After dinner on Friday, Mike and Paige returned to Connie's, sitting together on the old sofa in her house, watching a soap opera on television.
They were enjoying their rare leisure time.
"Paige, do you want to come with me tomorrow to meet Mia's grandmother, Queen Renaldi?" Mike suddenly asked.
During this time, the little girl was either studying at school or doing scientific research in the university laboratory, and on weekends, she stayed at home alone, spending time with Mike's computer.
No entertainment, no extra social activities, this kind of monotonous life was not good for the little girl's growth.
Paige's situation was different from Sheldon's; she didn't dislike socializing, it was just that her extremely high IQ made it difficult for her to make friends.
"The Queen of Genovia? Okay," Paige thought for a moment before answering.
Mia and her grandmother's identities were still confidential, but because of Mike, Paige obviously knew who they were.
The little girl had met Mia before; she was a girl who wore her heart on her sleeve, but was unexpectedly gentle and kind on the inside.
Overall, she was a good girl.
Yes, Paige, with her super high IQ and EQ, was that accurate and thorough in judging people.
And Mia's grandmother, who managed the development of a small country, must be an extremely outstanding woman, so Paige didn't mind meeting her.
"OK, I'll call Joseph now and ask him for the Queen's opinion," Mike said.
For someone of Queen Renaldi's status, it would be very impolite to bring someone to visit without her permission.
Once the call connected, Mike informed Joseph of his intention and briefly explained Paige's situation.
Soon, Joseph, after consulting with the Queen, gave an affirmative answer.
Queen Renaldi didn't mind Mike bringing another child along.
"It's settled, we can have lunch with the Queen tomorrow at noon," Mike said, returning to the sofa and sharing the good news with the little girl.
"Got it." Paige's reaction was very calm, and then she shifted a few times on the sofa, leaning against Mike, and continued watching the soap opera on television.
Everything seemed so warm.
When Saturday arrived, although she had seemed calm last night, when it was time to meet the Queen, the little girl still made an effort to dress up.
Her off-white floral long dress was very beautiful, and the bright fruit hair accessory on her head was also very cute.
"So, let's go. We'll pick up Mia first, then go see the Queen; the timing will be just right." As noon approached, Mike called Paige, who was in front of the mirror, and they left together.
During this period, unless Mike was busy, he usually took Mia to see her grandmother.
As for Joseph's stretched limousine, it was already about to be retired.
At this moment, the Ferrari, with its top down, once again arrived in the old town, and Mia was already waiting downstairs.
Then, Mike picked up the girl and drove towards the Queen's villa, enjoying the breeze.
Indeed, young people really enjoy driving convertibles.
Before long, the red Ferrari pulled up outside the luxurious villa, and the stern-faced butler came to greet them, his gaze lingering on the little girl Paige for an extra second.
Then, the butler led the three into the villa.
This time, the butler did not use a metal detector on Paige, who was visiting for the first time, clearly because the Queen had given him prior notice.
In the living room, Queen Renaldi sat gracefully on the sofa, as always.
As Mike and the two girls arrived, she rose and looked at the "newcomer" Paige, smiling and teasing, "Whose little angel is this? She's so cute~"
It proved that even a Queen could joke sometimes.
Perhaps due to her age, Queen Renaldi seemed very happy to see the little girl Paige.
"Hello, Queen Renaldi. I'm Paige," Paige greeted politely.
She didn't dislike the Queen's elegant demeanor.
These two seemed to get along unexpectedly well.
Next, the Queen led the three to enjoy a sumptuous royal lunch, and she didn't forget to instruct her granddaughter on dining etiquette during the meal.
Yes, even now, Mia hadn't fully mastered royal dining etiquette.
On one hand, royal dining etiquette was simply too complex, and on the other hand, the girl's carefree personality often made her overlook details.
After lunch, Mia's lesson for the day was piano. As a classical instrument, practicing the piano could give the girl an elegant demeanor.
This was very important.
And the teacher responsible for instructing the girl was still the versatile butler.
Here, Mike accompanied Mia to learn the piano.
Over there, the little girl Paige was unexpectedly pulled by Queen Renaldi to the sofa for a chat.
[Piano playing experience + 5]... [Piano playing experience + 3]...
As the butler taught, Mike felt that today was another fruitful day.
However, this was tough on Mia, the future princess of the kingdom; the stiffness of her slender fingers made the butler wonder if she was truly suited to learning the piano.
Things like musicality and touch couldn't be taught by others.
The only way to improve was to practice more.
So, after two hours of torture from the piano keys, Mia, upon finishing her lesson for the day, fled the villa as if escaping a disaster.
On the other hand, the little girl Paige seemed to be in a very good mood.
Her conversation with Queen Renaldi this time was very pleasant, and even when saying goodbye, the Queen invited the little girl to visit again next time.
"How about we go shopping at the commercial street?" Mike suggested in the red Ferrari.
Then, his suggestion was unanimously approved by both girls.
Medford's town area was actually very large, belonging to a vast and sparsely populated region, and only the commercial street here was always lively.
Before long, under the influence of the lively atmosphere of the commercial street, Mia's mood improved.
Then, a delicious strawberry ice cream made the girl completely forget her unpleasantness.
Afterward, to accommodate the little girl Paige, Mike took the two ladies to an amusement park.
Here, although the little girl Paige said it was childish, she was happier than anyone else when playing bumper cars and roller coasters.
In the evening, Mike treated the two ladies to a special chicken dinner, thus ending their pleasant day.
After dropping Mia off at home, when Mike and Paige rushed back to Connie's, they immediately saw Connie sitting on the sofa in the living room without the lights on.
Her head slightly lowered, she looked a bit dejected.
This kind of emotion was rare for Connie.
"Connie, what happened?" Mike led Paige to the sofa and sat down.
Connie had been very happy when they left that morning.
Because Mike wasn't going to the University of Texas today, Connie was taking Sheldon to the laboratory there instead.
Similarly, this was also a good opportunity for Connie to visit Dr. Sturgis.
The two elderly people, who had confirmed their romantic relationship, hadn't seen each other for a long time.
For this reason, Connie had actually dressed up nicely when she left that morning.
"I don't know what to say." Connie organized her thoughts: "I feel like John likes those research projects more than he likes me..."
After getting older, Connie valued spiritual resonance with her partner more, commonly known as spiritual love.
Therefore, she could tolerate not seeing the other person, but she couldn't tolerate not being in their heart.
Dr. Sturgis's personality was a bit like Sheldon's: slow to perceive emotions and a bit self-centered.
Especially when they were doing something they liked, they would intentionally block out surrounding distractions.
Therefore, it was not difficult to imagine that Connie, who had been looking forward to reuniting with Dr. Sturgis today, must have been given the cold shoulder by him.
"This..." Mike, understanding the cause and effect, didn't know how to comfort Connie.
In fact, in his opinion, Connie and Dr. Sturgis were no longer suitable as a couple.
From their knowledge to their personalities to the things they pursued, they were very different, like people from two different worlds.
And what was worse, neither of them was the type to compromise for the other.
"Whew, thank you for listening to an old woman's rambling, I feel much better." After pouring out her feelings, Connie seemed to be in much better spirits: "Alright, I need to go get some good sleep, you two should also rest early."
With that, she got up and walked towards her room.
One could only say that this was indeed Connie; she was far more free-spirited than most people.