During the subsequent Math Olympiad study session, Ms. Sharon, upon entering the classroom, maintained a cold expression on her face.
Her gaze intentionally avoided Cady while she lectured.
This situation made the atmosphere in the study room incredibly oppressive.
The Math Olympiad team members, who were aware of some of the conflict between Ms. Sharon and Cady, behaved very obediently during this class, fearing they might upset their teacher.
After the Math Olympiad study session ended, even the usually lively Kevin quietly slipped out of the classroom.
Before long, only Ms. Sharon, Cady, and Mike remained in the classroom.
Seeing that Ms. Sharon was about to leave with her lesson plans, Cady quickly went up to her.
"M-Ms. Sharon, I'm very sorry about spreading rumors about you earlier. I'm sorry—" After Cady sincerely apologized, she handed over a note.
Clearly, Cady chose a two-pronged approach for this apology.
Ms. Sharon looked at Cady expressionlessly, then read the note in her hand.
"Your main task now is studying; I can't control other matters. So, you should take care of yourself—" After reading the note, Ms. Sharon still maintained a cold demeanor.
And after saying those words, she didn't look at Cady again, leaving only her back to the girl.
"Did she forgive me?" Cady asked uncertainly.
Judging by Ms. Sharon's reaction just now, Cady, as one of the parties involved, couldn't quite decipher the other party's meaning.
However, Mike, as an observer, saw it very clearly: although Ms. Sharon's behavior wasn't obvious, he could still sense that she had forgiven the girl.
"Don't worry, Cady. The teacher has forgiven you," Mike replied.
"Really?" Cady still said uncertainly, "I saw the teacher's expression, it didn't seem to mean that..."
"Then what else do you want? Ms. Sharon's expression is always like that. Do you want her to give you a hug?" Mike smiled and shook his head, then opened his arms playfully and said, "There's an embrace here that can comfort you."
"Thank you~" After being reminded, Cady's knot in her heart was untied. Then, the girl actively threw herself into Mike's embrace.
...
Time arrived on Friday afternoon of this week, which was the time for Dr. Ronald's public lecture at Medford.
That afternoon, the school canceled all outdoor activities, gathering students in the main conference hall.
Among the vast number of students, Sheldon, who was full of enthusiasm for science, once again secured a seat in the front row, near the center.
"What's wrong, Mike? You don't look very happy." Sheldon, who was excited, looked at Mike, who seemed out of sorts.
"It's nothing, I'm fine..." Mike shook his head.
In fact, he hadn't had a good week. Ever since his relationship with Regina was exposed, although Cady and the other girls didn't say anything, they were somewhat bothered.
Among them, Karen had the strongest reaction.
To appease the girls, Mike had put in a lot of effort this week, and his body, with over two hundred points of physique, almost couldn't handle it.
"That's good." Sheldon rarely showed concern for others, then continued, "What do you think Dr. Ronald will talk about later?"
Sheldon, who loved scientific knowledge, had been looking forward to this day for a long time.
He hoped to learn some useful knowledge from Dr. Ronald today.
"In Aerospace Engineering, there should be a lot to talk about regarding rocket launches, thrusters, and recovery," Mike said casually.
As he listened to the other party's narration, Sheldon's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and he looked forward to the upcoming lecture even more.
Dr. Ronald didn't make the students wait long. After everyone was seated neatly, the door to the main conference hall was pushed open.
Accompanied by Principal Tom, Dr. Ronald walked into the main conference hall.
He was just over one meter sixty tall, with a chubby build, a slight hunchback, and more than half of the hair on his head had fallen out.
Dr. Ronald's appearance shattered the students' previous fantasies.
Mike vaguely heard a sigh of disappointment from the girls behind him.
Meanwhile, Sheldon, seeing Dr. Ronald, became even more excited. The other party's appearance perfectly matched his idea of a scholar.
"Hello everyone—" Dr. Ronald greeted the students humorously.
It was clear that this Aerospace Engineering doctor, in his fifties, had a very amiable personality.
"I am Ronald from Houston Space Administration, and I am currently in charge of a Mars landing project..." Ronald skillfully introduced himself to the students.
His clever self-introduction also helped the doctor successfully capture the students' attention.
"As you all know, there's no gravity in outer space. So, how do our astronauts live?" Dr. Ronald evidently didn't think high school students could understand profound Aerospace Engineering knowledge.
Therefore, he chose to tell the students some fascinating anecdotes from space, such as how astronauts solve problems like drinking water and eating in the space station.
Dr. Ronald found it easy to talk about this kind of highly interesting knowledge, and the students enjoyed listening.
As Dr. Ronald explained in a humorous and bantering manner, waves of laughter from the students echoed through the main conference hall.
In a cheerful atmosphere, Ronald fulfilled his promise to his old classmate, Principal Tom used this opportunity to divert the students' attention, and the students also gained joy from this public lecture.
By this reckoning, this event could be considered a triple win.
However, Sheldon, sitting below, listened to Dr. Ronald's narration, his little face scrunched up into a frown.
He couldn't believe that this was the Aerospace Engineering lecture he had been looking forward to for so long. The content Dr. Ronald was currently lecturing on, while not entirely unrelated to Aerospace Engineering, was sufficiently perfunctory.
So, Sheldon resolutely raised his small hand.
"Oh, there's a little friend here—" Dr. Ronald used his exaggerated tone again, earning another round of laughter for himself. Then, he said, "Little friend, do you have any questions?"
Being treated like a child by the other party made Sheldon very displeased. However, he patiently said, "Dr. Ronald, I want to know some more useful knowledge. For example, theories or formulas for rocket launches are fine."
After his previous failed rocket research, Sheldon had been very concerned about the issue of rocket launches.
However, his tender face did not receive enough attention from Dr. Ronald.
"You're still young, these aren't questions you should be concerned about." Ronald smiled and continued, "How about I tell you again how astronauts use toilets in space!"
The thought of no gravity in space, with feces floating in the air, once again drew laughter from the students.
"No, I don't want to know about toilets. I just want to know the principle of rocket launches." Sheldon felt insulted, and his small face tightened.
"Alright, alright—" Dr. Ronald, still coaxing him like a child, waved his hand and then asked, "Is there anyone here who can answer this little friend's question?"
Clearly, at this moment, Dr. Ronald was still trying to enliven the atmosphere. In his mind, he didn't believe anyone could answer this question.
"Three-stage propulsion—" Unable to stand the other party bullying a child, Mike spoke up.
"Hmm? Interesting..." Dr. Ronald understood Mike's words and asked with interest, "Can you elaborate?"
Current rocket launches had not yet developed into multi-stage propulsion methods. To professionals, Mike's suggestion was very advanced.
"Three-stage propulsion means assembling the thrusters in multiple stages. When one stage of propulsion ends, that thruster can be separated and recovered..." Mike explained the theory of multi-stage rocket propulsion and booster recovery.
Rocket launches have very high demands on thrusters, and in theory, this can help reduce the rocket's weight at different times.
If this theory could be maturely applied in Aerospace Engineering, it would definitely save NASA a significant amount of money.
"A very interesting conjecture..."
After listening to Mike's explanation, Dr. Ronald thought for a while. However, he eventually shook his head and said, "Unfortunately, our current technology cannot meet those requirements..."
Multi-stage propulsion, in theory, could save a large amount of cost, but it also placed more stringent demands on technology. And recovering the booster was an even more impossible task currently.