Chapter 251: The Clever Little Guy and the Clever Big Man
"Are there such people?"
Dr. House chuckled.
"Of course."
Chuck showed him a video clip where someone appeared to be standing on three legs in what was clearly a special effects blooper.
"..."
Dr. House was speechless.
He knew exactly what Chuck was doing—this was clearly a movie blooper.
But seeing Chuck so confidently using this to mock him,
he was somewhat speechless. Anyone else would have retorted immediately.
What do you know?
Don't judge others unless you've walked in their shoes.
His leg was messed up, causing him constant pain, and more importantly, the series of events triggered by this injury severely damaged his pride.
Back then, he was a free-spirited middle-aged man with a loving wife. A car accident landed him in the hospital.
There should have been better treatment options to prevent his disability, but the attending physician wouldn't listen to him. Instead, the doctor encouraged his wife, leading her to make a decision against his will while he was unconscious and unable to decide—
choosing a safer, life-saving surgical plan.
Instead of risking his life to save his leg,
she chose to leave him disabled, destined to live a life of pain, and facing the betrayal of his loving wife.
This betrayal, against his professional judgment, was, in some ways, worse than being cheated on, especially for someone who loved solving medical mysteries.
After the surgery, he could no longer face his former wife, divorced her, and lived alone, dedicating himself entirely to his work.
His personality became increasingly eccentric and extreme.
He even refused to see patients directly.
The stated reason was his classic line: "Everybody lies!"
He refused to see patients, relying instead on various symptoms for a more objective diagnosis.
The root cause, however, was his disability.
In his own words, "No patient wants a crippled doctor, and no doctor wants a perfectly healthy patient."
When patients see that the doctor is also dealing with serious health issues, their trust in the doctor naturally decreases, which was intolerable to the proud Dr. House.
Thus, he became increasingly sarcastic.
His drug use became more and more reckless, a consequence of both physical pain and addiction, and mental torment.
But Dr. House, who knew Chuck well, understood that his own pain was nothing compared to Chuck's.
And compared to Chuck's self-discipline and self-control through daily self-torture, his actions—simply taking drugs and increasing the dosage without restraint, already addicted—did indeed seem like forced, affected complaints.
"If that's really the case, then you can ask for a discount from now on,"
Foreman casually chimed in.
He'd also heard his sharp-tongued boss complain that certain establishments hadn't given the other members of his social circle much consideration, not even offering a discount.
Hmm.
If Dr. House really had superhuman abilities, let's see if they dared refuse a discount!
If they wouldn't give a discount, then he'd make them give one!
"You think you're funny?"
Chuck's sarcastic retort was one thing, but Dr. House, seeing his subordinate getting cocky, immediately looked over with a sharp response that made everyone uncomfortable with its bluntness.
"..."
Foreman felt uneasy as his sarcastic boss spoke so directly, especially with ladies present. He couldn't say anything, so he could only give a helpless wry smile to everyone, indicating that this guy would say anything.
Chuck's phone rang, and he went outside to answer it.
Dr. House glanced at it, wanting to get up and follow to eavesdrop, but then realized that Chuck had broken his cane. He immediately signaled his most obedient team member, Dr. Chase, to follow.
"You must be kidding me!"
Dr. Cameron stared in shock at Dr. House, who was directing Chase to eavesdrop. "How could you do this!"
"I'm doing this to help you..."
Dr. House said to Dr. Cameron, then glanced at Professor Alicia Harper, who was lying silently on the hospital bed, and shrugged. "Don't you want to know who called him? So you can get to know him better and have more to talk about?"
"I don't need to."
Dr. Cameron wasn't buying it at all and retorted sarcastically, "Of course, if you need it, just say so. We won't say anything. Nobody likes being called a knockoff, especially since it was Dr. Wolfe who said that. We understand your eagerness to prove yourself different."
As she spoke, she glanced at Dr. House's best friend, Dr. Wilson.
