Medical Center. VIP Ward.
Sheldon was so shaken by Adam that he started questioning his entire existence. 😅
Meanwhile, his little cousin Emilia was practically bursting with admiration for her big cousin Sheldon.
"My cousin's a rocket scientist! ~" Emilia beamed with pride.
"Rocket scientist?!"
Sheldon's eyes widened as he whipped his head around. "I studied theoretical physics, and I'm going to be a theoretical physicist!"
"What's the difference?!"
Missy cut in, rolling her eyes. "Stop glaring with those big eyes you inherited from Mom—you'll scare Emilia! She's just proud of you, that's all."
"Yep, yep!" Emilia nodded eagerly. 😊
"If you're really proud of me, at least get it right!" Sheldon huffed, his eyes bulging. "Rocket scientist? How humiliating!"
Everyone: "…"
They were clearly on totally different wavelengths.
In the U.S., "rocket scientist" is slang for a genius scientist. But in Sheldon's super-literal brain, it just meant those nerds who mess around with actual rockets.
Emmm.
Take Leonard, for example—he'd worked on rocket fuel before, so he kinda qualified as a "rocket scientist." And yet, future experimental physicist Leonard got mocked for it his whole life by theoretical physicist Sheldon. That's how much Sheldon genuinely thought being called a rocket scientist was an insult. 😂
"Okay, Shelly," his mom Mary finally said, unable to watch anymore. "Are you hungry?"
"Hungry, not hungry—what's the difference? Why waste food?" Sheldon slumped back in his chair, wallowing in the misery of Adam's latest blow. "Have you all forgotten that in Texas, if a cow stops giving milk, the farmers don't keep feeding it? They take it out back and put a bullet right between its eyes—ow! Mom, what was that for?!"
Mid-rant, Mary flicked him square on the forehead.
"Didn't you say 'right between the eyes'?" she teased, her big eyes twinkling. "I'm just giving you a preview."
"Mommy~" Sheldon whined, rubbing his head.
"Enough," Mary said with a frown. "Shelly, you used to complain that no one was smart enough to keep up with you. Now you've got two friends, Adam and Paige, who are just as brilliant as you. Shouldn't that make you happy?"
"Mom, Sheldon's the type who says he wants one thing but freaks out when he actually gets it," Missy chimed in with a smirk. "He wants friends who are almost as smart as him—but not smarter. Definitely not like Adam and Paige, who totally outshine him!"
"They're not smarter than me!" Sheldon grumbled, refusing to accept it.
"Right," Mary soothed. "You're all amazing in your own fields."
Between Missy's teasing and Mary's comforting, Sheldon started to calm down.
Meanwhile, over at Adam's apartment, Paige gave him a little nudge, hinting she needed a moment to unwind.
"Missy reminded me of something," Paige said with a knowing look.
"Oh? What's that?"
Adam, ever the gentleman, started giving Paige a full-body massage to help her relax faster.
He was a doctor, after all—a genius doctor! Ever since his physical stats started skyrocketing, he'd taught himself massage techniques. Now, he was so good even professional masseuses would feel inferior.
No surprise there! He was just that kind of sweet, caring guy. 😉
"My skin!" Paige said, savoring the massage as she lazily lifted a hand. "Missy said it's even better than when I was a kid. I thought about it, and she's right.
"Starting at thirteen, my skin went downhill and stayed that way for years. But then, after I turned eighteen and ran into you again, it's like my skin's been aging backward this past six months—getting better and better. What's up with that?"
"What else could it be?" Adam's heart skipped a beat. In his mind, he instantly replayed Paige's words, pulling up mental images of her over the years. Comparing them, he realized her skin had changed dramatically.
They were together so often that he'd overlooked the gradual shift. But to an outsider? It'd be obvious.
"I wasn't lying to you!" he said with a grin.
"Heh." Paige let out a little scoff, closed her eyes, and sank into the massage, going quiet.
Adam wasn't sure if she was laughing at his old promises or calling his bluff now. Feeling a twinge of guilt, he put extra effort into the massage.
At the same time, his mind raced about what this meant.
Because in that moment, he mentally compared his other close female friends—and sure enough, Heather, who he was super tight with, showed similar changes.
The others had it too, to a lesser extent—not as noticeable, but still there.
"Holy crap," Adam cursed under his breath.
It used to just be playful bedroom talk.
Who'd have thought it'd turn into reality?! If this got out, he might be in some hot water.
But he quickly relaxed. After running through all the data in his head, he spotted a pattern.
The effect wasn't infinite. Back when he and Heather were practically living together for years, tangled up in love every night, she didn't turn into a kid again. Her skin just stayed soft and youthful—nothing crazy.
These days, with less contact, Heather's skin was still flawless, but under Adam's obsessive scrutiny, he could see faint signs of aging creeping in.
Emmm.
Though recently, it'd bounced back to peak condition again.
Adam thought it over. His physical stats were heading into superhuman territory—especially his stamina, which had already surpassed "show-off" levels and was closing in on "inhuman."
Sure, he was still human, probably only living to his thirties, but the quality of his life? Totally different.
Adam never got sick, never ran out of energy. Think of those mythical ginseng fruits shaped like babies—sniff one, live 360 years; eat one, live 47,000! Or Tang Monk's flesh with similar vibes.
Adam wasn't on that level, but this weird effect he was causing? It wasn't completely illogical.
A mythical perk! A system perk! Totally made sense! 😏
Still, it was a wake-up call. Playful bedroom talk wasn't something to throw around lightly—not unless the bond was deep. He'd have to keep some distance with others.
"Ow! What are you doing?!" Paige's yelp snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Sorry, sorry!" Adam realized he'd gotten carried away while lost in his vow-making habit and quickly apologized.
Paige took the chance to flop down, ready to sleep. They'd been out all day—she was wiped.
But Adam? Apology aside, he wasn't backing down on principle.
No way.
Tonight was all about beautiful moments and fleeting years. Why waste a perfect night and a gorgeous vibe on sleep? That'd be a crime!
So, he started telling Paige, the ice-cold beauty now softened by the mortal world, the romantic tale of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. He rambled about the wild Eastern myth where a day in the heavens equals a year on Earth, joking that the Queen Mother must really dote on her daughter.
Paige, though, zoned in on the time difference between heaven and Earth. "It's all about gravity," she mused, diving into serious calculations about the gravitational pull of different planets.
She figured that for such an effect, "heaven" would have to be something like a neutron star or a black hole—marveling at how ancient Eastern imaginations transcended time and space…
(End of Chapter)