The Tanaka gate slid open with smooth obedience, as if the entire estate already sensed exactly who had arrived and knew better than to make him wait.

The sleek black beast purred up the long driveway like a predator that had already claimed the property as its own.

Golden afternoon light exploded across the windshield in liquid fire, streaking past the tinted glass like fireworks that refused to die. Inside the car, Phei kept one hand on the wheel while the other drummed an impatient rhythm on the gear selector.

The fire from earlier still burned hot in his veins.

If anything, the promise of what came next only made the engine growl louder beneath him.

Save Roxanne. Break Jonathan.

Then enjoy the rest of this ridiculously overpowered day.

Yuki Tanaka stood glued to her bedroom window, palm pressed flat against the cool glass as though sheer willpower could pull the car closer.

Her heart hammered against her ribs with wild anticipation.

She had changed outfits four times already.

The fifth and final choice hugged every dangerous curve of her body like a second skin—elegant silk that clung to her full breasts and tiny waist before flaring teasingly over her hips and toned thighs.

The neckline dipped just enough to promise heaven, while the hem whispered sinful secrets with every shift of her long, smooth legs.

She looked like pure forbidden temptation wrapped in designer perfection, the kind of beauty that made men forget their own names and women question their beauty products choices.

Exactly the kind of look she hoped Phei would peel off her slowly over the coming days.

Her parents had already given full approval.

They had not simply said yes.

They had wrapped her in blessings and launched her toward Phei with sparkling eyes and zero restrictions.

No curfew, no check-ins, or the panicked messages every thirty minutes.

Among Paradise Legacy circles, the Tanaka parents—along with Elena’s, Jade’s, and Maddie’s—stood legendary as the chillest and most dangerously trusting adults alive letting their daughters do what they wanted and supported them for it too.

And yet their daughters somehow remained good kids despite the insane freedom handed to them.

This time her parents had been even more thrilled. The moment they learned Melissa and the rest of the Ryujin Tiamat inner circle would be involved, they had practically packed Yuki’s emotional bags themselves.

Yuki still did not fully understand the deeper currents.

Since childhood she had watched her parents bow quietly and respectfully whenever Melissa appeared without other eyes watching. They had instructed her to treat Phei as an equal and to grow closer to Delilah, Victoria, and even Sienna—

—though befriending that Sienna was akin to hugging a live chainsaw.

Other kids assumed it was simply Japanese tradition.

Yuki knew the truth ran much deeper.

It had never been about culture or business.

The Tanakas already wielded stupid levels of power back in Japan. This was elder-of-the-clan reverence. Bloodline-deep respect for someone who could erase your entire world with one phone call and a smile.

Just days ago, the Matriarch herself had sold them Maxton Tech for five hundred billion on a company truly worth seven hundred—a so-called business deal that carried the unmistakable scent of a lavish gift wrapped in corporate language.

None of that political weight mattered to Yuki right now. Only one thing did: the black car had arrived, and he was stepping out of it.

Phei moved like the world owed him a debt and feared being late on payment. He popped the trunk and began loading Yuki’s frankly criminal number of bags without a word. Amber leaned against the car, hair still deliciously wind-swept and glowing from their earlier chaos, watching the growing mountain of luggage with open amusement.

"Why the many bags?" Amber asked, one perfect eyebrow arched.

Yuki’s eyes ignited with tactical nerd energy.

"Oh! So, the thing is, when preparing for an indeterminate multi-day temporal window with fluctuating micro-climates, unknown formal-to-casual event ratios, and potential spontaneous activity vectors, you must optimize the garment-to-day coefficient while applying redundancy multipliers for spillage, weather warfare, wardrobe malfunctions, and—"

Amber clapped both hands over her ears. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"Nope. Nope nope nope—abort mission!"

She sprinted away. Heels clacked across the polished foyer like rapid gunfire as she weaved desperately past minimalist furniture worth more than small countries, fleeing for her life.

Yuki burst into bright, delighted laughter and gave chase like an adorable terminator wrapped in designer silk.

"But I haven’t even reached the shoe matrix yet! There’s an entire algorithmic decision tree for heel height versus locomotion distance versus terrain variability, blister probability, and aesthetic durability under—"

"STAY AWAY FROM ME YOU BEAUTIFUL WALKING EXCEL SHEET!"

The chase detonated through the living room, swirling around priceless decorative plants and nearly sacrificing a vase that cost more than most luxury cars.

Gianna and Natasha would have been rolling on the floor if they were here. Only Natasha could survive full Yuki’s Tech Mode.

Everyone else treated it like a biohazard and ran.

Phei stepped back into the foyer just in time to witness Amber using a very confused potted fern as tactical cover while Yuki cornered her with sparkling predatory glee.

"Yuki. Amber."

Both girls froze mid-breath, faces flushed.

He offered them that slow, dangerously charming half-smile that short-circuited brains on contact.

"Can you two wait here for a few minutes? I need to take a call in the back. I’ll be right back."

Yuki nodded sweetly, the picture of innocent obedience. Then her smile sharpened into pure devilish delight.

"Perfect. That gives me plenty of time to explain the garment-to-day coefficient to Amber. With detailed examples."

Amber’s face collapsed into theatrical horror. "Phei. Phei, please. Don’t abandon me with this unhinged humanoid AI. I’m begging you. I have rights."

Yuki gasped in mock outrage. "Inaccurate terminology! A humanoid AI implies synthetic anthropomorphic—"

Amber screamed and bolted again, arms flailing.

"—whereas I am clearly one hundred percent biological with superior neural integration and—"

"LA LA LA LA I CAN’T HEAR YOUR SPREADSHEET DEMON!"

Yuki pursued at full speed, still explaining at maximum velocity. Her voice echoed beautifully through the Tanaka mansion like the world’s cutest weapon of mass confusion.

Phei watched them vanish around the corner, a low dark chuckle rumbling deep in his chest—pure velvet mischief edged with razor hunger.

The playful mask dropped the instant he turned away.

[Emergency Mission: Damsel in Distress – Phase One Active]

Eira’s voice slid into his mind like warm silk wrapped around cold steel. "Jonathan just parked. He’s radiating that special brand of cowardly rage. Roxanne is upstairs... and she already knows exactly what kind of day this was going to be."

Phei’s eyes flashed with cold cosmic fire. His jaw tightened until it creaked.

"Time?"

"Three minutes before he reaches her bedroom. Four if the universe decides to be generous and lets him enjoy the walk."

A slow, predatory grin carved itself across his face, sharp enough to cut glass.

More than enough.

He cracked his neck once. Power surged beneath his skin like liquid starlight hungry for violence. The Cosmic Dragon Face Manifest hovered in his system rewards menu, pulsing with dark promise—ready to shove Jonathan head-first into the deepest jails of his own pathetic demons.

"Let’s go make a wife-beating coward piss himself for the next forty-eight hours straight."

Out in the foyer, Yuki’s excited technical assault and Amber’s desperate laughter continued to bounce off the walls like the happiest chaos in all of Paradise.

Phei did not come back once he turned to make a call.