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Chapter 25: Dropping Out of School
🕑 Added 2025-09-04 09:47:55 +0000 UTC"Don't listen to Alex building me up," Danny said with self-deprecating humor. "I know my own limitations. At this point, I'd consider it a win if I could just avoid creating new disasters."
"Richard, everyone grows up through real-world experience and learning from failures," Alex continued earnestly. "Your generation and my father's generation went through plenty of setbacks when they were starting out, didn't they?"
He looked directly at Richard. "My own success with Avatar came after previous failures taught me what actually mattered. That's why I believe in Danny. He's got the intelligence and creativity to succeed—he just needs someone to believe in his potential instead of waiting for him to prove he's already failed."
Richard fell silent, considering Alex's words. There was wisdom there that hit uncomfortably close to home. He looked at his son, who was sitting beside him with nervous anticipation, clearly hoping for some sign of paternal confidence.
Which father didn't want his son to be successful and build something meaningful with his life?
Around nine o'clock, Alex said his goodbyes and headed for his car, with Danny walking him out.
"Alex, why did you talk me up like that to my dad?" Danny asked quietly. "I'm basically useless in his eyes anyway, and I don't expect him to suddenly see me as successful. Besides, I don't even know what this hundred-billion-dollar industry is supposed to be."
"Why do you talk about yourself like that? Avatar managed to come from behind and win—miracles do happen in this world," Alex said with a smile. "I wasn't just making things up for your father. There really is an industry that would be perfect for someone with your skills and connections."
"Are you trying to recruit me for Stormwind?" Danny asked with a grin.
"Hell no, I'm not looking to split my profits with partners," Alex laughed. "If you want to prove yourself, you need to build something that's completely your own—something totally different from what your parents have done."
"But I don't even know what I want to build. Honestly, I feel pretty useless except for my devastating good looks."
"Let's sit down and really talk this through sometime soon. I've got an idea that could work for you, but whether it succeeds depends entirely on your execution."
"Seriously? Okay, I knew you were full of brilliant schemes!"
When Alex arrived home at half past nine, he immediately sensed trouble. His father was sitting in the living room with a thunderous expression, while his mother paced nearby with obvious anxiety.
"Mom, I'm back. Dad, you're home early tonight," Alex said cautiously. Usually at this hour, Marcus was either still at the office or locked in his study with financial reports.
"Dean Patterson called me today," Marcus said coldly. "He says you've been skipping classes regularly, and I've barely seen you around the house lately. What have you been doing? Are you back to wasting your life on video games?"
Alex could hear the disappointment and anger building in his father's voice. Marcus clearly believed his son had relapsed into gaming addiction and was avoiding family responsibility again.
"Dad, please don't get angry," Alex said calmly. The success of Avatar had given him genuine confidence for the first time in either of his lives. "I should have told you sooner, but I've actually been planning to apply for withdrawal from university."
"Drop out?" Marcus shot to his feet, his face darkening. Sarah's complexion went pale as she rushed to intervene.
"Alex, sweetheart, what's wrong? Why would you want to drop out? Please explain this to your father and me."
"Mom, Dad, I've started my own company," Alex said steadily. "The reason I've been missing classes is because I've been running a business. Now that the company is in a rapid growth phase, I'm going to be even busier, so I can't continue with university."
"A business? Son, when did you start a company?" Sarah's expression shifted from worry to surprise, while Marcus's frown relaxed slightly.
"I was afraid you'd be concerned, so I haven't told you that I founded a game development studio specializing in content for Infinite Realms. The game Avatar that my company developed just won the New World Competition championship and generated over fifteen billion dollars in revenue."
"Fifteen billion dollars?" Sarah's eyes widened. She might not have understood the gaming industry terminology, but as someone with a business background, she definitely understood those numbers.
