California Institute of Technology.
Cafeteria.
"You really are an idiot!"
Howard sighed again.
"And then?"
Rajesh asked curiously.
"Every time I said we needed to talk, she'd cry, and then we'd continue 'talking.'"
Leonard said helplessly, yet smugly.
"That's a great way to talk!"
Rajesh said with envy and jealousy, "One day, I'm going to talk like that too. I swear!"
"You discovered a new continent, didn't you?"
Howard hit the nail on the head. "This is your greatest pleasure now, isn't it?"
"Though I hate to say it... it really is exciting!"
Leonard's grin practically reached his ears.
"..."
Howard and Rajesh were so consumed by envy and jealousy that they were practically splitting apart.
People did not fear having little; they feared having less than others.
If everyone was miserable, then that was good enough.
Beep.
Just then, a text message arrived.
Leonard picked it up with a dark expression. The moment he read it, his face brightened. He stood, grabbed his backpack, and left. "Looks like I was wrong. See you~"
A week later.
Los Angeles.
Dr. Saint Vend of San Jose.
"Leonard, why are you here... Huh? No, why do you look so pale?"
After the nurse notified him, Adam came over and found Leonard sitting in his office, his face deathly pale.
"I've been staying up late lately..."
Leonard was deeply embarrassed.
"Heh."
Adam immediately understood and raised his hand to look at his wristwatch.
"...Who told you?"
Leonard cried out in despair.
He was sensitive to that gesture now. Penny's incomparably complicated expression whenever she raised her hand to check the time seemed to appear right before his eyes.
"A little bird."
Adam looked at Leonard's sweater, which had a large bird printed on the chest, and teased, "Compared to you, anyway."
"It was