join patreon for update and advance chapter
Chapter 2: My Stupid Brother
Ron's brother?
If they were really related, then the younger one must be just as gorgeous as Ron, right?Penny couldn't help the thought. If she couldn't win over the older brother… maybe the younger one would do.
For that handsome man with the perfect smile—and that generous ten-dollar tip—she decided to do him a favor. It was only one suitcase. How bad could it be?
Across the street, Ron climbed into his muscle car and drove off in the same direction as the black-shirted guy from earlier.
Ron Cooper.
Another traveler between worlds—just as he'd suspected.
When he first arrived in this reality and woke up in the arms of a beautiful woman calling him "son," he'd briefly thought he'd landed in Harry Potter.But the lack of red-haired siblings and magic quickly ruled that out.Gas stoves, grocery bills, and carpool lanes—no wizards here.
After digging through newspapers and records, he figured he'd ended up somewhere in America, sometime around the 1980s or '90s.For a while, life felt normal… until the odd details started piling up.
First, the neighbor's wife had her son fitted with leg braces.Then, over dinner, his mom, Mary, mentioned the boy's name—Forrest Gump.
On TV, news anchors covered the shocking case of banker Andy Dufresne, sentenced to life in Shawshank Prison.The Coopers even cheered at the verdict like it was prime-time entertainment.
Things only got weirder when his mother gave birth to twins: Missy and Sheldon.
The moment Ron saw the spark of genius in baby Sheldon's eyes—cold, calculating, too smart for any toddler—he realized the truth.
He was living in a world made of movies and TV shows.
Now, years later, Ron had accepted the absurdity.That "slow" kid next door? Someday he'd own a chain of restaurants and Apple stock.Who would believe that?
He was lost in thought as he passed by the neighborhood park, where kids were running around—except, of course, for his weird little brother, Sheldon.
Okay, maybe "weird" was a bit harsh. But Sheldon was insufferably smug.At least Missy was adorable.
Across the park, a group of older kids were picking on the slow boy next door—Forrest Gump himself.Ron's sense of justice flared instantly.
"Hey! Leave that kid alone!" he shouted.
He still ended up with a black eye for his trouble—one year's age difference made a huge gap—but he didn't care.
Because when Forrest said, "We're best friends now," a voice echoed inside Ron's mind:
"Congratulations, Host. You've gained the friendship of Forrest Gump—your first Story Character.System Activated.Reward: Forrest Gump's Gift — Endless Endurance.(60 miles, 45 pounds of gear. If I can do it, so can you.)"
From that day on, Ron's extraordinary journey truly began.
Back in the present, Ron tailed the black car for about three miles before it turned into a deserted street.Moments later, flashing lights appeared behind it—a black sedan with a police light bar.
"Vehicle in front, pull over! Show me your hands!"
The driver—handsome, cool, wearing a black tee—obeyed immediately.
"Good. Now open the door, put your hands behind your head, and walk backward!"
Two FBI agents jumped out, weapons drawn. They treated him like a most-wanted fugitive.Ron grinned and decided to make his entrance.
"Hey there, boys. Playing cops and robbers again?"
Both agents swung their guns toward him—then instantly lowered them when they saw who it was.
"Damn it, Ron! This is an FBI op. You IRS guys need to stay in your lane!"
"An investigation?" Ron smirked. "Looks more like a live-action drama. Isn't that right, Detective O'Connor?"
The man pinned against the hood glanced up, annoyed but silent.
One of the agents groaned. "Ron, seriously. This guy's a suspect we're interrogating. Coincidence he looks familiar."
"Sure, sure." Ron shrugged. "I don't even know him that well. I just came to drop off some intel—about a drug dealer called Heisenberg."
Both agents froze. Ron tilted his head toward the detained detective and grinned.
"Can we talk about this in the car?" the balding agent sighed. "Tanner, get him cuffed. Ron, you ride shotgun."
"Still mad about that sperm-bank incident?" Ron teased.
"No!"
Meanwhile, across Pasadena…
Dr. Sheldon Cooper and Dr. Leonard Hofstadter, both physicists at Caltech, trudged up the stairs of their apartment building looking miserable.
Five minutes ago, they'd been ready to "contribute to humanity" while earning extra cash for faster internet service.But, as usual, Sheldon had backed out at the last second.
"This constitutes genetic fraud!" Sheldon declared.
"It was your idea!" Leonard groaned.
"Imagine those poor women expecting my superior intellect, only to end up with children incapable of calculus or differential equations! Tragic!"
"They'd love their kids anyway."
"Well, I wouldn't!" Sheldon snapped. "Just look at my siblings—same DNA, yet one's a waitress, one's a cop, and the other…"
He sighed. "Barely evolved."
Leonard had just reached their door when he noticed the apartment across the hall was open. A blonde woman was unpacking boxes inside.
"New neighbor?" Leonard whispered, eyes widening.
Sheldon shrugged. "Obviously."
"Definitely an upgrade from the last guy."
"If by that you mean—"
Sheldon kept talking, but Leonard wasn't listening.
He walked closer, trying to sound casual.
"Maybe we should introduce ourselves. You know—be neighborly."
Inside, Penny had just finished unpacking and was about to move Ron's suitcase to his room when she noticed the two men at her door.
"Hi! I'm Penny. Just moved in," she said warmly.
"Hi, I'm Leonard. This is Sheldon. We're your neighbors from across the hall."
Penny blinked, studying them.Neither looked anything like Ron.In fact, they looked exactly like the nerdy science majors she'd met in college.Nothing about them screamed "gorgeous brother."
"Um, do either of you know someone named Ron?"
"Ron?" Sheldon repeated, instantly stepping back. "Are you some kind of government agent he sent to spy on me?"
A familiar laugh echoed from the hallway.
"Ha! My idiotic little brother!"
Ron appeared, grinning.
"Seriously, Sheldon, you think I'd send someone who didn't even finish community college to spy on you? Is your IQ actually above room temperature?"
join patreon for update and advance 40+ chapters
https://www.p-atreon.com/c/Soulforger
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)
"If you're enjoying this story, don't forget to drop a Power Stone! Your support keeps me motivated and helps the novel reach more readers."
"100 Power Stones this week = 1 extra chapter release!"
"500 Power Stones = bonus side story."
End of Chapter 2