America: I came here to study, not to show mercy.

Chapter 159 Victoria's Little Thoughts

Sunday.

Li Xiaoen left for the lab early in the morning and didn't leave until almost noon, heading towards the two girls' dormitory.

The semester is already halfway over, and it's almost the end of October. It's a time of clear skies and crisp autumn air. Against the backdrop of oak trees whose leaves have turned a deep red, the white houses seem to have been painted into a picture.

As Li Xiaoen walked along the stone path covered with fallen leaves, he looked up at the two-story house at the end of the path. A pretty girl stood in front of the door, waving her hand.

Before coming to study abroad, he had no intention of staying at home all the time and had made plans to go out and do activities frequently, but now it seems that his days are too full - there is no hope of taking a lunch break today.

Li Xiaoen yawned, feeling sentimental, and walked to the front of the house, looking down at Victoria who was smiling radiantly.

“I’m a Princeton student, and my time is very valuable, Miss Victoria. You need to pay me no less than the hourly wage of a high-level white-collar worker in Manhattan.”

Li Xiaoen tilted his head and said slowly.

"I understand, the first place winner in the math competition."

Victoria rolled her eyes with amusement, pulled Li Xiaoen's arm and went into the house before closing the door.

"You just finished your exam yesterday, and you already know?"

Li Xiaoen was surprised and stopped at the door.

"Didn't you say you were going to take an exam? I looked it up online last night."

Victoria smiled, her eyes crinkling, and counted on her fingers with an air of importance. "It's no less than the hourly wage of a high-level white-collar worker in Manhattan, around two hundred dollars. That's enough to hire the first-place winner of the PUMAC math competition, a valuable student of Professor Sedgewick, a titan in the field of computer algorithms, and someone who can easily pass Apple's entry test in their freshman year..."

Listing them out one by one, Victoria looked up at Sean Lee again: "They're quite affordable. I'll buy two days' worth to try them out."

After saying that, she took out her phone again, but the young man immediately grabbed it.

Looking up at the young man's helpless expression, Victoria pursed her lips and gave a mischievous smile: "Mr. Sean, are you violating the world's free trade market?"

"I'm sorry, prices have gone up due to market fluctuations," Li Xiaoen replied.

"Oh, how much has it gone up?" Victoria wasn't surprised and raised an eyebrow.

"Um……"

Even if the price were higher, the other party might agree given their wealth. After a moment of hesitation, Li Xiaoen finally spoke, "At least, I need a kiss from a beautiful girl."

"..."

"Not serious!"

Victoria paused for a moment, then noticed the young man's teasing gaze. Her face flushed slightly, and she rolled her eyes before turning and walking into the house. "Suffer is cooking today, you're lucky."

No wonder, at this moment, Victoria wasn't cooking, but rather greeting people at the door.

Li Xiaoen thought to himself, then lifted his leg to follow the girl's steps, "You're wrong, Victoria. If you cook, it's a bargain for me, haha..."

As he turned a corner, he saw two girls inside staring at him, and the smile on his face suddenly froze.

“Victoria, you can find another girl and have her kiss this shameless guy.”

Sophie turned to Victoria and suggested, "Then, let him test the bulletproof vests in Serafina's house with his own body."

"Since you're so thick-skinned, why don't you let me use my skin to catch bullets?"

Li Xiaoen reluctantly added a sentence, which made the two girls pause for a moment.

"As expected of a Princeton student, well said."

Sophie gave a charming smile. "Wait a moment, I'll call Serafina."

After saying that, she put down the salad dressing she was holding, wiped her hands with a kitchen paper towel, and reached for her phone which was placed next to her.

"Hey……"

Li Xiaoen quickly took a big step and reached out to move the phone away first. "You know perfectly well that I was just joking."

"Really? I actually think what you said makes a lot of sense."

Seeing Li Xiaoen's eyes narrow slightly, Su Feier rolled her eyes and turned her gaze to Victoria.

However, before Victoria could react, Sean Lee reached out and moved her phone away, a swift movement that startled the girl.

"Ha ha……"

Victoria covered her mouth and chuckled twice. She looked at the two of them and said to ease the atmosphere, "Although it started with a business partnership, I'm glad to see that your relationship has improved."

As she spoke, Victoria's gaze toward Sean Lee turned reproachful.

“Sean, I told you before that there was a chance to collaborate with Suffolk in your field of expertise. I didn’t expect it to happen so quickly, and you even joined Professor Sedgewick’s lab. I wouldn’t have known if Suffolk hadn’t told me.”

Upon hearing this, Li Xiaoen couldn't help but glance at Su Feier, finally understanding why Victoria had been able to list her affairs in such detail when she entered the room. He smiled and nodded.

