Strange Guy

Saturday was the happiest day of the week for office workers and students.

But for those blessed 996 employees who had to work overtime on Saturdays, Saturday was a painful torment.

For the town, Saturday was likewise an extraordinary day.

Because every Saturday, the town's trade market opened, and farmers and craftsmen sold their homemade goods there.

At that moment, countless stalls had been set up throughout the market, their shelves laden with homegrown produce. Some shrewd vendors pushed carts around selling drinks, alcohol, and snacks.

Jino wore a white short-sleeved shirt, with Chloe and Little Black Pete beside him.

"It feels lively every time I come here."

Chloe fiddled with her camera, occasionally pressing the shutter at children running around and playing.

"It has its own charm," Jino replied casually. He lowered his head to fiddle with his button phone, his eyes fixed on the screen.

It was an anonymous email sent through the Cleaner website. Its contents were simple, like "the delivery driver has arrived at the store." The email stated that the assassin had set out.

At that moment, sharp-eyed Pete quickly spotted someone familiar in the crowd.

"Huh, that's Clark's family's stall!"

Jino looked up in the direction Little Black Pete was pointing.

At a vegetable stall not far away stood Jonathan and Martha Kent. Expressionless, Clark was carrying box after box of goods from his family's old pickup truck.

Jino chuckled as he watched Clark's grim face.

It seemed his advice that day had not done much good. But that made sense. Teenage boys were rebellious by nature, and Clark could not exactly be called wrong for refusing a gift.

"Should we go take a look?" Chloe cautiously glanced at Jino.

Noticing her look, Jino smiled and patted the girl on the shoulder. With his other hand, he picked up a bright red apple from the vendor's stall.

"Go over there? I'd better not. Mr. Jonathan doesn't like me."

Jino shook his head. He was not a psychopath like Lex, going out of his way to greet someone who disliked him.

"Hey, my apple!" The vendor's eyes widened as he watched the brightest apple on his stall get picked.

Jino ignored him and casually tossed a hundred American dollars onto the old man's stall. The vendor, who had been muttering under his breath, immediately put on a fawning smile. "Want a few more, young man?"

"Pack up some of the rest. I'm taking them back."

The apples were quite sweet. He would take some back for Lex to try.

The three of them stopped at the fruit stall. Just then, a cold, low voice sounded behind them.

"Move."

Jino stepped aside with his right leg, making room. A short young man with hair hanging over his eyes and a battered canvas bag on his back hurried past them.

As he brushed past Jino, the man shot him a sidelong glance filled with faint hatred.

Though the movement was slight, Jino still keenly noticed the malicious gaze behind those thick lenses.

He lightly waved away the strange smell the young man had left behind, then frowned and looked at Pete and Chloe in confusion. "Who's that guy?"

Jino did not remember offending him. What was with that look? Did he really think the Ziben Family was not the Ziben Family? Did he want to never see tomorrow's sun?

Besides, aside from Whitney and Coach Watt, who had actively provoked him and gotten put in their place, he had never used his status to bully anyone at school.

Chloe gave the departing figure a strange look and shrugged. "The town's famous weird kid."

"Gerry Ted."

Little Black Pete also leaned in mysteriously. "I was in elementary school with him. That guy was unusually interested in insects ever since he was little."

"And he's withdrawn and doesn't fit in," Chloe sighed and shook her head. "Before you came, he was always the target of Whitney's group's bullying."

"He is pretty strange," Jino agreed with a nod. His gaze fell on the canvas bag slung over the young man's back. Whatever was inside gave him a familiar sense of disgust.

Jino spent the whole day at the market with Chloe and the others.

By the time he returned to the castle, the sun was already sinking toward the horizon, and evening had arrived in the blink of an eye.

When Jino entered the castle, he saw his older brother sitting sternly on the sofa, the table covered in documents and reports.

"In a bad mood?"

Jino had a maid bring him a glass of milk, drank it, then sat beside Lex with a grin and patted his adopted older brother on the shoulder. "What happened? Let me see."

As he spoke, Jino picked up the documents from the table. After skimming through them, he could not help laughing. "The annual financial report shows a twenty percent loss."

"Looks like Dad will be making you lay people off soon."

"I know." Lex rolled his eyes irritably, then shook his head. "But I don't want to lay anyone off. Those people have worked at LuthorCorp for more than ten years. If they leave the company, they won't be able to find suitable jobs."

Jino raised an eyebrow as if seeing Lex for the first time. He looked him up and down and teased, "Is this really the ruthless Lex I know?"

Of course, he was only joking. His older brother was kind too, but he often kept that kindness buried deep inside.

"But you'd better watch out for Dad. If he finds out you aren't planning to lay anyone off..." Jino shrugged and gave Lex a look that said he was on his own.

Their father, Lionel, had no such thing as kindness in his life. "Greed" flowed through his very blood.

Lex's expression turned distant. The light shone on his bald head, making it gleam slightly. "I understand."

"I understand."

Lana hung up after speaking with her boyfriend and pushed open her bedroom door.

It was already late. She wanted to go to bed.

Dressed in light blue pajamas, Lana walked forward, her robe swaying gently and revealing a pair of straight, shapely legs beneath it.

The girl's wheat-colored skin gave her a healthy, vibrant air. It was no wonder she was the dream girl of so many boys at Smallville High School.

Compared to the fair, rosy complexion favored in the East, Americans preferred wheat-colored skin.

The girl's bedroom had a cartoon-like style. A carefully wrapped little box rested quietly on the pink cartoon-cat bedsheets.

"What's this?"

Lana walked toward the box curiously. She had no idea where it had come from. Perhaps Whitney had prepared a surprise before she got home?

Thinking that, Lana deftly unwrapped the box with her small hands.

The next second, the instant the box opened, countless beautiful, brightly colored butterflies fluttered their wings and scattered in every direction.

The breathtaking sight brought joy to Lana's previously calm face, and the corners of her lips curved into a smile.

"Wow, this is so beautiful!" Lana exclaimed sincerely as she watched the butterflies dance through the air.

And as the view pulled back.

On a crooked tree not far from Lana's white villa, a hunched figure squatted crudely on a branch. He held up a camera aimed at Lana's room on the second floor of the white house.

Watching the girl's happy smile, the young man let out a lewd "Heh heh" from his throat.