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

Chapter 172 Business Card
The lights illuminate the scene, and the evening breeze stirs the shimmering waves on the sea, making the autumn night at the seaside cool and comfortable.

While he was still in a daze, he was pulled forward a few steps. Li Xiaoen realized what was happening and quickly steadied himself, which made the young woman holding his arm stop and turn around to look at him.

"Excuse me, do we know each other?"

Li Xiaoen couldn't help but ask.

The woman looked up, blinked her large eyes which were outlined as pale purple shadows, and gave a bright smile. "My name is Catherine, and your name is Sean. Now we know each other."

"..."

Li Xiaoen narrowed his eyes slightly, but before he could speak, Su Feier's voice came from behind him.

“Catherine, if you’re really that thirsty, why don’t you just pick one of those men watching from afar?”

As Victoria and the other girls came to her side, looking down at Catherine holding onto Sean Lee's arm, Sophie said calmly, "Of course, if you're still not satisfied, you can call two or three more, and they'll definitely agree happily."

"We're friends, after all. Saying things like that is really hurtful, Suffer."

With a soft sigh, Catherine noticed that several girls, including Victoria, were looking at her as she held onto Sean Lee's arm. A smile appeared on her lips, and she casually let go.

"It was the first time I'd ever seen such a handsome Chinese guy with an exotic charm, and I just did it instinctively."

Facing Sophie's scrutinizing gaze with a frown, Catherine maintained a smile throughout. "Sophie, you seem so nervous. Do you like Sean, or do you have a relationship with him in private?"

As she spoke, she gave a strange, incredulous look, "I really can't believe you would fall for a Chinese person..."

Upon hearing this, a deathly silence fell over the group.

"Sean is our friend."

Victoria spoke up then, her face somber, "Isn't it incredibly rude of you to play such a trick on us like this without even asking Sean's opinion?"

"Oh……"

Catherine nodded repeatedly as if suddenly realizing something, and smiled, "I should have greeted you first, Princess Victoria."

Having said that, ignoring the frowning looks from the other girls, Catherine turned to Sean Lee with some surprise: "To be able to be friends with several such beautiful, well-off white girls, and the only Asian guy among them..."

"You're just an ordinary student from an ordinary family, someone who initially needed to be sent to school to study in America. Sean, what kind of magic do you possess?"

"As you said before, I am very charming."

Before the other girls could speak, Li Xiaoen nodded and smiled, replying, "Look, we've only just met, and you're already eager to grab my arm, aren't you?"

"Oh...yes."

Unexpectedly, Li Xiaoen interrupted, and Catherine looked up in surprise, "No wonder, when I grabbed your arm just now, they all looked at me like they wanted to kill me..."

“After all, when a woman suddenly pulls her friend away, everyone will worry that their friend might be taken advantage of,” Li Xiaoen nodded and explained.

"You mean, you're at a disadvantage if I take you away?"

Catherine raised an eyebrow. Even though she had done some research on Sean Lee beforehand, she still didn't expect him to say something like that.

"Of course not. For a man, this is never a loss."

Li Xiaoen shook his head and comforted her, then chuckled, "Catherine, do you know what my rules are for flirting with and flattering strange girls?"

"What is it?"

Catherine tilted her head and asked cooperatively.

"When I see a girl I like, I usually don't take the initiative to talk to her the first time, because I consider that to be lust at first sight."

Li Xiaoen said casually, "I will miss out on that girl. And if I am lucky enough to see her a second time, I will take the initiative to strike up a conversation and ask for her contact information, because it is fate's arrangement."

"Hmm...a very good idea."

Catherine nodded seriously and gave her assessment.

"So, may I have your contact information?"

Li Xiaoen continued.

“Isn’t this the first time we’ve met?” Catherine was taken aback.

"I must admit, because you are so beautiful, I have decided to defy fate for you, and for the time being, I will change my criteria to second glance."

"..."

"Ha ha……"

After a brief pause, Catherine burst into laughter. She turned her head slightly, and a young woman in a suit and skirt walked up to her and handed her a business card.

As the woman stepped back and left, Catherine handed her business card to Sean Lee: "Sean, I'm very happy that you're so proactive."

After saying that, she glanced at the girls with gloomy faces, smiled and lowered her voice, but the volume was just enough to reach their ears, "Sean, contact me when you have time. As long as I'm happy, I can agree to anything you want me to do or any fantasy you have."

"Really?"

Li Xiaoen raised an eyebrow. "How about we invite one of your female friends or sisters?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Catherine's face suddenly darkened.

