Divorce

Overall, Link felt good at his new school. Before he knew it, he had finished the eleventh grade, and summer vacation had begun. It had been over sixteen years since Link came to this world.

One day, Peggy dragged Link to the mall for a morning. After returning to Link's house, Peggy tidied up her purchases from the day and casually asked, "Speaking of which, you've been at your new school for over a month now. How do you like it?"

"It's not bad. The cafeteria food is exquisite, and there are pretty girls. Also, when chatting with them, it's easier to find suitable topics than at my previous high school.

The only problem is there's a lot of homework, which forces me to bring some of it home on weekends. But that's not a bad thing either."

"What kind of homework?" Peggy said, and without waiting for Link to answer, she unceremoniously picked up Link's homework.

"Hmm, advanced chemistry, and math. It looks very similar to our school, but I find it hard to believe you actually like this kind of high school life."

"Perhaps my previous life made me adapt to this kind of high school life," Link replied casually, then added, "Have you encountered anything interesting recently?"

"Hmm, I did encounter something very interesting. A while ago, I met the Sheldon you mentioned in Dr. John Sturgis's class. He is indeed a very interesting person."

"Dr. John Sturgis?"

"Yes, he's a professor at the East Texas Institute of Technology. He heard my lecture on quantum dynamics at high temperatures and then invited me to audit his class. He's a very nice person."

"Okay, it seems you've done some good research in physics."

"That's right. Actually, I want to go to college earlier. After all, even in high school, there's not much I can discuss with my classmates. Most of the time, they ignore me.

Some universities have already sent me invitations, but my mom is still hesitant, since I'm only ten years old.

Oh, when I saw Sheldon, I heard he doesn't seem to be continuing at the Wilmott Academy for Gifted Children. Do you know why?"

"Well, actually, his mom's thinking is somewhat similar to your mom's. She's not comfortable with Sheldon boarding at school so far from home."

"Okay, parents always treat us like little kids."

"But you are only ten years old, aren't you? It's understandable for parents to worry because of that."

"Perhaps you're right, but I don't like that feeling."

"Trust me, when you're a little older, you'll start to miss being a kid."

"Oh, you know what, Link, many times I feel like you're the same age as my parents, always saying things old people like to say."

"...Let's change the subject. Tomorrow afternoon, a classmate of mine is having a party at his house. My friends from school invited me to go. Do you want to come?"

"Didn't you say before that your schoolmates usually don't have parties, and even if they do, they're quite boring?"

"That's right. Because there's too much homework usually, most of them don't have time. And the parties at school have very strict rules, so they're indeed not as fun as here.

But now it's summer vacation, everyone will have time, and sometimes when things are strictly regulated, people will let loose a little."

"So you're planning to go to the party with your girlfriend?"

"No, Iris isn't my girlfriend yet, and I don't have any plans to officially have a girlfriend, but we get along well and are used to discussing problems together.

She loves music and dreams of being an excellent conductor. I've also mentioned you to Iris, and she's curious about how smart you are. Perhaps you'll get along well..."

"Perhaps..." Peggy thought for a moment and said, "I'm also interested in the party, but tomorrow I'm planning to attend a lecture at the Natural Science Museum."

"A lecture about what?"

"It's mainly about Carbon Isotope Dating, a method used to determine the age of prehistoric artifacts and fossils," Peggy said.

"I read that doctor's paper on Accelerator Mass Spectrometry before, so I wanted to learn more. Do you want to go with me?"

"Uh... it sounds a bit interesting, but..."

"Great! I'll go back and tell Mom to drive us both there." With that, Peggy stood up from her seat and ran out.

Seeing this, Link also stood up and hurried in front of Peggy, saying, "Wait a minute, Peggy, you know I have to attend..."

"I know, but I really want you to go to the lecture with me..."

As Link said this, he suddenly noticed that Peggy's expression was a little off. His heart stirred, and he asked, "Peggy, is something bothering you?"

"Nothing's wrong." Peggy shook her head.

"You can tell me," Link said, pulling Peggy back to the bed to sit down. "We're friends, aren't we?"

After a long while, Peggy finally said, "My parents seem to be getting a divorce."

"Why do you think that?"

"They're always arguing."

"About what?"

"Mainly because of me. Lately, I feel like the whole world has changed. Dad and Mom are always arguing, and you went to school far away..."

"Okay, Peggy, I'll call Iris and tell her I have some family matters to deal with. Then tomorrow, we'll go to the Natural Science Museum together."

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"That's great! It's settled then."

"It's a promise."

After Peggy left, Link couldn't help but sigh. He remembered now that in Young Sheldon, Peggy's parents did seem to get a divorce in the end, and this incident had a huge impact on Peggy, causing her personality to change drastically.

Speaking of parental divorce, children between the ages of eight and fourteen are the most affected.

Because if the children are younger, they don't have a clear concept of it. If they are older, their thinking is already more mature, and it's easier for them to accept these things.

No matter how high Peggy's IQ was, she was still just a ten-year-old girl. In his memory, after her parents divorced, Peggy began to doubt herself and became a girl who liked to cause trouble.

If it continued to develop, she might even completely fall into depravity. Of course, Link hadn't seen the subsequent plot about Peggy in the TV series in his previous life.

When Link was reborn into this world, he initially met Peggy with a utilitarian mindset, treating her as a tool.

However, he wasn't a cold-blooded person after all. After nearly two years of getting along, he had come to regard Peggy as his own sister.

Link knew he couldn't prevent Peggy's parents' divorce, but he felt he might be able to come up with a way to lessen the impact of this matter on Peggy.