Clark's Spring

As a state dominated by a humid temperate climate, Kansas—

Smallville inherited those same climatic traits.

At noon, the dense forest was lush and verdant as far as the eye could see, and even the air was so fresh that it soothed both body and mind.

But that did not include Clark, whose face was clouded with worry.

The group of four was walking through the woods. Little Black Pete and Chloe were at the front, looking around for signs of insects.

But those little bugs were like things lost at home: when you wanted to find them, they were nowhere to be seen, but when you did not need them, they mysteriously appeared in your field of vision.

They had gone through a great deal of trouble to find only one, and most frustratingly, the two of them had let it escape.

So now Chloe and Pete were bickering, blaming each other.

Not far behind them, Jino draped an arm around Clark's neck with a smile, his beautiful eyes fixed on Clark's profile. "Please tell me, what has put our innocent big boy Clark in such a bad mood?"

Negative Emotions from Clark +50, +50...

"I'm not an innocent big boy." Clark sighed helplessly, at a loss over Jino's teasing.

Yet subconsciously, the scene from yesterday resurfaced in his mind.

Just yesterday, after receiving advice at the castle, Clark had done exactly as Jino had guessed and failed to bring himself to sit down and talk things over with Jonathan.

But Jonathan had stopped Clark and taken him up to the attic, where he told Clark a shocking piece of news: he, Clark Kent, was not actually from Earth, but an alien visitor?

Although he had long suspected it deep down, not everyone had the courage to accept the truth when it was laid bare before them.

This Don Quixote-style comedic reality shattered Clark's reason and left him feeling absurd.

But soon, the name of his fellow "kind" and friend—Jino Luthor—naturally surfaced in Clark's mind.

Jino's strength was not far from his own, so did that mean...

Clark looked deeply at the smiling Jino and gathered his courage to ask, "Jino, you're actually like me too, aren't you? You're an alien as well?"

The smile on Jino's face froze.

Last time, Clark had asked whether he was human. This time, he had skipped straight to asking whether he was an alien.

Jino sighed, suppressing the urge to complain. He understood why Clark was unhappy now.

It seemed Jonathan had told Clark about his origins. The kid was probably full of confusion right now.

As they wandered aimlessly through the forest, Jino patted Clark on the shoulder and replied, "Is it important whether you're from Earth or not?"

Clark froze, tilting his head in doubt. "Isn't it?"

"It is, and it isn't."

Jino shrugged, released Clark's neck, and raised his head at a forty-five-degree angle to gaze at the sky. Looking profoundly cool, he said lightly, "Clark, your true identity isn't important. What matters is what kind of person you want to become."

"Whether you're an Earthling or an alien, that's something you decide for yourself."

Jino smiled enigmatically and winked at Clark. "Maybe one day, your people will come to Earth looking for you."

"I..." Clark fell into thought. If that day really came, should he go back with his people?

Crack~

As though he had stepped on something hard, Jino lowered his head and saw a black object hidden beneath the maple leaves in the maple grove.

"What's this?"

Jino picked up the black object and discovered that it was a camera.

Thinking of his wonderful experience moonlighting as a photographer last night, Jino opened the camera and began browsing through the photos stored inside.

Then Jino's expression gradually turned strange. "Clark, I think you should see this."

On the camera screen was a frozen image of Lana Lang, dressed in pink lace pajamas, in the middle of taking off her clothes.

It seemed Clark's childhood goddess had been secretly photographed, and judging by the number of pictures, it had been going on for quite some time.

Jino even felt a little sorry for Clark. It seemed that aside from the Luthor Family, every male high school student in town was extremely interested in Lana.

All he could say was that Westerners were not as hung up about relationships as he was. Unlike Jino—if she was not a virgin, he would not date her.

What? You were asking whether Talia was? Based on last night's shooting inspection, she was.

"What?"

Clark snapped back to his senses and only then realized that, without noticing, they had already reached the woods not far from Lana's home. Even Chloe and Pete had become separated from them.

Clark saw Jino standing beneath a crooked tree, holding a camera with an odd expression. At the same time, the way he looked at Clark carried a hint of... pity?

"You need to see this."

Jino handed the camera to Clark and stepped back so he could better observe Clark's expression.

Clark took the camera in confusion. After fiddling with it slightly, the big boy also saw the photos inside.

Clark's face immediately flushed red. He had actually seen such alluring pictures of his goddess.

The big boy's breathing quickened and his gaze grew unfocused. Lana's lingerie display instantly made him blush with embarrassment.

But soon, Clark's clever mind began turning, and he noticed that something was wrong.

Clark lowered his head and examined the photos carefully.

First, the photos had been taken from very far away from Lana Lang.

Second, the composition showed the balcony and window frame outside Lana's house, proving that the goddess had been secretly photographed!

Whoosh!

The flush on his cheeks was instantly replaced by an iron-gray pallor. Clark pressed his lips together, his left hand unconsciously clenching into a fist with a series of crackles.

"This is disgusting!"

Clark was furious. He kept flipping through the album and discovered that the earliest photo dated all the way back to the first day of school!

Negative Emotions from Clark +100, +100...

"Jino!"

Clark looked up at Jino in alarm and said seriously, "We have to call the police and find out who's been secretly photographing Lana!"

"Ah, I understand. You're right," Jino replied lazily, jerking his chin behind Clark. "But right now, maybe you should put that thing away. The person most involved in this is here."

"What?" Clark turned in the direction Jino indicated and saw an angry-looking Lana striding toward them from not far away. Every so often, she glanced down at the ground as if searching for something, while Whitney, his arm in a cast, followed behind her.

Even from a distance, Jino and Clark could hear Whitney's voice.

"Lana, I was wrong. I shouldn't have said it was just a necklace."

"No, Mr. Whitney, you don't think you did anything wrong. I don't want to accept an apology like that." Lana took a deep breath and stopped. She turned to stare at Whitney expressionlessly. "I'm sorry to inform you, Whitney, but we're over."

After saying that, Lana ignored the pained expression on Whitney's face and continued searching the ground for something.

Meanwhile, Clark stood frozen in the distance, unable to believe what he had just heard.

Lana had actually broken up with Whitney!?

At that moment, Jino's voice drifted into Clark's ear like a demon's whisper.

"The bad news is that Lana is being secretly photographed by a pervert, and she doesn't know it."

"The good news is that Lana is single again. A certain innocent big boy has his chance now~"

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