"..."
Dr. Wilson's lips twitched.
This was an insinuation that he and Dr. House were close friends, just like Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes in London.
What was originally a fine friendship was tainted by certain interpretations, leading to speculation and leaving him helpless.
He had a whole string of ex-girlfriends and ex-wives, so how did he end up being associated with that kind of speculation?
However, being a true friend to women, he would never criticize a beautiful woman for this, and could only helplessly accept this indirect teasing.
Just as Dr. House was about to retort sharply, Dr. Chase returned even faster, with a wry smile: "I just walked out, and Dr. Wolfe was staring straight at me... I feel like I've been discovered."
"You're so useless, Dr. Chase!"
Dr. House began unleashing his venomous barrage on his most obedient subordinate.
In the hospital corridor,
Chuck answered the phone.
"Chuck, help!"
came Howard's desperate cry from the other end.
"What is it?"
Chuck asked calmly.
"Do you remember Leonard's hugging robot?"
A flustered and embarrassed voice came from the other end of the phone: "As Leonard's good friend and a mechanical enthusiast, I've been researching how to upgrade and modify the hugging robot..."
"You mean you wanted to pervert Leonard's maternal comfort device?"
Chuck cut to the chase.
"...You really know how to get to the point."
Howard choked for a moment, then retorted, "Just like this horribly upgraded hugging robot..."
"Get to the point!"
Chuck reminded him.
"In short, after the modifications, our hugging robot has made significant progress, with a much wider range of functions..."
Howard carefully chose his words: "I brought it home tonight, and a sudden inspiration struck me—I felt I'd discovered a new use for it, so I immediately took action..."
"You mean you got so turned on that you just started using it!"
Chuck had already guessed what absurd thing Howard had done, so he interrupted again to correct him.
"You know... Help me!"
Young Howard was a smart kid; Chuck's repeated, precise corrections of his word choice made it clear that Chuck had guessed his current predicament of being stuck in the robot. He quickly abandoned any fancy embellishments and pleaded for help.
"Why didn't you ask Ross and the others? Why me?"
Chuck asked.
"Because you can keep me calm,"
young Howard said awkwardly.
"And what happened?"
Chuck had to admit that young Howard's approach was clever. Compared to the adult Howard of the original timeline, more than a decade later, stuck in the machine and forced to ask his friends Leonard and the others for help, only to be ridiculed by them up close, young Howard seemed much smarter.
He didn't look for anyone else, but immediately went to Chuck, hoping to use the intimidating Chuck, who could repeatedly scare young Sheldon, to psychologically dominate the situation, intimidate himself into submission, and quietly escape his predicament.
How many times had he fantasized about actresses like Katee Sackhoff from Battlestar Galactica, losing focus and failing to finish his doctorate in one go, creating a lifelong regret?
"It worked very well..."
Howard said with a wry smile, "but I specifically added a pressure sensor to the robotic arm... so I still need your help."
"You're really clever,"
Chuck said bluntly.
Now he understood why Howard hadn't gotten his doctorate; besides the endless fantasies that drained his energy, this little cleverness was more than just cleverness—it was too much cleverness.
Like the Monkey King who wanted the headband removed after it was put on, but found it impossible to get rid of it.
Even after transforming into different forms to escape, he found that the headband had shrunk proportionally and was still firmly in place.
This is unbelievable!
"Please! Save me!"
Little Howard pleaded, "I can't let my mother see this, she has a heart condition..."
He couldn't help but mutter, "Although I often joke about her, saying it would be best if she passed away peacefully in her sleep, this is definitely not the time. Otherwise, if the ambulance or the police arrive, or even worse, if the reporters arrive, I'll be in the papers looking like this."
"Wait there, I'll send someone to pick you up and bring you to the hospital,"
Chuck said, hanging up after Howard's quick acknowledgment.
He then dialed another number to give instructions. He put away his phone and returned to the ICU.
