Although it was ultimately not determined what Lin Yue's parents had done to her brain, it is a definite fact that something was done to it. However, the doctors at the private hospital stated that regardless of what had been done to Lin Yue's brain in the past, her current brain state is normal. The only issues are with her brain waves and the development of her emotional center, which are not quite normal. In terms of medicine, there is nothing they can do about these two points; she can only gradually learn to let go of her self-imposed restrictions and experience emotions.
After receiving the detailed examination report, the Granger family walked out of the neurology department corridor into the lobby. Hermione immediately spotted Lin Yue standing in a corner of the lobby, staring blankly ahead and mumbling something to herself.
Seeing Lin Yue's dazed expression and lack of any emotion, Hermione instinctively felt a urge to cry. Without needing to go over and listen, she knew that Lin Yue was likely reciting some textbooks from her classes.
Having had her brain tampered with, Lin Yue must have felt incredibly helpless and desperate at that time, especially since it was her own parents who had done this to her. Just thinking about it sent chills down Hermione's spine, even as an outsider.
At that moment, Lin Yue was probably feeling even worse. Overcome with emotion, Hermione disregarded the fact that they were in a hospital lobby and any issues of politeness. She ran over with open arms and tightly embraced Lin Yue, as if trying to protect her by merging her into her own body.
Lin Yue paused her recitation for a moment, expressionless as she looked at the person holding her. After confirming it was Hermione, she resumed reciting her textbook.
Hermione closed her eyes, trying to calm her emotions, and then released Lin Yue, forcing a smile at her. "Let's go home."
Lin Yue looked at Hermione with eyes as calm as still water, showing no signs of emotion. She didn't want to smile, and her brain instinctively analyzed and identified the incongruity on Hermione's face.
Hermione's smile was unusually stiff, making it clear that she didn't genuinely want to smile. Coupled with her red-rimmed eyes and erratic breathing, Lin Yue could basically confirm that her smile was not sincere.
"If you don't want to smile, then don't," Lin Yue said this with no emotion in her heart.
A voice deep within her mind clearly told her that she didn't want Hermione to force a smile. As for why she felt that way... Lin Yue didn't think it through; she just didn't want to.
Hermione managed a smile that was almost a cry, except she didn't shed any tears. She reached out and gently rubbed Lin Yue's head, her voice soft.
"How could that be? I really want to smile; I love to smile the most."
Despite having no real emotions herself, and not even understanding what emotions were, Lin Yue was still trying to comfort her. It was truly... sweetly kind of her.
Lin Yue nodded without any change in her expression, "Alright."
Since Hermione said so herself, there was no problem with it. After all, Lin Yue didn't quite understand why Hermione felt the need to force a smile.
While the two girls interacted, the Granger couple stood nearby, but neither of them approached to interrupt, wanting to give the children space to be alone and respecting their communication and interactions. These were the most basic things they could manage.
However, even Mr. Granger, who wasn't very perceptive in these matters, began to notice the interaction between his daughter and Lin Yue.
He turned to Mrs. Granger, uncertain, "Dear, what’s going on between Hermione and Lin Yue?"
Mrs. Granger raised an eyebrow, surprised that her husband had noticed so quickly; she thought it would take him a while to catch on.
But since he had noticed, Mrs. Granger felt there was nothing to hide. Her husband wasn't a rigid person; he just had a strong protective instinct for their daughter.
"Well," Mrs. Granger nodded at Mr. Granger, "but right now, it should just be that Hermione is interested in Lin Yue, considering Lin Yue's situation... and Hermione probably hasn't fully recognized her own feelings yet."
In other words, Hermione still didn't realize that she had already developed feelings for Lin Yue deep down.
Mr. Granger nodded, his gaze complex as he looked at Hermione and Lin Yue.
The little girl Lin Yue was indeed someone who deserved sympathy, but she didn’t understand what feelings were; she had to learn and experience various emotions on the spot. He could imagine how exhausting this relationship might be for his daughter in the future.
After being together for so many years, how could Mrs. Granger not see her husband's thoughts? She gently patted his shoulder.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
"In a relationship, both people need to make sacrifices. Since Hermione likes Lin Yue, she will be willing to rush towards her, even if that child is tangled in thorns. Hermione will resolutely pull the thorns away and embrace that child."
