“Is something wrong with you?” Harry's brow furrowed even deeper, he looked toward Finn as he asked. If he hadn't seen Finn sitting there perfectly fine, Harry would have truly thought something had happened to his precious younger brother to make Peter cry in such a pitiful manner.
.. I'm fine, of course." Finn looked up, acting as if nothing were wrong, "Do I look like I have a problem?
Even though Peter was crying like this, in Harry's eyes, Finn's condition indeed looked surprisingly good.
In fact, he was even calmer than everyone else present who was worrying about Peter.
Harry turned his gaze toward Noah and Elias, who were also present, as he naturally needed an explanation.
Peter, look, you managed to get the two busiest Osborns in the world to drop all their official business to care about you; just think how much influence you have," Noah said soothingly, attempting to ease the tense atmosphere. "I bet you're the only one who gets that kind of treatment.
Peter also knew that his state was extremely terrible, so terrible that he found it difficult to remain calm, he certainly did not want to interfere with Finn and Harry's work. Just as Noah had said, these two people seemed to carry the workload of a hundred people every day, maintaining extremely strict schedules, now they were wasting their time on his uncontrolled emotions, which was clearly not worth it.
I'm sorry." Peter felt incredibly self-reproachful again, with a blink, tears once again cascaded down his face. Peter felt his emotions spiraling out of control once more, especially as the words of apology left his mouth, that uncontainable guilt and self-reproach surged toward him again. The young man's back curved as he covered his face with one hand, his voice choking and trembling, "I'm sorry, I didn't want it to be like this either.
Even so, Peter's other hand still tightly gripped Finn's hand.
"I.. I was just.. I was just saying it casually." Noah froze, instantly panicking.
Harry immediately stared at Noah with a cold look that said, "Are you sick? You know his emotions are unstable, yet you still provoke him."
Just then, Dr. Thomas also arrived.
The man looked at Peter, who was crying uncontrollably before him, remained silent for a long time.
A hint of helpless heartache.
That Little Peter, who used to remain strong, unyielding, steadfast in his principles, carried the whole team even in front of a crowd of mental patients, that capable assistant who was always energetic, optimistic, positive, emotionally stable.. have you finally fallen after all?
At that moment, even Dr. Thomas began to doubt his own professionalism—
So, mental illness is contagious, isn't it?
Peter, you've finally joined this family too.
Thinking of this, Dr. Thomas silently turned his gaze toward Elias, who was truly the only normal person left.
“I understand,” Elias said calmly. “You can trust me.”
After Dr. Thomas took the emotionally unstable Peter into a room for a private conversation, the others in the living room also began to talk in low voices.
“It should be because of Felix's matter,” Elias explained, looking at Harry. “The boy from that disappearance case that everyone on the internet has been following lately. Peter only recently remembered that he had seen that boy two years ago. It wasn't until he learned about this case that Peter realized the boy might have been looking to him for help, but he didn't provide him with any heroic assistance.. I think Peter is feeling guilty, feeling that the tragedy from two years ago was a consequence of his own negligence.”
“How can this be his fault? Peter didn't just stand by and watch," Noah said with a frown, his tone carrying a natural sense of defense. "No one could have predicted such a tragedy would happen, Peter was only sixteen at the time, wasn't he? How can anyone expect him to have done everything perfectly? Is every single crime that happens in New York supposed to be blamed on Spider-Man?"
Noah, no one is blaming Spider-Man." Elias looked at the increasingly agitated Noah and said soothingly, "Peter Parker is Spider-Man; he has always possessed a strong sense of justice and morality. It is normal for him to feel regret and pain because of this case. After all, in that case, three innocent children were brutally murdered, one boy is still missing to this day.
Please, stop talking.
At this moment, Catherine suddenly spoke up to interrupt, her trembling tone laced with fear.
Everyone looked toward Catherine, whose reddened eyes and visible agitation and tension made them suddenly realize that another victim in that case was the Wilsons' daughter—Lily Wilson, who remained unconscious in the hospital to this day.
"Mrs. Wilson, I am very sorry." Elias apologized solemnly, realizing that he had unintentionally touched upon the woman's deepest pain.
"Please do not discuss this matter in this house." Catherine said in a firm tone. It wasn't that she couldn't bear to listen, but rather that she simply could not endure it.. They were talking about the tragedy of Felix's own experience right in front of Finn.
