Chapter 196: Chubby Girl: Chuck is amazing, my dad said so!
"But Amazing Amy is amazing too."
The little girl was happy with her father's affirmation, but after her initial joy, looking at the Amazing Amy being fawned over, she held up the old book in her hand. "She was a slugger when she was my age, and she only played with you, Dad, just like me."
"You're even more amazing than her!"
The little girl's father smiled meaningfully. "Because you're fearless when facing me."
"Hehe."
Hearing this, the little girl hugged her father's arm and giggled. "You're my dad, I only love you, how could I be afraid of you?"
"In this respect alone, you're already the best."
The little girl's father patted his daughter's head and smiled genuinely. "I guarantee it!"
"Okay."
The little girl leaned against her father, looking at the Amazing Amy signing autographs by herself and the parents behind her who didn't seem to care about Amazing Amy at all and were just chatting and laughing, and suddenly felt that what her father said was so true—she was no worse than Amazing Amy.
After waiting in a long line, it was finally the little girl's turn.
Amazing Amy looked up at the adorable little girl holding her old book and couldn't help but smile. "What a cute little girl! What's your name?"
"Penny,"
the little girl happily handed over her old book. "Amazing Amy, I like you a lot, and I hope to be like you."
"Okay, Penny."
Although Amazing Amy was immune to and even tired of this kind of conversation—because she knew that the Amazing Amy people were referring to was a projection in the book, not herself—she still took the old book with an unchanged smile, opened the title page, and flashed an American-style smile, revealing exactly eight teeth. "What do you want me to write for you?"
"Just: Penny will marry Ernie, not Rosie!"
Little Penny immediately said what she had already thought of.
"Who's Ernie?"
Amazing Amy asked casually as she signed.
"You don't know Ernie and Bert?"
Little Penny looked at Amazing Amy in surprise.
"Oh, that Bert and Ernie."
Amazing Amy suddenly realized.
She wouldn't have known who Ernie was on her own, but when she heard Bert and Ernie, she understood—characters from the Sesame Street puppet show.
"Yes!"
Little Penny, eager to say more to Amazing Amy, immediately introduced with great enthusiasm, "In first grade, my best friend Rosie and I made a promise that when we grew up, we would both marry Bert and Ernie."
"And then you found out that you both wanted to marry Ernie, right?"
Amazing Amy laughed.
"How did you know?"
Little Penny covered her mouth, looking at Amazing Amy in surprise.
"Because Ernie is more fun."
Amazing Amy revealed the secret.
"Giggle."
Little Penny immediately giggled.
"Are you done yet?"
Someone behind her urged impatiently.
"We're done when we say we're done, you have a problem with that?"
Little Penny's father was watching his daughter interact with her idol with a smile, and when he heard this jarring remark, he immediately turned to look at the person complaining.
"Of course I have a problem..."
The person was about to get angry, but when he met Little Penny's father's cold gaze, his mind suddenly went blank, and he forgot all the words he was about to say. He only felt a chill run down his spine, lowered his head, and dared not meet Little Penny's father's eyes.
"Anyone else?"
Seeing the other party back down, Penny's father glanced around with his cold gaze and uttered his signature line.
Even the 'troublemaker' who had been complaining at the beginning didn't dare to utter a sound, and the others naturally tactfully avoided looking directly at him or speaking up.
"This is my dad!"
Penny, seeing this, didn't think there was anything wrong with it at all, but instead introduced him to her idol with unusual pride.
Amazing Amy nodded with a reserved smile, then said to Penny, "Penny, you've got your signature. Let's see each other again next time, okay?"
"But I wanted to talk to you a little more."
Penny pouted in disappointment. "We came all the way from Omaha."
"That far?"
Amazing Amy was a little surprised, glancing at Penny and her father thoughtfully. "Are you on a father-daughter cross-country tour?"
"Uh."
Penny immediately lowered her head guiltily.
She had wanted to take this opportunity to talk more with her idol and get some exclusive fan time, but she didn't expect that her idol would see through her immediately.
The truth was, she didn't come here specifically for this event; she was on a nationwide road trip with her father and just happened to be passing by.
"Penny?"
Amy called out.
"Okay,"
the little girl Penny could only confess, "My dad's taking me on a cross-country trip, and my brother's so jealous! But what can I do? I'm the best at slugging it out with my dad."
Saying this, she immediately raised her chin proudly. "We're going to Hollywood next! I want to be a Hollywood star someday!"
"You can do it,"
Amy said, glancing at Penny's father, whose smile had returned to normal, and offering a standard encouraging smile.
