The night's downpour came and went quickly.
By early morning the next day, the rain had completely stopped.
Eric stood outside the farm, breathing in the fresh post-rain air.
Clark answered the phone in the temporary living room set up in the barn.
"I know, Chloe, I've been trying to solve that problem, but I might need some time, sorry."
After explaining to Chloe, Clark hung up the phone and sighed dejectedly.
He looked up to find Eric already standing before him.
"You look like you're in some trouble, Clark."
"Yes."
Clark sat down, pressing his slightly aching forehead, and said, "Chloe's strange interests have resurfaced. She wants me to write a factual news report about the series of strange incidents that happened in town recently, but you know, Eric, sometimes we can't reveal the truth; instead, we need to forget it, or bury it completely."
"I agree with you."
Eric nodded, "The profession you hope to pursue in the future is journalism, right? Then you'll need to constantly struggle between your sacred professional sense as a journalist and the need to bury secrets as Superman. That sounds…"
With a faint smile playing on his lips, Eric said, "It must be quite something to look forward to."
"You always want to see me make a fool of myself."
Clark sighed helplessly, "I have to focus on this report now. Chloe has always been quite displeased with me. I think maybe if this report is good, it might change her opinion of me."
"Chloe..."
Eric repeated Chloe's name and asked Clark, "How do you feel about Chloe right now? Or rather, which of these three girls—Chloe, Lana, or Louise—do you like?"
Eric asked the question he was most interested in.
"..."
Clark awkwardly rubbed his nose, "They're all friends, there's no different treatment."
"Alright."
Seeing Eric's disbelieving expression, Clark directly stated, "I like Lana. Chloe, I only consider her a very good friend, like, well, the kind of relationship Peter and I have. We can discuss Nietzsche's 'Untimely Meditations' together, discuss content for the school newspaper layout, and sometimes it might seem intimate to others, but I don't have that kind of romantic feeling for her.
Regarding his brother, Clark no longer concealed anything, "As for Louise, I'm not very familiar with her."
"Hmm."
Eric nodded, silently mourning for Louise for a second.
"Didn't Nietzsche say that unhappy marriages or love aren't due to a lack of love, but a lack of friendship?"
Eric shook his head, turned directly, and left, ending his discussion of love with Clark.
Clark, meanwhile, chewed on Eric's words and fell into deep thought.
"Oh, right, Mom and Dad went to the hospital for a check-up. Today's food is already prepared and in the fridge. If you want to eat, you can heat it up in the microwave."
Eric said to Clark before leaving.
"Where are you going?"
Clark stood up and asked.
"Just wandering around."
"Alright, I guess I'll have to eat lunch alone today."
Clark shrugged.
Smallville Medical Center.
Jonathan was accompanying his wife for a prenatal check-up.
Standing outside in the hallway, Jonathan waited for his wife's test results.
He and his wife had previously been diagnosed with infertility, and he never expected to have a child of their own in middle age.
This inner joy was inexpressible.
Even though he loved his adopted sons, Eric and Clark, he had never personally witnessed the complete experience of a baby's birth, learning to walk, and gradually growing up, and he was filled with anticipation for it.
He thought for a moment, then pulled a talisman from his pocket.
It was a very Gypsy-style talisman that he had gotten from a Gypsy elder through divination.
The kind-faced Gypsy elder had said he would receive "a happiness lost in his youth."
Now, it seemed to have accurately hit upon his current situation.
"Happiness from my youth?"
Putting away the talisman, Jonathan's lips curled into a smile, "This must be the lost happiness that belongs only to me."
"Hi, Mr. Jonathan."
Just as Jonathan put away the talisman, he saw an acquaintance walk over to greet him.
"Dr. Helen?!"
Seeing Dr. Helen, who had been absent for a long time, appear at the Smallville Medical Center, Jonathan showed a surprised expression.
As far as he knew, ever since Lex's accident, Dr. Helen had resigned from her medical position and had been living in seclusion, rarely seen.
"I didn't expect to see you here, Mr. Kent."
Helen, wearing a trench coat and exquisite makeup, shook hands with Jonathan.
"My wife is pregnant, and I'm accompanying her for a check-up."
Jonathan explained to Helen.
"Congratulations! Mrs. Kent's previous check-ups were all done by me. If I hadn't resigned from my doctor's position, who knows, I might still be in the ward examining Mrs. Kent right now."
Helen said with a smile.
She wasn't exaggerating; when Martha was affected by the Kryptonian spaceship, she fell ill and was hospitalized, and the only person she trusted was Helen.
"Now that I'm no longer a doctor, I feel more and more tired, and my spirit isn't as vibrant as before. It seems my medical career ended a bit hastily."
