"It seemed this achievement would have to wait a few more years before it truly became valuable," Link said on the way back. "Maybe ten years, or perhaps only seven or eight. But by then, both you and I might become millionaires."
"I don't care about money," Sheldon said.
"But having enough money really can make our research much more convenient, can't it?" Link said.
"With sufficient funding, we could freely buy all the equipment and materials we needed for research. Like this time—without my sponsorship, it probably wouldn't have been easy for your research to produce results so quickly."
"All right, you're right. Then once this patent can be turned into money, tell me. Maybe then I'll be able to buy enough uranium to build the Nuclear Reactor design I came up with before."
"...Don't worry. Maybe I'll tell you then."
And so the matter came to an end. Link had traded his current investment of two thousand US Dollars for technology that might be worth hundreds of millions in the future. Though he had no idea how many years it would take before it could be cashed in, he was already delighted.
Not long after the matter was settled, Link and Sheldon were called to the principal's office together. It was somewhat related to the rocket incident.
"It's a pleasure to see you both, the two geniuses of our school. Please, have a seat." The principal pointed to the chairs in front of his desk.
"Here's the situation. I believe the high school curriculum no longer presents much of a challenge to either of you, does it?"
Before Link could speak, Sheldon answered directly, "Now that I think about it, you're right. So have you come up with a suitable solution? Or perhaps you could hire a professor..."
Sheldon's usual way of speaking really was irritating, so the principal cut him off immediately. "That is precisely why Dr. Hodges gave me a very good suggestion."
"The doctor from the Space Agency? Fine, then I'm looking forward to hearing an innovative proposal from him."
"Dr. Hodges recommended Wilmott Academy for Gifted Children. He knows the principal there, so he recommended the two of you to her. I have some information about the school here. You can take a look."
Link accepted the documents handed over by the principal and read through them carefully before saying, "Principal, to be honest, I would very much like to attend this school, but its tuition is clearly beyond what I can afford."
"I understand, but don't worry. I've already contacted their principal. If you can pass their test, they will not only offer full scholarships, but they can also provide living allowances."
"Excellent. Then when can we go?"
Sheldon was the one who said that. After reading the introduction, he was already growing impatient.
"I admire your attitude toward learning, Sheldon, but I still need to discuss this with your parents. So I hope you'll tell them the news and have them come to the school tomorrow."
"Of course, no problem."
"Okay."
Link had planned to bring it up over dinner, but before he could say anything, Robert was the first to ask him about what had been happening at school.
"Link, I heard that lately, at school, you've been a little... well, a little too free-spirited."
"What do you mean, a little too free-spirited? He's been completely out of control!" The moment Lisa heard that, she knew Robert was taking Link's side, so she immediately decided to step in herself.
"Link, I know boys your age are very interested in relationships between men and women. I originally didn't want to say too much, but you've gone too far lately.
Today, I just heard the rumors about you at school. How many girls have you gotten involved with? And those girls are all saying you're amazing. Have you forgotten your dream?"
"Of course not."
"You haven't, but what I heard was that nearly every pretty girl in the school has gotten involved with you. Time is limited. The more you spend on girls, the less you spend on studying.
Even if your grades are still among the best in the school, that obviously isn't an excuse for you to indulge yourself. Are you satisfied with this? There are still many people more outstanding than you who are working hard.
Take Peggy and Sheldon, for example. They're both younger than you, yet even more gifted. You can't compare to them in terms of talent.
If you don't work hard, I'm afraid you'll never have a chance to catch up with them in your entire life. I don't object to you having a girlfriend, but what you're doing is simply too excessive..."
Faced with Lisa's scolding, Link was somewhat speechless. In truth, there were only six or seven girls in all at Lola High School whom he had gotten involved with. After all, his standards for looks and figure were not low.
Besides, it was purely an academic exchange, and it was not particularly frequent. Link had never truly intended to have an official girlfriend. With those girls, he had merely been swimming together in the sea of knowledge.
Especially after the rocket incident, when he realized that the gap between himself and Sheldon was far from small, Link had become even more restrained. He only used the rest time included in his schedule.
But rumors often became more outrageous the more they were spread. After word of Link's academic prowess got around, whether a girl could have an academic exchange with Link had even become one of the standards of popularity among the girls.
Some girls, in order to make themselves seem popular enough, even fabricated rumors about themselves and Link.
As more girls did so, the rumors grew more convincing with every retelling. By the time Lisa heard them, the story had become that many girls in the high school had engaged in academic exchanges with Link, and many students firmly believed it as well.
But matters like this only became worse the more one tried to explain them. Link could not possibly clarify things, so he could only say, "I understand, Lisa. I'll be more careful from now on. I won't let it interfere with my studies."
Although Link's intelligence could continuously improve over time, and Sheldon and Peggy did indeed have higher IQs than him right now, Link believed that he would certainly have a chance to surpass them one day.
Lisa did not know that, of course. She was clearly scolding him out of concern, so Link could only accept her reprimand.
Compared with Lisa, Robert took the matter much more lightly. He even seemed somewhat proud, and took the opportunity to say, "Link, there's nothing wrong with dating at your age. You just need to pay more attention to safety and use protection. Come with me after dinner. I prepared some..."
"Robert!"
"I know, Lisa. But Link is already grown up. His current situation is much better than what you used to worry about—that he would end up lonely for life. Besides, many scientists were quite romantic in their private lives. Take the famous Einstein, Schrödinger... even Hawking today..."
Hearing Robert say that, Lisa had no choice but to nod. Recently, she and Robert had been paying more attention to the scientific community. They knew that many scientists did end up alone because of their withdrawn personalities, but there were also scientists who could serve as role models for Link.
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