"Well, he is a really smart guy. He graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Computer Science. And he's not just smart, he's also super polite and gentle. You know, I feel like I've never met a guy like him."

Gina's eyes widened in disbelief. "UC Berkeley? That's insane." Most of the college students Gina knows are from the community college she goes to.

Shira smiled at Gina's reaction. "Yeah, it's pretty cool. He's definitely one of a kind."

Gina leaned in closer on the screen, with a mischievous glint in her eye. "Alright, alright. Enough about his brains. What about the other parts? What was the sex like?"

Shira blushed, but couldn't help but giggle. "Oh my god, Gina. It was really good. He's in great shape, and I love his abs and body."

Gina raised her eyebrow. "Abs, huh? DO TELL."

Shira playfully tapped her finger on the back of the phone. "They are just abs. Plus, this is totally a long distance thing. Who knows where it will go."

Gina then told Shira about her life updates too. Her aunt, who has been in the real estate business for over a decade, sees a lot of potential in Gina and is offering her a chance to dive into the real estate world.

Lately, Gina has been helping her aunt host open houses.

"Seriously, at my first open house, I thought I was going to faint," Gina said with a chuckle. "You know what! I kept mixing up the details of the property. Like, I told an elderly couple the house had a stereo system throughout when it was actually for security. Oh my gosh, I was so embarrassed."

Shira laughed. "I can only imagine how disappointed they were when they found out."

Gina giggled. "They were surprisingly cool about it. They said they knew it from the beginning but didn't want to embarrass me. Oh my god, I was so stupid. But they ended up buying the house!"

"Sounds like you're really starting to learn." Shira replied with a big encouraging smile.

"Yeah. I'm also studying to pass an exam for the real estate license now. You know, my aunt can make 100,000 bucks in a good year! Isn't that gonna be really cool?"

"That's super cool." Shira answered.

"Well, I have morning shift at the car wash tomorrow, so I need to go to bed. Let's hang soon! I can buy you coffee this time. My aunt is paying me $15 an hour so I have some extra pocket money."

"I'm gonna get the nice coffee then!" Shira said.

"Tell me more about the engineer next time." Gina hung up with a cute evil grin, and her curly hair bouncing with the excitement of hearing new gossip.

After they had hung up, Shira fell asleep almost instantly, not even bothering to take off her makeup or change into her pajamas. Her phone slipped from her grasp and landed softly on the carpet beside her bed, the screen still lit with her selfie before it finally went dark. In another dream, Shira found herself in Napa again, but this time she was hosting a live event for her 100 million Instagram followers. She was giving them a tour of the breathtaking classic vineyards, sharing wine-tasting tips, and her unique fashion sense, all of which had drawn her followers to her in the first place. The live event was a huge success, with thousands of comments flooding in, praising Shira for her authenticity and thanking her for bringing such beauty into their lives. In her dream, Shira felt an overwhelming connection to her followers; she was a source of joy and inspiration to many.

Next morning at the breakfast table, Shira told her father Gina's plan to become a real estate agent. Her father, still looking weary and hung over from the previous day's drinking, managed a smile and nodded in approval. "Gina's smart, kiddo. Real smart. Got herself a solid plan," he said, his voice rough, as he shoved another spoonful of Campbell's tomato soup over fried potato into his mouth.

Shira tried to hide her surprise. It was rare for her father to speak so positively about... well, anything. "You really think so, dad?" she asked, hoping to steer him into more conversation.

"Yeah, I do," her father continued, pausing to take a sip of his coffee. "Becoming a real estate agent... that's a good gig. Good money. Independence. She's on the right track."

Shira nodded, finding comfort in her father's words of encouragement for Gina. But then a twinge of doubt crept in, making her wonder about her own choices. Her path was so different from Gina's, filled with uncertainties. When she brought up what she saw in the retreat to Napa, her old folks acted aloof and didn't seem to understand how good it was. All they cared about was who pays for the plane ticket to Napa and hoped the money doesn't come from their own daughter's pocket.

"So, who's paying the tickets and hotel for this Napa trip?" her mom asked.

Shira hesitated for a moment, "Oh, Instagram is sponsoring it," she said with a quick, convincing smile. "They really want to promote my presence there. It's a big opportunity for exposure."

Her father grunted. "As long as they're paying. Just don't want you to be throwing your own money away on flights and fancy hotels. We don't have that kind of money. These kinds of things, that's how they make money from you."

The truth is, Instagram paid for the hotel but requested the influencers to pay for their own flight tickets. Shira maxed out her credit card, and now needs to borrow money from Zack to pay off the debt. She didn't want her parents to worry or, worse, to judge her choices.

She stopped talking, and tried telling herself to not be discouraged by it. She remembered this quote she saw from someone's blog: "If your parents are successful, you should listen to their life advice. If they are not, you should do the opposite of everything that they told you."

Lost in her own thoughts, Shira mindlessly picked up the empty can of Campbell's tomato soup and took a look. Then she realized the soup was way expired.

"Mom! This is not okay. We could get sick," Shira protested, holding the can out as if it were evidence in a trial.

Her mother brushed it off by murmuring, "It's still good to eat! No one cares about the expiration date. Those are made up to get you to buy more things."

Shira realized her parents are definitely not the kind whom you should take life advice from.

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