Chapter 173: Oil Painting Beauty: Sister, You Don't Want Chuck to Get Hurt, Do You?
"What are you talking about?"
Amazing Amy looked at Paige with surprised confusion at her sneering comment: "When did I lie to Chuck?"
"You look so pitiful and innocent, but you're putting on an act."
Paige looked at Amazing Amy's face with disdain: "It's way too fake, and only idiots would fall for it."
"You're misunderstanding me."
Amazing Amy explained helplessly: "I was just traumatized. I'm not trying to deceive anyone."
As she spoke, she seemed to recall something, and her body trembled. She suppressed her discomfort and patiently explained to Paige: "You're still young and can't imagine the horror of being kidnapped and held captive. If you ever experience it, you'll understand that I'm not pretending."
"Ha."
Paige noticed someone looking their way, and her sneer instantly transformed into the sweetest smile, but she said something decidedly unsweet that only the two of them could hear: "Do you know what Chuck's painting means?"
"That I look sweet on the outside but I'm dangerous inside?"
Seeing that Paige remained confrontational, Amazing Amy looked down at her with a smile.
"You do have some brains,"
Paige said, her eyes narrowing. "Monica definitely can't compete with you, but if you really are smart, get out of my sight and stop putting on this act around me, or you'll discover the real difference between a mediocre student and a super genius."
Amazing Amy's smile wavered.
The perfect Amazing Amy from the books had always been her biggest insecurity. She excelled in every area, including academics—a classic overachiever.
But the real her was nowhere near the Amazing Amy from the books. Even if she could get into an Ivy League school like the perfect character in the books, it wouldn't be because of her academic brilliance, but because of her fame and money.
This made her sensitive to being called mediocre by Paige.
"IQ doesn't determine everything—social influence does. Only by mastering social dynamics can you control everything."
Amazing Amy quickly regained her smile, but this time when she looked at Paige, her eyes weren't smiling: "That's also why people with high IQs are the ones who get bullied the most in school. Tell me, have you been bullied at school?"
"That's because you haven't met anyone with truly high intelligence."
Paige raised the left corner of her mouth, her eyes cold: "When you really tick off someone like that, no amount of social consensus can protect you from a direct confrontation."
Little Sheldon could build a nuclear reactor with his bare hands, let alone her.
"Haha."
Amazing Amy laughed: "A truly smart person wouldn't say things like that. You're still too young, after all. Be careful you don't make it to adulthood."
"Not growing up isn't so bad."
Paige smiled: "As long as I can live a long life, staying young forever would be an advantage."
Amazing Amy looked at Paige with surprise. Why did this little girl sound more threatening than she did?
"If you're so powerful, why are you telling me all this? Wouldn't it be smarter to handle things quietly?"
"Because maybe I can fool everyone else, but I can't fool Chuck."
Paige glanced at Chuck, who was talking with Monica, and smiled sweetly: "He doesn't like that kind of thing... at least not right now."
"..."
Amazing Amy's heart skipped a beat. Though she hated to admit it, that sweet smile actually unnerved her.
"Nobody can hide things from Chuck."
Paige, sensing that brief moment of panic, smiled and repeated her original point, "So don't expect to fool Chuck. And get out of my sight. It makes me sick watching you put on this act in front of him!"
Amazing Amy's smile finally cracked, her expression shifting. Under Paige's steady gaze, it took her a long moment to recover her composure and smile again. She leaned down slightly and whispered in Paige's ear with a soft chuckle, "He may be incredibly smart, but he's still a guy, ruled by his hormones. He only hears what he wants to hear and does what he wants to do... Unfortunately for you, compared to me, you're still way too young in that department."
With that, she ignored Paige's faltering smile and walked toward Chuck.
"What were you and Paige talking about?"
Monica paused her conversation and asked with a smile when she saw Amazing Amy approaching.
"Girl stuff,"
Amazing Amy said with a smile.
"You two should talk more."
Monica nodded happily, oblivious to the tension. "You actually have a lot in common."
"Oh?"
Amazing Amy looked at Monica with surprise. Had Paige already told her everything?
Though she hated to admit it, she recognized herself in Paige—just an upgraded version, like a perfected projection of Amazing Amy's dark side.
"You're both geniuses who became famous as teenagers,"
Monica explained with a nod. "It's an experience Chuck and Sheldon can't really relate to because of the age difference. And you know, there's been talk recently about writing a book about Paige. Amazing Paige, the teenage genius—sounds a lot like Amazing Amy, right?"
"I doubt she'd want to be compared to me,"
Amazing Amy smiled wryly. "I can sense her arrogance."
Monica smiled awkwardly but politely. She regretted bringing it up, because Amazing Amy had hit the nail on the head.
