Connie, having released Mike, fell into a reverie and recounted to Mike, "It was over thirty years ago. Your grandma and I met in Las Vegas. She was a beautiful woman with soft, golden hair... We were tearing up the casino back then..."
Seeing Connie's story getting increasingly outlandish, Mary quickly interjected, "Mom~!"
"Oh, me. Once I get excited, I can't stop." Connie realized that Mike was still a child. She smiled apologetically and introduced, "This is my daughter, Mary."
Mary stepped forward and gave Mike a warm hug.
"And this is her husband, George~" Connie introduced them one by one.
George was a chubby middle-aged man, and aside from not being bald, he bore some resemblance to Dennis.
He stepped forward and shook Mike's hand in a friendly manner, saying, "Welcome, Mike."
Next was the Cooper family's eldest son, Georgie, who also politely stepped forward and shook Mike's hand.
By the time Mike reached the little girl Missy, there was no need for Connie to introduce her; Missy excitedly pounced into Mike's arms.
It wasn't until Mary's mother's gaze turned dangerous that Missy released her arms, stepped back, tugged at her little skirt, and said very ladylike, "My name is Missy. It's nice to meet you."
"My name is Mike, and I'm just as happy to meet you," Mike said with a smile, nodding at the little girl.
Finally, Connie led Mike to Sheldon and introduced him, "This is Sheldon, the smartest child in the Cooper family."
Sheldon, with a grown-up hairstyle, wore a delicate little bow tie on his shirt collar.
When Connie introduced him, he put on the wool gloves he had prepared earlier, then extended his hand and said seriously, "Mike, you look much smarter than Georgie. I hope we can be friends."
At this stage, Mary was worried about Sheldon not making friends.
The intelligent Sheldon, to keep his mother from worrying, had already started trying to make friends at school, but the results were not ideal.
That's why he had the idea of making friends with Mike.
"Sheldon, do you have mysophobia?" Mike chose not to shake hands. He stared at Sheldon's gloved hand and asked knowingly.
"Of course not. I wear gloves only to protect myself from bacteria. You know, people's palms sweat easily, which provides an environment for various bacteria to grow..." Sheldon explained scientifically with a serious expression.
"Alright, Sheldon, from a medical perspective, your situation is indeed mysophobia," Mike said with a smile, extending his hand, then continued, "But please don't worry, I washed my hands thoroughly before I left home."
Looking at Mike's long, clean palm, Sheldon was torn between whether to take off his gloves and shake hands.
"What a cute child~" Seeing Sheldon's conflicted little expression, Mike immediately leaned down and pulled him into a hug.
Feeling Sheldon's body gradually stiffen, Mike smiled and released him.
The hug made Sheldon's brain stop working. With an awkward but polite smile on his face, he asked, "Excuse me, I'd like to know, when did you leave home?"
Clearly, he was still pondering the difficult question of whether Mike's hands had bacteria.
"Hmm, let me think..." Mike pretended to count on his fingers and said seriously, "I probably left home at noon yesterday, around twelve o'clock."
Sheldon realized that a day and a half had passed since Mike last washed his hands. With a terrified expression on his face, he shouted, "Oh my god, bacteria... bacteria..."
Like a headless fly, Sheldon spun around a few times, then ran back into the house behind him, screaming and yelling.
[Intelligence +10]
[Intelligence +5]
Mike watched him leave, hooked his finger, and caught the two glowing orbs that had fallen from Sheldon in the air.
"What a treasure boy!" Mike murmured softly.
One of these glowing orbs fell when he hugged Sheldon, and the other fell when the other party was screaming and yelling.
[Intelligence: 143 (128+15)]
The increase in intelligence to 140 was very noticeable to Mike, like a single-core computer being upgraded to a dual-core processor.
Some previously unclear memories also resurfaced in his mind.
The exhilarating feeling of this intelligence boost was no less than a leap in life.
"Mike! Mike!! Are you alright?" Connie saw Mike standing still and waved her hand in front of his eyes.
Mike's daze was due to receiving complex information in his mind. Coming to his senses, he quickly said, "I'm fine, it's just Sheldon?"
"He's just like that. He'll be fine in a bit... You'll get used to it," Connie explained, then invited, "You must be hungry, come inside and try my Texas secret recipe barbecue."
Surrounded by Connie and Sheldon's family, Mike walked into the house.
Sitting at the dining table, Mike felt like he had forgotten something.
However, there was too much information in his mind earlier, and Mike didn't think too deeply about it at the moment.
(At this time, a middle-aged man was still sound asleep in an RV outside the house.)
...During the pre-meal prayer, Sheldon finally emerged from the bathroom, though his gaze towards Mike was somewhat "resentful."
In the center of the dining table was Connie's specially prepared large cut of barbecue, and next to it was a lavish dinner prepared by the housewife, Mary.
After a hearty meal, Georgie, the head of the household, sipped his beer and asked, "Mike, how tall are you?"
"About one meter eighty," Mike replied, swallowing the barbecue in his mouth.
Georgie Cooper had been a football coach for half his life and could tell at a glance that Mike was well-suited for the sport, so he continued to ask, "And your weight, how much is it?"
"Around one hundred seventy pounds (77kg)..." Mike's body had been growing rapidly lately, so he could only give an estimate.
"Good physique. You're still young, and your body will develop further," Georgie's eyes lit up, and he continued, "Have you played football before?"
"No, I haven't..." Mike shook his head.
"A bit of a shame..." Georgie sighed, then invited, "But it's not too late. Would you like to join my high school football team? With your talent, you'll pick it up quickly."
"Oh, and by the way, I'm the head coach of the high school football team," George smiled confidently, then pointed his chin at his eldest son and said, "Also, Georgie is also a member of the varsity football team."
"Come on, I'm just a benchwarmer," Georgie grumbled when his dad mentioned him, seemingly a bit displeased.
To be honest, Georgie was about the same age as Mike, but his height was only a little over one meter sixty, and his build was very thin.
Compared to his dad's bulky physique, Georgie was not particularly talented in football.
"Alright, Mike just arrived. He'll make his own decision once he gets familiar with the school," Mary interjected, stopping her husband's topic and preserving some of Georgie's dignity.
Then, she looked at Mike and asked curiously, "Mike, you must not be sixteen yet, right? How could they let you drive here alone?"
"Oh no~ Dennis!!"
Mike finally remembered what he had forgotten. He cried out in surprise and ran out the door.
(At this time, a bald middle-aged man in the RV slowly opened his eyes, looking confused...)