"Didn't I tell you? I'm a genius."

"air."

Victoria rolled her eyes, noticing the young man staring at her expectantly, and unconsciously moved her feet, reaching for her phone.

"Take your time, I'm going back to work."

Seeing this, Li Xiaoen quickly said something, yawned, and turned to leave the kitchen.

Victoria withdrew her hand, turning her head to look at Sophie with a hint of helplessness: "When the opportunity arises, we can really try using his face to block bullets."

"There will definitely be opportunities later."

Sophie nodded casually. "Isn't he going to learn martial arts from Serafina?"

"Shall we go together?"

Upon hearing this, Victoria suddenly remembered and her eyes lit up.

Back in the living room on the first floor, with nothing else to do, Li Xiaoen took out his computer from the sofa as if he had made up an excuse.

After returning from the math competition yesterday, he spent the entire afternoon and evening in the lab. He finally encountered some bottlenecks in building the reasoning model, so he consulted a lot of materials.

Whether it was because the time had come or the system had sensed his bottleneck, the second experience extraction from the advanced learning card, which he had been waiting for, finally opened, and those bottlenecks were broken through.

Now, he has returned to the "coder" work mode where he can come up with ideas in just a short time.

With his academic aura activated, Li Xiaoen's fingers flew across the keyboard of his laptop. After some time, a figure sat down next to him, and the fragrance of lilies wafted into his nostrils.

The girl leaned against him, and Li Xiaoen couldn't help but look at her, meeting her expectant emerald green eyes.

“Victoria, I won’t agree.”

A single, seemingly random remark froze the smile on her lips. Victoria's expression shifted from sunny to cloudy, and she frowned slightly: "I haven't said anything yet!"

Do I need to say it?

Li Xiaoen chuckled and asked back, his gaze returning to the screen as his fingers began to tap rapidly again, "The way you're looking at me like that, you must have something to trouble me with again."

Upon hearing this, Victoria remained silent, simply sitting on the sofa, her gaze fixed on Li Xiaoen with increasing resentment.

"..."

"Alright alright."

Unable to bear it any longer, Li Xiaoen copied and saved the code, then looked helplessly at the other person and asked, "Tell me, what's wrong now?"

"Well, it's just..."

Victoria's face lit up, and she carefully chose her words, "Sean, you should go and learn martial arts from Serafina. Sophie and I will go and watch too."

What are you going there for?

Li Xiaoen frowned. "You guys were supposed to come with me last time we practiced shooting, but what happened?"

Are these two things related?

Victoria glared at her, displeased. "It happened because Mr. Henry left last time. What are you overthinking? I really think you have paranoia."

"Didn't they say something else? I'm going to practice martial arts, not go on a picnic. What can you guys do if you come along?"

Just as Li Xiaoen finished speaking, Su Feier's voice came from the kitchen.

“Victoria, ignore him. The important thing is Serafina, we'll go talk to her.”

"Oh, right, you're right."

Victoria nodded repeatedly upon hearing this, glanced at Sean Lee unintentionally, and then propped herself up and headed towards the kitchen.

"..."

Why do I have this ominous feeling again?
At first, he didn't think much of it, but when he saw that the two girls insisted on coming along, Li Xiaoen felt uneasy.

He shook his head helplessly, put away his laptop, and walked towards the dining table.

Is this Wellington steak?

A large, long, cylindrical piece of meat was just brought to the table. Seeing its golden-yellow skin with regular grid patterns, Li Xiaoen couldn't help but ask in surprise.

At that moment, a rich, milky aroma of butter and flour baked with a hint of caramel wafted out, making him unconsciously swallow his saliva just from smelling it.

"This is something Sophie started learning to make first thing this morning."

Victoria, standing to the side, nodded with a smile, "So, isn't this a bargain for you?"

"I've never denied that statement."

Li Xiaoen offered a helpless rebuttal, but seeing Su Feier carrying a large bowl of salad out of the kitchen, he couldn't help but smile and nod at her.

"Humph……"

With a soft snort, Sophie rolled her eyes, placed the salad on the table, and sat down.

The tableware and fruit tea drinks had already been prepared and placed on the table by Victoria. Li Xiaoen looked around and, finding nothing she could do to help, sat down at the table as well.

From this perspective, he seems somewhat like someone who's just there to freeload.

Feeling puzzled, Li Xiaoen saw Su Feier use a knife to make a few cuts on the crispy crust of the steak, producing a crisp sound. With a single cut, the crust cracked open, revealing the pink steak inside, covered with several layers of rich fillings including ham, mushroom sauce, and foie gras.

Using a knife and fork, Sophie picked up a slice of steak and placed it on the plate in front of him. "You're a guest, why don't you try some?"

