Family and Another World

Could Superman get high blood pressure?

The answer was, occasionally.

At that moment, Clark felt the blood rushing to his head.

"Why don't you write something like a story about an ordinary person becoming a superhero through their own efforts?" He tried to steer Ian toward writing something more respectable.

Except...

"Because that wouldn't be ahead of its time enough?" Ian tilted his head, dismissing Clark's premise and talent alike. Stories about the rise of superheroes were everywhere.

Readers these days needed something truly shocking.

"..."

Clark was left speechless.

He felt that getting along with his children never seemed to go smoothly. Whether it was his second son Jordan or his youngest son Ian, he could never seem to get on the same wavelength with them.

His temples throbbed slightly. Clark still tried to persuade Ian. "But I don't think Superman would like someone using a work of fiction to make up stories about his life."

"That's too much of an invasion of someone else's privacy." Clark did his best to make his expression stern and his tone serious. The lofty principles he spoke of also aligned perfectly with mainstream values.

He thought he had a good chance of changing Ian's mind.

However, Clark did not know that Ian had never been confused about who Superman was. After a brief moment of thought, the boy came up with an airtight reason.

"We all know how kind and helpful Superman is. He definitely wouldn't refuse to help a child who needs help." Ian blinked at his old father.

His flattering words made Clark open his mouth several times, only to stop himself each time, unable to figure out how to respond. In the end, even the strongest force on Earth could only choose to back down.

"Fine, if that's what you want to write..." Clark shook his head and left his youngest son's room, focusing instead on preparing the family dinner in the kitchen.

Of course, multitasking was no challenge for him. While cooking, Clark could not help using his superpowers to peek at the underage boy's secret writing. He did not know why his curiosity was so intense. Perhaps Ian's title was simply far too explosive for him.

"Oh! My eyes!"

The contents of the book were even more explosive.

So much so that Clark felt his mind had been contaminated by something indescribable. Children really did have wild imaginations, but Clark truly could not understand what kind of thought process Ian possessed.

A forty-year-old divorced working woman who had gone through menopause and was raising nine children caught Superman's eye once, only to become the target of his frenzied pursuit. That had already completely surpassed the limits of Clark's imagination. Yet he never expected that later on, a villain would also fall in love with the working woman, while Superman gave a crooked smile and summoned other superheroes to gang up on the villain.

Smack!

Clark could not help slapping his forehead. He did not think such a work had any possibility of being published. He could not even imagine what state of mind Ian had been in to write such an absurd story—could this really be the precursor to schizophrenia that the psychologist had mentioned?

Hiss!

Could his youngest son be yearning to become a menopausal woman?

The more Clark thought about it, the more terrified he became. Even by dinnertime, he still had not figured out how to explain to Lois exactly what kind of stress relief Ian was engaging in.

Writing such absurd stories.

Could that really help ease his condition?

Clark's heart was filled with question marks.

At the dinner table.

He kept glancing at Ian, who was quietly stuffing his face.

"What is it?"

Ian looked at his old father in confusion. Clark hurriedly forced out an awkward smile and casually placed a chicken drumstick in Ian's bowl.

"Eat more, eat more."

Clark did not want the children to notice his emotions.

"I heard you didn't go to school today? Did Mom and Dad take you to see a psychologist?" His eldest brother Jonathan had neat short hair, regular features, and a youthful, sunny face. As a high school football player, Jonathan was far more muscular than most boys his age.

He was also the gentlest and most steady-tempered child in the family.

"I told you being a bookworm would mess you up. See? This proves how right I was." His second brother was thin and usually rather withdrawn.

Still, he was somewhat better at home and even knew how to talk trash. He looked at Ian teasingly and lowered his voice to offer a suggestion. "But if you give me your meds to sell at school, we'll definitely make a fortune."

Naturally, those words did not escape their parents' ears.

"Jordan!"

Lois shot his second brother a displeased glare, her tone full of dissatisfaction. "Stop talking nonsense all day. Your brother isn't a bookworm. He loves studying even more than you and Jonathan do!"

