"Hey, are you here too?" Seeing this, Raj was taken aback for a moment, then smiled knowingly.
It seems that after he broke up with Penny, Leonard is going to take advantage of the situation.
"This... that..." Leonard was embarrassed for a while, stuttering, unable to form a coherent sentence.
He had mustered up the courage to ask Penny to have dinner with him today, but he never thought that he would bump into by Raj of all people.
Although they have broken up now, they were a couple after all, and he and Raj were good friends—best friends, even.
Therefore, when he dated Penny behind Raj's back, it felt somewhat dishonest, like a betrayal of their friendship.
"Since you can come here, why can't we?" Compared to Leonard's obvious embarrassment, Penny fired back directly, her voice sharp with defensiveness.
Since she was a teenager, she had always been the one to dump others, and she had rarely been dumped herself. The experience still stung. Before Raj met her, he was an awkward nerd that no one paid attention to, someone who had never even been in a relationship.
She had taught him how to dress up, she had taught him how to court girls, she had taught him how to please women, and she had transformed an socially inept nerd into a confident heartthrob.
But after he left his teacher, after everything she'd done for him, he thought her waitressing job was too humble and beneath him, so he just dumped her without a second thought. She couldn't swallow this humiliation no matter what. Now seeing him having dinner with such a beautiful and delicate girl, she was naturally even more furious, her blood boiling with jealousy and wounded pride.
"Don't get me wrong, I didn't mean that at all." Seeing Penny's angry look, the fire in her eyes, Raj quickly smiled and waved his hands in a placating gesture. "And let me introduce you—this is my assistant Paige. Paige, this is Penny."
"Hi, hello." Paige got up gracefully and nodded politely to Penny.
"Your assistant?! Who are you kidding! You broke up with me because of her, right?" Penny looked at Paige with narrowed eyes and said coldly, accusation dripping from every word.
Paige looks so beautiful and delicate, with perfect features and an elegant bearing—she doesn't believe for a second that she's merely Raj's assistant. It's more likely that she's a Hollywood star or model.
"Of course not. I hired Paige as an assistant after I broke up with you." Raj explained patiently, keeping his voice calm. "She and I have only been working together for three days. If you don't believe me, you can ask Leonard—he will never lie to you."
Seeing what Raj said, Leonard nodded immediately, perhaps too eagerly. "That's right, I dare to testify for Raj. Paige is indeed the assistant Raj just hired, and it hasn't been more than four days. I was there when he interviewed her."
Penny saw that Leonard said the same thing, and she believed it seventy to eighty percent in her heart, but she still didn't like Raj and Paige, couldn't stand seeing them together.
After Raj broke up with her, he didn't become haggard or downcast at all, didn't suffer the way she'd hoped. Instead, he became more energetic and successful, thriving without her.
According to Leonard, he had discovered a new star before, which was reported by the media all over the world, and he had even appeared in "People" magazine as an up-and-coming astrophysicist.
In comparison, her acting career had still not improved these days—not a single callback, not even for commercials. Moreover, because of being dumped by Raj, she was still sad at home for several days, wallowing in self-pity, and she didn't even go to the Cheesecake Factory, losing hundreds of dollars in tips and wages.
Second, Paige is really beautiful, even better looking than her, someone who wants to be an actress and depends on her looks. It is very possible for such a beautiful girl to stay by Raj's side every day and fall in love with each other over time, developing feelings through proximity.
She had originally hoped that Raj would never find a new girlfriend after breaking up with her, that he'd pine for her forever. But she didn't expect that in just a few days, there would be such a stunning woman by his side.
Although she is only an assistant for the time being, she believes that with Raj's newfound charm and confidence, it will only be a matter of time before Paige is won over.
"Who knows if the two of you have been in contact for a long time?" Penny said sourly again, unable to help herself.
"Okay, stop making a scene. I broke up with you because of different life goals and interests, so why do you need to involve other innocent bystanders?" Raj couldn't help the edge of anger creeping into his voice when he saw her behaving so unreasonably.
They have already broken up, each going his own way, and he doesn't need to explain anything more to Penny.
She and Doug were so drunk together that night, and now she's out on a date with Leonard—did he interrogate her about any of it?
