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

Chapter 164 Modifying the Pumpkin Head
"She?"

Those big, round, emerald-green eyes... Victoria smiled, "She's been cursed and is in a deep sleep. Do you want to save her?"

"Yes, without a doubt!"

Li Xiaoen nodded solemnly, "Legend has it that a prince's kiss is needed to awaken a princess who has fallen into a deep sleep, and I am willing to sacrifice myself!"

"unnecessary!"

Victoria quickly retorted, rolling her eyes at the young man's teasing gaze, "That's just a legend."

"Also, I want to save Her Highness the Princess and remind her of something after she wakes up..."

Li Xiaoen didn't dwell on it and continued, "Her makeup got cakey."

"..."

"what……"

Victoria stared wide-eyed in shock for a moment, then quickly lowered her head and raised her hand to shield her face.

"Victoria, he's bluffing you."

Sophie's helpless voice came from inside the living room, "Also, how long do you plan to play at the door?"

"It's because he's not cooperating."

Victoria explained helplessly, lowered her hand, and made way for the young man to enter, but still couldn't help glaring at him.

"Ha ha……"

Li Xiaoen laughed twice. "Your witch outfit is very beautiful, Victoria."

As he entered the living room, he was met with a languid gaze from Suffer, who was standing with his arms crossed. The smile on his face suddenly froze.

"For Halloween, aren't you planning to wear a costume?"

To ease the awkwardness, Li Xiaoen greeted him.

“I stopped wearing Halloween costumes when I was a child, starting in middle school.”

Sophie said calmly, then turned and walked towards the kitchen.

Today she wore a knitted top with long jeans, maintaining her usual casual style.

For most native Americans, Halloween may have long lost its novelty, and if it were just a normal holiday, probably not many people would dress up in scary costumes.

Li Xiaoen thought to herself as she followed Victoria, who had taken off her big hat, into the kitchen.

"Victoria, where's that pumpkin head you carved?"

Li Xiaoen's eyes searched around. "Let me take a look. If it's really too bad, then we'll just have to change it to a pumpkin lantern and let the light enjoy it."

Pumpkin lanterns are made by simply hollowing out a pumpkin, leaving only a thin outer skin, and placing a light source inside. No matter how badly the carving is done, it won't be that bad.

"You're questioning the efforts that Suffer and I have made!"

Victoria gave a soft snort, her smile tightly pressed together, and turned to walk into the storage room next to the kitchen.

Taking advantage of the brief moment, Li Xiaoen glanced at Su Feier in surprise, only to receive a nonchalant look in return.

Just as he was wondering what was going on, he saw Victoria come out holding a pumpkin head, and he was stunned for a moment.

The giant pumpkin was carved in two completely opposite ways. One side had a wide, rounded mouth with slanted eyes, while the other side had fierce eyes and a smile with fangs. The only thing they had in common was a tiny triangular nose.

"I have a feeling that two conflicting evil forces are vying for control of this pumpkin head!"

Li Xiaoen's face darkened, and he looked at the two girls solemnly, saying, "Wearing these will bring bad luck and cause your body to be possessed. How about we make them into pumpkin lanterns instead?"

"Think beautifully!"

Victoria glared at Sophie, then looked at her with amusement. Holding the pumpkin head, she walked quickly to Sean Lee and said, "Sean, try it on."

"This pumpkin head style is so weird..."

Li Xiaoen scoffed, took the pumpkin head, weighed it in his hand, and looked inside through the hollowed-out base.

The pumpkin head is very light, about the weight of a regular helmet, and the carved and cut areas have dried.

The space inside was quite large. Apart from the gaps being covered with a thin layer of black fabric, every inch of the space was covered with fluffy fabric patches, which actually felt quite comfortable to the touch. The two girls must have spent a lot of time there.

"I'll give it a try."

Faced with the expectant gazes of the two women, Li Xiaoen nodded helplessly, picked it up, and slowly put it on his head.

This was his first time properly celebrating Halloween, and also the first time he had ever worn such a pumpkin head. He never expected it to be such a strange thing.

"How about it, am I handsome or not?"

Li Xiaoen looked at the two girls, spread his hands, and asked.

"Yes, it looks great."

Victoria looked up, her rosy lips slightly parted, and nodded.

Looking to the other side, Suffer had already taken out her phone and was snapping photos non-stop. Li Xiaoen couldn't help but shrug his shoulders. "Where's a full-length mirror? I'll go take a look myself."

"Are you worried I'm lying to you?"

Victoria rolled her eyes, but still happily took Sean Lee's arm and led him to a storage room in front of the door. She opened the door, revealing a full-length mirror behind it.

