Qin Yu shared the news of Professor Swinton's letter with Hermione, and the little witch was genuinely happy for him.
After all, she knew Qin Yu had been preoccupied lately, always worrying about their "former Defense Against the Dark Arts professor" and racking his brains for a way to get in touch.
As for the details of how to make contact—well, that was beyond her for now. Alchemy was still a bit out of reach for a first-year like her.
Of course, she was determined to learn it someday!
Anything Qin could master, she could too—and if she couldn't, it could only mean he hadn't taught her properly.
Yes, that was the logic!
With this in mind, Hermione asked, "So, how's your research on that sword going? Are you going to keep at it?"
As she spoke, she used both hands to mime the length of the sword.
Qin Yu could hear the anticipation in her voice and easily read her thoughts—she was clearly fascinated by alchemy.
Honestly, after spending so much time together, it was easy for them to see right through each other.
He smiled and replied with certainty, "Of course I'll keep at it. Giving up halfway just isn't my style!"
He took Hermione by the hand and headed toward the Quidditch pitch, explaining as they walked, "But now that we've heard from Professor Swinton, I don't have to be so anxious. Maybe if I relax a bit, I'll actually make better progress. That's called knowing when to tense and when to relax."
He shot her a meaningful look. "You should do the same with your studies, Hermione. Don't stay wound up all the time—learn to let yourself unwind now and then."
The little witch mouthed "knowing when to tense and when to relax" to herself, nodding as if she'd just discovered a secret. "I'll remember that! So, when I get tired from studying, I'll come find you and make you tell me a story. Listening to you always makes me happy and helps me relax."
"No problem!" Qin Yu agreed without a second thought. He had a whole trove of Eastern tales up his sleeve—and if he ran out, there were always wild stories like Zhou Mingrui Transmigrates to the Cthulhu World or Li Huowang Shouts 'Mum, I Can't Tell the Difference'.
But for now, Hermione's taste was still easy to please—a single story about a monkey's journey was enough to keep her hooked.
"By the way, last time you said they went to a country full of girls, and Master Tang, the pig demon, and the river monster all drank some magical river water and suddenly their bellies got huge. What happened after that?" As soon as stories were mentioned, Hermione naturally wanted to know more.
"Well, things got a bit tricky after that. They had to find a way to fix their bellies, and to do that, they needed some magical well water. But the guardian of the well wasn't easy to deal with—his name was Ruyi…" Qin Yu trailed off, suddenly realizing something. He turned to ask, "Wait, have I even told you about when they met the 'Little Red Boy'?"
—After all, the Little Red Boy was the nephew of Ruyi Zhenxian, the guardian of the Abortion Spring, so the questing party had a history with him. Without that story, the whole Daughter Kingdom arc didn't make sense.
"'Little Red Boy'?" Hermione looked at him in confusion, eyes wide with curiosity. "Is he really red all over? You haven't told me about him yet."
"Ahem, well, we can always go back and tell that part in a flashback or something. But we're out of time now—I promise I'll tell you next time." Qin Yu covered his embarrassment with a perfectly straight face.
What could he do? He'd thought the Daughter Kingdom arc was more interesting and skipped ahead, but without the earlier setup, the story just didn't hold together.
Now that he thought about it, he'd skipped not only the Little Red Boy but the Bull Demon King too.
Writing novels and telling stories really wasn't easy—it was all too easy to miss a plot point and lose the thread.
Fortunately, this time he could use "flashbacks and narrative shifts" as an excuse. Qin Yu secretly congratulated himself on his "literary sophistication"—so flexible with his storytelling, and so on.
Hermione was twelve parts skeptical about this explanation, but she knew the match was about to start—this wasn't the time to press for more story.
Still, she couldn't help feeling a little peeved. A mischievous glint flashed in her clear brown eyes, and she pressed her lips together, doing her best not to let a "villainous" smirk slip out.
Of course, her "villainy" was limited to squeezing Qin Yu's hand even tighter—then letting go. Again and again, she alternated between a fierce squeeze and a sudden release.
After a while, Qin Yu shot her a look of mock resignation.
"So, Miss Granger, what exactly are you doing?" he asked, cocking his head toward his "abused" hand.
It wasn't that painful, honestly.
But it was obvious she was being a little menace.
Hermione giggled, then put on her most serious face: "Didn't you say to 'know when to tense and when to relax'? See? I'm tensing… and then relaxing!"
She demonstrated again, squeezing his hand into a claw and then letting go.
Such blatant cheekiness left Qin Yu momentarily speechless.
Sensing danger, Hermione took advantage of his distraction to slip her hand free.
"I'm going to the stands before the crowds get too thick—can't risk getting stuck… Bye, Qin!"
And with that, the little witch darted off.
That was a guilty conscience if he'd ever seen one!
Qin Yu immediately caught on, snorted in mock outrage, and hurried after her.
The corridor was packed with students heading for the Quidditch pitch, and with his broom in hand, Qin Yu couldn't move very fast. For a while, there was just no catching up with that nimble, brown-haired girl.
Still, even at his slower pace, he managed to catch the "culprit" before she reached the changing room.
"Hmph, you're way too slow, Qin. If I hadn't slowed down, you wouldn't have caught me at all! If you play like this in the match, how are you supposed to win?" Hermione said, full of pride.
Qin Yu rolled his eyes at her, thinking, If I really used my Quidditch skills, you'd have been caught ages ago.
Not that he'd ever actually lay a hand on her, of course. Instead, he tapped her nose playfully as a "punishment."
Hermione wrinkled her nose, shot him a look of mock annoyance, and then—whatever crossed her mind—burst into giggles. "Hehe, I'll stop teasing you now… Good luck in the match, Qin! I'll be cheering for you from the stands!"
They lingered outside the changing room for a moment longer. Qin Yu checked the time and saw the game was about to start. So he gave her little hand a "tension and relaxation" treatment of his own—tit for tat—before letting her go, watching as she ran off toward the Gryffindor stands.
By now, the teachers and students of Hogwarts had filled the stadium, eagerly awaiting the start of the Quidditch match.
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