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

Chapter 176 Thanksgiving Picnic
At the end of November, on a vast, flat, lush green meadow, golden-red maple leaves and evergreen pines complement each other, bathing the entire autumn landscape in a golden glow.

Sitting on a square checkered picnic blanket, Victoria arranged various snacks and drinks on it, took a deep breath, raised her arms and stretched, revealing the beautiful curves of her upper body.

"It feels so good to bask in the sunshine at this time of year."

She turned her head and smiled at the young man sitting next to her, looking him up and down as he was only wearing a shirt. "The sun is warm, so you don't need to be cold."

"I've said it many times, I'm not cold."

Li Xiaoen rolled her eyes and emphasized again helplessly.

When he first took off his coat and rolled up his long-sleeved shirt, Victoria thought he was deliberately trying to look cool. To prove it, he flexed his arm muscles and raised an eyebrow, "Look at me, I've been working out for a long time, this little bit of cold is nothing."

Can exercising help you stay warm in the cold?

Tilting her head suspiciously, Victoria still subconsciously reached out and touched the young man's arm. Feeling the strong, hard muscles under his shirt, she couldn't help but widen her eyes in surprise.

"If you touch me again, I'll have to charge you."

Seeing that the girl's hand hadn't left her and was still touching her, Li Xiaoen murmured something again.

"I'm so proud of myself."

She raised her hand and slapped him, then rolled her eyes and sat back down, staring into deep thought as she looked at the family members playing together in the distance.

"Angry?"

Li Xiaoen leaned closer to examine the girl's face. "Perhaps I can give you a discount?"

"No, thank you."

Victoria pushed the young man's head back, then leaned back with her hands behind her. "Sean, can you tell me about your family? Or, what interesting experiences did you have before you came to study abroad?"

"Before entering university, Chinese students are basically defined by their studies and exams."

Li Xiaoen shrugged. "Or rather, some one-time spring and autumn outings, agricultural studies, military training, and the like..."

"Didn't you attend the party and rehearse Romeo and Juliet?"

"To be honest, that was also to reduce homework."

Li Xiaoen smiled and raised an eyebrow. "My English teacher promised me that if I successfully performed on stage, she would exempt me from my summer homework."

"..."

The expectant gaze gradually turned into a blank stare. Victoria turned away and sighed.

"I should have expected this..."

"This is the normal situation."

Li Xiaoen shrugged helplessly. "Actually, whenever I recall my school days later, I only remember things outside of studying the clearest."

Unable to understand why the girl's mood had suddenly become depressed, he picked a small bunch of grapes and handed them to her.

"Can you tell us about some interesting experiences you've had? From what we know in China, your pre-university studies seem quite relaxed."

"It's not exactly easy, but it's not exactly easy either."

Victoria tilted her head back in thought, picked a grape and offered it to Li Xiaoen's lips, "We had a teacher give us special instruction back then, and we even rehearsed the play with a few other girls."

"The girls who can study acting with you, Victoria, must be very beautiful, right?"

With a grape in his mouth, Li Xiaoen took over the conversation, which drew a disapproving glance from Victoria.

"Hey……"

No sooner had she finished speaking than Victoria raised her foot to kick at her. Li Xiaoen exclaimed in surprise and quickly moved her body backward to dodge the kick. "Victoria, kicking someone like that is not ladylike behavior."

"Serafina and Sophie are right, sometimes you just deserve a beating."

Gritting her teeth and glaring, Victoria glanced at the grapes she had just picked and was about to hand to the young man, then simply threw them at him.

"Eh……"

Li Xiaoen quickly shifted his gaze from the girl's fair and delicate feet, tilted his head back, and opened his mouth to take the grape. As he ate it, he said, "Victoria, didn't you realize that what I said was also a compliment to your beauty?"

As he spoke, the system screen in front of him reappeared.

[Gambling Agreement]

He caught every single grape Victoria threw at him with his mouth.

[Successful Gambling Reward: Advanced Virtual Time Card × 1]

[Advanced Virtual Time Card: After use, you can choose any action, including employment, study, and exercise, and freely allocate time to it. Ignoring all obstacles, it will automatically simulate the host's execution in the current environment. The minimum single allocation time is 1 year, and the current total time is 5 years.]

【Whether to accept? 】

Sure enough, the rewards for these ordinary bets were not as good as the achievement system.

Li Xiaoen thought to himself, and subconsciously accepted the bet. He looked up at the six grapes hanging in Victoria's hand and raised an eyebrow.

"Come again!"

Victoria narrowed her eyes, sneered, picked another one, and tossed it high into the air.

What the f**k……

Li Xiaoen gasped inwardly, tilting his head back and shifting his body, quickly approaching the spot where the grape had fallen.

