Suggestions

The next morning, Peggy's parents drove Link and Peggy to the Natural Science Museum. On the way, Linda said to Link, "I'm very happy you could come along."

"Peggy mentioned it to me yesterday, and I'm also very interested in this lecture."

"That's great. I'm happy that your interests are the same as Peggy's. How do you feel about your new school?"

"It's very good. The teachers there are excellent, and the students are all, well, some relatively smart students, so it will be easier for me to find common topics there. Actually, I think Peggy might also be able to go to school there."

"That's a good suggestion, but Dallas is a bit far, and Peggy is a bit young. I'm not sure if she can adapt to boarding life."

When they arrived at the museum's lecture hall, Link immediately spotted a familiar face in the front row: Sheldon.

Peggy also quickly recognized him and immediately said, "That should be Sheldon. Let's go say hello to him."

Saying that, Peggy walked up to Sheldon and said, "Sheldon, long time no see. It's nice to see you. Are you happy to see me?"

"Not that happy, but I am very happy to see Link again. Link, how do you know Peggy?"

"I told you about her before. She's my neighbor. We often discuss some problems together. Of course, most of the time, she talks and I listen."

"Oh, I can imagine."

The two sat down next to Sheldon, and Peggy whispered in Link's ear, "He's still the same. When I went to his house that day, because I beat him at chess, he got so angry he flipped the chessboard over."

"Really? To be honest, I've never seen him lose at chess before. It must have been very interesting."

"It was indeed very interesting. You really should have been there."

Although he had seen it on TV in his previous life, Link now really wanted to see Sheldon's expression like that with his own eyes. It was indeed a bit regrettable to have missed it.

However, Sheldon clearly didn't like hearing this: "Excuse me, I can hear what you're saying."

"Alright!" Link gave Peggy a look, and neither of them continued the topic. At this point, Link said to Peggy, "Peggy, can you wait here for a moment? I have something to do."

"What is it? The lecture is about to start."

"Don't worry, I'll be back soon."

Arriving at the entrance of the lecture hall, Link saw Linda waiting there and immediately stepped forward, saying, "Thank you for waiting here, Aunt Linda."

"It's nothing. So, what exactly did you ask me to wait here for?"

"Um... can we talk as we walk?"

"Of course, no problem."

There weren't many people in the museum. Coming to an exhibition hall with no one around, Link said, "Actually, Peggy told me yesterday that you and Mr. Barry seem to have some conflicts, and many of them are because of her."

"Oh, Link, thank you for your concern, but you know, this is a private matter between Barry and me."

"I know this is a bit abrupt, and it's not something an outsider like me should interfere with, especially since I'm an outsider.

But what I want to say is that every time you argue, it hurts Peggy, especially when it makes Peggy think that the conflict is caused by her."

"You're right, I know, and I'm also very sad, but child, sometimes things are not as simple as you think..."

"I understand. I know you and Mr. Barry have a lot of things to resolve, so I think you might want to consider my suggestion from this morning."

"What suggestion?"

"Sending Peggy to study at Wilmott Academy for Gifted Children is a good fit for a smart child like Peggy. She'll learn more here and meet excellent friends.

Besides, I heard Mr. Barry once say that he also hoped to relive those wonderful times with you, but you were too concerned about Peggy.

So, if Peggy attends Wilmott Academy for Gifted Children, then while she's at school, perhaps you two can also have time to try and mend your relationship."

"Alright, I might consider it."

"Thank you, Aunt Linda. I'll head back now, Peggy is still waiting over there."

"Okay, Link. Anyway, thank you for your concern."

"As long as you don't think I'm being nosy."

"Of course not."

Link didn't say anything further. In fact, he knew this was all he could do. As for whether what he said would help save Linda and Barry's marriage, Link wasn't very optimistic. From Linda's attitude just now, Link could tell she hadn't taken his words to heart.

In Link's opinion, letting Peggy come to Wilmott Academy for Gifted Children, so she wouldn't have to witness them arguing over her every day, was definitely a good idea, but it wasn't something he could control.

Regardless of whether Linda followed Link's suggestion, life had to go on. Unconsciously, two months passed at the new school, and summer vacation began.

Summer vacation in the United States is usually very long. Many schools like to organize activities for students during the summer. Just like this summer, the symphony orchestra Link recently joined had a half-month camping trip.

Texas has developed agriculture, so the camping was chosen at a ranch with a considerable area. It included not only students from Wilmott Academy for Gifted Children but also members of the symphony orchestras from four other private schools nearby.

This camping trip was naturally not just for the students to have fun. The theme of the camping was actually a competition among the students from the five school symphony orchestras.

Even in the final round, professors from music conservatories would come to observe members of the graduating class of the symphony orchestras who aspired to attend music conservatories.

Of course, Link was just a newcomer. He hadn't touched any musical instruments before. Not long ago, at the recommendation of his new classmate Iris, he started learning the violin and, at Iris's recommendation, joined the symphony orchestra as a new member.

This was also the first time Link participated in such an activity. On the bus heading to the destination, Iris, who was sitting next to Link, said:

"It seems I wasn't wrong to recommend you learn the violin. In just two months, you've already gotten the hang of it."

With his extremely strong body control, coupled with his learning ability and willingness to put in the effort, getting started with the violin wasn't too difficult for Link.

The main reason Link became interested in music was that it could improve his Charm and Perception attributes, especially the Perception attribute. Link hadn't found a good way to improve it before, and learning music could enhance his perception, giving him more acute five senses than before. Therefore, Link was quite serious about this aspect.

"Thanks, but speaking of music, a friend I know has an extremely high sensitivity to sound, almost possessing perfect pitch."

"Is it Peggy, the girl from your neighbor's house you mentioned before?"

"No, Peggy's intelligence is extraordinary, but her sense of pitch is within the normal range. I'm talking about a friend I knew in my previous high school, Sheldon.

He's also a super genius, only ten years old this year, and he started high school last year. His sensitivity to sound is far beyond ordinary people. Even if you speak softly through a door, he can hear it clearly.

Once, their refrigerator had a minor problem, causing an unexpected noise. You know, the kind of noise that ordinary people can only barely hear if they listen carefully next to the refrigerator.

But he could hear it even when he was sleeping in his room, which kept him awake. Finally, he found a book himself, then disassembled all the refrigerators in his house into parts, and finally found the part making the noise."

"Really? That's indeed quite unexpected. So, has he learned any musical instruments?"

"Actually, no."

"Why? He has such great talent."

"Because he wanted to be a scientist more, and I remember after his school's music teacher discovered his talent, they said he should become a musician, but he directly refused, giving the reason that most musicians are addicted to laundry detergent."

"That sounds really strange."

"He is indeed a strange child. He actually came with me to the school interview and passed it, but he only stayed at Principal Flora's house for one day because he couldn't adapt and was picked up by his parents."

"Oh, he's only ten, it's normal for him not to be able to leave his parents' side."

"Actually, it was because there was a ceiling fan in the room, and he was constantly worried that the fan would fall and slice off his head."

"...That is indeed strange enough."

"Alright, let's talk about something else. I heard you wrote a song?"

"Yes, I originally wanted to perform it at the party that day..."

"I'm really sorry, I truly had something important to deal with that day."

"I know."

"I wonder if I'll have a chance to appreciate it later, otherwise I'll feel like I missed out on a fortune."

"Haha, okay, it's just a song."

"No, I've been looking forward to your performance..."