Kent Farm.
"A fifty-thousand-dollar check?"
Clark narrowed his eyes as he looked at the check in Jonathan's hand.
"The people from Metropolis University Press told me I could cash it at one of their partner banks."
Smiling, Jonathan said to Martha, "Now I believe Eric's book is really popular. The publisher even paid his royalties in advance, so it must be pretty good. I'll have to read it again sometime."
"I don't think you have any literary appreciation, Jonathan."
Martha carefully took the check from Jonathan's hand. "We need to keep this safe for him. We won't have to worry about Eric and Clark's college tuition anymore."
"I don't need Eric's money to go to college."
Clark strolled lazily over to his parents. "Baseball, basketball, whatever. If I wanted to, I could make a fortune in an instant."
"We agreed on this, Clark. You can't do that!"
Jonathan frowned and looked at Clark, who was lightly stroking the ruby ring on his finger. "And Clark, we also agreed that you wouldn't buy that ring."
"I thought—"
Turning his back to his parents as he packed his things, Clark wore an unconcerned expression. "I could make my own decisions."
"That's because we trusted you to make the right decisions. But that ring was very expensive."
Clark, whose expression had remained calm, suddenly exploded.
He turned around, suppressing the rage and violence surging within him as he looked at his father. "You're holding a fifty-thousand-dollar check, yet you criticize me for spending three hundred and fifty dollars. Because it's Eric's money, not mine. You and Mom are always strict with me, but you indulge Eric because you're biased against me! Let me tell you—I'll never be troubled by money, and I'll never cater to your unreasonable demands!"
The air seemed to freeze.