New York, Manhattan.
"Sir, you're back."
The maid respectfully accepted the handbag and greeted the man. Seeing the man's gloomy face, she cautiously walked into the kitchen and whispered to a beautiful mixed-race woman with outstanding temperament, tall figure, and delicate features with obvious Irish characteristics: "Madam, the master looks very unwell and seems to be in a bad mood."
"Huh? What is it now?"
Putting down the kitchen knife and washing her hands, Marybeth's beautiful eyes flashed with doubt. She frowned slightly and walked into the living room, where she saw her husband with a gloomy face and a cigarette between his fingers.
"What's wrong? Didn't we agree not to bring work-related stress home?"
"What's wrong? What else could it be? It's all because of your precious son!"
Austin Smith stubbed out his cigarette in annoyance, quickly waving his hand through the lingering smoke. He knew his wife hated the smell of smoke.
"Andy? What happened to Andy? I just called him, he's fine!"
As the smoke cleared, Marybeth bent down to pick up the ashtray on the table, intending to put it on the balcony. Hearing that her husband was angry because of their son, she asked in confusion.
"Hmph, of course he won't tell you that he mortgaged his villa and copyright to borrow 6 million from the bank and invested it all in the stock market! That brat, he's got some nerve."
Austin snorted coldly, and seeing his wife's face turn pale, he hurriedly went over to help her sit on the sofa.
"What? This...this...how could this child do this! He doesn't know anything about stocks. No, I have to call and ask him!"
After saying that, he picked up the phone from the table next to him and pressed the speed dial button for 1.
As soon as the call connected, Marybeth said anxiously, "Son, how could you mortgage the property and buy stocks? What's going on?"
When Andy received the call, he saw it was from his mother and immediately realized his situation—his parents already knew. He explained somewhat helplessly, "Mom, don't worry, let me explain slowly..."
An hour later, after hanging up the phone, Andy slumped helplessly on the sofa. What a hassle! Luckily, he was an adult who could freely dispose of his own money. Even his parents could only helplessly accept his decision, even if they were unhappy.
Marybeth put down the phone, her hands rubbing together anxiously. This was over eight million US dollars. Even though her family was very wealthy, they couldn't accept the risk of losing such a sum of money.
"Hmph, I told you long ago not to let him go to Los Angeles. Now look what happened, he's doing it all on his own. Back then, I told him to apply to NYU, but you insisted on supporting him to apply to USC. And look what happened? He even took a leave of absence from USC and didn't go to school at all. All he does is fool around. Look at those tabloid reports, they're saying he is a disgrace to the Smith name!" (The greatest Smith I know is John Smith :p)
Austin paced back and forth in the living room, grumbling incessantly, his voice growing louder and louder.
"Bang!"
"Alright! Are you ever going to stop?!" Marybeth, who had gradually calmed down from the earlier panic, heard her husband's complaints and accusations. Her eyebrows furrowed, she slammed her hand on the coffee table, and let out a soft snort.
Austin, like a duck being choked, swallowed back the words that were about to come out of his mouth, his meticulously styled hair swaying slightly in front of his forehead. He stood awkwardly in the living room, cautiously looking at his wife.
Seeing her husband's expression, she couldn't help but chuckle and rolled her eyes at him. "Actually, there's nothing to worry about. I just thought about what our son analyzed, and it makes sense. You've met Steve Jobs before, and although he was a bit annoying, he was indeed a genius. Our son's bullish view on Apple's stock is also reasonable!"
"Hmph, what does he know?" Seeing his wife's shrewish smile, his anxious heart calmed down. He rolled his eyes, sat down next to his wife, and snorted cautiously.
Marybeth slapped her husband with her delicate hand in annoyance, stood up from the sofa, and said as she walked towards the dining room.
"You think you're so great? Okay, there's no point in saying all this now. He's all grown up now, it's normal for him to have his own ideas. Besides, what if his analysis is correct? Even if the stock price drops in the end, we can still make a long-term investment! Anyway, I'm going to eat..."
That evening, after taking a bath, Andy lay on the sofa in the movie theater in his pajamas, yawning as he watched the 007 movie on the screen. He still felt that his current life was like a dream, so unreal, a mix of confusion and fervor.
He turned off the projector, took a wine glass from the wine cabinet, and poured a full glass of ice wine. Forget about wine culture; what Andy wanted right now was that exhilarating feeling, that sense of real existence.
Morning, in the music room.
The morning sunlight shone on the white grand piano, creating a soft, warm glow.
The beautiful melody of "Für Elise" filled the room, and after they were completely integrated, Andy had accepted everything about the two of them. The piano playing followed naturally.
After finishing the piece, Andy licked his slightly dry lips, closed the piano lid, went into the kitchen, picked up a sandwich he had made and ate it in large bites. After drinking a large glass of milk, he tidied up the table a little, stretched his limbs a bit, and looked at the clean, bright, and luxurious house. The corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly. He was extremely happy with his current affluent life.
I wonder if my agent has found a maid & fitness coach yet!
Walking into the gym and looking at the wide array of fitness equipment, Andy felt a bit lost. He could only start with the simple treadmill. Without a professional coach, and with Andy's current poor physical condition during recovery, using the equipment haphazardly might actually injure him.
After running and taking a shower, Andy lay lazily on the sofa and couldn't help but laugh out loud. This morning's shower was caused by the obsession of the previous Andy.
Don't underestimate these habits. To integrate into a new environment, you have to start by respecting the new culture and integrating into mainstream society. Trying to be different is idiotic and will only make people feel disgusted and rejected.
After checking the time, Andy realized the stock market was about to open. He made himself a cup of coffee, went into his study, and turned on his computer.
"$50.60, and it's still falling! Oh well, I'll just buy it at this price!"
Andy stared blankly at Apple's stock price, which was still slightly declining, for a moment, and then placed a buy order. He didn't know anything about charts anyway; he just needed to know that it would go up.
Of course, Andy wasn't foolish enough to put all eight million on the market; he would only gradually clear out the lowest-priced sell orders.
The keyboard clattered rapidly, his hands moving at lightning speed, never stopping for a moment. Eight million dollars were poured in without causing a ripple, but it did leave him quite exhausted.
"Alright, I just need to wait patiently to sell it next year!" He looked at his stock account interface again, muttering to himself excitedly, then closed the webpage, feeling a sense of relief wash over him.
Now I can just focus on writing novels, then publish them and use the money to buy more.
I lit a cigarette, took a sip of coffee, opened my novel document, looked at what I had written last time, closed my eyes and pondered for a while, and then continued typing.
In two more days, the first story, "Maleficent," will be finished, and the second story will be "Snow White and the Huntsman" and "The Huntsman's Winter War."
Once these two stories are finished, they should be ready for publication, compiled into the first volume of "Dark Fairy Tales." However, it remains to be seen how the market will react; that will depend on the publisher's promotional efforts.
Andy sneered inwardly. The publishing house he had signed with was very unhappy that he hadn't published anything in so long, and their client representative was making sarcastic remarks about his agent. Just wait, it was only a contract for one book. If the first volume sold well, he would settle accounts with them properly.
If you didn't care, you'd really think he was easy to bully. As a tech geek, Harry naturally didn't have any enemies. However, he and Andy from America share a common trait: they're both a bit petty. While they wouldn't call themselves vindictive, they wouldn't hesitate to kick someone who annoys them if they had the chance and ability to do so.
****
Mass Release 7/10
Reviews would truly help me.