Chapter 52: Great Intelligence and the Seven-Year Period
"Who?"
Monica was stunned. Meeting Paige's amused expression, which suggested, "You know who I'm talking about," her lips twitched. She wanted to assert herself, but instead, she said, "It's not polite to abruptly refuse someone's invitation... If it doesn't conflict with the president's dinner, you can go."
Just kidding. Professor Alicia Harper had already put immense pressure on her. If it weren't for her fiercely competitive spirit, she would have given up long ago out of wounded pride.
And now Chuck had already made her famous around campus.
She felt compelled to do something, not out of some ridiculous crush or jealousy, but out of moral obligation! That's right!
To uphold what's right!
Professor Alicia Harper was a married woman. How could Chuck be interested in her? It was wrong!
As for Chuck's claim of simply admiring her intellect, even Chuck, who seemed honest and never lied, didn't believe his own words.
Perhaps he truly believed that, but sometimes people can deceive themselves.
Geniuses are no exception!
So she had to step forward and prevent Chuck from making a huge mistake. She couldn't let a scientific prodigy destined for Nobel Prizes and textbooks carry the same moral baggage as other brilliant scientists.
Hmm.
Having spent so much time with Paige, she knew far more about the personal stories of famous scientists than before.
Setting aside their incredible contributions to human knowledge, she truly didn't want Chuck to become another Einstein, Schrödinger, Hawking, or Feynman...
Compared to their messy personal lives, her friend Joey from back home in New York, who also loved experimenting and was known as a player, seemed like a saint.
"It just happens to be that same night. What should I do?"
Paige said with a mischievous smile.
"..."
Monica was suddenly torn.
Was it more important to fulfill the university president's trust, or to attend Professor Alicia Harper's dinner party to prevent the history of American science from becoming a soap opera?
After dropping this bombshell, Paige, watching Monica's expression shift and become troubled, picked up the phone again and continued chatting with Sheldon.
Monica hesitated for a moment, then, looking at Paige, who was still chatting with a smile, suddenly realized and said with a wry smile, "You're messing with me, aren't you? The two dinners aren't even on the same night, are they?"
"Have you made your decision?"
Paige asked with a smile, not denying it.
"Yes!"
Monica said irritably, "Just the opposite of what you expected!"
Paige told Sheldon she would attend the dinner, then hung up the phone and went back to her studies.
Ever since Chuck showed up, Sheldon had worked even harder, determined to get his PhD as quickly as possible so he wouldn't have to address Chuck as "Dr. Bartowski."
That would be unbearable.
This also motivated Paige to accelerate her coursework, compressing the typical decade from bachelor's to doctorate down to five years, and now even further, aiming to finish her PhD in three years.
Although she had an exceptionally high IQ, faced with the massive workload from cramming years of coursework into such a short timeframe, even she had to spend most of her time studying in the dorm. The level of internal competition made Monica, a regular person, feel overwhelmed.
Infinitely smarter than average humans, and infinitely more hardworking—if you had to compete against someone like that, how could you possibly survive!
So, Paige buried herself in her textbooks, while Monica tidied up, lost in thoughts about her developing feelings for Chuck, and accidentally knocked a coffee mug off the desk, shattering it on the floor.
The sound of breaking ceramic rang out in the quiet dorm room, making Paige, who was deep in concentration, frown and look up.
"Sorry, sorry."
Monica began cleaning up with profuse apologies.
"Are you really this distracted just because of you and him?"
Paige frowned.
The old Monica was always hyper-focused and organized, so this kind of accident would never happen.
"You wouldn't understand."
Monica said without thinking.
"I wouldn't understand?"
Paige suddenly laughed. "I think you're the one who doesn't understand!"
Monica opened her mouth, looked at Paige's expression, and realized this wasn't the right time to explain. She lowered her head and continued cleaning up, but then a lightbulb went off in her mind, and she looked up at Paige.
Damn it!
How could she have forgotten!
Chuck was unlike any other guy she had ever met, and he was incredibly confusing to her, leaving her completely unsure how to proceed.
She had several close friends back in Manhattan she could confide in about her romantic troubles, but when it came to seeking actual advice, they either teased her or offered completely unrealistic suggestions.
They, including her brother Ross, who considered himself intellectually superior, were actually ordinary people, unable to grasp the mindset of a genius like Chuck.
But just because they didn't understand didn't mean no one could!
There was someone right here who might be able to help her understand Chuck.
In a flash, she suddenly realized that her earlier justification at the farm—to get to know Chuck better so she could do her job protecting Paige—was really about better understanding genius-level thinking. And the same logic worked in reverse.
She could definitely use the brilliant Paige to understand Chuck and develop a strategy to connect with him.
"As they say, 'Great minds think alike.' It seems I've gotten smarter after spending so much time with Paige."
After figuring this out, Monica, feeling incredibly clever, thought, "This also proves Ross is truly useless. He brags about being a genius all the time, but I've been around him for over twenty years, and he hasn't made me any smarter. Maybe he's even had a negative effect on me."
"Do you really understand?"
Monica asked tentatively, trying to contain her excitement.
"Of course, relationships between men and women are just basic biochemistry and psychology,"
Paige said matter-of-factly.
"You should be able to figure him out, right?"
Monica chose her words carefully.
She wanted Paige's help, but only to understand Chuck better, not to discuss inappropriate topics with someone so young.
"Relax."
Paige saw what Monica was thinking and looked away. She buried her head in her homework as she said, "Do you want to be with him forever, or just for fun?"
"Forever, of course!"
Monica said instinctively.
"If you want a long-term relationship with him, you need to establish a real intellectual and emotional connection,"
Paige's voice drifted over. "And you know it's hard for people like us to connect with others, let alone establish that kind of deep bond with a regular person like you. So if you really want to be with him long-term, you need to be mentally prepared to invest serious time."
"How much time?"
Monica pressed.
"At minimum, four or five years,"
Paige said.
"Four or five years?"
Monica's jaw dropped.
"Isn't a genuine relationship worth investing that much time?"
Paige's voice sounded casual: "The divorce rate in America is around 50%, and the average person has about eleven romantic relationships in their lifetime. If you really care about him that much, then invest the time you would have spent dating other guys into waiting for him to develop a connection with you over four or five years. When you succeed, the probability of you two lasting forever is over 90%, because people like him value stability. As long as you don't change fundamentally, he won't change his feelings for you either. Isn't that better than dating around repeatedly, getting hurt again and again, and finally just settling?"
"But four or five years is such a long time..."
Monica felt conflicted.
"Don't worry, it'll be four or five years minimum, but no more than seven years maximum!"
Paige's voice carried complete certainty.
Monica gripped the cleaning cloth tighter, and her eyes gradually became determined when she heard this.
Paige glanced up, caught Monica's reflection in the mirror, and the corners of her mouth curved up slightly.
(End of chapter)
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