Chapter 125: Sheldon's Diary: Because of Chuck, This World is Darker Than Gotham!
Las Vegas.
Airport.
"You again!"
Chuck emerged from the terminal and heard a familiar voice. He turned around and saw young Sheldon asking him that soul-searching question for the nth time with a look of dismay on his face.
"It's me."
Chuck nodded.
"Cool."
Young Sheldon's twin sister, Missy, stood next to him. She glanced at Susan beside Chuck and smiled at him.
"That's not cool at all."
Young Sheldon looked at his sister disapprovingly and corrected her.
"Dr. Wolfe, right?"
Young Sheldon's mother stepped forward and said with a smile, "You're Sheldon's classmate. I'm pleased to meet you here. Are you here on vacation?"
"No, I'm not pleased."
Young Sheldon said irritably, "Why can't anyone understand me? Do I look pleased?"
"Yes!"
Twin sister Missy loved to tease her brother who received all their parents' attention.
"Business."
Chuck looked at young Sheldon's mother and said.
"I see."
Sheldon's father, George, glanced at the attractive Susan, the envy in his eyes obvious.
"George!"
Sheldon's mother immediately gave her husband her signature glare.
"Aren't you curious why we're here?"
Missy couldn't help but ask.
"No."
Chuck shook his head.
"Why?"
Missy pressed. "Because you, like Sheldon, don't care about things that don't interest you?"
"Yes."
Chuck looked at her. "But not this time, because I know why you're here."
"You know?"
Missy laughed.
"People usually come here for vacation, and your family's financial situation, as Sheldon mentioned, is known to be limited, so that can be ruled out,"
Chuck said bluntly.
"That's brutally honest."
Sheldon's grandmother shrugged and laughed at herself, but her eyes were fixed on her son-in-law. After more than ten years, she still held a grudge against the guy who won her daughter over with a motorcycle.
"Sheldon mentioned he saw his long-lost uncle on Thanksgiving. His uncle also married a new wife. This new wife is not only wealthy, but also devoted to his uncle, which makes Sheldon's father quite envious,"
Chuck continued.
"No envy here!"
Sheldon's father immediately denied it.
In response, Sheldon's mother just rolled her eyes. The argument was already settled, and she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of strangers.
"Sheldon's uncle, who works at a casino in Las Vegas, has unrealistic expectations about Sheldon's mathematical abilities."
Chuck remained direct: "So your family came here, probably because of an invitation from Sheldon's uncle, and Mrs. Cooper was against it, but because of the enthusiastic invitation from Sheldon's new aunt, she couldn't refuse. Except for Sheldon and Mrs. Cooper, everyone else in the family was particularly eager to come to Las Vegas, especially Sheldon's grandmother. With the combination of external pressure and internal enthusiasm, Mrs. Cooper had to come no matter how reluctant she was to visit this city of sin."
"You're incredible."
Missy exclaimed: "It's like you witnessed all this at our house."
"I admit you're skilled at deduction."
Young Sheldon looked at Chuck proudly: "You guessed many situations correctly, but you're wrong about the real reason we came here. I agreed to come because my grandmother was coming here to inspect business opportunities."
"Haha, yes."
Young Sheldon's grandmother couldn't help but laugh nervously when she saw everyone looking at her.
This was obviously an excuse she'd used to deceive her grandson, but unfortunately, young Sheldon had only learned the basics of card counting from his grandmother. How could he have imagined that his grandmother would deceive him again?
"See?"
Young Sheldon raised his head proudly, very happy that he had corrected Chuck's mistake.
"Are you certain?"
Chuck looked down at him.
"Of course I'm certain!"
Young Sheldon said confidently.
This time, he felt sure he wouldn't lose again.
"Let me introduce you—this is Agent Susan Greene from the IRS Criminal Investigation Division."
Chuck glanced at young Sheldon's grandmother and introduced Susan, who had been quietly observing, to the Cooper family.
"Sheldon, I'm sorry, I lied."
Young Sheldon's grandmother's expression changed instantly, and she turned to apologize to her grandson: "There's no business inspection at all. I just wanted to come here to have fun."
"But you said that the card game you run behind the laundry is doing very well, and even young George works for you. This time you came here to learn advanced casino management techniques..."
Young Sheldon frowned at his grandmother, and before he finished speaking, his grandmother covered his mouth.
"There's no card game at all, absolutely not."
Young Sheldon's grandmother looked at Chuck and Susan with a nervous laugh. Seeing Chuck's expressionless stare, she became anxious and raised her other free hand to swear: "I swear on my life! My daughter is a devout Christian—how could I run a gambling operation?"
"..."
Young Sheldon's mother looked helpless.
She had been adamantly against her mother's idea of opening a small gambling parlor, but she couldn't dissuade her.
And now, her mother was using her faith as cover, which was absurdly ironic.
