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Natasha's gaze swept across the room like a hawk, and finally she signaled Pamela with a glance, initiating a silent exchange.
"Help me out, there are too many crazies here."
"I can help, but the compensation..."
"First off, I'm not gay."
"Just so you know, I identify as male mentally."
"Then there's no problem."
Pamela stood up and walked over to Clark, clinking glasses with him. Clark, puzzled, turned back to Pamela, who said, "Aren't you going to greet the new Professor Shearer?"
Clark immediately stood up and, while walking towards Shearer, asked, "How should I address him?"
"Doctor, of course."
"Is he a psychiatrist? Uh, not that Professor Shearer isn't, but he usually doesn't let people call him doctor."
"Yes, this Shearer is indeed a psychiatrist, and a famous one at that. His consultation fee could even make Bruce Wayne balk."
"Then he must be quite something." Clark promptly walked over, smiling and bending slightly in greeting, and when Shearer turned to look up at him, it was as if he saw the sun, instinctively squinting at the bright smile.
When Peter was younger, around 16 and just starting high school, he too often flashed that kind of smile, but as high school went on and everyone started playing it cool, Peter mentioned feeling down once because someone said his smile looked stupid, and after that, he stopped smiling that way.
This became one of the few regrets Shearer and others had, because nobody had ever praised Peter's smile before, and that may have been an important reason he decided to change. Society generally describes this as becoming mature.
Shearer, smiling, took the initiative to clink glasses with Clark, who looked adorably surprised, but he quickly sported an even brighter smile and said, "That's so flattering, Doctor Shearer, I can't believe I have this honor. If I say now that today isn't actually my birthday, would you take all this back?"
"Of course not, it's just in appreciation of your smile." Shearer, breaking with tradition, took the biggest gulp of alcohol he had all day.
Clark raised an eyebrow in surprise; he'd heard stories about Doctor Schiller from Bruce, but clearly, seeing was believing.
Shearer's profile looked much softer than usual, truly miraculous, Clark thought. A face could express so much variety, but he had to admit, lively expressions were indeed more captivating.
Then he touched his own face; Clark smiled like this every day, and yet no one gave him extra attention for it, as if his face no longer needed a smile to stand out. But such praise still made him very happy.
Smiling takes an emotional toll, as a powerful smile consumes one's own emotions to uplift others. Clark had turned this into a habit, because he liked to spread joy.
While not expecting anything in return, when someone recognized the effort, it proved his actions were successful—especially when that someone was a psychologist, confirming it must be very effective. Perhaps the happiness his small deed brought to others was greater than he had imagined?
"That's too kind of you, Doctor." Clark happily sipped his drink and said, "Your smile is the rarer one, I'm starting to wish today was my birthday."
"Then invite me when it is," Shearer said. "I'll make sure to smile when you close your eyes to make a wish."
Clark immediately burst into laughter, really liking this doctor, and said, "What I regret is that your consultation fee is too steep, otherwise I would really hope..."
"As you see, at this table we have two incredibly wealthy individuals, both friends of yours. Now who is willing to cover Clark's consultation fee?"
Lex and Bruce simultaneously snorted.
Shearer quickly changed his phrasing, "It's not a price the richest man in the world couldn't afford, now who will offer?"
White Can leaned in.
Shearer pushed him away and, seeing both Bruce and Lex pressing on their phones, turned on his own, discovering two text messages appearing on his screen at the same time.
He immediately showed the screen to Clark. Clark didn't see anything else except a string of zeros.
He felt slightly dizzy, he had received enough accolades for the day, he really didn't need any more proof of his worth. If this continued, he might actually come to believe that after more than 20 years, the human race finally remembered to knock him out and dissect him.
"The bidding is getting fierce," Shearer said with a hint of sarcasm. "At this rate, you'll just have to sell yourself to Earth, but I'll try to put a positive spin on it, so it doesn't seem like we've kidnapped you."
Natasha leaned in to look at the phone, and Shearer handed it to her. The agent sighed with feigned regret and said, "Looks like you can't keep me company tonight, what can you do when they're the ones with the money?"
Clark beat a hasty retreat.
Clearly New Yorkers have a penchant for teasing innocent big guys. Scarlet Witch glanced at the phone and said, "Wow, but I've got to say he's worth it. If it were up to me, I'd go for the one with the blue eyes, the redhead needs to step it up."
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After she finished speaking, she kept glancing at Lex with provocative eyes, seemingly wanting him to raise the price. Natasha, who loved to fan the flames, said, "That's exactly the case. In the world of business, you can't let attraction affect your judgment. Strength must speak for itself. I've heard that the actual person in control of Wayne Enterprises now is not Bruce Wayne, but his father. No need for me to say who you should choose, right?"
