Chapter 300: The Humbling of Sheldon, Alicia's Fresh Start!
"Chuck, if you need help like this in the future, just ask me."
Gloria said confidently. "I love upholding justice. Back when I was in Colombia, I loved watching American legal shows, watching the righteous prosecutors stand up for the people..."
"Are you sure you were watching American shows?"
Chuck interrupted bluntly.
"Yeah, are you sure?"
Chandler couldn't help but tease. "In our TV dramas, the main characters are all slick lawyers in expensive suits, using tricks to climb the ladder and make big money. Have you forgotten about the prosecutor in this case?"
"Am I watching knockoffs?"
Gloria also remembered that bald prosecutors certainly didn't look like main characters, and couldn't help feeling doubtful. Then she waved her hand and laughed.
"Whatever, I've decided to speed up my citizenship application, so I can serve on a jury and deliver my own verdicts for justice!"
"You'd be great at it."
Chandler looked at Gloria's commanding presence and nodded teasingly.
"If you need anything in the future, you can always call me."
After Gloria left excitedly, Mrs. Beth Berland, rather reservedly, whispered her offer to Chuck.
"Okay."
Chuck nodded.
"The ladies of suburbia!"
Chandler stood beside Chuck, watching the two women leave, and joked. "They can even help solve cases this way—it's truly remarkable. Makes me want to move to the suburbs."
"That's easy."
Chuck looked at him. "Just call Janice!"
"...Oh. My. God!"
Upon hearing this, Chandler's lips twitched, and he let out the classic exclamation of his ex-girlfriend Janice. "Never mind."
He knew that Chuck was suggesting Janice was the best real estate agent in the area, and the most suitable person to ask about finding a house and settling down.
He was probably also implying he'd go back to his ex-girlfriend, get entangled with her, get married, have kids, and die in the suburbs.
But he would never go back to his ex-girlfriend Janice.
"Boss, how did I do?"
Lisa, the Texas girl, came over after everyone had left.
"Very good,"
Chuck nodded.
"Not just good—it was perfect!"
Chandler glanced at Lisa.
"So what do I do next?"
Lisa's light blue eyes looked expectantly at Chuck.
Last time, after applying for a job at AC Consulting, she'd been rejected outright by the secretary, Helen, but then she'd met Chuck and was hired directly.
This court reporter position was just Chuck using his connections to have her temporarily replace the regular reporter so that Esther would completely break down.
The job she really wanted was working for Detective Chuck!
"Go home and rest. I'll email you about your next assignment,"
Chuck said expressionlessly.
"Okay."
Lisa nodded and was about to leave, but then, remembering something, she stopped and looked at Chuck expectantly.
"Boss, are you busy tonight? I've prepared some hometown dishes—Texas BBQ chicken and Texas-style brisket—to thank you for giving me this job..."
"Chuck, Monica already prepared dinner for you,"
Chandler immediately reminded him.
"Then next time."
Lisa, the Texas girl, smiled before Chuck could speak. "Next time, boss, you have to try them and see if they taste like home."
"Okay."
Chuck nodded.
Lisa waved and quickly left.
"'Taste like home,' huh~"
Chandler watched her leave, smiling amusedly. "Just because you're both from Texas, she only invites you to try them—can't even be polite to me. I also want to try the Texas BBQ chicken and brisket."
Chuck ignored him and walked out as well.
"Let me ask you something—what do you think Lisa's eyes look like?"
Chandler caught up, and seeing that Chuck still ignored him, he muttered to himself beside Chuck.
"I always thought they looked a bit like a husky's. Oh, right, I remember your favorite painting is 'Dogs Playing Poker.' You love dogs, right? At least it's a canine aesthetic..."
A Few Weeks Later
Princeton University
"Chuck!"
Just as he entered campus, Justine and Cheryl spotted him. Cheryl immediately greeted him warmly, eagerly pulling her best friend over. "You haven't been to school in forever."
"Busy."
Chuck replied succinctly.
"I know."
Cheryl's eyes dimmed for a moment, then she quickly smiled again. "I've been following your case—that was amazing! But it would be great if you came to school more often. After all, many classmates miss you..."
