It was a kind of sweetness, a sweetness that penetrated deep into the heart. Even though Amanda's heart had been as calm as a windless day for years, she could still feel this forceful, passionate sweetness.
When the plane landed and Amanda followed Hermione off the aircraft, she saw for the first time this country she had once read about in books.
Known for its romance, Country F didn't give Amanda any extra feelings as she walked down the streets.
People were just living ordinary lives, walking ordinary walks, immersed in their own routines.
How much does a manufactured cultural atmosphere really have to do with the masses of people running around for their daily bread?
Mr. and Mrs. Granger's circumstances were truly good. As dentists, they had high incomes themselves, and combined with the fact that both had significant savings, they didn't hesitate to book the best hotel in Paris for their trip.
The two of them shared one room, while Hermione and Amanda shared another. Standing by the window of their room at night, Amanda looked at the dimming lights outside without saying a word.
Hermione finished her shower and walked out of the bathroom drying her hair. She came to Amanda's side and looked at her sideways.
"What are you thinking about?"
Amanda blinked and pursed her lips slightly. "I'm thinking about how long it will take for this world to become like us."
Her voice was flat and waveless, yet it made Hermione's heart ache uncontrollably.
"Become like you? You mean, become like your world?"
"Yes."
Amanda answered calmly. Just now, standing by the window, she had watched the heavy traffic and brilliant lights, and for some reason, she began calculating the total resources the Earth could produce and the approximate resource consumption of the global population.
Through calculation and analysis, she was determining how long it would take for this world to fall into the same old path they had taken.
Thinking about what Amanda had said about her original world, Hermione reached out and took her hand. "Will such a thing really happen?"
"It will."
Amanda said without hesitation, "According to data projections, the total resources of this world will also reach a state of extreme scarcity in nearly a thousand years."
"There's still nearly a thousand years," Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. "Then we still have plenty of time."
Nearly a thousand years... at the rate of human development, resources shouldn't be a problem by then, right?
Amanda lowered her eyes. A series of sharp pains pulsed in her brain as calculations she had been deliberately avoiding flooded back into her mind.
Long-term over-exploitation, long-term life-and-death struggle—did her original world not produce geniuses? Did her original world not have people who made achievements?
Certainly not.
"It's useless."
The indifferent response made Hermione look at her. "Useless? What do you mean? Why would it be useless?"
Amanda looked up and turned to face Hermione, her eyes filled with a dead silence.
"According to the analysis, the number of geniuses produced in my original world and the speed of technological progress both indicated that the resource shortage problem could have been solved fifty years ago."
"And the living standards of all humanity could have been more than doubled."
"But facts proved the analysis wrong. There was a major error in the data. Technological progress did not solve the resource problem."
"Resources remained scarce. Therefore, the conclusion can be drawn that even with technological progress, the resource shortage problem will still arrive, and the situation of our world will still occur."
"I cannot calculate what the problem was that caused such a huge variable in the middle. I cannot derive it."
"Technological progress couldn't solve it?"
Hermione frowned. According to what Amanda said, their world's technological development should have already been able to solve the resource shortage.
Then why still pressure children like that and maintain those rules?
Or rather, where did those geniuses, the technology that should have appeared to solve the problem, and the resources that should have been produced as a result, go?
Filled with doubts, Hermione turned her head in confusion to look out the hotel window.
The high-floor window of the luxury hotel allowed her to look down on everything below.
Her heart jolted violently. Hermione understood what the variable was that Amanda couldn't derive or calculate.
There was only one thing Amanda didn't understand and couldn't comprehend: human emotion, the human heart.
In Amanda's world, the ones being pressured were the children, the children who made the effort. The ones who were cowardly were the adults who had grown up through it all.
So, who held those achievements? Who held those children?
What did they want to do?
Why were such rules implemented in the first place?
These were questions Amanda wouldn't think about or calculate, but for Hermione, the result was so simple it was obvious.
"It won't be like that."
Hermione let out a long sigh. She walked behind Amanda and gently hugged her, resting her chin on her shoulder.
