Seeing Paige spiraling into indecision again, Mike spoke up. "Sheldon is right. Running away doesn't solve anything. And giving up on yourself by disappearing isn't a smart move, either."
"Then what should I do?" Paige asked, throwing the question back at Mike.
It was clear the little girl had lost her own sense of direction regarding her troubles. She looked like she was standing at a crossroads in life, unsure of which turn to take.
This was a dangerous situation; one wrong step could send her falling into an abyss.
"Your current mindset is too extreme. There are gentler ways to handle this," Mike said, organizing his thoughts. "To solve your current problem, I have two suggestions..."
Mike's solution was simple—a de-escalated version of Paige's own idea. First, the little girl should try to get out of her mother's sight on weekends, creating some alone time for her parents.
Second, she should try to find a way to repair the conflict between them.
These two methods were connected, and the first one even had an upgrade path.
Once Paige demonstrated to her mother that she was capable of living independently, she could eventually choose to go to boarding school or live away from home, just like Mike.
This relatively moderate approach would achieve a result similar to what Paige had originally envisioned. But if Mike's plan worked, her situation would obviously be much better than running away.
Paige pondered Mike's advice for a long while.
She realized that Mike's proposal offered excellent guidance, both for her and her family.
"There's still one problem," Paige said after thinking it over. "Knowing my mother, she will never agree to let me out of her sight on the weekends."
Paige's weekends were packed. Ms. Linda, driven by the desire to mold her daughter into a prodigy, often scheduled her for various interest classes and knowledge competitions.
It would be genuinely difficult for Paige to wrestle free time on the weekends from a mother with such a strong desire for control.
"I've thought about that, too. We need some reinforcements..." Mike said.
"Reinforcements?" Paige asked curiously. Seeing Mike's confident look gave her a sense of reliance on him.
"Yes, reinforcements," Mike nodded. "I can explain our plan to Meemaw Connie, and then let her convince your mother."
Mike had considered this before. Compared to him, the older and wiser Meemaw Connie would obviously be much more persuasive with Ms. Linda.
"And besides Meemaw, we can also have Sheldon ask his parents for help," Mike continued.
Ms. Linda had seen the Cooper family dynamic. If two families were willing to vouch for Paige, there was a high probability she could get the chance to go to the Cooper house or Meemaw's house to "study" on weekends.
Yes, the excuse Mike found for the girl to leave home on weekends was "studying."
With Paige's high IQ, she quickly understood Mike's plan. And this plan had a high chance of success.
Happiness came so suddenly that Paige asked uncertainly, "Will that really work?"
"It never hurts to try. If this doesn't work, we can come up with something else," Mike said reassuringly, acting as her safety net.
Sheldon, who had been listening from the side for a long time, spoke up in his usual haughty manner. "I can provide a little assistance and convince my parents to help."
"Thank you, Sheldon," Paige said, then turned to Mike with emotion. "And you too, Mike. Whether your plan works or not, I really appreciate your kindness."
[Intelligence Main Attribute +1]
As the little girl spoke, a glowing attribute orb emerged from her.
It seemed she was truly touched this time.
"I'm happy to help," Mike smiled, casually collecting the orb of light in his hand.
---
Meanwhile, with the science lecture over, George and Barry were frantically searching for the kids inside the museum.
"Don't panic, Mr. Barry. Paige is likely with Shelly and Mike. She won't be in any danger..." Although George was anxious too, knowing that Mike was with his youngest son made him less worried than Mr. Barry.
Seeing the other man's panic, George actually found himself comforting him.
"Paige is a sensible girl. She's never just disappeared without a word like this..." An emotional Mr. Barry seemed to be subtly blaming George.
In his view, his daughter's disappearance was likely due to the influence of Mike or Sheldon.
George picked up on the implication in Barry's words. Although he was annoyed, he suppressed his temper and said, "You brought Paige here last year, didn't you? Think about where she went back then."
George's point was obvious: in a relatively unfamiliar place, Paige would likely go somewhere she was familiar with.
"We took Paige to a sweet shop last year. She seemed to really like the food there..." Mr. Barry recalled.
George's words gave him an idea.
So, after going in circles, the two parents finally found the small sweet shop where Mike and the others were sitting.
"Paige, you..." Mr. Barry started to step forward when he saw his youngest daughter sitting there safe and sound.
However, someone was faster than him. Ms. Linda rushed into the shop from behind, went straight to her daughter, and scolded, "Paige, why are you so disobedient? What if you got lost? What would we do then..."
Seeing the mix of worry and anger on her mother's face, Paige lowered her head quietly and took the scolding.
On the other side, George walked past Mr. Barry, who had stopped in his tracks. He walked up to the table and asked, "Shelly, Mike, you guys okay?"
Compared to Ms. Linda, George's emotions were clearly much more stable.
Furthermore, there was no blame in his expression, only concern in his voice.
"I'm fine, Dad," Sheldon even had time to offer a review. "The desserts here are actually quite good."
"Is that so?" George smiled hearing his son say that.
The fact that his son had the leisure to critique the desserts confirmed that everything was indeed fine.
Relieved, George asked Mike about the situation.
Knowing that Mike had brought his son here, he showed no dissatisfaction.
Instead, seeing Ms. Linda still scolding her daughter nearby, George shook his head slightly and stepped forward to mediate. "Linda, there's nothing wrong with a kid having a mind of their own. Nothing bad happened, so maybe go easy on her."
Knowing a bit about the situation in Linda's household, George felt some sympathy for Paige.
"You don't understand, George," Linda said aggressively. "Paige is still young. She doesn't know what she should or shouldn't do. As a parent, I have to correct her mistakes immediately."
Seeing Ms. Linda's hardline attitude, George knew he wouldn't be able to convince her right then and there. Not wanting to deal with the hassle, he bid his farewell. "Alright, Ms. Linda. We'll see you next time."
With that, he signaled for Sheldon and Mike to follow him out.
As he passed Mr. Barry at the door, George nodded politely to him as a goodbye.
Mike, on his way out, secretly exchanged a glance with Paige.
Clearly, the plan to help the girl needed some refining. And going forward, the two of them would need to stay in touch over the phone.