Amusement Park Visit - Part 1

After spending an entire week at the Grangers' home, Lin Yue had already thoroughly figured out the Grangers' work schedules and daily routines.

The Grangers generally left for work at eight every morning and returned home at five in the afternoon.

They had lunch at the workplace cafeteria or a nearby restaurant.

But once Lin Yue had their schedules down, their lunches were directly taken care of.

Waking up at six, Lin Yue was the earliest riser in the Granger household—no one else could get up before her.

Hermione liked to sleep in a bit during summer break, not getting up until nearly nine.

The Grangers were used to rising around seven, throwing together a quick breakfast, eating a little, and heading straight to work.

Now that Lin Yue was up at six, they couldn't possibly make breakfast anymore—before they even woke up, the meal was already on the table.

She even prepared lunch in advance, packing it into two insulated containers so it would still be warm when they ate at noon.

According to her, her mother had told her that restaurants outside tended to be heavy on oil and salt and weren't always hygienic, so they usually didn't order takeout and just ate homemade food.

Mrs. Granger tried to stop Lin Yue from making breakfast and preparing their lunches—after all, letting a child under twelve handle various kitchen tools made her uneasy.

Breaking things wasn't a big deal, but she was afraid Lin Yue might hurt herself.

But the moment she opened her mouth, she saw Lin Yue's expressionless face and heard her say, "Is it because my cooking isn't good? Sorry, I'll improve."

Mrs. Granger could only swallow her words, reach out to ruffle Lin Yue's little head, and tell her that everyone loved her cooking—she was just worried Lin Yue would overwork herself.

Lin Yue immediately shook her head, saying she wasn't tired at all, and that while cooking she also silently recited her textbooks, so it definitely wouldn't affect her studies. She told Mrs. Granger not to worry.

Mrs. Granger sighed helplessly, but in the end, she could only gratefully accept Lin Yue's "kindness."

With Lin Yue around, it wasn't just the Grangers' lives that changed—Hermione's holiday had undergone a major upheaval too.

Staring at the pile of finished homework in front of her, Hermione fell into a daze.

Had it only been a week since break started? And she'd already finished her summer homework? Normally, she spread it out over the entire vacation to do it slowly!

Yet this past week, while keeping close to Lin Yue and making sure she rested on time, she'd unconsciously completed all the assignments ahead of schedule.

And this was under the condition that Hermione had repeatedly insisted—Lin Yue and she could only study in the afternoon, with mornings and evenings reserved for proper rest.

Otherwise, she had no doubt Lin Yue could finish all the homework in just two or three days, with quality intact.

By now, Hermione had completely given up on competing with Lin Yue academically. Different, totally different—she herself loved learning, but Lin Yue had been ruined into knowing nothing but study.

Under these circumstances, Hermione felt she couldn't compare with her in studies, so she focused all her energy on figuring out how to drag her away from it.

Taking a deep breath, she turned to look at Lin Yue, who was reading her textbook for who knew how many times, and waited until she finished the page before speaking.

"Lin Yue, how about we go to an amusement park together? Just to have some fun?"

Hearing her name, Lin Yue instantly snapped out of study mode, closed the book, and looked at Hermione.

"Amusement park?" Her mind paused for a split second. In her memory, amusement parks weren't places for children—or rather, not for the children of ordinary people like her.

Could she and Hermione really go to an amusement park?

"Yeah, yeah." Hermione nodded vigorously, ready to describe all the fun things at the amusement park to lure her there. She'd only been once herself—she found it too noisy and preferred the library.

But taking Lin Yue... Merlin forgive her, she really didn't dare go to the library. She was afraid that once Lin Yue knew where it was, she'd go every day, and then she'd sink back into studying and never come out.

"Amusement parks are super fun—Ferris wheel, merry-go-round, bumper cars. We can even ride the mini pirate ship together."

As she spoke, Hermione looked at Lin Yue with sparkling eyes. Originally, she had no real interest in amusement parks; she'd only suggested it to get Lin Yue out.