"Who was it? So mysterious?"
Dr. House couldn't help but look at him with amusement as soon as he entered.
"Your patient,"
Chuck said, "didn't you say you didn't believe in superhuman abilities and had never seen someone so uninhibited? You'll see soon enough."
"Really? I'd like to see that for myself,"
Dr. House said with interest.
"You'll see something new,"
Chuck said confidently.
"Alright, let's go, let them talk."
Dr. Wilson, the perpetual ladies' man, pulled Dr. House away, gesturing for everyone to leave and give Chuck and Professor Alicia Harper some privacy.
"I'll wait in my office!"
Dr. House didn't want to leave, but being supported by his best friend, and with his limp, he couldn't resist. He reminded everyone as they walked.
"Wait in the clinic,"
Chuck corrected.
"That's even better."
Dr. House's eyes lit up: "A public spectacle! I like it!"
After everyone left,
Chuck looked at the very quiet Professor Alicia Harper, who also cast her captivating gaze at him. The two stared at each other for a long time.
Professor Alicia Harper spoke up, "Is he right? I really was infected with amoebas, and it was because of you?"
Chuck remained silent, not denying it.
"It seems it's true."
Professor Alicia Harper smiled bitterly, "Should I be angry... or honored?"
"How do you feel?"
Chuck looked at her.
"Both."
Professor Alicia Harper's expression was complicated, "But thinking about it carefully, I'm more honored than annoyed. After all, they attacked me because of you, so it seems they think I'm important to you. Otherwise, why didn't they target Monica, Amazing Amy, or Dr. Brennan?"
Saying this, she couldn't help but smile wryly, "I remember when I invited you, Peggy, and Monica over for dinner, I talked to Monica privately, and she said that people who can stay around super geniuses all have some psychological quirks.
I didn't expect that she didn't get into trouble because of you, but I did... I wonder if she would be jealous if she knew."
"She wouldn't."
Chuck shook his head.
Monica had already gotten into trouble for being too close to super geniuses.
"That's fine."
Professor Alicia Harper grasped Chuck's hand. "I've endured too much pain from being around a super genius. Sharing some of that burden isn't a big deal. At least you're willing to let me go through this for you... It's better than before when nobody cared."
"I love your eyes."
Chuck looked into her eyes.
"Just my eyes?"
Professor Alicia Harper felt that Chuck's concise words were a veiled way of saying he truly cared for her, and she couldn't help but tease him.
Chuck didn't speak.
He didn't need to.
Those who understood, understood.
But ultimately, no one understood his perspective better than him!
New Jersey.
Wolowitz's new home.
"Who is it?"
Hearing the doorbell, a distinctive, high-pitched female voice came from inside the house.
"Mrs. Wolowitz, it's me, Ross!"
Ross called out.
After the door opened, Howard's mother, Mrs. Debbie Wolowitz, let them in and then called upstairs in her characteristically loud voice, "Howard! Ross and his friends are here! Should I send them up?"
"No!!!"
Howard quickly stopped her when he heard his mother was about to come upstairs, then realized something was wrong: "Friends?!"
He had initially breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing his cousin Ross's name, thinking Chuck wasn't the unreasonable, terrifying person that young Sheldon had described.
Look!
In this critical moment, Chuck was willing to call Ross, whom he looked down upon, for his sake.
What kind of consideration was that?
How thoughtful!
At this moment, his cousin Ross was indeed the most suitable person.
Many of his habits were influenced by his equally perverted cousin Ross, and being seen in this situation by his cousin Ross was better than being seen by anyone else.
Hmm.
His pervy cousin Ross would understand.
The others wouldn't; they'd just look at him with judgment and laugh at him.
But what did he just hear?
Friends...
Little Howard quickly pulled the blanket covering the robot and himself even tighter.
Oh no!
Little Sheldon, that annoying, infuriating brat, might actually be right about Chuck...
(End of Chapter)
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