Chapter 8 - I am Spider Tobey

Ding dong The doorbell rang.

Soon, the door was opened by a beautiful little blonde girl with fair skin and blue eyes.

The shy girl who had opened the door with her head lowered quickly lifted her gaze, her eyes sparkling with surprise and joy upon seeing the visitors.

"Pete!" she shouted and ran to bury herself in my arms.

With a smile, I started stroking her beautiful golden hair.

"Hey, Ursula, I missed you too," I said, but before I could say anything else, I was interrupted.

"Ursula, I'm here too, don't ignore me!" said an annoyed Emily, upset that her friend hadn't even looked at her. Though, she was mostly joking—after all, she would have done the same if she were in Ursula's place.

"Ah, sorry, Emily, I didn’t mean to ignore you. It’s just that I haven’t seen Pete in a week. I really am sorry..." Ursula blushed with embarrassment and immediately began to sincerely apologize.

"Relax, Ursula, she’s just teasing you. We’re friends, no need to be so serious," I said with a soft smile.

In the canon, Ursula was the daughter of the landlord of the apartment Peter lived in after graduating. She was a kind and slightly clumsy girl, wearing clothes and hairstyles that didn’t really suit her—perhaps due to her father’s influence. Despite looking like a stingy man, he was actually fair and good-hearted, though not the most sensitive... To put it mildly, he was about as sensitive as a rock.

In this universe, when I was eight, I met Ursula at the market while strolling through the city. When our eyes met, we had an imprinting moment. Back then, Ursula was far from being as beautiful as M.J., but her shyness was incredibly cute. As the years passed after our bond was formed, her dirty blonde hair became shinier, her deep blue eyes grew lighter, and her skinny frame became a bit chubbier. On top of that, the girls helped her pick out nicer clothes and develop a better fashion sense.

Nowadays, she looks like a little angel who fell from the sky.

"Haha, Ursula, calm down. I would have done the same if I were you. You should be more confident—after all, you have us watching your back," Emily said with a laugh, hugging Ursula, who immediately hugged her back with a happy smile on her lips.

Meanwhile, I was lying on the floor, hands over my chest, having taken critical damage from such overwhelming cuteness.

"Huh, looks like you came to collect dividends on the loan. It’s not time yet, and I don’t have any money, so come back later," said a voice full of displeasure nearby.

When I looked, I saw Mr. Ditkovich at the door, wearing the expression of a man who was owed something.

"Haha, Mr. Ditkovich, you know I don’t care about money. I’ve offered many times to let you off the hook," I said with a smile.

Mr. Ditkovich is a strange man, someone who taught me not to judge a book by its cover.

When I met Ursula, because of our bond, I had to meet Mr. Ditkovich and make my intentions clear about wanting a relationship with his daughter in the future. At first, he didn’t approve of it. Only now do I understand that maybe he thought I was some rich kid wanting to play around with his daughter or that he feared Ursula would be looked down upon in the future because of her financial situation.

Either way, after seeing how Ursula was living, I didn’t want her to continue like that. So, I proposed a deal to Mr. Ditkovich. I would fund a major renovation of the apartments he owned, allowing him to attract better tenants and charge higher rent afterward, and I wouldn’t take a single penny from him.

But to my surprise, he refused, saying he wouldn’t accept charity from a kid.

So, I had to repeatedly try to convince him—laying out the pros and cons, drawing up plans and showing them to him, hiring a lawyer to prove I meant no harm, and finally bringing Uncle Ben in, whom I had convinced to support the project. Just when I thought everything would fail and I’d have to resort to a chemical brainwashing formula for the third time, he finally agreed.

The reason he agreed was that he would only accept the deal if a clause in the contract stipulated that he would pay back the full amount within seven years. Once again, making it clear that he wouldn’t accept charity.

And that’s how, thanks to my project, Mr. Ditkovich’s apartment complex became one of the most beautiful and comfortable in New York. Of course, it wasn’t anything grand—just an aesthetically pleasing, minimalist design.

After seeing the renovations, many people wanted to rent there, and due to high demand, the rent price settled at an amount that still makes Mr. Ditkovich’s eyes sparkle with amazement. It shouldn’t be long before he finishes paying off his debt to me.

Well, enough about that old man. I just want to say that despite his miserly face, I once saw him refuse to give money to a beggar—only to return later with a plate of food and then conveniently "forget" it right next to the beggar.

Ursula inherited her father’s kindness, and combined with her own gentleness and shyness, she was simply a little piece of heaven.

After a few more interactions, we went into the apartment and had fun for a few hours. After that, Emily went home, and I called a taxi.

There’s just one last place I need to go.