Jordan curled his lips dismissively at their mother's words.

"And your brother doesn't need to take any medication. He just has some anxiety issues, same as you." Lois immediately added sternly.

Though it sounded a little too much like she was trying to cover something up.

"Take your brother out more on weekends." Clark looked at his dependable eldest son. He believed Ian needed exposure to more social settings.

"Sure, no problem."

Jonathan gave his father an OK gesture.

"Actually, I know quite a few girls who are interested in Ian." Jonathan raised his eyebrows at Ian, his cheerful tone carrying a hint of teasing.

"Really?"

Lois looked quite pleased.

"That's right. Those girls love cute little guys like him." Jordan poked at the food on his plate as he chimed in, his tone faintly sour.

"I knew it would be like this! Just look at how handsome our Ian is!" Lois smiled at Ian. At that moment, the boy was battling a huge steak on his plate.

Ian really was fairly good-looking.

To put it in one sentence, he had a very relatable face.

He had thick, slightly messy brown hair, and his deep blue eyes were highly attractive to the opposite sex. Perhaps only a young Leonardo DiCaprio could compare to him.

"I actually hope I can get a little stronger." Ian had no interest in going out with his eldest brother to meet older girls. After all, he did not know when he might be sacrificed.

The Kryptonian bloodline in his eldest and second brothers put enormous pressure on him.

"Then come work out with me more!" Jonathan immediately hooked an arm around Ian's neck. Even before awakening, he already possessed strength far beyond that of his peers.

Cough, cough!

Ian felt like he had been caught in a naked choke. Fortunately, Jonathan noticed something was wrong and promptly released his neck, allowing him a chance to breathe.

"Oh, sorry."

Jonathan hurriedly apologized.

"It's fine."

Ian rolled his neck and did not mind much. He looked at his now-empty plate, then asked his parents if he could return to his room to rest.

"Of course, darling." Lois kissed Ian on the cheek. Only after watching him hurry upstairs did she turn curiously toward her husband.

"What is he rushing off to do? It isn't to study his textbooks, is it?" The old reporter's instincts had allowed Lois to notice Ian's mood, but Clark had no idea how to answer that question.

"Mm, not studying."

He could only control his facial muscles and speak in as steady a voice as possible. "I think children need some private secrets of their own too, don't they?"

The same old privacy excuse.

But it worked very well on Lois.

Seeing that Lois did not press further, Clark secretly breathed a sigh of relief. However, the troublesome subjects of Jordan's psychological issues and academic performance soon had to be discussed. There was no helping it. Superman's married life was like this; maintaining harmony in the family gave him far more headaches than fighting disasters.

Perhaps.

This was a stage everyone had to go through. Superheroes were no exception.

[You diligently wrote and gained some writing skills. [Student] class experience +1]

[You diligently wrote and gained some writing skills. [Student] class experience +1]

Inside the room.

Ian was writing away.

Unlike Clark, who did not think much of it, Ian was writing with great enthusiasm. Not only could he display his talent, but he could also gain class experience through writing like this.

It was simply killing two birds with one stone, a choice that let him win twice in one go. Ian felt that he had fallen in love with writing, but certain special circumstances surrounding him seemed to disagree.

Even though Ian was brimming with excitement and felt he could write for several nights straight, as time passed, an especially strange drowsiness still arrived right on schedule.

"Ah, can't dodge it, can't escape it."

Ian sighed, set down his pen, and looked at the clock as though resigning himself to fate.

[11:59]

[12:00]

As the time precisely crossed the boundary between one day and the next.

Ian felt a familiar spasm in his brain.

Then his vision twisted. In the next instant, a lead-gray sky, snow-white ground, and a city of crumbling ruins appeared before him.

"Phew..."

Ian exhaled without any surprise, and a cloud of white mist immediately appeared. This world was reflected in his pupils. The cold wind howled, and the snow-filled city seemed to have lain silent for countless millennia.

Everything had frozen.

And he was the only living thing in this world capable of moving.

Perhaps he was also the only living thing.