Seeing Mrs. Koothrappali revealing Penny's identity, Raj was startled. "Ma, don't get me wrong. Penny really is an actress, but she's not famous yet, so she's working in a restaurant temporarily." He quickly explained, trying to keep his voice steady. "In Hollywood, it's not surprising that many stars have this experience before they make it big."
"We don't care about other people," Mrs. Koothrappali refused, her tone sharp and dismissive. "We thought she was a big star like Angelina Jolie or Sandra Bullock at first, so we didn't object to your relationship. But now I realize that she is simply a poor girl with nothing to her name. Rajesh, she must be with you for your money. You have to break up with her."
"Ma, things are not what you think. We have real feelings for each other," Raj explained again, his frustration mounting. "She knew that I would no longer be using your money, but she didn't leave me because of this."
"But she still knows that you are in our will," Dr. Koothrappali retorted sharply. "You silly boy, don't be fooled by her. She's playing the long game."
"Ma, Papa, I think you really misunderstood Penny. She is really not what you imagine," Raj said resolutely, standing his ground.
Although Penny had many shortcomings—such as a rather extensive dating history, somewhat sloppy living habits, no college degree, and perhaps unrealistic dreams about her acting career—overall, she was still a very good person at heart.
She was beautiful, kind-hearted, genuinely smart in her own way, romantic, passionate, and warm-hearted. She was a very good woman who truly cared about the people in her life.
Especially important, she didn't worship money. In the show, Penny had once been pursued by a wealthy heir, but she had turned him down. Instead, she had married Leonard, whose income was only half of her own at the time.
"Rajesh, if you persist in this obsession, we will remove you from our will," Dr. Koothrappali threatened. Although he actually wouldn't follow through in the end—this was his son, after all—there was no harm in threatening him to get rid of that girl clinging to his fortune.
"Yes, we can't sit back and watch the legacy of the Koothrappali family be stolen by some poor white girl," Mrs. Koothrappali added with a firm nod.
"Okay, if you want to do this, I can't help it," Raj shook his head and said with quiet determination. "Anyway, I never intended to rely on your property. The money I earn now is enough for me to live comfortably."
He himself knew many ways to make money through his work and investments, and he didn't need to covet the family property at all.
"How dare you say that, you unfilial boy! Are you trying to give us heart attacks?" Seeing that Raj remained unmoved, the Koothrappali couple grew even more angry, their voices rising.
At that moment, the apartment door opened, and Penny came back from her acting training class.
"Honey, I'm back!" she called out happily, unaware of the tension in the room.
"It's you! You're the bad woman who corrupted my son!" Mrs. Koothrappali roared ferociously when she heard Penny's voice, whirling to face her.
"What?!" Penny froze, stunned by the sudden verbal assault.
"You witch, leave my son immediately," Dr. Koothrappali also shouted, his face red with anger. "I will never allow you to get close to him again."
"What the hell is going on?!" Penny demanded, her confusion turning to defensive anger.
"You are with Rajesh only because you're greedy for his money," Mrs. Koothrappali accused sharply.
"Let me tell you something—we will not give him another rupee, and we will kick him out of the will. You won't get any money from us."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Penny asked angrily, her voice shaking with emotion.
She had been with Raj at the beginning, and money had indeed been a very important factor—she couldn't deny that. But as they spent more time together, she had become more and more genuinely satisfied with Raj as a person.
Raj was handsome, smart, considerate, gentle—the best man she had ever been with. Therefore, she no longer cared whether he had money or not. Even when she learned that Raj was no longer dependent on his family's wealth, she hadn't broken up with him because of it.
But she hadn't expected to be scolded so viciously by the Koothrappali couple now, which really made her feel both deeply aggrieved and furiously angry.
"Enough, stop scolding Penny. She is really not what you imagine," Raj said firmly. "Okay, I'm hanging up now." After finishing his sentence, he closed his laptop with more force than necessary.
"What's going on here?" Penny frowned and turned to face Raj, her arms crossed defensively.
Being scolded for no reason by people she'd never even met, she felt very upset and confused.
Raj took a deep breath and recounted the entire situation from beginning to end—how his parents had somehow discovered she worked as a waitress, their disappointment, their harsh words. Finally, he tried to comfort her, saying, "Don't be angry with them. They just misunderstood the situation. I will find a chance to explain everything clearly to them."
"Let's not talk about them for now. I don't really care what they think of me," Penny waved her hand dismissively and said, "Let me ask you something more important: why did you only tell your parents that I'm an actor, but not mention my actual job?"
"Well, you are indeed an actor," Raj said, taken aback by the directness of her question. He smiled awkwardly, trying to deflect.
"No, you don't really think so," Penny immediately retorted, her voice rising slightly. "In your heart, you've always looked down on me for being a waitress, haven't you?"
"Of course not! Why would you think something like that?" Raj waved his hands quickly in denial.
"Because that's exactly what you did, so of course I thought so," Penny said loudly, her frustration boiling over. "You asked me to quit and change careers to become a sales representative. How dare you say that I misunderstood you?!"
"But didn't you specifically ask me for advice?" Raj said, his tone defensive and somewhat speechless.
It was for her own good that he had persuaded Penny to change her career path. He had genuinely been trying to help. Because he knew that realistically she had no real future in acting, but after switching to pharmaceutical sales, she had been like a fish in water in the show. She'd quickly earned more than Leonard, and had even acquired her own financial consultant.
But he hadn't expected his good intentions to be treated like this, which made Raj feel depressed and misunderstood.
"If you truly respected my job as a waitress, why didn't you suggest I pursue a better position in the restaurant industry instead?" Penny immediately asked, her voice bitter and challenging.
"Okay, fine. Let me ask you something then," Raj countered, equally bitter. "If you also genuinely think that working as a waitress is such a good job, then why don't you plan to keep doing it? Why are you still working so hard trying to become an actor?"
Penny was left completely speechless by his question. Unable to formulate a response, she simply grabbed her bag from the couch and walked toward the door angrily.
"Penny, Penny, wait! Where are you going so late at night?" Seeing her storm out, Raj hurriedly followed her into the hallway.
"Since you look down on me so much, then I'll just go. You can go back to your female student," Penny said sharply as she pressed the elevator button. She walked in as soon as the doors opened, and deliberately pressed the close button before Raj could step inside.
Raj stood at the elevator entrance for a long time, staring at the closed doors, then finally turned around and walked slowly back to his apartment. He didn't chase after Penny or try to catch her downstairs.
There were two reasons for this. First, she was clearly angry now, and no matter what he said, she probably wouldn't be willing to listen to him anyway. Second, he honestly didn't know what else to say. He had already apologized multiple times, but she hadn't accepted it. What else could he possibly do—kneel down and beg?
Therefore, he decided it would be better to let Penny calm down first, give her some space, and then try to have a proper conversation with her in a few days when emotions weren't running so high.
"But how did Ma and Papa find out about Penny's real job situation?" After returning to his apartment and sitting down on the couch, Raj couldn't help wondering about this troubling question.
Although he'd had several phone calls and video chats with his parents over the past few weeks, he had been extremely careful never to leak anything about Penny's waitressing job. He was absolutely certain the source of the leak couldn't have been him.
"Someone else must have told them," Raj said aloud to his empty apartment, stating it as a firm conclusion. And then suddenly, a specific person came to mind. "Sheldon."
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