While the three of them were busy sorting through boxes and organizing Penny's belongings, Howard suddenly noticed that one of the cartons had the word "underwear" written on it in black marker, which made his eyes light up with unmistakable interest.
"Penny, is this your underwear in this box? Let me help you hang it in the closet," Howard said, picking up the box a bit too eagerly.
"Ah, no need, I'll take care of that myself," Penny replied, surprised by his offer. She immediately walked over and reached for the box. She definitely didn't want Howard anywhere near her intimate clothes.
"It's okay, I'd be happy to help," Howard insisted, clearly eager to get a glimpse of Penny's lingerie collection.
Seeing that he was being so inappropriate and pushy, Penny couldn't help frowning, her discomfort growing more obvious.
"Howie, come and move this sofa with me," Raj called out quickly, sensing the awkward situation and trying to intervene.
"Ah, Raj is calling you," Penny said immediately, seizing the opportunity. She grabbed the box from Howard's hands, gave him a tight smile, then hurried into the bedroom to put her underwear away safely.
Left with no choice, Howard reluctantly went to help Raj move the sofa.
"Dude, what's wrong with you?" Raj asked in a hushed voice while they repositioned the sofa. "You knew there was someone's underwear inside. Why were you so insistent on helping her hang it?"
"Hey, don't you want to know what she's wearing underneath?" Howard shot back defensively, as if his behavior was perfectly reasonable.
"I don't want to know," Raj said firmly and categorically. "If she chooses to show me, then I'd have a real chance with her. If she doesn't want to share that with me, even if I somehow saw it, what good would it do? It wouldn't mean anything."
Howard paused, taken aback by the unexpected wisdom in his friend's words, finding himself completely speechless.
"Brother, what books have you been reading lately? What you're saying is becoming more and more reasonable," he finally said with a resigned sigh.
After working diligently for nearly an hour, Raj and Howard finally helped Penny finish organizing her new apartment.
Seeing her once-messy new home now looking tidy, organized, and comfortable, Penny's face lit up with genuine happiness. "Thank you both so much. You really helped me out a lot today."
"You're welcome," Howard replied with a smile. "I'm always happy to help a beautiful woman like you."
"Hehe, well, thank you," Penny said with a slightly embarrassed laugh. "I don't know how I can properly repay you for all this work. How about this—can I treat you both to dinner tonight?"
At that moment, Leonard and Sheldon walked through the door carrying a large LCD television between them.
"Wow, Leonard, you really helped me get the TV back. Thank you both so much." Penny walked forward with a warm smile spreading across her face.
Leonard felt a surge of joy at being able to help his beautiful neighbor.
"It's nothing, just a little thing," he said casually, trying to downplay his efforts.
"Small thing?!" Sheldon didn't quite agree with that assessment. After all, they had traveled halfway across Los Angeles in order to retrieve the TV, and they had nearly been beaten up in the process.
"Small thing," Leonard repeated, squinting at Sheldon with a pointed look, his tone more emphatic this time.
"Oh, yes... small thing," Sheldon reluctantly conceded, getting the hint.
"Did the process go smoothly? He didn't make things difficult for you, did he?" Penny asked with genuine concern in her voice.
"Well..." Leonard hesitated for a moment, uncertain how much to reveal.
"What's the matter? Did he make things difficult for you?" Penny's expression grew worried when she noticed his hesitation.
"At first he really didn't want to give it back, but then I told him I was your lawyer, so he obediently handed over the TV," Leonard explained, a hint of pride in his voice.
"Wow, you're really smart," Penny said with amazement. She hadn't expected that Leonard, who looked like such a stereotypical nerd, would be so quick-thinking and flexible when it mattered.
"Thank you," Leonard said, beaming with happiness at receiving praise from the beautiful woman he admired.
"Wasn't it actually Raj who came up with the idea of pretending to be a lawyer?" Sheldon interjected, causing trouble as usual.
Leonard's smile suddenly froze, an embarrassed expression replacing his earlier joy.
Penny turned to look at Raj with surprise and renewed interest.
