Next, the conversation at the dinner table quickly shifted to Mike joining the school's Math Olympiad team.
To satisfy everyone's curiosity, Mike briefly explained the situation with the Math Olympiad team today.
After dinner, Sheldon called Mike aside.
"Mike, could you lend me that Math Olympiad workbook to look at?" Sheldon's focus was always surprisingly unexpected.
However, it was understandable. Ever since he lost to Mike in the last math test, Sheldon had been looking for an opportunity to compete with him again.
And this Math Olympiad workbook was a good chance to prove himself. If Sheldon could learn the knowledge in the Math Olympiad workbook before Mike, he could prove that he was no worse than him.
"Sure, but you'll have to wait two days," Mike said casually, not understanding Sheldon's thought process this time. "I can only lend it to you after I've finished all the exercises in it."
This was not the answer Sheldon wanted at all. He rolled his eyes a few times and then said, "How about this: you lend me the workbook during morning culture class. Then, when you go to the Math Olympiad team in the afternoon, I'll give it back to you. We can also compete to see who learns the knowledge in it first."
"Like that, huh?" Mike finally understood Sheldon's intention. He clearly hadn't given up the idea of competing with him.
However, thinking that Sheldon had already mastered all the knowledge for eleventh grade, learning a bit more Math Olympiad knowledge was no big deal.
So, Mike agreed, "Okay, I'll give you the workbook tomorrow morning."
...
A week passed in a flash, and both Mike and Sheldon had thoroughly grasped the knowledge points in the Math Olympiad workbook.
After multiple mutual tests, they were roughly evenly matched, with neither being able to stump the other on Math Olympiad knowledge.
It must be said that Sheldon was indeed very gifted in learning. Mike was only able to keep up with his progress because he had Sharon as his teacher.
During dinner that day, George, who still hadn't found a suitable job, once again prepared his signature secret recipe roasted beef for everyone.
After dinner, as soon as Sheldon left, Mary mysteriously called everyone else over and asked with a serious expression, "Have you noticed that Shelly has been a bit strange lately?"
"He's always like that, weird," Georgie said indifferently.
Mary glared at her eldest son, told him to shut up, and then shared her discovery.
It turned out that this morning, when Mary was sending Sheldon out, she found that he had a layer of foam board hidden inside his clothes.
So Mary guessed that someone at school was bullying her youngest son.
"It is a bit strange," Mike recalled Sheldon's peculiar walking posture today and nodded.
"I knew it—"
Seeing Mike agree with her, Mary skipped over her eldest son and asked directly, "Mike, can you think of anyone at school who would bully Shelly?"
Mike thought for a moment and shook his head.
At school, Sheldon used to be protected by George, so no one would bully him. Now, with Mike also watching over him, no one would dare to provoke him either.
Seeing this, Mary continued to ponder for a while. Suddenly, her eyes lit up, and she said, "If it's not at school, then it must be on the way to school..."
That's right, Sheldon used to be picked up and dropped off by George when he went to school. Now George was busy looking for a job and couldn't spare the time.
"How about I watch over Sheldon on the way to school from now on?" Georgie, hearing that his brother was being bullied, immediately offered a solution.
Although he usually seemed to be at odds with Sheldon, he actually cared deeply about his younger brother.
"This... this isn't a long-term solution. We need to solve the problem fundamentally, which means finding the person who is bullying Sheldon," Mary said firmly.
She always took anything concerning Sheldon very seriously.
George, on the other hand, seemed uninterested. His current focus was entirely on finding a new job, and he felt it was normal for children to encounter some problems in life.
This was also a necessary process for every boy to experience during growth.
"How do we find the person bullying Sheldon?" Georgie asked reliably.
"That's up to you and Mike," Mary organized her thoughts and shared her idea.
She wanted Georgie and Mike to quietly follow Sheldon starting tomorrow, in order to find the person bullying him on the way.
Hearing Mary's suggestion, both Georgie and Mike agreed.
The next day, shortly after leaving the house, Georgie hid behind a small tree and excitedly said, "There's definitely something wrong!"
Ten meters in front of Georgie and Mike, Sheldon was wrapped up tightly, walking while looking around cautiously, appearing very careful.
Sheldon's behavior made it hard not to associate him with having encountered trouble.
"I mean, do you really have to? This small tree can't even hide you," Mike said, watching Georgie get into character, feeling helpless to complain.
To be honest, Georgie, hiding behind the tree furtively, looked more like a bad guy than a detective.
"Hehe, it's a habit," Georgie chuckled awkwardly and walked out from behind the tree.
In fact, Mike and Georgie didn't need to do much; they just needed to follow Sheldon from a distance.
The more normal they appeared, the better.
"Something's happening!"
Georgie, who was quietly observing Sheldon, had only walked a few steps when he seemed to discover important information. He let out a surprised cry and then hid behind another tree.
Mike looked ahead and indeed saw Sheldon also looking panicked and hiding behind a small tree, as if he had encountered a natural enemy.
Seeing the two brothers' identical actions, Mike helplessly slapped his forehead.
The trees by the roadside were no thicker than a bowl, completely unable to hide a person. The brothers' actions were akin to burying their heads in the sand.
"Here he comes, here he comes—" Georgie said excitedly, following his brother's gaze, "It's Herschel!!"
Indeed, as Sheldon hid, Herschel, from the neighboring house, walked out his front door.
Herschel's family were the Coopers' neighbors. As the male head of the household, Herschel was similar in age and build to George.
However, compared to George's slightly plump physique, Herschel appeared more robust.
"It shouldn't be him..." Mike looked at Herschel and shook his head.
"How so?" Georgie asked.
"Look at Sheldon," Mike prompted.
When Herschel appeared, Sheldon was still peeking out and observing, with no fear on his face.
From Sheldon's reaction, the person bullying him was definitely not Herschel.
"Then it must be Billy. I knew that little guy liked to bully Sheldon," Georgie said again.
Behind Herschel, a chubby nine-year-old boy walked out.
Billy, the neighbor's child, would occasionally bring the Cooper family some homegrown eggs. But he also had a history of playing tricks on Sheldon.
This couldn't help but make Georgie overthink.
"It's not him either," Mike shook his head.
His reason for making that judgment was the same as before.
"Then who could it be?" Georgie, having made two incorrect judgments, was a bit deflated.
Just then, Sheldon, who was hiding behind the tree in front, seemed startled. He shrieked, ran out from behind the tree, and then clumsily ran off into the distance.
Mike and Georgie quickly looked towards the road and saw Bobby, the six-year-old girl from next door, showing a mischievous smile after her prank succeeded.
"It's... Bobbi..."
After Herschel drove his children away, Georgie emerged from behind the tree with an incredulous expression.