Suits: A Lawyer Surviving TV Chaos

The next day was Saturday and Martin for once didn't get up early to go jogging in the nearby park. Instead, he smashed the alarm clock that disturbed his sleep against the wardrobe door and went back to sleep.

He had absorbed too much knowledge and information last night and needed time to digest it! It definitely wasn't because of the sudden drop in temperature in New York over the past couple of days.

Unexpectedly, before 8:30 AM, there was a knock on the door.

"Tap tap tap, Martin!"

"Tap tap tap, Martin!"

"Tap tap tap, Martin!"

Without even hearing the voice, this signature knocking pattern clearly belonged to Sheldon.

"Come in!" Martin mumbled from under the covers.

Sheldon opened the door and walked in, curious to see Martin curled up in bed.

"Martin, given Mrs. Scott's instructions to me, I must remind you that you haven't done your morning exercise today."

"Why don't you ever join me?" countered martin

"Maintaining regular physical activity helps sustain your advantage in romantic relationships. But with my IQ of 187, I have no need for stable intimate relationships, so I don't require it."

"Get out!"

Sheldon turned and walked toward the door, clearly puzzled as to why his childhood friend suddenly got angry.

Muggles' emotions are so unpredictable.

Halfway out, Sheldon turned back and said, "Just a reminder, it's *World of Warcraft* gaming time this morning. Howard and Rajesh are already here. We're heading to explore the Black Temple in half an hour."

"Go find Penny!" came muffled voice of martin

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finally deciding to get up at ten in the morning, Martin emerged wearing comfortable, soft loungewear.

When he walked into the living room, he found the nerd squad and Penny sitting neatly around the sofa, each holding a laptop and engrossed in gaming.

"Good morning, Martin!"

Howard was the first to raise his hand in greeting. "I've never seen you sleep until ten. I thought you'd been trained by Sheldon to become another 'homeostasis' robot since childhood."

Martin grabbed a carton of milk from the fridge and put it in the microwave. "Occasional indulgence is what makes decadence enjoyable. If it were frequent, it wouldn't be fun anymore."

After heating the milk Martin took it out, sipping while standing behind them to watch the game screen. Then as if suddenly reminded of something, he asked, "Guys Thanksgiving is coming up. Do you have any plans?"

Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday of November every year. This year it was on November 22nd, just next week.

This holiday was created by Europeans who had just arrived on this continent to thank God and the Native Americans for their help.

Thanksgiving is the second biggest holiday in North America after Christmas, marking the busiest and most spend-heavy period of the year for all industries and people.

Students were about to go on vacation, merchants began promotions, Hollywood blockbusters started rolling out, and friends and lovers began pondering what gifts to buy.

This frenzy would continue until Valentine's Day the following year.

Upon hearing Martin's question, Sheldon was the first to respond.

"You mean that festival originating from agrarian civilization, where people must gather to eat and celebrate the year's harvest? I thought we had long escaped such primitive ways of life."

"And you should remember that my Uncle Carl died after being bitten by an illegally invading badger while fixing the chimney on Thanksgiving. I still remember the last thing he said to me."

Martin placed his hand on Sheldon's shoulder. "Sheldon, this is a socially established social contract!"

Sheldon immediately fell silent.

There was no point reasoning with someone who despised all holidays—it was better to simply state it as a tradition.

At this moment, Penny turned her head. "Sorry, on Thanksgiving night, there's double the tips and hourly wages. I still owe rent, so I can't resist the temptation."

Although Penny aspired to become an actress, opportunities were scarce, and she worked as a waitress to make ends meet.

Martin realized that there were quite a few waitresses around him.

Penny, Caroline, Max, and even Sheldon's sister Missy Cooper.

Did only waitresses represent the hardships of life?

Howard also spoke somewhat awkwardly. "You know my situation… I need to have turkey dinner with my mom on Thanksgiving night!"

He was the only one among them who still lived with his mother after adulthood, which made him feel embarrassed, but he couldn't give up his mother's delicious meals!

"Not like it's the first time knowing you—I've long been mentally prepared."

Martin shrugged indifferently and then looked at Rajesh. "I called Priya. She might only return to New York by Christmas."

After asking everyone, the only ones attending the Thanksgiving dinner would be Sheldon, Leonard, Rajesh, and himself.

At least it was still a foursome.

Martin decided to hold the dinner at The Cheesecake Factory where Penny worked. Though it was a fast-food place serving burgers and fries, it was much classier than Williamsburg Restaurant.

After confirming the Thanksgiving plans, the others continued their journey through the Black Temple, while Martin brought out his laptop to check his financial situation.

The day after Thanksgiving was the famous "Black Friday," where all stores and products across the U.S. offered unimaginable discounts—a perfect time for shopping sprees.

Don't think only women like shopping! When men have money, their spending speed and scale are beyond women's imagination!

Martin opened a row of bank account pages on his browser and silently calculated the numbers in his mind.

After working for four months, his salary and other miscellaneous incomes totaled nearly $190,000. Compared to other newly graduated Ph.D.s, this income was already quite impressive!

Sheldon and the others earned around $100,000 a year.

However, there was only a little over $50,000 in cash in his bank account now—the rest had gone toward paying off credit cards.

It wasn't that he didn't want to save money; it was because saving meant having to pay taxes obediently. It was more cost-effective to consume directly and offset with consumption tax.

Damn IRS! Less than $60,000 in cash and nearly $500,000 in total credit card limits—this was Martin's entire liquid assets.

Compared to those predecessors who, upon transmigrating, easily earned billions, he seemed to be struggling on the surface!

But there was no help for it. After transmigrating, Martin realized that making money wasn't as simple as those novels from his previous life depicted!

For instance, some suggested stock trading or futures trading based on past trends, especially during those big market movements.

But Martin hadn't paid any attention to these things in his previous life, so recalling them was impossible.

Others suggested directly investing in surefire hit movies or TV shows, signing checks, and sitting back at home waiting for the money to roll in.

Martin could only say that they trusted the integrity of those entertainment industry folks too much. After all, the *Harry Potter* film series reportedly showed losses on paper.

Without sending out financial oversight personnel, those old hands would naturally exploit you—who else would they exploit?

Some even suggested starting a business, saying that after reincarnating, one should at least play around as a billionaire.

Martin had considered this idea.

But back in seventh grade, he once sneaked into his family's small study and found a Senate proposal to sanction Boeing for monopolizing the North American market.

Then, thinking about six months ago, a supposed board member of Airbus visited his nominal father, chatting and laughing with evident respect and importance.

One was one of the two giants in the global aviation industry, and the other was the chief aide of a powerful senator in Congress.

Martin immediately abandoned the idea of making money and ran to the bookstore to buy a copy of *Legal Literacy*, studying it day and night without pause.

Seeing this, his father's face revealed a gratified smile.

(End of Chapter)