"Hey, Sean..."

He bumped into a soft body, and with a gasp reaching his ears, Li Xiaoen finally caught the grape steadily. Immediately afterwards, a piercing pain shot through his lower back, and he couldn't help but let out a long hiss.

"Sean, get up quickly..."

Only then did Li Xiaoen realize that she had Victoria on top of her. She quickly got up and said, "Sorry, I didn't notice you."

"It's just a game, is it really necessary to take it so seriously?"

Victoria pushed the young man back to sit down, her face flushed. When she saw his gaze fall on the grapes in her hand, she simply shoved them into his mouth and glared at him.

"Are you satisfied now?"

"..."

[Winner of the bet! Congratulations, host, you have received the reward: Advanced Virtual Time Card x1]

Seeing the system's comment pop up, Li Xiaoen, whose mouth was stuffed full of grapes, paused for a moment and looked at the girl in front of him with a look of shame and indignation.

Does this work?
Several times now, Victoria has truly been his "cheat code" for completing his missions; she's a benefactor.

"Um……"

With his mouth bulging, Li Xiaoen chewed on a grape and let out a muffled hum.

"I can't hear what you're saying."

Annoyed by the young man's expression, Victoria rolled her eyes, then suddenly found it somewhat amusing. She quickly bit her lip and looked to the other side. As if remembering something, she hurriedly took out her phone and frantically pressed the shutter button on the young man.

Li Xiaoen didn't seem to care about the unflattering photos. Instead, he raised a peace sign towards the camera, which immediately made the girl lower her head, biting her lip tightly and trembling.

"Laugh if you want."

After swallowing the grape, Li Xiaoen waved his hand and said, "I know it's embarrassing to be made to laugh when you're angry."

"you misunderstood!"

Victoria put down her phone and glared at the young man, but still couldn't help biting her lip and avoiding his gaze.

"Would you like to try it too?"

Li Xiaoen asked tentatively, "I remember you tried it at the last orientation event, but unfortunately you didn't catch it."

"You dare bring up last time?"

Upon hearing this, Victoria turned around and glanced at her sideways.

"Let's begin."

Before the girl could say anything more, Li Xiaoen picked a small bunch of grapes, plucked one, and tossed it into the air above her.

"Eh……"

Victoria had intended to refuse, but seeing this situation, she didn't have time to think further and looked up to find the grapes.

Unfortunately, before she could see it, the young man propped himself up and bit it into his mouth.

"Ha ha……"

Feeling the burst of sweet juice in his mouth, Li Xiaoen couldn't help but laugh out loud twice, and then he grinned from ear to ear.

"I'm demonstrating for you. Now you can start, okay?" Li Xiaoen quickly explained, reaching back to steady the girl's hand that was resting there.

"Humph……"

With a soft hum, Victoria withdrew her hand. "I'm not playing anymore."

She had barely finished speaking when she saw the young man toss another grape into the air above her...

"I suspect you did this on purpose!"

After finally catching one, Victoria took a bite while scrutinizing the young man in front of her. "At first, I slowly found the technique, but you just had to throw the grape so high and at such a bad angle."

At this moment, because of the series of movements in the game, she also got hot and took off her coat, revealing a white shirt with a slightly lace collar underneath.

"That's not important. What's important is that you feel better, don't you?"

Li Xiaoen chuckled and picked up one of Victoria's easels, then thoughtfully fanned her.

Startled by his words, Victoria felt a warmth in her heart, but she turned her head away to avoid the young man's teasing gaze—she suddenly felt even hotter.

"You wait."

Suddenly remembering something, Li Xiaoen got up and walked towards the parking lot, and soon brought over a guitar under the girl's expectant gaze.

“Victoria, I want to sing you a song, as a reward for finally accepting the grapes.”

Li Xiaoen smiled and raised his chin. Under the girl's surprised gaze, he lowered his head and plucked the strings. The music, pausing and fading, came from the guitar.

Oh~~Oh~~

"Nobody wants to see us together..."
"But it doesn't matter no..."

"Cause I got you, baby..."
"..."

The young man's magnetic voice, accompanied by music, entered her ears, and Victoria's heart clenched suddenly. She froze on the spot, her eyes involuntarily welling up as she looked at him.

Did the young man know her identity?
She dared not ask, fearing that a single word would create an unavoidable chasm between them in their current relationship. Facing the young man's leisurely smiling gaze, she took a deep, uneasy breath and quickly looked away.

When Li Xiaoen finished singing the song, he looked at the girl who had lowered her head and was lost in thought, and couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

Shaking his head to gather his thoughts, Li Xiaoen leaned closer to Victoria and teased her, "What's wrong? Were you captivated by my singing?"

"You're not disappointed!"

