Raj is not the kind of person who takes advantage of others. Although beauty was within easy reach, he refused to be so despicable.
After returning home, he washed up and went to bed. The night passed without incident.
The next morning, when Paige woke up, she was shocked to find herself in her bedroom. She clearly remembered the last night—she had been crying in the living room. Why was she in the bedroom now? Did Raj carry her in? Had he taken advantage of her while she was unconscious?
The more Paige thought about it, the more terrified she became. But when she checked her clothes and found no signs of being disturbed, she breathed a sigh of relief.
To be honest, last night had been extremely dangerous. She'd gotten drunk, lost control of herself, passed out, and hadn't even known how she got back to her bedroom. If someone had taken the opportunity to violate her, she would have had no chance to resist.
She was fortunate that Raj was a true gentleman who had simply carried her to bed without doing anything inappropriate. Otherwise, if it had been anyone else, it would be too late for tears now.
Thinking of this, Paige couldn't help feeling simultaneously frightened and grateful toward Raj.
After washing up, Paige ate two slices of bread for breakfast, then went downstairs to catch the bus to school. When she entered Raj's office, he was already working.
"Raj, good morning," she said with a smile. "Thank you for what you did last night."
"You're welcome," Raj said, waving his hand with a smile. "Do you have any hangover symptoms? If you have a headache, I have aspirin here."
"Thank you, but no need. I'm fine," Paige replied, waving her hand.
"Okay, let's start working then." Raj nodded and didn't say anything more.
Paige nodded in agreement. Actually, she had been somewhat apprehensive just now. Last night, emboldened by alcohol, she seemed to have revealed many secrets. Now that she was sober, she regretted it terribly, especially fearing that Raj might tease her about these private matters. That would be mortifying.
But seeing that Raj was no different from usual, still focused on his work, she immediately felt relieved.
The new workday had just begun when there was another knock on the office door. Paige walked over to open it and saw Leonard standing outside with an embarrassed expression on his face.
"Hey, Leonard, what's the matter?" Raj asked curiously.
"Raj, I'm here to apologize to you," Leonard said hesitantly as he walked in.
"Apologize? What are you apologizing for?" Raj asked in confusion.
"Uh... Penny was your girlfriend after all. I should have asked you before I started dating her," Leonard said, looking uncomfortable.
He felt that this wasn't how a friend should behave, but he couldn't help himself. He was so starved for affection, a need that had gone unfulfilled since childhood.
"Leonard, you don't need to apologize for that. Penny was just my ex-girlfriend, and after we broke up, she had nothing to do with me. She's an adult, and she's free to date whoever she wants without going through me. I won't interfere in her private life," Raj said, waving his hands with a smile. "We're like two straight lines—once they intersect, they never intersect again."
"But if the two straight lines are in multidimensional space..." Leonard began to argue.
"Leonard, we're fine, okay?" Raj interrupted his impending lecture, nodding at him reassuringly.
"Okay, thank you," Leonard said, breathing a sigh of relief.
At noon, Raj took Paige to the private dining room. Paige couldn't help but be surprised to see the sumptuous dishes and luxurious décor, especially considering how inexpensive it was.
"Wow, this place is amazing," she said in surprise.
"This is the school's reward for my discovery of the TO1700D asteroid. They gave me special permission to dine here," Raj explained.
"I see," Paige nodded.
At that moment, Howard rushed in.
"Raj, do you know that Leonard and Penny are together?" he blurted out as soon as he arrived.
"I know. They were having dinner together on Saturday night, and I happened to run into them," Raj replied calmly.
"Then why aren't you angry at all?" Howard asked in surprise, seeing how composed Raj was.
"What's there to be angry about?" Raj laughed. "Both of them are free people, not my slaves. They're free to date whoever they want. Why should I be angry?"
"Damn, if I'd known you weren't angry, I would have made a move on her long ago," Howard complained.
Raj smiled, knowing that even if Howard had pursued Penny before Leonard, it would have been futile. Although Howard had taken his advice and changed his hairstyle, clothing, and accessories, he still hadn't changed his sleazy demeanor and couldn't help using crude pickup lines when talking to women. No girl wanted to engage with him, so naturally it was impossible for anyone to feel attracted to him.
"Don't be discouraged. I believe you'll still have a chance," Raj encouraged him.
"Yes, thank you," Howard said gratefully.
"By the way, let me tell you something else. Sheldon took back his spot on the couch," Howard added.
"Really?" After hearing this, Raj couldn't help but feel disappointed.
He had even lost Penny trying to help Leonard. Yet Leonard had only held the spot for a week before Sheldon reclaimed it. Leonard was still too weak-willed to stand his ground.
"Yes, Sheldon got Leonard to tear up the permanent transfer letter on the condition that he would allow Penny to eat at the same table with them," Howard explained.
Raj nodded after listening. Leonard was far too starved for affection—as long as he could win a girl's favor, he was willing to do almost anything.
The last time he'd been in a relationship with the spy Joyce Kim, he'd almost leaked national defense secrets to her. A sofa seat was nothing in comparison.
By giving in this way, he'd been dominated by Sheldon once again, and it would likely be difficult for him to recover.
"Forget it. The seat was his to begin with, and he can take it back if he wants," Raj said with a laugh.
He wasn't some savior trying to rescue everyone, so why should he meddle in other people's affairs?
In "The Shawshank Redemption," there's a line that says it well: the strong save themselves, and the saints save others. If Leonard didn't even have the courage to save himself, it would be futile for others to help him.
"Even though that seat belonged to Sheldon, you won it for Leonard. I'm not happy about Sheldon just taking it back like that," Howard complained.
He'd never particularly liked Sheldon, so seeing Sheldon get tricked by Raj had been entertaining to watch. But now, seeing Leonard simply hand it back really bothered him.
"What conflict did you have with Sheldon?" Paige asked curiously.
Raj smiled. Actually, there was no major conflict between him and Sheldon. He simply didn't want to endure Sheldon's terrible temperament anymore and didn't want to be friends with him. It wasn't worth discussing.
Seeing Paige's interest, Howard immediately seized this rare opportunity to make conversation and began complaining endlessly about Sheldon's faults—how selfish he was, how conceited, how sharp-tongued, how low his emotional intelligence was, and so on. He even revealed how Sheldon had sabotaged Raj's relationship with Penny.
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