"I promise you, that situation won't happen here. I will do my best to prevent it from happening."
"For you, for future children, and so that many years from now, we won't be cursed as cowards by our descendants."
A predetermined outcome is irreversible—Amanda wanted to say this, but feeling the warm, soft touch behind her,
She simply couldn't open her mouth no matter what.
"Okay, I believe Hermione."
In the end, she only said that one sentence, her heart still calm and waveless.
"Let's sleep," Hermione said, nuzzling Amanda's cheek.
"Mm."
Amanda nodded, turned to walk to the bed, took off her slippers, and lay down under the covers.
"Goodnight."
Hermione sat by the bed and reached out to gently stroke Amanda's forehead.
"Goodnight, Hermione."
Amanda closed her eyes and instantly entered a state of deep sleep.
Slowly leaning against the headboard, Hermione looked down at Amanda's expressionless face in sleep. There was no trace of ease or relaxation on it.
It was as if numbness and silence were written there from birth.
"Greed."
Hermione whispered. The endless greed of the human heart—that was the real culprit behind the tragedy of Amanda's world.
"It won't happen, it won't happen."
Gently stroking Amanda's forehead, Hermione seemed to be talking to her, and also to herself.
"I'm here. I won't let your new home, your forever home from now on, become such an unbearable place."
"I promise."
Perhaps it was the effect of Hermione's words, but the expression on Amanda's face softened slightly, showing a hint of peace.
The next morning, when Amanda opened her eyes, she saw Hermione lying beside her, eyes closed and sleeping soundly.
Her mind quickly calculated the departure time and the time Hermione needed for washing up and using the toilet, determining the latest possible time she could let her sleep.
Carefully climbing out of bed, Amanda went to the bathroom to wash up without a sound.
After washing up, she walked out of the bathroom and sat at the desk across from the bed, watching Hermione with a calm gaze.
Constantly recalling the various books she had read, Amanda began a full-book review.
She should periodically review all the books she had read to ensure she could remember every detail of every single one.
This way, she would never forget anything when she needed to use it.
The moment the latest time node to wake Hermione arrived, Amanda immediately snapped out of her review and stood up to walk to the bedside.
Crouching down, she gently shook Hermione. "Hermione, wake up. It's time to eat breakfast and then go to the attractions."
After being shaken twice by Amanda, Hermione finally sat up, rubbing her eyes groggily.
"Haah... okay, I'm getting up."
After getting out of bed and washing up, she walked out of the room with Amanda, and Mr. and Mrs. Granger were just coming out of their room as well.
The timing was calculated perfectly, almost to the second.
After the group had breakfast at the hotel, they headed straight to the first stop of the journey, the Eiffel Tower.
It wasn't until she looked up at the physical structure before her that Amanda felt a sense of reality about this tower that had appeared in exam questions for subjects like physics, math, chemistry, and Chinese.
So the Eiffel Tower looks like this; so it's this tall.
Looking at the rust on the tower, Amanda instinctively began to calculate the time it would take for the Eiffel Tower to be completely corroded away without maintenance, based on questions from past chemistry papers.
All influencing factors were considered, and countless calculation formulas continuously emerged in her mind.
Hermione happily recorded the appearance of the Eiffel Tower with her camera. Turning to see Amanda muttering to herself while facing the tower, she knew exactly what she was doing.
Her mouth twitched violently. She reached out and unhesitatingly interrupted Amanda's muttering.
"Stop doing problems. We're out to play today."
Amanda's calculations were interrupted. She stared blankly at Hermione for two seconds before nodding.
"Okay. I just instinctively thought of a question and started doing it."
"Even the Eiffel Tower can be turned into a test question. It's just like the Amusement Park before—weird as can be," Hermione grumbled softly.
She pointed to a good photo spot nearby. "Quick, stand there. I'll take a picture of you."
Amanda nodded without any change in expression and walked to the spot Hermione pointed out.
Hermione patiently and focusedly adjusted the angle until she chose the one that suited Amanda best, then she pressed the shutter.
