Nurture her at a young age!

"Done!"

Atlas and Nina looked at Penny with doubt. Could she possibly finish the problem in under five minutes? 

Professor Singh also had the same question. 

Although the problem he had given Penny was beginner's level, it should be hard for her grade. 

Curious, the three of them stretched their necks to check. 

When Atlas saw the main problem and the equation she used, the corner of his mouth hooked up into a smirk. Seeing this, Nina felt slightly relieved. 

'That's right. There's no way she would get the answer and even if she did, it would at least take her an entire day to solve it.' Nina already stumbled upon this problem before and even now, she hadn't solved it. There was no way Penny could've known this, considering she came from a normal school. 

As for Professor Singh, he reached for the paper and took a closer look. 

"Penny." While the Professor assessed the answer, Nina took this as her opportunity. She looked at Penny worriedly with a tinge of disappointment. "Answering math equations is not a battle of race. There's a lot of things you need to consider. You don't have to rush yourself since this is not a contest and you're not to impress anyone."

"Penny, Nina is right. You should take your time when answering equations you're not very familiar with," Atlas added.

Nina pursed her lips, feeling a little overjoyed that her assumptions of Penny were right. Penny only excelled because her school was normal and the teaching was outdated. 

Penny darted her eyes between Atlas and Nina. The two of them seemed convinced Penny got it wrong. 

'Atlas should know… oh, right.' Penny mentally chuckled. 'Professor Singh hadn't taught them this method since he's focusing on making them stick to the rules.'

"Professor Singh, you must be surprised that Penny wrote gibberish on her paper," Atlas expressed apologetically. "She's still young. She still had a lot of things to learn."

A glint of ridicule flickered across Nina's eyes upon hearing Atlas's remarks. 

As for Professor Singh, his expression was indescribable as it was a mix of everything. He put down the paper, gazing at Atlas and Nina before his eyes fell on Penny. 

"Penny." Professor Singh reached for another piece of note and jot down a long problem. He slid it toward Penny and said, "Can you answer this problem?"

Penny blinked before she glossed her eyes over the problem. "I can try~"

Atlas and Nina were confused. They looked at each other before casting Professor Singh a look. They couldn't tell much of what Professor Singh was thinking, but he looked very serious while watching Penny answer. 

"Big brother…" Nina quietly called Atlas. "... did she offend Professor Singh?"

Atlas just glanced at her but didn't say anything. He was also curious about what was going on. Hence, he quietly rose from his seat and sat near Penny to see the problem she was working on. 

'This is already a problem for senior year?' Atlas frowned, but before he could even think of anything, Penny suddenly stopped. 

Confused, he furrowed his brows and looked up, only to see Penny's round eyes staring directly at him. 

"What?" he blurted out, only to see her plump fingers slowly cover her paper. 

Did she think he was going to copy her answer?

"Penny, what's wrong?" Professor Singh was a little worried. "You were doing well and —"

"Professor Singh, I forgot what to do next." Penny blinked, her round eyes making her appear harmless and adorable.

"You forgot?" the professor was a little doubtful because Penny was already at the end of the problem. But then, he noticed Atlas was watching closely. 

Professor Singh smiled, more pleased at this well-behaved kid. Penny purposely stopped when she noticed Atlas, so as not to hurt her brother's ego. 

'She is not only a genius, but she's also a nice kid.' he thought, smiling. "I see. Then I'll make this your first assignment, Penny. I want you to finish this problem next week."

Pleased that Professor Singh picked up her hint, Penny smiled from ear to ear. "Okay!"

"Atlas and Nina, I will also give you each problem as an assignment. I want it done in our next session."

Nina felt this slight relief that Penny didn't know the answer to the last problem. She thought Penny would have the same confidence as the first, but it was probably because Penny was ignorant. 

Atlas, on the other hand, didn't think much about it. All he thought was that there was no way Penny would know how to solve a problem that was taught in senior year. 

*****

Normally, Professor Singh would leave the mansion after his session with Atlas. However, he felt the need to see Charles right away. 

"Oh, Professor Singh!" Charles was glad when he saw Professor Singh coming into his study. He rose from his seat, offering his hand to this respected professor. "How was the tutoring? Did Atlas give you a hard time?"

"Mr. Bennet, Atlas is a hard worker. He never gives me a hard time and tries his best to answer any question without asking for help," Professor Singh smiled weakly as he sat down on the divan opposite Charles. 

"I see." Charles nodded in satisfaction, knowing his son was like that as well. "How about Nina? I heard she had been joining your session?"

"Miss Nina is…" Professor Singh trailed off as he pondered about it. He already heard of the situation of the family. Even so, Professor Singh still knows Charles and Allison loved Nina as their own. "... she's alright. If she focuses more on her studies, she will be fine."

Charles sighed mildly and nodded. "I see."

"But I'm not here to talk about the young master Atlas or young miss Nina," Professor Singh cleared his throat, making Charles raise his brows. "I met Miss Penny and Mr. Bennet, I would like to take her in as my apprentice."

"What?!" Charles couldn't help but jump from his seat. "Professor, Penny is still young. Why are you taking her as —"

"Miss Penny is a genius, Mr. Bennet." Excitement twinkled in the professor's eyes. "She wanted to enter college early and I think it's best to nurture her at a young age!"

Professor Singh only had good things to tell Penny, and Charles was in disbelief. The professor was twinkling while talking about the young genius he met, making Charles rub his eyes to make sure he was seeing it correctly. 

The professor was respectable and, most of the time, he carried a noble aura. But right now, it was almost like he was ready to worship Penny. 

"Penny… is a genius?" Charles murmured as he rushed to the professor's side. "Professor, are you sure Penny is a real genius?"

Professor Singh smiled proudly. "I could see her surpassing me in a few years."

Charles was astounded.

Everything the Professor told him was nothing but praise and this praise came from Professor Singh himself! Even top professors go above and beyond just to be mentored by him, but even that sometimes wasn't enough to get Professor Singh's attention. Yet, he was almost begging Charles to let him nurture Penny.