave the entire Osborn Group to me, it's because he knows.. in the future, I will still have to return all these things to Finn. Because he does not carry the Osborn family's curse. He is the one truly chosen by the Osborn family as the heir."
You are still very young, Harry." Seeing the despondency in the young man's eyes, Noah could no longer maintain his previously seemingly opposing stance and couldn't help but speak urgently, "Biotechnology is constantly evolving. Just because Norman Osborn couldn't do it doesn't mean you can't. A way to cure genetic diseases will eventually be found.
Harry looked up at him, his gaze so calm it was almost hollow. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke slowly:
Noah, you really could be Finn's older brother.
Chapter 51: Party · Brothers
Finn was almost moved to tears of joy when he could finally be discharged from the hospital on Friday.
Since becoming human, Finn has never stayed in one place for such a long time.
After the press conference ignited worldwide hype, Finn's friends, whose social media feeds had exploded, were all scrambling to ask him out to hang out.
—Does Finn not want to hang out? He simply can't get out!!
Finn couldn't explain how he had short-circuited and self-harmed his way into the hospital; to avoid being rude, Finn simply said he had gone to Antarctica for a trip. To make it even more believable, he even had the System PP help him Photoshop a few photos of himself with penguins.
But in reality? He was curled up in a hospital ward as pale as the Antarctic ice fields, being carefully tended to by a group of people, looking for all the world like the last remaining rare emperor penguin in the world.
During these tedious days, Finn reviewed the three core plotlines he had previously designed: the Inheritance Struggle Track, the Nemesis Duel Track, the Dignity Confrontation Track. His "Finn Osborn's Total Defeat Plan" had serious issues, but it was undeniable that it was precisely because of the efforts in these three lines that he had indeed gained 58.09% of his Misery Value.
The progress increased unexpectedly fast, so Finn stopped rushing to continue advancing the mission.
However, during this time, Finn had also specifically searched to see if there were any unconventional ways to increase Misery Value. He actually found several "human tragedies" on the internet, among which there were two standout [real-life cases] that Finn found particularly tragic.
For example, attending a concert and having to rush into a temporary restroom set up for the venue to relieve oneself mid-concert; just as one has pulled down their pants to take a shit, the outdoor temporary toilet is suddenly blown over by a gust of wind with a loud crash—
Getting shit rained down on your head.
For example, if many people are having a party on a cruise ship, as it passes by a bridge, a tour bus on that bridge happens to be emptying its onboard toilet, by some stroke of bad luck, those eight hundred pounds of human waste end up splashing all over the deck of the cruise ship—
Poop Cruise.
So much misery.
This is just too much misery.
"This is truly a misery-driven plot, but System PP still suggests the Host stay a bit more lucid." System PP's flat, childish electronic voice echoed faintly in Finn's mind.
Finn clenched his features, just by imagining the scene, he couldn't help but shudder. If such a thing were to happen to him, let alone Finn Osborn being unable to hold his head up in social circles ever again, even the Osborn Group would be disgraced along with him, Harry would have to sever his brotherhood with him.