Everyone fell silent, thinking that Catherine found it difficult to face the tragedy that happened two years ago.
"It's okay." Finn looked at Catherine and said softly, shaking his head.
Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?" Catherine suppressed her emotions, her hands trembling as she pulled Finn, who had been sitting silently on the sofa, up. "Or do you want to go sleep for a while? I'll have Emily accompany you to your room to rest, okay? Peter will be fine; he's just caught up in his emotions for the moment. Peter is a very strong hero; he will pull himself together soon. Let him rest a bit later as well; you two can go get some sleep together, Joseph and I will prepare your favorite dinner.
Harry looked at the agitated and incoherent Catherine, then glanced at Finn, who seemed even more silent than usual, his suspicions grew.
He always felt that Finn, who had been inexplicably dragged into this sensationally widely-discussed turmoil, occupied a very special role.
Finn.." Harry spoke again in a low, confirming voice, "Are you okay?
The young man seemed to be stumped by Harry's question.
A pair of green eyes, identical to Harry's, met his gaze in silence, clear yet bottomless.
"I'm fine," Finn said in a certain tone.
Even quite calm.
It was a very strange feeling.
Finn thought he wouldn't be able to face that place, but surprisingly, he seemed quite calm.
—He arrived there, then he left.
—And just like that, that was all.
That life trajectory named Felix truly seemed to have become a fleeting stopover.
Light and airy, without any weight at all.
However, Finn saw Peter so deeply mired in pain and sorrow.
"Maybe it's because Peter is someone with very strong empathy," Finn explained.
His empathy was so intense.. Finn almost felt that all the emotions he was currently suppressing were being released and exploding within Peter without reservation. Perhaps, there truly is such a person in this world who can empathize with everything you have gone through.
He even carries the weight of the past that you have long since chosen to let go.
He suffers for you, cries for you, vents all those negative emotions that were drowned in the narrow darkness for you..
Noah and Elias both frowned in silence, watching Finn. The calmness the young man displayed at this moment was almost indifferent, it seemed somewhat too eerie, as he simply dismissed all the pain of his beloved as merely having "strong empathy."
It's okay, I'll stay by Peter's side," Finn said with a smile playing on his lips, "Everything will be fine.
Harry stared fixedly at Finn.
At this moment, Finn looked exactly like the version Harry had seen during those repeated moments of emotional breakdown—
It was as if he had silently detached a part of himself, adopting a.. posture that was almost inorganic.
He would not be hurt, he would not be moved, he would not show any negative emotions.
Just because he was needed, he stayed by his side without reservation, offering absolute support and an impeccable presence.
At that time, Harry only felt that he had been redeemed.
But at this moment, looking at it from a bystander's perspective—it felt strange, truly strange.
The Young Master Osborn's eyes were filled with a mix of disbelief and annoyance. He looked at the person in front of him, who was currently being surrounded by the Hamster Legion. "You're actually going to do this?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly. "Of course," the person replied calmly. "The Misery Value is already high enough, we can't stop now."
“Peter is currently trapped in irrational self-reproach. He stubbornly believes that the tragedy that happened two years ago was his fault, he also blames himself for knowing nothing during these past two years. He ignores the objective fact that information was incomplete back then and that he had no way of knowing the truth; he simply uses the perfect hero standards of 'I should have sensed the truth behind it' and 'I should have been able to save him and them' to judge himself." Dr. Thomas explained in a heavy voice, "You also know that Peter himself possesses an extremely strong sense of morality and justice. This trait is undoubtedly his shining point, but after the trauma, it has become a shackle that exacerbates his internal conflict."
The only thing that brought Dr. Thomas any comfort was that, at the very least, his VIP patients—who had all become part of the same family—were willing to share their medical information. However, he also keenly sensed that deep down, there was still a crucial piece of information that Peter had yet to voice.
Moreover, it seems to be related to Finn Osborn.
Peter is only eighteen, he is currently bearing all the pain, regret, guilt upon himself, constantly engaging in self-attack." Dr. Thomas sighed; he also felt heartache that such a young youth was forcing himself to carry such immense responsibility and mission, "This kind of delayed trauma explosion is terrifying because, without any buffer, all of his emotions peak in an instant, he simply doesn't have time to self-regulate. Anything that touches upon that case will trigger Peter's emotions, causing him to plunge into uncontrollable lows.
