Inside the room, Mike, bored, sat on the sofa with Sheldon, watching the science and education channel.
On the TV, a white-bearded old man was explaining molecular structures.
On the other side, Connie, finding gambling uninteresting without anyone to play with, put away her poker cards, grabbed a beer from the fridge, and sat down.
Just as the three were silently enjoying their peaceful time, Missy suddenly burst out of her bedroom.
She was wearing a loose black jacket, oversized sunglasses, and clutching a toy guitar, looking like a rock star as she loudly exclaimed, "Sheldon, want to hear my latest creation…?"
She had intended to bother Sheldon, but before she could finish her sentence, she saw Mike sitting on the sofa.
Realizing that her ladylike image was about to crumble in front of Mike, Missy's face showed panic, and before the three on the sofa could react, she quickly darted back into her room, closing the door with a 'bang'.
"What's wrong with her?" Sheldon looked back and forth, completely puzzled.
Connie shrugged, not answering Sheldon's question.
A moment later, Missy, dressed in a little bee costume with tiny wings, reappeared in the living room.
As if she had amnesia, she wore a cute expression, held a handful of candies, and approached Mike: "Mike, why are you here? Want to try some candy?"
She didn't know that her deliberately cute act was also very cute.
"Thanks, Missy," Mike smiled, taking two candies from the little girl's hand.
"You're welcome," Missy replied demurely, then squeezed Sheldon aside and sat next to Mike on the sofa.
Just as Mike peeled a candy and was about to put it in his mouth, he saw Sheldon, who had been squeezed to the edge, looking at him eagerly.
"Do you want one too?" Mike offered.
Sheldon swallowed, then refused: "No, thank you. Eating candy at night is bad for your teeth."
After speaking, Sheldon proudly turned his head, but his stomach rumbled loudly.
Children are naturally prone to hunger when they are growing.
Plus, it was already past dinner time, so Sheldon was clearly hungry.
"You haven't eaten yet, have you?" Mike asked.
Connie was a very casual person, and hearing Mike's question, she became interested: "Are you going to make that stir-fry dish from the other day? Grandma can help you."
The home-style stir-fry Mike made a couple of days ago left a deep impression on Connie.
"No, I'm not in the mood to cook today." Mike shook his head, then suggested: "I can treat you to takeout."
Hearing it was takeout, Connie lost interest, saying she could eat anything.
"What about you two? What do you want to eat?" Mike looked at the two eager children in the room.
"I want fried chicken, lots and lots of fried chicken…" Missy happily raised her hand and replied.
Sheldon thought for a moment, recalling that the Vietnamese food Tam ate every lunchtime looked good, so he primly said: "I'd like to try Vietnamese food… Curry chicken or mustard-flavored prawns…"
Sheldon's memory was indeed excellent; he remembered all the hometown delicacies Tam had mentioned.
"Hey, Georgie. We're ordering takeout, what do you want to eat?" Mike went to the door and called out to Georgie, who was still setting off firecrackers in the yard.
"Beef pizza!" Accompanied by the explosion of firecrackers, George came to the door: "What did everyone else order? Why don't I go buy it? I can even save on the delivery fee."
Mike had no objections; after giving him the change, he told him what everyone wanted to eat.
In less than half an hour, George returned, carrying a large bag of food and a few bottles of beer.
At the dining table, George opened a bottle of beer for himself and Mike, and Connie just glanced at them without saying anything.
When everyone had almost finished eating, George and Mary, who had been out for their date, also drove back.
When Mary saw how well Connie had taken care of the whole family of children this time, she thanked her.
On the other side, George approached Georgie because the latter had two empty beer bottles in front of him.
Mike gave Georgie a helpless look, then followed Connie out of the Coopers home.
...
Meanwhile, at Cady's house, she was picking out clothes from her wardrobe, preparing for tomorrow's family date.
"Mom, come look, how about I wear this tomorrow?" Cady stood in front of the full-length mirror, picking for a long time, and finally settled on a white mini skirt.
This body-hugging mini skirt, made of light and close-fitting fabric, looked more like a set of home pajamas.
As Cady's mother entered the room, she saw her daughter's daring outfit and tactfully said: "Cady, this outfit is very beautiful, but perhaps it's not very dignified to wear in front of outsiders…"
"Mike isn't an outsider…" Cady mumbled softly. She already felt a sense of urgency and wanted to leave a deep impression on Mike tomorrow.
Seeing her mother's reaction, Cady had already made up her mind.
"Alright, I get it." Having made her decision, Cady didn't want to listen to her mother's nagging anymore, and she playfully pushed her out of the bedroom.
Looking at her daughter's tightly closed door, Cady's mother experienced for the first time what her husband had felt before.
In her room, Cady tossed and turned, unable to sleep, clutching her pillow, and finally took out her phone to call Mike.
"Hi, Mike. It's me," Cady deliberately lowered her voice.
"Cady, is something wrong?" Mike had just finished washing up and answered the phone as he passed through the living room.
"Um… I just wanted to remind you not to forget the time tomorrow at noon, twelve o'clock," Cady said nervously.
"Okay, I'll be at your house on time tomorrow," Mike replied.
"…Alright then! Good night, Mike. Sweet dreams," Cady was silent for a moment, then said goodbye.
"Good night," Mike hung up the phone.
He turned around and saw Connie, who was still drinking beer in the living room, looking at him with sparkling eyes.
"Mike, don't forget there are condoms in the cabinet. You're still young, don't cause a life," Connie said meaningfully.
Although Mike was open-minded, discussing "adult" topics with Connie still made him feel very awkward.
He helplessly answered "Got it," and then walked towards his room amidst Connie's teasing laughter.
At the same time, Regina and Karen were also on the phone, chatting about intimate topics between best friends.
Unknowingly, they started talking about Mike.
"Karen, why don't you call Mike and ask him to go shopping with us tomorrow?" Regina suggested, thinking of Mike's handsome face.
"Regina, you like Mike, why don't you call him yourself and ask him out?" Karen asked tentatively.
Both girls could vaguely sense that the other had a slight interest in Mike.
Karen, under pressure from Regina, dared not reveal her feelings. Regina, on the other hand, was concerned about her image and wanted to maintain control of the situation.
"No, he's still in my observation period," Regina stated her intention: "You call him and ask him out, and I'll give you advice from here."
Within The Plastics, Regina had always held the dominant position due to her strong personality and being the wealthiest in the group.
Receiving the Queen Bee's command, Karen could only obey and initiate a three-way call to Mike.