He had always believed that he was partly to blame for Finn Osborn developing mental illnesses, the facts indeed supported this; whenever Finn had something on his mind, he would mostly turn to Peter or Noah to vent, his conversations with him were often limited to business.
"That makes a lot of sense." Noah had always been one to join in when it came to kicking Harry while he was down.
Don't say that, Harry is a very good brother." On the contrary, Finn immediately defended Harry, "The sickness is my own sickness, don't push it onto others; I can just deal with it myself. I feel like I've already improved a lot, in a little while, I'll be able to return to how I was before.
Thor stayed at Finn's house for a long time, discussing with Finn how to draw memes for the Thor Series. Under Thor's enthusiastic and expectant encouragement, Finn, after having gone on strike for a long time, truly experienced an extraordinary surge of inspiration and motivation.
You should really learn from him, how others use passion to nurture their younger brothers," Noah added from the side, speaking sarcastically to Harry. "But you can't deny it, if Thor and Finn were actually brothers, they would probably be the most harmonious brothers in the universe, you and Loki would be a perfect match too; if you were brothers, you'd each have eight hundred schemes, mocking each other every day, fighting and scheming just to see who could bring the other down.
Spider-Man: ".." What he said actually made a lot of sense; it felt strangely familiar.
"Finn Osborn is my younger brother," Harry insisted in a firm tone, as if he couldn't just be snatched away by some god.
Indeed, you should thank your father," Noah nodded. "The legacy you least wanted has become your most precious wealth.
Seeing that Finn was in a very good mood today, Andrew took the initiative to ask if he wanted to film a simple dance clip.
Andrew still posted on Finn's social media at his usual frequency. Although Finn's condition had been acting up lately, it didn't stop Andrew from managing Young Master Finn's social media, since he still had plenty of unreleased footage on hand.
Thor immediately and readily agreed that it was no problem.
"Alright." Finn thought about it and agreed.
Hearing that Finn finally had the inclination to dance, Noah immediately dressed the Young Master up to look radiant once again.
This video, titled 【New Group】, was quickly edited and posted by Andrew, the comments section instantly became lively—
[The fourth wall has been broken again! Finn can actually get Thor to dance with him! Which Avenger will he have a dream collaboration with next?]
[I'm blindly guessing that the next one to be turned into a meme by Young Master Finn will be Thor; I'm already looking forward to it.]
[Suddenly I'm curious, is it possible that the social butterfly Young Master Finn in the next season of Rat Rise will have Thor and Spider-Man join the cast?]
【Am I the only one who can see this—@Harry Osborn, your brother is being eyed again.】
【Hahaha, as Young Master Finn's social circle grows larger, Harry's status within the family grows smaller. Having Noah as a wild brother wasn't enough; now there's even Thor, a god brother. After all, how can a biological brother compare to the brothers from the outside?】
[Harry's inner monologue: I'm clearly the original brother, so why am I living more and more like an outsider?]..
Harry expressionlessly scrolled through these comments teasing him about "losing his status as the original brother," his fingertips pausing unconsciously on the screen for several seconds. Then, he re-watched the clip of Finn publicly praising him at the press conference, watching it repeatedly and seriously once more to steady his mindset.
“Felicia.” Harry looked up at the secretary beside him, his voice still sounding calm. “Finn has a favorite brand of soy milk.”
"I know." Felicia nodded, looking somewhat puzzled.
Acquire that company." Harry commanded with a straight face, showing no remorse. "Upgrade the product line, redesign the packaging, use the image from the [Sleepless Summer] series designed by Finn as the spokesperson. After that, coordinate a synchronized promotional campaign with 'Summerverse' and 'Frontier Academy.' Additionally, I want the Brand Promotion Department to come up with a complete plan to have the soy milk brand's [Summer] and the study tour brand's [Mr. SUIT] appear together as a bundled promotional duo.
“……” Felicia fell silent for a moment before finally realizing what was happening.
So, after all that, you've gone through such a long process, involving both acquisitions and brand collaborations—
Ultimately, it was an attempt to use official channels to bind the images of [Summer] and [Mr. SUIT] together.
Young Master Finn has indeed drawn quite a few emojis, since the young master's account was exposed, his popularity has been rising steadily, but the most popular are still Sleepless Summer and Mr. Suit." Ever since she learned from Peter last time, Felicia had also gained her own insights on how to strike a chord with leaders. "Just by looking at the names, you can tell that Mr. Suit's style is completely different from other series of images; he is clearly the most special and unique existence.
