Lex took Clark on a tour of the new manor, or you could say they toured together because Lex hadn't seen all the rooms before he bought the manor.
Clark was astonished. He couldn't understand how someone could buy a house without fully touring it first.
"Do you know how many rooms there are?" Lex said helplessly: "There are about 160 living rooms."
Clark's eyes widened in shock. It was hard for him to imagine a house with 160 rooms.
Lex stopped and eyed him, saying, "I think you might have a wrong understanding of this manor. Didn't you see when you flew up just now?"
"See what?"
"The entire manor."
"I only saw this house, wait..." Clark turned his head towards the gate and said, "Don't tell me the whole cluster of buildings I just saw is your house."
"You think I would share it with others?"
Clark took flight again, exiting through the main gate. This time he flew even higher and saw the whole view of Half-Mountain Manor.
Of course, it was more than just the main manor. There were approximately seven houses cascading from high to low, two small and one large garden, three squares of varying sizes, a golf course, and many smaller buildings, which Clark guessed to be guard booths.
When Clark got here, Lex drove down to pick him up. They climbed the winding mountain road, first entering the main gate of the manor. Once inside, there was Central Plaza with a decorative fountain sculpture. On both sides of the square, doorways supported by Roman columns and surrounded by flowers led to the back of the main hall.
After that was a tall building, which resembled the White House—this was the only comparison Clark could think of. He thought it was more beautiful than the White House, as it also had Eastern European-style domes, with exquisite murals carved into the walls.
Behind the main hall was a small garden. The left corridor led to a walkway and the right to a driveway. Both would eventually ascend to another terrace where there was another house. The style was consistent with the main hall, only slightly smaller.
The road curved behind this house, leading to the right where the mountains end. There was a cliff, the surface of which had been transformed into the edge of an infinity pool. Beside the pool was another house, probably only half the size of the main hall, but taller, about five stories.
Upon ascending another set of steps, it was divided into two sections. One part was the manor's large garden, occupying half a mountain top. Through a small square, it connected to the golf course. The perimeter of the golf course was a clearly human-modified forest, probably some kind of nature reserve.
At the very top layer was a viewing platform on top of the mountain, which had also been transformed into a square. To its right were the remaining four buildings, all staggered, with their backs against the mountain and their fronts facing the sea.
"So, you own an entire small neighbourhood?"
"And you're going to describe my manor as a neighbourhood?"
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean it like that. It's far more luxurious than a neighbourhood. Um, it's just a bit beyond my comprehension. I can't come up with better words to describe it."
"How do you think it compares to Wayne Manor?"
"I think it's two different styles." As Clark and Lex walked forward together, he stroked his chin and said, "This is much larger than Wayne Manor, there the buildings are more compact. In fact, it wasn't until Bruce explained that I realised it was three houses, but it looks completely connected."
"It looks a lot like the manors in some British dramas, where there's a central hall in the front plaza, and living buildings on both sides enclosing a garden. There's no overly complicated decoration, but it carries an old European style."
"Your manor is obviously more modern." Clark gestured and said, "I'm not talking about the decor style, but its design better fits the needs of modern humans. The hosting buildings, sports and leisure areas are centralized, the living spaces and viewing areas are nicely divided. You can do one thing in one area all day without having to run back and forth."
"Sounds like you're impressed."
"Oh, I can't complain to you about him, he always finds out." Clark lowered his voice to say, "Sometimes, he pops out like a prophet, suddenly mentioning something I've done, it's scary."
"But I still have to say, having to cross an entire garden to iron my freshly dried clothes is too inhumane. Why can't the laundry room and the ironing room be in the same building, instead of being in the two houses that are furthest apart?"
Lex turned to look at Clark and said, "Have you noticed that the building with the ironing room has many more small bedrooms, and even a floor with very narrow and dense corridors and rooms?"
"Of course, the third floor is like that, it's even about the same size as my apartment room. I don't understand who would live there."
"Of course, the servants. In traditional English manors, besides the male and female butlers, at least 30 male and female maids would be engaged to take care of the master, mistress and the whole family's cleaning, ironing, boilers, stoves, etc. And there are also cooks, carriage drivers, security guards..."
"The more I listen, the more it sounds like a small neighbourhood," Clark commented. He said, "So what about you? Do you also plan to hire some… um, servants?"
"This isn't the Victorian Era. At Luthor Manor, I have a complete modernized butler service system. They should arrive by tomorrow. The reason they can't come today is that there are too many planes coming to Gotham and my private jet doesn't have a flight path."
"Hard to imagine," Clark lamented. "So the ironing room is in another house to be closer to the working servants? Why not just move the laundry room over there too? Completing all the procedures in one trip would be faster and more convenient, wouldn't it?"