"I believe we also have a distinguished Princess among us," Professor X, clearly not as serious as he appeared, said, "Sometimes being overly focused on monetary value is rather vulgar. True nobility in bloodlines doesn't fluctuate with time—they hold a legacy far above any fleeting cloud."
Diana was dumbfounded. How did her own issue come into this?
Professor Shearer immediately looked at Professor X and said, "Yes, you're just the type who likes princesses."
Magneto immediately sent a murderous glance his way.
Wanda seized the opportunity and followed up, "Especially non-human princesses, powerful and beautiful, of high status, and whose home is far from Earth, so hard to access, with no signal. You can't even make a phone call there."
"Is that the reason you want to marry a phone?" Magneto retorted, not to be outdone.
Jarvis, baffled, looked up from his bowl of food, only to be pushed back down by Wanda's hand. Wanda withdrew her hand and said, "That phone was made by the most brilliant Iron Demon God in the cosmos, while some self-proclaimed Electromagnetic God has yet to create something noteworthy."
"First, clarify who's the most brilliant in the entire universe?!" White Can raised his voice, staring at Wanda.
Having just finished a bowl of porridge, Jason wiped his mouth and then nudged Tim with his elbow, "They're so weird, talking at cross purposes."
"It's too noisy," Tim said with a frown. "I don't know where they find so much to talk about."
"The human race starts to think, and God laughs. That's because God doesn't know how noisy humans can be when they're not thinking," Jason said, looking around. "With this much quantity over quality, could this be what people refer to as small talk?"
"Then it seems like the group next to us is even more idle," Tim said, digging at his ear and frowning at the table filled with Spider Man enthusiasts. The noise they generated became the background for everyone else in the dining area. Tim felt as if the chaos of seagulls battling had been transported inside the restaurant—it was like a debating sparrow, a Gotham sparrow.
Over at another table, Wanda and Jarvis were also discussing things. Wanda, resting her chin in her hand and leaning in Jarvis's arms, said in a hushed voice, "Those two kids are so strange, I haven't seen them smile."
"Maybe they're more introverted," said Jarvis.
Wanda sighed softly, "Pietro was also always told he was introverted as a kid, but in private he could be noisy enough to give me a headache... Sigh, look at that cute little girl over there. Do you have any candy?"
"I suggest you don't bring her over," Jarvis warned cautiously. "She might be a bit different from the other children we know."
"Different? How much more different can she be? Could she be worse than Helen? The last time I was on the phone with Xeseon, she almost bit him through the phone line."
"This one might do more than just bite..."
Jarvis hadn't finished speaking when Wanda already went over to amuse Aisha. It was clear she really liked children, and in no time she had Aisha giggling constantly before picking her up from Dick.
Aisha's growth was much slower than Helen's, perhaps because she wasn't too keen on growing up, so she was still a little girl who could be held.
"She's too cute, like a little shark," Wanda said, obviously very fond of Aisha, repeatedly kissing her cheek and singing, "Baby shark, baby shark, swim away..."
Aisha was amused by the nursery rhyme Wanda sang and giggled while lying in her arms. Jarvis, who had scanned Aisha's tooth hardness, sat rigidly with his devices telling him there was an 87% chance she wanted to use him as a chewing rod, while his girlfriend just thought of her as a cute shark.
Jarvis wasn't sure his body could withstand Aisha's teeth, but he was certain this cute baby shark wouldn't let go once she bit down; his emotional analysis was always accurate.
"Alright, Wanda, it's not a good habit to entertain kids while they're eating. It can distract them. If you truly want to be a preschool teacher, you should pay attention to these details," he said.
For the first time, Jarvis felt Professor X's kindness so clearly—it was as if an angel had descended.
"He needs to get used to these little demons' fangs," Magneto interjected right away, and Jarvis saw the bright malice in his eyes. Great, with angels, there must also be demons. He was very glad that was his father-in-law and not his dad.
Jarvis sighed, reached out to wrap his arm around Wanda's waist, and as she startled and turned to look at him, he leaned in and said, "You wouldn't really want to marry a phone without arms, dear. Put her back, please."
Aisha was fidgeting, making the table vibrate slightly. Finally, White Can couldn't take it anymore and, with a look of disgust, said to Wanda, "If you really love her, why not have your own? You could go ahead and do that now, away from here."
Great, Jarvis thought desperately, his dad wasn't a demon, but it seemed every dad in the universe had the uncanny ability to infuriate every woman to the point of madness.
Wanda's hair began to float up for a moment, and Aisha was only startled for a second before crying out with an "aww."
"Oh, oh, my God." Wanda immediately came back to her senses, embracing Aisha and patting her back, "Don't cry, don't cry..."
"She'll be a good teacher," Doctor Schiller and Professor X clinked their glasses softly and said together, "And she'll be a good mother too."
Professor X smiled mysteriously and said, "She's going to be, haven't you noticed why Erik's been so angry lately?"
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