After greeting each member of the Cooper family who came to welcome him, Mike was warmly invited into the new home of George and the others.
This was also a detached residential building, with two floors, upper and lower, and judging by the layout, it was much larger than the Cooper family's house in Texas.
However, because they had only recently moved in, the house still felt a bit messy.
"Missy, we agreed to compete fairly for the right to use the room. Open the door quickly..."
"Isn't this fair competition? I occupied this room first, so it will be mine from now on..."
"No, this isn't fair at all. As civilized people, we should decide the ownership of the room by competing intellectually..."
"I don't have time for you, don't bother me—"
...
Having a pair of bickering children at home always leads to some unexpected "surprises."
Just as Mike and the others entered the house, they heard Sheldon and Missy arguing from the second floor.
It seemed they were arguing about a room.
"Sheldon, Missy, didn't I tell you that Mike was coming over today? Get down here right now..." As a housewife, Mary felt a bit embarrassed by the situation, so her temper flared up unconsciously.
George, as the head of the family, didn't seem to mind such things and stayed by the side, watching the commotion.
"Mike is here, open the door quickly. Otherwise, I'll tell him you're a violent girl..." By the door on the second floor, Sheldon's eyes darted around as he used a strategy.
He clearly knew Missy had a crush on Mike, so he wanted to use Mike's name to get her to open the door.
However, he seemed to have underestimated how much Missy valued Mike.
At this moment, Missy, upon hearing Mike's arrival, was indeed nervous, but what she was nervous about was her makeup.
A woman adorns herself for her admirer, after all—
Therefore, Sheldon waited at the door for several seconds without getting a response, and could only walk downstairs reluctantly, urged on by his mother.
"Mike, do you know? I'll be enrolling in Caltech in the second half of this year. Their president personally invited me..." Sheldon, who had come downstairs, immediately adopted an arrogant posture upon seeing Mike.
Although Caltech is not as famous as Columbia, its ranking is not low.
Some majors are even more impressive than Columbia University.
Being invited by the president of such a university made Sheldon feel very proud.
And showing off in front of the right person greatly satisfied his vanity.
"Then congratulations to you," Mike said with a smile, "But it's a bit of a shame. Paige and I have already graduated from university. Otherwise, we could have exchanged notes on the teaching standards of our respective universities."
"Wh-what, you've already graduated?" Sheldon, who had been planning to show off his excellent performance in this year's university joint summer camp and how he was scouted by Caltech, froze.
His attempt to show off was interrupted halfway, leaving him with an abrupt and uncomfortable feeling.
"Yes, didn't Paige mention it to you when she saw you before? We both completed four years of university courses in half a year, and now we're just waiting for our PhD. spots." Mike said with a smile, which was like stabbing Sheldon in the heart again.
Speaking of which, with George "taking care" of him now, Sheldon's personality is much livelier than expected, and it's quite interesting to tease him.
And this little guy's proud expression was already plastered all over his face, so even without mind-reading abilities, Mike knew he wanted to show off.
And it just so happened.
Although Mike didn't put much effort into his studies, his academic experience could also be brought out to show off.
This was considered normal interaction...
"Alright, Sheldon, go see why Missy hasn't come down yet." Mary, who had watched the entire process, felt a little sorry for her youngest son, so she helped him find a way out.
"Oh, Missy... She must be nervous because Mike is here." As soon as Missy was mentioned, Sheldon's confidence returned.
Just as he was about to say a few bad things about her in front of Mike, Missy, who had carefully dressed up, came downstairs.
Girls change a lot as they grow up—
After more than half a year, Missy had completely transformed. Nearly 1.7 meters tall, she had shed her baby fat and awkwardness.
She also had a pair of long legs, comparable in proportion to Caroline's.
"Mi-Mike, long time no see!"
However, for some reason, when Missy saw Mike this time, her voice had a "hesitant" quality from the start.
