“Mr.
Rickman?
What’s wrong with you?”
Ariel seemed somewhat troubled.
Rickman yanked his hand back abruptly.
What had he just seen?
What was he seeing right now?!
Standing before him was merely a sixteen-year-old blonde youth.
A youth who was smiling at him.
Those eyes that had just reflected golden steps and a judging behemoth like divine punishment in the mental world were now as clear as a cloudless sky, without a single trace of ferocity to be found.
Rickman was thoroughly dazed; he had clearly collapsed just a moment ago.
“Are you alright?
Your face doesn’t look too good.” Ariel took half a step back, looking at him with a beaming smile.
“…”
“Probably…
my blood sugar dropped.” Rickman forced a strained smile.
“I’ve been running around to too many places today and didn’t have time for dinner, plus I had a nightmare last night, so my mental state isn’t very good.”
“Then you really need to take care of your health, Rickman,” Ariel shrugged.
“After all, when a person has to worry about hundreds of acres of land, hundreds of job contracts, and dozens of farmers who aren’t particularly keen on selling their land at the same time…”
“It’s certainly easy to have nightmares.”
“…Haha.” Rickman let out two dry laughs.
“You young people sure know how to talk.”
“See you next time, Mr.
Rickman.” Ariel offered a wave, turning to leave.
“Ariel.”
Jonathan stared dumbfounded at the scene that had just unfolded before him.
Rickman had reached out his hand, Ariel had stepped forward, and then the arrogant Rickman had suddenly fallen to his knees before his son, muttering about kowtowing, before Ariel helped him back up…
Every single step was beyond his comprehension…
“What just…”
Ariel gave his old father no chance to speak, naturally slinging an arm around his shoulders from Jonathan’s right side.
“Dad, let’s go,” Ariel said with utmost solemnity.
“Any later and Clark is going to eat our portion of beef stew too.”
“That’s what they call ‘with great power comes a great appetite’.”
Jonathan frowned, his lips moving a couple of times.
In the end, however, he was led by his son’s arm toward the parking lot as the voices jostling inside the exhibition tent behind them gradually faded into the distance…
Martha caught up, linking her arm through Jonathan’s other side without asking a thing, merely patting her husband’s hand.
Joanna walked at the very back, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on Ariel’s arm draped over Jonathan’s shoulder.
Inside the exhibition tent.
Most of the clamor had subsided, and the line in front of the folding table began to thin.
Yet Rickman remained standing on the steps with a dazed look in his eyes, his right hand—which had touched Ariel Kent moments ago—hanging slightly trembling at his side.
“Mr.
Rickman?”
Lex Luthor’s voice sounded from behind him.
“Mr.
Luthor.”
Rickman turned around, a smile rushing back onto his face.
“Thank you for holding down the fort for us tonight; the results were fantastic.”
He extended his right hand once more.
Lex chuckled softly and was about to step forward to shake it, but…
His mind also suffered a moment of daze.
“Mr.
Luthor?”
“My apologies.” The smile returned to Lex’s face as he offered a helpless laugh.
“I’m thoroughly drenched right now, so it’s not quite suitable for a handshake, Mr.
Rickman.
I’ll have someone send you a collaboration sheet later.”
“Of course, of course.” Rickman naturally withdrew his hand.
“Handle your matters first, and we’ll discuss things in detail another day.”
Lex nodded, though his gaze was involuntarily drawn toward the tent exit.
A family was walking under the distant streetlights.
Leading the way was a middle-aged couple, followed closely by a pair of blonde siblings.
“Mr.
Rickman.” Lex pulled his gaze back.
“Hmm?”
“Who was that family just now?”
Rickman glanced in the direction of his gaze, but his eyes immediately shifted downward, not daring to steal another look in that direction.
“The Kent family.” His smile was somewhat stiff.
“Local farmers who have been rooted here for generations.
The couple holds high prestige in town, and their children are…
well…
handsome and talented.”
“The Kent family?”
“Yes.”
Lex nodded slightly, recalling what had happened about three hours ago when a pair of powerful hands pulled him out of the river onto the bank.
That boy had also said his last name was Kent.
“What a happy family,” the bald youth mused thoughtfully.
In the parking lot.
The night air was slightly chilly.
A man who had shared Jonathan’s righteous indignation before the briefing was now quietly making a phone call.
“…When will the down payment arrive?
He said next week?
Alright, I’ll go register next Monday…
No, no, no, don’t tell Jonathan, you know how he is…”
“…Retrieve the land title from the bank’s safe deposit box.”
“Go first thing tomorrow morning.”
Ariel didn’t turn around to look at Jonathan’s expression…
Yet he knew what his old father was thinking right now…
Jonathan Kent didn’t need super-hearing to figure out what was happening; he only needed to see the way his fellow townsfolk avoided his gaze…
“Jonathan…” Martha said in a low voice.
“Let’s go home first.”
“I know.” Jonathan gently patted his wife’s hand resting on his forearm.
“I’m fine, dear.”
Ariel frowned, about to say something, when someone tugged on his sleeve.
He looked sideways.
Joanna’s expression was as cold and aloof as ever.
“What’s wrong?” Ariel asked.
The girl pulled a document from her pocket and handed it to him.
“Your hands aren’t very clean, Miss Joanna,” Ariel couldn’t help teasing.
“Found it,” Joanna said coldly, her eyes staring straight ahead, as though looking at the boy for even a second more would contaminate her heart of gold.
Ariel grinned and lowered his head to examine the document in his hands.
Internal Customer Rating Manual.
