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Chapter 78: Paige's Past
Paige has always been lonely.
In this world full of ordinary people, she often feels out of sync with everyone around her, including her parents, because of her extraordinary intellect.
But this doesn't prevent her from loving them, because love has no direct relationship with IQ.
This situation didn't change until someone appeared in her life.
Do you think I'm talking about Ron? No, I'm talking about Sheldon.
For the first time, Paige discovered that among all the average minds around her, there was someone whose intelligence could barely keep up with hers. Although this person might have some social deficits and his emotional intelligence was basically zero, but at least... it was entertaining?
Honestly, for Paige, nothing was more satisfying than outsmarting another genius (a different kind of genius) with a similar IQ to hers. It might sound a little twisted, but try it once and you'll understand: it's truly fascinating.
Paige thought she'd always be happy like this, with a stable family, loyal friends (she was so brilliant that they naturally looked to her for leadership), and an amusing rival (Sheldon)...
Until one day, she discovered her parents were fighting over her upbringing, even to the point of divorce! That day, she felt like her world was collapsing.
So began her rebellious phase, switching from a sweet all-American girl style to a punk rock look, hanging out with troublemakers, shoplifting, and even considering trying drugs!
Getting hold of such substances might be difficult for others, but for the genius Paige, it was child's play. She could even synthesize her own from over-the-counter cold medicine, guaranteeing it was purer than the sketchy stuff she'd been buying from dealers.
Paige's delicate, pale hand trembled as she flicked the lighter, the flickering flame creeping closer to the bottom of the foil. Just then, a strong hand gripped her wrist.
"I'd strongly advise against touching that stuff. Although some people might call it medicine, you should know that this kind of thing destroys lives. It's poison, pure and simple."
Ron spoke with unusual seriousness, his voice carrying a weight that seemed beyond his years.
Paige looked up and recognized the interfering guy as her least favorite family acquaintance—Sheldon's older brother, another person who was slightly more perceptive than little George but still nowhere near her level.
Despite his mature eyes and his adult-like way of thinking, he couldn't hide the fact that he was intellectually inferior. Of course, that was relative to her and Sheldon. To average people, he might be considered gifted.
Gifted?
What a joke! A seventeen-year-old high school student who couldn't even solve nonlinear partial differential equations—what kind of genius was that? Paige remained unimpressed.
She irritably shook off Ron's hand and tried to light the foil again. "But the bottle says pain medication. I'm in so much pain right now. Can't I take something for it?"
"Trust me, if you take that, your life will be filled with even more pain. When that day comes, you'll definitely regret this decision. I'm sure your brilliant mind, just like my brother's, can understand this logic."
Ron unceremoniously knocked the powder off Paige's foil and, to prevent her from having similar thoughts again, stepped on it with his boot.
"Just so you know, I accidentally stepped in some dog mess on my way over here today. If you insist on trying it after I leave and notice it tastes funny, please don't blame me."
Paige was furious. "Do I look like someone who would pick things up off the ground and eat them? I'm not some idiot!"
"Being simple doesn't make someone an idiot," Ron said, defending decent people everywhere. "It just means they see the world differently."
"Isn't that the same thing?" Paige rolled her eyes in exasperation.
"Of course not. When I think of real idiots, I think of people who give up on themselves because they can't get what they want, or feel like something they've always treasured is gone.
Simple people aren't like that. If they decide to do something, they'll stick with it and ultimately do it better than anyone else expects."
"Except for things like advanced math and quantum physics, obviously," Ron added with years of experience in verbal sparring.
"Persistence? Ha!" Paige laughed bitterly, her expression seeming far too world-weary for someone her age. "If I've lost my family, who am I supposed to be persisting for?
Forget it, someone like you wouldn't understand. Being too smart can be a curse, and it can even lead to the destruction of everything you once loved..."
This time, it was Ron's turn to frown. This attitude, this melodrama—was Paige really going full emo teenager mode? But wasn't she a bit young to be this dramatically nihilistic?
Even Missy, who was about the same age, just had crushes on boys and wanted to hold hands.
"Come on, you really think your parents' problems are because you're too smart?" Ron scoffed. "What kind of logic is that? If their personalities weren't fundamentally incompatible, why would they be fighting?
Maybe your birth actually kept their already shaky marriage together for a few extra years?"
"Is that really possible?" Paige suddenly raised her head and stared at Ron, her empty eyes gradually brightening. It was the first time she'd heard someone analyze her parents' divorce from this perspective.
She'd never considered it could work that way.
Of course, it wasn't that she wasn't intelligent enough. How could a genius girl who could outthink Sheldon in every area not be smart enough? It's just that some things can't be figured out simply through raw intellect; they require life experience, and Ron happened to have plenty of that.
"What else would it be?" Ron placed his hand on Paige's blonde hair and gently ruffled it, not forgetting to pull out a lollipop and pop it into her mouth. He always did this to calm Missy down when she was upset,
and it never failed to work.
"Don't always assume everything bad is your fault. Look, I know you're young and there are lots of things that don't make sense yet, but you can talk to friends, hang out together, or just come with us. I don't mind having you around. I know Missy really likes you."
Ron, who had been an only child in his previous life, naturally became protective of younger kids after being reborn. Although there were practical reasons for being gentler with girls, the more important reason was: Sheldon is just too difficult to deal with!
"Then can you hang out with me now?" Paige's eyes were pleading. Ron hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded in agreement.
"Sure, but you'll have to wait a minute. It's father-son workout time for Dad and me. I'll come back for you right away, okay?"
In the distance, George Sr.'s angry voice bellowed, "Ron! You little punk, you actually poured out all my beer? Get back here! Don't you dare run!"
"Is this what you call father-son workout time?" Paige looked over Ron's shoulder and saw George Sr.'s heavy-breathing figure slowly jogging toward them. She cast a questioning look at Ron, "Looks like you're about to get in serious trouble."
"That's right, Dad's way out of shape. If I don't find ways to get him exercising more, he'll definitely have a heart attack before he turns forty," Ron said confidently. "Don't worry, he won't actually hurt me."
Ron winked smugly, "Actually, I only poured out bottles of water. I hid the real beer at Meemaw's house ages ago."
Paige realized this guy's planning skills were hopeless: "So, are you absolutely sure your grandmother won't drink it all herself?"
Ron's face immediately fell: Crap! I totally missed that!
Now that he thought about it, when he was stashing the beer with Meemaw earlier, she kept smiling and even gave him a quarter for his trouble. So she was setting him up the whole time!
(End of chapter)
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