"You developed Avatar?" Marcus looked genuinely shocked. During his golf game with Richard that afternoon, they'd discussed recent developments in the entertainment industry, particularly Avatar's meteoric rise to global phenomenon status and its incredible commercial performance.
Richard had also mentioned wanting to partner with Avatar's creators for marketing collaborations. Just two days ago, Victoria had told Marcus about her interest in bringing Avatar to the big screen.
But he'd never imagined that this breakthrough entertainment property had been created by his own son.
The revelation was so sudden that Marcus could barely process it. His previously directionless, gaming-addicted son had somehow become the creator of Avatar and a successful entrepreneur.
Sarah was even more emotional. Her initial worry, sadness, and disappointment transformed into excitement and joy, though she still felt a dreamlike sense of unreality.
Her son had quietly built a career and earned fifteen billion dollars. It was beyond anything she could have imagined.
"Yes, Mom and Dad. I was afraid you'd think I was wasting time on frivolous projects, so I kept it secret. I wanted to wait until I'd really achieved something significant before telling you, hoping you'd understand and support what I was doing," Alex explained.
"Son, the money you spent before—that wasn't for playing games, but actual business investment?" Sarah asked. Alex had borrowed money from family members previously, claiming it was for a startup venture. Could it be that he'd actually been telling the truth?
The possibility made Sarah incredibly excited. She couldn't wait to see who would dare mock her for raising an irresponsible son now, especially Margaret Sterling. She wanted to see how that woman would try to condescend to her in the future.
"Yes, though some of it was spent on gaming research," Alex admitted. "I needed to understand Infinite Realms thoroughly. It's precisely because I love games and understand the industry that I know what players actually want."
Whether he could rehabilitate his family image depended entirely on this conversation.
"You really are secretive," Marcus said, and Alex could see pride beginning to replace anger in his father's expression. "Even after creating such a sensation, you didn't tell us the truth. Your sister called me today saying she's decided to invest in an Avatar film adaptation. then alex said tonight i went to uncle Richard's house because he wanted to discuss licensing arrangements."
"I've already agreed to collaborate with uncle Richard. As for Victoria, I'll naturally give her the adaptation rights, and I'll work with her company to produce excellent film and television content."
Alex continued with growing confidence. "Also, Dad, I'm planning to develop Avatar merchandise and collectibles. I might need to partner with some of our manufacturing facilities. I'll pay standard market rates for any production work."
Listening to Alex speak with such articulate confidence and strategic vision, Marcus felt like he was meeting his son for the first time. In what seemed like an instant, Alex had transformed from an unfocused young man into a mature, capable entrepreneur.
"Alex, why didn't you ever tell me about any of this?" Marcus asked quietly.
"Because you never wanted to listen," Alex said, his voice carrying years of accumulated frustration. "You were always busy, and even when you came home, you were still working. Later, I realized you wouldn't understand what I was trying to accomplish, so I stopped trying to explain. I didn't want to make promises I might not be able to keep."
Alex looked directly at his father. "When I founded Stormwind Studios, I simply hoped to turn my passion into a career and build something meaningful in my own way. Of course, I also had the probably unrealistic hope that someday you'd be proud of me."
Marcus looked at his son with a complex mixture of emotions, feeling something tighten in his chest. He had indeed neglected Alex—or rather, he'd neglected his entire family. He'd never tried to truly understand his son or have genuine conversations with him as an equal. Even calm discussions like this one were extraordinarily rare.
Maybe that old saying was right: there are no bad children, only bad parents.
"Alex," Marcus said after a long silence, stepping forward and placing his hand on his son's shoulder. "This time, Dad is genuinely proud of you."
There was a tenderness in Marcus's eyes that Alex had never seen before. In this moment, he seemed less like the intimidating business mogul and more like an ordinary father discovering his child's potential.
Alex smiled. Marcus smiled back. And Sarah, her eyes filled with tears of joy, stepped forward to embrace both her husband and son. In that moment, she felt completely, overwhelmingly happy.