Upon hearing this, Victoria rolled her eyes and denied it. She straightened her back, but her face still felt a little hot involuntarily when facing the young man's amused gaze. "Based on previous experience, you chose this song on purpose. You deliberately picked a song with these kinds of lines."

"You can't say that."

Sean Lee shrugged helplessly. "I spent a lot of time choosing this song, 'Don't Matter,' because the lyrics have a good meaning. After all, it's not easy to find a song with good lyrics in American pop music."

You know, there are quite a few songs in American pop music with lyrics that are too vulgar and offensive. At first listen, the rhythm is good and upbeat, but once you look closely at the lyrics, the meaning is unbearable. After he started to study English systematically in preparation for studying abroad, he could no longer calmly look at and listen to those songs as before.

"You can choose country music, that category is better, and also piano music."

Victoria offered her suggestion.

"let's discuss it later."

Li Xiaoen waved his hand, covered his head and lay down on the grass. Looking at the blue sky and white clouds, he couldn't help but yawn.

Are you sleepy?

Victoria looked over in surprise.

"I guess so, but it's not that I haven't been sleeping enough."

Li Xiaoen chuckled and casually replied, "The weather is nice today, the sun is warm and the temperature is just right. It's rare to have such a quiet and peaceful time. Looking at this scenery makes me want to sleep."

"is it?"

Nodding seriously, Victoria looked around, pursed her lips, and lay down next to the young man, resting her head on his waist.

"You're using me as a pillow?"

Noticing the sudden increase in weight, Li Xiaoen couldn't help but laugh and cry.

"Ha ha……"

Victoria chuckled, turning her head slightly as she rested it against the young man's waist. "It's rare to find a pillow here; wouldn't it be a waste if I didn't use it?"

Why does it feel so strange to me?

Without pushing the girl's head away, Li Xiaoen sighed helplessly. Su Feier also liked to lie on top of him.

Thinking about the similarities between the two girls, feeling the warm sunshine and the gentle breeze, his consciousness gradually became hazy.

When he slowly awoke and opened his eyes, all he saw was a sliver of sky. A warm, soft touch came from behind his head, and a fresh floral scent lingered in his nostrils. He suddenly became fully conscious and couldn't help but take a deep breath.

The sudden movement seemed to be noticed by the girl beneath him. Before she could move the book and look down at him, Li Xiaoen quickly closed his eyes again.

"Aren't you awake yet?"

Victoria murmured, “Let’s draw another mark on your face.”

After saying that, she picked up a marker, opened the cap, made a crisp sound, and slammed it down on the young man's forehead.

"Hey hey hey..."

Li Xiaoen quickly opened her eyes and spoke up to stop her, "You know I'm awake?"

"No, I was just about to mark your face."

Looking down, Victoria gave a gentle smile and tucked a few strands of golden hair behind her ear.

"Okay, I believe you."

Nodding insincerely, Li Xiaoen comfortably closed his eyes again, only to feel the soft thighs behind his head begin to sway from side to side.

"stand up."

Victoria spoke up.

"You used to use my pillow, now it's back to you."

"I only slept with you for about ten minutes before..."

“That’s true, Miss Victoria. We pay by the number of times, not by the time.”

"..."

"You're so shameless..."

Looking down at the young man chuckling on her lap, Victoria rolled her eyes, took a deep breath, decided to ignore him, and picked up her book to read again.

"Beautiful lady, what book are you reading?"

Feeling extremely comfortable with his head resting on the girl's lap, Li Xiaoen couldn't help but ask a question in order to distract himself from the oppressive feeling of the sky being half-covered overhead.

Virgil's Aeneid.

"What kind of book is this?"

"Ancient Roman literature tells the story of the Trojan hero Aeneas who, after the fall of the city, led his people through many hardships and finally founded Rome in Italy. It can be said to be the ancient Roman version of a founding myth."

After explaining, Victoria looked down and said, "This book is relatively obscure, so it's normal that you don't know about it."

She often chatted and laughed with the young man, quoting lines from classical literary masterpieces. Knowing that the young man had read some of those books, she made a point of mentioning it to him.

"I see."

Li Xiaoen nodded, "I want to see it too."

"Ah."

With a soft hum, Victoria put down her book and started reading. She didn't see the young man on her lap get up; instead, he shifted his position and lay down facing the front of her.

"I can read it like this, I'm holding the book, so we can read it together."

Li Xiaoen chuckled, but his cheek was suddenly pinched by two fingers.

Reluctantly handing the book to the young man who was clinging to her lap, Victoria had no choice but to go along with him and look down at the book together.

"Victoria, could you feed me a grape?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Li Xiaoen's cheek was pinched again.

[Virtual Time Pool: Successfully charged: 30%]

(End of this chapter)