In fact, from the moment Paige appeared, Sheldon was fully alert.
Perhaps it was due to their previous unpleasant experiences, or the fact that they were the same age and both had very high IQs, which gave Sheldon a strong sense of crisis.
"Your little bow tie looks very sharp today," Paige said casually, as if she hadn't sensed his hostility, offering a compliment.
It could be said that in terms of emotional intelligence, she was no worse than Missy.
One could even say that Paige was an upgraded version of Sheldon and Missy combined and then optimized.
Therefore, this was also why Sheldon was always suppressed by Paige.
"Thank you," Sheldon replied formally. Sitting upright, he was still waiting for her next "provocation."
After greeting Sheldon, Paige turned her attention to Mike beside her.
"Mike, what have you been up to lately? Oh, and how was your Halloween? Was it fun?" Paige seemed to open up.
"I've been learning about musical instruments and music theory recently," Mike chatted casually. "As for Halloween, I went to the church to help..."
Hearing that Mike had dressed up as an angel on Halloween and comforted a girl who was confessing, Paige was very envious.
"Your Halloween was very meaningful," Paige said, then complained, "I actually dressed up as Marie Curie that day and wanted to go trick-or-treating. But my mom stopped me from leaving the house. She was afraid it would be dangerous for me to go out at night..."
Although Linda's intention was for her daughter's good, her method of depriving her daughter of the right to play was not very reasonable.
This could be seen from the girl's resentful expression now.
"That's truly a shame, but you'll have another chance next year," Mike said comfortingly.
"Next year? Maybe..." Paige thought about her family situation and wasn't optimistic about her future.
This might be the trouble brought by super high IQ and emotional intelligence; smart people often see further than others, not to mention a super genius like Paige.
Sheldon, who was listening with one ear, was initially waiting for Paige's challenge, but instead, he heard the little girl's "secret."
Thinking of his pleasant experience of being "recognized" on Halloween, Sheldon couldn't help but show a victorious smile.
Immediately, undisturbed, he lowered his head again to read the promotional magazine in his hand.
[Intelligence main attribute + 1]
Sheldon, whose mood fluctuated greatly, successfully contributed a main attribute light cluster to Mike.
This... Sheldon learned to produce wool himself?
After quietly accepting the light cluster in his hand, Mike looked sideways at Sheldon, who was quietly reading the magazine, with surprise.
Although he didn't know why the other party suddenly contributed a light cluster, Mike was certain of one thing: following in the footsteps of the two little geniuses was indeed the right decision.
"Mike, do you have any more interesting stories you can tell me?" Paige saw Mike zoning out and immediately pulled his attention back.
Interesting stories? Georgie's confession should count as one.
However, Mike obviously wouldn't blurt out such a thing. So, after thinking for a moment, he shared Mr. Lundy's "Seven Deadly Sins" mini-play.
In his opinion, Mr. Lundy was a very interesting person.
"Listening to you, that Mr. Lundy is very talented in art," Paige commented after listening to Mike's narration.
"Mr. Lundy is indeed very talented. And he's also a very courageous person," Mike said. "He's already gone out to make his way, determined to direct a classic film."
"That's great, being able to do what you want to do." Paige, who was strictly controlled by her mother, yearned for a free life.
"Oh, by the way, Paige. Dr. Sturgis recently has a physics research project and wants to know if you're interested in attending as an auditor," Mike mentioned Dr. Sturgis's request.
"A university research project?" Paige showed interest. But soon, she said disappointedly, "Please thank Dr. Sturgis for his kindness on my behalf. I'm afraid I won't have time to go to the University of Texas recently."
Thinking of her family's bad situation made the little girl feel a bit lost.
"Is there some difficulty? You can tell me," Mike said, leading her on.
He knew a little about the little girl's family situation. If he could, he would choose to help her out.
Looking at Mike's sincere eyes, Paige was silent for a long time. After much consideration, she began, "I..."
It was just bad luck that just as the little girl was about to voice her troubles, a female lecturer in her forties walked into the lecture hall with files.
"So many people here, it seems natural sciences are quite popular—" The female lecturer spoke humorously as she strode to the front.
When she saw Paige and the two sitting on either side of Mike in the first row, she asked in surprise, "Young man, did you bring these two? Actually, we have a dedicated children's reception room here."
Clearly, this female lecturer in natural sciences misunderstood; she thought Paige and the other were children being looked after by Mike.
"No, Madam. I'm here to listen to the carbon dating lecture." Sheldon frowned slightly, very dissatisfied with being treated like a child.
"Me too!" Paige immediately spoke up; she didn't want to be a generation younger than Mike for no reason.
"In fact, they are both high school students," Mike also explained.
"Oh, I apologize. It seems I misunderstood." The female lecturer admitted her mistake gently after seeing their reactions. Then, she smiled and said, "It seems my class not only has handsome young men but also two little prodigies. May I ask how much you both know about carbon dating?"
As mentioned before, for professional lectures like this, people who come to listen usually have some understanding of the subject, which is also a form of respect for the lecturer.
"I read your brochure." Sheldon held up the magazine in his hand.
"Very good!" Although the female lecturer still had a smile on her face, she had already determined that Sheldon didn't know much about carbon dating.
Sure enough, he's still a child.
Thinking this, the female lecturer turned to Paige and asked, "What about you, Missy? What do you know?"
"I've read your 'Accelerated Poplar Method Paper,' and some of your views in it I find very interesting," Paige said confidently.
"Interesting." The female lecturer's interest was piqued by Paige's answer, and she continued to ask, "Before the lecture begins, can you tell us what carbon dating is?"
"Of course," Paige answered fluently, "Carbon-14's half-life of 5,430 years can be used by people as a geological time marker."
"That's a very good answer." The smile on the female lecturer's face became much more genuine. Then, she looked at Mike and Sheldon next to her and asked, "Do you have anything to add?"
"No." Mike shook his head. In fact, regarding professional carbon dating knowledge, he only had very limited understanding from the brochure.
The female lecturer smiled, with an expression that said 'just as I thought.' Then, she looked at Sheldon again and asked, "What about you, little friend? Do you have anything to add?"
Sheldon was surprised by Paige's erudition. To avoid losing to her, he thought for a moment and then tentatively said, "Perhaps carbon dating can be used to measure how old my grandma is."
Obviously, the answer Sheldon came up with on the spot was completely irrelevant to today's topic.
And his absurd answer also caused the audience to burst into laughter.
It should be known that the people who came here were basically half-experts.
"Alright—" The female teacher also laughed. She knew she shouldn't have too many expectations for children. Then, she controlled the classroom discipline and said, "Next, I will tell you about carbon dating."
After the female lecturer went to the podium, Mike looked at the expressionless Sheldon beside him and asked, "Sheldon, are you okay?"
A normal person, after being mocked by a group of people, even if the laughter was well-intentioned, would probably feel very depressed.
"I've discovered another one of my strengths," Sheldon whispered. "Besides being highly intelligent, I'm also very talented in humor."
Alright, Mike knew he shouldn't worry about Sheldon's psychological issues.
His thought process was clearly different from ordinary people.
"As long as you're happy—" Mike gave an awkward laugh and said.
Whether Sheldon genuinely thought he was humorous now, or if it was just stubbornness because he didn't want to admit he was inferior to Paige.
But at least, he lived very much "for himself."
For a young genius like Sheldon, living for himself was actually a good thing. It allowed him to be undisturbed by the outside world and protect himself very well.