Kent Farm.
"A fifty-thousand-dollar check?"
Clark squinted at the check in Jonathan's hand.
"The Metropolis University Press told me I could cash this check at their partner bank."
Jonathan smiled and said to Martha, "I now believe Eric's book is very popular; the publisher even paid him royalties in advance, which means it must be pretty good. I definitely need to reread it someday."
"I don't think you have any literary appreciation, Jonathan."
Martha carefully took the check from Jonathan's hand. "We must keep it safe for him. We won't have to worry about Eric and Clark's university fees."
"I don't need Eric's money to go to university."
Clark walked lazily towards his parents. "Baseball, basketball star, I can make a fortune in an instant if I want to."
"We agreed, Clark, you can't do that!"
Jonathan frowned, looking at Clark, who was gently stroking the ruby ring on his finger. "And, Clark, we also agreed you couldn't buy that ring."
"I thought"
Clark turned his back to his parents to tidy up, an indifferent expression on his face. "I can make my own decisions. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦"
"That's because we trust you to make the right decisions, but that ring is very expensive."
Clark, who had been calm, suddenly erupted in an instant.
He turned his face, suppressing the anger and rage in his heart, and looked at his father. "You have a fifty-thousand-dollar check in your hand, but you're scolding me for spending 350 dollars. Because that's Eric's money, not mine. You and Mom always demand so much from me, but you indulge Eric's behavior, because you're full of prejudice against me! Let me tell you—I will never be constrained by money, nor will I pander to your unreasonable demands!"
The air instantly stilled; Jonathan and Martha were completely stunned!
They never imagined Clark would say such words!
"Clark, go wash your hands and get ready for dinner."
Martha stepped in to smooth things over.
"I'm not hungry, and I have to farm!"
After saying something not very polite to his parents, Clark activated his super speed and vanished from the room in an instant.
"What… what was that about?"
After a moment of stunned silence, Jonathan asked his wife.
Martha shrugged. "I guess our Superman son still has the rebellious personality of a teenager."
"This is clearly not a matter of rebellion; he seems driven by anger and irritability, both in his words and actions."
Jonathan said, puzzled, "It looks like he's complaining and venting all his dissatisfaction to us."
"Maybe Clark is just in a bad mood. We all have those one or two bad days, don't we, Jonathan?"
Martha patiently advised her husband, "You can't just keep lecturing him; that might make things worse."
Jonathan didn't speak, just nodded.
In his heart, he also felt that perhaps his lecturing had caused Clark to lose control of his emotions for a moment.
But he quickly realized he was wrong.
The next day, Jonathan received a call. After a serious conversation with the person on the other end, he hung up.
"What's wrong?"
Martha asked worriedly, seeing her husband's unusual expression.
"The bank confirmed last night's spending. Our check, the fifty thousand dollars Eric earned, had a large expenditure last night."
Jonathan walked towards his room. "But the check was clearly in your hands and mine, how is that possible?"
"Could it be…"
Martha put down the sausage she was frying, a worried expression on her face. "Clark?"
Before she could finish, a harsh electronic metallic noise came from outside.
They both walked to the window and looked out.
The electronic music noise was coming from Clark's Secret Fortress.
With a bewildered feeling, they walked towards the barn.
After entering the barn, a burst of aggressive rock music assaulted them.
Clark's secret base was filled with various items that clearly appealed to rebellious rock youths.
Lightning balls, police lights, super boomboxes, luxurious speakers—
Martha found a jacket draped over a chair. She touched it and discovered it was made of high-grade silk.
"This kind of clothing costs at least a thousand dollars."
Martha looked at her husband, saying in surprise.
The couple looked up at Clark on the second floor of the barn, finding him sitting there, engrossed in playing a game.
"Clark!"
Jonathan walked over to Clark and questioned him, "What are you doing?!"
"As you can see, Eddie's store in Metropolis sells items at low prices 24 hours a day, so I bought them. I think I need to own some cool stuff, don't I?"
Clark put down his game controller, turned off the rock music, and replied calmly.
"Clark Kent, you stole our money, and it wasn't even our money, it was Eric's royalties!"
Jonathan's anger was almost overflowing, but he still tried to suppress his emotions.
"So what?"
Clark stood up. "What's the big deal? I'll just pay you back later. Anyway, Eric has a lot of money; although I don't know where he hid it, this amount is just a drop in the ocean for him. By the way, if I could have found those valuable things in his room, I wouldn't have touched the check."
Jonathan suppressed the urge to hit him and slapped the chair heavily. "Not only did you steal money, but you also rummaged through other people's things without permission. Let me tell you how serious your mistake is, Clark Kent, I want you to return all this junk! Now!"
"Are you sure?"
A mocking smile appeared on Clark's lips.
"Of course. After you return all this junk, we'll have a good talk about what's wrong with you! Your attitude, your behavior, your current thoughts—I want to confirm why you've become such a disappointing person!"
"Suit yourself, you can talk about whatever you want, but I'm sorry, Dad, I don't have time for you!"
Clark put on his newly bought leather jacket, waved to his parents, and with a "whoosh," quickly disappeared from their sight.
Outside, the roar of a motorcycle sounded.
The couple looked out and saw that Clark had already mounted a brand new motorcycle.
He put on his sunglasses, twisted the throttle, and sped away.
Watching Clark's receding figure, Martha covered her forehead with her hand, tears glimmering in her eyes.
She didn't know why her usually obedient eldest son had become like this.
Jonathan withdrew his gaze from Clark's figure and put his arm around his wife's shoulders.
"Don't worry, I'll find him. No matter what, I'm his father, I can understand his thoughts."
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