Facing the gazes of the young man and Victoria beside him, Sophie casually raised her chin.

"it is good."

Without refusing, Li Xiaoen nodded, picked up his knife and fork, cut off a piece of beef, and put it in his mouth along with some filling and crispy crust.

The steak was medium-rare, a rare level of doneness for him. He chewed slowly, savoring the delicate texture and rich flavor of the meat, without feeling any discomfort whatsoever.

Noticing the gazes of the two girls opposite him, Li Xiaoen nodded.

"It's delicious. This is the first time I've ever had such a good Wellington steak."

"Ah."

Upon hearing this, Sophie nodded nonchalantly, then cut off another piece and gave it to Victoria.

Although the reaction was lukewarm, Li Xiaoen couldn't help but feel a little relieved—who knows what kind of scene awaited him if he had brought up the good ingredients again.

Just as he was cutting off the second piece of beef and putting it in his mouth, Li Xiaoen noticed Victoria's leisurely gaze on the other side.

Is this a complaint that he didn't directly praise her cooking the first time?
Li Xiaoen was pondering this when he saw Victoria roll her eyes and look away.

"..."

Feeling a bit of a headache, Li Xiaoen stopped talking and started to eat his lunch.

After lunch and a short rest, the three of them drove to New York.

This was a plan he made with Victoria on Friday night. He was to go shopping with them this afternoon to stock up the fridge and buy some Halloween items—which is why, even though Seton Hall University is very close to New York, he went straight back to the school yesterday.

Upon arriving in Mandaton, Lee Shawn parked the car near Pennsylvania Square. He went upstairs to swipe his card before following Victoria's instructions to drive to a parking lot near Bond Street and walk into a shop called John Barrett Salon.

“Much profit… … ”

Li Xiaoen looked up and quickly called out, "Weren't we going shopping? Why are we at a hair salon?"

"I made an appointment to come."

Victoria smiled and placed her hands on the young man's shoulders, pulling him inside. She said in a sweet, affectionate voice, "I'm here to get my hair done. Your hair has gotten long too, so you can get it fixed while you're at it."

"You made the appointment, so now I have to do it too?"

Li Xiaoen was surprised; he had the feeling that Victoria had booked the spot specifically for him.

"Your hair has grown long, why don't you get it cut while you're at it?"

Victoria answered, looking up and touching a few strands of hair that casually fell across the young man's forehead.

"That's what I said."

Li Xiaoen nodded helplessly, her steps already being pulled by Victoria into a small room, where she sat down on a chair in front of the only mirror.

Just by looking at the exterior decoration, you can tell that this store is luxurious and high-end. Li Xiaoen didn't see a single barber seat in the lobby; they were all private rooms.

"Sean, I recommend you get a new hairstyle, how about this one?"

Victoria pushed Li Xiaoen to sit down in a chair, took out her phone, bit her lip, and pulled up a portrait of the young man she had drawn before—only, the hairstyle in the previous drawing was different from the current one.

"..."

After looking down for a while, Li Xiaoen looked up at the fair and pretty face so close to hers and pinched the other person's cheek.

"Well……"

With a groan, Victoria turned her head and patted the young man's arm repeatedly. "It's not like I asked you to make me look ugly, why are you pinching me?"

Why do you think I pinched you?

The skin on his hands was so smooth and delicate that Li Xiaoen was reluctant to use any force. He looked at the girl in front of him with a mixture of amusement and exasperation, "Now I finally understand, you came here specifically to find me."

"Does it matter?"

Rolling her eyes, Victoria pursed her lips and retorted, "With such terrible taste, you should at least change your hairstyle."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiaoen narrowed his eyes slightly. He was about to reach out his other hand to tickle the other person when he saw the door open, so he had to quickly withdraw his hand.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen."

The young woman who entered nodded and greeted each of the three men. She then approached Li Xiaoen's seat and asked, "Sir, do you have any requests or thoughts?"

"Um……"

Li Xiaoen pondered for a moment, then saw Victoria's gaze on him in the mirror. He sighed helplessly, turned on his phone, and pulled up the picture that Victoria had just sent and was still popping up with notifications. "Just cut it like this."

"Okay, let me take a look."

Upon hearing this, the woman took the phone and examined it carefully. Li Xiaoen looked in the mirror and saw Victoria with a bright smile, so he couldn't help but roll his eyes.

His gaze shifted, and he noticed that Su Feier was sitting not far away, legs crossed, silently looking at his phone. Although he couldn't discern any emotion from her, his heart skipped a beat for no reason.

Indeed, I should have accompanied them one by one.

He had a bit of a toothache, and seeing that the barber had already started combing his hair, he simply closed his eyes to avoid the annoyance.

The void before him did not linger for long before the system screen reappeared in front of Li Xiaoen.