"You said before that you would fight against fate for my sake."

"Yes, but it doesn't matter, does it?"

Sean Lee shrugged, meeting Catherine's furrowed brow with a smile, and said, "Really."

"Okay, joke over..."

Shrugged, Catherine turned to look at Sophie and the other girls, "Have fun tonight."

After saying that, he didn't even glance at Li Xiaoen, turned around, and walked back towards the direction where the crowd had gathered.

When it really came down to it, he backed down. Could it be that he's just a master of empty talk?

Watching Catherine sway her hips and walk away, Li Xiaoen found it amusing. When he turned around, he was met with several girls frowning and looking at him with disdain.

"Didn't you notice that I gradually regained control of the conversation?"

Li Xiaoen helplessly shrugged, noticing Victoria's gaze shift to the business card in his hand, before he picked it up with two fingers.

Are you showing off?

Sufeil narrowed his eyes slightly.

Li Xiaoen didn't answer. He smiled and flicked his wrist. By the time the girls could see him clearly again, a small flame had already ignited on the corner of the business card in his hand.

"You actually carry a fire source with you?" They stared in surprise.

"Perhaps this is my magic?"

Li Xiaoen raised an eyebrow smugly, only then feeling the burning sensation in his hand as the business card gradually burned. He hissed and hurriedly switched to his other hand to hold the bottom corner of the business card.

"Ha ha……"

The young man, who had been so carefree and cool just moments before, suddenly appeared in such a disheveled state. Several girls couldn't help but roll their eyes and burst into laughter.

"Sean, do you have some kind of magic that makes you immune to fire?"

Serafina asked expectantly, "Show it to us again."

Yes, we'll talk about it later.

Li Xiaoen casually answered, stopped a waiter, quickly placed the burning business card in his hand on the tray in the waiter's hand, and then grabbed a glass of wine.

"Alright, let's hurry up and find something to eat. You've taken up too much time, and I'm starving."

"You're the one who wasted time!"

Several girls glared at each other, and then the group walked to one side of the venue to a long table filled with various dishes and foods.

In the distance, Catherine was naturally drawn to the bright firelight. Her gaze followed Lee Shawn and his group from afar, her face ashen.

The entire venue was filled with soft jazz music. Li Xiaoen leaned against the railing by the sea with a plate full of sliced ​​steak, watching the light show on the glass curtain wall in the distance while forking a slice and putting it in his mouth.

Within sight, Suffer took some food first and leaned against the side as well.

Do you know Catherine?

After taking a bite of avocado, Sophie turned her head and asked.

"You said."

Li Xiaoen nodded in acknowledgment. His only source of information about their social class was Su Feier, and coincidentally, the girl seemed to be deliberately trying to educate him, "Were you friends before?"

"Let's leave it at that."

Sophie sighed with emotion and turned to look at Sean Lee, "Herst is her last name."

"The Hearst Corporation?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xiaoen raised an eyebrow. "A giant in the news media industry?"

“Yes, you’re right.” Sophie nodded.

"..."

"If I apologize to her now, will I be able to get her forgiveness?"

After a moment's hesitation, Li Xiaoen spoke again, immediately receiving a disdainful look from the girl. He couldn't help but smile and wave his hand, "Just kidding, it's just a joke."

Rolling her eyes, Sophie continued leisurely, "In the media industry, as you know, you can come into contact with people from both the left and right, and even a mixed bag of extreme elements. They are often adept at navigating both sides and extremely smooth."

"Actually, it shouldn't be singled out and mentioned separately."

Li Xiaoen shrugged. "Which successful entrepreneur isn't a shrewd person who can stand out from thousands of competitors?"

As he said this, Li Xiaoen couldn't help but glance at Su Feier, and then added, "Okay, they're from the media industry, they're quite outstanding."

"So, for you, Catherine and her family are only sometimes your friends."

Li Xiaoen then tentatively asked, recalling Serafina's earlier words, "And this time, after exposing the manor's crimes, their family got the exclusive first report, so you two are friends now?"

"more or less."

Seeing that the young man was so clever and immediately understood the ins and outs of the matter, Suffer saved himself the trouble of saying anything more and nodded in agreement.

Since they're friends, the things Sophie and Catherine said before were far too hostile, weren't they?

Li Xiaoen's expression turned strange. Is this how American friends talk? Could it be that the two of them had a conflict last time, and things got rather tense?

Thinking this, he saw Catherine come up to Serafina, and the two were clinking glasses and talking about something in a serious manner.

