"Grandpa!"
Akira greeted the old man waiting not far away. Although he was over seventy years old, he still looked energetic and didn't give the impression of being old and frail.
"Aki-Kun, you're finally here."
Aizawa Masato saw Akira walking over, called his name, and then walked towards him.
"Aki-Kun, this is...?"
Aizawa Masato walked over and saw Akira holding the hand of the girl beside him. He was a little disbelieving but still cautiously asked, receiving the answer he hoped for.
"Grandpa, this is my girlfriend, Sajuna."
"Good evening, Grandpa."
Sajuna looked at Akira's grandfather with shyness. This was her first time meeting Aki-Kun's family.
"Oh, oh, Sajuna-chan, good evening."
Aizawa Masato chuckled twice, looking like he didn't know how to entertain, then looked at the classmates behind Akira.
"You're all Aki-Kun's friends, aren't you? Welcome to the countryside to play."
Aizawa Masato greeted them, then led them a few steps to show them his mode of transport.
Aizawa Masato had come in a tractor. The basket at the back of the tractor was swept clean, and there were several stools on it for people to sit on, so they wouldn't have to sit directly in the back of the truck.
"This is the only vehicle we have for picking people up at home. I hope you don't mind."
Aizawa Masato smiled apologetically, his face showing regret. These children were all good-looking, and it was understandable that they weren't used to this kind of farm machinery.
"It's fine, Grandpa Akira."
Wakana waved his hand.
"I've never ridden a tractor before; I've only seen them on TV shows."
Kitagawa and Nowa also praised it.
Sajuna didn't say anything, just pulled Akira directly onto the tractor, showing no signs of minding at all. Aizawa Masato, watching from the side, also felt relieved.
What a wonderful girl.
After everyone was on the tractor, Aizawa Masato took the driver's seat and drove the tractor towards home.
"What do you all want for dinner tonight?"
Aizawa Masato asked, turning his head.
"I've prepared a lot of things for you: juice, sashimi, and all sorts of dishes. Just tell me what you like."
"It's all up to Grandpa."
Akira replied, seemingly noticing that his friends were a little embarrassed to meet his grandfather, and hoped they weren't feeling uncomfortable.
After about five minutes, Aizawa Masato brought Akira home. Aizawa Masato's residence looked like a farmhouse courtyard, with quite a few guest rooms.
"I was thinking of setting up some countryside tourism spots before, since there's a really nice view behind the house, and it would be a waste not to use it."
"So I built a few more guest rooms and even leased some fish ponds, but then I didn't really do much with it."
Aizawa Masato explained, then led them into the house.
"Is this room okay?"
Aizawa Masato asked, opening the door.
"Wow! What a spacious room!"
Marin exclaimed in surprise, "Can I go in and look around?"
"Of course."
Kitagawa walked in, circled the room, and sighed, "It feels like several people could stay here."
"The bedding is in the cabinet by the wall, and if you didn't bring pajamas, there are pajamas in the cabinet too."
Aizawa Masato explained, looking like he had indeed been serious about running the business at the time. Was it perhaps shelved due to his parents' passing?
"It's really super awesome!"
"I think it's super awesome too!"
Wakana replied.
"How many rooms do you need? Since I wasn't sure how many people would come, I temporarily prepared two rooms."
Aizawa Masato asked, glancing at Akira meaningfully.
"How many rooms?"
"Juju-sama, are you sleeping with me and Nowa?"
Marin poked her head out, "Are you sleeping with us?"
Sajuna turned her face away, a blush on her cheeks, "Of course I'm sleeping with you all; otherwise, would I sleep in a room by myself?"
"Yay!"
Akira, of course, slept in the same room as Wakana and Kouki. The three of them had no objections.
After looking at the rooms, Akira followed Aizawa Masato to cook. He didn't let Sajuna go over to help, instead asking her to chat with Marin and the others. After all, he had invited them, and being too nervous wouldn't be good.
Akira displayed his superb cooking skills in front of Aizawa Masato, which made Aizawa Masato re-examine his grandson.
He wasn't like this when they met before, but now he's become so cheerful. This change must be due to that girl named Sajuna.
"Aki-Kun, can I call you that in front of your friends?"
"Of course, Grandpa doesn't need to worry too much."
Akira replied, his hand still meticulously slicing fresh ingredients.
"How far have Aki-Kun and Sajuna-chan progressed?"
"Huh? What does Grandpa mean?"
Akira's movements paused slightly.
"What I want to ask is, has Aki-Kun considered how far he wants to go with Sajuna-chan?"
"Although I've only met her once, I can tell that Sajuna-chan is a very good girl, and she will definitely be able to accompany Aki-Kun for a long time."
"Ever since Aki-Kun's parents passed away, I often thought about Aki-Kun's future life."
"Now, I can finally see what Aki-Kun's future looks like."
"Aki-Kun, you must really like Sajuna-chan, right?"
Akira nodded, "Of course, I like her very much."
"So, Aki-Kun, as a boy, you must cherish Sajuna-chan."
Aizawa Masato said with a tone of emotion. If Akira didn't know better, he would have thought Aizawa Masato was Sajuna's grandfather.
He was clearly his own grandson, so why was he acting as if he was entrusting Sajuna to him?
Akira couldn't help but inwardly complain.
After the two of them collaborated to make the meal, all seven of them ate heartily. The fresh ingredients from the countryside, combined with the cooking skills of Akira and Aizawa Masato, made the ordinary ingredients unexpectedly delicious, almost making the diners swallow their tongues.
"Grandpa Akira and Akira-kun's cooking is so delicious!"
Nowa cheered, "I'm so happy Akira-kun thinks of me for all the good things!"
"Because you are all my friends."
Akira smiled. After dinner, most of them were patting their bellies with no intention of moving. The girls held hands and went to take a bath.
Seeing the girls go to bathe, the three boys discussed it and decided to bathe first before deciding what to do that evening. So, they all went back to their rooms, took a bath, changed into the pajamas prepared in the room, and then ran to the courtyard to watch the stars with Grandpa.
Akira looked up at the stars. What he saw was a deep, dark ocean of stars, with hardly any ripples on its surface, just quietly dotting the sky, emitting their light, seemingly destined to remain that way forever.
Sitting in the lounge chair, feeling his grandfather's somewhat heavy breathing beside him, Akira only felt the passage of time, as if he too would suddenly become this old.
Then, he too would eagerly anticipate his grandson finding his happiness as soon as possible.
Akira suddenly understood his grandfather.