Raj is considering who to take to Switzerland.
Three months ago, this decision would have been easy—he could have simply taken Howard.
Two months ago, the answer would have been straightforward: take Penny.
But now, the choice has become complicated.
He finds himself torn between Lalita and Paige.
If he takes Lalita, he'll enjoy a blissful honeymoon. In a hotel at the foot of the Alps, in front of a blazing fire with snow-capped mountains visible through the windows, spending romantic evenings with a beautiful woman sounds perfect.
If he takes Paige, although romance is unlikely, it would be an excellent opportunity to grow closer to her.
To be honest, Raj wants to spend more time with Paige. Maybe this makes him a shallow jerk, but he finds himself increasingly drawn to her. Though he genuinely likes Lalita, something holds him back from fully committing. Perhaps he's just like every other man on the planet, susceptible to beauty.
First, there's her beauty. Although in the show, Rajesh doesn't refuse anyone—he can handle a three-hundred-pound woman, a dermatologist with questionable ethics, and even a fifty-year-old woman—in essence, Rajesh is appearance-conscious. He's been attracted to all the beautiful women he's encountered: Penny, Missy, Bernadette, Wendy Zhou, Alex, and others. Only Amy, who isn't conventionally attractive, failed to catch his interest.
So if he could marry the most beautiful woman, Raj believes he would be satisfied.
Second, there's her intelligence. Lalita is actually quite smart, but it's ordinary intelligence. By conventional standards, being admitted to the University of Southern California at twenty-six to pursue a master's degree in dentistry is impressive.
In contrast, Raj graduated with a Ph.D. at twenty-two. In terms of raw IQ, he significantly exceeds her.
Paige's IQ is also exceptionally high—she even started high school a year earlier than Sheldon. If not for the misfortune that befell the Swanson family, with her intellect, earning a doctorate at fifteen might not have been difficult.
When people spend their lives together, the most important factors are communication and understanding.
Lalita and Raj don't actually have much in common. One studies dentistry, the other physics. The gap between their fields is vast.
In contrast, Paige also studied physics, giving her and Raj a natural common language.
Since Raj hopes to find a lifelong partner, Paige seems the better choice in comparison.
It comes down to this: one option is grasping the present, the other is investing in the future.
Which one to choose? Raj couldn't decide.
"Raj, I heard you're going to join the school's Geneva study tour?" In the private dining room, Howard asked enviously.
For this trip to Geneva, the school was only sending twenty people, all well-known experts and scholars.
That Raj was included among them was truly enviable.
"Yes, the school is sending a delegation to visit the Hadron Collider in Geneva," Raj nodded. "Dr. Gablehauser signed me up."
"Wow, visiting the Hadron Collider?! That's incredible," Paige exclaimed admiringly.
Visiting the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva is the dream of virtually every physics professional.
"Do you want to go?" Raj asked with a smile.
"Of course I want to go, but I'm not qualified," Paige said, waving her hand dismissively.
She was just Raj's assistant, an ordinary nobody. How could she possibly be qualified to join the inspection team?
"Dr. Gablehauser told me I can bring a companion," Raj smiled. "If you want to go, I can take you along."
"Really?!" Paige's face lit up with surprise.
"Hey!" Howard couldn't help yelling at Raj. "What about me? Why didn't you consider me?"
Visiting the Hadron Collider in Geneva was his dream too. Unfortunately, because the travel expenses were prohibitively expensive, he couldn't afford it. And even if he went to Geneva, he couldn't enter the laboratory without proper credentials.
Raj gave him a blank look, ignored him, and focused on Paige instead. "Of course it's true. If you're interested, I'll take you there."
He and Lalita had been together for more than half a month, spending most evenings together, so missing this one occasion wouldn't matter.
In contrast, he and Paige rarely had contact outside of school.
Plus, Paige genuinely wanted to see the Hadron Collider, so he decided to grant her wish first.
As for Lalita, if she really wanted to go skiing in Switzerland, arranging a future holiday would be simple given their social status.
"Wow, really?! Thank you so much!" Paige said excitedly.
Howard looked at Raj with resentment written across his face. "You're so cold-hearted!"
Raj promptly submitted the information for himself and Paige, and the school quickly approved it.
"Raj, why won't you consider taking me? You know that seeing the Hadron Collider is my wish too," Howard continued complaining.
"Enough already!" Raj rolled his eyes. "If you were me, you'd do the same thing. Don't lie."
"But you already have Lalita. Why do you need to pursue Paige too?" Howard said, clearly depressed.
"Hey, don't talk nonsense. I'm just taking her to visit the Hadron Collider. I'm not doing anything else," Raj protested, waving his hands.
"You're so oblivious," Howard stared at Raj with envy and frustration, wishing he could trade places with him.
"Okay, next time there's a similar opportunity, I'll definitely take you," Raj offered consolingly.
"It's a deal!" Howard extended his pinky finger. "Pinky swear!"
"Fine." Raj hooked pinkies with him. "Satisfied now?"
"I guess so." Howard waved his hand dismissively. Deep down, he knew it was impossible for Raj to take him on this trip.
When there are women involved, who would take another man on a trip? Especially to Switzerland, such a beautiful tourist destination—the kingdom of ice and snow, a world of crystal and glass, with magnificent scenery.
If he were in Raj's position, he'd take a woman too.
"However, if Sheldon finds out you're participating in the Geneva inspection team, he'll definitely lose his mind," Howard laughed.
The Hadron Collider is a powerful tool for verifying theoretical physics, especially string theory, which needs its experimental data to test theoretical correctness.
As a physicist studying string theory, Sheldon naturally wants to visit Switzerland. However, he's never had the chance.
For one thing, he has terrible relationships with the school's administration and is notoriously difficult. Such benefits would naturally not be extended to him.
Secondly, although he's been studying string theory for years, he has no significant research results to show for it—so much so that he gave up halfway and switched to studying cosmic expansion theory instead.
Therefore, if he discovered that Raj was invited to participate in the Geneva study tour while he was passed over, he'd be consumed with jealousy.
"Sooner or later, he'll understand that the world doesn't revolve around him," Raj said with a slight smile.
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