9. Smallville: Welcome to Smallville
16.
Abigail, no, Clark Kent was already tall, and it became even more obvious when he stood with the children. It was like Gulliver entering Lilliput, where one step he took was almost three steps larger than the children.
This seemed really unfair. Just as he began to consider whether he should really compete with the kids for the thousand dollars, the farmer next door had already revealed the dirty face of an adult to one of them.
"Andy, you definitely can't run as fast as me. It's not too late to quit now."
"Hey, Elizabeth, don't cry if you fall down later, or I'll tell your mother about your torn pants..."
There was no way the farmer was someone sent by the government—otherwise, how many times a day would they have to bang their heads against each other to select such a person?
Clark sighed deeply, and just when the little rascals were about to succumb to the pressure of the Demon King, he reached out and embraced them.
"Aria," the farmer didn't introduce her last name, so Clark had to call her by her first name: "They're just children."
The farmer looked disapproving and said sternly, "You know what, Clark? On the battlefield, there are only enemies, no friends. Every bit of kindness you show to your enemies will become a bullet fired at you." Why wait until the second year to get the straw hat when she could have gotten it the first year? She had other important things to do the next year.
Fortunately, the mayor quickly came over with a bunch of speed guns. He assigned one to each person and explained, "No one can exceed the speed specified by the speed gun. Speeding is considered a violation and will be disqualified from the race."
"Now put it on."
Clark bent down to fasten the straps for a few children, and saw Aria half-crouching out of the corner of his eye. Although he was trying to scare the little kid at first, after they decided to compete, the farmer carefully set up the equipment for Andy and Elizabeth first, and then put the speedometer on himself. It seemed that there were not so many "enemies only on the battlefield".
His speed was limited, but his X-vision was still functional—but since they were both ordinary people, Superman decided not to rely on any external forces for a duel.
Aria was stretching her muscles nearby. She took the competition so seriously that it almost made you think this was the Olympic arena with the Greek flame lit. Clark was somewhat moved by her attitude and also moved: "Keep going."
"I will," Aria said with a determined look in her eyes. She quickly added, "If I win, tell me where I can fish."
ah?
The mayor found a starting pistol from somewhere and with a bang, several streamers flew into the sky.
"Smallville's first Easter egg contest begins now!"
…
There are several tips for finding Easter eggs: quick eyes and hands, moving as fast as a rabbit, and having agility far beyond that of an ordinary person.
Her combat skills weren't yet perfect, but that didn't mean Aria lacked control over her body. She tensed her leg muscles, her chest quickly adapting to the rhythm of her breathing, as if she were moving to a short flamenco tune. As long as she controlled the rhythm, she could move at the speed limit.
Everyone's expression changes when they find the Easter eggs. She uses this as a basis to give meaning to each rhythm point. The rhythm winds its way to the Easter eggs hidden everywhere. All Aria needs to do is to appear according to the rules, pick the fruit at the end point, put it in the basket, and then repeat until victory.
The farmer rolled up his long sleeves to reveal his marble-sculptured muscles. The sun left clear tan marks on them, proving that the sun had stayed there. His arms, which were both strong and flexible, would have forced anyone to focus on them for a few seconds—except Clark Kent.
After all, not everyone can maintain a good attitude after being about to get the Easter egg but missing it again and again.
When the hand passed under his arm again and quickly snatched away the Easter egg that Clark had locked onto, the young reporter finally felt that he could no longer hold back.
A tuft of black hair fell down, revealing the devastation its owner had endured. Clark was like an angry but powerless sunflower, because no matter how he tried to prevent it, the bee named Aria would soon circle back and sweep away whatever he had found like a tornado.
"Are you a rubber man?" How could he find such a good angle? He was practically in every possible way. Clark heard the sound of his back teeth clashing. He must have been laughing out of anger, otherwise he couldn't explain his current expression.
The culprit was still in the mood to respond, but Aria spread her hands in the midst of her busy schedule and said, "You said you had to take care of the children." Buzz flew away again.
Then she slid and took away the Easter egg that Andy had found.
——What do you mean by taking care of the children? She obviously grabbed the one who cried the least first!
…
The Smallville Easter Egg Hunt ended with an unsurprising score difference, but the children were not sad. To them, as long as they had a reason to play together, the outcome didn't seem to matter - not to mention that there were snacks to be had from participating in the event!
Aria said goodbye to the little carrot head with a smile and went to buy some strawberry seeds from the grocery store owner. The owner seemed to have no idea where the strawberry seeds in the store came from, and he scratched his head for a while before selling them to her.
After completing the tasks on the list, Aria returned to the square humming a song and found Clark still sitting on a chair in the square with his back to her, wondering what he was thinking.
Oh no! She'd miscalculated. So the people most likely to lose favor were the office workers in the city, their spirits worn down by their bosses? It was just like that damn question. Never mind whether tomatoes were fruits or not, whether Believe It or Not, or whether they liked children. If the answer didn't meet the NPC's expectations, their favorability would plummet. In that case, just go along with what they said—but they didn't have much affection for each other yet, did they? She hadn't even seen the prompt, so maybe, maybe, she shouldn't worry too much about Clark Kent?