Arrogant Paige truly would disdain being compared to Amazing Amy.
"Chuck!"
Paige came over and called to Chuck, "Come here, I need to tell you something."
"Sure."
Chuck nodded and walked over, following Paige to the balcony.
"Even though Paige can be arrogant, she has a good heart."
Monica saw Amazing Amy's eyes following Chuck and Paige to the balcony, and tried to smooth things over: "You'll see once you get to know her better."
"I'm sure you're right."
Whatever Amazing Amy was thinking, she kept smiling genuinely.
On the Balcony
"Thank you for the painting you made for me. I love it."
Paige smiled sweetly.
"I'm glad you like it."
Chuck said, "Painting is just a hobby for me in my spare time, not my whole life."
"Since you painted it, of course I'll listen to what you say about it."
Paige smiled, "But some people might not listen to you."
Chuck remained silent.
"So what's your plan?"
Paige looked at him.
"What plan?"
Chuck looked at her calmly.
"Don't tell me you don't see how fake and manipulative she is."
Paige frowned: "I know you can see it. If you knew, why did you send Chandler over in the first place and give her the chance to get close to you? There has to be a plan! Don't lie to me!"
Chuck was quiet for a moment, then said: "I want to see what's behind her."
"Behind her?"
Paige was surprised: "You mean there's someone controlling her?"
"Maybe there is, maybe there isn't."
Chuck said calmly: "I have to get closer to find out."
"..."
Paige rolled her eyes at Chuck. She couldn't shake the feeling that there was something suggestive in Chuck's phrasing: "Is all this really necessary? Or do you just want to conduct another experiment?"
"There's no contradiction there."
Chuck said: "And don't underestimate her. Anyone who does will pay for it."
"If you hadn't saved her, she would've been the one paying."
Paige sneered.
"No!"
Chuck shook his head: "Even without me there, she most likely would have been the winner in the end. When everyone looks at her, they only see someone weak and vulnerable, but they don't realize she's a fencing champion. With her skills, if she had planned it right, Andy Walton would have died a very unpleasant death."
"Fencing champion?"
Paige was stunned for a moment, then quickly caught on: "The Amazing Amy in the books is supposed to be a fencing champion, but everyone knows she's just a poser in real life. That whole thing even caused a media frenzy. Are you saying she's been playing dumb this whole time?"
"She's an excellent actress, and I can't read her thoughts."
Chuck said: "But muscle definition doesn't lie. She's a real fencing champion, and a lethal one. Someone like Andy Walton would get a sword through the throat in a real fight."
"Looks like I really did underestimate her."
Paige looked through the balcony window at Amazing Amy inside.
Chuck couldn't read Amazing Amy's thoughts and had to infer whether she was problematic through physical details. However, Paige saw right through Amazing Amy's act at first glance. It wasn't because Paige was smarter than Chuck, but because of feminine intuition.
"Don't worry about her,"
Chuck warned. "I'll handle it."
Besides knowing that Amazing Amy was playing dumb, Chuck hadn't shared many details with Paige—like the suspicious retail investors, Amazing Amy's phone with its incredibly sophisticated firewall, and his enhanced hearing that had allowed him to overhear her conversation with Paige.
"Okay,"
Paige smiled. "I won't interfere with your plans. Go ahead."
Chuck's honesty delighted her.
With a playful smile, she said, "Want me to get Monica out of the way so you can operate more freely?"
"No,"
Chuck shook his head. "Let everything happen naturally. These are just unnecessary complications."
"Paige, Chuck, come cut the birthday cake!"
Monica came out with the cake and called them over.
"Coming!"
Paige smiled. "At least Monica will be happier if I help out, just like she's happy that I'm the one blowing out the candles, making a wish, and eating the cake."
Monica's surprise birthday party hadn't been a surprise at all. Paige had figured it out; she was just playing along.
Everyone gathered around, watching Paige stand in front of her birthday cake under Monica's direction, closing her eyes to make a wish before the twelve candles. Amazing Amy, standing next to Chuck, chuckled softly and asked, "What did she tell you that made you look so pleased?"
"That there's something wrong with you,"
Chuck said bluntly. "She told me to stay away from you."
"Girls really do mature too early these days,"
Amazing Amy chuckled. "So possessive of the guys they like."
Chuck didn't respond either way.
"Can I call you Chuck?"
Amazing Amy's eyes were full of nervous anticipation.
"Names are meant to be used. You're not Little Sheldon, so you can call me whatever you want,"
Chuck said.
"Thank you for saving me, Chuck,"
Amazing Amy said softly, looking at him. "You can't imagine how happy I was to be rescued from that hopeless situation. I'll never forget it."
"You don't know that,"
Chuck corrected bluntly. "A lifetime is very long. You don't have the right to make that claim right now."
