Christian, now dressed in something comfortable after changing his clothes, sat in the living room preparing for the upcoming conversation. He planned to tell his sister about how he started to work in trading, and that she should consider stopping her work, and also to explain his decision regarding his future plans, specifically that he would not be pursuing higher education, like a university.
But as his sister was taking much longer than he expected, and he started to grow restless. Suddenly, he saw her coming downstairs from her room, having also changed her clothes.
"Did you have to wait long?"
'Did it look otherwise?' Christian wanted to retort, as his nerves were on edge, but he put his restlessness aside for now. He still had to start the conversation and wanted to maintain its flow. Though he was momentarily delayed just now, thinking of how he should start, and his sister beat him up to it. But he should get a hold of it now.
"No, you didn't take much time."
After giving a short reply, Christian took a moment to gather his thoughts again, recalling their situation. He remembered how, just after their parents' death, they were left with the house, debt, and relatives who seemed ready to exploit them, especially since he was still a minor.
His sister, despite all the challenges, consulted with the attorney, went to court, and handled many complicated tasks to settle everything. She even managed to pay off the debt, though it took a long time. Now, she even should be saving money for his university fees.
"You know, sister, it's been just a couple of years since our situation stabilized. And since I felt our economic situation wasn't that great, I've been saving some money, wanting to start something that could help us."
"And it turned out I was genius, as I started trading with an initial amount of $2,500, and it's grown to about twenty thousand in just under a month."
Christian, upon looking at his sister as he started talking and seeing how she grimaced, likely from guilt, felt bad. But he wanted her to throw the mentality that she had to shoulder everything herself. And when he claimed to be a genius, it wasn't entirely a lie either.
His initial comprehension level was nine, and if, as he believed, ten was the maximum, then he truly should be considered an elite in society.
It was just that he had been a bit unmotivated and preferred to take it easy, so his ability remained buried.
"Trading is really risky, especially when you're working for yourself with your own money, without many clients or a solid reputation. And no matter how much you accumulate, it could all disappear just as quickly."
"So, you can't depend on it alone."
But his sister was adamant about dampening his spirits. Christian felt frustrated that he couldn't make her understand that his trading skills were improving and that everything would increasing in positive circle. It was nearly impossible to face the situation his sister described. He even considered whether he should mention his system but hesitated, fearing she might think he had a mental illness.
"How much would the amount need to be for you to leave your job?"
Annabelle, looking at her brother asking annoyingly, felt a sweet warmth inside at how he was still thinking about her, but tried not to show it and said.
"When you withdraw $50,000 from your work while having at least the same amount or more in your trading account, we can talk again."
Hearing the number she mentioned and calculating it in his mind, Christian was confident it wouldn't take more than a month, and if he tried really hard, he could even achieve it in two weeks.
Then just as he was about to bring up the subject of school, he paused and reconsidered. He decided it would be better to discuss it once he had reached the amount of money she had set as the goal.
"Okay, I'll head to my room then."
Annabelle, feeling sorry for dampening her brother's enthusiasm, stood up and gave him a hug before he left.
Actually she still couldn't quite believe what she had seen. Her brother's deals had been successful from the start, which was surprising. From what she knew, making multiple successful purchases like his was much harder than just landing one very good deal. And no one else was this successful, or at least she didn't hear of one.
But even then, she couldn't risk their living expenses being jeopardized by one hasty decision.
Putting aside her work concerns, she was still very happy for him, as this could also be considered a path forward. Even more now she doesn't need to worry about returning his present, making her even more joyful.