As she spoke, her eyes also darted to other places, giving off a feeling of insecurity.
This contrast was abrupt and very obvious.
Seeing both of her children make a "fool" of themselves in front of Mike, Mary felt a bit embarrassed, but still tried to help her daughter, saying, "Missy, are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
When her mother asked that, the already nervous Missy froze, her ears turning red with embarrassment.
She looked as dazed as she did when she was little...
"I know what's wrong with her..." Sheldon finally found an opportunity to get revenge for the room, and said triumphantly, "The books say that when animals are in heat, they secrete a type of estrogen. Missy's current situation is very much like a female monkey in heat..."
"Shut up! Sheldon!" x2
George and Mary never expected their youngest son to make such an inappropriate remark at that moment.
As experienced adults, both of them could see that their daughter's strange "behavior" seemed to be related to Mike's arrival.
Teenage children, it's understandable.
And Mike was so excellent.
But such a delicate matter of a young girl's feelings was not suitable to be directly revealed in front of the person involved.
Otherwise, it would not only be very embarrassing but might also hurt the girl's self-esteem.
"How can you say that about Missy?" Mary's expression turned serious.
"I just said it... because she stole my room..." Sheldon continued stubbornly, "She's just a female monkey in heat..."
At this, even if Missy wanted to maintain her ladylike image in front of Mike, she was now utterly enraged by Sheldon.
It had exceeded her breaking point.
"You're the monkey!" Finally, Missy exploded, pouncing on Sheldon with bared teeth and claws.
It is well known that in the Cooper family, Missy never won when it came to intelligence, but in terms of physical strength, Sheldon also never won.
Seeing the danger approach, Sheldon took off running.
"You stop right there!" Missy, chasing behind him, no longer spoke awkwardly, and her movements were back to normal.
Then, everyone watched as the two chased each other and disappeared around the corner on the second floor.
"Uh, well, they're just kids, it's good for them to be lively." Seeing his wife about to explode with anger, George quickly spoke up to smooth things over.
As he spoke, he didn't forget to let out a couple of dry laughs to lighten the mood.
"They are indeed quite lively," Mike agreed with a smile.
As the guest of the day, as long as Mike appeared unconcerned, George and Mary would naturally feel much better.
Afterward, under the guidance of Georgie and Mandy, Mary quickly forgot about the children's impoliteness.
"You two sit down first, I'll go prepare dinner for you," Mary, whose mood had calmed down, pulled Mandy, Georgie's wife, to the kitchen.
"This little guy is quite attached to you..."
After only Georgie and a few others were left in the living room, he saw his one-year-old child constantly reaching out to Mike, wanting to be held.
So, Georgie took the opportunity to hand the little one over to Mike.
Sure enough, once in Mike's arms, the little one stopped fussing.
After playing with the little one for a while, Mike looked at George and casually chatted, "By the way, George. What are you planning to do next?"
Strictly speaking, Georgie, after getting married, had already separated from the Cooper family.
And the Cooper family, having just moved to a new place, both George and Mary were unemployed.
Therefore, if George had any ideas, Mike wouldn't mind helping him find a job so he could support his family.
"I've already contacted the Caltech football team. If nothing unexpected happens, I will continue to serve as the football coach." George said with a smile, revealing his plans.
In fact, as a high school football coach, George had achieved a lot in Medford High over the past few years. If it hadn't been for his health issues before, he might have already been a football coach at a university.
Now, it was like returning to his old profession.
"That's good. If you need any help, you can contact me anytime." Mike added a reminder.
Given their relationship, he didn't mind helping the Cooper family a bit more.
"It's okay, with me around, Georgie can continue to pursue his dreams." George, standing by, also made a promise in a joking tone.
In fact, as old Texans, the Cooper family has a very strong sense of family. Even though Georgie has started his own family, he is still a part of the Cooper family.
As a family member, he would naturally share the burden of George and Mary.