"I think so too,"
Penny said, even happier, chattering away to tell her idol, "After we've seen Hollywood, my dad's going to take me to Silicon Valley to see Bill Gates! He's the world's richest man! He's the pride of Omaha!"
"Why is Bill Gates the pride of Omaha?"
Amy wasn't in a hurry to end the conversation; she was curious to chat with Penny to subtly learn about the seemingly ordinary yet occasionally charismatic and intimidating man beside her.
"You don't know, do you?"
"Others probably don't know, but I found out—Bill Gates bought a lot of land in our area. There's a farm right next to my house, so I'm actually the neighbor of Bill Gates, the world's richest man! My dad says Bill Gates isn't just the world's richest man and a tech genius, he'll also be the biggest farmer in America. There are many farms in our area, and my family has one too, so Bill Gates is the pride of our area, right?"
"Ah, right, right,"
Amy praised Penny's logic.
"But I don't think being a farmer is anything special,"
Penny said, raising her chin and gesturing confidently. "Being covered in dirt all day, even being the biggest farmer in America isn't as interesting as being a celebrity! I really don't know what Bill Gates is thinking!"
"What do you think?"
Amy asked with a smile.
"I think,"
the little girl Penny tilted her head, glancing furtively at her father, "land is the most basic, stable, and indispensable wealth. It's very profitable, it's just a little bit dirty."
Amazing Amy understood. This was hardly the kind of reasoning a little girl could come up with; it was clearly parroting what she'd heard from her father and now just repeating it.
However, this also made her more curious about Penny's mysterious father. What ordinary farmer would have such insight, daring to predict that the world's richest man, who had rapidly amassed a massive fortune through technology, would one day become the largest farmer in America—a traditionally undervalued role?
"Otherwise, being the largest farmer in America would actually be quite interesting."
Little Penny, oblivious to her idol's wandering attention, became increasingly excited. "Then I'll hold the world's biggest calf-butting competition, and I'm sure I'll win first place!"
"A calf-butting competition?"
Amazing Amy casually remarked.
"Yes."
Little Penny nodded repeatedly, gesturing with her hands. "It's like head-butting with a calf! I can knock a calf to the ground!"
"Really?"
Amazing Amy was stunned, unable to help but focus her attention on the little girl Penny who was making such bold claims. Although the little girl was a bit chubby, she was still only eight or nine years old. She really couldn't imagine that she could knock a calf to the ground.
"Hmph."
Seeing that her idol didn't believe her, little Penny snorted, "Of course! Otherwise, why do you think my dad calls me a slugger?"
As she said this, she stretched out her hand and made a baseball bat swinging motion in the air.
"Amazing!"
Whether Amazing Amy believed it in her heart or not, she outwardly acknowledged that the little girl in front of her had the talent of being incredibly strong.
"You're amazing too."
Little Penny giggled, then looked at Amazing Amy with envy. "What's it like dating Detective Chuck?"
"You know Chuck?"
Amazing Amy smiled.
"Of course."
Little Penny nodded. "He's so popular lately. My dad says he's amazing, so he really is."
"You two have such a good father-daughter relationship."
Amazing Amy looked at the father and daughter, a hint of envy flashing in her eyes, but she quickly suppressed it and smiled at Penny. "Do you want Chuck's autograph?"
"Yes!"
Little Penny nodded repeatedly, then looked around. "Is he here now?"
"No."
Amazing Amy smiled. "But you can leave your address, and I'll have him sign all my books and send them to you, okay?"
"Great!"
Little Penny clapped her hands and cheered. "Rosie will definitely regret ignoring me even more then, haha!"
Ever since the two little girls discovered that they both only wanted to marry Ernie, the two best friends had fallen out and stopped talking to each other.
"What's going on here?"
Just then, Amy's parents, who had been chatting in the back, noticed the line had stopped moving and the restlessness of the people waiting, and came over.
"Nothing."
Amy shook her head. "This is Penny, and her dad."
She looked at Penny's father, asking with her eyes what to call him.
"Frank."
Penny's father glanced at her and slowly uttered a name.
"Oh, Penny, thank you for liking Amy."
Amy's mother skillfully smiled and urged them to leave. "You've already gotten your autograph, and there are many people waiting behind you. You don't want to disappoint others, do you?"
"Okay."
Penny pouted, reluctantly making way.
"I already have your contact address and will definitely send you the autograph you want."
Amazing Amy waved the paper with the contact address written on it. "You can write to me if you're interested in the future, and I'll reply."
"Really?"
Little Penny perked up again, looking at her father. "Daddy, did you hear that?"
"Yes, Slugger."
Frank, Penny's father, smiled again on his usually cold face. "Of course you can write to her. Daddy has her address; she'll receive it."
