Lunch

Lunch.

At the dining table—

Roasted ribs, creamy corn chowder, freshly baked blueberry pie, and Jonathan's pride and joy: smoked ham.

Lionel slowly cut his ribs with a dining knife, every movement elegant.

However—

Lex was acting completely out of character. His fork nearly threw sparks against the plate, and his cheeks were puffed up like a hamster's.

For someone who had rarely eaten this kind of food, this place was practically heaven!

"Lex."

Lionel frowned slightly and gently dabbed the corner of his mouth with a napkin. "Mind your manners."

The little bald boy froze, immediately setting down his knife and fork. Fine sweat beaded on the back of his neck.

Seeing this, Martha could not help laughing. "Lex, do you like the food?"

"It's delicious!"

The words burst from Lex's mouth, but he immediately realized he had lost his composure and lowered his voice several notches.

"I mean... the taste is very pleasing. At home, Miss Sally does all the cooking, so there's rarely anything like this..."

"Miss Sally?" Martha looked curiously at Lionel.

"Our nutritionist."

Lionel shook his head helplessly.

"She handles Lex's dietary balance. Please excuse him; normally, this child..." He glanced at the sauce at the corner of Lex's mouth and sighed. "Perhaps it's because he has never had the chance to try this sort of home cooking."

"Haha, then eat more if you like it!"

Jonathan heartily waved his fork, speared a rib, and divided it among the three children's plates. At the same time, he casually rubbed Clark's head.

The boy was currently stuffing an entire piece of ham into his mouth, his cheeks stretched out of shape.

"..."

Looking at Dio and Lex's graceful postures.

Jonathan's mouth twitched slightly. Embarrassed, he said, "Honestly, as long as you eat slower than my boy, you count as civilized."

"?"

Is that a compliment about how fast I eat?

Clark blinked his blue eyes, muttered something indistinctly through his puffed cheeks, then forked another piece of meat and stuffed it into his mouth.

Lionel smiled despite himself, his gaze sliding to the other end of the table.

The blond boy was slowly cutting open his blueberry pie with a silver spoon, his red eyes like two translucent jewels beneath the sunlight.

Watching Dio's refined dining manners, Lionel privately admired him.

There was a maturity about this blond boy that did not match his age. The air he carried in every gesture was far beyond that of an ordinary farm child.

So—

His gaze shifted to Locke again.

It must have come from his father's teachings and example!

After all, this man's knowledge and ability had completely overturned Lionel's understanding of farmers.

A man who hid his true depth.

That was the only way Lionel could describe him.

"Locke—"

Just as he was about to speak—

Knock, knock, knock.

The sudden knocking interrupted the laughter around the table.

Jonathan wiped his hands and stood. "Keep eating. I'll go see."

Bang!

The instant the door opened, the wind carried unfamiliar voices into the dining room.

"Are you Mr. Jonathan Kent?" a courteous middle-aged man asked. "Sorry to disturb you, but we would like to have a brief talk with your son Clark."

Before Jonathan could respond, a younger voice immediately followed.

"You're also from the Kent family, right?"

"Here's the thing. We wanted to speak with little Dio Kent about something, but we were unable to find Mr. Locke Kent."

"Do you know where he is?"

Swallowing hard, Clark stopped eating. His face was unable to hide his fear as he looked toward Martha.

"Clark."

Martha pulled the boy into her arms. Her tone tried its best to remain calm, but it could not conceal her worry.

Though Dio was not as frightened as Clark, his fingers silently clenched around his napkin as well.

Hmm?

Lionel frowned slightly as he looked at the two nervous children, and—

Locke stood up, his chair scraping lightly against the floor.

"I'm Locke Kent. I'm right here." His voice was steady and powerful. "What can I do for you two?"

The two uniformed officers exchanged a glance, and the older one nodded.

"Hello, Mr. Kent. We're here to ask about the school bus incident." He took out a notebook. "According to the rescue team, Dio was the only child who remained conscious on shore. We need to ask him exactly how the school bus got from the middle of the river back to the bank. After all, being washed ashore by the water and all..."

"As for Clark," the younger officer added, "one of the rescued children claimed that Clark broke the bus window and saved him. We would like to confirm that."

"This..."

Jonathan took a deep breath, the smile on his face somewhat stiff.

"Officer, you can see for yourself that Clark is only a fourth-grade elementary school student. How could he possibly—"

"We understand your concerns," the older officer interrupted. "But procedure requires us to speak to both children in person. There are many details we need to verify."

At that, Locke and Jonathan stepped forward at the same time, blocking the doorway even more firmly.

"Gentlemen."

Locke's voice turned cold. "The children have just gone through such a fright, and now you want them to relive the nightmare. Isn't that inappropriate?"

"We know, but..."

The middle-aged officer wiped away his sweat. "Mr. Kent, it's difficult for us too. The investigation report has to be detailed."

"Just move aside."

