Family (Second Update)

When Chloe roared this out with reddened eyes, Dilos clearly noticed some of the surrounding paramedics and police officers subconsciously stepping back from the pair.

It seems Luthor Corp's influence in this area is even greater than I imagined, Dilos thought to himself.

At this moment, Lex walked over draped in a blanket, his face full of apology. "It was me."

"I am Lex Luthor."

Chloe glared fiercely at Lex with her red eyes, saying nothing. Instead, she took off her trench coat and wrapped it directly around Dilos.

"No need to be so nervous, my body is quite sturdy." Dilos looked at his sister's concerned expression, feeling both touched and somewhat uncomfortable. After all, he was the older brother, yet his sister's expression was as if she were fretting over a small child.

Lex, standing to the side, felt a bit awkward. Years of social conditioning made him subconsciously try to break the ice: "Your boyfriend is quite remarkable; he saved my life."

"Uh, she is my cousin, Chloe Sullivan." Dilos's expression turned strange, and it took him a long time to say, "As for saving you, I think anyone in my position would have done the same, wouldn't they?"

Clark, who had been standing by as a bystander, subconsciously wanted to burst out laughing. Fortunately, he had good self-control, only twitching the corner of his mouth without making a sound; otherwise, it would have been even more awkward. Chloe noticed this, and her face began to darken. Since they were children, she had often been with her brother, so they were frequently misunderstood. She had explained it so many times that she really didn't want to explain it anymore.

Being embarrassed like this in front of the person she was infatuated with was truly frustrating.

Watching Lex become even more awkward because of his words, Dilos couldn't tell if the guy was genuinely embarrassed or faking it. After all, in his previous life, the impression this villain left on him was far too deep.

Arrogant, conceited, ruthless in his methods, and stopping at nothing to achieve his goals. Many of his actions often disregarded the lives of others; in his eyes, everyone else was just a pawn, even his loyal subordinates.

Even so, this didn't stop Dilos from keeping up the social pleasantries.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Luthor. But we have other things to attend to, so we'll be going now."

With that, Dilos pulled Chloe away.

"Please wait, Mr. Chloe," Lex called out, walking quickly to stand in front of the two, that awkward expression still plastered on his face.

"If I could repay..." Before Lex could finish, Dilos interrupted him. The latter smiled and said:

"Don't be so formal, Mr. Luthor. I didn't save you for any reward; I simply wanted to save a life."

Lex froze for a moment, the awkward expression vanishing from his face. A sharp, piercing glint flashed in his eyes that most people wouldn't have noticed. He stared into Dilos's eyes, seemingly trying to discern something, but after a long while, he found nothing. Only then did he straighten his expression:

"Very well. But please, call me Lex. This is my business card; if you ever need help with anything, please contact me." He handed a card to Dilos.

"Understood. But please, call me Dilos as well."

Dilos took the card, nodded with a smile, and pulled the still-frustrated Chloe away.

Clark, standing nearby, had wanted to follow, but he recalled the moment Dilos had easily pushed him aside, knocking him unconscious. His expression flickered; he wanted to go up and ask Dilos some questions, but he hesitated. In the end, he decided to suppress the doubts in his heart for now.

On the other side, Dilos sat in Chloe's small sedan, his expression moved. He remembered clearly that because Chloe hadn't yet obtained her driver's license, this car had sat untouched by the house. In the United States, driving without a license was a serious matter; if caught, it wouldn't just be a simple fine.

"Don't worry, I'll have my license in a week," Chloe said, seeing right through his thoughts. She then wore a gloating expression: "But you should think about how to explain this to Dad. He's already on his way home. When he heard you were in a car accident, he was worried sick."

Hearing this, Dilos's expression became quite colorful.

That evening...

Dilos looked on the verge of a breakdown as he stared at the nearly forty-year-old, black-haired man in front of him.

"Dilos, are you hurt?"

"I'm not hurt, Uncle. The paramedics checked me over."

"Dilos, you need to be more careful when walking."

"Yes, I will be careful."

"Dilos, being studious is a good thing, but you can study at home. There's no need to waste your time out there."

"Dilos, are you really not hurt?"

In Dilos's eyes, this Uncle Gabe Sullivan was simply too long-winded. Although being cared for was a blessing, being nagged like this for over two hours was nothing short of torture.

Blah, blah, blah—he's even more long-winded than Tang Sanzang. This complaint was naturally kept to his thoughts; after all, this was his uncle's way of showing care.

However, Dilos could understand Gabe's perspective. Chloe's mother had disappeared when she was six, and no matter how hard they looked, they couldn't find her. Though the reason remained unclear, it had dealt a heavy blow to both Gabe and Chloe, yet they had persevered.

Dilos had always had his own thoughts on this. While he didn't know Chloe's mother well, he knew that raising an extra child was an incredibly difficult task. Even if the child was well-behaved, quiet, and had an inheritance from her biological parents to provide financial support, the wages for a couple in that era were relatively low, and they still had to pay property taxes. Under such circumstances, even with the inheritance, life had been extremely lean and difficult.

Thus, Dilos had always suspected that his own presence might have been a factor in Chloe's mother's "disappearance," which left him feeling deeply guilty toward both of them.

Even though Dilos and Chloe were both well-behaved, Gabe had acted as both father and mother for so many years, working two or even three jobs at a time. It was only in the last few years, after his promotion and subsequent salary increase, that the financial strain had significantly eased.

Otherwise, Chloe wouldn't even have been able to afford a car.

In truth, both of them had wanted to work to help share the burden, but due to legal restrictions, they couldn't even take part-time jobs until they were sixteen.

Years of relying on each other had forged a deep bond between the three, which was why Chloe and Gabe had lost control of their emotions when they received the police call about Dilos's accident.

"Those rich lunatics are all jerks!" Chloe said indignantly, twisting the doll in her hands as if she were taking her anger out on Lex.

Dilos simply patted her head. "Relax, relax. Didn't I come out fine? If you see him again, don't show these emotions. After all, Uncle is still a manager at the Luthor Fertilizer Plant."

"I know." Chloe threw the doll onto the bed. "Of course I know, otherwise I would have punched him right then and there!"

Dilos nodded at her words but said nothing more. He then returned to his room; he still needed to study the vial of blood he had drawn from Clark.