Click... With two simultaneous soft sounds, two photos were produced at the same moment.
One was of Amanda standing before the Eiffel Tower, and the other included Hermione who was taking the picture of her.
Looking at the photos in the camera, Mr. and Mrs. Granger showed satisfied expressions.
They were taken very well. They could be added to the new photo album after they returned.
Boarding the elevator, Amanda, Hermione, and the Grangers rose together toward the highest point of the tower.
Stepping out of the elevator, Amanda's gaze looked into the distance, as if the entire city of Paris was within her field of vision.
"It's just like what was written in the Chinese exam questions."
Hearing Amanda's emotionless statement, Hermione pouted and hugged her arm.
"Put the questions aside! Just purely enjoy the scenery. It's so beautiful."
Amanda nodded mechanically. "Okay."
With Hermione holding her arm, Amanda's gaze constantly wandered in all directions of the city.
Every bit of scenery was taken into her eyes, and every layout was recorded in her mind.
Because she was memorizing while looking, the extremely focused Amanda didn't feel the passage of time at all.
It wasn't until an unknown amount of time had passed that a warm, moist sensation touched her cheek, which brought her back to her senses. She turned her head stiffly to look to the side.
Hermione was right there, pressing her lips against Amanda's cheek.
After Amanda turned to look, Hermione withdrew, smoothed her hair, and looked at her with a slightly red face but an air of confidence.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Amanda shook her head and moved her gaze back to the city layout of Paris.
However, no matter how seriously she looked this time, her brain only held the soft, warm, and moist feeling on her cheek from just now.
The city layout, the possible data—not even a little bit could enter her mind.
Hermione licked her lips, as if she could still taste a bit of fresh sweetness on them.
Although she only kissed the cheek for now, it was enough for her current self to feel satisfied.
As for more, that would have to wait—wait until Amanda could respond to her.
That is, waiting for a kiss with a response.
The act of Hermione kissing Amanda's cheek was presented openly before everyone on the Eiffel Tower.
The Grangers looked at each other with gratification and quickly recorded this scene with the camera.
Some nearby tourists with romantic hearts applauded for the two, even though they were still children.
But who could say that healthy love at this age isn't sweet and doesn't deserve blessings?
Hermione's cheeks reddened at the sound of the applause, but Amanda next to her had no reaction at all, still staring fixedly at the city below the tower.
She didn't even know that the applause behind her was for her and Hermione.
Leaving the Eiffel Tower, the group of four got into a taxi. As soon as she sat down, Hermione unceremoniously leaned into Amanda's arms.
Mrs. Granger, who was sitting in the back row with Amanda and her, looked at her daughter with amusement and teased with a smile,
"You really aren't shy at all, kissing Amanda's cheek on the tower and then leaning into her arms in the taxi."
Hearing this, Hermione wrinkled her small nose and made a funny face.
"What do I have to be shy about? If it weren't... if it weren't for the fact that Amanda can't give a response yet."
"As long as it doesn't bother others, I can just hug and kiss her right in front of them. My love is open and honest."
Because they were outside, Hermione instinctively blurred the words involving the fact that Amanda didn't have much emotion yet.
Mrs. Granger chuckled and reached out to tap her daughter's nose.
"Be careful or Amanda will get shy and then deal with you."
Hermione huffed and snuggled in Amanda's arms, looking up at her. "Will you be shy in the future? Will you deal with me if you're shy?"
Amanda quickly found the definitions of'shy' and 'deal with' in her mind.
"I won't be shy."
She stated the conclusion she had reached in a matter-of-fact way.
"Nor will I 'deal with' Hermione, in any sense of the phrase."
"Amanda said it herself!"
Hermione gave her mother a smug look, then hugged Amanda and nuzzled her again.
"But I really want you to be able to get shy sooner..."
Mrs. Granger looked at the two girls with a kind expression and shook her head with a smile.
"You're just taking advantage of how Amanda always indulges you."
Amanda blinked, her tone of voice unchanged. "I am not indulging Hermione. I am only doing what my brain thinks I should do."
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