"Heh heh…" Mike didn't spoil Sheldon. After a laugh, he said definitively, "You're just jealous."
However, Sheldon, who firmly didn't believe he was inferior to Paige, immediately retorted, "Then give me a reason why I should be jealous."
"Alright, first: You value Dr. Sturgis a lot, but he seems to care a lot about Paige…" Mike gave examples.
Sheldon wanted to refute this point, but since it was true, he wouldn't argue against his true feelings.
Moreover, Mike hadn't fully explained this point; he forgot about himself.
Sheldon, who already considered Mike a friend, felt very uncomfortable when he saw Mike laughing and talking with Paige.
Meanwhile, Mike continued, "Second: You've always been used to being the smartest person. Now Paige has appeared, she's younger than you, and seemingly not inferior to you in intelligence…"
Mike was being very considerate to Sheldon; if he were to be truly honest, Paige was clearly more intelligent.
"Third: When it comes to emotional control…"
Seeing that Mike was about to continue, Sheldon couldn't sit still. He quickly interrupted, "Thank you, I said, one reason."
In terms of emotional control and social skills, the low-EQ Sheldon was indeed more than a step behind Paige.
And seeing Sheldon on the verge of a meltdown, Mike was perceptive enough not to continue.
At this moment, Connie, who was driving, smiled and said, "It sounds like that little girl named Paige is indeed very outstanding. Sheldon, I think you should become friends with her."
…
However, Connie still underestimated the extent of her little grandson's anger. Even after returning home, she found him still looking glum.
Sheldon had never been in this state before, which made Connie a little worried. So, she called Dr. Sturgis.
"John, I think you need to give Sheldon a little more attention. He seems to be jealous of that girl named Paige…" Connie said straightforwardly.
From a personal standpoint, Connie preferred that Dr. Sturgis take more care of her little grandson.
After listening to Connie's request, Dr. Sturgis pondered for a moment, then offered an idea: "How about this, we'll create another 'surprise' for Sheldon. Perhaps he can become very good friends with Paige…"
Dr. Sturgis explained his plan. He decided to have Paige and her family visit Sheldon and Cooper tomorrow.
After all, two families with equally super child prodigies should have a lot in common.
Moreover, in Dr. Sturgis's view, if Paige and Sheldon, these two child prodigies, could get to know each other better, they might very well become close friends.
Here, Connie also thought it was a good idea after hearing Dr. Sturgis's suggestion.
So, she told Mary the news.
Mary, on her part, was very excited to hear that she could interact with a family that also had a prodigy.
After all, only she knew how exhausting it could be to raise a child prodigy like Sheldon.
Mary immediately began planning the preparations for hosting Paige and her family tomorrow.
On the other side, Sheldon was very resistant when he heard that Paige would be coming to his house tomorrow.
However, under Mary's persuasion, he eventually reluctantly agreed to interact with Paige again.
…
Early the next morning, Mary specifically canceled her church work and brought her family to the door, waiting for Paige's family to arrive.
Before long, a black mid-to-high-end sedan pulled up in front of the Cooper family.
Four people got out of the car in sequence: Paige's father Barry, mother Linda, older sister Erica, and then Paige.
Today, Paige was wearing a shirt with a cute floral pattern, paired with denim overalls.
This made her look both cute and a little "cool."
At the Cooper family's doorstep, George and his wife warmly welcomed Barry and Linda.
Meanwhile, Paige saw a reluctant-looking Sheldon. So, she deliberately jumped right in front of him.
After startling him, Paige smiled and asked, "Where's Mike? I heard he lives with you."
"No, Mike lives across the street, at my grandma's house." Sheldon suppressed his anger and patiently explained. Then, he added, "He's probably still sleeping in."
Usually, on weekend mornings, the Coopers and Connie would go to church for service, while Mike would enjoy a good lie-in before starting his personal activities.
"Is that so? That's surprising, I didn't expect someone like him to sleep in." Paige looked at the house across the street and smiled.
In her opinion, someone like Mike, who performed so well on the football field, should be very disciplined in life.
Yet, he actually slept in.
This contrast made Paige find it very interesting.
"Alright, please follow me. I've already arranged our activities for the next few hours." Yesterday, after agreeing to his mother's request, Sheldon had specifically made a whole plan for today's reception.
Here, Paige glanced at the house across the street again, then followed Sheldon into the Cooper family house.
The two families were then divided into three groups: Sheldon took Paige to tour his room, George and his wife and Mr. and Mrs. Barry stayed in the living room to chat, and the rest, including Georgie, went to play in the backyard.
"This is my desk, these are the books I've read…" Sheldon introduced his study area at home, one by one.
However, Paige seemed to have no interest in what he was introducing. She picked up a huge Barbie doll from the side and exclaimed excitedly, "This is Barbie Princess Aisha—"
No matter how high Paige's intelligence was, she was still a little girl, and naturally, she couldn't resist beautiful Barbie dolls.
"Wait, that's something Mike gave to Missy, you can't touch it…" Sheldon quickly stepped forward to stop her.
"Mike bought this?" Paige was a little surprised, and then, even more astonished, she asked, "You actually live with other people?"
Paige's father, Barry, was a dentist with a very substantial income.
And being the apple of her family's eye, she naturally couldn't understand Sheldon's "financial straits."
However, Sheldon didn't care about this "financial straits" at all. He casually retorted, "Aren't you?"
"No, I have my own private room." Paige replied truthfully.
"Alright—" Sheldon responded casually again. From his expression, he didn't seem to care much about the private room issue.
Then, he continued to introduce to Paige according to the routine, "This is Professor Proton's poster, and it has his autograph."
When introducing the poster above his desk, Sheldon clearly showed a proud expression.
Who was Professor Proton?
He was the host who explained scientific knowledge to the audience on the educational channel Sheldon loved to watch the most.
"So..." Paige glanced at the poster, showing little interest.
"Don't you know who he is?" Sheldon asked in surprise, seeing her indifferent expression.
"Of course, I know, isn't he just the host of the educational channel?" Paige rolled her eyes and continued, "But I don't like him very much; when he explains scientific knowledge, he always treats others like idiots."
Because the educational channel was for popular science, Professor Proton's show style was generally somewhat entertaining, and the content was relatively shallow.
"Do you really like him?" Paige asked with a smile when she saw Sheldon's face getting increasingly sour.
Actually, Paige had no prejudice against Professor Proton; she just realized that Sheldon liked him a lot, so she deliberately wanted to annoy him.
"I, I…" Sheldon struggled for a while, then said insincerely, "Actually, I also think his show is nothing special."
Sheldon didn't want to be considered an idiot by Paige because of his preferences.
Then, a very unhappy Sheldon continued to introduce dryly, "This is my desk lamp…"
"Stop." Paige felt it was boring to stay with Sheldon like this, so she suggested, "How about we go call Mike over to play with us?"
"Hmm?" Sheldon, who was also feeling that staying with Paige was torture, his eyes lit up and he echoed, "That's a good idea."