[Gambling Agreement]

[Complete the entire haircut process with your eyes closed]

[Reward for a successful bet: Character Lens x1]

[People Lens: After use, ignore all obstructions and the host can see the three-dimensional data of the person in front of them.]

【Whether to accept? 】

"..."

It's three-dimensional, not three-dimensional!

After pausing for a moment while explaining the system items, Li Xiaoen quickly corrected himself in his mind, feeling utterly helpless about this subconscious thought—he was Chinese, so the system's text was naturally in Chinese; if it were in English, he probably wouldn't have had this thought.

accept!

Once he had confirmed it in his mind, Li Xiaoen leaned back comfortably in the chair, letting the barber gently work his hair. Fortunately, because it was a high-end and luxurious place, the room was equipped with shampooing equipment. The barber only needed to move the seat and turn it in one direction, and he would lie down in front of a small sink for shampooing.

As the hairdresser guided her and she felt the gentle touch of his hands, Li Xiaoen's thoughts were somewhat complicated.

[Limited-time Eye of Insight has been opened, limited time: 11:51:39]

The moment the prop was activated, everyone and everything in the entire room, and even extending a great distance outside the store, were taken into his mind, and Li Xiaoen nodded inwardly.

In some ways, this Eye of Insight can be considered a superior substitute for the eye, much like the superpower of soul perception in various novels and comics.

[The limited-time Eye of Insight has been activated. Upon examining yourself, the host is currently being watched by three gazes.]

"..."

"Sean, why have your eyes been closed the whole time?"

After looking at the young man for a while, Victoria finally couldn't help but ask.

"I don't want to see someone grinning like an idiot with their big teeth showing."

Li Xiaoen gave a simple answer. Under the brief on-off observation of the Eye of Insight, Victoria's face darkened, and she gritted her teeth and spat out a sound.

"Sean, I suspect you're playing some kind of game where you can't open your eyes again."

"Whether it is or not, just try it out."

On the other side, Suffer finally spoke up, "Let the barber shave his head bald and see if he can open his eyes."

"Ha ha……"

Standing to one side, the young woman in uniform with a black apron hanging in front of her smiled apologetically twice, then buried her head and still did not take Suffer's advice.

Working as a senior hairdresser in such a luxurious salon, she had long cultivated the habit of being observant and avoiding causing trouble for customers. Now, she believes that minimizing her presence is the right choice.

“Miss Sophie, Catherine has prepared your contact lens solution.”

Just then, the door opened, and a receptionist in uniform called out softly.

"it is good."

Suffer nodded, then stood up from the chair, glanced at Li Xiaoen's head imperceptibly, and strode out of the room with his long legs. Li Xiaoen breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this.

Victoria styled his hair so that it almost covered his entire forehead, with only a few strands of hair framing his face. It looked quite nice, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He could only describe it as a slicked-back hairstyle, but it looked more voluminous and energetic.

Therefore, the hairdresser, whose hair was already quite long, only trimmed it a few times and nodded repeatedly as the hairdresser styled it in various ways. Then, the hairdresser began to use a tool to roll it up, spray it with chemicals to set the style, and the long wait began.

During this time, Victoria's nurse had a free moment and called her to another room. Li Xiaoen watched with his Insightful Eye and saw her talking to the young woman. He then realized that it was also her first time visiting this store—based on the conversation between the staff and Suffer, Suffer might have been the one who introduced her.

The barber had already left, leaving him alone in the room waiting for his hair to be styled. With his eyes closed, he had no other way to get any information and regain a sense of security in the unfamiliar environment.

With his Insight Eyes open and closed, his attention was focused on two homeless people arguing over a trash can outside the store when he suddenly noticed Victoria quietly pushing open the door. Lee Shawn was taken aback.

He opened his mouth but before he could say anything, he saw the girl turn around, glance at him, gently close the door, and tiptoe over. Li Xiaoen realized what was happening, quickly shut his mouth, and pretended to be nonchalant.

Under the watchful eye of insight, the girl tiptoed to his side, waved her hand in front of him, then placed her hands in loose fists in front of her, staring at him with wide eyes.

At one point, her gaze finally hardened. She took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, lowered her head, and pressed her red lips against his cheek. Then she quickly withdrew and took two steps back, her full breasts heaving violently.

Seeing the young man pause for a moment, then close his eyes and turn around, she immediately turned around, opened the door, and slunk back into her room.

Li Xiaoen: "..."

The girl kissed him so hard that his head was pushed to the side.

Unable to resist raising his hand to touch his face, Li Xiaoen couldn't help but feel a little amused and exasperated.

As Victoria had said before, he really would have to be at the other party's beck and call for two days.

(End of this chapter)