After Clark stepped out of the car, he seemed to be the center of attention and felt the curious eyes of many students.
There weren't many rich people in the small town. Although being a farmer in the United States could definitely be regarded as a good life, it depended on how much land they owned.
For example, like Mr. Luke Cavill, the town's famous major landowner.
He had purchased several farms and pastures, which together were for about 5,000 acres, accounting for nearly one-third of the agricultural land in town.
The farm mainly grew soybeans, wheat, and corn.
There were over 400 cows and 20 bulls in the pasture, and there were companies that sold and leased agricultural equipment under his name.
To put it bluntly, most farmers in the town depended on Mr. Cavill.
By contrast, the scale of Kent farm was small.
Moreover, in a relatively closed and backward town, every household preferred off-road pickups with good loading capacity, and sports cars weren't common.
"God, Clark, do you have a private ride now? And it's such a cool Chevrolet!"
Clark, who was a little shy, walked quickly into the school gate. A girl with short golden hair patted him on the shoulder, exaggerating.
Her name was Chloe, a 'reporter' in the school. She was obsessed with all kinds of small-town tales of mystery. She was one of the few friends Clark, the 'nerd', had.
"I missed the school bus. Luke was kind enough to give me a ride."
Clark earnestly explained.
Mr. Cavill had always been a celebrity in town.
Although he didn't often appear and only came back occasionally for a short vacation.
But because of the frequent news headlines and enough exposure, he had long been the talk in town.
Of course, most of them focused on gossip.
"Luke... oh, when my Dad sees him, he always calls him Mr. Cavill."
Chloe curled her lips and stared at her friend as if she wanted to catch something from it.
Intuition told her that Clark's relationship with the rich young man seemed unusual.
Not to mention, after linking them together, Chloe was surprised to find some similarities in their appearance.
The same hard silhouette, statue-like perfect lines, tall and upright body ...
"Kindly give you a ride ...? Did he invite you to the luxurious villa?"
Chloe kept asking.
Clark, holding a stack of books, nodded. The other party did invite him to go over ... to work out together?
"Then he must have an ulterior motive! Otherwise, why should I be so enthusiastic about you? A nerd!"
Chloe snorted lightly. She understood that in movies and novels, the young rich looking dude was usually a villain.
"How can that be? What do I have that Luke would be interested in?!"
Clark shook his head in disbelief.
All of the Kent family's possessions were probably no more than a fraction of the other's bank account.
'He couldn't be interested in me, can he?'
Clark's thinking was also skewed, and strange associations were made.
"Hey, look, your dream girl."
Without dwelling on the issue with Clark, Chloe bumped the former's arm and alerted him.
"Don't you want to go over and say hello?"
Clark followed her line of sight and soon noticed a young girl full of youth.
With long brown hair and a pretty face, she exuded a charming aura.
That was the most beautiful girl in the school, and she was also the girl he could never forget.
'Lana!'
Almost subconsciously, Clark walked toward her like a robot.
Chloe, who fell behind, showed a naughty smile as if expecting a good show.
"Five, four, three, two, one!"
Plop!
Clark, who looked tall and healthy, hadn't walked up to Lana yet.
His legs went limp, and he fell to the ground as if he had suddenly lost his strength.
The stack of books in his hands also spilled out.
The classmates around him laughed, making Clark, who fell down, embarrassed.
There was no doubt that this was an embarrassing thing.
The future Superman, at this time, was just a teenager with low self-esteem.
He didn't know what to do, let alone how to eliminate the embarrassment.
"Poor Clark."
Chloe let out a sympathetic laugh. According to her records, as soon as Clark got close to Lana, he would act like a toddler who hadn't learned to walk.
Not to mention walking unsteadily and falling to the ground...
Sometimes, there may even be a serious case of respiratory distress.
She called it 'unrequited love syndrome'.
"Hey, Clark. Are you okay?"
Someone picked up the books that had fallen to the ground and handed them to Clark, who just wanted to hide.
"Luke? Why are you..."
Seeing an acquaintance, Clark temporarily forgot the embarrassing situation and showed a surprised expression.
"I just told you about the ribbon cutting for the library. Remember?"
Luke faintly smiled. Behind him stood the principal, the director of education, and other figures.
The strong aura emanating from the educators made those students, who were watching the fun, automatically retreat.
A swarm of people scattered in an instant.
"I'm a little ... confused. Sorry."
Clark patted the dust on his body. With Lana's departure, the feeling of weakness that filled his whole body seemed to disappear.
"A pretty girl, are you interested in her?"
Luke took the opportunity when returning the books, approached him, and asked.
He looked a bit odd as if he had found something interesting.
Who was Superman looking at that made him like this? It had to be the girl with the Kryptonite necklace.
Yes, that's why Clark suffered from 'unrequited love syndrome'.
The girl named Lana Lang had a kryptonite necklace around her neck.
If these two people were really together in the future, not to mention his two legs, Clark might have to go soft on his third leg.
"No, no..."
Clark shook his head repeatedly as if he had been caught reading some kind of inappropriate magazine by his parents, and an inexplicable sense of shame spread through his body.
This was how teenagers who were secretly in love looked. They were always reluctant to admit that they liked someone and thought that no one knew the secret.
Unfortunately, he wasn't really good at lying. His red face and evasive eyes made it easy for people to realize the answer.
"Clark, when I was your age, my arms were full of young girls."
Luke put on sunglasses, patted his little cousin on the shoulder, and enigmatically said, "You know why?"
Clark shook his head; he had zero experience in love. Except for his mom, he had never even touched a girl's hand. How would he know the secrets to that?
"Not only am I humorous and handsome, but I drive a sports car to school every day."
Clark: "..."
He was speechless.
'I'm still at the age where I have to take the school bus to school!'
"No more jokes. I'll see you later, Clark."
Luke withdrew his interest in teasing his little cousin and walked into the school auditorium surrounded by the school leaders.
The future Superman was still bothered by his unrequited love.
But it wouldn't be long before he learned from his adoptive father, Jonathan, that he was an alien.
When the time came, it would be the turn of the Kryptonian cousin to shine.
'Kryptonite refining ...'
Luke thought of Lana, Clark's crush, and the necklace she was wearing.
The day the Kryptonian spaceship crashed, it also brought a disastrous meteorite shower to this town.
Actually, it was a rain of Kryptonite.
Leaving Kryptonite fragments all over town.
That thing wasn't only fatal to Superman but also harmful to ordinary people.
Long-term exposure could lead to radiation poisoning, cancer, and even abnormal changes in normal people.
It sounds like the meta-humans in the Flash, because of the big explosion of the particle accelerator, superpowered people appeared.
As Superman, Clark would soon enter the primary stage of a superhero.
"Go for it, little cousin."
Luke spat out a comment.
He wasn't interested in cracking down on criminals, so his aim was to train Clark and collect kryptonite of various colors.