Amazing Amy narrowed her eyes, watching the departing father and daughter, then looked at the contact address in her hand, lost in thought, until her mother urged her to continue.
She didn't have time to call Chuck until nightfall.
New Jersey.
At the Dunphy's house, a dinner party was underway.
"I can't believe it, Mrs. Heather is the murderer."
Although Claire already knew the news, she still couldn't help but exclaim in shock when facing Chuck.
"Yes,"
Gloria said, still somewhat indignant about everything. "I'm the only one who seemed like the murderer, but unfortunately, it turns out I'm not even qualified to be the murderer because I'm not white!"
"Gloria,"
Jay looked helplessly at his young wife.
"Chuck, right?"
the tall, heavy-set Cameron couldn't help but interject with a flamboyant gesture. "Are you sure it's Mrs. Heather? You didn't arrest the wrong person, did you?"
"Cameron!"
his partner, Mitchell, immediately became anxious, wanting to stop his partner from being so dramatic at any moment.
"What's wrong?"
Cameron, increasingly annoyed by his partner's reaction, uttered what seemed like the most correct but ultimately meaningless statement in a pointed tone. "It's perfectly normal, isn't it? Anyone can make mistakes! The police have made far too many wrongful convictions!"
"Mr. Dunphy, I need to rent a luxury apartment."
Chuck ignored the pointed remarks and looked directly at Phil Dunphy. "Can you handle that?"
"Just call me Phil! Rent or buy a house? Ask Phil Dunphy, of course I can!"
Phil Dunphy was pleasantly surprised when Chuck brought this up, agreeing while quickly glancing smugly at Cameron.
Claire and the others rolled their eyes in unison, knowing exactly what Phil meant.
"Get it done as soon as possible,"
Chuck said, then dropped the matter.
"Tch!"
Chuck's dismissive attitude only fueled Cameron's growing dissatisfaction. "I'm talking to you! I know, you're homophobic, aren't you..."
Before he could finish, Jay abruptly interrupted him with a loud shout. "Enough! Cameron! I already said I invited Chuck tonight, you didn't need to come at all! Since you insisted on coming, don't use that excuse here!"
"...What did I say?"
Cameron wanted to say something, but meeting the uncomfortable looks from the others, he suddenly remembered that his father-in-law, Jay, had indeed warned that if Chuck didn't shake his hand, it might trigger a reaction from him. Although there was no handshake this time, it had almost led to their common tactic of 'you're homophobic,' and he felt somewhat embarrassed.
"Chuck, I'm so sorry."
Jay apologized to Chuck with a helpless expression. "I really didn't want this, but this family... sigh."
"I understand, it's a modern family, after all,"
Chuck said calmly.
Cameron opened his mouth, but with his partner Mitchell holding him back and his father-in-law seemingly about to lose his temper, he swallowed his words.
He sensed a hint of sarcasm in Chuck's words.
"Hi, Chuck, it's Haley."
Seeing the tense atmosphere, eldest daughter Haley immediately adjusted her top and smiled eagerly at Chuck. "It's great to meet you, OMG! You're even more handsome and charismatic than in the magazines!"
Chuck nodded to her.
The atmosphere immediately quieted down again.
"Chuck, what kind of apartment do you need?"
Phil looked around, head held high, and took over the conversation. "Is it for one person?"
"No."
Chuck shook his head. "I've already sent you the list of requirements. Just look for places that match."
"Oh, okay."
Phil quickly checked his email and found that he hadn't read the new messages. He waved his phone apologetically. "I was a little busy just now and didn't notice! I'll check it right now!"
"Dr. Wolfe, does being a detective drain your energy?"
Middle daughter Alex finally spoke up under her mother Claire's encouraging gaze. "After all, mathematics is your main profession!"
"No."
Chuck looked at Alex. "Being a detective is just for relaxation. Doing mathematical research requires inspiration, and I can multitask. I don't need to be in the office to do mathematical research."
"Wow! That's amazing!"
Alex exclaimed with admiration. "I really wish I had your ability to multitask. Although I've learned a lot, I've already felt my limits. I feel a bit overwhelmed when I try to learn new things. If I could multitask, it would be much easier."
"Yes."
Chuck nodded honestly.
Multitasking is incredibly useful, even for someone as intelligent as him.
Everyone: "..."
In the wilderness.
An RV was driving steadily. Frank, Penny's father, was driving. Looking in the rearview mirror, he saw his daughter sprawled out on the bed, fast asleep. A slight smile played on his lips. But when he looked back at the road, his demeanor completely changed.
(End of Chapter)
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