As a time traveler, Alex had to abide by the ironclad rules of keeping secrets and planning carefully before acting. Two days later, Alex felt that he had done enough preparations with his current abilities, so he took advantage of the fact that his whole family was at dinner and decisively put his plan into action: "I need money," he said bluntly.
"How much?" Aunt Susie handed little Freddy to Connie and took out her coin purse.
"About seventy to one hundred dollars," Alex replied.
The sounds of clinking cutlery and chewing food vanished instantly, and all eyes turned to him.
"I will pay it back, with interest," he added.
Damn it!
A few seconds later, Aunt Susie realized what had happened and was furious. "Who did you get pregnant?!"
"What are you thinking!" Alex was speechless.
"Him? Impossible." Connie always liked to go against her mother's wishes, but she saw things from a different perspective. "The girls at school don't even give him a second glance."
Uh... never mind, Alex didn't want to explain his 'invisible' strategy to her, he just felt a little hurt.
"Why? Alex is quite good-looking!" Aunt Susie's attention was diverted again. "Yesterday I met a school teacher on the street. She really likes Alex and said his grades are improving very quickly..."
"You're not trying to cause trouble, are you?!"
Tony, who had been silent all along, suddenly remembered something and interjected, "These past two days you've been asking around about Little Lowry, about Al, about AK, about the record company..." He stared into Alex's eyes, "I'm warning you, don't get any bad ideas!"
Am I that kind of person?
Alex didn't plan to confront Tony now. "I'll have a proper talk with you tomorrow night."
"We need to have a serious talk. You've been acting very strangely lately, very strangely..."
Tony had shared a room with the former Alexander since childhood and knew him best. Naturally, he was most aware of the changes in Alex's behavior, personality, and way of thinking after his transmigration. In recent days, he had been muttering that something was wrong, but he couldn't explain why. He was becoming a little obsessed.
"Child, what do you need the money for?" Aunt Susie asked with concern.
Alex gave a carefully considered reason, "Uh... I need some legal help, you know, lawyers are expensive..."
"Did you really get someone pregnant?"
His words unexpectedly caused some 'ambiguity,' and now even Connie was a little unsure. 'You're not planning to get married because of a pregnancy, are you?! Don't believe those bitches' lies. You know, they might just be looking for someone to take over the child, and the child might not even be with you, or they might not even know whose child it is among several men…'
Alex's forehead was covered in black lines.
"My God, just shut up!"
Aunt Susie stood up. "Aren't you ashamed of knowing so much at seventeen? I'm ashamed for you!" She turned and went upstairs, followed by the sound of the door locking. She must have gone to get the money from where she hid it.
"I've only asked her for pocket money a few times, let alone such a large amount," Tony grumbled.
"Alex is a good student, that's for sure," Connie teased him. "Have you ever been first in your grade? Have you ever gotten an A+?"
"Wow, is Brother Alex really that amazing?" Emily, a primary school student, still had a relatively normal worldview.
"Hmph, don't forget, I'm the one who brings in income for the family now!" Tony said sourly. "Emily..." he said in a high-pitched voice, "Do you like that tutu?"
"I love it." That day, Emily happily brought home the tutu from the secondhand store.
"Then who helped you earn the money to buy the tutu?" Tony asked again.
Emily thought for a moment, "You." She added, "But I'm also very tired from dancing."
Connie laughed.
"Here you go." As she spoke, Aunt Susie came downstairs and threw the money, which was rolled up with a rubber band, in front of Alex.
"Thanks."
Alex gestured over the money, which was neatly rolled up, and said, "I should be able to pay it back soon, including the interest."
"You should also express your gratitude in this way."
Aunt Susie turned her face away. "You haven't kissed me in a long time."
Okay, Alex knew this was a normal way for foreigners to express their feelings, and Aunt Susie was really good to him. "Thank you, Aunt Susie," he said, hugging her and pecking her on both cheeks.
The next day, Alex got up very early and carefully groomed himself. His short haircut was neat and tidy, and he wore a dark turtleneck sweater, light-colored jeans and sneakers that she had washed very clean. he also wore a plaid suit that he had found for $9.99 at a second-hand store. Nowadays, new cheap suits often have thick shoulder pads, but Alex preferred the old style she was wearing.
He organized a pile of written sheet music, a notebook, and some useful newspaper clippings into his secondhand canvas briefcase. Apart from the change he needed for transportation, he stuffed all the other banknotes into his socks and stepped on them. There was no other way; the chances of being robbed here were too high, especially since his current attire was a bit conspicuous.
Before anyone in the house had gotten up, he took a cold pie from the cupboard and ate it as he walked out the door.
First, take a bus, then transfer to two subway lines, and then walk a short distance to reach your destination, Clark Street.
By now, Connie should have already asked the school for leave for him, right?
He was a person who was used to following a set routine, so he especially liked the feeling he had now. Ever since that Flashback, he had the confidence of a time traveler, and all that was left was for him to work hard.
Of course, finding the right direction is also extremely important.
He took a newspaper clipping out of his bag and followed the address on it.
More and more pedestrians with black hair and yellow skin were appearing nearby. Yes, this is Chicago's Chinatown.
In the slums of the South Side, Black people never had a good word to say about lawyers, and they didn't even treat Black lawyers well. Alex thought he might as well consult a Chinese lawyer, and he could also stroll around Chinatown. Of course, the main reason was that it was the cheapest place, with a consultation service of thirty-five dollars for an hour.
However, he did not expect that the area was mainly populated by Cantonese speakers, and even English was not very useful for asking for directions. After wandering around for a while, he finally arrived at the address in the newspaper clipping.
"this?"
What lay before him was not the towering glass curtain wall of the financial district he had imagined, but an ordinary old-fashioned commercial building.
"Oh well, what's done is done."
He muttered to himself as he ascended to the fourth floor via an antique elevator with gated doors, finally arriving at his destination: 'GOODMAN Law Firm'.
First, take off your shoes, take the money out of your socks and put it in your pocket, then tidy yourself up and press the doorbell.
"Who is it?" a man inside asked.
"Alexander Slade, I made an appointment by phone yesterday," Alex replied.
A sleepy-eyed white man opened the door and asked, "You know my fees, right?" as he ushered Alex inside.
"Is this a law firm?"
Alex looked at the small single room in front of him in surprise. There was a desk, two chairs, and a row of filing cabinets. That was it.
The white man in his thirties, slightly balding, sat down behind the table and pointed to two badges hanging on the wall. "That's right, I am Goodman. Please sit down. You mentioned on the phone yesterday that you had copyright concerns, right? Let's get started now, so as not to waste each other's time."
Alex felt that he was afraid that if he turned around and left, he would lose the business.
He glanced at the identification documents on the wall and, seeing nothing amiss, simply asked, "May I ask why you chose to open your law firm here?"
"There's business to be done here. Chinese people don't like to use their own people when they're in divorce and inheritance cases," Goodman replied.
Hmm, that seems to make sense. "But I have a copyright issue..." Alex asked again.
"I understand copyright too!" Goodman said impatiently, taking out a small timer and slamming it on the table. "Start the timer."