"Haha, that was just a misunderstanding. I didn't actually do anything to your daughter."
Lucas Reed laughed awkwardly as he spoke.
"How about this—let's say I owe you a favor. If you ever run into trouble in the future, just let me know. I'll help you deal with it."
"I hope that day never comes."
With that, Floyd hung up the phone.
Lucas lowered his phone and chuckled softly.
"Lucas, that smile of yours looks rather devious," Elaine said from the side.
"Nonsense," Lucas immediately frowned.
"This is the smile of wisdom—the smile of an intellectual."
"Then what exactly do you gain from doing this?" Elaine asked, puzzled.
"You could have just gone straight to that bald man yourself. Wouldn't that have been more direct?"
"No, no, no."
Lucas wagged his finger.
"Because I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to control myself and might beat him to death."
"Then I wouldn't get to see him completely lose his composure—or mess with Luthor at the same time."
"So this is killing two birds with one stone!"
Elaine raised an eyebrow.
"I don't know whether it's a brilliant plan or not, but I do know you're extremely vindictive. What was that idiom again?"
"I know! I know!"
From the nearby dining table, where she was doing homework, Carrie raised her hand.
"Brother taught me this—it's called 'repaying every slight'!"
"…"
Black lines instantly appeared on Lucas's forehead.
He lowered his voice and snapped,
"Finish your Homework. I don't want your teacher calling me tomorrow!"
Carrie immediately shrank back and buried her head in her work.
Lucas then turned to Elaine, his tone serious.
"I'm a very realistic person. If someone provokes me or makes me uncomfortable, I retaliate quickly."
"Otherwise, what's the point of having this kind of power? To save the world?"
"I'm just an ordinary person who believes in repaying grudges in kind."
He set down his cup and continued,
"Oh, right. I need to head out tomorrow. Stay home and take care of Carrie."
"You're not protecting Luthor anymore?" Elaine asked.
"He'll be staying in the company's lab for the next couple of days. No need for me to babysit him."
Lucas sounded relaxed—the money was already in his pocket.
Elaine didn't read his mind this time. Instead, she asked curiously,
"You're not planning to do something bad again, are you?"
Lucas's expression darkened.
"What kind of talk is that? I'm preparing in advance—preventing problems before they happen."
"Whatever you're doing, take me with you," Elaine said with a smile.
"No," Lucas shook his head.
"You need to stay home and look after Carrie."
"Carrie has a nanny hired by Luthor. She doesn't need me," Elaine replied calmly.
"Yeah! Their food is way better than what you and Brother cook!" Carrie chimed in excitedly, raising her hand again.
"…"
Lucas's eye twitched.
He turned toward Carrie and asked,
"Have you finished your homework?"
Carrie pouted and lowered her head again.
Lucas had to admit it—the nanny Luthor hired really was an excellent cook. After all, she held an advanced culinary certification.
Elaine shrugged with her palms open.
"See? I wasn't lying."
"No," Lucas said firmly.
"This trip is a bit far."
"I can help you provide cover," Elaine said with a tilted smile.
"People are usually more willing to believe a cute girl."
"…"
Lucas fell silent again.
After a moment, he sighed helplessly.
"I'm starting to seriously wonder just how much scheming is hidden inside that small body of yours."
Elaine wrinkled her delicate nose.
"That's a very impolite thing to say to a lady."
Lucas laughed and reached out to rub her head.
"Sorry, but you don't quite qualify as a 'lady' yet."
"Yeah!" Carrie added without looking up from her homework.
"At the very least, you're still way behind Miss Susan!"
"…"
This time, Elaine was the one left speechless.
---
The next day, Lucas Reed and Elaine boarded a flight to an international city.
"I have a question," Elaine said hesitantly.
"May I ask it?"
"No," Lucas replied instantly, already adjusting himself into a comfortable position.
Elaine ignored him and continued,
"If you can just fly there directly, why take first class? Aren't you supposed to be careful with money?"
Lucas accepted the blanket handed to him by the flight attendant and said calmly,
"First, flying directly would attract unnecessary trouble—even though S.H.I.E.L.D. could handle it."
"But why bother, when there's a warm, comfortable plane? I'm not Clark, after all."
"I make money to enjoy life—not to hoard it. Got it?"
Elaine nodded, then asked curiously,
"Then who is Clark?"
"You'll meet him someday," Lucas replied lazily.
"He's a really good person."
Lucas pulled the blanket over himself and closed his eyes, clearly done talking.
Seeing this, Elaine sensibly covered herself with a blanket as well and lay down.
After several hours of flight, the plane landed smoothly.
Leaving the terminal, they took a taxi to their hotel.
Looking at the modest hotel in front of them, Elaine asked in confusion,
"Didn't you say you make money to enjoy life? You could clearly afford something better."
Lucas raised an eyebrow.
"Enjoying life doesn't mean adopting the extravagant habits of nouveau riche, understand?"
Elaine stared at him in disbelief.
'Isn't this just you trying to save money?'
"You view money and desire too superficially," Lucas said solemnly.
"Stick with me and you'll learn."
For the first time, Elaine felt that without using her mind-reading ability, she truly couldn't see through this man at all.
Just as they were checking in, a familiar voice suddenly sounded.
"Oh? Isn't this Mr. Reed? And this adorable young lady is…?"
Lucas turned at the sound of the voice—it was Coulson.
"So it's Coulson," Lucas said with a smile.
"This is my adopted daughter, Elaine."
Outwardly calm, Lucas's heart skipped a beat.
Coulson might be S.H.I.E.L.D.'s famously kind "rookie-village chief,"
but whenever he left S.H.I.E.L.D., he had an uncanny talent for attracting disasters and major incidents.
After greeting Elaine, Coulson asked cheerfully,
"What a coincidence! Are you staying at this hotel too?"
Lucas glanced at the front-desk clerk who hadn't finished the check-in process yet.
In the next instant—
the documents were already back in Lucas's hands.
"No, we're just looking around."
Before the stunned receptionist or the confused Coulson could react, Lucas grabbed Elaine and walked straight out of the lobby.
"We're not staying there anymore?" Elaine asked helplessly.
"No," Lucas replied flatly.
"We're going somewhere else."
Ten minutes later, they arrived in front of a magnificently decorated hotel.
The five gleaming stars on the golden sign made it obvious—this was a five-star hotel.
"Didn't you just say we shouldn't be extravagant?" Elaine asked, eyes full of doubt.
"Life is only a few short decades long," Lucas replied calmly, without the slightest embarrassment.
"You still have to learn how to enjoy it. Otherwise, what's the point of money just sitting there collecting dust?"
With that, he walked straight up to the front desk to check in.
"…"
Elaine was completely speechless.
__
T/N:
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