"Yes, Penny, let's go. This isn't the time or place." Leonard persuaded gently, touching her arm.
"None of your business, go away!" Penny glared at him fiercely, and Leonard immediately dodged away in fright, hands raised defensively.
"Raj, you two talk this out. I'd better go first." Paige said. Seeing the misunderstanding she'd caused and the scene becoming so embarrassing and tense, Paige didn't want to stay any longer, didn't want to be the source of more drama.
"I'll go with you, let's eat at another restaurant." Raj didn't want to stay any longer either, nodded and said, already reaching for his wallet.
"No, you can't go. You're not leaving!" Seeing this, Penny immediately stretched out her hands and stopped in front of the two, blocking their path.
She was a cowgirl who grew up on a western Nebraska farm, and wrangling steers was no problem for her, not to mention confronting her ex-boyfriend and what she perceived as the other woman.
"Okay, everyone here is already an adult, it's just a breakup, why make it so embarrassing and dramatic?" Raj sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping. "If you think it's embarrassing for me to dump you, if that's what's bothering you, then you can dump me right now. I'll give you that."
Penny was quite moved when she heard it, surprised by his generosity.
She immediately picked up the water glass from the dining table, splashed Raj's face with a loud splash, water flying everywhere, and at the same time cursed loudly for everyone to hear, "You have a weak hearted man and you're a coward! I want to break up with you! I'm breaking up with you!"
Her behavior like this immediately attracted everyone's attention in the restaurant, heads turning, conversations stopping.
Seeing that Penny was so impulsive and splashed water directly on Raj's face in public, Leonard and Paige were both shocked, frozen in place.
"Okay, are you comfortable now? Do you feel better?" Raj looked at Penny calmly with his face dripping with water, not showing anger.
After pouring water on Raj's face in public, and scolding him loudly in front of all these witnesses, most of the resentment and hurt in Penny's heart disappeared immediately, evaporating like steam.
And seeing Raj's appearance with his drenched face, water dripping from his hair and chin, she couldn't help but feel a little distressed in her heart, guilt creeping in.
Actually, she was the one who had emotionally checked out first, and she was the one who had asked Doug to come over for drinks first, who had invited another man over.
Although they were interrupted by Raj before anything physical happened between her and Doug, if Raj hadn't come home unexpectedly that night, she might very well have gotten involved with Doug, might have cheated.
So, in actual fact, Raj didn't really do anything wrong to her. She has been angry with him these days without real justification, and she still refused to let go just now, clinging to her anger.
Fortunately, Raj was gentle and considerate enough, willing to let her vent her anger and hurt pride publicly. If it were any other man, he wouldn't tolerate her behavior at all, wouldn't put up with her tantrum.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Thinking of this, Penny felt genuinely guilty, and quickly took out a tissue to help Raj wipe off the water streaming down his face.
"It's okay, as long as you don't get angry anymore, as long as you have closure." Raj took the tissue from her hand and wiped his face himself, then looked at Paige. "Let's go."
Paige nodded silently. Paige was very impressed. Raj would rather be humiliated in public than let his ex-girlfriend vent her grievances and anger on an innocent bystander. In her opinion, that showed real character, was quite manly.
If her father could have been so considerate and understanding to her mother back then, the two of them might not have divorced, might have worked things out.
"I'm sorry, not only did I not treat you to a good meal, but I also made you feel wronged and uncomfortable." Back in the car, Raj apologized sincerely, his hands gripping the steering wheel.
"It's okay, really. It's just a misunderstanding." Paige waved her hands dismissively. She has been wronged and humiliated plenty of times over these years. Today's encounter, even the top one hundred worst moments can't even be ranked.
"By the way, why did you break up with her? If you don't mind me asking." She then asked curiously, genuinely wanting to understand.
Penny is beautiful and has a good figure, so she should be quite popular with boys, a catch.
"I want to get married and settle down, and she wants to be a star, to pursue fame in Hollywood. We have different paths and different dreams, so how can we stay together?" Raj thought for a while and smiled sadly.
"You are only twenty-six years old, and you already want to get married?" Paige asked in surprise, eyebrows raised.
Many people of the same age are still playful and only want to date casually, sleep around, and avoid commitment, but Raj is so different and so mature, which is really rare and unusual.
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