Superman switched on his super-hearing.
The next moment, every sound inside the President's office at Eye Society headquarters poured into his ears, as clear as though it had been amplified a hundredfold.
Then he picked out the sounds he could recognize.
He knew Lois's voice better than anyone.
Her restrained little moans still betrayed her feelings. Her quick breaths and the muffled sounds that rose slightly at the end seemed magnified countless times, pouring straight into his ears.
Superman's back snapped straight. He froze where he stood.
He opened his mouth, wanting to swear and ease the sudden tightness in his chest, but only a dry, low sound escaped his throat.
He had long since fallen for his sunny coworker! And he had a feeling Lois liked him too!
Superman had planned to pursue Lois in earnest once the latest wave of online attacks blew over.
He had even planned his confession: he would meet her at the café beneath the Daily Planet, order her favorite coffee, then gather the courage to say what he had kept bottled up for so long.
But now, the sounds drifting from four hundred meters away crushed every unsaid word to dust. The afternoon wind scattered it all.
From the office, Yongye's voice drifted through a crack in the window, carrying a suggestive slur that was somehow perfectly clear: "Does your dad know his beautiful reporter daughter is so... open to submissions?"
Lois laughed between breaths. "He doesn't get a say. I like it..."
In that instant, emotions churned in Superman's eyes: anger, shock, confusion, and a wounded frustration that felt like being cut again and again with a dull knife.
His fists clenched at his sides. His knuckles gave a string of faint clicks, and his fingertips dug painfully into his palms.
He