"Raj, this is..." After Raj and Lalita separated from their embrace, Howard immediately asked curiously, his eyes darting between them with undisguised interest.
"Let me introduce you properly. Howard Wolowitz, my good friend and colleague, an aerospace engineer in the Physics Department at Caltech, with a master's degree from MIT." Raj introduced with a smile, gesturing between them. "And this is Lalita Gupta, my girlfriend and fiancée. She's pursuing her Master of Dentistry at the University of Southern California."
"Hello, beautiful lady." Howard quickly bowed deeply with exaggerated flourish, then looked at Raj in surprise, his voice rising. "When did you get a fiancée? Why didn't I know anything about this?!"
"Howard, hello." Lalita nodded politely to Howard, then praised with a diplomatic smile, "An MIT master's degree—you must be very intelligent."
"Thank you for noticing. I'm actually in charge of the Mars rover project right now. I could even let you drive on Mars if you wanted." Howard raised his eyebrows suggestively, leaning in slightly.
"Thank you, but no need." Lalita shook her head and flatly refused, her smile becoming more strained.
"Then do you like magic?" Howard asked again with an eager smile, simultaneously and not-so-secretly pulling out a deck of trick cards from his pocket with a practiced motion.
"Not interested." Lalita shook her head again and looked at Raj with clear suspicion in her eyes.
Raj could easily read her thoughts. She wanted to say, "Is your friend okay?! What's wrong with him?"
Seeing that Lalita showed no interest in his magic tricks, Howard quickly stuffed the deck of cards back into his pocket, looking deflated for only a moment.
"Well then, do you like comics? Klingon language? Video games? Dungeons and Dragons? The mysterious warrior Kaya..." However, he persisted, still asking with desperate hope in his voice.
Seeing that he was becoming increasingly entangled and intrusive, Lalita couldn't help but roll her eyes in exasperation, turned her head away, and pointedly ignored him.
With her appearance, background, and educational credentials, there had been an endless stream of men pursuing her over the years. Among them, there was no shortage of wealthy and handsome suitors, and no lack of overly humble admirers willing to do anything for her attention.
But Howard was not particularly striking in appearance—short and thin, with no obvious physical merits to speak of. Coupled with his vulgar words, crude behavior, and indecent mannerisms, he was genuinely off-putting and frankly disgusting to be around.
Observing Howard's performance, Raj couldn't help shaking his head in disappointment and secondhand embarrassment.
Howard had been attempting to date women for so many years now, but he still only employed these same three tired tricks.
He'd tried them with Penny, tried them with Paige, and now he was deploying them with Lalita.
What's more troubling, Lalita was his girlfriend and fiancée, and it was genuinely inappropriate for Howard to be showing such obvious interest and making advances toward her.
"Enough, Howard, you falcon. Go hunt elsewhere and don't bother us anymore." Raj ordered, his tone firm as he tried to chase his friend away.
Howard looked at Raj with wounded, depressed eyes, his expression turning pitiful and pleading.
It had been more than three weeks since he'd had any romantic success on Halloween night, and he'd been stuck in a prolonged dry spell ever since.
Although he was still actively trying and putting himself out there on the dating front lines, he still had absolutely nothing to show for his efforts.
To be brutally honest, he didn't even have many opportunities to simply talk to women anymore, let alone date them.
Now Lalita had finally appeared, and although she was Raj's girlfriend and fiancée—meaning she was completely off-limits and he couldn't pursue her—in his increasingly desperate opinion, it would still be nice just to be able to chat and interact with an attractive woman.
Otherwise, if Raj didn't let him at least have this small outlet to relax and socialize, Howard felt like he might actually explode from loneliness.
"Okay, fine. You can sit down and join us, but don't talk nonsense or say anything inappropriate." Seeing Howard's pitiful appearance—like an abandoned puppy left out in the rain—Raj suddenly softened his heart despite his better judgment.
"Thank you so much~" Howard immediately sat down as if he'd been granted a pardon, relief flooding his features.
Seeing that Raj had allowed Howard to stay as an obvious third wheel and light bulb, Lalita couldn't help looking at her boyfriend in surprise, her expression questioning his decision.
To be completely honest, she didn't like Howard very much at all.
She felt that he was frivolous and somewhat creepy, and the fact that he knew full well she was Raj's girlfriend but still openly paid attention to her and flirted with her was truly shameless and disrespectful.
"Don't be fooled by surface appearances. Howard is actually a good man at heart." Seeing her disapproval, Raj leaned in and quietly defended his friend. "He just wants love and companionship too desperately, and that's why he acts so excessively and comes on too strong. You'll understand after spending more time with him—this guy is actually pretty decent once you get to know him."
