Back at the Cooper family household, Mike, who had returned after about half a month, received a warm welcome from Connie and the Cooper family during the subsequent dinner gathering.
This included the eccentric Sheldon.
Over the past half-month, Sheldon had followed Dr. Sturgis, making significant contributions to promoting the Booster Recovery project in authoritative journals and on the internet.
This effort single-handedly earned Dr. Sturgis's research project a nomination for this year's Nobel Prize in Physics.
Sheldon, who had always wanted to surpass Mike intellectually, believed he had contributed more to this Nobel project.
So, upon suddenly seeing Mike, he couldn't help but feel a little smug.
Mike, smiling, listened to Sheldon's boasting, then turned to the relatively quiet Paige and asked, "What's going on at school?"
Unlike Sheldon, Missy, who didn't value honors as much, went back to school to continue her classes after Mike left.
"It's pretty much the same as before..." Missy's gaze towards Mike held delight, but her tone remained calm: "Principal Tom takes good care of you. As long as you don't blow up the school, no one will bother you."
The honors Mike had previously won for the school were enough to let him "walk sideways" there. And Principal Tom clearly cherished that old sentiment.
So, under the Principal's leniency, taking leave or skipping classes was no big deal for Mike.
After understanding the general situation at school, Mike turned to Connie, who was all smiles, and asked, "Connie, are you doing well recently?"
After breaking up with Dr. Sturgis earlier, Connie had been in low spirits for quite some time.
She hadn't really recovered until Mike left for Genovia.
"You know me, I eat well and sleep soundly..." Connie, now seemingly over her last relationship, said with a smile: "I'll tell you a secret, I've won a lot of dollars at the arcade nearby recently. Nothing makes me happier than that."
Connie is an open-minded person; a small surprise in life can make her happy for a long time.
And winning dollars at her favorite arcade was undoubtedly a cause for great celebration for her.
"Is that the basement arcade at the street entrance? Can you really make dollars there?" Mike's brow furrowed unconsciously.
Connie's joyful demeanor indicated that she had won a good amount of dollars at the arcade recently.
Mike also knew the dilapidated arcade at the street entrance; its operating license was somewhere between legitimate and illegitimate, and its equipment consisted of outdated second-hand goods.
To maintain profitability for such an arcade, the owner, Collison, was clearly a very shrewd businessman.
All signs indicated that Connie might have encountered a "fishing" scam this time.
This tactic is common in the gambling industry, often involving strict screening of targets to be fleeced.
Connie's mental state from a while ago perfectly fit the requirements for being scammed.
"Over the past few days, I've won over a thousand dollars, little by little..." Connie, unaware of the seriousness of the situation, kindly shared: "How about it? Next time I'll take you to see for yourself."
"I... I want to go..." Before Mike could react, Missy excitedly raised her small hand.
Among the Cooper family, if you had to say who was most like Connie, it would definitely be Missy.
Both disregarded worldly opinions and both were full of curiosity for new things.
Of course, it might also be that the little girl was short on pocket money.
However, seeing their daughter's ill-timed behavior gave George and his wife quite a headache.
"Mom, don't bring unhealthy things home..." Mary directed her dissatisfaction towards her mother.
"Alright, alright." Faced with Mary's accusation, Connie conceded. But soon she smiled and said to her granddaughter, "Missy, how about we go shopping this weekend? Grandma will buy you ice cream."
The person in this family who cared most about Missy's feelings was probably Connie.
On the other side, Mary looked at her unreliable mother and daughter and could only shake her head helplessly, with no solution.
"Hasn't Dr. Sturgis contacted you recently?" After a brief farce, Mike brought the conversation back.
Connie's frequent visits to the arcade recently were likely due to the breakup.
Now that Dr. Sturgis's research project was over, it stood to reason that it was time for him to come back and find Connie.
"We're over. I have nothing to say to him." When Dr. Sturgis was mentioned, the smile on Connie's face disappeared.
Clearly, she was still angry about Dr. Sturgis's past behavior.
And Connie's reaction also showed the Cooper family and Mike her determination to break up.
Although the end of this twilight romance was a bit regrettable, for two elderly people who were not suited for each other, it was not necessarily a bad thing.
After all, short pain is better than long pain.
Meanwhile, on a park bench in Twilight Park, two scruffy old men were drinking cheap beer.
Dr. Sturgis and Dr. Linkletter, disheveled and reeking of alcohol, showed no signs of being the elite individuals they were supposed to be.
No one would have been able to connect these two hobo-like old men with a professor and a doctor who had just received a Nobel nomination.
"John, you've broken up with Connie. So, can I pursue her now?" Dr. Linkletter, feeling tipsy, voiced his request.
Perhaps it's only at their age that they truly realize the importance of family.
Like Dr. Sturgis, Dr. Linkletter, who was nearing seventy, had dedicated his life to scientific endeavors.
Now that he had achieved some success in his career, his home remained cold and empty, which was why he couldn't forget the uniquely spirited Connie.
This time, accompanying Dr. Sturgis for a commiseration drink, he wanted to get his permission to pursue his ex-girlfriend.
"No, haven't you heard an Eastern proverb: 'Do not take advantage of a friend's wife!'" Dr. Sturgis was drunk, but not completely.
Even though he had tried to reconcile with Connie multiple times without success, Dr. Sturgis still held a glimmer of hope. So, even after drinking, he couldn't agree to Dr. Linkletter pursuing his ex-girlfriend.
"Alright, I respect your opinion... because we're friends..." People like Dr. Linkletter not only lacked a partner but also had very few friends.
Therefore, he valued the rare friendships he had.
Dr. Linkletter, having expressed a flood of emotions, was moved by his own words. But when he turned around, he found that the friend he valued so much had already fallen asleep on the park bench.
...
Back at school, Mike, who had received a Nobel nomination, was not significantly affected in his daily school life.
For some students in Medford, they didn't even know what the Nobel Prize was.
Therefore, apart from many girls who came to seek Mike's autograph, drawn by his Summer League championship, his campus life remained relatively calm.
On the other side, Mia's princess scandal at school had also passed, so the girl's campus life had returned to peace.
Of course, in Mike's opinion, Mia, besides looking like a princess, was increasingly embodying the demeanor of a true princess.
For example, this Princess had learned to stick to her principles.
Time passed day by day, calm and beautiful.
However, one evening, Mike noticed that Connie, who had just returned, looked very upset.