Hearing Felicia say that, Harry nodded in agreement.
"Should we inform Young Master Finn about the acquisition?" Felicia asked.
Not yet," Harry said. "Once the brand design and promotional plan are finalized, we'll show them to Finn. All the details will be modified and adjusted according to his preferences.
A scene involuntarily surfaced in Felicia's mind: once everything was ready, Harry would walk up to Young Master Finn and say in a CEO tone, "Don't you love this brand of soy milk? I've bought out the entire brand, from now on, I'll take care of you with milk for the rest of your life."
At the thought of that scene, Felicia couldn't help but want to laugh, but in the end, she desperately used her professionalism to force down the smile at the corners of her mouth and responded respectfully.
Alright, I'll arrange it right away.
Harry was aggressively expanding the Osborn Group's business empire on the other side, while Finn's condition at home remained inconsistent.
It wouldn't be wrong to say that his mental state had become much more stable. Finn no longer obsessed over trivialities or stubbornly doubted whether everything around him was a mere illusion. He had lost that previous sense of self-isolation and was now willing to cooperate with Andrew to film videos, willing to communicate his feelings honestly with Dr. Thomas, could proceed step-by-step with the relevant work for "Summerverse" and "Frontier Academy"..
But his emotions would still frequently sink into low moods; he had little interest in going out and no longer possessed his former vibrant and flamboyant energy.
Even at times—
Finn would feel cold for no reason.
Even Peter didn't know why, but even though Finn was wrapped in a thick quilt, the young man's body would still involuntarily curl up slightly, his face tinged with a pale pallor.
Finn would never proactively say he was "cold."
But Peter could clearly hear his inner voice—
Over and over again, it silently repeated "cold."
That kind of cold was as if etched into his very bones; even wrapped in blankets with the heating on, he could not drive it away.
It was as if his body could never warm up, because of the coldness he felt in his heart.
Peter could feel it; it was precisely because of this lingering chill that Finn's mood would remain persistently low. At his lowest moments, Finn would even secretly seek out the System PP in his mind to suddenly burst into tears and complain, his tone filled with vulnerability and guilt, like a wronged child:
I'm sorry, PP, I lied to you.
What did you lie to me about?" System PP was startled by Finn's sudden attack, completely bewildered; he truly couldn't understand what Finn could possibly have to lie to him about. "It's okay, PP is the Host's system; even if it's tricked, it's still the Host's system.
"I used to call you a trash system, even mocked you for having no plugins, coming to work empty-handed." Finn sobbed softly.
System PP was silent for a moment: 【.. But that is indeed the truth, isn't it?】
I'm not nearly as amazing as I say I am; I was really stupid at the beginning." Finn inexplicably began to feel a surge of sorrow, becoming more and more upset as he spoke. "At first, I couldn't help at all, I didn't understand anything, my Host was always scolding me for being stupid and useless. It was because of that I kept saving up Points to buy plugins, always buying plugins, wanting to become a very useful system that could help the Host. You are actually much more capable than me; back then.. I was actually secretly jealous of you.
I was really so useless back then.
By comparison, System PP, you are truly so smart. I actually, I actually—
I actually secretly put a lot of points into Intelligence too!
Otherwise, how could I be this smart?
As he laid bare the secrets he had hidden for so long, Finn felt an even deeper sense of grievance and heartache. Moreover, why was Harry Osborn born with such extraordinary intellect, while he had to add those extra intelligence points just to barely be worthy of being a son of the Osborn family?
I'm so useless." Finn felt the depressive emotions surging again, his head bowed as tears fell one by one. "It's clearly a novice mission, but for some reason, the progress is stuck here, it's even preventing you from moving on to the next mission.
Hearing Finn's inner thoughts, Peter felt that his boyfriend was pitiful, helpless, weak, heartbreaking, yet also somewhat amusing.
Peter could only hold Finn, who was wrapped in the quilt, a little tighter, using his own body heat to warm Finn.
—Help, how can there be such a cute little System?
Peter wasn't sure where these Systems actually came from, or if the Main Brain had created them one by one.
—If that were the case, then Finn must be the most beloved little cutie among the System group, the one that causes the Main Brain the most heartache.
What Peter didn't know was that only System PP knew:
They were not born as Systems.
Even at the very beginning, Finn was just an eight-year-old child, innocent and ignorant. He likely hadn't even figured out what a "System" was before he was forced to become someone else's System, beginning to assist hosts in completing one face-slapping counterattack mission after another.