"Because it wouldn't fit." Lex thought for a moment and then said, "When they initially built the house, they probably didn't have much space, so the entire manor is a mini version. The building with the ironing room probably couldn't fit three laundry rooms."
"Wait a minute, three?"
"Clothing from the Middle Ages isn't like your t-shirt. Silk, lace, wool and other materials require different treatment. Before a grand party, just dealing with the whole family's clothing would require dozens of servants. If there aren't enough hands at home, they would have to hire laundresses."
"Amazing," Clark scratched his head. "Turns out suits weren't complicated enough, but picking out those ties already makes my head spin."
Lex suddenly stopped again, turning to him and said, "If you're going to attend my graduation celebration, do you have any formal wear?"
Before Clark could respond, Lex added, "It's not me hosting the banquet, from the styles of the professor, he has certain expectations about the guests' attires. What are you planning on wearing?"
"A suit."
"What kind of suit?"
"What?"
Lex halted again. They had already walked into the garden by this time. The manor's garden had been well-maintained, so it was lush and vibrant every season of the year. The layers of deep green, light green, golden yellow, and orange-red were a feast to the eyes.
"I have a suit," Clark said, "I wear it to all kinds of formal events, it's never caused any problems."
"What's the fabric?"
"I don't know."
Lex buried his face in his hand, "So you bought a ready-made suit? Which brand?"
"I'm not quite sure, Lois picked it out for me."
"How much was it?"
"Just over two thousand."
Lex exhaled, waving at Clark and said, "Let's go to your room first, let me take a look at this suit. Even though I'm quite sure you can't wear it to Professor Shearer's dinner, I need to see it."
Clark seemed a bit lost, but he followed Lex into one of the houses. It was the tallest building in the dense urban area with a view of the whole of Gotham City from the front, and the mountains and the sea from the back.
The uniform and intricately retro-styled decoration made Clark feel like it wouldn't be surprising if a werewolf stood on the top of a mountain howling at a full moon's night.
But all in all, he was very satisfied with the room. Evidently, all the chairs had cushions, the cabinet doors slid smoothly, none of the furniture was a protected artifact, and there were even smart electrical systems and fresh air conditioners. It's more suited for humans and Kryptonians than Wayne Manor.
Clark opened his luggage case. He wasn't concerned about the weight, so he packed it full of check-in stuff, weighing more than 20 kilograms.
The suit was squashed under a pile of things and had become somewhat creased, but Lex knew that wouldn't stop an extraterrestrial being. Clark flapped the suit casually, and it became smooth as if it had just been ironed. He then went to the cloakroom to change into formal wear.
The moment Clark came out, Lex admitted, it doesn't necessarily matter what suit he's wearing, he looks good even in rags.
His perfectly built V-shaped body, muscles under the fabric that seemed about to explode, the resolute and handsome face, oceans of blue eyes, and a splendidly perfect smile that no one can spot a flaw in.
But after gradually adapting to the visual impact from Superman, Lex still had to say: "Your girlfriend has a good eye, but only for company annual meetings and press conferences. This kind of thin, flat-collar suit is not going to be favored at any mainstream banquet."
Clark looked down at himself, he said, "I think it fits perfectly."
"It fits perfectly, and it's not ugly. It's just the wrong style."
"I don't understand," Clark spread his palms, "a suit is just a suit, it doesn't have as many parts as a medieval dress. What more could be thrown into the mix?"
"If you've seen Shearer's wardrobe, not the professor you're familiar with, but another Shearer who's in charge of designing this banquet, you might take back what you just said."
After a careful thought, Clark remembered who Lex was referring to. After their last hurrah, at least the last one he witnessed, Clark saw a man whose style didn't match professor Shearer's at all.
He told them "Bruce always has a home," and that left a deep impression on Clark. Because when he took a look at the colorful suit, all the words felt like threats that could be carried out implicitly.
Clark shivered, and admitted to what Lex said, different suits do reflect different temperaments.
"Actually, I don't know what my style is," Clark sat down in a nearby chair, put his arm on his knee, and let his hand hang down, "Lois and I discussed about this, but you know, they would say, 'you're good enough as you are.'
"This is the truth." From the moment Clark came out, Lex's eyes hadn't left him. With entirely artistic admiration for the physique, he stared intently.
"Anyone who has caught sight of you expressed their admiration for your beauty sincerely, at least in terms of appearance, because the impact is too huge, making them only express their emotions."
"But it could also be understood that their aesthetic level is up to par for them to give useful advice. You are the most beautiful person they have seen, they do not know what surpasses such beauty, and naturally, they can't offer useful advice."
"What about you?" Clark turned his palm upwards, "Am I the most beautiful person you've seen?"
Lex actually thought about it seriously before replying.
"In my aesthetic range, Bruce Wayne is slightly more beautiful than you."