Do these two young ladies have to look in a full-length mirror before going out?
The mirror was placed here for a reason, Li Xiaoen pondered subconsciously, looking at his own reflection in the mirror.

"How is it? Are you satisfied?"

Victoria pursed her lips, looking completely composed. "It doesn't detract from your handsomeness, does it?"

"It's quite beautiful."

In the mirror, he wore two drastically different pumpkin heads, the hollowed-out openings were dark and indistinct, and between the two mismatched shapes, an eerie atmosphere was spreading on top of the horror.

Li Xiaoen nodded unconsciously, raising his hand to touch the pumpkin's "chin," "It looks like something's missing."

"What else is missing?" Victoria asked in surprise.

"I can't explain it, but this is already good enough."

After pondering for a moment and still unable to figure it out, Li Xiaoen waved his hand dismissively and took off the pumpkin head.

“Come on, Sean, I made a seafood tower. You try it and see if it’s poisonous.”

Victoria nodded in satisfaction, then took the young man's arm and led him to the dining table next to the kitchen, bringing out a clean plate with a cylindrical metal shell standing on it.

Victoria carefully pulled the cylinder out from the top, revealing the various ingredients and seafood neatly stacked inside. She then drizzled some light red sauce over it.

"You can only eat this layer by layer, right?"

Li Xiaoen looked up from the seafood tower and asked in confusion.

“Yes, if you want it to have some flavor, you can dip it in some sauce.” Victoria nodded quickly.

"So, the seafood tower is just a decorative piece; in reality, it's eaten separately from the various ingredients, and there's no difference between them?"

Li Xiaoen's expression turned strange. It was the first time he had ever heard of a seafood tower. He had originally thought it would be eaten together with a hamburger to enjoy a rich and layered flavor, but he did not expect it to be a dish that was piled up like this.

If you separate these seafood items and place them on a plate, does that mean you call it "Seafood Sea"?

Li Xiaoen thought to himself, but when he noticed Victoria frowning and deep in thought, his heart skipped a beat.

"They're colorful, at least they look pretty and make you more appetizing."

Li Xiaoen nodded, used his fork to "remove" a shrimp from the middle of the seafood tower, dipped it in the sauce under the plate, and put it in his mouth. He felt the firm and chewy texture, and the refreshing and slightly spicy taste burst forth, which was surprisingly amazing.

"what about the taste?"

Victoria smiled mischievously and asked, "This is what I've been mixing these past few days."

"It's delicious, and it feels like it's based on the same concept as Mexican burritos."

Li Xiaoen pondered for a moment before making his assessment.

"you are right."

Victoria smiled and nodded, then turned and took Sophie's arm. "Sophie, Sean tested the poison, let's eat that seafood tower together."

Is it impossible to get past the hurdle of food testing?
Li Xiaoen shook his head helplessly, stuck a piece of avocado into his mouth with his fork, glanced listlessly at the oddly shaped pumpkin head in front of him, then looked out the window at the crowds of people coming and going on the grass in the distance. Late October brought clear skies and crisp autumn air, with occasional gusts of wind that made many students, bundled up in their winter clothes, feel much more relaxed.

That's right, that's when he realized something he'd been wanting to add to the pumpkin head.

“Victoria, Sophie.”

Li Xiaoen quickly looked at the two girls, "I'll modify this pumpkin head a bit, you don't mind, do you?"

"Modification?"

The two girls exchanged a glance. "Is it about changing the places we've carved?"

"Don't worry, no, I should say I'm going to add some things."

Li Xiaoen chuckled, quickly finished the last seafood tower, picked up the pumpkin, and said, "I'll take it back and modify it. I'll definitely make this pumpkin head look even better. Please look forward to it."

"Hey, Sean..."

Seeing the young man walk quickly towards the door, Victoria quickly called out to stop him. After the boy and Sophie looked over, she bit her lip and carefully chose her words.

"I'm not comfortable with that. What materials do you need? Bring them over and we'll revise them here, okay?"

Li Xiaoen paused for a moment, then nodded without hesitation, "Then I'll go back to my dorm."

After placing the pumpkin head in the living room, Li Xiaoen left and headed towards his dormitory.

After the young man walked away, Sophie turned to look at Victoria, which drew a conflicted look from the girl.

"Sophie, you didn't want him to ruin our carefully carved pumpkin head, did you?"

Victoria glanced at him and smiled.

"really."

Sophie didn't hesitate and nodded in agreement.

He didn't need to bring much. Soon, Li Xiaoen returned with two lightsabers, some gauze ribbons, and fluorescent powder, and sat on the carpet in front of the low table in the living room, tinkering with them.