System PP patiently and softly comforted him: [Host, you weren't just stupid and useless.. you were just small back then.]
He suddenly remembered the people-pleasing personality that Finn had been tested for in his previous psychological evaluation.
—An eight-year-old child, suddenly thrown into the identity of the System.
——What does he know? His life experience and knowledge reserves.. he likely doesn't even know how to save someone else's life.
—He had no choices, no candy, no family, no childhood; he could only grow up step by step within the stories of others.
—From the age of eight, he exerted every ounce of his strength to make himself "useful to others."
Even System PP didn't know how many years his Host had waited until the day he became Finn Osborn.
"The Host is the greatest Host." System PP was also helpless; he could only endure the bitterness in his heart and coax the dejected Finn.
This is just a case of imprinting," Finn thought gloomily. "Once you meet your next Host, you'll realize just how ordinary I am.
"Host, you are the most beautiful Angel in the world," System PP comforted patiently, he truly believed it.
"I'm a Birdman!!" Thinking that his Points could only make up for one [Birdman], Finn felt even more heartbroken instantly.
Finn's condition fluctuated, he would still fall into a low mood for long periods, making it harder and harder for Peter to bear leaving him.
He really didn't know how to soothe Finn's emotions; he only knew that Finn relied on physical contact and was always crying out for warmth in his heart. So, every day as soon as his classes ended, Peter would stay by Finn's side almost every step of the way, relying on his good arm strength and stamina to hug him wherever they went.
Harry and Noah couldn't bear to watch, but thinking of their younger brother's condition, they were left speechless.
Even when Finn got a burst of inspiration and started drawing, he would do it quietly, curled up in Peter's arms.
Finn realized belatedly: 【I feel like I've turned back into the System.】
System PP: 【?】
[It's the portable System that is always attached to the Host.] At this thought, Finn couldn't help but laugh.
Peter was also amused by his inner thoughts, but he silently added in his heart—
In his eyes, Finn was more like the most beloved little pillow from the "Flying Pillow" image he had designed for himself—the pure white, soft little pillow that he always held in his arms and never wanted to be apart from for even a moment.
"Do you want to go out and play?" Peter asked.
"Go where?" Finn asked, momentarily stunned.
To somewhere warmer?" Because Finn always felt cold, Peter also wondered if the New York winter was simply too harsh, thought it might be better to just go somewhere warmer with perfect sunshine; perhaps that would also help with Finn's condition. "We didn't even stay in the West Coast for many days last time.
"Don't you still have to go to school?" Finn asked in confusion.
I've already received my admission notice, the classes this semester aren't very important; I just need to pass them, so taking a week off won't affect anything," Peter explained. He felt that Finn needed to get out and get some sunlight instead of staying cooped up at home all this time, especially since it had been snowing continuously in New York lately and it was cold wherever one went. "Let's pick a warmer place to hang out for a few days, okay?
"What about Aunt May?" Finn asked again.
Aunt May is currently filming a hot new project with four male leads from different wealthy families, all played by her.." Peter sighed, "We'll be watching her new drama very soon.
Finn thought for a moment and nodded slightly.
After discussing it with Finn, Peter told Noah and Harry about it, neither of the two brothers opposed it.
“If Finn is willing to go out on his own, this will be a great start. Traveling itself has a positive effect on one's mood and will be very helpful for his current recovery; the important thing is that he is accepting it proactively.” Dr. Thomas was also very supportive of this plan.
Dr. Thomas, there's something I just can't wrap my head around." Peter breathed a sigh of relief, but then remembered something else, his brow furrowing slightly. "The temperature at home is always constant, it's never been cold, Finn has never even gone outside, yet he always feels cold.
“This is a somatic sensation triggered by emotions, it's related to his depressive state,” Dr. Thomas explained in a simple and straightforward manner. “A bad mood or low spirits can directly affect physical sensations; even if the environment at home is very warm, he will feel cold from the bottom of his heart. The lower his mood, the more pronounced this feeling of cold becomes, because Finn always feels cold, it makes him even more unwilling to move or go out, causing him to isolate himself and creating a vicious cycle.”
Peter, if you take him on a trip to a warm place, it can actually indirectly alleviate this sensation of coldness. Sufficient sunlight and a comfortable environment can help him stabilize his emotions and help him gradually warm up from the inside out.
Since Dr. Thomas said so, Noah and Harry were also eager to pack Finn up and send him to the tropics as soon as possible.
"I'm going back to pack my bags," Noah said immediately.