He was handsome, considerate, and clever—truly a good catch.
"Although I came up with the idea, it was Leonard who actually carried it out. The credit really should go to him," Raj said modestly, deflecting the attention back to Leonard.
"I see," Penny nodded, even more impressed by his humility. "Anyway, thank you all so much. I'm taking everyone out to dinner."
"Yeah!" Howard couldn't help but cheer enthusiastically at the prospect of a free meal.
After taking a short break to freshen up, the five of them headed downstairs together.
"Everyone can ride in my car," Leonard announced, pulling out his keys and gesturing toward his vehicle. "Penny, you can take the passenger seat."
His car is a GM Saab 9-5, priced at about $25,000, which is an ordinary mid-range vehicle.
"Why should I move? I've always been the co-pilot," Sheldon immediately objected when he heard the suggestion.
"Let me drive too. After the dinner, Howard and I will go home directly," Raj suggested, then walked over and drove his BMW up alongside them.
Compared with Leonard's Saab, Raj's BMW was undoubtedly a higher-end vehicle, its polished exterior gleaming under the afternoon sun.
"Oh, what a beautiful car!" Penny couldn't help but exclaim admiringly.
"Thank you. Would you like to try driving it?" Raj offered with a warm smile.
"Really?! That would be amazing! Thank you!" Penny said in delighted surprise. She immediately walked over and got into the driver's seat of Raj's car, while Raj graciously moved to the passenger seat beside her.
Howard and Leonard stood there dumbfounded, watching this exchange unfold.
"Damn it, it looks like I'm going to need to buy a car too," Howard muttered under his breath. His current vehicle was just a small Vespa scooter, hardly impressive transportation.
"Hey, buddy, wait a minute—I'll ride with you too," he called out, then quickly ran over and climbed into Raj's car, settling into the back seat behind Penny.
Seeing that no one was competing with him anymore, Sheldon sat down happily in Leonard's passenger seat with a satisfied expression.
Leonard looked at him helplessly and shook his head, then had no choice but to sit back in the driver's seat and start the engine.
Under Penny's direction, they drove together toward the restaurant, with Raj's BMW leading the way.
"Wow, this car feels really good to drive—so much better than the car I bought," Penny said with genuine satisfaction as she navigated the streets, clearly enjoying the smooth handling and responsive steering.
She had bought a secondhand car that was constantly having problems. The engine had issues, and there was always something breaking down, either the transmission or the electrical system. Compared with Raj's luxurious BMW, hers was practically a pile of junk.
"Thank you. I'm glad you're enjoying it," Raj replied modestly. "Actually, this was a birthday present from my father."
"Oh, your father must be really well-off," Penny said enviously, impressed by such generosity.
This BMW had to cost at least fifty or sixty thousand dollars. The fact that Raj's father had given him such an expensive gift as a present clearly indicated that the family was more than ordinarily wealthy.
"Yes, he owns the largest maternity hospital in New Delhi," Raj explained with a modest nod.
"Really?! That's incredible!" Penny exclaimed in surprise.
Doctors have always been among the highest-paid professionals in the United States, which makes them particularly enviable. And Raj's family actually owned an entire hospital, which meant their income must be substantially higher than even a typical doctor's salary.
She couldn't believe it—this smart, considerate, and gentle handsome man was actually a wealthy heir. This revelation only intensified her growing interest in him.
"Wait, your family is that rich? I haven't heard you mention any of this before," Howard chimed in from the back seat, equally surprised to learn that Raj's family ran a hospital.
"To be honest, I don't like to talk about it too much. I don't want people to think I'm showing off or bragging," Raj explained with a humble smile, his tone sincere and unpretentious.
"You're absolutely doing the right thing," Penny agreed wholeheartedly, nodding as she drove.
The wealthy guys she had encountered before in Los Angeles all loved to show off their money and possessions, flaunting their wealth at every opportunity. None of them had been as low-key, restrained, and mature as Raj appeared to be.
It really is hard to compare people to one another, she thought. You throw goods away when comparing them to better ones, but you can only feel inadequate when comparing yourself to better people.
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