Chapter 75: Talking Chestnut
Sheldon and Leonard were left battling until their faces were bruised and battered. The downside was that they had almost completely embarrassed the Cooper family name.
The upside was equally obvious: seeing their miserable state, the scientists watching had largely cooled off and no longer felt like beating them up, and Ron had also managed to score a free meal.
However, Sheldon and Leonard weren't so lucky, and could only slink away in shame under everyone's glares.
"Ron, did you see that just now?" Howard approached with excited eyes. "Sheldon actually asked Leonard to give him a ride home."
Ron paused his eating. "I bet Leonard definitely said no. The fact that he didn't run Sheldon over shows what a stand-up guy he is."
"Sheldon is your brother. Are you really okay talking about him like that?" Penny said, wolfing down her food. As a working-class girl from Nebraska, Penny knew that even the guys she usually dated were from the same blue-collar background.
Even if Penny went along for free food, what decent meal could those unemployed losers treat her to? This was her first time at such a high-end dinner, so Penny's less-than-refined eating habits were totally understandable.
"He's your neighbor. Can you honestly say you wouldn't lose your mind if you were stuck alone with him for a whole day?"
"But they're good friends."
"Don't worry. There's an old saying: 'They'll kiss and make up by morning.' I guarantee they'll be back to normal after one night." Ron wasn't worried at all. He even had the nerve to snatch bread off Penny's plate.
However, in the process, Penny nearly chomped his finger off.
"Ron!" Penny glared at him furiously. "It's a buffet!"
"Exactly because it's a buffet," Ron grinned, and Penny's anger melted away. Yeah, she was smitten again. "Why waste stomach space on bread? Lobster will fill you up way better."
Howard and Raj, who were loading up their plates nearby, heard this and quietly put the bread back, replacing it with more expensive dishes like lobster and steak.
One was a penny-pinching Jewish guy, the other a bargain-hunting Indian dude. This behavior made perfect sense.
Howard's mom would grab extra packets of hot sauce even at Taco Bell.
"Howard, when will my little gadget prototype be ready?" Ron asked, almost done eating, leaning over to Howard.
"I'll pull an all-nighter in my lab at Caltech tonight, and I'll have it ready for you by tomorrow morning," Howard said confidently when talking about his expertise. "Of course, I'll need Raj's help."
"You sure? It's not that urgent."
Since there weren't any particularly pressing projects lately, Ron didn't mind waiting longer, as long as the quality was good enough.
"No way, we can't wait to play with it," Howard said, earning enthusiastic nodding from Raj.
Ron facepalmed. These two really did treat the drone like a toy, like two excited kids. But then he remembered how in his original timeline, they'd rushed to buy drones the moment they hit the market, and Ron felt better.
Nothing seemed wrong with this. After the military development was complete, they could sell them as consumer products to recoup costs.
"Need my help?"
"Of course not. This is professional work. Just leave it to us. You don't even need to provide materials—we can use what's already available at the university." Howard continued showing his practical side: "You just need to get a good night's sleep and think about where we can find another girl as hot as yesterday's."
"Yesterday's girl?" Penny's head snapped up alertly: "Ron, what girl did you help corrupt now?"
"I swear, that girl yesterday was totally into it. You're underestimating their charm," Ron said, winking at them, hinting they shouldn't mention his Hollywood connections. They immediately caught on.
Ron was a friend, but that didn't mean he wanted to see Penny's awkward acting on TV or in movies. Besides, he didn't have that kind of pull, and who knows how many favors it would cost to get her a role.
So Penny should just stick with her promising career as a waitress.
Penny eyed the three men suspiciously, sensing they were hiding something. The guilty smiles on all three faces said everything.
After a satisfying meal and drinks, Howard and Raj practically carried each other out of the hotel, heading back to Caltech to build drones. Penny, worried about the two guys back at the apartment, left early too.
Ron suspected Penny might already have feelings for Leonard, but like all her previous messy relationships, the poor girl had no clue how to date a guy who wasn't a total loser.
Ron thought for a moment in the hotel lobby. To avoid running into his "dear" brother, he decided not to return to the apartment tonight and stay in his hotel room instead.
Megan's thorough preparations had indeed worked out, as Ron was sleeping alone tonight.
...
The next day, Ron finally woke up completely refreshed and energized, then changed into his workout gear for a morning jog.
The hotel's location was near Hollywood, so he had no chance of spotting Kobe, who'd been practicing since 4:30 AM. But as he ran, he noticed a familiar, run-down trail behind the hotel.
Wait, wasn't this the path to Max's place?
Was this destiny? Since he'd slept so well, maybe he'd get some eye candy? Even better, as Ron jogged, he spotted an incredibly sexy figure ahead of him.
Leading a horse with one hand and carrying a large shovel with the other, her hips swayed with every step, perfectly in sync with the horse's gait beside her, walking and chatting with the horse.
Ron had never seen Max look so adorable.
"Hey, buddy, let me ask you something. You, the horse, and Caroline all live with me, but why do you give me way less headaches? Tell me—after all, you've known each other way longer than Caroline and I have."
"I dunno, dude, I'm used to it." Max pinched her throat, pretending to do the horse's voice, then switched back to her normal voice: "If you could talk, this is what you'd sound like."
Horse: "Of course my voice is this cute. Everything you say is right, Max."
Max: "Thanks, Chestnut."
Horse: "You really should get rid of her. I'm talking about Caroline."
Max gasped: "Chestnut! We can't do that!"
Horse: "Getting rid of her would be easy. Let's just dump her somewhere~"
One person doing a two-character show—or more precisely, one person and her dubbed horse. Max handled both parts herself. Ron couldn't help cracking up like he was watching a comedy routine.
"Haha, Max, you're hilarious!"
(End of chapter)
join patreon for update and advance 40+ chapters
https://www.p-atreon.com/c/Soulforger
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)
"If you're enjoying this story, don't forget to drop a Power Stone! Your support keeps me motivated and helps the novel reach more readers."
"100 Power Stones this week = 1 extra chapter release!"
"500 Power Stones = 2 extra chapter release ."