Chapter 229: New Case! Pointing at the Bald and Cursing the Monk!
"I'll go get my hugging robot right now, Sheldon, you get ready too—I'm sure I can beat you this time!"
Little Leonard was very excited and ran upstairs as he spoke.
"Let's go take a look too."
Monica was very interested.
Chuck nodded and came over.
Little Sheldon was tidying up his armed robot, making pre-battle adjustments, while secretly observing Chuck's reaction from time to time.
Little Howard's hurtful mockery had already wounded him, and successfully put Little Howard on his blacklist.
But the first one on the blacklist was still Chuck, the big devil!
He was naturally more concerned about the possible mockery from the big devil Chuck.
Chuck just looked at him expressionlessly, without any reaction.
"Sheldon, is this the armed robot you made yourself? Look how intricate it is! It's really amazing."
Monica didn't hold back her praise.
"That's nothing special."
Little Howard couldn't stand it anymore and complained to his cousin. "Monica, haven't you seen me design and assemble a space shuttle myself? That was a life-size model! It's way better than this."
"Yeah, yeah,"
Monica waved her hand dismissively.
Both she and her perverted little cousin were considered normal and cute, not to mention that little Sheldon was inherently adorable and very serious, sometimes even resembling Chuck.
Especially since Chuck was always 'teasing' him, which indirectly deepened her affection for little Sheldon; after all, being willing to tease shows you care.
With a strong maternal instinct, she couldn't help but fantasize about whether her child with Chuck would be similar to little Sheldon.
Hmm.
She remembered Paige's words, knowing that super geniuses with conditions like Chuck often have children with similar conditions as well, but little Sheldon didn't seem that typical either... She felt she could accept a child with such quirks.
Just as she couldn't resist glancing at Chuck, the 'father of her child,' his phone rang. He answered, said one sentence, and hung up.
"What is it?"
"There's a case that requires me to go to the scene. You guys stay here, I'll come pick you up later."
Chuck started walking out as he spoke.
"Can I come with you?"
Monica blurted out, but seeing Chuck stop and look back, she quickly explained. "I've never been to a crime scene before..."
Actually, she didn't want to go to any crime scenes; she couldn't bear to see those bloody tragedies. However, she still wanted to experience Chuck's work more.
Otherwise, sometimes watching Jane and Chuck discuss cases at night, she couldn't join in at all, and that feeling wasn't pleasant.
"Sure."
Chuck didn't refuse.
"Can I come too?"
Howard's eyes lit up, and he immediately seized the opportunity to interject.
"No."
Chuck responded with his usual one-word answer.
"Why do you keep saying that?"
Howard Jr. couldn't help but complain after hearing it again. Seeing Chuck staring at him silently, he shrank back, awkwardly using Chuck's words to mock himself. "I know, you may not~"
"Chuck, where are you going?"
Leonard Jr., just as he was picking up his hugging robot, saw Chuck and Monica walking away and immediately panicked. "It's about to start!"
"There's a case, I have to go."
Chuck looked at him. "And I don't even need to watch—I know the result. You'll definitely win."
"Why?"
Sheldon Jr. couldn't help but exclaim.
Chuck didn't answer, only giving him a 'you know what I mean' look, and then, with a notification from the system that his points had doubled again, he drifted away.
"Don't you understand?"
Howard Jr. couldn't help but scoff. "He's clearly mocking you for being all theory and no action."
"You're only half right."
Encouraged by Chuck, Leonard Jr. temporarily suppressed his disappointment at Chuck not being able to witness him defeat Sheldon Jr., and laughed as he joined his new friend in a tag-team effort against the annoying brat. "In Chuck's eyes, his little bit of theory is nothing!"
"Hahaha, I like you, Leonard."
Howard Jr. simply found Leonard Jr., his peer, incredibly appealing, and couldn't help but point at him.
"Me too."
Leonard Jr., just like before, extended his finger, and he and Howard Jr., who also extended his finger, touched fingers again, mimicking the famous scene from the E.T. movie. Then, under Sheldon Jr.'s displeased gaze, they both burst into laughter.
Sheldon Jr. had a bad feeling.
