"What do you want?"
Chuck nodded to Professor Alicia Harper, who was struggling to find words, looked at little Sheldon, and took the initiative to speak.
"I want you to apologize!"
Little Sheldon saw Chuck addressing him, glanced at Professor Alicia Harper and the dean behind him, and felt quite confident. He held his head high and told Chuck his demand.
Although he didn't like being treated like a child, what he didn't want to admit was that sometimes being treated like a child had its advantages.
Namely, he could run to an adult and tattle anytime to get his way.
Of course, for him, aside from not wanting to admit he was young, there was nothing embarrassing about it.
Being able to tattle successfully was also a skill, wasn't it?
"Are you sure?"
Chuck looked at him.
"I..."
Little Sheldon felt uneasy when Chuck looked at him like this and heard that familiar question. He instinctively took a step back and bumped into the dean's desk. Looking at the dean's unchanging diplomatic smile, he felt somewhat reassured and tried to puff out his chest: "Don't make bird sounds or speak bird language! Apologize in English!"
"Okay."
Chuck nodded, and after a moment of silence, facing the gazes of all three people, he slowly said: "Sheldon Cooper, you deserve it!"
"What did you say?"
Professor Alicia Harper and the dean both put their hands to their foreheads, while little Sheldon didn't react immediately.
"As you requested, I apologize."
Chuck said seriously: "Sheldon Cooper, you deserve it!"
"Professor! Dean!"
Little Sheldon heard it clearly this time and reacted. He tried to use his greatest asset—the innocent eyes of a child—and looked at his two advocates with deep hurt.
"Dr. Wolfe, you..."
The dean tried to smooth things over with a strained smile. "That's hardly what I'd call an apology. Sheldon, maybe we should take a step back and think about this."
"Dr. Wolfe, he's just a kid,"
Professor Alicia Harper urged.
This time, little Sheldon didn't argue about being called a child. Instead, he looked at Chuck with eyes filled with deep resentment, ready to burst into tears, waiting for Chuck to back down.
"I've met his demands."
Chuck shook his head. "If there's nothing else, we should return to class. It's the first day of the semester."
"That's not an apology!"
little Sheldon protested.
"You're mistaken. This is an apology."
Chuck said calmly. "If it doesn't sound like one, it's simply because you haven't understood it properly. Often, a statement can mean the exact opposite of how it sounds, just like you interpreted Professor Murray Gell-Mann's expertise in ornithology and his passion for environmental conservation to mean that he actually despises birds."
"..."
Little Sheldon was speechless, his mouth twitching, his eye twitching.
Did he realize he was misrepresenting Professor Murray Gell-Mann's interests?
Of course he knew!
But he didn't care!
For someone who feared birds, everyone should fear them just as much as he did. Regular people being ignorant was acceptable, and whether they liked or disliked birds wasn't really his concern. But he cared about the scientists he admired, which meant they had to share his perspective.
What?
You think they actually like birds?
What do you know?
I don't care what you think, I care what I think!
Exactly.
That's how it was!
But now Chuck was using that same logic against him, and he instantly couldn't handle it.
Ugh!
Stupid scientist!
Seeing Chuck had no intention of backing down, little Sheldon couldn't contain himself anymore and burst into tears.
"Hey, don't cry,"
Professor Alicia Harper said, feeling overwhelmed. She offered a comforting word, but then, unsure what else to do, turned to the dean for help.
"Oh boy."
The dean, feeling a headache coming on, glanced at Chuck, who remained unmoved, sighed, picked up the phone, and dialed: "Dr. Beverly Hofstadter, could you come over? Sheldon's having a meltdown..."
There was no other choice but to contact his guardian.
With little Sheldon's parents far away in East Texas, she could only contact Dr. Beverly Hofstadter, who was responsible for little Sheldon.
That was her job!
Not the dean's.
Chuck listened to little Sheldon's sobs, his expression unchanged, his mood unusually upbeat. The system notified him of another +5 point increase, both positive and negative.
In just ten minutes, he'd earned what would have taken weeks, even months, of regular activities.
If it weren't for his rational mind and incredibly accurate intuition telling him to be strategic and counterattack to maximize the double bonus, he would have been tempted to keep making little Sheldon cry.
But little Sheldon, always proud and arrogant, was far more interesting than a constantly weeping little Sheldon.
Beverly, a professor at Princeton University, rushed over the moment she received the call.
"Beverly,"
little Sheldon said, finally finding someone he could count on, looking at her through his tears.
"Dr. Wolfe, good to see you again."
Beverly nodded to Chuck, then gestured to little Sheldon, "Come with me!"
"Where are we going?"
Little Sheldon walked over, still sniffling.
"To my lab. I've been wanting to study your brainwave patterns during emotional distress for quite some time."
Beverly said matter-of-factly.
"..."
Professor Alicia Harper was stunned.
"Um, is that appropriate?"
The dean was used to Beverly's approach, but still felt obligated to question it.
"What's inappropriate about it?"
Beverly frowned. "This is for science."
"Will you help me attach the EEG electrodes?"
Little Sheldon asked through his sniffles.
"Of course."
Beverly nodded.
"Thank you, you're the best."
Little Sheldon said tearfully. "When I'm back home in Texas, I want to measure my own brainwaves, but I have to attach the electrodes myself."
"I understand."
Beverly accepted the compliment matter-of-factly.
This was the recognition she deserved, wasn't it?
As the two left the office, the dean's office fell into an awkward silence.
Chuck remained impassive. Professor Alicia Harper and the dean were still processing what they'd just witnessed.
What had they just seen?
That's right!
Even though the dean was well-educated and had encountered many eccentric academics, Beverly and little Sheldon were still the most unusual pair she'd ever met.
"Good grief."
After a while, Professor Alicia Harper suddenly sighed.
"Every genius is unique, aren't they?"
The dean finally recovered and offered comfort with a smile: "You should understand this better than anyone, which is why I suggested Sheldon take your course. You'll need to keep a closer eye on him going forward."
"I don't have kids, so I really don't know."
Professor Alicia Harper shook her head: "And now that I think about it, maybe not having children isn't such a bad thing."
Then she walked out.
"Your husband isn't much better than Sheldon."
The dean muttered quietly, and seeing Chuck also getting up to leave, she quickly called out with a smile: "Dr. Wolfe."
Chuck turned and paused, indicating for her to continue.
(End of chapter)
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