Seeing Chuck looking over, she explained with a slight blush. "You know, Sheldon..."
"I know."
Chuck nodded. "That's easy enough."
Saying that, he nodded to them and walked away.
"I'm so pathetic!"
Cheryl watched Chuck leave, her eyes shifting, and she gave a self-deprecating bitter smile.
"It's not that you're pathetic—it's that you still have your dignity,"
Justine comforted her best friend, hugging her close. "Chuck's so busy... it's actually better this way."
"I can handle it, but Tracy..."
Cheryl sighed.
"Time will help,"
Justine said, her eyes filled with sympathy.
As the one who knew best, she truly sympathized with her best friend's situation.
Sometimes being too exceptional creates problems for everyone involved.
Cheryl falls for Chuck at first sight. Her twin sister, Tracy, also develops feelings for him after Chuck rescues her and follows in her sister's footsteps to Princeton University, just to be closer to him.
Unfortunately, Chuck is too busy, and his time at school is minimal.
More importantly, more and more women appear around Chuck, far surpassing Cheryl and Tracy in looks and other qualities.
For example, there's Lisa, Chuck's new assistant who's frequently seen at his mountain property.
Her looks, her figure—even Justine, who considers herself objective, has to admit Lisa is absolutely stunning.
And she's from Texas too.
What's more, she has those husky-like eyes that stare at Chuck with such devotion. Even Justine, who tries to stay out of it, feels uncomfortable when she occasionally catches a glimpse of her while visiting.
While Cheryl and her sister are also beautiful, they're no match for Lisa, the Texas girl.
Even though the twins had considered the possibility of a partnership approach, Cheryl ultimately maintained some rationality and never actually acted on it.
Justine knew that Chuck was never one to take the initiative.
There might have been hope before, but now he probably didn't have time to deal with her friends.
In fact, she thought this was a good thing.
After all, they hadn't truly fallen for him deeply, and as time passed, it was better for her friends than to actually fall for him only to find they couldn't get what they wanted.
"Let's go quickly—I don't want to miss the hilarious scene of Chuck disciplining young Sheldon,"
Cheryl said, having heard her best friend's advice before. She forced a smile, changed the subject, and quickened her pace.
"Okay,"
Justine replied, shaking her head slightly and following after her.
Classroom
Young Sheldon stood at the podium, beaming with pride.
Ever since Chuck suggested he carry Esther's newspaper to warn the college bullies about his potential for darkness, it had worked wonders.
Those fearless students didn't dare provoke him anymore.
Especially after Beverly testified in court, citing his situation as an example—the students who knew him afterward were subtly afraid of him, greeting him with nervous smiles.
So lately, he was truly on top of the world, feeling like he was back to the days when he helped his father coach the football team to victory after victory, adored by the entire school.
But even better than before!
Because this time, no jocks were lifting him up, and no aggressive girls were hugging him, nearly suffocating him.
Everyone was showing him respect from a distance, which was fantastic!
He loved this feeling.
A few days ago, in bioethics class...
Professor Alicia Harper asked him about cloning, using it as a springboard to explore the boundaries of scientific ethics.
At first, he thought it was incredibly simple.
Cloning was, of course, unethical, but cloning someone like himself or a scientific giant like Einstein was acceptable.
After all, when he ran his own lab, he would need someone like Einstein—someone who could keep up with him—as an assistant.
But then Professor Harper pointed out that Einstein contributed to the development of the atomic bomb, causing immense devastation.
While he didn't see anything wrong with that, having nearly been expelled from high school for similar opinions, he instinctively refrained from expressing his own thoughts, simply nodding in agreement that cloning a scientific giant was indeed unethical.
Then, the question of morality began to trouble him.
Professor Harper, however, told him to think about it carefully, without giving him a direct answer.
After much deliberation, he suddenly realized the best approach: Cooper Absolutism!
That is, regardless of what others said about morality, if he felt it was moral, then it was moral; if he felt it was unethical, then it was unethical.
And facts proved his idea correct.
The students, who had been arguing noisily, all agreed and admired him after his authoritative declaration, acknowledging that he should be the one to decide on scientific ethics.
This pleased him greatly.
Everything was progressing in the best possible direction.
Thank you, Esther!
