Make Them Think You're Cool and Interesting, and That's Enough

Speaking of it, the new school year brought Link no great surprises. To raise his intelligence faster, aside from playing baseball and studying Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with Robert, he devoted all his energy to studying. Everything was for improving his attributes.

Over the course of a year, as his body rapidly developed, the rate at which Link's attributes increased also sped up considerably. At the same time, he raised his intelligence to 13.8 points. According to the IQ test he had recently completed, his IQ had surpassed the genius threshold of 140, reaching 143. His learning speed had improved by another level as well.

Even so, the gap between his and Peggy's learning progress inevitably widened at a rapid pace—and kept growing wider.

If Link's learning speed, ever since he had found a way to raise his intelligence two years ago, had gone from riding a bicycle to riding a motorcycle as his intelligence rose faster, then Peggy had been riding a rocket from the very beginning.

Through actual comparison, the IQ provided by intelligence had made Link realize that even if his intelligence reached 20, he probably still would not be able to compete with Peggy in terms of IQ.

The first year of high school was about to end. That evening, Lisa gave Robert a meaningful look. Robert set down his knife and fork, cleared his throat, and smiled at Link, who seemed to still be pondering something. "Link, has school been busy lately?"

"Not too bad." Link came back to himself. "I was thinking about something Peggy said to me yesterday."

"Link." Robert chose his words carefully. "I feel like you've been studying too hard lately. Several times when I came home late from work, your room light was still on. Lisa told me you've been studying hard. You're only in Ninth Grade; there's no need to push yourself so much. Pay more attention to your health."

"Exactly, Link." Lisa quickly added, "You're still young, and you're at the age when you're growing. You need enough sleep."

"Yeah." Bianca, who was determined to be a happy underachiever, muttered, "Your grades have gotten better and better this past year, and you've been working harder than ever. Even my sister can't keep up with you anymore. She said the math problems you think about now are already college-level knowledge... Are you really planning to become a scientist someday?"

"Why not?" Link said. "I told you before. I'm planning to become a mathematician."

"So you really are serious!" Bianca said somewhat dejectedly. "I thought your idea of becoming a scientist was just like when you were seven and said you wanted to be a superhero—something you said on a whim."

Link paused slightly. "From childhood until now, which decision I've made do you think was just something I said casually? Besides, maybe I really can become a superhero someday!"

Bianca had originally thought that once Link entered high school, he would quickly become like most students and think about finding himself a girlfriend. She had not expected him to still work this hard.

That meant she would have to remain the main focus of their parents' attention. She felt that her happy, free life was full of holes, and it looked like those days would continue.

"But won't you end up with no friends?" Anbika blurted out in frustration. "Are you doing this because of that Peggy next door? She's still a little girl!"

"Anbika," Lisa interrupted Anbika's complaint. What she had said was a little too much. It implied that Link had feelings for Peggy. Peggy was only nine this year, and that could land someone in prison.

After Anbika fell silent, Lisa turned to Link. "Link, are you sure? Becoming a scientist is a wonderful ambition, but..."

Robert picked up where she left off. "But becoming a scientist isn't easy. Children who aspire to science need to spend a great deal of time studying, and that often makes them unpopular.

"More importantly, talent is extremely important if you want to become a scientist. Like Peggy—you should be able to feel it, right? Even though she's only a nine-year-old girl..."

Link understood what he meant. In A Beautiful Mind, which he had watched in his previous life, the protagonist wrote a problem on the board during his first lecture and said:

"Some of you will spend months solving this problem. Some of you may spend your entire lives and still be unable to solve it..."

That was different from the ideas Link had been taught during his education in his previous life. Yet whether after entering society or in this brand-new parallel world, he had come to understand that it was a cruel fact.

If he had not possessed the system cheat, Link naturally would not have taken this path and would have sought another one. But at that moment, he said confidently:

"I admit that she influenced me. She made me feel that science is so fascinating, that the ocean of knowledge is intoxicating.

"I know what you're worried about. In fact, over the past half year, my learning speed has clearly improved. Not long ago, Aunt Linda accompanied Peggy and me to take several IQ tests.

"The results showed that my IQ had improved. Maybe I'm not as smart as Peggy, but my average score was still over 140. That qualifies as genius-level, and I believe I have even greater potential.

"Besides, I'm not unpopular at school. I have plenty of friends. In fact, a lot of people at school want to be my friends. As for girlfriends, if I wanted one, I wouldn't lack options."

Anbika could not help saying, "Really? Would anyone actually like a nerd like you?"

Nerd was not a compliment in the United States. Once someone got that reputation, many people would be unwilling to associate with them.

"Anbika!" Lisa could not help saying.

Link, however, said, "Maybe you can ask Elizabeth!"

"That's true." When Anbika looked at her, Elizabeth said, "A lot of girls at school think he's really cool now.

"He's the pitcher on the baseball team. Before games, he uses math to calculate his opponents' habitual swing angles, so they usually strike out.

"And when he bats, he also uses math to calculate his opponents' pitching angles. His chance of hitting a home run is the highest on the team.

"After word got out, a lot of upperclassmen girls asked me about Link. Many of them would be willing to be Link's girlfriend.

"And you know Link has always trained with Robert. His body..."

In any case, with his accelerated development over the past two years, proper training, and the system's assistance, Link had become a young man with V-lines, eight-pack abs, and clearly defined chest muscles. That was also a major selling point to American girls, who preferred muscular boys.

At that moment, Anbika had to admit to herself that those things really were cool in the eyes of high school girls. In addition, although his charm had not been deliberately increased, it had been steadily rising, giving Link more than enough appeal to girls.

After all, in the United States, which prided itself on feminism, girls sometimes played even wilder than boys. The hormones of teenage girls often needed an outlet too.

So here, what boys considered hunting was sometimes something between both sides. Girls here often took the initiative as well!

Link continued, "You know, compared to girls out in society, most high school girls think in very simple terms.

"As long as you make them think you're cool and interesting, that's enough to do certain things. Compared to that, solving those math problems is more challenging."

"Link!" This time, it was Lisa's turn to stop him from continuing. Many American parents did not mind discussing relationships between boys and girls with children Link's age, but those topics clearly were not suitable to discuss in front of eleven-year-old Anbika.

In any case, having gotten that answer, Robert and Lisa finally put aside their worries that Link would end up alone for life. For them, that was enough.

The atmosphere at dinner gradually became more harmonious. The family began discussing when Elizabeth might receive a response to the application she had submitted to the University of Chicago a few days earlier.

In fact, Elizabeth had already met with the University of Chicago admissions staff, and the interview had gone very well. So her application was practically a sure thing. She might even receive a scholarship. The whole family felt very good about it, because it meant Elizabeth had taken a major step toward becoming a doctor.

There was no undergraduate medical degree in the United States, so if someone wanted to study medicine, it was best to major in something related to medicine, such as biology or chemistry. That would also make applying to medical school easier in the future.

Doctors were unquestionably among the highest-paid professions in the United States. As long as Elizabeth could graduate in the future, her prospects were entirely foreseeable.