"Are you alright, Clark?"
On the way to the classroom, Mark asked him, puzzled.
Although Clark's sudden outburst, pushing Whitney's lackey away, felt satisfying to Mark, it was completely out of character for Clark.
"I'm great, better than ever."
Clark shrugged, raised his hand, and examined the Ruby ring on his finger.
"I feel completely at ease right now; I can do anything I want."
Mark narrowed his eyes. "But you just pushed that guy, Clark."
"Yes, he's a guy who needed a lesson, isn't he? I've wanted to do that for a long time!"
Mark found the Clark in front of him a bit strange. "While that's true, it's not like you. Did something happen that I didn't notice, Clark?"
"No, nothing happened, but I have to say, I like this feeling."
Clark said cheerfully.
As they were talking, Lana walked over to greet them.
"Hey, Clark, are you doing okay?"
Lana asked him with concern.
"I'm fine. I just couldn't control my emotions earlier. You know, Lana, they always enjoy bullying others. I had to bravely stand up to them."
Clark's tone was no longer as nervous as it used to be when facing Lana. "Are you still going to cheerleading practice this afternoon? I'll be at football practice. I hope your gaze lingers on me for a while then."
"Uh..."
Lana froze for two seconds, then took a deep breath, casting a puzzled look at Mark.
The Clark she knew would never talk like that.
Mark shook his head at her, indicating that he didn't know what was going on either.
"Yes, yes, I'll be at cheerleading practice. See you then."
Lana gave Clark a somewhat awkward smile, then left with a confused expression on her face.
Kent Farm.
Jonathan was wiping down a Harley motorcycle.
This used motorcycle was a gift from Peter.
"You seem to really like Peter's gift."
Martha said, standing nearby.
"Yeah, it's cool, isn't it?"
Jonathan put the rag in the basin, stood up, and looked at the motorcycle again. "I've always wanted a motorcycle like this."
Martha leaned against a nearby pillar. "Once you fix the motorcycle, I want to be the first one to take it for a spin."
"Of course, but I'd prefer you to be in the back seat."
Jonathan stood up with a smile, checked his watch, and asked his wife, "Where's Clark? He's usually home by now."
As soon as he spoke, with a "whoosh," Clark appeared before them like a flash of lightning.
The wind brought by his Super Speed blew both their hairs.
"Were you looking for me?"
Clark asked them, carrying his backpack.
Jonathan stared for a moment at Clark, who was using his superpowers so carelessly, then said, "Yes, weren't you going to fix the garage door with me?"
Clark put down his backpack and said casually, "No problem. I can fix it in two seconds."
Hearing Clark say that, Jonathan and his wife exchanged glances.
Clearing his throat, Jonathan said, "Clark, we need to talk about your football team."
"I don't want to talk about that right now."
Clark shook his head, refusing, and raised his right hand to examine the ring on his finger.
Jonathan frowned when he saw the ring on Clark's hand.
"I thought we agreed, Clark, you couldn't buy this ring."
Clark put his hand down, with an indifferent expression. "I thought we both agreed that I should make my own decisions."
"That's because I thought you would make the right decisions, Clark. This ring is very expensive..."
Before Jonathan could finish, Clark raised his voice and said angrily, "I don't want to worry about money anymore!"
Jonathan's surprised expression froze on his face, having been retorted so forcefully by Clark.
Seeing the atmosphere grow heavy, Martha spoke up to Clark, "Clark, go wash your hands and get ready for dinner."
Clark ignored his mother and said in a stiff tone, "I'm not hungry, and I need to go work in the fields."
With that, without waiting for them to react, he activated his Super Speed and vanished like a gust of wind before the couple.
After a moment, Jonathan asked his wife, puzzled, "Just now... what was that all about?"
Martha shrugged. "I think our Superman son has entered his rebellious phase."
Jonathan exhaled, a worried look appearing in his eyes. "His rebellious phase might be different from others; it's very dangerous."
Martha smiled without speaking, but the worry in her eyes was no less than Jonathan's.
"Martha, he made an improper decision."
"But that's his decision, Jonathan."
Martha helped pick up Clark's backpack. "I remember a teenager who once spent five hundred dollars on a motorcycle."
Listening to his wife's teasing, Jonathan gave a wry smile. "Now I'm a hundred percent sure you were the snitch who told Peter about my past embarrassing moments."
"We were chatting, and Peter always likes to dig up your embarrassing stories."
Martha walked over and took her husband's hand. "Jonathan, constant lecturing will only make things worse."
Jonathan nodded, feeling the warmth from his wife's hand, and gave her a forced smile.
"A gift for me?"
Night, Patrick Farm.
