Housing-

.

The topic came back to Rexford and Cecilia spending time togethor. Which did not go well at all still.

"I doubt that happens." Mrs.Arabi looked at him in the rearview mirror. The resolute look he gave her was a little cold. And she could see restrained anger by the way his fist clenched a little. 'Oh, dear. Did I misjudge little Rex? He is really upset by this.'

"Cecelia, I will only come to you if I need some serious help. Like where is the library and which way is the fastest way to the lunchroom." He gave her a forced smile while relaxing a little. A little more understanding of cultivation expands his mind. "It is best to not bother you and your friends unnecessarily. Don't want to mess with your image and whatnot."

"That sounds good to me. I will make sure you know the fastest way there." Cecelia was happy he did not want to bother her really. She missed the exchange between her mother and him by a few glances. But if he was insistent she would not resist this arrangement. 'Here I thought he would ask me for help on things. This is a big win!'

The teen was happy her overall social situation would not change.

"Let's go to your apartment first to drop off the luggage, then we can go for lunch at my house." Mrs. Arabi would take the time to message her friend quickly before getting out. Rexford only showed mild interest in the place while they drove.

Squinting at the small difference between his Earth and this one citywise.

"The Apartments on 65th Street is near the Jamaica Bay, it boasts very beautiful scenery," Cece said like a guide. She had come to the place a few times with friends to party in different apartment rooms. "It's pretty close to "The College" you will attend. About 15 minutes by bus I think."

"Nice." Rexford had his bag in hand walking towards the building. "At least it shouldn't be loud considering the pricing." Mrs.Arabi finished on her phone and walked to catch up. 'Heels... better to look good than comfort, how crazy.'

Looking back he couldn't help but think about the bothersome things that were slowly fading out of style back home. Well.. except for special dinner occasions and strip clubs. The average woman hated the things more and more as the media shifted in certain directions from the compliment of heels.

They took the elevator in the building, while Rexford took the stairs. It was a long way up but the exercise was needed and the stimulation to the muscles would let him push through the next Tempering.

Once inside, she had a chat with her daughter in short whispers as they waited.

Rexford felt the pain leave with each step. His very muscles relaxed as the tension left. All the Qi picked up in the stairway was worth it to tip him over. The III Stage of Body Tempering felt good to step into.

The push of waste was pulled into the Internal Space by the Black Gold Vortex. Still hadn't seen much of what it was doing.

'Hmm!?' Out of the Black Gold Vortex a single drop of Rich Qi came out. 'Got to finish this Body Tempering fast in the next few days!' The Rich Qi burned his body while it was forced into recovery. It didn't push him to the next step as Rexford forced it to remain while refining at this Stage. 'I can't step into Qi Condensation I just yet!'

Increasing in height just a little, the pants would need to be changed soon if this kept happening. It was a good thing he planned on changing the wardrobe anyway. Not even pausing, Rexford felt the sensitivity increase in hearing.

Not to mention the small increase in sight further. Being able to the finer details on objects was nice. Made the process of reaching the next few levels even more important and exciting.

The door was left open to the apartment so he went in. Mother and daughter separate very awkwardly.

"There are three bedrooms and one sitting room in this apartment. How are the decorations to you?" The few messages she got from his mother didn't give any real insight. A small smile made her feel better about the decorations that he had. "Just live here comfortably and study hard, Don't worry about the rent."

She felt the need to throw that in considering how money was.

"Well thanks, I hope you don't regret saying that later." Tossing the bag near the bed he looked back at them both. Looking between the daughter and mother calmly. The duo was amazed at the different dispositions compared to the car ride. "Thank you for arranging this for me. I will make sure to pay you back some way soon."

"Your mother trusted you with me, so I'll look after you as my own!" The strong gaze he gave her, made a bit of a blush creep up. It looked like a hungry beast. Coming from a "young" man it was flattering. "Do not worry about paying us back! Just make sure to pass your courses!"

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

The air was turning a little hot. Mrs.Arabi grabbed his hand and sped walked off.

"What was that?" Cece frowned. No way was something going on between them. Considering they just met again. The last time was a few years ago that is just weird to think about. 'They get along so well so quickly. I don't like this.'

"Try not to cause any trouble. I know how young men are but the extra rooms... try to leave one open just in case that daughter of mine stays out too late." Mrs.Arabi looked at Rexford's back while tracing a hand over the windowsill and looking at the water. Something about him looked different than before. 'This is just odd... why do I feel he can help that daughter of mine out?'

"Cecelia won't like that. But you are paying for the place, for now, so I don't see why not. I need a project room, this one will serve as my bedroom. The view is to die for." It wouldn't be too much of a problem to leave the room alone for now. "If she makes a fuss about pick-ups at places are anything like that... don't blame me for what happens. I really don't like being passive unless I am getting paid or something."