With Chuck's support, Leonard had already gained some ground, though he was still mostly suppressed. Leonard could occasionally use Chuck's name to tease him.
Now, with this annoying guy who immediately got blacklisted, the two of them were working together, completely ignoring his reactions, leaving him only able to glare angrily. This was too much.
And all of this was Chuck's doing!
"Chuck Wolfe!!!"
Young Sheldon glared at his two chuckling peers, but inwardly he was gritting his teeth and shouting Chuck's name.
"What's wrong?"
Monica, who had gotten into the car, noticed Chuck glancing back at the Hofstadter house and asked curiously.
"Nothing."
Chuck didn't explain the system's notification of another double harvest of points, looked away, and said naturally, "Tonight, at the hillside villa."
"...Okay."
Monica knew what this meant. Although she didn't understand, she sensed the satisfaction beneath Chuck's calm gaze. Not wanting to spoil Chuck's mood, she only uttered "okay."
"Are you happy today?"
Monica's face flushed slightly after she agreed. Although she knew Chuck didn't care about that, she couldn't help but change the subject to confirm her feelings.
"Your cousin's matter should be resolved."
Chuck nodded.
"Oh, thank you."
Monica assumed Chuck wanted her to thank him properly that evening.
"No, thank you,"
Chuck said bluntly.
If Monica hadn't been Howard's cousin, allowing him to get to know Howard early and introduce him into Sheldon's life, he wouldn't have received these extra points.
So, tonight's research was about him thanking her, not her thanking him.
Hmm.
Next, he planned to personally introduce high-quality individuals from Sheldon's blacklist into Sheldon's life, especially those who could constantly frustrate Sheldon.
That would surely be very interesting.
For him, and for Leonard and the others, everyone except Sheldon would enjoy it, and that was enough.
Although Monica didn't have Chuck's abilities to read his mind, seeing him accelerate after thanking her sent a shiver down her spine; she didn't know whether to be happy or worried.
Outside a row of townhouses, police had already cordoned off the area.
When Chuck's car arrived, the patrol officers immediately lifted the cordon for Chuck and his passenger, letting them in. They smiled and greeted Chuck, then used their radios to alert Chief Randy Fischer inside. "Chief, Dr. Wolfe is here."
As Chuck and Monica walked inside, Chief Randy Fischer came out to greet them. "Chuck, you're here. Where's Jane?"
"Jane couldn't come today,"
Monica replied, smiling and shaking hands with Randy, seeing his friendly demeanor. She introduced herself. "I'm Monica, Chuck and Jane's... good friend."
"Oh, you're Monica,"
Chief Randy Fischer said, suddenly realizing. "I heard Chandler mention you."
"What did he say?"
Monica immediately sensed something was wrong. Why would Chandler mention her to someone else? Given Chandler's tendency to make sarcastic jokes even to her face, it probably wasn't anything good!
"Well, you can ask him directly now, he's here."
Chief Randy Fischer noticed Monica's slightly off expression. After his wife's repeated instruction, he had learned to read women's expressions to some extent, so he wasn't willing to elaborate. Just then, he saw a car approaching, so he quickly pointed to Chandler getting out and waved. "Chandler, over here!"
"Did you call him?"
Monica looked at Chuck in surprise. She clearly hadn't seen Chuck call Chandler. Seeing Chuck shake his head, she asked Chandler, who was walking over with a swagger, "Why are you here?"
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?"
Chandler teased, unsurprisingly. "I'm Chuck's assistant—it's normal for me to be here. When did you become an assistant?"
"I was with Chuck when he got the call, so I just came along."
Monica explained, then pressed, "Chuck didn't call you, so why are you here?"
"I called him."
Chief Randy Fischer raised his hand and smiled. "Chandler should be very helpful on this case."
"Really?"
Monica asked skeptically.
"You could have dragged out that skepticism a little longer,"
Chandler quipped.
"Chuck, aren't you surprised?"
Monica didn't want to be direct, so she passed the question on to Chuck.
"Not surprised,"
Chuck replied calmly. "Chandler has always been popular with detectives. In such a short time in this line of work, two detectives have already extended invitations to him, believing he would be a good partner."
