Dormammu Arrives!
10: Chapter 10: Does Gwen Like Owen?
Dormammu Arrives!
Changing into civilian clothes, Gwen walked with her head down, clutching her backpack.
As she turned a corner, she suddenly stopped.
Leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets, Owen Vance was standing right beside her.
“Where to?” Gwen gritted her teeth without looking up.
“To my place!” …
Gwen’s father was a police captain, and their home was a standard middle-class villa.
Spacious as the house was, it was still impossible for her to openly invite a man to stay under her father’s nose.
In a corner of the first floor…
Pulling back the carpet, Gwen bent down with a creak and pulled open the trapdoor leading to the basement.
Pointing her chin toward the dark staircase below, she spoke with a hint of nervousness.
“I’m worried my dad will find out, so this is the only place I can set up for you.” Owen Vance stepped down reluctantly.
The basement was a bit shabby, though still within his expectations.
The spacious basement had been converted into a storage room.
Warm light illuminated a distant corner, where a simple folding bed stood out prominently.
Owen Vance walked over and sat down hard, sinking before bouncing back up as expected.
“Not bad.
You put some thought into this.” Owen Vance glanced behind him and added a mutter, “Though it’d be even better if the bedding wasn’t pink.” “Pink ruins my masculine image.” Ignoring his complaint, Gwen hauled over several storage boxes, stacking a dozen of them into a wall that hid the bed from view.
With nothing else to do, Owen Vance flipped over and flopped onto the bed, his body gradually relaxing.
First transmigrating, then fighting two tough battles back-to-back—after a whole day of this, he was completely exhausted, mentally and physically.
He had never been this tired in his life.
Before he could relax for more than two seconds, a faint fragrance from the bedding reached his nose, making Owen Vance open his eyes again.
“Original scent?” Owen Vance turned around in shock.
“Gwen, is this something you used?” Gwen rolled her eyes and snapped, “It’s already been washed!” With that, Gwen turned and walked to the entrance.
Looking back to see the boxes blocking the bed completely, she let out a sigh of relief.
*As long as he turns off the lamp beside the bed, Dad won’t notice him even if he comes down.* The two of them were minds apart, each busy with their own thoughts.
Owen Vance looked down at the bedding before him and regretfully buried his face in it.
“Why wash it…” Soon, Gwen’s footsteps faded into the distance, vanishing completely after the sound of the basement door closing.
Owen Vance didn’t say anything about it.
Even without him making demands, Gwen held her biggest secret in his hands, so she would naturally care more about his living situation than he did.
After all, she was afraid Owen Vance might get unhappy and go around shouting Spider-Man’s secret through a megaphone.
She couldn’t bring herself to kill him, so what choice did she have but to pamper him?
Owen Vance recalled a line from a movie.
How did it go again?
*I can live off this secret for the rest of my life~* Indeed, before long, Gwen returned carrying a large bag of food.
Lying flat on his back, Owen Vance caught a glimpse of the receipt taped to the paper bag—she had clearly just bought it.
Starving, Owen Vance gave her a mental thumbs-up.
Not bad; she knew he hadn’t eaten and went out to get food.
However, seeing Gwen walking at an unhurried, relaxed pace…
Owen Vance decided to put a little pressure on her.
In a feeble, dying voice, he began to sing: “New York City, New York City, your friendly neighborhood hero called it quits!” “Spider-Man the hero is a deadbeat!
She gambled, drank, ran up three hundred and fifty million in debt, and skipped town with her sister-in-law!” Sure enough, Gwen’s expression changed dramatically upon hearing this.
She hurried her steps, her suppressed voice practically overflowing with tears.
“Don’t!
My dad is coming home soon!” Owen Vance remained impassive, staring at the ceiling.
“I have no choice!
Selling insider info to cover my wages!” “Original price three hundred, two hundred, now all top-secret info for just twenty bucks!” “Stop it!” Freeing a hand, Gwen pulled a French baguette from the bag and forced out the most brilliant smile of her life as she offered the bread.
“See?
I went out to buy you food, I wasn’t ignoring you!” A gentle tone, a sweet smile, combined with teary eyes.
At this moment, Gwen was the very picture of a delicate, pitiable young girl—the kind who would cry right in front of you at the slightest provocation.
Anyone looking at her would feel an overwhelming urge to protect her.
Unsure if he was truly touched, Owen Vance shut his mouth and turned his gaze back to her.