"Ok."

The drive back had a lot of talking this time. Cecilia joins every now and then but mostly stayed out of it. Rexford asked where the busy places were and the boring ones were.

.

Bay Area-

.

The place was pretty big. Gated areas bright sunshine and some nice upkeep. Hell, the smog that existed in other areas was not there. Not a single bit of Grafitti.

"Our neighborhood isn't the best in New York but apart from the Highland area, the most famous in the city is the Botanical Garden. It's said every morning the houses are bathed with Sunshine and Wind smelling of the trees." She dragged Rexford along. It was quite funny to see the woman so happy an cheerful as she switched to talking about housing. "But I think my house is good enough. The Mansions there are gorgeous though, but I don't seriously dream about living there."

It was a bit of a lie. But mostly fantasy to live up there. Or in the Manhattan area with the old families.

"Really now, there are ways to get what you want without having to buy it. Just will take some time to make arrangements." Rexford started thinking it over.

Ways to make it happen shouldn't be so different than back home. The simplest would be to create a type of viewing globe for her. But that would require speaking about the more Supernatural creatures and style of life.

The more he dug into the memories the more he understood this place could be really dangerous.

'So many things to do. She seems good enough to help with projects later. Just will take some time to get that trust if things go south with what I plan to do.'

"Great, I am looking forward to it!" Mrs.Arabi smiled happily. "Make sure you arrange it for your mother as well."

As she went to the kitchen to get some food, Rexford turned from the man sitting in the living room flicking through channels. No reason to bother him with that. So far observations showed, the dad was a dick.

He moved to sit in the dining room instead. From the information gathered in the car combined with the words from the two, a few places sound pretty easy to take control of financially. Just needed some real start-up money.

'To have to build a Business Empire from scratch.. both fun and stressful. I need to hit a club or something to decompress.' Flicking through and creating a few investment accounts with a few penny savings, was just a small way to gain funds. 'Ok, some things are true here so I can exploit that to my advantage quickly. If I had some more money, I could take the plunge on a few shares but.. I am really freaking broke.'

The original Rexford bank account was empty. It was just so pathetic when he thought about how the great "Butcher" the other Rexford or whatever, bitched about money not doing anything when he did his thing too.

Yet he was put in a bind several times for not having funds through the early years.

In a few minutes, Cecilia sat down. She gave Rexford a look over before playing with her phone as well. Only a little bothered he didn't even look up at her. The girl was really vain. Seeing him writing in a notebook, she wonders what it was. But a few of the images looked familiar.

"You can draw!" Cecilia shouted a little loudly. Moving around the table, she was able to read some of the words now as well. The drawn images were the places they passed by when getting here. Just glimpses but he sketched them so well. "Your Chinese... is really amazing. Why are your grades so low then?"

Her father heard the commotion and was pulled from the channel surfing. The grumpy middle-aged man moved to the kitchen to see what was going on.

"My grades were low to help with college. A better chance to apply for certain scholarships in college this way. Since a lot of colleges provide grants to students who they believe have a hard time and poor financial situation." It was the excuse he made to deal with problems that were most likely to come up. Happy really soon actually it would be solved if what he found panned out. "Coupled with the fact my residence had changed for my senior year it helps even further. One should take chances when they can, even if it may not pan out well all the time."

"A shrewd tactic. But does it not put you in a terrible view by teachers?" Mr.Aarabi was slightly impressed as he sat down. 'Bad light and image but not down on himself for having to go by such aims.'

"Teachers are going to have a terrible view no matter what. The majority are bought off by different families and politicians anyway. Or their Alma Mater's influence to improve social status and feel important by getting certain students positions." Rexford shook his head in disapproval. He needed money any way he could get it while getting a degree real quick. "I can pay my way through and create a connection if I need to.. but right now moving this way will help gauge the city. As well as the corrupt better."

"Not bad kid, I misjudge you."

"That is fine. It is your house after all. You can judge me however you want." Rexford gave a smirk and then went back to writing. Cecilia was watching him continue to write in Chinese. Slightly jealous. Both father and daughter were looking at him oddly now. 'Mr. Arabi is a power seeker and a user by all means of the political field. Won't be long before his drive for power ruins his family or himself. Not much I can do about that reality for now.' The stares were starting to irk him though. "What is it?"

"Nothing just wish to pick your mind a little about the English market. I assume since the understanding of the language is so high, you are paying attention to the current events." Mr.Arabi was not willing to let a resource escape so easily.

"A consultation costs money."

As the two talked with Cecilia only joining in a little, time passed by quickly. Mrs.Arabi came around with the food. After complimenting her a bit the conversation turned to what he would do today.