With Clark

To the onlookers, Whitney had merely suddenly thrown a punch at Jino, and then his arm had snapped without warning, spraying blood everywhere.

"Oh my God, could Jino be some kind of devil?" a student who believed in ghosts and gods asked fearfully.

But a girl quickly retorted, "Why can't it be God's protection? He's so handsome, like an angel. God must have been disgusted by Whitney's behavior and sent down divine punishment!"

The crowd buzzed with speculation, discussing Jino's actions from every angle.

After the street-racing incident, this newly transferred student had once again given everyone something new to talk about.

Just then, a figure shoved through the crowd and rushed into the scene of the fight. Lana Lang stared in shock at the blood covering the ground and her boyfriend's broken arm, then cried out in panic, "Quick, call an ambulance!"

"You did this to him!?" Lana Lang raised her head and glared furiously at Jino.

At the very moment the girl appeared, both Jino and Clark's faces turned deathly pale almost simultaneously.

"Thud."

Clark was the first to succumb, collapsing unconscious onto the ground.

"Shit, Clark fainted at the sight of blood!" Chloe and Pete hurried to Clark's side, trying to lift his unconscious body as they said anxiously, "We need an ambulance."

Jino's gaze swept over the green necklace around the girl's neck. His legs kept moving as he quickly put distance between himself and Lana Lang, and only then did the weakness draining his entire body begin to fade.

Damn it, it was Kryptonite.

Jino cursed inwardly. Superman's abilities awakened with age. Aside from the Man of Steel, Super Strength, and Super Speed, he had yet to awaken Super Vision or X-ray Vision at this stage. It was only today that he clearly saw the green Kryptonite hanging around Lana Lang's neck!

"I didn't lay a hand on him, ma'am." Though his face was pale, Jino still forced a graceful smile. "Perhaps you should ask everyone what your boyfriend was planning to do to me."

After saying that, Jino walked over to Chloe and the others and pulled Clark to his feet.

The group helped the unconscious Clark out of the hallway.

As the noisy hallway gradually faded behind Jino, tonight was destined to be a sleepless one.

"What should we do? Take him to the hospital? In your sports car?" Chloe struggled to support Clark's shoulder, feeling as though she were carrying a wild bull.

"No, there's no need to take him to the hospital." Jino let out a breath and held up three fingers. "Three, two, one."

As his words fell, Clark, who had been unconscious moments ago, suddenly jolted awake. His eyes flew open as he gasped for breath.

Chloe and Pete looked as though they had seen a ghost, and the way they looked at Jino now held an added layer of awe.

Could he see the future?

The awakened Clark rubbed his forehead. It took the boy several seconds to confirm his condition, then he looked at Jino with concern and said solemnly, "We need to talk, Jino!"

Clark found it hard to describe how he felt at that moment.

There was excitement, uncertainty, and confusion.

The loneliness that had long surrounded Clark seemed to vanish in an instant, replaced by something called a sense of belonging.

A wild wolf raised in captivity was still a wolf. Even if it learned to wag its tail like a hunting dog, what was etched into its DNA would never change. At its core, it still belonged to the wolves; it was merely imitating a dog.

Jino shrugged. "Of course."

At that moment, the wails of ambulances and police cars rose outside the school gates.

Jino pointed at the Bugatti sports car.

"But school isn't the place to talk."

"Come with me."

Jino led Clark out of the school. Bathed in the evening glow, the silver-white Bugatti sped into the distance like a streak of silver light, leaving behind Chloe and Pete, who stared blankly at each other.

"I get the feeling those two are kind of mysterious?"

On a concrete bridge outside town, the silver-white sports car was parked by the roadside.

Jino and Clark stood on the bridge, staring down at the lake below.

The lake's surface glittered gold beneath the setting sun, reflecting both their faces.

Jino didn't particularly care about revealing his identity to Clark.

Clark was no ordinary person. Not to mention that once he awakened X-ray Vision in the future, he would discover the abnormalities in Jino's body sooner or later.

So Jino might as well be direct and seize the initiative. He believed Clark would not reveal his identity to a second person.

Because Clark was lonely. Jino understood that loneliness, especially under the strict upbringing of Clark's father, Jonathan. The loneliness in Clark's heart would only grow with each passing day.

Just as when the Kryptonians invaded in the future, Clark would do everything in his power to establish communication with his own people.

Whether human or alien, everyone longed for social acceptance.

At that moment, the atmosphere between them was somewhat silent. Clark did not know what to say. He wanted to ask whether Jino was like him, but he also had strong objections to Jino snapping Whitney's arm at the slightest disagreement.

"What do you want to ask, Clark? If we wait much longer, I'll have to head back to the castle for steak."

"Jino." Clark pressed his lips together. "You're not human either, are you?"

Jino:???

Why was this kid insulting him? He was one hundred percent human, except he had a Kryptonian template layered on top.

But Jino could understand Clark's mindset.

He nodded. "That's right, Clark. I'm not exactly an ordinary person. These abilities may have something to do with the meteor shower that fell on this town more than ten years ago. Since then, I've awakened all kinds of incredible powers."

Jino's words made Clark's heart tremble. The meteor shower? That had been the very day he was born.

"And you're not ordinary either, are you?" Jino tilted his head, studying Clark. A trace of bitterness appeared on the innocent young man's face. "That's right, I am."

"I'm not an ordinary person either."

"But I've always done my best to make myself ordinary!" Clark straightened his chest and stared at Jino. "Since heaven gave us this power, we should use it properly, not abuse it."

It had to be said that Jonathan's upbringing had taught Clark from a young age that with great power came great responsibility, sparing him from having to sacrifice an Uncle Ben next door before suddenly coming to a profound realization.

But in the face of Clark's serious expression, Jino simply raised a finger and waved it before Clark's eyes. He still wore that frivolous, cynical expression as he slowly said, "No, Clark."

"I don't agree with you."

Jino smiled and raised his head to watch the sunset. "Saving the world, taking responsibility, all that stuff is too exhausting."

"I've thought it through when it comes to my power. I have a basic bottom line: I won't harm innocent ordinary people."

Under the setting sun, the breeze brushed through Jino's golden hair. His tone was calm, yet carried an unquestionable force. "But I'll use this power to protect myself, my family, and my friends. Whoever provokes me will pay the price."