Just as he was feeling triumphant and smug, a wave of darkness suddenly swept over him, freezing him in place. He involuntarily cried out, "No!"
Turning his head with difficulty, he saw the dark shadow he least wanted to see standing there, growing ever closer, the oppressive presence intensifying, making it difficult for him to breathe.
"Dr. Chuck Wolfe."
"Mr. Cooper, I heard you've been doing well lately."
Chuck stood before Sheldon, looking down at him.
"Not bad,"
Sheldon said with difficulty.
"Last time in court, Beverly said you have six personas, one of which, Comedy Sheldon, called me the Dark Lord and is most likely to turn villain?"
Chuck looked at him expressionlessly. "There's even a possibility of a seventh persona appearing, a truly malevolent one?"
"It's Comedy Sheldon!"
Even though his legs were weak, young Sheldon still insisted on correcting Chuck's characterization.
"I want to meet him!"
Chuck sized up young Sheldon.
"..."
Young Sheldon was speechless.
He could only occasionally see Comedy Sheldon in his dreams.
"Unless it's a major event, the Council of Sheldons doesn't convene."
"That's simple."
Chuck said calmly. "You tell him I want to see him!"
"...Can I ask why?"
Young Sheldon said with difficulty.
"No, you shouldn't need to,"
Chuck said bluntly. "But I need you to pass on a message, so I'm telling you. I heard he really wants to go villain and has already been wielding some kind of Cooper Absolutism. So I want to see him and ask if he wants to challenge the Dark Lord."
"No!"
Young Sheldon jumped up and immediately shook his head. "He absolutely has no such intention!"
"You're not him!"
Chuck stared at young Sheldon expressionlessly. "You can't speak for him. I want him to tell me himself."
"...He really doesn't."
Young Sheldon was almost in tears. "Okay, I'll tell him."
"Not only him,"
Chuck stared into his eyes. "There's also that possible seventh malevolent persona. If he's already differentiated and entered the Council of Sheldons, tell him that I'm very curious about him and that I must meet him when I get the chance."
"..."
Young Sheldon was completely stunned.
What a load of crap, Cooper Absolutism! At this moment, it completely crumbled. He just wanted to escape from the Dark Lord in front of him.
He didn't need to dream about it tonight—he, Prime Sheldon on the throne, knew that the Council meeting that night would not only be somber, but Comedy Sheldon probably wouldn't be laughing at all.
Even the legendary seventh malevolent persona, Evil Sheldon, which was rumored to possibly differentiate, had completely lost any chance of manifesting.
After all, with such a powerful force lurking outside, he was terrified and wouldn't dare show his face again.
Fortunately, Professor Alicia Harper arrived at this moment. Seeing Chuck standing in front of young Sheldon, she immediately knew what had happened and came to intervene.
However, this time, she didn't say much.
Because recently, without Chuck's presence, young Sheldon, relying on his potential to turn dark, had gone a bit too far.
With Chuck keeping him in check, it would be very beneficial for young Sheldon's healthy development.
Otherwise, he might really have gone villain.
"The dean wants to see you—go ahead."
Professor Alicia Harper smiled at Chuck.
"Okay."
Chuck nodded and walked out of the classroom.
"Where is he going?"
Cheryl asked curiously.
"He's probably going to complete his graduation procedures,"
Justine said, giving her best friend a sympathetic look.
"Graduation procedures?"
Cheryl was taken aback, looking at Justine with confusion.
"Professor Alicia Harper is officially divorced,"
Justine carefully reminded her. "You know Chuck has standards..."
"What do you mean?"
Cheryl didn't immediately understand, but she quickly figured it out without Justine's explanation.
Chuck, with his principles, could have pursued her while she was still married, but he didn't.
Now that Professor Alicia Harper was officially divorced, the biggest obstacle was gone.
But there was still a minor obstacle: Chuck was still Professor Alicia Harper's student.
Compared to her status as a married woman, this teacher-student relationship meant little to Chuck, but it was more significant to Professor Alicia Harper.
After all, it somewhat violated university policies.
That's why Chuck was terminating his student status.
And what ending this student status meant, Cheryl, as a college student at an American university, understood all too well.
(End of Chapter)
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