Will this not-so-bright Serafina be led by the nose by Catherine?

A sudden worry flashed through Li Xiaoen's mind.

"Hello, ladies."

Just as Victoria and Mary arrived with the food, two young men in suits came up to them, smiling and greeting them, "Good evening."

The girls exchanged glances, nodded briefly in response, and didn't say anything more, leaving the two of them awkwardly frozen in place.

Noticing Li Xiaoen, who was clearly located in the girls' center, they quickly asked, "And who is this...?"

“Li Xiaoen, their classmate and friend.”

Li Xiaoen gave a simple answer.

"Oh……"

The two boys nodded seriously, inwardly surprised by Li Xiaoen's clearly Chinese, non-ABC (American-born Chinese) face. "A first-generation immigrant? Or a Chinese student studying abroad?"

"International students."

"I see."

The two nodded, looking at the young man standing among several pretty girls, their feelings still unreadable.

In America, the influence of Chinese people's greatest achievements is still far from enough compared to the decisive industries and resources controlled by white people. Even if Shawn Lee has resources in China, they would be of little use in America. They really can't understand the scene in front of them.

"Mary, I know there's some really delicious Middle Eastern food over there. Want to go check it out together?"

Seeing that they couldn't say anything to the other girls, they couldn't help but turn their attention to Mary, who was constantly eating delicious food.

"Um……"

With a piece of salmon still in her mouth, Mary looked up, hummed, and quickly shook her head.

"Is it inconvenient? Shall I bring it to you?" a boy asked eagerly.

Mary put the whole piece of salmon into her mouth, her cheeks bulging, but she still shook her head repeatedly.

"..."

"OK then."

Forcing a smile, the two raised their hands in greeting before reluctantly turning to leave, saying, "You guys had a good time tonight."

"It seems like I'm being watched."

After swallowing the last piece of beef from his plate, Li Xiaoen noticed the subtle glances from some men nearby. He shrugged and muttered a complaint.

"They envy you."

Having finished chatting with Catherine, Serafina, who was eating steak with her mouth bulging, was still making muffled sounds when she glared at me.

"Any normal guy would be so happy to be with a bunch of beautiful girls like us, but you don't know how to appreciate it at all!"

“Much profit… … ”

Li Xiaoen didn't answer, but instead turned to look at Victoria, who was drinking juice, and said, "Do you think I need to ask her about her fashion sense in the evening?"

Victoria paused for a moment upon hearing this, opened her mouth, but still couldn't say anything. She could only purse her lips and give a helpless smile. Even Sophie and Mary's expressions turned strange.

"You guy..."

Serafina slammed her fork into the steak and narrowed her eyes as she looked at Sean Lee.

"What are you talking about?"

Just as she was about to launch her attack, Henry walked up to her, greeted her with a smile, and forced her to give up.

The group was taken aback for a moment, then nodded in simple response.

"Sean, I heard from Amina that you did very well in the practical shooting competition."

After exchanging pleasantries, Henry immediately spoke to Sean Lee, "Are you sure you haven't had any prior experience with firearms and that you could reach that level just from one training session?"

He was questioning his life after hearing Amina mention this earlier—isn't China a country that bans guns? How come they're so fierce when they shoot? They're so talented.

"I played video games and tried similar toy guns when I was little..."

Helpless, Li Xiaoen made up an excuse in response...

To make it easier for the two men to talk, the girls tactfully moved a few steps away, casually listening to Serafina complain about Catherine's probing remarks. Suddenly, Sophie noticed the surprised looks from the group of young men not far away.

Her gaze followed until the young man who was chatting animatedly with Henry came into view.
She tilted her head, a meaningful smile appearing on her lips.

"Sean, is there anything else we haven't considered?"

After explaining the details of the case, Henry asked.

“These kinds of crimes are usually clandestine. There must be a place to shelter those little girls. Either there’s a hidden room in some corner of the manor that hasn’t been discovered yet, or they were brought there by a car that was parked in the manor at the time.”

Seeing that the police had not found the underground secret room in the manor, Li Xiaoen hinted, "Also, as for the men of appropriate age who were caught just watching the underground strip show, they may have just gone there temporarily after the incident to pretend to be innocent, especially older men with a certain status and position."

Henry paused for a moment upon hearing this, then his eyes widened suddenly: "Well... there were too many people at the time, so the police just gave them a warning and let them go when they saw that they were of legal age."

"That would be a shame."

Li Xiaoen shook his head regretfully. As a normal person, he naturally did not want to see people who committed such heinous crimes escape punishment.

