**New York University Medical Center**
"Look, it's happening again. How many times has it been this month?"
"The third time."
"That family sure has a lot of misfortune."
"When love disappears, trouble and conflicts naturally increase."
"But it's always the children who suffer."
"Yeah, a family like theirs—how did the adoption agency even approve them?"
"Money, of course."
"…..."
Various bits of gossip floated into Adam's ears.
He glanced over at the Coleman family, who were sitting in a row, and shook his head privately.
It had been a few months since John Coleman had made the mistake that many men make—a mistake that resulted in his wife having a miscarriage.
Adam had almost forgotten about him until recently, when the Coleman family once again became the talk of the hospital. Rumors were flying everywhere, spreading like wildfire, comparable to an internet scandal in his past life.
Apparently, John Coleman's wife had cremated the remains of their miscarried child and buried the ashes in their garden, planting a flower over them. Watching the flower bloom was like seeing their lost daughter come to life—a rather poetic and artistic form of grief.
Then came the predictable cycle of drinking and attempts at sobriety.
Finally, after some intense psychological counseling, the Coleman couple had an epiphany. To make up for the love they couldn't give to their lost daughter, they decided to adopt a child.
After successfully adopting a little girl who seemed sweet and ladylike, their family should have been happy. But problems started cropping up one after another.
First, their adopted daughter broke a bone.
Then, John's wife left their deaf-mute daughter alone in the car, only for the car to suddenly roll out of control, nearly causing an accident.
And now, the treehouse had caught fire, and their son had jumped from it, sustaining severe injuries and falling into a coma.
John's wife was on the verge of a breakdown, while John himself remained disturbingly indifferent.
This time, people could somewhat understand his cold demeanor.
After all, every incident seemed to point directly to John's wife—each disaster happened under her watch. Careless, impulsive, and neurotic—those were the labels people had now attached to her.
Rumor had it that John even caught his wife secretly buying alcohol. Even though she insisted she had only purchased it and hadn't actually drunk any, no one believed her.
When Americans in TV dramas get overwhelmed with depression and stress, they turn to alcohol—men, women, young, old, it doesn't matter. That's just the way it is.
Adam observed the Coleman family from a distance. He noticed John's wife sitting slumped in her chair, staring blankly into the distance, her eyes occasionally flashing with resentment. He followed her gaze and saw that it was fixed on a peculiar little girl.
"Huh?"
Adam was taken aback.
She was just a seemingly delicate and well-behaved little girl, yet her presence made him deeply uncomfortable. This feeling...
The girl had twin pigtails and wore black ribbon-like bands around her neck and wrists. Just as Adam was about to take a closer look, she suddenly turned and met his gaze.
For a moment, her face was expressionless. Then, she smiled—a pure, innocent smile.
Adam returned a warm, harmless smile of his own before turning away. But inside, he was on high alert. He needed to stay far away from the Coleman family.
**Target locked: Ex-girlfriend, Amazing Amy!**
That eerie feeling... Adam finally understood.
That little girl radiated the same kind of unsettling aura as his ex-girlfriend, Amazing Amy.
"Damn it, System. What kind of TV show world have you thrown me into? Why are there so many psychos?!"
He complained inwardly.
"Why couldn't it just be a fun, wholesome blend of *The Big Bang Theory*, *Friends*, and *How I Met Your Mother*?"
But after thinking it over rationally, he could understand.
Life is complex. Comedy itself is born from tragedy. So if multiple comedy worlds were fused together, the tragic elements would naturally become even more pronounced.
And what is closely intertwined with tragedy?
As a wise man once said: "For those experiencing it, tragedy is nothing short of horror!"
Happy America. Horror, every day.
Nope. Not getting involved.
---
**Meanwhile…**
Having received the "evidence" Adam had mailed him, Leonard was on cloud nine. Just showing it off to his classmates and nerd friends was no longer enough for him.
He, Leonard Leakey Hofstadter, wanted to take things to the next level.
He was going to find Adam, invite him over to his house, and—most importantly—parade him around their school and comic book shop, letting all those "losers" witness a real-life celebrity.
New Jersey was right next to New York, and plenty of people from New Jersey liked to claim they were New Yorkers.
For example, in *How I Met Your Mother*, Barney and Ted once pretended to be foreigners new to the city, hoping to charm two women into showing them around. However, the plan backfired when the women actually believed them and took them on a school field trip-style tour—Natural History Museum, Urban Planning Center, City History Museum, and more.
Barney, ever the smooth talker, was enjoying himself. But Ted, exhausted from all the walking and still not getting anywhere with the ladies, finally lost his patience.
When he realized that the two women weren't even real New Yorkers but were actually from New Jersey, he exploded, yelling:
"New Jersey is NOT New York!"
A classic case of regional snobbery.
That being said, New Jerseyans weren't entirely wrong to claim some affiliation with New York. The commute between the two was incredibly convenient—getting from one borough to another sometimes took just as long as traveling from New York to New Jersey.
Many people who couldn't afford to live in New York chose to work there but reside in New Jersey.
So, on his day off, without telling his family, young Leonard set off enthusiastically. Using the mailing address as his guide, he made his way to find Adam.
Normally, this kind of search would be quite unreliable. If it were anyone else, he probably wouldn't have been able to locate them.
But Adam?
It was like following a GPS signal.
Leonard arrived at the apartment, knocked on the door of Unit 520, and was greeted by Monica, who told him that Adam was volunteering at NYU Medical Center.
Intrigued, Leonard declined Monica's offer to wait and instead took the subway directly to the hospital.
"Adam!"
"Leonard?"
Adam was surprised to see Leonard being led over by a nurse. But at the same time, he wasn't too shocked.
When he had mailed sample books to his friends, he had already considered this possibility.
Even though he didn't want to disrupt the eventual meeting of Leonard and Sheldon, it wouldn't have made sense to send books to Sheldon and Juno while leaving Leonard out.
Besides, there were still about ten years before that fateful meeting. Adam had plenty of time to make sure things fell into place.
"Wait here for a bit. I just need to finish my shift."
After giving Leonard some brief instructions, Adam walked off.
Meanwhile, Leonard curiously looked around the hospital, observing everything.
As he turned a corner, someone suddenly bumped into him.
Startled, he looked up—only to be met with the fierce glare of a little girl before she quickly walked away.
"S-Sorry…"
Leonard stammered, taken aback.
By the time he regained his senses and reflexively apologized, the girl was already gone.
Feeling strangely guilty, he subconsciously started following her.
(End of Chapter)