After a heart-to-heart talk between the couple, and under Mary's persuasion, George was inclined to decline the sports store's request for weekend overtime.
On one hand, the all-day work intensity was a bit much for him, and on the other hand, it was about the salary.
The effort and reward were not proportional, and the sales job had no future prospects, making George more inclined to return to his family and spend his weekends with the children.
After all, Mary's work at the church was busiest on weekends, leaving her no time to look after Sheldon and the others.
After this talk, the couple seemed to have temporarily found a balance between family and work.
Time flew by, and another week passed.
Within this week, Mike and Sheldon still hadn't received a reply from Dr. Ronald, and even calls to NASA would be hung up instantly by the female customer service representative.
Apparently, Mike and Sheldon had been unilaterally blocked by the NASA female customer service representative.
Due to this situation, Sheldon, unable to get effective communication, developed stomach problems due to his pent-up frustration.
When Mary discovered her youngest son wasn't feeling well, she quickly took him to the hospital.
...
"What did the doctor say?" George, who was preparing dinner, asked with concern as his wife and youngest son returned.
"The situation isn't very good," Mary shook her head and continued, "The doctor said Sheldon's gastrointestinal discomfort was caused by long-term emotional suppression. In this situation, medication is unlikely to be effective..."
Indeed, for a situation like Sheldon's, he needed to self-regulate first and resolve the cause of his emotional distress for the symptoms to completely disappear.
Otherwise, just treating the stomach without resolving the emotional knot would likely lead to a relapse of the illness.
"How could this happen?" Listening to his wife's explanation, George realized the seriousness of the problem.
"I don't know either. I asked Sheldon why, but he wouldn't say," Mary felt both distressed and helpless about her youngest son's current condition. She had already decided to take him to see a Psychiatrist tomorrow if she had time.
A heart ailment needs heart medicine; this was the best solution Mary could think of.
Just as the couple was anxious, Mike, who had come with Connie to share dinner, said, "Perhaps I know the reason Sheldon is sick."
So, under the expectant gazes of George and his wife, Mike thoroughly explained the entire story of Sheldon waiting for NASA's reply.
"How could they do that?" Mary hugged her youngest son tightly, heartbroken, after hearing the reason for his illness.
Everyone else in the room also looked indignant after hearing Mike's account.
Everyone had witnessed Sheldon's enthusiasm when he was writing the proposal.
This feeling of investing significant effort only to receive no feedback could easily evoke empathy.
After finding out the reason for his son's illness, George immediately said he would stand up for him.
So, he called NASA, intending to reprimand them for their inappropriate behavior.
"Hello, how may I help you?" The call was answered, and a clear voice came through the receiver.
Hearing that the person was a polite lady, George's anger immediately subsided by half. He politely replied, "Hello, I am Sheldon's father. I would like to ask..."
But before George could finish his sentence, the other party hung up.
Clearly, because of the "harassment" calls throughout the week, NASA's female customer service representative had categorized all calls related to Sheldon and Mike as harassment calls.
"This..." George, who hadn't fully understood the situation, was somewhat bewildered. Then, under the gaze of his family, he still didn't give up and dialed the number again.
This time, the female customer service representative was even more direct; upon recognizing George's familiar voice, she immediately hung up the phone.
Now, there was one more person depressed by the female customer service representative.
Seeing her husband frustrated, Mary, who refused to believe it, took the phone.
"I am Sheldon's mother, and I want to ask you why you are treating him this way. Your actions have harmed a child's young mind and physical health..." As soon as the call connected, Mary launched into a tirade without waiting for the other party to speak.
"Beep... beep... beep..."
However, the busy signal on the phone indicated that Mary's words had not been effectively conveyed to the other party.
Perhaps the NASA female customer service representative had hung up the moment she identified herself.
Mary, feeling like she had punched cotton, immediately became depressed.
"Let me try," Connie, with her rich life experience, offered to give it a shot.
"Hello, we sent a document to you earlier; could you please check for me?"
"Oh... my name is Connie... the name of the document... please wait..."
Indeed, Connie, with her more extensive life experience, managed to engage the other party in conversation.
Then, she moved the receiver away, asked Mike for the document name, and then spoke into the microphone again, "The document is called 'Rocket Launch Plan 2.0'..."
"Hello— hello... are you still there?" Connie's expression became confused as she listened to the busy signal in the receiver.
Clearly, the female customer service representative was not only sensitive to the names Sheldon and Mike, but even the document name they had sent was blacklisted.
"They are truly going too far..." George, seeing that Connie's call had also been hung up, suddenly understood why his youngest son had fallen ill.
So, he said, "I happen to be free tomorrow. I've decided to personally take Sheldon to Houston and demand an explanation from them."
George had already negotiated with Dale, the owner of the sports store, to take weekends off by accepting a reduced salary.
"Really?" Hearing his father's words, Sheldon brightened, "I'll go prepare the documents right away!"
Sheldon planned to organize the physical documents so he could confront Dr. Ronald in person tomorrow.
Seeing her youngest son regain his usual vigor, Mary's expression also relaxed. Heaven knew how worried she had been when she left the hospital today.
Then, she remembered the infuriating female customer service representative on the phone and immediately instructed her husband that if he saw the person tomorrow, he must help her vent her frustration.
Clearly, because of her youngest son's situation, Mary also harbored dissatisfaction towards NASA's female customer service representative.
Time arrived Saturday morning. Since Mike also had signing rights to the document, at Sheldon's invitation, he also boarded the special car heading to Houston Space Administration.
After driving for most of the day, the car arrived at the gates of Houston Space Administration.
Looking at NASA's towering buildings and thinking about the highly talented people working inside, George couldn't help but feel a little nervous, even forgetting his wife's instructions.
He carefully led Sheldon and Mike through the gate and asked the front desk, "Hello, is Dr. Ronald in?"
"Do you have an appointment?" asked the well-dressed, attractive staff member at the front desk.
"That's the voice..." Sheldon, with his super memory, immediately recognized that this staff member was the same female customer service representative from before. He said indignantly, "I'm Sheldon, and we've spoken many times before..."
The female customer service representative also realized the identities of the people in front of her. After all, not many people consistently make harassment calls every day.
"You're Sheldon, so you must be Mike then?" The female customer service representative directly ignored George and then looked with surprise at the handsome Mike standing beside him.
"Yes, I'm Mike." Mike was very familiar with her gaze; it was probably how many girls at school looked when they were infatuated.
"Could you connect us to Dr. Ronald's private line? We know him," Mike said with a smile.
"Ye-yes, I can—" The female customer service representative was dazzled by Mike's smile and, as if by a ghost, agreed to his request.