Helen greeted the doctor who walked past her and then gave an apologetic smile, "Excuse me, I have something to do, so I'll take my leave first."
After Dr. Helen left, Jonathan watched her receding figure, his brows slightly furrowed.
Why did she feel different from before?
Was it because she was no longer a doctor?
Or had she undergone a significant change after a major event?
A moment later, Jonathan shook his head, clearing the complex thoughts from his mind, and walked towards the room where Martha was having her check-up.
The examination was already complete; when Jonathan entered, the doctor was tidying up medical equipment.
"The baby is very healthy, and currently, there are no major issues. Also, for older pregnant women like Mrs. Kent, it's important to maintain emotional stability and sufficient sleep."
The doctor instructed Jonathan.
After seeing the doctor out, Jonathan walked over, held his wife's hand, and kissed it, saying, "You worked hard, my dear."
"This is my first time experiencing pregnancy, and it's not hard at all. Do you remember our first time trying to conceive? Didn't you say that the happiest time for parents is welcoming the birth of their child? For me now, this happiness outweighs any other emotion."
Martha smiled and squeezed her husband's hand, and they gently embraced each other.
Embracing her husband, Martha looked at the birds outside the window, a puzzled expression on her face.
"Jonathan, why are there so many crows outside?"
Martha asked her husband.
"Crows?"
Jonathan looked up and turned to look out the window.
On the bare branches of a dead tree outside the window, a dozen crows were perched.
The entirely black crows were all gathered on a dead tree in winter, making no sound, just staring at the two people in the room with their black pupils.
This eerie sight would startle anyone who saw it.
"These are ravens! Why are so many ravens gathered together?"
Jonathan frowned, looking at the motionless ravens outside, muttering to himself.
"Caw!"
As the first crow let out a cry, flapping its wings and flying into the sky.
The remaining crows made raucous calls, following the first crow into the air.
The sound of wings flapping, accompanied by a cacophony of bird calls, converged into an unbearable noise that entered their ears.
Martha couldn't help but cover her ears, blocking out the noise of the ravens.
Jonathan put his arm around his wife, using his body to shield her from a possible bird attack.
But the ravens did not attack them; instead, they flew up and vanished into the sky.
The bare branches, which had been full of black birds, suddenly became desolate, as if the flock of crows had just been an illusion.
Seeing all the crows disappear, Martha released her hands from her ears and exchanged a look with her husband, a puzzled expression in her eyes.
Suddenly!
A purple, smoke-like presence suddenly rose from Martha's swollen belly.
The purple, emitting a comforting aura, rose from Martha's belly and slowly dispersed throughout the room.
"This is!"
Jonathan, looking at the incredible scene unfolding before his eyes, showed a shocked expression.
Because Jonathan could feel a familiar aura.
It felt like his wife's serene and tranquil aura, and also the close, blood-related aura that connected him to his own flesh and blood.
Jonathan looked at his wife's swollen abdomen, then at the doctor who, realizing something was wrong, rushed over to the window, and just as he was wondering how to explain, the purple energy suddenly dissipated into the air.
"Bang!"
The moment the purple energy ball disappeared, the doctor pushed the door open and entered.
"Mr. Kent, Mrs. Kent, are you alright?!"
The doctor had heard the sound from the room just now and thought something unexpected had happened.
"It's nothing, Dr. Brownie."
Jonathan tried to keep his emotions calm and said to Dr. Brownie, "Just a bird accidentally hit the windowsill."
"A bird?"
Dr. Brownie nodded doubtfully, walked over, and closed the window.
"Perhaps the quiet environment of a hospital always attracts some birds."
Outside the room, Dr. Helen looked at Jonathan and Martha, her eyes filled with a solemn expression.
The scene just now had been completely witnessed by her.
Although surprised, thinking about Clark's blood she had seen before, this abnormal phenomenon became not so incomprehensible.
"Not just Clark and Eric, is the baby in Mrs. Kent's belly also such an extraordinary existence?"
Helen's gaze became complex.
On the way driving away from the hospital, Martha asked her husband worriedly.
"What does that mean, Jonathan? Ravens, purple light—is this related to our child?"
"Martha, do you remember how you got pregnant? Being exposed to the spaceship—that was a miracle in itself. So, no matter how many more miracles happen to us, they're still within our understanding, aren't they?"
Jonathan drove the car while comforting his wife.
As they drove along Sunset Street, they saw a crowd gathered in front of a residential courtyard, blocking the road.
Leaving Martha in the car, Jonathan got out to investigate.
"Hey, Jones, what happened?"
Seeing an acquaintance, Jonathan asked him.
"An unfortunate accident, Martin's ten-year-old daughter was killed."
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