Chapter 182: Little Sheldon: This Must Be a Nightmare, Demon, Begone!
Angela returned home and talked with her best friend, Bones, but Bones hadn't made up her mind about asking Chuck to find her parents, who had disappeared years earlier without saying goodbye.
After being alerted by Anna, Chuck found the disguised eavesdropper, scared off Bones' father, and returned home directly.
New Jersey
Princeton University
"Chuck, you're back,"
Cheryl said happily as they walked on campus.
"Yeah,"
Chuck nodded.
"Is everything going well?"
Twin sister Trish looked at Chuck with a complicated expression.
"Fine."
Chuck knew from that look that the case with Dr. Bones was widely known in Washington, D.C., and he replied indifferently.
This wasn't surprising.
Although the case ultimately didn't implicate Senator Bethlehem, it was nonetheless deeply connected to him. Conspiracy theorists believed that Assistant Thompson's silence was due to coercion and inducement from Senator Bethlehem.
After all, the remains of the victim, Coriole Eller, were found to be pregnant at the time, and it wasn't Thompson's child.
However, because the killer had already been apprehended and there was no definitive proof that the child was Senator Bethlehem's, the request for a DNA test was rejected.
So, the child was Schrödinger's baby. Even though everyone knew it was Senator Bethlehem's, as long as the test wasn't conducted, Senator Bethlehem could deny it without batting an eyelid.
The incident became a hot topic, and everyone knew about it, as well as the fact that Detective Chuck had teamed up with renowned forensic anthropologist Dr. Bones to solve the case.
This made Trish, who had recently been feeling a bit melancholic over the incident with Amazing Amy, even more depressed.
She'd clearly made the first move!
Why were they all coming one after another, endlessly?
And they were all so beautiful, capable, and famous!
She didn't know how to compete with them!
Cheryl looked from Chuck to her sister, who had recently been showing signs of depression, and her eyes showed internal conflict.
Justine was completely silent throughout the entire exchange. She saw the thoughts of her best friends and sisters most clearly, and could only sigh that this was going to be messy.
The four of them were walking on campus when they heard a burst of hurried footsteps, followed by Professor Alicia Harper calling out, "Dr. Wolfe!"
Everyone paused and saw Professor Alicia Harper walking quickly, followed by a dissatisfied little Sheldon. "Professor Harper, slow down!"
Justine's eyes flashed with amusement.
"Dr. Wolfe, are you free recently?"
Professor Alicia Harper walked up to Chuck, caught her breath, glanced at little Sheldon who was following her with dragging steps, and said to Chuck, "I'm conducting an experiment and need a lab assistant. Are you interested?"
"Hey!"
Little Sheldon, who was trudging toward them, heard this and immediately shouted in dissatisfaction. "Professor Harper, I am your lab assistant! Not him!"
"But you're not a doctor."
Professor Alicia Harper positioned herself slightly behind Chuck and said to the angry little Sheldon, "I think Dr. Wolfe is more suitable."
"He doesn't have time to be a lab assistant."
Little Sheldon glanced at Chuck, hesitated, and curled his lips. "He's too busy."
"You became Professor Harper's lab assistant?"
Chuck looked at little Sheldon.
"Yes!"
Little Sheldon said proudly. "My meemaw has always been worried that I won't be able to make friends in college. Even though I told her that Beverly is my best friend, meemaw strongly disagrees and insists that I find a friend other than Beverly in college."
At this point, he glanced at Chuck.
Based on his meemaw's original words and his sister Missy's interjection, the best candidates were Paige and Chuck, but he simply ignored them both.
Missy's suggestion of Chuck, the big demon, was full of malice, while meemaw's suggestion of Paige, the little troublemaker, was harmless but too immature, which was why he was deceived by Paige's appearance and thought she could be his friend.
As for little Leonard his father suggested?
Although Leonard was the same age as him, he was only in middle school and too childish!
The key was that Leonard idolized Chuck!
He hated this!
He, Sheldon Lee Cooper, would never choose Leonard Leakey Hofstadter as his friend, even if he had no friends for the rest of his life!
"So I started looking, and it was obvious that ordinary people weren't qualified to be my friends, but Professor Harper was a very good choice."
"I'm your professor, not your friend,"
Professor Alicia Harper said with an exasperated expression. "Also, you're not my lab assistant. You just unilaterally went to my lab and announced that you were my lab assistant."
"But I'm a very good lab assistant!"
Little Sheldon retorted. "I can provide you with the best scientific insights, and I'm also very entertaining."
"Your scientific insights are your own."
Professor Alicia Harper shook her head. "I can't use your scientific theories."
There was another thing she hadn't said: You won't let me use them either. As for being entertaining, she could only scoff internally.
"That's true,"
Little Sheldon nodded. "But as my professor, you have a responsibility to provide me with all the necessary support to develop my scientific theories, such as my theory that 'the key to understanding the smoothness of matter in the universe is that the universe, composed of stars and galaxies, is like a polymer in soapy water.'"
"..."
Professor Alicia Harper was speechless and could only look at Chuck for help.
Lately, she'd been feeling genuinely happy for the first time in a long while. After being heartbroken by her husband, she'd chosen to distance herself from him. She'd found a close pen pal, often chatting about art, and her own research was making progress. Everything seemed to be heading in a positive direction.
Then little Sheldon appeared, earnestly trying to make friends with her, completely ignoring her polite and explicit refusals.
Unlike her husband, who knew to stay away when she ignored him, little Sheldon was a real pest. He ignored her polite and explicit refusals and insisted on having his way, pestering her with every possible means.
With any other man, she would have already contacted campus security, but little Sheldon was just a child, a gifted young prodigy the dean had assigned to her care.
His pestering had become unbearable. Just now, upon seeing Chuck, she'd gritted her teeth and called him over.
"He's not suitable!"
Little Sheldon snapped.
"This is my lab assistant position. I feel I have the right to choose one myself."
Professor Alicia Harper looked at little Sheldon, who had lost his usual self-righteous confidence and looked terrified. Although she knew this wasn't necessarily the right approach, she had been harassed by this little pest for many days. She suppressed a somewhat unkind and vindictive smile and said seriously, "And who says there can only be one lab assistant? You can both be my lab assistants... as long as you're willing~"
"He's not available."
Little Sheldon emphasized again with a conflicted look on his face.
"I can make myself available."
Chuck finally spoke. "Professor Harper, remember to notify me whenever Cooper participates in the future."
"..."
Little Sheldon listened to Chuck's clear-cut Schrödinger's availability—simultaneously available and unavailable until observed. The corners of his mouth twitched, his eye spasmed, and he looked at his arms from side to side, muttering to himself, "This must be another nightmare. Wake up, wake up from the nightmare! Demon, begone! The power of Christ compels you!"
(End of Chapter)
If you enjoyed this chapter, leave a Review!
P*atreon/Soulforger (50+ advanced chapters)
Buy me coffee - ko-fi*com/soulforger01
"What do you think will happen next? Drop your theories in the comments and leave a review!"