Chapter 154: The Dark Knight in New Jersey, Little Sheldon's Physics Class
Physics Class.
Professor Alicia Harper tried to teach calmly, but finally said to Little Sheldon who was frequently turning his head to look back in the front row: "Mr. Cooper, do you have something to say?"
"No."
Little Sheldon retracted his gaze and shook his head.
"Would you like to sit in the back? Maybe next to Dr. Wolfe?"
Professor Alicia Harper suggested.
"No!"
Little Sheldon shook his head even more vigorously, and his tone was no longer hesitant as at the beginning, but very firm.
Asking him to sit next to Chuck was simply asking for his life.
"Are you sure?"
Professor Alicia Harper suppressed her irritation.
She clearly saw that he kept turning his head to look at Chuck, and it was obvious that Little Sheldon had something to say to Chuck. If it were any other student, she would have lost her temper, but when it came to Little Sheldon, she'd rather let him talk to Chuck directly instead of making all kinds of distracting gestures.
"Don't ask me that!"
Little Sheldon's voice suddenly sharpened, and he turned back to look at Chuck in the back row. Because of someone, he already had PTSD from that question.
"..."
Professor Alicia Harper's face darkened. This troublesome little guy, at such a young age, was already more difficult than her own son. Who knew what he would become in the future? Seeing that he clearly had something to say but didn't want to say it, she didn't bother asking anymore.
At least when she looked up, she couldn't see him at all.
"What's wrong with him?"
Cheryl asked with a quiet smile, sitting next to Chuck.
"Don't worry about him,"
Chuck said. "He'll speak up when he's ready."
"That's right,"
Cheryl said with a sly smile. "He's still a kid, and kids can't keep things bottled up for long."
Justine, who was listening, nudged her best friend. Speaking about a child like that, Cheryl had indeed picked up some bad habits.
After class,
everyone left.
Chuck walked out last. Little Sheldon kept looking back. Finally, he gritted his teeth and stood at the door waiting for Chuck.
"Why did you mention Noah before?"
Little Sheldon asked.
"You know why."
Chuck glanced at him.
"I don't know..."
Little Sheldon just shook his head, but when he caught Chuck's eye, his PTSD kicked in again. He cried out, "Don't you dare say it's because you're Batman again! What does this have to do with Batman?"
"If you knew, then you'd be Alfred,"
Chuck said.
"Alfred? Leonard's dad?"
Since living with Beverly, Little Sheldon's first thought of Alfred was Beverly's husband, Alfred Hofstadter, Leonard's father.
Chuck couldn't help but glance at him.
If anyone else didn't know this little guy's background well, they'd probably suspect he had ulterior motives, or was just trying to take advantage of Leonard.
"Alfred, the butler!"
Little Sheldon quickly realized, rolling his eyes. "You're still saying you're Batman."
"To you, I always will be,"
Chuck said bluntly.
The phrase "I am Batman" doesn't mean much to others, including Chuck himself, but Little Sheldon is sensitive and disgusted by it. So as long as it can be used to get under Little Sheldon's skin, this phrase will always be meaningful.
"..."
Little Sheldon looked at Chuck angrily. Seeing Chuck walk away without any reaction, he could only suppress his frustration and called out to Chuck: "Wait, I really don't want to ask this, but I need a favor."
"No."
Chuck shook his head.
"Why?"
Little Sheldon shouted in frustration: "You haven't even heard what the favor is."
"Go ahead."
Chuck nodded.
"I've been reading a comic series recently, called 'The Signal,' and suddenly the comic stopped updating."
Little Sheldon expressed his troubles: "I called to ask, and they said that the author had something come up and couldn't update normally for a while. I asked why, and after they asked about my age, they told me that this was something only adults knew about, and suggested I read other comics instead - that there were other excellent series. I told them I knew that, and the reason I called wasn't because this comic was better than others or because I liked it more, but because I had started reading it, and the story wasn't finished yet, and it needed to continue being published. It's professional ethics. Then they just hung up on me."
Chuck just looked at him, waiting for him to continue.
As expected, Sheldon spoke for a long while, then looked up at Chuck's expression. Seeing that he didn't have the response he wanted, he could only pout and continue, "I asked Beverly about it. After asking, Beverly said that although she wanted to tell me, she couldn't because of traditional customs and laws. She just said that the comic's author had encountered some misfortune and was dealing with an investigation. I understand her concerns, so I didn't ask any further. But I figured that since the author needs help with an investigation, and I remember that you're a detective, could you please help the author complete the investigation as soon as possible so they can resume normal updates?"
"Is that all?"
Chuck looked down at Sheldon.
"Yeah."
