22 Taking Sheldon to drag race

After the intense workout, it was clear that the bond between Mike, John, and Parker had grown stronger.

If John and Parker have a favorability system, Mike's favorability would have risen to 80 by now.

This made Mike feel slightly uncomfortable. After all, John's favorability had only reached 70 after all this time, and now it had inexplicably risen to 75.

Looking at his relationship with Parker, it seemed that John's favorability towards Mike was much higher, by A LOT.

This frustrated Mike a bit, but he quickly realized that favorability was sometimes about shared interests.

John and Parker both shared a similar interest, which brought them closer together.

On the other hand, the troublesome Sheldon, who had helped Mike numerous times, only had a favorability of 30 and still lost. Mike felt a strong urge to find a corner and beat him up.

Seeing his friendship with John and Parker increase, especially John's which had suddenly jumped to 75, with 80 not far away, Mike was happy. Once their friendship reached 80, he could extract their skills, especially their exceptional marksmanship and fighting abilities.

'No man can resist the allure of pistols and guns!' Mike thought to himself.

The two of them made plans to meet again the day after tomorrow, and Mike decided to give John and Parker a day to rest.

While today's workout was normal for Mike, it was a bit too much for the two of them, and they needed a good recovery day.

After returning home, Mike went to the garage as usual, nothing new. For him, the amount of exercise was just okay considering his physique at human peak level.

Meanwhile, John had sprawled out on the sofa and didn't feel like moving.

But then he heard Daisy call for food from her bowl. John looked helpless as he tiptoed to get some food and water.

When Daisy saw the food, she quickly ran over to eat, causing some of the dog food and water to spill.

The usually well-behaved Daisy was truly hungry and thirsty this time.

On the other side, Parker, relying on his willpower, took a shower at the hotel and then fell asleep naked on the sofa, with only a bath towel covering his body. Knocked out and dreamt of something intense.

In terms of physical strength and power, the beast-like Mike was definitely much stronger than both John and Parker.

When Mike arrived at the garage in high spirits, Mia asked, "Soo, how was the workout with those two serious fellas?"

"I feel great, I love the feeling of pushing myself to the limit," Mike replied with a satisfied and intoxicated expression.

Mia raised an eyebrow and asked, "And how are John and Parker?"

"They must be exhausted," Mike said with a laugh.

Mia also laughed, imagining John and Parker, who usually had poker faces, now enduring the discomfort from their intense workout. The contrast was amusing.

As the afternoon went on, the two of them chatted, but Mia seemed to be probing for something. Mike, skilled in undercover tactics, could tell that Mia was acting unusually.

"Hey, Mia, can I ask you something?" Mike inquired, his curiosity piqued. "You've been asking quite a lot of questions today. Is there something specific you're trying to find out?"

Mia's expression remained composed, but there was a hint of hesitation. "Oh, no, not really," she replied casually, trying to downplay her probing demeanor. "Just making conversation, you know?"

Despite her response, Mike's instincts as a skilled undercover operative told him there was more to it. "It just feels like there's something else behind your questions," he said, still puzzled. "Are you trying to test me or find out something about me?"

Mia's facade wavered slightly, but she quickly regained her composure. "You're reading too much into it, Mike," she said dismissively. "Just forget I asked anything."

Mike couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something suspicious going on, but he decided not to push further for now.

'What does Mia want to know?'

'Why is she testing me?'

Mike looked at Mia with a puzzled expression, and Mia, sensing that she had gone too far, restrained herself and stopped her constant probing.

In the afternoon, they went to Sheldon's apartment, but when Mia and the others arrived, Sheldon hurriedly came out of the apartment, looking for Penny.

"Hi!" Sheldon exclaims.

"Hi! What's the matter?" Mia asked.

"I want to talk to you, Penny, about sign linguistics," Sheldon replied.

"What?" Both Mia and Penny had blank faces, unfamiliar with the term.

Mike already knew what was going on, and he didn't like this behavior.

He knew that Leonard couldn't resist the temptation to have a relationship with Leslie Winkle now, and it had nothing to do with love.

Sheldon continued to explain sign linguistics, but he couldn't make it clear to the two students. So he led them to Leonard's door.

Seeing the tie hanging on the door, both Mia and Penny understood what Sheldon meant. They exchanged knowing glances and gave Sheldon a disapproving look.

They couldn't help but think, "Can't you just ask what it means when there's a tie hanging on the door?"

Penny explained, "Leonard's tie means he doesn't want to be disturbed. It signifies that Leonard has a woman inside, and something indescribable is happening."

Only then did Sheldon realize that Leonard had brought a girl into the room.

Shock and Panic appeared on Sheldon's face, unsure of what to do next.

He paced back and forth in the living room anxiously.

Mike approached Sheldon and said, "It's okay. Sometimes you have to learn to adapt. You can't stay with Leonard forever. Even if you're willing, Leonard won't."

However, his words seemed to have no effect, and Sheldon continued to act awkwardly.

At that moment, Mike suggested, "Maybe you can hang out with us. I'll take you to have some fun."

"Okay! That's a great idea!" Penny agreed to Mike's suggestion.

After all, Penny wanted to get to know the real Mike. She felt that the Mike she had known before was not the same person as the current Mike.

Sheldon wanted to say something, but Mike forcefully led him out of the apartment.

In truth, Mike took Sheldon out for a specific reason. Leonard's situation reminded Mike that he needed to break things off with Penny.

Holding onto Penny all the time made Mike feel a bit dishonest, so it was better to be clear about his intentions.

Mike drove Mia to her car and said, "Let's have a race."

"Okay!" Mia agreed, her eyes filled with suspicion. After all, Mike had never shown his drag racing skills to Mia before.

There was also a smile playing at the corner of Mia's mouth, as it had been a long time since her brother had left.

Mike said to Mia, "You take Penny, and I'll take Sheldon."

Mia didn't say anything but gave Penny a nod, signaling her to get in the car. Penny took a seat in the passenger seat of Mia's car.

Mike pushed Sheldon into the car and told him to sit down. Sheldon looked at Mike with a panicked expression, wondering what Mike had in mind. As the engines revved up, the cars ready for action, a proud and challenging smile appeared on Mike's face, mirrored by Mia's expression.

As the traffic light turned green, the sound of roaring engines filled the air.