Inside, it detailed the land area, irrigation conditions, debt status, and even marked the psychological condition of every farm owner in Smallville.
Greenfield Agrochemical?
S.H.I.E.L.D.
Industries?
Ariel closed the document.
What intrigued him even more, however, was Lex Luthor.
Was Luthor brought over by Rickman’s power as well?
The bald guy might be hypnotized, but the bald guy being hypnotized seemed rather unlikely.
Ariel folded the document and stuffed it into his pocket, turning his head to look at the expressionless face of the girl beside him.
“The things you find are getting more and more expensive,” he raised a corner of his mouth.
“Next time, are you planning to find me a whole company?”
“If you don’t want it, give it back.” Joanna’s expression remained unchanged, extending her hand to snatch it back.
Before her fingers could even reach Ariel’s cuff, however, Ariel had already raised his hand to press down on top of her head.
Joanna’s body froze.
“Who said I don’t want it?” Ariel said seriously.
“Detective Joanna made an outstanding contribution to the Kent family’s intelligence cause today and deserves a reward.
When we get back, I’ll reward you with…”
“Childish.”
Joanna slapped his hand away, her voice tinged with a touch of annoyance as she sullenly hid her profile under her blonde hair, leaving only a small slice of a reddened earlobe exposed beneath the streetlight.
“You really don’t want a reward?” Ariel held back a smile, tilting his head to look into the girl’s eyes.
Joanna, however, abruptly continued walking forward without giving him the chance.
She had taken off her canvas shoes at some unknown point, and now held them dangling in her right hand as they swung back and forth.
ahem…
this was way too bad for her health!
Fortunately, for a girl who was equivalent to half a Superman, her bare feet stepping on gravel roads felt no different from walking on cotton; not a single stone could cause her any discomfort.
Speaking of which, why did Joanna hate wearing shoes so much anyway?
Ariel rubbed his chin, about to ask.
The girl, however, had already stopped and turned her head to look at him, the night wind blowing her blonde hair up, trying to cover those slightly red ear tips.
“The reward…”
“Hmm?”
“What’s the reward?” she asked moodily.
“Homecoming is coming up soon.” Ariel matched her pace with light footsteps.
“How about I buy you an evening gown?
We can go to Metropolis together; I think Clark needs a proper suit too.”
“What kind of reward is that?” Joanna lowered her brows in dissatisfaction, appearing somewhat coldly annoyed.
The warning sign of a hiss had appeared.
“For the reputation of the Kent family,” Ariel grinned.
“Homecoming is a big event for the whole town, and you represent the face of the Kent family.
You can’t let Lana outshine you, right?”
That vixen again…
“…Who would compete with that woman whose hair color looks like rust?”
“So you don’t like evening gowns?”
“If it’s for the honor of the family…”
“Of course it’s for our Kent family—all for the glory of the House of Kent!” Ariel stifled a laugh.
“Or do you want to attend the dance wearing that T-shirt printed with the lightning rat?”
“I can go buy it by myself,” Joanna added.
“Then we’ll head out separately when the time comes,” Ariel said, going with the flow.
“Each going our own way, until we bump into each other in a Metropolis mall by chance, where you pretend not to know me, and I pretend to be a helpful passerby giving you outfit advice.”
“Shut up,” the girl let out a low hiss.
A childhood habit she just couldn’t break.
Ariel couldn’t help chuckling, raising his hand to reach for her golden head once more.
Joanna turned her head away with a face full of disdain, attempting to dodge.
In the end, however, she failed to escape Ariel’s large hand and could only avert her angelically exquisite face.
With a furrow in her brow, she was pushed along by Ariel pressing down on her head, her bare toes silently pressing shallow prints into the road surface one after another.
If anyone were to look from behind…
The picture looked remarkably like an irresponsible owner walking a Siamese cat…
“Ariel!
Joanna!
Get in the truck!”
Jonathan opened the driver’s door, the old farmer still forcing a hearty smile in front of the kids.
Ariel withdrew his hand from the top of the girl’s head.
“Dad, I still have something to take care of,” he raised his voice toward the pickup.
“I need to go find Lana to go over this month’s comic layout.
Her place isn’t far from here, so I’ll just walk back.”
Joanna’s movement as she was about to board the truck came to an abrupt halt mid-air.
She whipped her head around, sparks flickering erratically deep within her sky-blue eyes.
Before Ariel could meet her gaze, however, she turned back away.
“It’s already past ten,” Martha glanced at him in the rearview mirror.
“Ten o’clock for a comic artist is equivalent to ten in the morning,” Ariel grinned.
“You guys head back first; I’ll be quick.”
“Then be careful out there,” Jonathan didn’t think much of it, poking his head out from the driver’s seat to add earnestly, “Watch out for traffic walking at night.”
“Don’t be too late,” Joanna added.
“Don’t you wait up too late for me either.” Ariel patted the girl’s shoulder.
“Get in the truck, and go to bed early tonight.”
Watching the pickup disappear in a cloud of dust, Ariel turned toward the dark road leading in the opposite direction of the Kent Farm.
As he walked, however, his pace gradually slowed down.
The streetlight fell upon his palm, reminding him of the moment he had rubbed Joanna’s head just now.
He hadn’t used any super abilities back then…
Yet Joanna’s reaction speed was several times the speed of sound…
In theory…
Her dynamic vision could capture the speed of a bullet.
How could she possibly fail to dodge it?
“Clumsy little actress…”
It was obvious she had actively brought her head over asking to be petted.
Ariel couldn’t help grinning into the cold wind as he strode into the boundless depths of Smallville’s night.