After exchanging a few more words about other matters, Henry nodded goodbye and quickly walked out of the venue.

"Hey……"

Just as she was bringing over a glass of wine, Catherine saw Henry turn to leave and quickly called out to him, but Henry was already far away.

"Miss Catherine..."

Upon seeing the slender woman in an evening gown before him, Li Xiaoen couldn't help but tease her, "How have you considered my previous request?"

Turning around, Catherine's eyes narrowed slightly as she looked over, a smile of amusement spreading across her face.

"Sure, the business card I just gave you is from a good friend of mine. You can call her and I'll tell her I'll make it happen for you."

"is it?"

Li Xiaoen paused for a moment, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a white business card and a cell phone. He tapped the screen and said, "Miss Catherine, since we've agreed, you can't go back on your word."

When he pulled out his business card, Catherine was stunned and opened her mouth, but found that she couldn't say anything.

"what happened to you?"

Noticing the girl's reaction, Li Xiaoen looked up and asked, "I just finished speaking, you're not going to back out now, are you?"

"Wasn't the business card you burned earlier mys?"

Catherine's face darkened, and she asked suspiciously, "So, you lied to Sophie and the others?"

"Ha ha……"

After laughing twice, Li Xiaoen looked down at Catherine with a leisurely gaze, "Such a beautiful young lady is willing to do things with me with other equally beautiful girls. I think any man would find it hard to resist such temptation."

As he spoke, he shrugged regretfully, "Unfortunately, you seem to only talk the talk; in the end, you're still a true American."

With her gaze fixed intently on the young man before her, Catherine suddenly remembered something and reached out her hand: "Let me see that business card in your hand."

Li Xiaoen was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this: "This is the business card you gave me. Do I need to see this too?"

"Humph……"

Catherine gritted her teeth and a cold smile curled at the corner of her mouth. Seeing this, she became even more certain of her guess. She stepped closer and reached out to snatch the business card from Li Xiaoen's hand. "Whether he's just pretending or he really is, I'll know once I see it."

“2125550***”

Li Xiaoen raised his hand to dodge, looking at the business card and muttering to himself. His simple question immediately stopped Catherine in her tracks. He looked down and smiled, "Catherine, is this enough?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the business card in his hand was snatched away. Li Xiaoen turned his head in surprise and saw that it was Su Feier.

"Evel, General Manager of the official Maserati authorized dealership, phone number 2127646***..."

After glancing down at the business card and reading it aloud, Su Feier looked up indifferently at the young man whose shoulders were slumped, and sneered, "You memorized the phone number after just one glance. Your memory is really good."

When he said to remember the number, he was referring to the one on the business card that Catherine had handed him earlier. Upon hearing this, not only Catherine but also the other girls who had just walked up beside him were stunned for a moment, and they all cast speechless and blank glances at Li Xiaoen.

"Thank you for the compliment. To be honest, having a good memory isn't always a good thing, and it often bothers me."

Li Xiaoen shrugged and turned to walk towards the food area of ​​the long table. "I'm hungry again. I'm going to get something to eat first."

"Humph……"

Turning back to see the young man walk away alone, the girls looked at each other speechlessly, but couldn't help but laugh in exasperation.

"Um……"

Staring blankly at the young man who was piling a lot of steak onto his plate, seemingly disregarding his image, Catherine narrowed her eyes and nodded with interest. "Is that how it is?"

The melodious piano music lingered in the air, and a few young men and women came over and chatted with Suffer and the other girls. Intending to be a transparent person who was only responsible for filling his stomach, Li Xiaoen leaned against the railing not far away, watching them while eating his steak.

Because he needed to control his diet to stay fit, he resisted the urge to try many different new foods.

As night deepened and the evening breeze became cooler, Li Xiaoen couldn't help but be somewhat surprised as she looked at the group of people.

Even though there was a dance area and performances nearby, the group of girls rarely looked over there. They just stood there, holding their wine glasses and chatting with each other, and it didn't feel awkward at all.

Are there really that many topics to talk about?
He was thinking to himself when he suddenly felt the gazes of several girls watching him as they chatted and laughed. He raised an eyebrow, but before he could react, a group of girls, led by Su Feier and the others, surrounded him.

"Sean, can you do that magic trick that's really popular on TikTok again?"

"Come on, Sean, let's take a picture together? I'm going to post it on my Instagram."

"Hey Sean, there's a singing segment at the party later, why don't you go up and show off your skills?"

……

(End of this chapter)