“You want to buy another house?” asked Helen and Troy with wide eyes and jaws on the floor.
“But we already own a house,” Helen added.
“I want to expand my investment portfolio by owning more real estate. It’s a fool proof investment, and it would never drop in value,” Ren explained.
“Besides, I don’t want to start a family on top of a skyscraper. Owning a house and lot is still the best.”
Troy nodded in agreement. “That makes sense, but you can also buy a single-family home,” he suggested. “It’s much cheaper.”
Ren shook his head. He knew that a single-family home wouldn’t be enough if he wanted to have children in the future. He wanted many children since he was an only child.
“Well, as long as that’s what you want, then I don’t have any objections.” Troy sighed. “But make sure that you know what you’re doing. Real estate still has taxes even if you’re not using those properties. That’s how screwed taxes are.”
“I know that. Don’t worry, Dad. The best financial advisors in town are helping me. Those guys are the cream of the crops of their trade. Besides, I won’t put all my money in one basket. I invested in different types of stocks and insurances. Aside from that, I invested in multiple businesses I know that would do well.”
Troy only replied with a nod. He was interested in investments, but he knew nothing about them. On the contrary, his son seemed to know a lot about it, as if he had thought about it for a long time.
As someone who barely finished high school, Troy didn’t even know how investments work. He could only advise what he knew. “As long as you save enough for your future. You should at least have something to fall back on just in case some things don’t go as planned.”
“I set aside an emergency fund. It’s a must.” Ren smiled.
From the two men’s technical conversation, all Helen heard was the word ‘family.’
Was her son already considering those kinds of things? Could she take it as a hint that her son would bring home a girlfriend soon?
Goodness! It was about time!
“What’s wrong?” Ren noticed something off about his mother. “You suddenly seem anxious.”
Helen tried to shrug off her sudden surge of emotions—a mix of anxiety and excitement. However, she had no reason not to get thrilled about this whole thing.
Ren was undeniably handsome, and young men his age typically had girlfriends. Helen had no strict requirements for her future daughter-in-law. As long as that girl was nice and could take care of Ren and their future children, then it was enough.
“So, who’s the lucky one?” Helen asked curiously.
Both Ren and Troy looked at Helen.
“Buying a car, then a house, and now, you just mentioned something about family . . .” Helen laughed. “I know you, Ren. I know you very well.”
“. . .”
“So, who’s the lucky girl?” Helen repeated.
Ren smiled back at her. “It’s classified,” he teased.
Helen rolled her eyes playfully and laughed.
So there was someone!
Helen rejoiced. At her son’s confirmation, she started daydreaming. Inside her head, she could hear the wedding bells and the laughter of her future grandchildren. She suddenly felt motivated. When the time came, if she could afford it, she’d like to gift her son’s bride an heirloom.
“As a wedding gift, maybe?” muttered Helen while the father and son left her to her thoughts.
Eventually, they arrived at ZeroX Levitating cars. Upon arrival, they were greeted by the staff, who all donned black formal attires, matched with matching accessories such as gloves, cuffs, ties, leather boots, and a commercial ad smile.
However, after scanning Ren and his family, the dealers all released a sigh and went to serve other customers, leaving them on their own to look around.
They easily stood out like a sore thumb because out of all the customers, only they didn’t wear any designer clothes.
Besides, the dealership sold levitating cars. The cheapest among them was as expensive as a single-story house and lot. It wasn’t just the car but also the added tax and insurance that came with it, as well as the maintenance fee.
Only the ones who belong to the upper echelon could afford one.
Being low key here wasn’t the norm.
Even if it was true that Ren was now popular, most of the people here were old folks who didn’t know him — but even if there were people who recognized him, it didn’t mean that they believed he had the money to afford levitating cars.
“What’s wrong?” Troy asked in a hushed voice.
The question was directed at Ren, who frowned as he glared toward the dealer’s booth. It looked like he was about to say something, but then his gaze shifted away from them.
“Nothing,” Ren said, shaking his head.
Ren didn’t like designer clothes, and neither did his parents. There was nothing he could do about looking ‘poor.’
“Let’s look around.” Ren urged his mother and father. “And if you see something you like, don’t hesitate to tell me. Don’t mind the price, alright? Your son is rich now and can afford a car or two.”
Troy and Helen only laughed.
As they looked around, they were amazed by everything they saw.
Technology and cars pair well, just like bread and butter.
The cars on display were sleek and sophisticated in design, really emphasizing that these levitating cars were befitting of a futuristic world.
“Oh, this one is nice,” Troy said as he looked at an old vintage Volkswagen Beetle custom fit with the latest technology to levitate on the interwoven roads in the air.
“Then I’ll buy it for you, Dad,” Ren said before approaching a staff.
Helen whipped her head towards her husband with a gaping mouth while Troy’s eyes widened in shock. Even if Troy ever had the money to afford it, he would never think of buying it. The cheapest car model would be more than enough for him.
They realized that they should watch their words when Ren was around or he would buy everything they thought was nice.
“Hi,” Ren greeted. “Can we ask for a run with that old model beetle?”
When the staff looked to where Ren was pointing, his eyes bulged. He then faced Ren with a forced smile.
“I’m sorry, but that’s an old vintage and one of our prized collections. However, we do have cheaper ones on level one.”
The staff then turned and pretended to talk to another customer, leaving Ren alone in the same spot.
Ren shook his head in dismay.
It was just buying a car. Who knew that it would be this troublesome?