The younger officer showed some displeasure and reached out, intending to force Jonathan and Locke away.

"But isn't that rather inappropriate?"

A voice came from inside the house. Passing through the human wall formed by Jonathan and Locke, it somehow made the officers outside stop in their tracks.

"Forcing child victims to repeatedly recall traumatic experiences after the incident?"

Lionel elegantly wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin, his voice calm. "It seems the Smallville Police Department needs to reevaluate its law enforcement standards. Perhaps I should also discuss reducing the town's financial support for your department with the mayor."

The two officers froze.

The younger one muttered quietly, "What is this guy talking about?"

"Let them come in." Lionel nodded to Locke, his gaze behind his gold-rimmed glasses sharp as a blade. "After they finish questioning them, our LuthorCorp legal department can ask them exactly how many federal child protection laws this sort of conduct that causes secondary psychological trauma violates."

LuthorCorp? Legal department? Child protection laws?

The middle-aged officer's face instantly turned pale.

That familiar voice undoubtedly belonged to Lionel, the man repairing the bridge that morning.

Hadn't old Tom said the Kents were all honest folk? How were they connected to LuthorCorp?!

And they were going to get lawyers involved?!

Thinking of those shameless legal vultures, the middle-aged officer gulped.

He grabbed his companion by the arm, and they practically fled in panic.

They were even faster than Kristen, the Internal Revenue Service agent from that morning.

"Sorry for disturbing your meal! We... we'll come back another day!"

Only after hearing that did Clark finally emerge from Martha's arms.

Vampire Uncle really is a good person...

Clark could not help thinking. He picked up a piece of ham, but—

It seemed he had lost his appetite now.

Dio, meanwhile, continued eating as though nothing had affected him.

Mm.

Ignoring the napkin he had crumpled into a ball.

Letting out a long breath, Martha gently set the fork in her hand back onto her plate.

"Thank you, Lionel. You know how it is... the children..."

"No need to say more, Mrs. Kent." Lionel smiled warmly. "What those officers were doing was unquestionably improper. Even if I hadn't spoken up, I imagine Locke and Jonathan would have gone looking for a child advocate first, wouldn't you?"

"By speaking up, I may have made the decision for you."

"I can't pretend I didn't hear that." Returning to the table, Jonathan heavily patted Lionel on the shoulder. His sturdy arm left several wrinkles in the suit fabric. "Thanks, brother. You solved a big problem for us."

Elegantly straightening his collar, Lionel shook his head. "It was nothing, Jonathan."

"Compared to the big problem you two solved for me this morning, this was merely a small favor."

"This isn't a small matter, Lionel."

"Here," Locke said with a soft laugh, pointing at the two boys, "nothing matters more than them."

The dining table fell quiet.

After a while, Lionel suddenly chuckled.

"In that case."

The man smiled and sighed. "Then we're even, Locke, Jonathan."

The helicopter's rotors whipped up powerful currents of air, scattering the waves of wheat beside the farm.

Inside the cabin, Lionel reclined comfortably against a leather seat, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest.

He turned to look at his son beside him, a rare gentle smile at the corner of his mouth.

"Lex, the Kent family is quite interesting, aren't they?"

"Mm-hmm."

Lex nodded, a trace of reluctance flashing through his eyes. "Clark and Dio are special too."

Hearing that, Lionel could not help recalling Clark, who had hidden behind Jonathan when they first met and secretly watched him.

At first, Lionel had thought he was getting old and had developed the same intimidating presence as old Luthor, frightening the child.

Yet after Jonathan questioned the boy for ages, the reason he gave was actually that he was afraid Lionel would suck his blood.

Lionel could not help chuckling.

"Then cherish that friendship, son." He stroked Lex's bald head. "Your father hopes you can make more friends instead of staying cooped up in your bedroom all day, fiddling with circuit boards."

"The future of LuthorCorp will be handed over to you."

The business titan's voice turned serious.

"Research is something the people below should worry about. What you need to learn is how to control the big picture, how to lead others! What you need to do is continuously turn the efforts of generations of LuthorCorp into capital!"

"Yes, Dad."

Lex obediently answered, but could not help speaking again. "Dad, then do you know what—"

"Boss, the call."

The secretary beside him suddenly handed over a headset. "We've already contacted the team responsible for policy research."

Taking the communications device, Lionel waved for Lex to stop talking.

For such an error to appear at such a critical point in the transition period—

He did not believe it was a coincidence.

He might overlook something, but the company's vast advisory group could not, and absolutely should not, have made the same oversight!

Then—

Who exactly was setting a trap for LuthorCorp?

At that thought, Lionel's expression turned grim.

Seeing his father busy with work once more, Lex silently lowered his head.

Through the porthole, he could still see the chimney of Kent Farm in the distance, white smoke slowly drifting upward from it.

Relaxed, comfortable, warm—

Like another world.

I really envy Dio and Clark...

Boom—!

The helicopter passed through the clouds, leaving that world far behind.