A Birthday to Remember

Soren had decided to give Tony the silent treatment.

Even if it was Tony Stark, he had no right to steal the cake Clark made for him!

Clark chuckled and shook his head, "Well, if you didn't eat it, you'll have to throw it away. Don't save it for tomorrow—you might get sick, okay?"

Soren, hiding his pain, nodded quickly, "Yes, yes, I know. I already threw it out."

They started dinner.

Soren ate with a kind of quiet elegance, cutting only small pieces of steak at a time, never like those people in the Kansas countryside who cut up the whole steak before switching hands to eat.

But Clark found it incredibly cute how Soren took tiny bites, almost like a white dove pecking at breadcrumbs in the town square.

As he watched him eat, Clark thought to himself: He's still too thin. He needs to make him more high-calorie desserts.

The TV, which Soren hadn't turned off, had already finished an episode of the show and was now playing the evening news.

The serious-faced female anchor was reporting, "Today's bank robbery at noon was thwarted by the combined efforts of Iron Man and an unknown winged creature. Six people were injured and are now recovering in the hospital…"

Soren almost choked on his steak, "Pfft—! Cough, cough, cough…"

Clark quickly patted his back, using his X-ray vision to check that nothing was stuck in Soren's throat.

Once he was sure, he sighed in relief, "What happened? Be careful while you're eating."

Soren's face turned bright red as he coughed, his eyes watering as if they were glass marbles ready to spill over.

He waved his hand hurriedly, "I'm fine, I'm fine. I just choked accidentally."

Clark, somewhere between amused and worried, kept patting his back.

A strange, tender thought crossed his mind: Soren can't even take care of himself. If he ever moves out and starts his own life, who's going to look after him?

Before Clark could finish his little reflection, Soren had already rushed over to grab the TV remote and quickly changed the channel.

The news on another channel was already in progress.

This time, a local Metropolis male anchor was reporting: "In recent years, several citizens have reported being helped by this mysterious 'flying man' when in need. Eyewitnesses also claim that the train derailment three months ago was resolved thanks to his intervention, saving over a hundred passengers…"

Now it was Clark's turn to almost choke.

He coughed awkwardly and tried to change the subject, keeping his voice steady, "Lately, there seem to be more and more of these mysterious heroes, don't you think?"

Soren's blue eyes shifted from the TV screen to Clark.

With a playful smile, he nodded, "Exactly, I've noticed it too! It's not just Metropolis with a flying man, or New York with Iron Man and that winged creature. Haven't you heard? Gotham's had a mysterious Dark Knight who are punishing criminals these past few years—and his black cape is pretty cool. Oh, and in the far north, there's even a guy who can talk to fish… Clark, you're a reporter from <<The Daily Planet>>, so you must know more than I do. Tell me, are these stories true or what?"

"Uh..." Clark was at a loss for words and rubbed his nose awkwardly, "My work doesn't really cover that stuff. Perry just has me doing sports interviews."

"Oh~ I see!" Soren nodded his head thoughtfully, then asked with a bright smile, "Hey, Clark, this Saturday is the 28th. Do you want to go back to Smallville and celebrate your birthday with Martha and Jonathan? I could come with you!"

Clark suddenly remembered—his birthday was at the end of the month.

His birthday was technically on February 29th.

Martha and Jonathan had chosen the day they found him in the cornfield as his birthday.

But since February 29th only comes once every four years, they usually celebrate the party on the 28th or March 1st during non-leap years.

Clark frowned slightly, feeling a bit frustrated, "I might not be able to make it back this Saturday. LuthorCorp is holding a press conference at S.T.A.R. Labs for the launch of their space exploration satellite. For some reason, they specifically requested that <<The Daily Planet>> send me to cover it—"

This had even earned him a few annoyed glares from his colleague Lois Lane.

Clark felt pretty annoyed himself.

Soren paused for a moment, tilting his head as he sensed something wasn't right.

LuthorCorp specifically asked for Clark to do the interview?

Lex Luthor is always scheming and must be up to something.

Soren knew that Lex Luthor had been working with S.T.A.R. Labs on a satellite project for some time.

The project which was funded directly by the government, was fully overseen by LuthorCorp, with S.T.A.R. Labs providing researchers to design the rocket and satellite.

The work had been progressing non-stop for months.

However, since Soren was only a recently hired intern at S.T.A.R. Labs, he hadn't been involved in the core parts of the project.

He'd only heard bits and pieces at work.

For such an important press conference, it didn't make sense that they'd want a relatively new intern reporter from <<The Daily Planet>> to cover it.

Something was definitely off.

Soren couldn't figure out what Lex Luthor was planning with Clark, but he just put down his knife and fork, still smiling, "I've got some experiments I haven't finished, so I'll have to work overtime on Saturday too. We can go to work together in the morning!"

Clark quickly responded, "You've only been at S.T.A.R. Labs for three months. How do you already have so much work? If it's too stressful there, I really think you should stay in school and finish your master's degree..."

Hearing this, Soren nervously avoided eye contact.

Of course, he always had so much work.