Duncan Residence.
As soon as Adam got home, his mom bombarded him with questions. With no way out, he reluctantly mentioned Heather.
"Her name is Heather. She's a student at City University of New York."
"And then?"
His mom looked at him skeptically. "You're not just picking a random girl you've 'dated' to get me off your back, are you?"
"No."
Adam sighed. "She came along for the vacation, and right now, she's hanging out with Juno and Karen."
"What?!"
His mom's voice jumped several octaves. "Your girlfriend came all the way here, and you didn't bring her home to meet us?"
"Calm down."
Adam rubbed his temples. "She's just a girlfriend, not my wife. What, did you expect her to stay at our house? That wouldn't look good—people might gossip."
At that moment, he suddenly thought of Sheldon.
In the original timeline, after dating Amy for years, Sheldon refused to spend Valentine's Day away with her because staying at a hotel together would make it seem like they were living together "too soon," and people would talk.
Now, Adam was facing the "same" dilemma.
Tsk tsk!
Guess they were both in the same boat.
Speaking of which, Sheldon was probably at home. He'd go see him with Juno later.
"Wouldn't look good?"
His mom raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you care about your reputation in that area?"
"Maybe not before, but now I definitely do."
Adam replied confidently, "Successful people are always seen as upright and virtuous, no matter what!"
"..."
His mom was speechless.
She didn't know how to respond to Adam's misplaced confidence because, annoyingly enough, it was kind of true.
People used to gossip about Adam's love life with a hint of mockery.
But ever since Adam became a Columbia student and then a millionaire author, people started praising him as the golden child of the Duncan family.
Even when old rumors resurfaced, they were rebranded as proof of his charm. If he had a lot of admirers, it was just because girls were too eager, and Adam was too kind-hearted to turn them down.
"Invite her and Juno over for dinner tonight. It's not like she has to stay here. What's the harm in that?"
"Alright."
Adam couldn't find a reason to refuse, so he agreed.
After tidying up his things and playing with his little sister, Charlie, for a bit, Adam headed out to find Juno and the others.
And Toby? Totally forgotten.
Come on, he's just the little brother. Little boys are usually troublemakers and not that cute. As the big brother, the fact that Adam didn't smack him around was already considerate. Why should he care about his presence?
---
### At Karen's House.
"What?!"
Heather was stunned when she heard she'd be visiting Adam's house as his girlfriend.
She'd spent over two years with Adam, influenced by both him and Juno. With her past experiences, she understood Adam's "more than friends, less than lovers" philosophy.
They were young, happy together, and perfectly content. Why overthink it?
But after realizing her status had suddenly "upgraded," she couldn't help feeling overjoyed.
If she were from the East, phrases like "slow and steady," "naturally falling into place," and "persistence wears down resistance" would probably come to mind.
Juno watched Adam with a mischievous grin, her eyes practically saying, "You serious?"
"No choice."
Adam looked back helplessly.
"Let's go see Sheldon first?"
Uncomfortable with the awkward atmosphere, Adam changed the subject. "He should be back from Germany by now."
"Good idea."
Juno agreed.
Since the girls needed time to get ready, Adam had to wait... for an entire hour.
---
### Cooper Residence.
**Ding Dong!**
Adam rang the doorbell.
"It's you guys!"
The door was opened by a tall, beautiful teenage girl about fifteen or sixteen years old.
"Hey, Missy, you're getting prettier every day."
Adam greeted her with a smile.
He wasn't just flattering her.
Missy, Sheldon's twin sister, had always been good-looking. Now that she was a teenager, she'd only grown more beautiful—tall, well-proportioned, and with more room to grow.
No wonder she caused such a stir when she first appeared at Caltech in the original timeline. Leonard and the guys were head over heels.
Even Sheldon, who typically showed no interest and looked down on his sister, admitted she had the looks and figure most Westerners adored.
"You're too late."
Missy glanced at Heather, teasingly.
"..."
Adam's mouth twitched.
Too late?
What was that supposed to mean?
"Come on in."
Missy stepped aside to let them in. "Mom's at church. Georgie and Veronica are at work, and I have to go help out soon, too..."
"Where's Sheldon?"
Adam asked with a smile.
He was pretty up-to-date on what was happening with the Coopers.
Georgie had ended up marrying Veronica young, just as expected.
Unfortunately, Sheldon's dad never got to collect on the bet Georgie made about "never marrying young" because he passed away from a heart attack last year.
Without their father, the Cooper family struggled financially for a while.
Mary's job at the church didn't pay much, Missy was still in high school, and Sheldon, who'd graduated college and gone to Germany as a visiting scholar, needed money too.
Georgie stepped up as the eldest and worked hard to support the family.
Recently, word was that Georgie had a knack for tires and was saving up to open his own shop.
"You're here to see Sheldon? Bad choice."
Missy shook her head and looked at Adam with pity, as if there was any other reason he'd be there.
"He's in the garage. You remember where that is, right?"
"Yeah."
Adam nodded and led the way with Juno, Heather, and Karen to the garage.
**Click! Click! Click!**
As they approached, a familiar sound reached their ears. Adam and Juno exchanged a glance and smiled knowingly.
Inside, they saw a circular train track with a detailed model train chugging rhythmically along it.
Standing nearby was a slender teenage boy in a conductor's uniform, complete with a hat, happily controlling the train as it wound through tunnels.
Who else could it be but Sheldon?
"Hey, Sheldon!"
"Hey, Adam. Hey, Juno."
Young Sheldon glanced up briefly, greeted them, then went right back to his model train.
Adam and Juno were used to this and introduced him to Heather. "Sheldon, this is my, uh, girlfriend, Heather. Heather, this is my good friend, Sheldon Cooper..."
"It's Dr. Sheldon Cooper!"
Sheldon corrected, not missing a beat.
Heather: ...
**(End of Chapter)**