I Prefer Staying Quietly in the Library to Read

At that moment, on the other side of the castle, a tall and strong upper-year student wearing a Gryffindor Quidditch uniform, riding a brand-new "Nimbus" series broomstick that was clearly expensive, shot past overhead like a streak of red lightning.

It was the Gryffindor Quidditch captain, Oliver Wood.

He had just finished his personal training.

With a single glance, he saw the disorderly scene on the lawn, a clear violation of discipline, and was about to fly down to give this group of clueless first-years a good scolding.

But in the next second, his gaze was locked onto Lin Yuan.

"Genius! An unparalleled genius!"

He swooped down from the air like a lion spotting its prey, landing heavily in front of Lin Yuan.

He even stumbled slightly upon landing due to his excitement.

But he didn't care at all.

He rushed to Lin Yuan, placing his hands heavily on Lin Yuan's slightly thin shoulders, his eyes wide as saucers, burning with the fire of a "Quidditch Champion."

"What's your name?! You're Lin Yuan, right?! I've got it!" he spoke so fast it sounded like an incantation, nearly spitting on Lin Yuan's face. "Listen, kid! You are the strongest flying talent I've ever seen, no, the strongest flying talent Hogwarts has ever had! Bar none!"

"Your aerial hover just now! That right-angle turn! And that last... that... that god-like maneuver standing on the broom! Merlin's beard! You were born for Quidditch! You are the Son of God sent to save our Gryffindor and win the House Cup!"

He was so excited he was becoming incoherent.

He gripped Lin Yuan tightly, looking at him with an almost pleading expression, then said with all his might the invitation that represented the highest honor for any student who loved flying at Hogwarts:

"Lin Yuan! I, Oliver Wood, captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, now formally invite you! Join us! Become our new Seeker!"

"With you, we'll absolutely crush those Slytherin bastards this year! We'll win back the House Cup! We'll make history!"

His voice was loud, passionate, and infectious.

All the surrounding Gryffindor students looked at Lin Yuan with immense envy and jealousy.

A first-year, directly invited by the captain to join the house team!

This was an honor even the legendary Harry's father, James Potter, never had!

It was practically an instant ascent to glory!

Everyone assumed Lin Yuan would accept without hesitation.

After all, he possessed such incredible flying talent.

To not use it in Quidditch would be a terrible waste!

However.

History once again chose its most absurd opening.

Facing Wood's face, full of fervor and anticipation, and the envious, jealous, and hateful gazes of everyone around him.

Lin Yuan calmly removed Wood's hands from his shoulders.

Then, in his characteristic polite yet distant tone, he slowly uttered a sentence that left everyone present petrified.

"Thank you for the invitation, Wood senior."

"But, I'm sorry."

"I'm not very interested in that kind of sport where a large group of people ride broomsticks and chase a few balls in the air."

"..."

The ecstatic joy on Wood's face instantly froze.

"N-not very interested?" he stammered, as if his ears had malfunctioned.

Lin Yuan nodded very seriously, then added with an even more sincere tone, as if merely explaining why he disliked cilantro, a fatal blow that could shatter Wood's Dao heart.

"Yes, not very interested. I just find it noisy."

"Besides, I prefer to stay in the library and read quietly rather than waste time on the field."

"I think reading is much more interesting than chasing balls."

BOOM--!!!

It was as if a bolt of lightning from another dimension had struck the crown of everyone's head on the scene.

The world fell silent.

Wood's passionate face instantly turned blank.

His mouth hung slightly open, his eyes unfocused.

His heart, filled with the fervor of a "Gryffindor dynasty," shattered completely at that moment.

He... what had he just heard?

This once-in-a-century, unparalleled genius with god-like flying skills...

He said...

He said he... didn't like Quidditch?

He... prefers... reading... books... in... the... library?

Wood felt his world collapsing.

The surrounding students were all stunned.

Ron's mouth hung open, wide enough to fit a whole pumpkin pasty.

He thought Lin Yuan must be crazy, and not just a little bit.

Malfoy, on the other hand, had a face full of disdain and contempt, but beneath that contempt, he hid a trace of jealousy he couldn't even understand himself.

And Hermione Granger.

After experiencing the initial shock, a strange light flickered in her eyes.

A super genius who also felt reading was more interesting than a match?

My Merlin!

This ideal academic, who only existed in her fantasies, was actually real?!

"Sorry, senior, if there's nothing else, I'll be heading back now."

Lin Yuan gave a polite nod to Wood, who had turned into stone.

Then, under everyone's ghost-like stares, he turned and walked back towards the castle at his unhurried pace.

His retreating figure was calm and composed, as if he had just refused a flyer handed out on the street.

On the field, only a pitiful Quidditch captain remained, holding his broom and disheveled in the wind.

And a group of first-year wizards who still couldn't recover from the divine declaration, "I think reading is much more interesting than chasing a ball."

If Lin Yuan's "broomstick flying" and "right-angle turn" in the flying lesson had only dropped a depth charge within the small circle of first-year freshmen.

Then, his subsequent remark, "I think reading is much more interesting than chasing a ball," was like a super hurricane of level twelve, sweeping through every corner of Hogwarts Castle overnight.

Of course, this "heat" was polarized.

To the vast majority of students who saw Quidditch as their life, valued the House Cup's honor above all else, and were full of passion, Lin Yuan's actions were simply the ultimate blasphemy against the sacred sport of Quidditch.

"He's crazy! He's definitely crazy!" This was Lee Jordan's wail in the Gryffindor common room, as he paced back and forth in front of the fireplace, clutching his head, "We could have had a god-tier Seeker! Someone who could have crushed Slytherin into the ground! And what happened?! He said he's going to the library to read?!"

"I bet he was hit on the head by some spell," Ron said, playing Wizard's Chess, analyzing seriously to Harry, "Otherwise, no normal person would refuse to join the Quidditch team! That's Quidditch!"