But thinking of Martha, Aria still moved over with a glass of carrot juice, feeling a little guilty.
Patting Clark's shoulder - he was really big, she pretended to be calm and coughed twice: "Ahem, are you feeling okay now?"
"?"
Clark Kent turned around, and thankfully, he looked in... a good mood?
Aria arrived just after I finished dealing with the email from Perry. The timing was surprisingly appropriate.
"I'm waiting for you to finish," he said. His blue eyes were as blue as the sky above him. He was indeed a broad-minded person. Before Aria could finish her compliment, Clark said, "Didn't you say I'd take you fishing if you won?"
Clark Kent smiled a small-town boy's smile.
"I accept the loss and go."
17.
Despite being far from the city, Smallville is actually a pretty nice town to live in. From here, you can bike east to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where ancient forests from pre-Columbian times are preserved and are breathtakingly beautiful during blooming season.
"There's hiking there... I used to love going to the Great Smoky Mountains whenever I felt like getting lost. But it's best to familiarize yourself with the trails first; it's easy to get lost in the mountains."
Clark led Aria through the half-human-high grass that was sprouting new green. He walked in front, holding a stick he had picked up to warn any snakes that might be hiding in the grass. Aria followed behind with her fishing rod, humming a song, and sounded in a very good mood.
The dry branches on the ground crackled as their footsteps moved forward and backward. Aria seemed to find it very interesting and jumped up lightly as if she was playing hopscotch.
"Clark Kent!" The farmer, who had won the race by stepping on a dead branch, familiarly added Clark to his friend list and invited him to a game: "Want another match?"
“…”So the law that your mental state will improve if you don’t work must be true.
This game is really too childish. Although it is hard to say which one is more childish than finding Easter eggs, he can't...
Aria raised a finger and announced solemnly, "The rules are—you can only move forward on dead branches. The rest of the way is lava. Whoever survives the lake wins!"
Clark suddenly felt like laughing. The last bit of depression brought on by the sports section was washed away. The itch spread from his vocal cords and leaked out into a chest-shaking laugh. "Then you better be careful. You still have one foot outside."
"Wow!" Aria instantly stood on one leg, supporting herself firmly with only one foot. She looked up and was about to condemn the other party for daring to talk about her when both feet were still in the lava, but she saw Clark Kent had already jumped away with the help of several branches.
!!!
I knew that Metropolis was not a good city. Even the boy from Kansas learned bad things after going there!
…
Although the route was crooked, the two childish guys were quite fast and reached the lake in less than a quarter of an hour.
Aria finally understood what Clark meant when he said "I'll take you to the best place for fishing" - he really wasn't bragging.
Layers of trees shade the lake, enveloping it in a small, secret realm. It's a mirror meant only for the heavens, its tranquility broken only by the occasional waterfowl that lands on it, sending ripples outward. Painters skilled in this art often use a few strokes of white paint to outline the silver arcs of light, giving it a glassy quality. But seeing is believing.
The sunlight does not set down smoothly from above, scattered translucent spots of light can only serve as a decoration to add color to it, and almost everything is sparkling - if you use a camera to record the scenery in front of you, I am afraid that even if you do nothing, you can still achieve a hazy effect comparable to covering the lens with organza.
"Wow—" Standing by the lake, Aria gently closed her eyes, committing the scenery she had just seen, along with the fresh scent of the water, to memory. After a moment, she murmured, "...so beautiful."
"Jonathan, my dad, would occasionally take me fishing here when he was still around," Clark said, smiling shyly and adjusting his glasses. A hint of nostalgia crossed his sky-blue eyes. "It's easy to catch 'clawfish' here—it's a type of catfish that's great for stewing or stewing."
"Martha sometimes complains that we bring back too many fish and we can't finish them, even the refrigerator can't hold them all, so we will share the spoils with our neighbors." The adults in Smallville treat him much better, and Clark is more willing to get along with this group of people, so he often takes on the big responsibility of carrying the fish tails and giving them the plump fish.
"It seems like you're getting along well with them." Clark and Aria set up seats by the river. He watched as she pulled a can of indescribable meat balls from her pocket, took out some, put it on a hook, and threw it into the water, startling a few waterfowl. "So everyone in Smallville should have welcomed you?"
Aria nodded. The float floated on the water, but there was no sign of fish taking the bait.
"Although it's a little late, but I still want to say-"
"Welcome to Smallville, Aria."
The float dipped into the water, and the farmer excitedly stood up and pulled the rod: "It's hooked!!"
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Fishing grandma is like this.jpg Thanks to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated nutrient solution between 2024-06-13 20:10:49 and 2024-06-15 17:17:11~
Thanks to the little angel who irrigated the nutrient solution: 40 bottles of Sui Sui Bu Hui; 1 bottle of Ye Zi;
Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!
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