Chapter 003: Popularity

Before Wang Bo traveled through time, he already knew that the cultural differences between East and West were actually very large.

Aesthetic differences are even greater.

It is not uncommon for a woman who is notoriously ugly in the eyes of Easterners to be considered a beauty in the eyes of Westerners.

Of course, Wang Bo does not deny that some people's beauty transcends the cultural differences between East and West, thus achieving unity between Easterners and Westerners on the topic of whether this person is beautiful or not.

However, Wang Bo is saying that Mary Jane is definitely not one of them.

At least this Mary Jane who appeared before Wang Bo was not.

In the Spider-Verse, some Peter Parkers are ridiculously handsome, while others are quite pretty—in short, the art style varies. And this Mary Jane standing before Wang Bo is one of those with a less impressive art style.

Perhaps in the eyes of Westerners, she is a beauty.

But in Wang Bo's eyes, she was quite ordinary.

To be honest, she was truly not as good as Spider-Gwen that Wang Bo had once seen; the difference between the two was simply too vast.

Back when Spider-Gwen was captured and Wang Bo left Metropolis to return to Gotham City to rescue her, on the one hand he didn't want her to die, but on the other hand, he couldn't help but have the thought of a hero saving a damsel in distress.

But if Spider-Gwen were replaced by this Mary Jane beside Wang Bo, he would still save her, but he would definitely not have the intention of a hero saving a damsel in distress.

Yes, Wang Bo was exactly that kind of ordinary person.

“Hey, Mary.”

Wang Bo nodded at Mary Jane, closed the book in his hand, and made awkward conversation: "Has class ended already?"

"Yes, class is over, but why are you here?" Mary Jane asked curiously. "Don't you hate reading?"

"Actually, I was kicked out by the teacher, so I came here to kill time."

"Hurried out, I think you were made to stand as punishment."

"Yes."

"But you came here to read and pass the time?" Mary Jane laughed.

Wang Bo grunted.

"I believe your teacher must be furious. He will definitely make trouble for you."

“It doesn’t matter.”

"You're just being stubborn, Thompson."

Wang Bo really wasn't being stubborn; he was even considering dropping out of school. Would he care about a mere teacher? So, facing Mary Jane's teasing, Wang Bo smiled slightly, indicating that he didn't care at all.

Mary Jane seemed a bit surprised, looking Wang Bo up and down a few times. "Thompson?"

“What’s wrong?”

"I feel like you've changed somehow," Mary Jane said hesitantly. "You seem more mature, more composed."

"Is that so?" Wang Bo was surprised by female intuition, but he said, "This is probably just growing up."

"Did something happen to you?" Mary Jane asked with concern.

Wang Bo shook his head and said, "No."

He found that this version of Mary Jane, though not beautiful, was very gentle, and in a sense, a fairly good woman, so this woman should be left for Peter Parker.

Spider-Man and Mary Jane are a classic couple.

So Wang Bo didn't plan to break up this couple, but the main reason was that this Mary Jane wasn't pretty. If she had met Wang Bo's aesthetic standards, he might have made a move on her.

Now, forget it.

After the two of them made awkward small talk for a while, Mary Jane suddenly realized that she hadn't eaten yet, so she invited Wang Bo to the dining room for a meal, but Wang Bo declined.

The reason is that studying makes me happy.

Of course, the real reason was that Wang Bo really didn't want to eat the lunch of learning, because he had already gotten used to the delicacies provided by the gourmet tablecloth.

The delicacies of this ordinary world could no longer attract Wang Bo, nor could they whet his appetite.

"Alright, since you're willing to study, I won't disturb you. I'll head to the dining hall first." Seeing that Wang Bo insisted on staying, Mary Jane decided to go alone—she was genuinely hungry.

But as she left the reading room, Mary Jane glanced back at Wang Bo, her brow slightly furrowed. She had a feeling that Thompson seemed somewhat changed, having become rather cold toward her, a stark contrast to his former warmth.

This made her very uncomfortable.

What exactly had happened, the other party was unwilling to tell her, so Mary Jane could only shut her mouth.

But she decided that after eating, she would go ask the football team members.

After Mary Jane left, a few more people came to the reading room to study diligently. Among them was a black girl who, upon seeing Wang Bo, couldn't help but pause, then said in a low voice, "Hey, Lightning."

Wang Bo looked up at the other person; they seemed to be a classmate, but what was their name? Wang Bo had forgotten.

Or rather, in Thompson's memory, he had never remembered this woman's name at all.

Wang Bo asked in a low voice, "Is there something?"

"You know, Lightning, after class Teacher Haji didn't see you, and he was absolutely furious. He said loudly in the hallway that he would definitely punish you. You'd better be careful."

The black girl reminded Wang Bo with concern.

Wang Bo nodded, indicating that he understood, but feeling that this was not quite solemn enough, he added, "Thank you."

“You're welcome.”

The black girl laughed excitedly, as if she was very happy because she could help Wang Bo.

This also gave Wang Bo some understanding of Thompson's popularity.

Wang Bo remembered that when he watched Spider-Man, he really disliked this person who bullied Peter Parker, but at Midtown High School, this Thompson was the real big shot.

The black girl called him Flash, because "Flash" was Thompson's nickname, given for his speed on the football field.

He was a football star in high school and college.

Because of this, Lightning was very popular and had many fangirls at school.

Incidentally, although people in China enjoy watching the American NBA and think it is the most popular sports event in the United States, that is actually not the case.

In the United States, the NBA can only be ranked as the third or fourth league; basketball is not the sport most favored by local fans.

The most popular competition in the United States is the NFL.

That is the so-called National Football League. From this, it can be seen that football far surpasses the NBA in the United States.

Especially the NFL's annual championship game... the Super Bowl!

It is generally held on the last Sunday of January or the first Sunday of February, and that day is called Super Bowl Sunday.

Super Bowl is the name of the game, and its trophy is called the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

The participating teams are the champions of the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference for that season. The Super Bowl has been the highest-rated television program in the United States for many years and has gradually become an unofficial national holiday in America.

Especially the NBA must suspend games during the Super Bowl, which shows the gap between the two.