"I don't particularly want to spend any more time with him than necessary." Lalita shook her head firmly when she heard his defense.
Even if Howard was fundamentally good-natured deep down, his outward behavior and presentation were simply unbearable to witness.
Raj frowned slightly when he heard her blunt response, concern creeping into his thoughts.
He and Howard weren't just good friends—they were also colleagues at the university, and more importantly, they were research partners collaborating on two major groundbreaking projects: the quantum navigation system and the quantum communication system.
If Lalita and Howard couldn't get along or establish any rapport, then after he married her, it would inevitably and negatively affect his close relationship with Howard, potentially damaging years of friendship.
In the show he'd watched, Rajesh and Howard had been remarkably intimate friends, closer than most.
When Raj was in a bad mood, Howard could instinctively sense it without words. After Howard's child was born, Raj had helped take care of the family tirelessly, even more attentively and devotedly than some biological parents would.
The two had even made a pact that if Raj couldn't find a life partner when they grew old, and if Howard ended up divorced and alone again, then they would simply live together as lifelong companions.
Therefore, if he decided to marry Lalita but ended up alienating Howard in the process, Raj suspected he would feel very dissatisfied with that outcome. At that point, the system rewards he might receive could be greatly reduced, making it a case where the losses would far outweigh the gains.
"Please, for my sake, give him a chance." Raj persuaded with his most charming smile, his eyes pleading.
Lalita hesitated for a long moment, weighing her options. "Okay, fine. He can sit here with us, but I can't guarantee that I'll ever become actual friends with him."
"That's fair enough. Thank you." Raj nodded gratefully, squeezing her hand.
"So Raj, when exactly did you and Lalita meet? How did this all happen?" Howard asked with genuine curiosity, leaning forward with interest.
This was the first time he'd ever heard Raj mention having a fiancée, and he was genuinely surprised by how beautiful and accomplished she was.
Raj briefly recounted the story of how he and Lalita had first gotten acquainted, describing the arranged introduction and their subsequent dates.
"Wow, you are incredibly lucky, my friend." Howard said with obvious envy dripping from every word. "The last person my mother tried to set me up with was a bald woman with a full beard. I'm not even joking."
Hearing his crude and disgusting comparison, Lalita couldn't help frowning with distaste, her nose wrinkling slightly.
"So are you two really, seriously planning to get married soon? When will the actual wedding be held?" Howard pressed on, asking curiously, seemingly oblivious to Lalita's discomfort.
Raj was taken aback for a moment, realizing he hadn't actually considered this practical question at all in concrete terms.
Lalita smiled warmly and looked at Raj expectantly, waiting for his answer.
She had already decided in her heart that she wanted to marry Raj eventually.
He was handsome with classically good looks, had an excellent athletic figure, and was both talented and remarkably intelligent. He was truly an elite among elites in every measurable way.
In terms of personality and character, he was gentle and considerate, romantic and genuinely affectionate—it was indeed a very good choice to build a life with him.
So she was mentally and emotionally ready for that future, whenever it might come.
"Well, Lalita is only a first-year graduate student right now, and her studies are at an absolutely critical juncture in her career." Raj thought carefully for a moment before responding. "And our research project has only just started and is in its early phases, so getting married right now would be far too hasty and poorly timed.
Besides, we're both really enjoying this phase—just the two of us getting to know each other—right now, aren't we? Therefore, I think the marriage can definitely be postponed for a while longer. At the very least, we should wait until Lalita graduates with her master's degree, don't you think? That seems more reasonable."
He looked at Lalita with a warm, reassuring smile, his eyes seeking her agreement.
When Lalita heard his thoughtful reasoning, she immediately nodded in complete agreement, feeling relieved.
To be entirely honest, she would very much like to enjoy their private world as a couple first, taking time to truly know each other, and not feel rushed to immediately get married and start having children.
Seeing how thoroughly Raj was captivated by Lalita—so smitten that he would say whatever she wanted to hear and agree to whatever pleased her—Howard couldn't help but watch with eyes green with envy, wishing desperately that he could find someone who made him feel that way.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi everyone,
Thank you so much for your support!
I hope you're enjoying the story so far—your feedback truly means the world to me. I'd love to hear your thoughts on where you'd like the story to go next, so feel free to share any ideas or suggestions in the comments.
If you'd like to support my work and gain access to 10 advance chapters, exclusive artwork, story polls etc please consider visiting: patre on. com (slash) Maggie329