Rewind With A Superstar System

Chapter 162: Von, You Millionaire!

<🎧 Song Recommendation: Beauty And A Beat by Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj>

...

Instead of explaining, Emily turned her tablet around and showed him a video on TickTock. The video already had 1.1 million likes and thousands of comments.

It was a simple video of a teenage girl wearing a headset, making emotional facial expressions and bopping her head to the background sound, which was the final chorus section of Far Away. But there was a massive block of text plastered across the screen.

"When youre going through depression and youre traumatized but no ones able to do anything and your therapist aint working until you listen to far away 😭💜"

Von read the text and immediately guessed what Emily was trying to point out.

"It’s not just a coincidence anymore, Von," Emily explained, swiping to the next video. "More and more people are making videos claiming that you and Aura’s song actually healed them emotionally. It’s even been verified by some psychology blogs. It is so real and so common right now that it’s becoming a massive trend."

She played another video. It was an animated meme showing a cartoon character looking miserable in a hospital bed, but then a pair of headphones was placed on their head, playing Far Away, and the character instantly started floating in pure bliss.

The caption read something about not being worried about falling sick because the song cures everything.

The video was made in such a funny, exaggerated style that Von couldn’t help but chuckle. The crazy part was, they weren’t entirely wrong. Aura’s [Tidal Hymn] skill was actually the real deal, and it made him glad it was finally reaching the right audience.

"Well, at least it’s making the song go viral," Von said casually, trying to brush it off without exposing too much. "It isn’t entirely a bad thing if people feel good listening to it."

Emily lowered the tablet and gave him a long doubtful stare. "Von. I know you know what this is about."

Von smiled wryly, avoiding her direct gaze. "Does it really matter? The streams are up."

"Yes, it matters," Emily refused to back off. She shifted closer to him on the bed, her eyes locking onto his. "Tell me. What exactly did you do in that studio session with Aura?"

Von found himself inching backward against the headboard. Emily was leaning in and their faces were suddenly inches apart, almost touching, making everywhere grow with an awkward tension. Von could even smell her flowery scent.

Just as Von was trying to figure out how to navigate the situation, his phone buzzed loudly on the bed, breaking the silence.

Von snatched the phone like a lifeline, letting out a small, nervous cough. "Uh, sorry. Gotta answer Zack."

Emily immediately pulled back, her cheeks flushing slightly as she realized how close she had gotten.

She smoothed out her robes and looked away while Von accepted the incoming video call.

Zack’s face appeared on the screen, and he looked absolutely terrible. He had dark bags under his eyes, his hair was a mess, and he looked like he had aged five years in a week.

"Zack, my boy," Von laughed, happy for the distraction. "What’s good? And why are you looking like someone that never gets any sleep at all?"

Zack stared daggers into the camera, picking up his glasses from his desk and sliding them onto his face. "Well, I am currently writing a couple of books and handling some very heavy research material for a case, so it’s expected that I’ll be a little stressed."

Von facepalmed, shaking his head with a laugh. "Bro, we are meant to be resting! We are literally in a global sit-at-home period, and you are over there getting zero sleep. Why did you call me so early anyways?"

A slow, creeping smile finally formed on Zack’s exhausted face. He leaned closer to his webcam. "Have you received the wire?"

Von raised his eyebrow in confusion for a split second before the realization hit him like a freight train. "Oh. The stocks we texted about last night. Has Martin cashed it out?" (Martin is the new Business Manager :]).

Zack nodded his head rapidly. "Yup, yup. Check the account."

Von minimized the video call and opened his private banking app. He took a deep breath, navigating his breathing and steeling himself for whatever his 1.5 million dollar gamble had yielded.

When the screen loaded, the numbers he saw made his eyes go dizzy immediately.

[Account Balance: $27,790,850.05]

"No fucking way," Von muttered under his breath, completely stunned.

Emily’s attention was immediately drawn back to him. She leaned over, trying to see his screen.

"Congrats," Zack grinned widely through the phone speaker. "You’re a millionaire!"

Von was still staring at the screen, his brain struggling to process the sheer magnitude of the amount. He had fully expected the options to print maybe five to six million dollars if the market crashed perfectly. But this? This was triple his wildest expectations. It was absolutely ridiculous.

Even after Martin inevitably locked away the federal taxes, Von was still going to be left with roughly 17 million dollars in liquid cash.

"What’s up?" Emily asked, looking between Von’s shocked face and the phone. "What are you guys talking about?"

Von slowly turned his phone screen around so Emily could see it. "Remember those stocks I told you I was getting a few months ago? Well... I just got my returns."

Emily squinted at the screen. "Wait, how much is that?"

"Twenty-seven million," Von said, a breathless laugh escaping his chest.

"Shut up!" Emily gasped, her hands flying to cover her mouth. She stared at Von in disbelief. "Von... you’re already richer than most veteran artists in the industry."

"We thought he was completely crazy," Zack said through the phone, laughing. "Thankfully, I followed in his footsteps with my own savings and got myself a little something too."

Von finally snapped out of his shock, his business mind instantly clicking back into gear. He looked back at the phone. "Well, I’m about to spend all of it right now."

Zack and Emily both turned to him with wide eyes, shouting in unison. "WHAT?!"

"Chill, chill," Von laughed, waving his hand to calm them down. "I’m not throwing seventeen million away. I’m going to use most of the cleared money to buy a massive stake in Vanguard Apparel. How much are they worth right now, Zack?"

Zack quickly typed something on his computer, doing a rapid search. "Give me a second... Okay. They were worth about a billion dollars last year. But right now, they are worth around 500 million. Their stocks have fallen massively because all their retail stores are forced to stay closed. Like most other brands right now, they are in desperate times. But they’re definitely doing better than some others that have already gone bankrupt."

Von thought about it, tapping his chin. "Ooh. I see. Well, so I can definitely get over a three percent stake with this money."

Zack frowned, adjusting his glasses again. "Yeah, you could... but I strongly advise against it, Von. The retail sector is a bloodbath right now. They might never get back to their prime state even if the lockdown eventually ends, which means your stocks will just continue to lose value."

"Trust me," Von said with a familiar confident tone. "I’ll be fine."

Emily opened her mouth, wanting to say something to talk him out of dropping millions on a failing clothing company. But after the last time she doubted his intuition regarding, she knew better than to question him now. She simply closed her mouth and nodded.

"I’ll speak to Martin about wiring the funds," Von decided. He leaned back against the pillows, looking at the ceiling. "I wanted to keep this to myself for a while, but I might as well tell you guys. I have a grand ambition to own them one day. Completely. I mean, the brand just resonates with me so well. Even the name starts with my favorite letter. Haha. It’s going to be a long process, but maybe one day."

Zack let out a loud chuckle at his friend’s grand ambitions. "Owning a billion-dollar clothing company. Honestly, Von... that’s not the craziest thing I’ve heard you say."

They all broke into a laughter from Zack’s words before Emily changed the topic by asking how Zack was holding up in his own apartment.