Chapter 623: An Elder’s Malicious Humor is Terribly Nasty
Kazumi’s pupils contracted sharply. The teacup in her hand crashed onto the tabletop with a *bang*. Warm tea water splashed onto her fair hand, yet she seemed oblivious.
“Wh-what?”
Her voice trembled slightly, her fingertips unconsciously clenching the hem of her clothes.
The girl then abruptly stood up, her chair scraping against the floor with a piercing sound. Her chest heaved violently, her eyes flickering with disbelief.
“Hey, why–”
Her voice suddenly rose, then was forcefully suppressed.
“Why did Grandpa put him in a regular class? Grandpa, you’re a Professional Hero. You must know how important this is. Even if Grandpa’s ability is very weak, he shouldn’t have put him in a regular class! The content taught in Hero classes is completely different from regular classes! And the classmates who study and grow together in the hero class, even if your own connections mean you don’t need to make more Psychic heroes, the bonds formed among colleagues who grow up together are completely different!”
Kazumi’s voice carried all the emotions she had endured. Her slender fingertips clenched into fists. The mask of obedience and gentleness she usually wore shattered, revealing the true anger and confusion beneath.
At this moment, the girl was truly out of sorts with anger. She couldn’t understand how Grandpa Satou, a former Professional Hero, could do something so foolish.
“Even if he’s truly the lowest-tier Psychic, he shouldn’t be thrown into a regular class! Kazumi, your words just now were very tactful. The future development offered by a hero class is far beyond what a regular class can compare to.
If we draw an analogy, it’s like in the world of your descendants, when someone could have entered a 985 or 211 university with their abilities, but their parents forcefully threw them into a vocational college. Just hearing about it makes one’s blood pressure spike.”
Hamano Tsukasa quietly watched the girl, her eyes filled with intense anger. A hint of a comforting smile flickered in his cloudy eyes.
He seemed unconcerned by the girl’s disrespectful attitude and words towards an elder. Instead, he was immensely pleased by the implicit protection Kazumi was showing Satou Shinichi.
He slowly raised his hand, signaling Kazumi to sit down.
“Kazumi, finish this cup of tea first,” the old man said, pointing to the half-spilled teacup in front of the girl. His tone was remarkably calm.
“Old man, I haven’t finished speaking. You’re too easily swayed by these things, and they affect your judgment.”
Kazumi’s chest was still heaving, but seeing the old man’s steady gaze, she slowly sat back down.
She mechanically picked up the teacup, only to find her hands still trembling slightly.
Hamano Tsukasa waited for the girl to take a sip of tea before continuing.
“What I mean is, under the training I’ve been giving him since childhood, Satou Shinichi’s physical strength has already reached the level of a quasi-Professional Hero. And our plan for his future is to touch upon the level of ‘Satou Shinichi.’
Relying purely on his abilities to become a Professional Hero, our family’s resources and the brats’ talent are not a problem in the old man’s eyes.”
“Don’t you really care about this matter at all, Kazumi?”
“This can also be considered as fulfilling a request that brat made to me previously. Otherwise, the old man wouldn’t have run out for special training, and I wouldn’t have been able to communicate with you. He was very worried that this would affect your feelings for each other. In that case, the old man would become a sinner.”
As Hamano Tsukasa spoke, the wrinkles on his face smoothed out, revealing a kind smile. He slowly refilled Kazumi’s teacup with hot tea. The rising mist blurred the shrewdness in the old man’s eyes.
“It’s not that, bro.”
Satou Shinichi’s sudden shout rendered both Kazumi and Hamano Tsukasa speechless. The young girl suddenly felt as if she had some kind of bad luck with people surnamed Satou.
“What do you mean, ‘if Satou Shinichi’s ability’? And now it’s turned into you not finishing your sentence, just that his physical strength has reached the level of a quasi-hero?”
The anger that had been rising in the girl’s heart instantly dissipated with a *snap*. Her jet-black eyes were now filled with helpless confusion.
It was only when Kazumi’s gaze met Grandpa Satou’s face, which held a hint of malicious humor, that she finally understood. The true purpose of this seemingly serious elder going to such great lengths wasn’t just to see her get angry about this matter, was it?
“Are you sick?
“Sorry, Grandpa Satou, I lost my composure just now.”
“What else can you do? Apologize!”
Kazumi admitted that for a moment, she had been too concerned to think clearly. She hadn’t even heard the “if” qualifier Grandpa Satou had used, yet a strange expression appeared on her face.
The girl lowered her head, apologizing for her overly harsh attitude and words.
“Hahahahaha, there’s no need for that, Little Kazumi. I’m very pleased that you care so much about Grandpa Satou,” the elder, referred to as ‘Big Brother Gao’ by Kazumi, said with a hearty laugh that echoed through the dining room. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes spread out like blooming chrysanthemums.
The old man took a sip of his teacup, a sly glint in his eyes.
“However, old man, I didn’t expect your reaction to be so strong.”
He deliberately drew out his tone.
“It seems that brat means a lot to you, doesn’t he~”
Kazumi’s earlobes instantly turned red. She quickly lowered her head, pretending to adjust her clothes.
“Grandpa, Grandpa…”
At this moment, Kazumi finally understood that the elders’ harmless teasing of the younger generation when relatives visited in the past wasn’t meant in a bad way, but rather…
Does this kind of malicious humor exist in every world?!
“Alright, alright, I won’t tease you anymore.” Hamano Tsukasa waved his hand, signaling that the situation was becoming more serious. “Regarding that brat’s matter…”
Just then, the gradual sound of footsteps came from the entrance. Satou Shinichi, who had been behaving himself earlier, indeed appeared at the doorway.
The blond young man was drenched in sweat. The tips of his short hair were stuck to his forehead, and his tight training clothes were soaked, outlining the defined muscles of his body.
His arms were covered in visible sweat beads, yet in his right hand, he firmly held a tissue.
He was holding a schoolbag horizontally in front of him, as if precious, and entered, leaning against the doorframe in a very peculiar posture.
He gently placed the schoolbag in his hand on the nearby windowsill as if it were a treasure. The young boy scratched his head in confusion, his gaze shifting between his grandfather and his girlfriend.
“I-I’m back! Hey, old man, what were you and Kazumi talking about?”
“We were talking about you, you brat. Do you need to maintain today’s double morning practice?”
Hamano Tsukasa and Kazumi exchanged a glance and spoke leisurely.
“What are you talking about?!”
Satou Shinichi’s eyes widened, and he looked at Kazumi for help.
The young girl merely sipped her tea elegantly. Feeling wronged by being teased, she naturally wouldn’t dare show it to Grandpa Satou. However, with Satou Shinichi, Kazumi dared to be a bit bolder. She leisurely replied,
“I think Grandpa is right.”
“Wait! What is going on?!”
The young man’s despairing wail echoed through the morning mansion, accompanied by Hamano Tsukasa’s hearty laughter.
Even the sparrows in the courtyard were startled into flying up in formation. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the green leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
