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Chapter 58 - Chapter 58: I Don't Drink

Chapter 58: I Don't Drink

"Stop it!"

Professor John Harper shouted, covering his head.

"I'm going to say it today!"

Professor Alicia Harper drained the red wine in her glass in one gulp, her flushed face excited: "Damn it, John, you are a scientist! You should be a great and pure scientist! But look at you now! You should guide the future of science with a scientific attitude, but you're wrapped up in all this damn politics. When you open your mouth, you don't talk about mathematical formulas—what are you even talking about?"

"Stop it!!!"

Professor John Harper suddenly stood up, waved his hands, swept the dinner plate in front of him and smashed it on the floor.

He paced back and forth, muttering words like "Stop it," "I'm not wrong," "You don't understand," and then suddenly opened the door and ran out.

"This..."

Monica was stunned and looked at Professor Alicia Harper questioningly.

"Don't worry about him! He'll just run to his office where he keeps his medication... He'll be fine in a few days. Sorry you had to see this,"

Professor Alicia Harper said, turning her back and heading toward the bedroom.

Monica looked around at everyone but saw little Sheldon's face frozen with lingering fear. Beverly and Chuck continued their meal with calm expressions. Paige, still smiling, asked Chuck, "Am I understanding this correctly?"

"Yes, you understand me better than I understand myself,"

Chuck nodded.

Paige looked at Monica with a smug expression.

Monica didn't know what to say anymore. Her kind nature made her get up and head for the bedroom. "I'll go check on her."

"Sheldon, you should be thankful. If you were born twenty years earlier, you might be another Professor John Harper,"

Paige saw Sheldon's face, frozen with fear, and knowing he hated this kind of argument, she couldn't help but tease him.

"No, I won't be like him!"

little Sheldon protested.

"You're right, you really won't, because you won't have a wife,"

Paige nodded in agreement.

"It seems finding a less accomplished husband isn't entirely without merit,"

Beverly commented calmly. "I used to look down on Rachel and Ross's father—a useless anthropologist who could barely be called a scientist. But now it seems that if I had chosen John, I wouldn't be so sexually satisfied, but I'd have gotten more frustrated and angry over arguments."

In the bedroom, Professor Alicia Harper, tearful, was comforted by Monica. She wiped away her tears and walked out, head tilted slightly upward, trying not to lose her composure. Hearing Beverly's comment, tears welled in her eyes again, unable to stop even with her head tilted back.

"Okay, I get it,"

Beverly observed, adjusting her glasses with a look of understanding.

Not choosing John had eliminated her last trace of regret. She had to rely on herself anyway.

"Sorry to make you witness this,"

Professor Alicia Harper said, wiping away her tears and forcing a smile.

"There's nothing to apologize for. He's studying P versus NP?"

Chuck asked calmly.

The P versus NP problem is a mathematical puzzle that emerged from computational theory in the 1970s. It's 1991, and there's no mention yet of the Millennium Prize Problems. Seven years from now, when they become known, this problem will be one of them, and anyone who solves it will not only receive a million-dollar reward but also unparalleled honor.

"That's right..."

Professor Alicia Harper nodded, opened her mouth, and swallowed her words back.

Chuck, however, understood and said nothing more.

Professor Alicia Harper looked around at everyone and was calmed by the composed expressions of Chuck and Beverly. Her excitement and sadness eased a little, and she said to little Sheldon, who still had fear on his face: "Don't worry, listen to your parents, don't talk nonsense, be a pure scientist, stay away from politics—those aren't our business as scientists. There's an old saying I've heard that I think applies here: 'Whether the empire rises or falls, the common people suffer.'"

"I agree with that."

Paige nodded: "In the past, there was the Soviet Union, and those in power had to rally public opinion to fight against it, so they would treat the people a little better. What will the situation be like when the Soviet Union falls and there's no rival in sight?"

At this point, she wrinkled her nose and looked at Monica: "It seems I can't mess up the principal's dinner invitation."

"..."

Monica was speechless.

She couldn't understand how Paige, at such a young age, could have such a cynical perspective. First, she'd brought up that whole Sheldon situation, and now she was even relating it to current events.

Her only consolation was that this time, it was good for her work.

"This isn't the high-quality intellectual gathering I imagined,"

little Sheldon muttered after a long pause.

"I'm sorry,"

Professor Alicia Harper looked at little Sheldon apologetically, then deliberately steered the conversation back to scientific topics, using classroom-style questions.

Little Sheldon, still a child, quickly became engaged and began to speak freely.

Chuck, Paige, and Beverly occasionally chimed in with their own opinions.

The atmosphere became harmonious.

Only Monica's drinking increased.

When little Sheldon and Beverly's watches beeped simultaneously, they both glanced up. Beverly said, "It's time to go home."

"I enjoyed this intellectual gathering, but Beverly is right. It's time to leave."

Little Sheldon, having forgotten his previous unpleasantness, stood up with a reluctant look on his face.

For them, everything, including bathroom breaks, was built into their schedule. It was clear what to do at what time, and they had to follow it.

"We should go too,"

Paige said, looking at Monica, who was clearly tipsy.

"I'll drive you,"

Chuck said, standing up.

Professor Alicia Harper escorted everyone to the door, watched them get in the car and leave, then turned to look at the empty house. The late autumn night breeze blew, and she stood with her arms folded, gazing up at the endless starry sky for a long, long time.

Chuck drove Paige back to the dorm first, then took the slightly drunk Monica back to her apartment.

On the apartment balcony.

Three guys and two girls were sitting there chatting. When Chuck's car pulled up downstairs, they immediately spotted it and all looked down.

When Chuck walked Monica into the apartment building, they all rushed to the door—some peering through the peephole, some pressing their ears to the door. When they heard footsteps, they whispered, "Here they come, here they come!"

"Thank you for driving me home."

At the door, Monica paused and looked at Chuck, her eyes flickering.

"You're welcome,"

Chuck said calmly, nodding and turning to leave.

"Chuck!"

Monica called out, the wine taking effect. With a burst of courage, she approached Chuck, mustered her nerve, stood on her tiptoes, and leaned in close.

"Whoa,"

exclaimed her best friend Rachel, who was watching through the peephole.

"What's happening? What's happening?"

the others, unable to see, whispered.

"She kissed him... Wait, what?"

Rachel reported through the peephole, then her voice changed, sounding confused.

"What's wrong?"

The others, listening at the door, also heard Monica's confused and hurt voice.

Outside the apartment door.

Chuck had indeed avoided the kiss, and seeing Monica looking at him with hurt, confusion, and embarrassment, he said frankly, "I don't drink."

Monica: "..."

(End of Chapter)

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