"Lalita, do you want to take a look?" After setting the observation direction, Raj greeted her warmly.
Lalita walked over curiously, looked at the star map on the screen, and stood there dumbfounded in surprise. "Wow, is this the scene of the night sky? It's absolutely beautiful."
"Yes, it is," Raj nodded with a smile, then suddenly pointed to a specific area on the screen. "Hey, I noticed a strange flash of light here. Lalita, can you take a picture of it for me?"
"How do I shoot it?" Lalita asked doubtfully.
Raj taught her step by step, guiding her through the process. Lalita immediately captured the photo and asked with concern, "What could it be? Is it a new planet?"
"It may be a heliosheath flash, it may be a Neptunian body, or it may be a dwarf planet..." Raj waved his hand and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, I'll compare it with the information I collected before, and I'll be able to determine what it is."
"Wow," Lalita said in amazement. It was the first time she'd heard the names of so many celestial objects, and she felt that Raj was truly knowledgeable. As expected of someone who received a doctorate at the age of twenty-two. In comparison, she was the same age as Raj but still studying for a master's degree in dentistry at the University of Southern California.
"How is it? Is there a conclusion?" After a while, Lalita asked with growing concern.
"Well, the comparison data will come out soon," Raj nodded and said. "You start the countdown!"
"Okay, five, four, three, two, one!" Lalita began counting down, feeling more and more expectant with each number.
"Ah, the result is in. The celestial body we discovered is..." Raj looked at the result and announced, "A medium-sized asteroid that has never been discovered before!"
"Really? That's great!" Lalita's eyes widened in surprise and delight. She didn't expect to be so lucky. Observing the sky for the first time and actually finding something—it was a wonderful feeling.
"Congratulations, this planet can be named freely by us," Raj laughed. "I think there will be a Lalita star in the sky from now on."
"Wow!" When she thought that there would be a star in the sky named after her, she couldn't help feeling overwhelmed with emotion. "Thank you, Rajesh. Without your help, I would never have found it," she said gratefully.
Raj printed out a certificate, then smiled warmly. "You're welcome. Come on, let's have a glass of champagne to celebrate." He took out a bottle of champagne and two wine glasses from his desk, then popped the cork open with a satisfying sound and filled both glasses.
Lalita was excited, so naturally she wouldn't refuse. She clinked glasses with Raj immediately. While drinking, her face flushed red, and before long, the bottle of champagne had bottomed out. Lalita was drinking happily and was immediately disappointed when she saw this situation. She turned the wine bottle upside down, trying to coax out some more wine.
"There's no more, but how about this—I do have a few bottles of good wine at home," Raj suggested with a smile.
Lalita glanced at him, then nodded with a smile. She had originally been unwilling to go on this blind date and was worried that her family would find someone for her who wouldn't suit her wishes. But seeing Raj today—seeing that he was handsome, smart, romantic, and talented—she was more than fifty percent willing in her heart.
Then Raj had helped her discover the asteroid, so that she could name it after herself and shine forever in the sky. This kind of thoughtful gesture made her seventy percent willing. Now add this bottle of champagne. The so-called wine is a matchmaker, and under the influence of alcohol, Lalita was ninety percent willing.
So after hearing Raj's proposal, after a brief moment of consideration, she decided to go happily.
The two drove to Raj's house, and then they drank and indulged, spending a passionate night together. After getting up early the next morning, the two had breakfast together.
"Raj, your cooking skills are really good," Lalita said while eating the breakfast Raj had prepared.
"Thank you for the compliment. I learned it specially," Raj said with a proud smile. "I just hope that I can cook for myself in the future and feed it to my beloved woman."
"Really, you're so thoughtful," Lalita was moved when she heard this. "Then what are you going to do after breakfast?" she asked again with concern.
"After breakfast, I'm going back to school," Raj said with an apologetic smile. "I'm working on a project right now that takes a lot of energy, and I can't even take a break on weekends."
"Is that so..." Lalita felt a little disappointed. Originally, she had had a seventy percent liking for Raj, but after a night of intimacy, her feelings were even stronger. Therefore, she really wanted to spend more time with Raj and didn't want him to be busy with other things.
"Don't be sad. Actually, I really want to accompany you, but I really can't because of the pressure of work," Raj smiled and comforted her, seeing her disappointment. "Well, wait for my call tonight. If I have time, I'll definitely come see you."
He could see that Lalita already had strong feelings for him, but his feeling for her was still only moderate, and he still didn't know enough about her. So he decided to get along with her for a while longer before making any commitments—he wasn't in a hurry to get married.
"Okay," Lalita nodded, trying to hide her disappointment.
After breakfast, he sent Lalita on her way, and then Raj drove back to school. On the way, he also called Paige and asked her to meet him at the university. When Paige received Raj's call, she was pleasantly surprised and immediately agreed to come to campus to meet him.
"Paige, this is an asteroid I discovered last night. Please apply for registration for me," Raj said after their meeting, giving Paige the picture and coordinates of the asteroid.
"Raj, you're really lucky," Paige laughed. It wasn't particularly difficult to find asteroids—so far, humans had discovered millions of them. Even amateur astronomers could spot them with their own telescopes. However, Raj had discovered a potentially habitable planet first, and now he'd discovered an asteroid, which made him very fortunate indeed. You know, many astronomers worked their entire lives and might never discover even one significant celestial body.
"Thank you," Raj smiled modestly.
"The discoverers are Lalita Gupta and Rajesh Koothrappali, applying to name it Lalita," Paige read aloud as she checked the documentation. "Raj, this Lalita is..."
"Can't you give me a little privacy?" Raj waved his hands dismissively.
"Okay, I'm sorry," Paige nodded, then applied to the International Astronomical Union on behalf of Raj.
After finishing all this administrative work, Raj continued writing the paper "Thermal Chemical Evolution of Comet Nuclei and Kuiper Belt Objects" with Paige. Because both of them were busy studying and working on their research, they didn't have a proper meal at noon and only bought some crackers from the vending machine to satisfy their hunger.
So in the evening, Raj prepared to treat Paige to a good meal to make up for it.
"Is this a date?" Paige asked hesitantly when Raj invited her to dinner.
"I'm not intending to pursue you, but we didn't have a good lunch at noon, so I want to have a proper meal now," Raj smiled. "You don't have to come—I'd actually be saving money."
"Okay, since that's the case, then I'll go," Paige nodded, smiling at his honesty.
The two immediately went to a nearby restaurant for dinner. Just as they sat down at their table, Raj heard someone speak nearby.
"Did you dump me just to pursue her?"
Raj turned toward the voice suspiciously and saw Penny standing there looking angry, with an embarrassed Leonard standing behind her, clearly trying to make himself invisible.
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