From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

Peter had an idea.

A bold, crazy, adventurous, and outrageous idea, one he would never approve of in his sober and calm state, an idea that if missed at this moment, he might never dare to take that step.

Peter felt like he was going crazy.

However.

More miraculously, that idea sprouted wildly like weeds in spring, unstoppable, and in the blink of an eye, it had already filled his entire head like a vast field of weeds, on the verge of explosion.

So, he did it.

He looked at Mary Jane, so sincerely, so nakedly, and so frankly, that if it were a little quieter, one could hear the sound of his heart pounding fiercely against his chest.

"I say,"

"Spider-Man, Mary Jane's greatest strength lies in…"

"When you look into her eyes, and she looks back at you…"

Word by word, sentence by sentence.

Naked and frank.

Mary Jane was eager and full of anticipation, the smile on her lips blooming without reservation, not just with excitement and joy, but also with some gossip and curiosity; but slowly, slowly, the surging emotions gradually faded away.

Mary Jane looked into Peter's eyes, as if it was the first time she had seriously examined Peter's eyes. Before, Peter always wore glasses, so she didn't notice that Peter had blue eyes at all. Later, she noticed, but she never had a serious, eye-to-eye look, after all, they were just friends.

Until this moment.

The calm azure blue, yet able to capture traces of the tide in its depths, gathering little by little, seeming a little afraid, a little hesitant, a little apprehensive, hesitating and uncertain, but ultimately surging up.

Peter's words were like a spell, the scene imagined in her mind overlapping with the real world, Mary Jane thought Peter was talking to Spider-Man, but at this moment, it seemed like Peter was talking to her.

Involuntarily, the beating of her heart gradually lost control.

Gradually, she calmed down, although the smile still lingered on her lips, Mary Jane could see her own reflection slowly becoming clear in those azure blue eyes.

She looked at him, he looked at her, she gazed at herself in his eyes.

Buzz.

The world quieted down, leaving only the two of them.

"Everything… will become special…"

Peter's voice became lighter and lighter, falling gently and softly on her eardrums, Mary Jane carefully searched for the light in those eyes, filled with stars and the sea, and she fell into it little by little.

Time. Space.

Just like that, the pause button was pressed.

Even Mary Jane herself didn't realize it.

"Because, you will feel stronger… but also more fragile…"

Strong, is when two people walk side by side facing the wind and rain, using a hard shell to resist the freezing cold of the world.

Fragile, is when you are willing to show your soft underbelly in front of your beloved, yearning for reliance, yearning for embrace, yearning for tenderness.

"Because, you will feel excited… but also afraid…"

Excited, is because it is rare to have.

Afraid, is because of the fear of losing.

Bathed in Peter's gaze, Mary Jane was a little dazed, that gentle and bright gaze lightly wrapped her completely.

Is that her? Is she the one he's talking about?

So focused, so affectionate, so pure.

There was a kind of moth-to-flame brilliance.

Yet he tiptoed around her cautiously, wholeheartedly watching her, as if she was the sun and he was the earth, the whole world revolving around her, a dizzying fascination.

Then, in this space, there was only them left.

He and she.

A thought, like lightning, pierced into the depths of Mary Jane's soul, and she stared blankly, dumbly, quietly at Peter, slowly melting in that gentle gaze.

Unexpectedly, her eyes became moist, blurring her vision.

He understands her.

Not only heard, but completely understood, he truly saw her.

Finally.

Someone saw her, and someone heard her—

She stood alone in a desolate and uninhabited place, constantly shouting, constantly running away, constantly struggling.

She couldn't find an exit, had no direction, and didn't even know what she wanted, because she had never truly owned anything that belonged to her, not even a dream.

She just hurriedly grabbed a lifebuoy, hoping to guide herself to escape from that hell forever.

However, she was disappointed, again and again. Not only disappointed with those people, but even more disappointed with herself, she didn't even know how she could be so stupid, even she couldn't figure herself out, why she had fallen to this point.

No one understood her. Including herself.

Perhaps her predicament was what she deserved.

Until now.

Finally, someone heard her, not a peerless hero coming to save her on auspicious clouds, because what she needed was not salvation, but companionship.

A companion was enough, she would rely on her own strength to continue moving forward.

Moved. Sad. Fragile. Strong. Desperate. Struggling.

Countless emotions filled those tearful eyes, but this time, she finally clearly saw herself in his pupils—

Her truest appearance.

Even the appearance that she herself had never truly seen or truly understood was now reflected in the eyes of the man in front of her.

"The truth is, you don't even know what it feels like, you just know what kind of person you want to become."

"It's like, completing a dream that's out of reach, but not being prepared at all."

The soft whispers娓娓道来 touched her battered body, not painful, but she could clearly feel every wound along the way.

Perhaps even she had forgotten the reason why she initially chose to become an actress, but he still remembered.

It's her. And it's her.

The boundary between performance and reality was broken, the fourth wall had disappeared, however, her thoughts and emotions were still immersed in it, unable to extricate herself.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Heartbeat, gently rippling on her eardrums.

Echoes, swirling.

Kristen's brain was completely blank, she opened her mouth slightly, slowly falling in the gaze of those eyes, the acceleration of free fall firmly grasping her heart, but miraculously, she felt no fear at all.

Passing through a golden light and falling into a blue pool, the powerful impact shattered all the armor in the depths of her soul, and the barriers between performance and reality had also been torn apart, her wildly beating heart rippling with a roar on her eardrums.

So, is she Mary Jane, or Kristen?

Maybe neither. Maybe both.

She, just like that, slowly fell in those eyes, lost in a soft golden halo, but without confusion, without struggle, and without unease, but surrounded by a warm halo, and when she came to her senses, she realized that her vision had long been blurred.

Pfft.

Kristen laughed, tears breaking free from the restraints of her eyes and falling down, she hurriedly raised her hand to wipe away the tears, a little shy, a little restrained, but her smile was even brighter and more radiant, and she looked forward again.

Bold and brave, frank and naked, just like that, showing her fragility and confusion, just like that, showing her pain and struggle, without reservation.

Because this time, she knew that it was okay to be her true self.