"Hello… Sheldon… do you know what time it is…?" Dr. Linkletter, who was sleeping soundly, was still in a daze after being woken up by the phone.
"Alright, I agree to your request."
Dr. Linkletter, knowing the intent of Sheldon's late-night call, seemed to be moved by his sincerity.
Of course, it was more likely that he simply found it troublesome and didn't want to be bothered by him anymore.
So, he agreed to Sheldon's request, and before hanging up, he specifically reminded him, "Don't call me again."
Afterward, Dr. Linkletter, to be safe, directly unplugged the phone line.
Meanwhile, at the Cooper family home, Sheldon, who was still thinking about how to convince Dr. Linkletter, froze after clearly hearing his response.
The happiness came too suddenly, giving him a sense of unreality.
Especially since it was still the middle of the night, the time when people are most prone to dreaming.
"Did I succeed?"
After muttering to himself, Sheldon dialed the number again, wanting to confirm the good news.
However, this time, no one would answer the phone.
And listening to the busy signal, Sheldon was not disappointed. With his eidetic memory, he knew very well that he hadn't been dreaming earlier.
So, after successfully obtaining the project researcher status through his harassment method, he put the phone back in its place and walked back to his room contentedly.
Then, with a weight off his mind, he quickly fell into a deep sleep.
Sheldon just didn't know that because of his harassment method, an old man had insomnia that night.
After all, the sleep quality of elderly people is generally not high, and it is very difficult to fall back asleep after being woken up in the middle of the night.
...
The next day, in the University of Texas laboratory, Sheldon, seeing the obvious dark circles under Dr. Linkletter's eyes, asked concernedly, "Dr. Linkletter, did you have insomnia yesterday? I have a lot of experience in this area…"
Sheldon, who also had experiences with insomnia, seemed to want to share some tips for falling asleep with Dr. Linkletter, to thank him for allowing him to become a researcher.
However, his way of striking up a conversation was tantamount to touching a sensitive nerve in Dr. Linkletter's mind.
"Shut up, Sheldon!" Dr. Linkletter said with some agitation, "Go talk to Dr. Sturgis if you have anything to say, don't bother me again."
Clearly, unable to deal with the troublesome Sheldon, he chose to avoid him.
In fact, even as a fellow project researcher, Dr. Linkletter still had the right to refuse to communicate with Sheldon.
"Sheldon, how did you upset Dr. Linkletter? He looks very agitated…" Dr. Sturgis asked curiously, looking at Sheldon who had come before him.
"I don't know either." Sheldon thought for a moment and said truthfully, "I thought my relationship with Dr. Linkletter was very good. In fact, we even talked on the phone last night…"
Upon hearing that Sheldon had called Dr. Linkletter in the middle of the night, Dr. Sturgis, also an elderly person, felt a bit of sympathy for him.
However, the current setting was not appropriate, so Dr. Sturgis did not express any opinions on the matter.
Afterward, he responsibly assigned the day's work to Sheldon and Paige.
However, the verification work, which seemed tedious and complex to ordinary people, was not very difficult for Sheldon and Paige, two super young geniuses.
Before long, the two completed a day's worth of work.
Sheldon, who still wanted more learning opportunities, approached Dr. Sturgis again.
However, this new formula research project did not require rushing. So, Dr. Sturgis refused Sheldon's request.
Sheldon, who was back at his seat with nothing to do, saw Paige staring blankly beside him and asked, "Paige, do you have any way for us to get more hands-on opportunities?"
In Sheldon's opinion, just sitting there was a great waste of this excellent learning opportunity.
Paige, who was thinking about her gaming experience from last night, was interrupted and said unhappily, "Sheldon, do you know the difference between you and Mike?"
"I'm smarter than him, and I'm more diligent," Sheldon answered confidently.
In his opinion, Mike giving up this learning opportunity was very unwise. Moreover, he spent so much time every weekend going on dates with girls, which was a complete waste of valuable study time.
Overall, Sheldon was very sure that he would be more outstanding than Mike in the future.
"No, compared to us dealing with data here, what Mike is doing now is more meaningful." Paige said.
In American schools, a sociable high school student is clearly more popular than a bookworm.
However, Sheldon, who loved science, did not realize this at all.
"Why do you say that?" Sheldon strongly disagreed with Paige's assessment.
Seeing Sheldon's reaction, Paige was not surprised. She motioned for him to look at Dr. Sturgis and Dr. Linkletter, who were working, and asked, "What do you think of them?"
"They are both amazing people. I hope I can be like them someday…" Sheldon said earnestly.
It must be mentioned here that it was precisely because of Dr. Sturgis's university physics course that Sheldon developed a great interest in physics.
In some ways, he could be considered his academic mentor.
As for Dr. Linkletter, due to their previous interactions, Sheldon also had a great liking for him.
Therefore, Sheldon highly admired both of these university professors.
"It seems my feeling was correct." Paige said with a smile, "You are the same type of person as them."
"What do you mean by that?" Although Sheldon felt that Paige's words were correct, he still heard some "provocation" in her tone.
"Data science shows that people who are only fascinated by science will gradually become eccentric and unable to make friends. Ultimately, they can only choose to live out their lives alone," Paige said bluntly.
This was also the little girl's true feelings; if she could, she wouldn't want to be here at all.
Going out to play with friends was what she wanted to do most right now.
"Live out my life alone?" Sheldon was very unwilling to agree with Paige's words.
However, he quickly realized that what she said seemed to be true. Dr. Sturgis and Dr. Linkletter's current situation could indeed be considered living out their lives alone.
This discovery startled Sheldon. Then, he activated his intelligent brain, thought for a while, and said, "I have many friends, and I am not lonely."
"Can you give an example?" Paige asked seriously.
"Mi-Mike, he is one of my good friends…" Sheldon replied.
"Mike has many friends, and he might not be able to look after you in the future." Paige subtly shifted the topic and continued to ask, "So, besides him, do you have any other friends?"
"This…" Sheldon was stumped. He didn't have many friends he truly recognized.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he said in surprise, "Tam, besides Mike, Tam is also my good friend."
Looking at Sheldon's relieved expression, Paige stated confidently, "If I'm not mistaken, the Tam you're talking about is probably also a bookworm with few friends, right?"
"How did you know?" Sheldon's face showed a surprised expression.
"Isn't that the best example over there?" Paige said after gesturing towards Dr. Sturgis and Dr. Linkletter again.
The problem returned to its original starting point. Looking at the two elderly men who seemed to have a harmonious relationship, Sheldon fell into self-doubt.
At this moment, even becoming a project researcher was no longer enough to make him happy.
Although Sheldon had an eccentric personality, he still couldn't accept the conjecture that he would live out his life alone.
On the other side, Paige, no longer bothered, showed a satisfied smile.