A week later.
Mark proudly showed off his birthday present to Clark.
Clark was discharged from the hospital that day, and he magnanimously forgave Mark for accidentally dropping the lawnmower on his head.
Wearing a child-sized Homelander uniform, exactly like the one in his previous life, Mark struck a pose with his arms crossed.
"How about it? Pretty cool, right?"
"Uh..."
Clark looked at Mark's flamboyant uniform and asked, "Do you really like this outfit?"
"Of course, Father gave it to me."
Mark said he thought the uniform was cool.
"This is Homelander's exclusive suit, Father said."
Clark wasn't particularly interested in the "exclusive suit," but what he envied was that Godfather had taken Mark to an amusement park and a museum on Mark's birthday.
The amusement park had a Smallville High School band performance at 6 PM, and also a band called "Happy Han Barbershop."
At 10 PM, the amusement park also held a large fireworks display.
As for the museum, it was filled with the collections of Old Mike, a local librarian and amateur historian.
Recently, the oldest families in town had also lent priceless family heirlooms free of charge.
These included restaurant menus from the 1890s, lumberjack's cable posts, axes, and peaveys from the 1980s, and toys from the 1920s.
However, it was rumored that the Women's Association had rejected some of Old Mike's collections.
For example, the famous chair-shaped cage from the 1930s, and some photos of gangster shootouts, were all rejected by the Women's Association.
"I wonder what birthday present Godfather will give me when it's my birthday."
Clark had already begun to fantasize about his birthday.
Although there were still eight months until his birthday.
Mark didn't notice Clark's fantasizing; after having the best birthday ever, he fell back into a troubled state.
"Father told me to control my strength, and said that the new school season is about to begin. Before he sends me and you to school, I must learn to control it."
Although Mark yearned for school life, which he had never experienced, his eyebrows immediately furrowed into a knot when he thought of Father's special training for him.
Hearing Mark mention special training, Clark also felt a pang of sympathy.
Peter not only conducted special training for Mark but also for him at the same time.
However, Clark's current ability was merely a bit more strength, plus a "thick-skinned" skill, so the difficulty of his training was an order of magnitude lower than Mark's.
"Are you looking forward to school life, Mark?"
Clark asked Mark.
"A little, but I prefer to stay on the farm and be a cowboy."
Mark said his current dream was to inherit Father's farm.
He glanced at Clark, always feeling that the other party would threaten his inheritance order.
Although it might not be a threat now, what about in the future?
Whenever something develops normally, a third party always appears at a critical moment.
This was Mark's new conclusion.
The inspiration came from the TV series "The Fugitive" he had recently watched.
In the show, every time the protagonists approached success, a third party would jump out and mess everything up.
Mark didn't reveal his thoughts. He rubbed his slightly itchy nose and asked Clark, "What about you, Clark? Do you like going to school?"
"Yes, I'm really looking forward to it."
Clark thought of Lana.
Lana should be almost in second grade now; he would be able to see her when he went to school.
"Screech!"
Peter stopped the car outside the school and said to Mark and Clark, who were sitting in the back, "Alright, soldiers, it's time for battle. Be energetic, don't lose face."
The new school season began, and Mark was basically able to control his strength after emotional outbursts. Jonathan and Martha also agreed to Clark's enrollment.
So, the two could enroll on the last day of the enrollment period.
Clark swallowed, got out of the car with his backpack.
At the top of the school's iron gate, each spike was decorated with irises—which looked like teeth to Clark.
A hungry black dog bared its metallic canine teeth.
This made his already somewhat nervous mood even more so.
At the entrance stood a guard—an elderly Black man, his eyes tightly constricted behind skin that resembled a wriggling slug, with pale, wire-brush-like sideburns extending from his cheeks.
To Clark, the man resembled a demon guarding the gate of an evil castle.
Peter didn't know that Clark had already fantasized about the school being an evil castle.
After Jonathan drove them to the entrance, he had to return to the farm, leaving Peter to handle the relevant procedures.
Walking along the winding path, Peter led the two young boys forward.
Just then, a woman came walking towards them.
A beautiful woman with a well-proportioned, hot figure, carrying several books, walked past Peter.
After they brushed past each other, the beautiful woman suddenly froze.
After a long moment, she turned around and stared at Peter's back.
Martha McDonald's heart was in turmoil.
This beautiful woman, who had witnessed Peter taking down a group of gangsters in Frank's gang, stood dumbfounded.
Because of the kidnapping incident she had experienced earlier, she felt depressed, so she tried changing her environment.
After resigning from her previous school, she transferred to Smallville to work as an elementary school teacher, and she never expected to meet the guy who had saved her before!
Had she mistaken him?
No, it couldn't be wrong. Although he wasn't wearing glasses now, and the aura he exuded was completely different from back then.
But having been sensitive to the scent of human bodies since she was young, she could always recognize anyone as long as she remembered their scent characteristics.
Should she follow him, or pretend nothing happened and just walk away?
After hesitating for a moment, she finally followed him.
Inside the Headmaster's Office, Peter was discussing the two boys' enrollment with the Headmaster when he suddenly turned his head and glanced towards the door.
"Is there a problem?"
The elegant, refined White Headmaster, wearing a leather jacket, asked Peter, "Mr. Patrick?"
"No, I apologize, Mr. Headmaster, let's continue."
After leaving the Headmaster's Office, Peter looked towards the other end of the corridor.
Someone had been standing outside, eavesdropping; he had keenly sensed it the moment the person appeared.
Was it that woman?
When he had brushed past Martha McDonald earlier, he had also recognized her as the woman who had almost been abused by Frank's gang that night.
She had been secretly following him until she reached the Headmaster's Office.
Did she recognize him?
His brows slightly furrowed, a hint of doubt arose in his mind.
It was dark that night, and he had deliberately changed his figure and appearance; could she have recognized him?
He looked down at Clark, who was wearing the black-rimmed glasses he had given him, and pinched his face.
This kid knows how to disguise himself; a pair of glasses did the trick.
"Godfather?"
Clark didn't know why Peter pinched his face, showing a puzzled expression.
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