Peter looked at the Ruby ring in his hand and asked Mark in surprise.
This kid actually prepared a gift for him?
"Yes, Dad, this is a prom ring sold at Smallville High School."
Mark said with a hint of pride, "I bought it with my allowance."
"A P. Diddy style ring, nice, I like it a lot."
Peter examined the Ruby on the ring, feeling it looked somewhat familiar.
Touching the texture of the Ruby ring, he felt it was somewhat similar to the green kryptonite he collected.
"John, where did your school customize this type of Ruby from?"
With something on his mind, he looked up and asked Mark.
"It seems to be made from a meteorite, I don't know, Dad, do you think it's fake?"
"Not necessarily fake, but it should be very special."
Peter shook his head, put down the ring, and said to Mark, "Anyway, Dad really likes this gift."
After all, it was Mark's thoughtfulness; he had to praise the child's initiative.
"As long as Dad likes it."
Mark glanced at Star-Lord with a hint of smugness.
Unexpectedly, Star-Lord's eyes darted, and he suddenly had an idea too.
"Dad, I also have a gift for you."
Star-Lord leaned in and said.
"What are you going to give me?"
Peter ruffled Star-Lord's hair.
"Wait... Dad."
Star-Lord "thump-thump-thumped" upstairs, then quickly came down, holding a gift box wrapped with ribbons.
"This is it."
Star-Lord pushed the gift box in front of Peter.
"Hmm, I'm looking forward to it."
Peter reached out to pick up the gift box and was about to open it, but Star-Lord immediately stopped him.
"No, Dad, you must open it yourself when no one is around."
Star-Lord indicated that opening the gift this way had more meaning.
"Alright, I'll put it away first."
Peter nodded. "And then I'll open it myself where no one is around."
Mark, standing nearby, saw how good Star-Lord was at flattery, and the cutlery in his hands deformed from his grip.
Indeed, this little chubby guy was his biggest enemy!
After dinner, Star-Lord happily went upstairs listening to music.
The Ramones' "Rockaway Beach" played from his Walkman.
He listened to the song and sang along with the rhythm.
Although he didn't sing very well, he was full of energy and joy.
"Hey, Star-Lord."
Mark called out to Star-Lord, who looked like an idiot in his eyes.
"John?"
Seeing Mark standing in front of him, Star-Lord turned off his Walkman.
"Is something wrong?"
"Nothing, I just... I just want to give you a suggestion: don't play such stupid songs at night."
"So you hate music?"
"No, I just don't want to see you acting like a fool, doing embarrassing things. You're Dad's son, and my younger brother. I don't want our family to look like idiots because of you."
Star-Lord took a deep breath and said in a calm tone, "You know what, John? I actually don't care about your opinion at all."
"Is that so?!"
Mark walked forward unhappily, staring at Star-Lord and saying fiercely, "The only reason I haven't beaten you up right now is because of your identity!"
"Do you know what happened to Darr? If you continue to play smart in front of Dad, I'll make you like him."
Facing Mark's threat, Star-Lord seemed not to be afraid at all.
Even though he knew his older brother possessed extraordinary superpowers.
"Ahem..."
Star-Lord coughed lightly, then pulled out a phone from his pocket.
The phone was still on a call.
Star-Lord pointed the phone at Mark. "I'm on the phone with Dad right now. I think he should have heard everything you said."
Upon hearing Star-Lord's unscrupulous words, Mark was stunned for a moment, then quickly panicked like a dog.
But he still adjusted his emotions as quickly as possible, his expression changing from fierce to an innocent smile.
"Hey, haha, Dad, I'm just joking with Star-Lord..."
Star-Lord held up the phone and walked backward. "Alright, I have to go."
Mark's acting was still on point, and he called out to Star-Lord with a somewhat blaming yet doting tone:
"Haha! Hey, Star-Lord, you shouldn't be rehearsing lines with me while on the phone with Dad. Um... Dad, we're rehearsing lines for a school drama..."
As soon as Star-Lord closed the door with a "bang," Mark's feigned expression immediately vanished without a trace.
His forced smile quickly turned into a furious scowl, and after putting his hands on his hips and exhaling heavily, he glared at the closed door, gritting his teeth.
This shameless guy actually used this trick against him.
"Phew!"
After closing the room door, Star-Lord let out a long breath.
Actually, he hadn't connected the call with Peter just now.
The reason he dared to use this trick with such confidence was his certainty that Mark wouldn't dare to gamble, even if he was suspicious.
After all, Dad would really punish him.
"Alright, music on!"
Triumphantly pressing the play button on his music player, Star-Lord once again sang his favorite song, "Rockaway Beach."