When Chloe shouted those words with red-rimmed eyes, Dilos clearly noticed some of the paramedics and police officers nearby instinctively moving away from them.
Looks like Luthor Corp has more influence around here than I thought, Dilos mused.
Just then, Lex walked over with a blanket draped around his shoulders and said apologetically, "It was me."
"I'm Lex Luthor."
Chloe glared fiercely at Lex with red-rimmed eyes but said nothing. Instead, she took off her coat and wrapped it around Dilos.
"Don't worry so much. I'm in great shape." Seeing how worried his cousin was, Dilos felt both touched and a little awkward. After all, he was her older brother, yet she looked as if she were worrying about a little kid.
Lex looked a little embarrassed. Years of experience made him instinctively try to change the subject. "Your boyfriend is incredible. He saved my life."
"Uh, she's my cousin, Chloe Sullivan." Dilos had an odd expression on his face. After a long pause, he added, "As for saving you, I think you'd have done the same in my place, wouldn't you?"
Clark, who had been standing off to the side doing nothing, almost burst out laughing. Thankfully, he had enough self-control to only twitch the corners of his mouth without making a sound; otherwise, things would have been even more awkward. Chloe noticed, and her face began to darken. She'd spent a lot of time with her cousin growing up, so people often got the wrong idea. She'd had to explain it far too many times, and she was sick of explaining.
And for the person she had a crush on to see her in such an embarrassing situation was truly frustrating.
Seeing Lex grow even more awkward because of what he'd said, Dilos couldn't tell whether the man was genuinely embarrassed or just pretending. After all, the villain from his past life had left a deep impression on him.
Arrogant, conceited, ruthless, and vicious in his methods, he stopped at nothing to achieve his goals. He often disregarded other people's lives in his schemes. To him, everyone else was just a pawn, even his closest subordinates.
Still, that didn't stop Dilos from keeping up appearances.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Luthor. But we have other things to take care of, so we'll be going."
With that, Dilos led Chloe away.
"Please wait, Mr. Dilos." Lex called out and hurried over to stand in front of them, his face still wearing an awkward expression.
"If I could repay you—" Lex began, but Dilos cut him off with a smile.
"Don't be so polite, Mr. Luthor. I didn't save you for a reward. I simply wanted to save someone."
Lex froze for a moment. The awkwardness vanished from his face, and a sharp glint flashed through his eyes—one most people wouldn't have noticed. He studied Dilos's eyes, as if trying to read something in them. But even after staring for a long while, he found nothing. At last, he said seriously, "All right. But please call me Lex. Here's my card. If you ever need help with anything, get in touch." As he spoke, he handed Dilos a business card.
"Sure. But you should call me Dilos, too."
Dilos took the card and nodded with a smile, then led the disgruntled Chloe away.
Clark had wanted to follow them, but then he remembered how easily Dilos had pushed him aside earlier and knocked him unconscious. His expression shifted as he debated going over to ask Dilos some questions. In the end, he decided to set his doubts aside for now.
Meanwhile, Dilos sat in Chloe's little car, feeling rather moved. He clearly remembered that Chloe hadn't gotten her driver's license yet, which was why the car had been sitting untouched beside their house. Driving without a license was a serious offense in the United States. If you got caught, a fine was far from the only consequence.
"Don't worry. I'll have my license in another week." Chloe saw right through him, then gave him a mischievous grin.
"But you'd better figure out how to explain yourself to Dad. He's already on his way home. When he heard you'd been in a car accident, he nearly freaked out."
At that, Dilos's expression turned complicated.
That evening...
Dilos looked on the verge of collapse as he faced the black-haired man in his late thirties.
"Dilos, are you hurt?"
"I'm not hurt, Uncle. The medical staff checked me over."
"Dilos, you have to be more careful when you're walking from now on."
"Yeah, I'll be careful."
"Dilos, it's good to be studious, but you could study at home. There's no need to waste your time there."
"Dilos, are you really sure you're not hurt?"
In Dilos's eyes, his Uncle Gabe—Chloe's uncle—was much too talkative. Being cared for was a wonderful feeling, but listening to him go on and on for more than two hours was torture.
Blah, blah, blah. He's even more long-winded than the monk Tang. Naturally, Dilos kept that complaint to himself. After all, his uncle was only showing how much he cared.
Dilos could understand Uncle Gabe's feelings. Chloe's mother had disappeared when Chloe was six, and no matter how hard they searched, they couldn't find her. He didn't know the reason, but her disappearance had been a huge blow to both Gabe and Chloe. Still, they had managed to get through it.
Dilos had always had his suspicions about this. He didn't know Chloe's mother very well, but he knew how hard it was to raise another child. Even if the child didn't cry, make trouble, or cause problems, and had an average appetite, and even if her biological parents had left her an inheritance to help support her, the couple's wages had been low back then, and they still had to pay property taxes every year. Even with the inheritance, life must have been extremely difficult.
So Dilos had always wondered whether Chloe's mother had "disappeared" because of him, and he felt deeply guilty toward both of them.
Even though Dilos and Chloe were both well-behaved, Gabe had worked incredibly hard all these years to raise them as both father and mother, often holding down two or even three jobs at once. Things had only eased considerably in recent years, after he was promoted and his wages went up.
Otherwise, Chloe wouldn't even have been able to buy a car.
The two of them had wanted to work to help ease Gabe's burden, but because of the law, they were both under sixteen and couldn't even get part-time jobs.
After so many years of relying on one another, the three of them had formed a deep bond. That was why Chloe and Gabe had lost control of their emotions when the police called to say Dilos had been in a car accident.
"Those rich lunatics are all bastards!" Chloe angrily twisted the doll in her hands, as if she were taking out her frustration on Lex.
Dilos just patted her head. "Come on, come on. I'm fine, aren't I? If you see him again, don't let him see how angry you are. Uncle still manages the Luthor Fertilizer Plant, after all."
"I know." Chloe flung the doll onto the bed. "Of course I know. Otherwise, I would've punched him right then and there!"
Dilos nodded but said nothing more. Then he returned to his room. He still needed to examine the blood he'd drawn from Clark.
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