"..."
Amazing Amy paused. She was finally experiencing the kind of brutal honesty Chandler had described.
The birthday party ended.
Chuck drove little Sheldon and little Leonard home, with Amazing Amy joining them.
"Why are you coming with us?"
Little Sheldon frowned in confusion.
They'd been three when they came, but now there was an extra person going back, which bothered him and his need for routine.
"Nobody would think you were mute if you didn't talk."
Little Leonard tried to stop little Sheldon from speaking, his eyes full of admiration and envy for Chuck.
Being precocious, he completely understood what this meant.
However, even though it was the famous Amazing Amy, he felt it was totally normal for her to ride home with his idol after some flirting, which matched his image of the perfect idol.
"We're going the same direction."
Amazing Amy explained to little Sheldon with a smile.
"Isn't your house on Long Island?"
Little Sheldon demanded. "That's what the news said!"
"Yes,"
Amazing Amy nodded. "That's our main residence, but it's swarming with paparazzi right now, making it hard to get in and out. So I thought I'd go back to our place in New Jersey tonight."
"Fine,"
Little Sheldon was speechless and shrugged. "You're the kind of rich person my dad is jealous of. Being poor really does limit my imagination."
Little Leonard smirked, thinking, "Little Sheldon is so naive! Maybe she really does have a house in New Jersey, but it's definitely not where she's planning to spend the night to avoid reporters."
Chuck returned Little Sheldon and Little Leonard to the Hofstradter residence, personally handing them over to Beverly before driving back to his hillside villa.
"Make yourself at home!"
Chuck said, showing her to the guest room, then went to clean up.
Amazing Amy surveyed the guest room, chuckled softly, then went to the bathroom to freshen up as well.
From her best friend Chandler, she'd learned how Chandler viewed Chuck, and also learned things about him that Chandler didn't know. She knew Chuck wasn't just any ordinary guy. Freshening up before making her move wasn't just basic courtesy—it was showing respect for Chuck.
The guest bathroom contained every toiletry she could possibly need, and several she didn't even know existed.
After a thorough cleaning, she lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, waiting.
Half an hour passed, then an hour, then two hours, but there was no sign of the activity she'd expected.
This disappointed her.
She'd hoped Chuck would make the first move—not out of girlish shyness, but because it would serve her purposes better.
Unfortunately, Chuck, as Chandler's gossip had indicated, was always passive, never proactive.
But she quickly snapped out of it. Why worry about who made the first move? When it was over, she could spin it however she wanted anyway.
So she got up, opened the guest room door, headed for the master bedroom, and knocked.
"What's wrong?"
Chuck's calm voice came from inside.
Amazing Amy instantly switched into character, calling out pitifully, "Dr. Wolfe, I'm scared~"
"You'll get used to it,"
Chuck's blunt voice responded.
"...Getting used to it takes time. I'm scared right now, and I need you."
Amazing Amy had to be a bit more direct than before.
Then, from the master bedroom, an even more direct, yet remarkably calm voice rang out: "Do you want to have an experiment with me?"
"..."
Amazing Amy's mouth twitched, and faced with such bluntness from Chuck, she could only say, "Yes."
"Are you sure?"
Chuck's emotionless voice came again.
"Yes!"
Even with Amazing Amy's composure, she felt somewhat embarrassed and annoyed by this excessive directness: "I want to experiment with you!"
The master bedroom door finally opened.
Amazing Amy walked in.
An hour later.
Chuck glanced at the sleeping Amazing Amy, reached out to touch her neck, and after confirming she was in deep sleep, he got up and walked to Amazing Amy's neatly folded clothes, took out her phone, walked out to his study, plugged a micro USB drive into her phone's port, and whispered: "Are you in?"
The watch on Chuck's wrist vibrated once, almost imperceptibly.
"Any problems?"
Chuck asked again.
The watch didn't move, and Chuck said nothing more. Instead, he picked up a book and sat down to read.
Any investigation takes time.
New Hampshire
Bunker, Underground Level
Anna, the girl in white, sat there with vacant eyes. Chuck's voice echoed in the room: "Any problems?"
Her normally trembling hands didn't transform into tentacle-like appendages for investigation.
"Any problems?"
another female voice repeated from within the room. Following the sound, a tall woman standing against the wall, gazing at the bank of densely packed monitors, turned around, revealing a stunning face that looked like it belonged in a classical painting. It was the "Oil Painting Beauty." She approached Anna, the girl in white, leaned over and whispered playfully in her ear, repeating Chuck's words.
Seeing Anna's lack of response, the Oil Painting Beauty smirked and said teasingly, "Sister, you don't want Chuck to get hurt, do you?"
(End of Chapter)
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