Sheldon nodded.
"No,"
Chuck replied in the same tone as before.
"Why?"
Sheldon exclaimed. "If you really are Batman, which I'm pretty sure you aren't, but if you want to be Batman, then shouldn't you be taking cases like this, investigating crimes, and helping others?"
"I don't want to be Batman,"
Chuck shook his head.
"Then why do you keep telling me you're Batman?"
Sheldon frantically exclaimed.
Chuck fell silent. Just as Sheldon thought he'd convinced Chuck, a deep, familiar, yet strangely piercing voice reached Sheldon's ears: "Because I am Batman."
"..."
As Sheldon stared intently at Chuck, his mouth twitched, and his eyes twitched.
He understood what Chuck meant. Either he admitted Chuck was Batman and continued the conversation, or he denied it, and Chuck, who believed himself to be Batman, naturally didn't need his approval to strive to become Batman.
Since he already was, there was no need to strive to become one!
In the afternoon,
Sheldon returned to the Hofstadter household where he was staying.
"Anything interesting happen today?"
Leonard smiled at Sheldon's expression.
Sheldon told him what had happened.
"That's easy. Just watch what Chuck says to me."
Little Leonard's eyes lit up when he heard it.
"You?"
Little Sheldon was openly skeptical: "Why can't I do it, but you can?"
"Because I'm Chuck's good friend!"
Little Leonard said proudly: "And if Chuck is Batman, then even if I can't be Alfred due to my age, I'm still little Alfred, part of the family!"
"Chuck is not Batman!"
Little Sheldon refuted this ridiculous statement for the hundredth time.
"I hope he is."
Little Leonard chuckled: "Being Batman's family and friend, how cool is that."
He ignored the pouting Little Sheldon and happily picked up the phone to call Chuck.
In fact, if it were an ordinary child, having Chuck's phone number and admiring Chuck so much, even if they didn't call Chuck ten times a day, they would at least visit him twice a day.
But Little Leonard wasn't an ordinary kid. He was naturally intelligent, and thanks to his mother Beverly's experimental upbringing, he developed a people-pleasing personality that would rather sacrifice himself than inconvenience others. So, knowing that it was best not to call Chuck when nothing was wrong, as that would be annoying, he constantly tried to control himself.
Now, using Sheldon's situation to call Chuck, that was different.
Yeah.
This was business!
"Chuck, this is Leonard."
Little Leonard held the phone, waited for it to connect, looked at Sheldon, pressed the speakerphone button, and said to Chuck with a smile, "I have a favor to ask of you."
"Okay."
Chuck agreed on the other end of the line.
"Why?"
Little Sheldon couldn't help himself. "Why, when I asked you for help, you refused without even asking, and even after I explained the situation, you still refused. But when Leonard asked you for help, you agreed without even asking what it was?"
"I've always said it, Leonard is a wise person who appears simple,"
Chuck said calmly. "When he asks me for help, it's because he truly needs it, and it's worth doing."
Little Leonard's grin stretched from ear to ear.
He hadn't felt this happy in years. Not even his mother, and certainly not his father, could give him the same feeling of being loved and cherished that Chuck gave him. His father might have given him some love in the past, but since his mother Beverly never hugged him, he craved physical affection so much that he built a hugging machine - a robot that could hug him and pat his back to simulate his mother's love. However, after his father started borrowing the hugging machine so often, his father's already limited affection for him was greatly diminished.
Building a hugging machine was pathetic enough, but what father would compete with his son for it?
Hmm.
Even if his father, lacking his mother's love, was pitiful, it couldn't erase the damage this behavior had done to him.
Everyone showed excessive favoritism to Little Sheldon. His mother Beverly was the most typical example, and almost everyone else tried their best to accommodate Little Sheldon's unreasonable demands.
Only Chuck didn't!
Everyone ignored him excessively, his mother Beverly being the most typical example.
But Chuck, alone, valued him, cared for him, and protected him!
Thinking of this, he puffed out his chest and looked at Little Sheldon, thinking to himself, "You have everyone else, and I have Chuck. He's my superhero, Batman!"
Then he told Chuck exactly what Sheldon needed help with.
"I'll look into it and let you know when I have news,"
Chuck agreed without hesitation.
"What he said is what I said!"
Little Sheldon frantically protested, "Why are you reacting so differently?"
"I'll say it again,"
Chuck said calmly, "Leonard is a wise person who appears simple. His requests deserve help, but you are a simple person who appears simple. You should learn from Leonard."
With that, he hung up the phone.
"Did you hear that?"
Little Leonard grinned and said, "Chuck said you should learn from me!"
Little Sheldon: "..."
(End of Chapter)
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