I'm forever in love with the idea that, while Lex Luthor despises the Kryptonian showoff Superman, he's head over heels for mild mannered reporter Clark Kent
Like, imagine Lex reading Clark's articles and frothing at the mouth over his well researched documentation and eloquent layman's explanations of more complex scientific concepts that show a clear deeper understanding
I also love the idea that Clark wants to avoid the dodgy ethics of writing with an undisclosed bias, so he NEVER mentions Superman in his articles. That's Lois's thing. Clark will occasionally share a byline in a Superman piece, but he's always the one to bring up counter arguments and play devils advocate against Superman, which Lex LOVES
Clark's the only reason that Lois Lane has not been permanently black listed from all Luthorcorp/Lexcorp press events, cause the only way Clark is coming is if Lois can too, and Lex wouldn't dream of missing the chance to see his favourite blushing country boy who's always extremely polite to Mercy, even when she's actively threatening him
And all of that coming to a head when he finally puts two and two together, only to find out that Superman/Clark Kent/Biggest Nerd Ever (and maybe the love of his life??), has taken rigorously detailed scientific notes during his travels about the molecular structure of various space rocks, precise distances (like, to the metre) between planets, and, the one that really throws him off, the mouthfeel of different types of lava.
