Akira chased Kaito from the room before going back to her bedroom. She was a little excited and also a bit worried. On one hand, she was looking forward to going out with Kaito, but on the other, she had to admit she was afraid of the outcome.

She considered herself a self-aware individual. Therefore, she knew that the path she was taking could lead to a dangerous consequence.

However, she was enticed.

She did not want to give up on the feeling she had every time Kaito looked at her.

When she emerged from the bedroom, she was wearing a simple blue skirt and a white top. Even though the look was casual, the charm was unmistakable.

She found her mother in the sunroom, painting while facing the garden. She had a look of frustration as she held the brush over the canvas, hesitating. There was not a single mark on the white material,

"Mom, I am going out." She said.

Sayaka turned and looked at her daughter. She did not know why, but her daughter looked different from usual. However, she could not deny that the young lady was beautiful.

'It must be my genes.' Sayaka thought with satisfaction and arrogance.

"Where are you going? You can have the chauffeur take you around if you are going to the city centre." Sayaka said.

"That's not necessary." Akira brushed off the suggestion before looking at the canvas. "What are you painting?"

Sayaka was distracted.

"I wanted to paint the garden, but everything feels wrong. I think I have forgotten everything I learned in school." She sighed. "Do you think I am a foolish old woman trying to recapture my youth?"

Akira felt a little sympathetic to her mother. She had chosen a life as a housewife and lived it for countless years. Returning to the difficult craft of painting would be a challenge. She had seen the piece Sayaka had made of a cherry blossom tree at the flower viewing party, and it was not passable.

"If you are worried about your foundations, why don't you watch some videos online? A lot of artists record their painting process." Akira suggested.

"I know, but it feels a little like cheating. Isn't it copying?" Sayaka felt embarrassed to watch videos of young people painting.

She was an old woman with an art degree and past paintings that sold for a few hundreds of thousands. The thought of relying on online help crashed her ego.

Akira understood her concerns a little, but she did not expose her directly.

"You are just a little stuck right now. You need something to jog your creative mind and trigger your muscle memory. Plus, each artist has their style. You cannot copy anyone if you watch a lot of videos." Akira responded.

Sayaka laughed at the logic. "This child..."

"There is a saying I read somewhere. If you copy from one person, it is plagiarism. If you copy from many people, it is research." Akira winked and waved. "Ok, I am out."

Before Sayaka could recover, Akira had already disappeared. However, she was left with a smile on her face. Just as she picked her tablet to search for some videos, she put a finger on the feeling of strangeness she had.

Akira was dressed like she was going on a date.

She had once been a girl, so she knew date clothes, despite the generational gap. Akira was dressed well enough to stand out, but not too flashily that she seemed like she was trying too hard. Plus, her attitude was a little strange.

'No, it was impossible.' Sayaka thought. 'Akira did not know anyone from Mountain Ridge.'

Then, a horrifying memory returned to her. Akira seemed to know that man from the Takahashi family! She was not sure if they were close, but he had flirted outrageously with her daughter before her.

Could that evil pig be trying to steal her white cabbage?

Sayaka dialled Daiki's number with nervous fingers and fired up eyes. She could not allow her daughter to disappear before they had time to bond. At twenty-two, she was still supposed to be attached to her parents.

"Dear, an evil pig is eyeing our daughter," Sayaka said.

Daiki sighed at the sudden statement. "What happened?"

"I suspect that Takahashi Kaito, that grandson of the departed second son of the Takahashi family has unclean intentions towards our Akira. Investigate him. Quickly." She declared.

"Talk to Akira. You are probably imagining things." Daiki chuckled.

"How can I talk to Akira? She has already left the house to meet that wild man!" Sayaka said with defeat in her voice.

After the truth dawned on her, she realised that Akira never responded to her question about where she was going. She probably did not want to tell her about her date.

"Are you sure?" Daiki became more serious.

"If I was sure, would I ask you to investigate?" Sayaka retorted. "But trust me. I know something strange is going on."

Daiki was a little relieved since there was no evidence. It was probably Sayaka jumping to conclusions once again. Still, he promised to check up on that man immediately for her peace of mind.

After hanging up, he massaged his temples lightly. Having a daughter was both a joy and a pain. Even if Sayaka was not right, Akira would eventually date and get married. However, the total number of years they had known her was less than five.

How would they part with her so soon?

As he contemplated the matter, his phone rang. He checked the caller ID and found it was his mother. He picked the call immediately.

"Hello, Mom. How are you?" He greeted her politely.

"Daiki, I do not interfere with the way you run your family. However, I will not allow the company and the entire clan to be destroyed in your hands." His mother shouted directly.

"Mom, slow down. What are you talking about?" Daiki felt his head start to ache.

"That jinx that you brought back against my wishes. Do you know that she is colluding with another conman to clean out everything from the Yamazaki family?" The old woman breathed heavily.

"Please explained clearly."

"If it was not for Makiko, I would not have proof of how shameless and evil that jinx is!" The Old Madam Takahashi was almost breathless. "Bring her to the old house after you leave the office. I would like to see how she explains herself!"

With that, the old woman disconnected the call.