"One of them was me,"
Chief Randy Fischer said with a smile, raising his hand to clarify.
"I can see that,"
Monica retorted.
As the group walked inside, the various officers working the crime scene nodded and greeted Chuck.
"Wow, Chuck, are you that popular?"
Monica asked, puzzled.
She wasn't unaware of Chuck's abilities—perhaps even more so than the others—but this didn't explain the officers' behavior.
Ability could earn recognition, but it couldn't make people feel so warm, especially a man like Chuck who was always so taciturn and expressionless, making it even harder for people to feel close to him.
"That's Chuck's charm,"
Chandler joked.
"Actually, everyone knows Chuck is a platinum member of the New Jersey Police Union Foundation,"
Chief Randy Fischer said frankly, "so everyone feels genuinely close to Chuck."
"Just as I said,"
Chandler gestured toward Chuck with both hands, a half-smile on his face. "That's Chuck's charm."
Monica looked enlightened.
The police union is an organization dedicated to the welfare of police officers, and its foundation naturally follows suit. Platinum members must have donated a lot of money.
This money could not only help the officers present upgrade their equipment to a level far superior to that of most small-town police departments, but it could also truly benefit their families.
So what if such a generous benefactor is a little expressionless? Such an expression couldn't stop everyone's genuine warmth and friendliness.
Monica had heard Chuck often tease young Sheldon with the phrase, "I'm rich!"
This was part of Chuck's charm, especially for those who didn't know him well; perhaps it was his greatest appeal.
"Chuck, do you still have that platinum membership card?"
Monica whispered to Chuck.
"It's always been behind your driver's license,"
Chuck said, then went inside.
Monica paused, then looked at Chuck's retreating figure, her eyes welling up with tears.
She had originally intended to ask Chuck for the membership card—since most police officers knew him and he didn't need it, but the benefits it would bring were obvious.
In American law enforcement, all sorts of overzealous officers were constantly appearing, and no one knew when they'd be targeted by someone looking to meet their quota.
This wasn't just a simple fine; the entire process of being pulled over, from stopping to being questioned, was humiliating, especially for women.
Well, in the future, everyone would face the same thing.
Once you have this platinum membership card, you can casually show it to a troublesome police officer, and they'll most likely greet you with a smile, regardless of whether there's an actual violation like speeding, and send you on your way.
Otherwise, what would other wealthy donors think if word got out?
What would your colleagues, who were hoping for even more benefits, think?
Would you even want to stay on the force?
In America, there's really no such thing as special treatment—unless you have the money to back it up.
Chuck had already prepared this for her, most likely for this very reason; otherwise, as a police consultant, he wouldn't need it at all.
How could Monica not be moved?
Just look at what her friends have gone through. Ever since she bought a car to make picking up and dropping off easier, Rachel would occasionally get pulled over for speeding, but she could get away with it by being charming—nobody wants to hassle a beautiful woman.
But her brother Ross, to avoid getting a ticket and save money, actually started posing and imitating Rachel. The scene... it wasn't just about the ticket.
It was too embarrassing.
Now that she has this platinum membership, she no longer needs to flirt or suffer the embarrassment of failing miserably at it.
"Should I have them all leave now and give you the room?"
Chandler, unsurprisingly, joked.
Monica snapped out of her reverie, glared at the spoilsport Chandler, and quickly followed Chuck, cautiously peeking inside, afraid of witnessing anything too gruesome.
However, a foul odor made her cover her nose.
"Don't worry, it's a suspected suicide by hanging. The body has already been removed,"
Chief Randy Fischer reassured her.
"Suspected suicide by hanging?"
Chandler surveyed the crime scene, curiously asking, "Then why was I called here?"
"Yes,"
Chief Randy Fischer explained. "The cleaning lady found her. She comes to clean the house for the lady of the house every week. The preliminary autopsy revealed she had been dead for five days. Her name is Jonna Kane, 36 years old. She used to perform in Vegas and is now an author, about to publish a book called 'In Bed: Jonna's Story,' or rather, a memoir."
Chandler: "..."
(End of Chapter)
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