Mr. Granger fell silent for a moment. Indeed, that’s what liking someone is, isn’t it?
"Yes," Mr. Granger said with a gentlemanly smile, raising his hand to pat the back of his wife's hand resting on his shoulder. "You're right; we just need to support them."
"Lin Yue is also a good child. If Hermione really ends up with her, I would feel at ease."
Mrs. Granger chuckled lightly, raising an eyebrow at him. "How can you be so sure she's a good child after such a short time?"
Mr. Granger shook his head with a smile. "Isn't it obvious? She's polite, diligent, and so understanding that it makes one feel sorry for her. You must feel the same way."
"Mm." Mrs. Granger pressed her lips together and softly responded.
Indeed, compared to children of the same age, Lin Yue was far too understanding, to the point where Mrs. Granger even hoped she could be a bit more lively and boisterous, rather than being so rigid and mechanical, doing everything flawlessly.
As they got into the car with the two children, Mr. Granger slowly started the vehicle and drove towards home. Mrs. Granger turned around and handed the packed breakfast to Hermione and Lin Yue.
"Have a little something to eat, but don’t eat too much. We’ll be having lunch soon after we get home."
Hermione and Lin Yue each took a breakfast, nodding in unison.
Lin Yue opened the bag and took out a piece of bread spread with jam, opening her mouth wide and stuffing it in. In the blink of an eye, the piece of jam bread disappeared.
Next to her, Hermione didn’t have time to stop her and just watched as Lin Yue directly "swallowed" the jam bread.
Gently holding Lin Yue's wrist, Hermione looked at her helplessly, "Eat slowly, okay? There's no rush."
Lin Yue blinked mechanically and replied, "Okay."
After saying that, she took out another piece of jam bread and began to eat it slowly, one bite at a time.
Seeing Lin Yue finally slow down, Hermione felt relieved and eagerly took out a sandwich from the bag, bringing it to her mouth for a big bite.
Mmm! Delicious! Hermione's eyes suddenly lit up, not that she meant to say her mom's sandwiches were bad.
It was just that Lin Yue's sandwiches and her mom's sandwiches were completely different styles, and Lin Yue's style was exceptionally tasty.
Because Mrs. Granger had warned them not to eat too much, Lin Yue stopped after eating two pieces of jam bread, and Hermione also stopped after eating one sandwich.
After tidying up the bag, Lin Yue was once again pulled into Hermione's embrace, slowly closing her eyes. She began to simulate in her mind again, but this time it wasn’t about brewing potions.
Instead, she was simulating planting herbs. Thinking she had successfully let Lin Yue rest by falling asleep on the way back, Hermione smiled and decided to encourage Lin Yue to "sleep" as much as possible at Hogwarts in the future.
The car slowly stopped in the Granger family's garage, and Hermione, holding Lin Yue, had unknowingly fallen asleep.
Mrs. Granger turned around and couldn’t help but chuckle softly, gently calling out, "Lin Yue, Hermione, we’re home."
Hearing her full name, Lin Yue instantly snapped out of her simulation of planting herbs, opening her eyes wide, which were clear and bright, indicating she hadn’t really fallen asleep.
Mrs. Granger couldn't help but pause for a moment. Wasn't she also accepting of Hermione hugging her to help her sleep, even though she couldn't fall asleep herself?
This child, Lin Yue, was a bit too well-behaved. If she learned about emotions in the future and still acted this way, wouldn't she be bullied by Hermione?
At this moment, Mrs. Granger had seemingly forgotten that Hermione was her biological daughter and was directly worried about whether Lin Yue would be bullied in the future.
Slowly turning her head, Lin Yue looked up at Hermione's still sleeping face.
Cautiously extending a hand, Lin Yue gently nudged Hermione as if she were touching a fragile piece of art.
"Hermione, Hermione, we're home, wake up."
The call, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, rang in Hermione's ears. However, to Hermione, it was incredibly pleasant, making her want to open her eyes immediately to see the person in front of her.
As she opened her eyes in a daze, Hermione instinctively raised her hand to touch Lin Yue's cheek, which still looked a bit blurry.