His eyes automatically filtered out the baguette, landing on a white box peeking out from the paper bag.
He caught the scent of meat.
Seeing that Gwen hadn’t reacted, he stared at the box and continued his absentminded chant.
“Gwen, you’re heartless!
I worked hard for you for half a year, and you won’t pay me, won’t pay me…” Hearing her name called out, Gwen was genuinely on the verge of tears now.
Her dad was coming home any minute!
What if he heard this?
A stroke of inspiration struck, and Gwen finally noticed Owen Vance’s gaze.
She hurriedly pulled out the box of roast meat and offered it to him.
The box opened to reveal a feast packed with roasted sausages, ribs, and beef.
Steaming hot, beautifully colored, with juices glistening between the cuts of meat.
“Give me back my hard-earned money, give me back my…” Seeing the food, Owen Vance shut his mouth instantly and sat straight up.
Taking the roast meat and a plastic fork, he began devouring it ravenously.
Should’ve just done this from the start!
With meat right here, who would care about plain bread?
Your emotional intelligence needs work, Gwen!
Crisis averted, Gwen sniffed to hold back her tears, letting out a long breath like a survivor of a disaster.
Being alive was so damn good!
A mouthful of roast meat, a bite of pizza, followed by a swig of ice-cold Coke.
Gwen sat on the edge of the bed, turning to watch Owen Vance wolf down the food, gradually calming down as well.
Deep down, she was utterly speechless.
Who would’ve thought the strongest mutant in New York City was a guy like this?
He actually needed food brought right to his mouth before he’d behave?
Sitting on the bed, feet off the ground, her sharp intellect reasserted control.
Gwen suddenly realized that something didn’t add up!
If Owen Vance wanted to harm her, he would have exposed her true identity long ago.
The fact that he hadn’t meant he wanted something else!
In that case, before his goal was accomplished, he probably wouldn’t expose her secret, right?
His goal…
was likely to stay hidden in New York for now without revealing his identity.
Through a wave of mental gymnastics, Gwen came remarkably close to guessing the truth.
The only thing she got wrong was that Owen Vance had no grand goal whatsoever—he just wanted to freeload food and shelter.
Gwen spoke up solemnly.
“Owen, let’s make a deal.” Behind the food box, Owen Vance looked up, exposing only his eyes.
“You keep my secret, and I’ll help you with your daily living needs.” Owen Vance buried his head back into his food and resumed his chant.
“Gwen, you’re heartless…
give me back my…
*burp* …hard-earned money.” Seeing him use her weakness to threaten her again, Gwen turned her head away in disgust, feeling eighty to ninety percent sure of her guess.
He wouldn’t easily reveal her secret.
Because other than her, no one else would provide him with shelter and food.
Afterward, Gwen laid out the rules and precautions.
For instance, her father’s daily schedule, turning off the light first whenever someone came downstairs, her delivering meals regularly, and so on.
To all of this, Owen Vance gave vague, slurred responses while chewing.
Sweeping through the food like a whirlwind, Owen Vance finished his meal and patted his stomach in satisfaction.
Now that he was full and satisfied…
Time to tease the girl, of course~ Owen Vance turned to Gwen with a deadly serious look.
“Bringing me food and drinks…
Gwen, tell me, do you like me?
Are you planning to marry me?” Gwen shot up in fury, looking ready to murder him!
Like you?
If it weren’t for you blackmailing me, who’d bother with you, honestly!
Before leaving, Gwen didn’t forget to turn off the basement light.
The dark basement was left with only the faint glow of the bedside lamp.
Patting his stomach, Owen Vance lay back down contentedly.
Looking left and right, Owen Vance raised an eyebrow, his face darkening.
“Crap, I forgot to ask for a laptop to play games!” Getting up, he searched the basement and found nothing to pass the time.
Resigned, Owen Vance switched off the lamp to sleep.
“She definitely has a crush on me.
Wants to marry me!” “Heh, wicked woman, lusting after my good looks.” With a huff of mockery, Owen Vance closed his eyes and drifted off.
He didn’t know how long he had been asleep when a feeling of profound, uncanny horror invaded his senses.
Drenched in cold sweat, Owen Vance snapped his eyes open and sat up abruptly.
Looking down, he saw the black pentagram pattern on his wrist glowing with light.
His intuition screamed at him: Dormammu was about to descend!
Same-day delivery?!
That fast?!