But thinking about going to the amusement park with Lin Yue... Hermione's heart couldn't help but leap with excitement. Going to an amusement park with Lin Yue! That would be so much fun.

Even the noise of the amusement park, which Hermione had always disliked, now seemed like a sign of liveliness in her eyes.

Though she couldn't figure out why an amusement park would let ordinary kids like her and Hermione in, Lin Yue still obeyed the voice deep in her mind and nodded to Hermione.

"Okay, let's go." Lin Yue agreed in a completely emotionless voice.

Hermione let out a cheer. "Wait here—I'll call Mom and Dad to let them know."

With that, she turned and ran to where the landline was. She and Lin Yue needed to tell her parents before going to the amusement park, and more importantly, she had to ask them where the money was kept.

She couldn't very well suggest the amusement park and then make Lin Yue pay for everything.

Picking up the phone, Hermione skillfully dialed her parents' office number. After a few rings, the call connected, and Mrs. Granger's voice came through.

"Good morning, Mom." Hermione's voice carried a hint of cheerfulness.

Hearing her daughter's voice, Mrs. Granger couldn't help but smile. "Good morning, Hermione. What's up?"

"Mom, can Lin Yue and I go to the amusement park together?"

An amusement park? Mrs. Granger was stunned for a moment, then felt a surge of relief and joy.

Great—finally, her daughter knew how to go out and have fun during the holidays instead of going to the library or holing up at home reading.

Thinking this, Mrs. Granger's fondness for Lin Yue grew a little more. She knew full well that Hermione was definitely suggesting the amusement park to take care of Lin Yue and keep her from studying all the time.

As for Hermione not liking amusement parks... wasn't that just when it was the three of them going? This time, she was going with Lin Yue—she was sure Hermione would love it!

"Of course you can! I'm really glad you're taking Lin Yue to the amusement park instead of the library."

In her good mood, Mrs. Granger couldn't resist teasing her daughter a little.

"Mom!" Hermione's face flushed slightly as she called out softly. If it were just her alone, she really would have gone to the library, but now that she had Lin Yue with her, how could she possibly go to the library!

"Haha," Mrs. Granger chuckled twice, then straightened her expression. "Alright, alright, I'll stop teasing you. In the bedside table in our room, the first drawer, there's five hundred pounds. Take it all."

"Play whatever you want, eat whatever you want. Don't hold back."

"Okay, I know. Thanks, Mom." Hermione hung up the phone, padded over to her parents' room in her slippers, pulled open the first drawer of the bedside table, and sure enough, saw five hundred pounds inside.

Taking the money out of the drawer, Hermione rolled it up and stuffed it into her pants pocket, then walked out of the room to find Lin Yue in the living room.

Lin Yue was sitting on the sofa at that moment, staring blankly at the floor in front of her, muttering Magical History under her breath without pause.

Hermione sighed helplessly, stepped forward, and gently wrapped an arm around Lin Yue's shoulder. "Stop reciting. We need to head out. Mom said we can go."

"Okay." Lin Yue's face showed no change as she nodded, mechanically standing up and following Hermione to the entrance to change shoes.

The two girls walked out the front door, locked the house and yard gates, and hailed a taxi right by the roadside.

Settling into the back seat of the taxi, Hermione instinctively reached out and pulled Lin Yue into her arms, gently stroking her hair, trying to coax her to sleep.

Lin Yue blinked, her eyes as still as dead water slowly closing.

She began organizing and integrating Magical History knowledge in her mind again. By the time the taxi arrived at the amusement park, she had already consolidated every single knowledge point from the entire Magical History textbook.

The taxi slowly pulled over to the roadside. Hermione gently patted Lin Yue's shoulder. "Lin Yue, we're here."

Lin Yue snapped her eyes open, nodded, watched Hermione pay, then let herself be pulled out of the car and led toward the ticket booth outside the amusement park.