Once she was fully awake, she yawned and took Lin Yue's hand to get out of the car.
The four of them got out of the car together, and as soon as they entered the Granger home, the first thing Lin Yue did after changing her shoes was to look up at the clock, which she had already checked the night before.
It was eleven o'clock in the morning; it was time to prepare lunch. Putting on her slippers, Lin Yue walked towards the kitchen without any hesitation.
This natural behavior left Hermione and the Granger couple stunned for a couple of seconds.
Then the three of them snapped back to reality and hurriedly followed her into the kitchen.
In the kitchen, Lin Yue was already taking ingredients out of the refrigerator. At the same time, her brain was continuously calculating the ratios and nutritional combinations of various foods.
Her parents had always placed great importance on this. They firmly believed that only by eating healthily could they maintain good health. Therefore, Lin Yue would always calculate the ratios in advance and make reasonable combinations whenever she cooked.
During meals, her parents would also try to eat slowly to ensure they enjoyed every dish and every nutrient, often finishing their meals thirty minutes after Lin Yue had already finished.
Now that she thought about it, her uncle and aunt, as well as Hermione, should also pay attention to this aspect, as it would benefit their health.
So Lin Yue's brain automatically began to calculate the ratios of various ingredients according to her usual practice.
Mrs. Granger sighed as she watched Lin Yue's skilled movements and stepped forward to gently take the items from her hands.
"Lin Yue, you just finished your physical examination and had blood drawn. How about you go rest with Hermione for a while? I'll make lunch."
Lin Yue looked up at Mrs. Granger, her eyes vacant as she nodded slightly, "Okay, thank you, Auntie."
"Good girl, go on, sit on the sofa with Hermione for a bit, watch some TV, and you'll be able to eat soon." Mrs. Granger gently pinched Lin Yue's cheek and nodded at Hermione, signaling her to take Lin Yue along.
Hermione quickly stepped forward, linking her arm with Lin Yue's while carefully avoiding the spots where they had drawn blood, and led her to the sofa. Mr. Granger stayed in the kitchen to assist his wife.
Turning on the TV, Hermione aimlessly flipped through the channels—stage plays, movies, cartoons... she really didn't know what to watch.
Turning to Lin Yue, Hermione decided to ask for her opinion, "Lin Yue, is there anything you want to watch?"
Lin Yue mechanically turned her head, looking at Hermione with a blank expression.
TV? She had hardly ever watched it. At home, it was usually her dad and mom who watched, and she never had the time to relax and watch TV; she couldn't afford to slack off.
However, deep in her memory, it seemed she had watched some very old cartoon, perhaps secretly in a shopping mall.
She was very young at the time, maybe around eight years old. Her mom had taken her shopping and let her go to the bookstore while she went to a clothing store.
On her way to the bookstore, she saw a shop with many TVs, and one of them was playing an old cartoon featuring a roadrunner that speaks only with “beep beep” noise with a cunning, devious and constantly hungry Coyote repeatedly attempts to catch and eat the roadrunner but is humorously unsuccessful. Instead of using animal instinct, the coyote deploys absurdly complex contraptions trying to catch his prey.
That cartoon was completely different from the ones that simply taught children how to study and develop good study habits.
That cartoon made her feel... what was it? Lin Yue's head throbbed as her powerful memory struggled to recall her feelings at that time.
She only remembered that later, when her mom found out she was secretly watching the cartoon, she slapped her and then called to report the store.
The reason was for playing meaningless cartoons that affected children's learning.
After making the call, her mom turned around and told her to get up from the floor, then took her home.
Looking up at Hermione, Lin Yue spoke in a flat tone, "I want to watch a cartoon."
Hermione nodded and switched the TV to the cartoon channel, where "Thomas the Tank Engine" was playing.
Putting down the remote, she gently wrapped her arm around Lin Yue and sat with her, watching the cartoon on TV.
To be honest, she had started to find cartoons uninteresting around the age of ten, perhaps because she had seen enough of them.
But now, watching with Lin Yue... somehow, the cartoon seemed to have some meaning again. She glanced at Lin Yue beside her.
Her eyes were still vacant, her face still expressionless, but inexplicably, Hermione felt that a flicker of light seemed to pass quickly through the depths of her eyes.