The Downcast

"Why did you say that just now?..." Hermione asked Li Mu breathlessly as they emerged from the second-floor bathroom. Her heart was racing now, not because she had walked too fast, but because she had just gone along with a lie.

Moaning Myrtle certainly wasn't pretty, and talk of inner beauty was even more ridiculous. She had lied. That was why she had rushed out of the bathroom as if fleeing.

Yet even though they had been lying, they had made Moaning Myrtle—the girl rumored to cry endlessly and splash water everywhere—smile. The three of them had even become so-called "friends"! Everything that had just happened felt unbelievable to Hermione, yet amid her confusion, she seemed to understand something. It was everything Li Mu had wanted her to understand.

"It's simple: don't speak of your successes in front of someone who's down on their luck." Li Mu followed beside Hermione at an unhurried pace. "When someone is facing difficulties, or feeling lost or inferior, it's best to make yourself sound even worse off."

He glanced at Hermione. Seeing that the top student was still somewhat dazed, he continued explaining.

"You've taken exams in the Muggle world, right? Even if a student did exceptionally well, whenever someone asked about it, they would still say they got this wrong or made a mistake there. When a friend failed an exam, a clever student would comfort them by saying, 'I was like that on such-and-such an exam too...' rather than, 'You should have done this question like this. Look at mine...'"

"That's because when people are frustrated and disappointed, what they desperately need isn't methods or reasoning. They need to see that others were once just as miserable as them, or even worse. That makes the disappointed person feel that there are still people in this world worse off than they are, and that things will get better later. And similar experiences of frustration, setbacks, and failure often make two people feel like kindred spirits, bringing them closer together."

These were things Li Mu had clearly never seen mentioned in textbooks, whether in the Muggle world or the wizarding world. Hermione listened with a frown, and after a long while, her gaze deepened as she fell into thought.

It seemed... there was some sense to it?

Because Li Mu had portrayed the two of them as pitiful victims bullied by their friends, Moaning Myrtle had seen them as her kind and accepted them?

The two turned a corner and reached a staircase. Hermione stopped, still full of suspicion. "Did that prefect from your House really like Moaning Myrtle? Why did he tell you? And what was that about the prefects' bathroom just now?... And why were you trying to flatter Moaning Myrtle?"

Another trait of little Hermione's was that whenever she focused on discussing a question, her lips moved as quickly as insect wings, firing off syllables and words in a rapid barrage. Fortunately, Li Mu had specifically trained himself over the past few months. Otherwise, with the terrible English listening skills from his previous life, he might not have understood her at all.

Now, faced with the fierce thirst for knowledge in Hermione's eyes, Li Mu could only shrug helplessly and smile bitterly. "You're asking so much. How am I supposed to answer? Let's return to what we were discussing earlier—your issue with Ron."

Hermione pursed her lips.

Taking the opportunity, Li Mu hurriedly stated his conclusion first. "To continue what I didn't finish saying earlier... if Ron and the others were your monarchs, you might already have been beheaded. Being kept at a distance and isolated would be the least of it."

Hermione's face finally went from pale to deathly white. Sweat even seeped from her forehead and ran down. Li Mu's words had shaken her deeply, like a sword piercing straight through her chest.

Seeing her like this, Li Mu felt somewhat sorry for her. He had chosen to come to Hogwarts only to fulfill a youthful dream from his previous life. Originally, he had only planned to be an inconspicuous spectator, silently watching the familiar plot unfold around him. He had merely thought that, if possible, he might speak with those famous "historical" figures he had long admired and get along with them amicably...

Yet he had gradually realized that once he became personally involved, even though he had never deliberately changed anything, so-called "history" had already changed enormously. The earlier and more intense rift between Ron and Hermione was only one example.

At the same time, he had discovered that he could no longer remain calmly detached. Rationally, he needed "history" to remain as unchanged as possible, but emotionally, he simply could not do it. Just now, he had practically followed her into that secluded bathroom without even thinking. Everything he had done today had been impulsive, but it had already happened.

And now, since he had already said most of what needed to be said, he had to finish it. Since "history" had already changed, then he might as well let it change completely. So what if this world became unrecognizable? Since he had come here, he would leave deep marks upon "history"!

Li Mu took a deep breath and placed both hands on Hermione's shoulders. His eyes looked down into hers, black pupils meeting brown eyes. Hermione instinctively struggled once, but immediately gave up resisting.

Hermione could see the seriousness in Li Mu's eyes.

"Listen, Hermione! Since ancient times, the more capable a leader is, the broader their mind. They can heed advice and make room for others." Li Mu said, trying his best to choose his words carefully. "Deep inferiority often manifests as intense self-esteem, even arrogance. Ron, and even Harry, they..."

"No, don't say any more." Hermione's lips trembled, her voice almost pleading.

Her reaction left Li Mu completely baffled. He had intended to tell Hermione the right way to deal with Ron, to turn little Hermione into an even more socially perceptive and outstanding girl than in "history." And he had believed that, with Hermione's obsessive thirst for knowledge, she would listen very seriously to this knowledge about human relationships and be happy to improve her relationship with her classmates.

But what was with this look of being traumatized? It made it seem as if some creepy old man was bullying a little girl...

Two Ravenclaws who looked to be in their fourth or fifth year passed by them and went upstairs. Even after they vanished up the stairs, they had kept staring at them curiously. If they continued standing here, even more students would probably treat them like monkeys in a zoo.

"All right, Hermione... but there's one last thing I have to say. I'm not telling you this to criticize you for doing badly." Li Mu finally sighed helplessly. Seeing Hermione on the verge of tears made him feel a little anxious too. Don't let this backfire and wipe out all that favorability...

"I know you have a strong sense of responsibility. You're sincerely worried and concerned about your friends... You just need to change your approach. You need to understand your friends' feelings..."

"All right, I understand." Hermione wiped her eyes again, then blew her nose. She said, "You also want me to forgive Ron, don't you?"

Li Mu froze for a moment. For some reason, he truly had not considered that. He had simply hoped Hermione would look at all this more rationally and not be so upset.

And he felt that... even if Hermione chose to forgive Ron, given Ron's childish and reckless personality at this stage, he might not necessarily accept Hermione's apology. In Ron's eyes, Hermione was probably the one who had offended him. Maybe she would have to apologize to him before he would consider forgiving her...

Before Li Mu could reply, Hermione had already dashed toward the other end of the corridor. Halfway there, she turned back with a serious expression. "I'm going to History of Magic class. I suggest you hurry to class too, so Hufflepuff doesn't lose more points."

"...All right." Li Mu broke into a smile as he watched Hermione disappear around the end of the corridor.

He knew that this unexpected yet opportunistic consolation had probably brought the two of them a little closer.

He guessed that even though Hermione had come to understand the darker weaknesses of human nature, she still did not intend to pay Ron any more attention.

I suddenly got notified that I made it onto the recommendations...

But what am I supposed to do when I have hardly any chapters saved up?

Writing over 2,400 Chinese characters today was pretty impressive too, right...

By the way, I've been a little distracted from writing lately because I've been making music. Search for "Bai Gao" on NetEase Cloud Music, Kugou, QQ Music, and other platforms—that's me. Was that plug sudden enough? Are you happy?!

(End of Chapter)