Akira's memories of his grandfather were both familiar and unfamiliar; familiar because his mind held clear memories of his grandfather, but after he transmigrated, he had barely visited the countryside.
All his memories were essentially those of the original body, and although the sense of closeness from his family still existed, Akira still felt a bit awkward towards his grandfather.
Akira hesitated for a moment, then answered the phone in his hand. A hoarse voice came through, but it sounded full of vigor.
Sure enough, it was still that cheerful personality.
Akira breathed a sigh of relief. His grandfather in his memories had always been cheerful and always treated him very well.
Ever since his parents passed away, Akira had refused his grandfather's care and hadn't seen him much.
He only remembered his grandfather's crestfallen expression when he left, and his usually straight back seemed a little hunched.
"Shu, are you listening?"
His grandfather, Aizawa Masato, asked with concern.
"Grandfather, I'm listening."
Akira was silent for a moment, then replied.
Aizawa Masato on the other end of the line clearly breathed a sigh of relief and asked his grandson with a worried tone,
"Can you still come to the countryside this summer? I've prepared the freshest fruits for you this year, and even the watermelons have red flesh."
Aizawa Masato spoke with a boastful tone, but his voice still seemed humble. He clearly knew how big of a blow his parents' deaths were to the child and was a little worried that Akira was still immersed in sadness.
A pang of guilt suddenly welled up in Akira's heart.
He had already moved past his grief and started a new life, but his family still didn't know and was still worrying about him.
"Grandfather, I'm not a child anymore, you know."
Akira replied.
"Ah, Grandfather just..."
"What I mean is, I don't need Grandfather to worry anymore. I've grown up."
Aizawa Masato on the other end of the line fell silent. Akira had a feeling he was shedding tears and wiping them away.
"Shu has grown up, that's really wonderful."
"I've always been worried about Shu. I was afraid that calling would annoy Shu, and I was also afraid of suddenly receiving news that Shu had done something rash..."
"I will be a qualified boy. I've really made Grandfather worry."
"It's good that you've grown up."
Aizawa Masato's tone was filled with happiness.
"So, Shu, can you come to the countryside this holiday, even if it's just for a few days? I want to see you."
"Yes, I'll go."
Akira quickly agreed.
The scene of bringing Sajuna to his grandfather and introducing her to him flashed in his mind, but he couldn't make a direct promise yet, so he said tactfully,
"I've made several friends at school. If there's a chance, I hope Grandfather can meet them."
"Really? That's truly wonderful."
"If Grandfather doesn't mind, I'll invite them to come along."
"That's excellent! It feels like Grandfather will have even more things to prepare."
"Hahahahahahahahaha!"
Hearing that Akira on the phone was no longer as sad as he was right after his parents passed away, Aizawa Masato also laughed with relief.
Even if parents pass away, people still have to move forward. One cannot always be immersed in tragedy; that would be too irresponsible for one's life.
Aizawa Masato truly hoped his grandson could understand this principle sooner.
"By the way, Shu, do you still have money?"
"I've saved some money from farming in the countryside."
"You don't need to worry about that, Grandfather. My school expenses aren't much right now..."
Akira talked to Aizawa Masato about his recent affairs, and Aizawa Masato on the other end of the phone became more and more relieved about his grandson. It seemed he had truly moved on from that incident.
After finishing the call with his grandfather, Akira returned to his bedroom and lay on the bed, recalling the events of this semester. Listening to the pattering rain outside the window, his eyelids slowly grew heavy, and he eventually fell asleep.
It wasn't until the early hours of the morning that Akira slowly woke up in bed. He looked at his wrinkled clothes, took them off, and then went into the bathroom to take a shower.
After coming out of the bathroom, Akira didn't check his lit phone. Sajuna must have sent him many messages, but it was already early morning, and Sajuna was probably already asleep.
He suddenly wondered if Sajuna wasn't asleep...
Thinking of this, Akira picked up his phone and scrolled through Sajuna's messages, finding that they were just general messages of concern, and she probably just thought he was writing his light novel and didn't have time to respond to her for now.
Akira replied that he was fine, then waited for a while. Seeing no read receipts, he confidently tossed his phone onto the bed.
The rain outside was still falling, making the air in the living room feel damp. Akira walked into the living room, turned on the light, and sat on the sofa, lost in thought for a while.
His grandfather's sudden call interrupted his previous plans and broke through his psychological defenses.
The strong psychological defense he had built up due to his orphan identity slowly began to collapse under the concern of this only remaining relative. Akira suddenly realized that he actually really needed love.
His pursuit of Sajuna was not just about his liking for Sajuna, but also a hope to gain love through it, to achieve psychological affirmation, and to find a harbor where he could rest.
In psychological terms, this is called the Anchoring Effect.
Also commonly known as the anchoring bias, it is an important psychological phenomenon. It refers to how people, when needing to make quantitative estimates for an event, will use certain specific values as starting points, and these starting points, like anchors, constrain the estimated values.
Akira tied his feelings to a lovely and beautiful girl like Sajuna, so he wouldn't grow in a bad direction with the help of his golden finger, but would always be constrained by Sajuna's influence on his growth, becoming the person he originally wanted to be.
And now, Aizawa Masato's sudden call suddenly told him that he was indeed loved, that he wasn't rootless and adrift, and that there were still people he could rely on.
Akira, whose emotions were no different from the original owner's, couldn't help but feel his mood fluctuate. He felt like he was currently crossing an important emotional stage.
Especially since he really wanted his grandfather to see the friends and girlfriend he had made...
His grandfather must not have been very happy living in the countryside, after all, his son and daughter-in-law had both died in a car accident, and the grandson he left behind was unwilling to be cared for by him, and his mental state seemed unable to take care of himself.
Thinking this, Akira ran into Sajuna's art studio, picked up a pencil, and randomly drew something on the paper, then returned to his bedroom and revised his finished clothing design drawing. When he looked up, he only felt a ray of light coming through the open blinds from outside.
He turned off the light and looked outside, finding a faint glow in the far east of the sky, making one feel the rising sun and a sense of anticipation.
Akira suddenly felt a bit sleepy at this point, so he went to bed, leaving the matter of returning to the countryside to discuss with Sajuna after he woke up.