Chapter 98: Lively and Surprise
Class ended.
Little Sheldon glanced back at Chuck, then, carrying his small suitcase, he walked out with stiff, quick steps on his short legs.
"What's wrong with him?"
Little Sheldon's conspicuous behavior naturally attracted a lot of attention, including Cheryl's.
"He's just looking for trouble,"
Chuck said, nodding to Justine and Cheryl before getting up and leaving.
Cheryl watched Chuck's departing back and complained to her best friend Justine with some annoyance, "Chuck doesn't seem to have changed at all."
"Why would he change?"
Justine, knowing her best friend's thoughts, teased, "Isn't he perfect this way?"
"He's cool,"
Cheryl shook her head, "but he's so unapproachable."
"How do you want him to be more approachable?"
Justine walked out, clutching her books.
"You know what I mean,"
Cheryl quickly caught up. "Just look at you and Alan."
Justine's smile immediately faded.
"What's wrong?"
Cheryl looked at her best friend in surprise, noticing her expression.
"I'm breaking up with Alan,"
Justine said matter-of-factly. "I'm not ready to be in a relationship with him right now. It's too dangerous."
"No,"
Cheryl said, immediately anxious. "You and Alan have such a great relationship. Breaking up over something like this would be such a waste. Besides, didn't Chuck say there's no guarantee you'll be targeted in the future? You can't throw away your happiness over this."
"There are many ways to live,"
Justine said, her eyes sad but resolute. "Love isn't everything. Right now, I can't maintain this relationship, and I don't have the emotional capacity to focus on it. So letting go now is the best thing for both him and me."
She now understood Red John's methods and couldn't bear the thought of watching her boyfriend Alan get tragically killed in front of her. The possibility was unbearable.
Being single was still the safest option. As long as she was on her own, she wouldn't fear any danger or challenge!
"You need to think this through carefully."
Cheryl knew her best friend was very stubborn, so she couldn't say much more. "Alan's here," she reminded her.
"I'll be just like you soon—single and ready to mingle,"
Justine said with a bitter smile, then walked towards her boyfriend Alan, who was completely unaware of what was coming.
Meanwhile,
Little Sheldon strode out of the campus at a brisk pace and said to Beverly, who had been waiting there, "Come on, let's go!"
"Alright,"
Beverly agreed, helped little Sheldon into the car, and drove off immediately.
"I'll definitely be the first to reach level five this time!"
Little Sheldon was excited.
"I always knew you could do it,"
Beverly praised him.
"I can't wait to see Chuck Wolfe's face when he sees my name on the wall."
Little Sheldon rubbed his arm, "Look, I'm getting goosebumps!"
Math treasure hunts are anonymous—organizers and participants keep their identities secret and generally don't overlap. But the math community is small, and everyone who needs to know will find out.
Not everyone kept a low profile, focusing solely on solving puzzles for the prize money. Some show-offs couldn't resist writing their names on the clue wall to prove when they'd been there.
Little Sheldon had never written his name before, but this time he'd finally solved the fourth level math problems. He'd just seen Chuck yesterday and knew Chuck was only at level four, so he felt like he had a guaranteed win. This was his first real victory over Chuck.
So he decided to follow the tradition and write his name on the clue wall for Chuck to see. He, Sheldon Cooper, was nobody's pushover!
"It's truly incredible to be able to defeat someone like Dr. Wolfe,"
Beverly nodded supportively, then stopped properly at the red light.
Though anxious, Little Sheldon didn't seem bothered by this standard driving behavior; instead, he approved of following traffic laws.
When they arrived outside the building where the organizers had posted the clues for the next level, young Sheldon adjusted his bowtie inside the car, held his head high, and then stepped out with a confident smile. Accompanied by Beverly, he walked inside.
He was already familiar with this moment, having dreamed of it more than once. The only disappointment was that there was no audience to admire him or cheer him on.
Geniuses are always lonely, and it's truly tragic that the simple-minded people of this world can't appreciate the brilliant light of genius.
Thinking this, young Sheldon walked through the door and scanned the area, ready to find the wall with the fifth level math problem written on it. Then, he'd write his name: Sheldon Lee Cooper!
However, when he saw a figure standing in front of the wall, his smile froze, and he let out a defeated cry: "No way!"
"Dr. Wolfe."
Beverly, also seeing Chuck, was slightly surprised.
"Dr. Hofstadter,"
Chuck turned and nodded to Mary.
"You—how did you get here?"
Little Sheldon, refusing to believe what he was seeing, closed his eyes and opened them again, only to find Chuck still there. He asked, his voice slightly shaking.
"This is the fifth level of the game,"
Chuck said calmly. "You just solve the problem and submit it to the organizers to get the coordinates, right?"
"...But you said yesterday you were only on level four, and I rushed over right after class. How did you manage to get here before me?"
Little Sheldon couldn't accept this.
"Until yesterday, I was busy and hadn't paid attention to the game. I noticed your excited behavior after class, and then I remembered the treasure hunt. So I recalled the problem, solved it, and came over to check out level five."
Chuck said bluntly, "I drive fast. Is that a problem?"
"..."
Little Sheldon, who had originally been covered in goosebumps of excitement, could only twitch his lips and eyes at this explanation.
"What a lively scene!"
A playful laugh echoed through the room. Chuck and the others looked up to see someone else approaching. It was Paige, accompanied by Monica.
"It really is lively."
A tall, heavy-set man following behind Monica nodded in agreement. When he saw little Sheldon, he sighed, "Kids these days are really something else."
Then he looked at Chuck, adjusted his glasses, his face lighting up with recognition, walked over quickly, and extended his hand to Chuck: "Dr. Wolfe, I've heard so much about you. I'm Professor Harold Applewood from the Applied Mathematics Department at Columbia University."
"I know you, Professor Streaking."
Chuck shook hands with him.
"That's right, that's me!"
The tall, heavy-set Professor Harold Applewood grinned: "I like to be one with numbers and don't believe anything should come between us."
"..."
Monica looked at Paige with exasperation.
"That's right."
Paige smiled mischievously: "This is my math professor. Surprise!"
(End of chapter)