After Peter came out of the room, he rushed to Finn's side immediately, unable to wait even a second longer.
Harry thought back to when Finn had an episode before, how Peter had stayed by his side every single moment. Now, seeing Peter in this state of emotional breakdown, it felt as if he wanted to keep Finn tucked away in his arms. Listening to Dr. Thomas explain the professional opinion and the subsequent treatment plan, Harry frowned slightly, unable to help but ask with a low, worried voice, "What about Finn.. will Peter's current condition affect him?"
Of course, he knew that his brother and Peter had been inseparable until now.
"No." Thomas shook his head.
"No?" Harry was somewhat surprised.
There is a very special stress response trait in Young Master Finn," Dr. Thomas explained. "As long as the people around him fall into depression, pain, or anxiety, his mental state becomes incredibly good, even appearing unusually lucid, positive, powerful.
Harry fell silent; he couldn't deny that what Dr. Thomas said was absolutely correct, as it aligned perfectly with the reality he had experienced.
Dr. Thomas had even discovered a miraculous point:
As long as Finn has an episode, everyone will have an episode.
But on the contrary—
Only if someone else had a panic attack before Finn, then Finn wouldn't have one, he might even be able to treat others effectively.
Even Dr. Thomas felt that instead of making scattered investments like "don't worry, I'll treat yours, then I'll treat yours, everyone has something to be treated," it would be better to just focus on curing Finn Osborn alone.
—If Finn is well, then everyone is well.
Finn possesses the mindset of a savior." Dr. Thomas also found it difficult to explain why Finn had such a quality. "Whenever others fall into darkness, he instinctively lights himself up, becoming the light that supports them.
Harry frowned deeply. He didn't feel that his brother's mindset was pure kindness. Instead, it felt more like.. an almost paranoid instinct to save others, developed from having never been saved before while suffering in agony and despair.
This made it even harder for Harry to understand what kind of unknown secrets Finn was hiding beneath his glorious reputation as the Young Master Osborn. Harry even felt that Peter's current state was because he had touched upon Finn's deepest secrets.
"No need to worry too much, Finn's mental state is much better than you think," Dr. Thomas soothed.
"Yeah, his mental state is great, his episodes can exhaust anyone else to death," Harry said coldly.
You could just pretend to have an episode yourself," Thomas taught him, "it would be a great way to suppress him.
Harry also couldn't help but recall the scene of their previous manic confrontation: ".." Treating madness with madness?
You psychiatrist, have you also started going crazy?
From that day on, Peter slid from his previous state of deliberately avoiding Finn to the other extreme.
Aside from necessary classes, schedules, fixed counseling sessions, he stayed by Finn's side almost every moment.
Public opinion regarding Felix and the tragedy caused by Palman two years ago was still fermenting across the entire internet, repeatedly dissecting every aspect and detail of the case. The public was still passionately and fiercely condemning those who used public opinion to distort the truth and slander good intentions, with all kinds of bloggers speaking out.
At the same time, the largest wave of support across the entire internet was also surging toward Finn Osborn, the [Summerverse] brand behind him, the Osborn Group. Everyone was looking forward to the planning and construction of Summer Neverland.
The name of Finn Osborn, who built a dream island for children, seemed to become a light that pierced through the dark sky.
Not a superhero, yet just as dazzling as one.
This was certainly a good thing, but Peter felt an intense sense of unease because of it, he didn't even dare to take out his phone to look at those positive messages. It was as if he were standing in this overwhelming sunlight; he could clearly see the brightness and passion of the sun, yet he felt an agony that scorched his very soul, deep in his heart, there lurked an unspeakable fear..
Fear the shadows beneath the light, shadows so dark they are bottomless.
He always thought of that quiet house in the outskirts, of the inconspicuous trapdoor under the bed, of the dark secret room behind the door that he still knew nothing about, most of all, of the cruel truth he knew but dared not open or face—
That young, helpless Felix, who was still imprisoned inside.
This hidden suppression pressed heavily on Peter's chest, making his breathing feel heavy.
So he needed to confirm it every single moment, over and over again—
His lover was wonderful, safe, optimistic; everything was moving in a positive and bright direction.
Finn didn't care at all about Peter's exceptionally nervous and close companionship; in fact, he even acted quite cooperative: "Don't you still have System PP? Even when you're out, you can use it to watch me at any time."
Finn truly didn't care, anyway—