She also understood that her mother's gambling parlor was illegal to begin with. Even with local connections, she still had to pay off the local police and was being extorted.
And this kind of illegal business obviously didn't report taxes properly. How could she not be terrified when encountering an IRS agent?
"Yeah,"
young Sheldon's brother, George Jr., couldn't help but stare at Susan. He understood the difference between trouble and money, and he agreed with a forced smile, "Don't listen to Sheldon's nonsense. He doesn't know anything..."
He had long since given up on studying. Now he had a stake in the gambling parlor behind the laundry, making good money every day. It was much better than any other part-time job, and he didn't want to lose it.
"I understand everything!"
Young Sheldon immediately erupted in disbelief at his brother's betrayal, his mouth still muzzled by his grandmother's hand.
"You don't understand anything!"
Young Sheldon's grandmother, desperate, crouched down and glared at him, winking frantically and whispering a threat: "If you say anything more, you won't be Grandma's favorite grandson anymore."
Young Sheldon, seeing his grandmother's desperation, felt compelled to nod, tears streaming down his face, out of love for her.
"So, I was correct?"
Chuck looked at young Sheldon.
"You were correct,"
Sheldon's grandmother and brother said in unison.
Chuck ignored them, staring at young Sheldon.
"Sheldon!"
Young Sheldon's grandmother tugged at her grandson's sleeve.
"You were correct... waaah,"
young Sheldon managed to say under Chuck's gaze, then burst into tears.
He was clearly right and Chuck was wrong, and now everyone was demanding that he admit Chuck was right and he was wrong.
He felt so wronged!
Chuck, who specializes in intimidating the innocent and children, actually calls himself a detective. This world is too dark, even darker than Gotham!
"What's happening?"
Just then, a tall, heavyset man who looked exactly like Sheldon's father walked over with a young woman in her thirties. Seeing this scene, he immediately expressed concern.
"Nothing, nothing."
Although Sheldon's grandmother felt sorry for her most beloved grandson, as a seasoned adult, she was adaptable and immediately pulled her grandson away. "Where's the car that came to pick us up? Let's not get stuck here and delay our trip."
Sheldon's uncle and aunt had each driven a car and parked outside.
Chuck also walked out.
Susan followed, glancing sideways at Chuck. Seeing Chuck's lack of reaction, she finally couldn't help herself and asked, "Why are you bullying a child?"
"He's not a normal child."
Chuck looked away from the reminder on his mental system panel showing another +10 points added to his achievement score, and looked at Susan. "You don't understand."
"No matter how unusual he is, he's still a child,"
Susan protested. "You made him cry. Is that entertaining?"
"Wait until you've spent some time with him, then come back and tell me that."
Chuck looked away and walked toward the stretched Lincoln limousine approaching him.
Although Susan didn't believe a mere child could be so annoying as to deserve such treatment, her attention was drawn to the stretched Lincoln limousine. The car stopped smoothly in front of Chuck, and a driver emerged from the driver's seat and respectfully opened the door for Chuck. "Dr. Wolfe, welcome back to Las Vegas!"
"Damn!"
Susan cursed inwardly.
It seemed the claim about being a Supreme VIP client wasn't just boasting.
Across the way.
Led by his uncle and aunt, young Sheldon's family walked toward their car, which was parked further away.
"Look!"
Missy, who had been watching them, exclaimed, "What an awesome car! I want to ride in it!"
"Wow!"
Sheldon's uncle, who worked at the casino, immediately recognized the vehicle and exclaimed in surprise, "That's a Supreme VIP limousine. The person you were talking to is actually a Supreme VIP?"
"Chuck is Sheldon's classmate,"
Missy replied with a smile.
"I don't have a classmate like him,"
young Sheldon complained, tears still fresh.
"You have to be extremely wealthy to be a Supreme VIP customer."
Young Sheldon's uncle's eyes lit up. "Sheldon, having such a classmate, you should treasure the connection."
"I've always said that,"
Missy said with a smile. "Sheldon claims he has no friends on Earth because of his high IQ. Every time I see Chuck, I'm so happy for Sheldon. That's exactly the kind of friend my brother should have. I'm so... so thrilled for Sheldon~"
Repeating the word "so" couldn't fully express Missy's intense satisfaction.
"He's not my friend!"
Young Sheldon didn't quite grasp the sarcasm, but instinctively felt that this statement made him very unhappy. He looked at his cheerful sister with displeasure.
"But you can't deny that his IQ can match yours, right?"
Missy asked.
Young Sheldon pouted, unable to refute this, and could only emphasize again: "He's not my friend!"
"How many people on Earth have an IQ worthy of being your friend?"
Missy smiled and said, "Chuck is one of them, and he's your classmate, and you often encounter him. He's simply your destined good friend. Uncle is right—you should treasure him."
Young Sheldon: "..."
(End of Chapter)
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