Chapter 2202

Clark, like a vigorous bird, circled in mid-air and flew out from the window, arriving above the hillside manor. With one breath, the entire manor took on a brand-new look.

Lex, whose hair had only been slightly ruffled, smoothed the stray locks at his temples and sighed in his heart. He remembered what Schiller had once said: you can never humiliate a friend you treat sincerely, because they are willing to do anything for you, regardless of whether it is making a mountain out of a molehill or makes them look terrible.

Clark flew back and landed in front of Lex. Lex could see he was clearly quite excited, but having grown up accustomed to the luxury of Luthor Manor, he didn't see anything different about this manor.

"I'm considering a renovation." Lex walked to the window, sat down, and said, "I bought this land. The location is quite good; it overlooks all of Cat Getan and you can hear the church bells. The only problem is that it's a bit too old."

"What? You're going to tear this down and rebuild it?" Clark also walked over and said, "No, don't do that, Lex, this is a historical relic."

"Actually, it's not." Lex snorted coldly and said, "It's a clumsy imitation of that real protected building made by a wealthy merchant about 20 years ago after he visited Wei En Manor."

"Not at all." Clark walked to the opposite side of Lex, sat down, pulled the chair, and rested his arms on the table, saying, "He restored these retro art forms very well, almost indistinguishable from the real thing."

"That's still fake."

"But they are beautiful." Clark looked up again to survey the entire hall and said, "And this isn't like Wei En Manor, it's completely different. There isn't that, I don't know how to say it, certain aura that makes me feel sad and depressed."

Lex followed his gaze. It was early morning, the air was slightly cool, the morning dew hung low, and all the light shining into the manor through the windows looked like meticulously carved ice sculptures.

"Don't dwell on those." Clark shook his head and said, "Don't dwell on those pasts that have absolutely nothing to do with you, but think about the parts that moved you when you firmly chose it. What are they?"

"The location is very good." Lex answered without hesitation, "Just like I said, the terrain is high, the scenery is good, and it can overlook Wei En Manor."

"Is Wei En very important to you?" Clark frowned slightly and said, "I didn't see that you two were very close."

"Of course not as close as you two are."

"Don't say that."

"I'm just very puzzled." Lex looked at Clark and said, "You should have chosen to stay at Wei En Manor, shouldn't you?"

"Is there any reason I must do that?"

Clark's question actually made Lex pause, but he still answered, "I already said, you two are closer, at least more familiar, and I heard you invited him to your home, so it is only natural for him to invite you."

"Actually, he didn't invite me."

Lex felt surprised again; he didn't think Bruce was such an imprecise person.

The Cat Getan Music Festival was about to open, or rather, it had been promoted half a year in advance. Clark definitely didn't plan to come on a whim; perhaps when he heard the news, he decided to come and join the fun.

Then, saying hello to Bruce Wei En, the Gothamite he was most familiar with, was necessary. After Bruce heard the news, he certainly should have issued an invitation to Clark at the first opportunity, just as Lex said, because Clark had invited him.

This was a social rule that even a child understood: good friends should invite each other. Today I go to your house, tomorrow you go to mine. Even if they weren't good friends, Wei En Manor wasn't lacking in space, and fulfilling the duties of a host wasn't troublesome.

So when Clark said Wei En hadn't invited him, Lex's first reaction was that they had fallen out, that someone was angry at the other and they were in a cold war, which was why they didn't want to see each other.

"Did you tell him you were coming to the music festival?"

"Of course, I saw the news about three months ago. I saw a few singers I often listen to on the list, and I've almost never been to a concert, so I wanted to try it."

"Then what did he say?"

"'Good idea'."

Lex frowned deeply. This sounded truly too rude, simply perfunctory to the extreme, contrary to the social etiquette he had learned in the first 20 years of his life, and even inconsistent with the most basic methods of interaction.

"Aren't you angry?" Lex asked, because he really didn't see any angry expression on Clark's face.

"No, I think this is good." Clark shrugged and said, "If he invited me, I might feel very awkward."

"But he has already been to your house."

"Yes, I'm not saying it's not okay to be with him, the problem is that if I went, I couldn't refuse his butler driving me."

"But I'm not just here to see the music festival. I heard that during the music festival, there will be night markets on the streets, as well as surfing and fishing competitions. In short, I haven't traveled in Cat Getan yet."

"If that's the case, I might have to go back and forth several times a day, and according to your rules, I don't know how to say it, but he must send a car, otherwise it would be defined as rude."

"Although I don't think it's shameful to stroll among the small stalls, if they find out I'm traveling, oh, God, luxury cruises, golf, diving, skydiving..."

Lex couldn't help but smile. He wasn't a person who loved to smile, but the scene of Superman carrying a parachute pack was really too funny.

Clark made a bitter face and said, "Your set of rules is fine, but it doesn't suit me. I only need to fly a little higher to avoid observation, and I can come and go freely in the city without having to wait for a car."

"But I know I can't convince Wei En's butler. He would keep my feet off the ground, in another high-society way."

Lex really couldn't hold it in. Many of the non-human rules in high society seemed outrageous to a real non-human; this was truly strange and absurd.