At the ticket booth, Hermione politely smiled at the aunt inside. "Hello, two children's tickets, please."

The aunt inside the booth couldn't help but smile at the two adorable little girls outside.

She amiably handed out the tickets and told Hermione the amount she needed to pay.

Hermione nodded, counted out the exact change, and handed it over. The aunt inside nodded back, speaking with a cheerful grin.

"Enjoy your visit, and be careful, okay?"

Hermione nodded obediently, then cheerfully pulled Lin Yue toward the amusement park entrance.

Lin Yue was tugged along by Hermione as they quickly approached the gate. Everything before her eyes was both the same and different from the amusement park she had glimpsed on TV news.

The park itself was the same—the grand, imposing entrance, laughter and joy everywhere, and the faint outlines of rides visible inside.

What was different was that, in her understanding, an amusement park wouldn't have this many children.

Her gaze swept over the kids running and laughing all around, and Lin Yue's brain paused for a moment.

This amusement park accepts ordinary children? Isn't it afraid of being reported by parents?

These two thoughts flashed through her mind, but not a shred of doubt arose in her heart. Following Hermione through the gate, a scene she had never seen before unfolded before her eyes.

The towering Ferris wheel slowly rotating in the distance, the roller coaster speeding along, staff members in various mascot costumes—Lin Yue felt a momentary dizziness from the sheer variety.

But only for that instant. The next moment, the Ferris wheel's trajectory and rotation cycle were subconsciously calculated in Lin Yue's brain.

The forces acting on the roller coaster and its motion state were also rapidly computed by Lin Yue's mind, yielding results.

Every ride Lin Yue could see in the amusement park transformed into a series of problems, laid out in her mind.

And Lin Yue, like she was solving a test, analyzed their various parameters nonstop, the equations in her head constantly updating. She had essentially turned the entire amusement park into a massive exam paper filled with countless questions.

Hermione carefully surveyed the surroundings, then turned her attention back to Lin Yue. Just as she was about to ask what she wanted to ride first, she saw Lin Yue's eyes darting around and her lips moving silently.

Frowning in confusion, Hermione cautiously leaned her ear closer to hear what she was saying, but caught nothing—Lin Yue wasn't making any sound.

After a moment of hesitation, Hermione decided to interrupt her. "Lin Yue, what are you doing?"

Hermione asked hesitantly, reaching out to take her arm.

Lin Yue, who had been deep in a frenzy of calculations, instantly snapped back to reality and turned to look at Hermione.

In a flat tone, Lin Yue told the truth. "I'm calculating the various parameters and data for each ride."

Hermione couldn't help but close her eyes at her words. Seriously... Even at an amusement park, Lin Yue can't let go of studying?

She's way too hard on herself. "Stop thinking about that, okay? We're here to play. Nothing but playing—no thinking about anything else!"

Hermione pinched Lin Yue's cheek with her other hand, trying to sound fierce.

But since she didn't actually want to be harsh with Lin Yue, the forced tone came out with a hint of adorable, babyish ferocity.

If it had been anyone else, they might have started laughing by now, but Lin Yue couldn't detect the oddity in Hermione's voice or analyze what was really going on.

Lin Yue woodenly withdrew her gaze from the rides, turned her head to look at Hermione, and nodded obediently.

"Okay. I won't think about it."

"That's more like it!" Hermione beamed happily, gesturing at all the rides around them. "Which one do you want to ride? Let's go together."

Lin Yue had already scanned every ride she could see in the vicinity during her calculations. Without hardly any thought, she raised her hand and pointed at the one she had seen most often in exam papers—though only in this one instance—the Ferris wheel.

"I want to ride that first."

Hermione followed Lin Yue's finger and saw the massive Ferris wheel.

"No problem. Then we'll start with the Ferris wheel." Hermione nodded, linked her arm with Lin Yue's, and led her toward it, chatting nonstop along the way to keep her from accidentally slipping back into calculating the data on every ride.

They had come to the amusement park to play and relax together—not to study math or physics!