"Sean, how do you plan to change it?"

Victoria placed the prepared fruit tea on the low table and sat down on the carpet next to Sean Lee.

"This pumpkin head is cool, but don't you think it would be even cooler if its mouth and eyes were emitting blue flames?"

Without hiding anything, Li Xiaoen said while fiddling with the pumpkin head using fluorescent powder.

"You want to apply fluorescent powder to the edges of the cutout eyes and mouth?"

Suffer had somehow moved to the other side and asked curiously.

"Yes, Sophie, you're very clever."

Li Xiaoen nodded and smiled, but the girl didn't react at all. He shrugged helplessly, "And there's the design with blue flames. Can you guess how they did it?"

"Do we need these tattered ribbons?"

Victoria picked up a ribbon with two fingers and asked with a frown.

"The essence is in the junk, okay?"

Li Xiaoen reached out and took the ribbon, sticking it to the upturned corners of Pumpkin Head's eyes and mouth. Looking left and right, his excited movements suddenly froze.

"It's daytime now, your fluorescent agent won't glow, great artist."

Sophie said calmly, but couldn't help but chuckle.

Helpless, Li Xiaoen asked Victoria, "Do you have a darkroom here?"

"Yes, it's our storage room. Let's go take a look over there."

Victoria, suppressing a smile, nodded in agreement, and the three of them then carried the pumpkin heads into the dark room.

"Okay."

Li Xiaoen gestured with his chin toward the two girls in front of him, put on the pumpkin head, turned off the lights, and a small fan he was holding blew air toward them.

In the eyes of the two girls, just as darkness fell before them, a blue outline of a pumpkin head lit up in the direction of the young man. Its fierce eyes and grinning face were burning with blue flames that shot upwards and swirled violently.

Just then, a fiery red lightsaber suddenly appeared beside Pumpkin Head, which was casually swung and swayed, performing a cool sword dance.

Wow...Sean, that's a really great idea!

Victoria opened her mouth and exclaimed in surprise.

"hey-hey……"

Li Xiaoen smiled and nodded, pointing his lightsaber at the source of the voice. "You wretched witch, hand over the beautiful Princess Victoria! I want to give her a kiss to wake her up!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a sharp pain suddenly shot through his lower back, startling him into another gasp.

"Sean, what's wrong?"

Her face flushed slightly, and just as she was about to retort, she heard the young man groan. Victoria quickly asked what was wrong.

"No, it's nothing."

There were only the three of them in the room: himself, Victoria, and Sophie—he knew this even without his Eye of Insight.

The sharp pain only lasted for a short while before subsiding. Li Xiaoen forced a smile, "I accidentally twisted my waist while practicing swordplay just now."

"Are you okay?"

Victoria asked worriedly, groping her way in the darkness toward the glowing pumpkin head.

"It's okay, I'm much better now."

With a helpless reply, Li Xiaoen turned on the room lights and saw Victoria, who was holding her hand in the dark in front of her, and Su Feier, who was watching her with a meaningful gaze behind her.

Where is it?

Victoria lowered her gaze to Li Xiaoen's waist and abdomen, and reached out her hand, "Let me take a look."

"It's all over now, don't worry."

Despite being the one in pain, Li Xiaoen comforted Victoria. Seeing that the girl insisted on pulling up his clothes, and worried that the remaining marks would be exposed, Li Xiaoen quickly asked, "Victoria, are you doing this on purpose? Do you want to see my body?"

"..."

Startled by his words, Victoria looked up blankly at the young man in front of her.

“Much profit… … ”

Before she could see the girl lower her head and look at her feet, Li Xiaoen realized what was happening and quickly dodged the stomp, exclaiming, "You really are a despicable witch for ambushing others!"

"I was thinking, once your foot hurts more than your twisted back, you might not feel the pain in your back anymore."

Victoria regretfully withdrew her foot and glared reproachfully at the young man.

"No, this is even more terrifying than the ancient European bloodletting therapy."

Li Xiaoen quickly shook his head, then nodded firmly, "But in my opinion, this is definitely one of the scariest ideas for Halloween this year."

"Humph……"

Victoria rolled her eyes at the young man, turned her head away, and walked towards the living room.

Turning around, Li Xiaoen silently looked at Su Feier in front of him.

"you deserve it."

Suffer glanced at the young man and followed Victoria's footsteps.

"..."

Letting out a long breath, Li Xiaoen scratched his hair in distress, his face showing utter helplessness.

Indeed, it's better to get to know them one by one.

He turned off the room lights, closed the door, then took off the pumpkin headgear and walked towards the living room.

(End of this chapter)