"Well, it's not entirely for this." Clark said again, "I heard you graduated, and I haven't congratulated you yet. Although I don't know if you'll like it, I prepared a graduation gift for you."

Clark took a box out of the bag he was carrying and handed it across the table. Lex really felt a bit surprised, but he still took the box.

"I thought about sending you a camera, but I haven't heard that you have a hobby of photography. Those professional devices don't look very good, but a Polaroid is a bit too simple."

"I asked Bruce, and he said I could send you some photos I took or something, but that was a disaster, because the photos I've taken the most recently are of Batman. If you hang these photos at home, it might make people have some different opinions about your sexual orientation, because that's how people look at me."

"Of course, there's also cake. I tried, but the cake from the cake shop I like doesn't seem to be able to adapt to the atmospheric pressure above 20,000 feet. They collapse and become very ugly, so forget it."

At this time, Lex had already opened the box. What surprised him again was that inside was a bag of seeds. He looked up at Clark.

"Do you know? At the Kent farm, I live on the second floor of the stone house. Outside my bedroom window is a large field of crops, now full of green vegetables. Every time I wake up, I can see them growing a little bigger."

"This is a quite joyful and exciting process, because cabbage has a romantic alias—the flower of the ridge. Cabbage is a pointed bud when it's young. As they grow bigger and bigger, the large outer leaves gradually bloom, and the color gradually deepens from the heart, from light yellow to dark green, changing very naturally."

"One by one, they are neatly arranged on the ridges, growing to the same size, but blooming completely differently. When I wake up one morning and see the morning sun shining on them, the shadows cutting the gaps between the leaves even more intensely, I am suddenly shocked by the grand scene composed of this majestic vitality."

"After all, most people in their lifetime will not have the opportunity to see 20,000 flowers huddled together, like a society of flowers. This farm, my home, has healed me like this time and time again."

Clark looked at Lex and said, "I heard your graduation project is to let Cat Getan see the sun again, so the reward you deserve is, of course, to appreciate how the sun builds this lush planet from desolation. Believe me, that must be more beautiful than you imagine."

Lex looked down at the seeds in his hand.

He never thought in his life that the question "Have you ever seen cabbage bloom?" would linger in his heart, making him feel a kind of embarrassment, as if he were the country bumpkin.

Because he really had never seen a raw cabbage; he had no idea what this vegetable looked like before it was cooked.

Yes, Pamela had shown him a hitting cabbage, but that thing, besides being called cabbage, had a difference from the vegetable on his dining table that was about the same as that between a dinosaur and a chicken.

And if he had seen it, he could now maintain standard etiquette, nod and smile, and accept this gift with a relaxed and natural posture, but he couldn't.

So Lex stood there stunned for a long time, and then asked a question he himself felt was very silly, "Are there 20,000 seeds here?"

"Of course not, there are only about 2,000 here."

Lex stared at him.

"No, no, no, you can't plant 20,000 cabbages. That would require about an acre of land, that would require large harvesters, and after harvesting, you wouldn't be able to finish eating them; the vegetables would spoil very quickly."

"Uh... well, how about this, you can try planting one in a flowerpot first. If it grows up, I'll send you some more seeds. Perhaps you can find a suitable field in the suburbs."

Lex was still staring at Clark. Clark covered his eyes and said, "Okay, it's not that romantic either. Every time cabbage is harvested, the Kent family's dining table will be full of it for the next two months, so I almost never eat cabbage."

"If you really want to see it, I can invite you to the Kent farm in the next cabbage harvest season, and then you can eat about 16 kinds of cabbage dishes made by Martha, most of which are delicious."

When Clark started listing the dishes, Lex finally withdrew his gaze.

He pinched the seeds in his hand, tilted his head to think for a moment, and then asked, "Who do you think is smarter, me or Bruce Wei En?"

Clark was stunned.

"Is this important?"

"Of course."

The seriousness of Clark's thinking made Lex look sideways. He was actually thinking, and it looked like he had considered a result.

"Within my scope of knowledge, as far as I understand you two, it should be Bruce who is smarter."

Clark originally thought Lex would ask why, but he didn't expect Lex to say directly, "No, I am smarter."

"Why?" Clark asked.

"Do you know how I graduated from Victor and Schiller at the same time?"

Clark suddenly realized. That's right, how did Lex graduate so quietly? Wasn't his professor also Schiller Rodriguez?

The commotion Bruce and Schiller made back then left a deep impression on Clark to this day, but when it was Lex's turn, it was so calm that no one heard a whisper.

"How did you do it?" Clark leaned almost to Lex's nose; he was dying of curiosity.

"Very simple." Lex snorted and said, "When I was with Schiller, I studied the physical science and technology of the cloud-clearing equipment. When I was with Victor, I studied the sociological impact after Cat Getan sees the sun again. Look, didn't I graduate smoothly?"

Clark was dumbfounded.

Suddenly, he grabbed Lex's hand, shook it hard twice, and then looked at him with extremely sincere eyes.

"Lex Luthor is the smartest person in the world!"