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

Chapter 188 The Unexpected Blizzard
【Character: Li Xiaoen】

[Age: 9 years old]

……

It was the morning of the third day of the New Year. In a luxurious room at the White Swan Hotel, Li Xiaoen stood in front of the panoramic floor-to-ceiling window, silently gazing at the gently flowing Pearl River, lost in thought.

Since that day at Dafu Mountain, he and Sufiel had been going out to play during the day and returning home at night, only going back to the hotel late at night to rest. During this time, they also used the [Eye of Insight] to check the house, finding a lot of dirt that had accumulated over the years and renovating many places.

He bought two rounds of luxury goods, including bags and watches, before stopping only after Li Hongyi explicitly told him to. Even so, he still felt it wasn't enough.

Today, I'm going back to school, or maybe America.

The sunlight outside the window seemed to awaken the girl with the graceful figure on the bed. She opened her eyes and immediately looked for the young man's location until she saw him in front of the French windows.

"Actually, there's still quite a bit of time before school starts, so we can stay a few more days."

She pressed the blankets to her chest and propped herself up against the headboard.

"Excuse me, did I wake you up?"

Li Xiaoen turned around, a smile immediately spreading across his face. He drew the curtains and walked over. "The journey is over. Now, Miss Suffer, please give us a score for this trip. How many points would you like to give?"

"Um……"

With a slight smile playing on her lips, Sophie feigned contemplation, casually tilting her swan-like neck back. "Nine points, nine points, I suppose."

"Two scores?"

"One is for this trip, and the other is for our tour guide."

Sophie looked at the young man meaningfully, "I can tell you that the maximum score for a trip is ten, but what about the tour guide..."

"I never expected that I would get almost a perfect score."

Li Xiaoen interjected, "Hey, Su Feier, do you think I'd be famous if I switched careers and became a tour guide?"

Mu Ran stared at the young man's narrowed eyes. Su Feier kicked at him from under the covers, but as if anticipated, the young man's hands were already pressed on the bedding on both sides.

"Ha ha……"

He chuckled twice, cupped the girl's cheek, and kissed her red lips before standing up. "Hurry up and get ready. My parents' flight is this morning, and they should arrive much earlier."

Lifting the covers, Suffer still handed the young man his underwear. Li Xiaoen didn't say anything and helped him get dressed quickly.

After packing all their luggage, the two went downstairs earlier than agreed. Sure enough, they were greeted by Li Hongyi and Meng Wanyu, who had just walked in, in the lobby on the first floor.

After a quick breakfast, the four of them arrived at Baiyun Airport.

"Take good care of yourself while you're in America, okay?"

With a reluctant hug, Meng Wanyu looked up and suddenly realized that the mischievous child from back then had grown up, made money through successful investments, taken on household chores, and even bought them many things.

He's only just started university, and he's only nineteen years old.

Thinking of this, Meng Wanyu's eyes couldn't help but redden.

"mom……"

With a helpless shrug, Li Xiaoen was both amused and exasperated. "I'm going to school, not to Mars. What are you doing?"

"Or do you really want the stars in the sky? You should leave that to your dad."

"What are you saying, you brat?"

Meng Wanyu couldn't help but roll her eyes and scolded him. The melancholy of parting that had been building up in her heart instantly dissipated. She reached out to help straighten the young man's shirt. "Your father and I won't force you to achieve anything. You're studying in America. Take a break when you're tired. Be sure to be careful, okay?"

"Don't worry, I will."

Li Xiaoen nodded, a smile creeping onto his face. He looked at Meng Wanyu and Li Hongyi, saying, "Dad, Mom, please trust your upbringing. I will establish myself in America and buy a villa there. Whether you choose China or America, it's up to you to enjoy your life."

"Alright, there's no need to say these things beforehand."

Even Meng Wanyu, who had great confidence in her son, rolled her eyes and turned to bid Su Feier a reluctant farewell.

Turning his head, Li Xiaoen looked at his father.

"Safety first, that's the most important thing. Secondly, go ahead and do whatever you're thinking. You have support, so if things don't go well, just come back."

Li Hongyi didn't say much, just smiled and nodded.

"Ah."

Without further ado, Li Xiaoen smiled and nodded before waving goodbye to Su Feier.

After passing through security and waiting in the VIP lounge for a short while, the two boarded the plane to New York. After nearly 22 hours, from the scorching heat to the snowy landscape of New York, they arrived safely at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Wearing the thick coat her mother had repeatedly told her to wear, Li Xiaoen pushed her suitcase, took out her phone, and looked down to let her parents know she was safe. The girl next to her then hugged her arm.

Are you going back to your villa in the Ridgeview Estates community first?

"nature."

Li Xiaoen nodded. "Speaking of which, I haven't even enjoyed my villa for more than a few days since I bought it."

Suffer nodded seriously upon hearing this.

"I've been away from home for too long, I need to go back and stay for two days, then I'll come find you again."

"really?"

Li Xiaoen raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't want to part with you even for two days."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the girl's face darken, and Li Xiaoen couldn't help but smile and nod.

"Go back, spend some time with your parents, I'll wait for you there."

As they spoke, the two arrived outside the airport. Ignoring their hair, which was disheveled by the strong wind, they were immediately drawn to the swirling snowflakes.

Is this the beginning of a blizzard?

Li Xiaoen exhaled, and the breath condensed into white mist in front of him and dissipated.

"Based on past experience, there will be heavy snowfall in New York this month, but I have never seen such strong winds before."

Suffer's voice was tinged with worry as she glanced at the young man.

Just then, a handsome young man in a suit walked up to the two of them.

"Sean, I'm glad to see you at last."

Even though he had read the young man's information many times before, Jasper couldn't help but look Li Xiaoen up and down, and greeted him with a smile, "I'm Suffer's brother, Jasper."

"Hello, nice to meet you."

Shifting his gaze from the other person's blue eyes and the tall, muscular security personnel in black behind them, Li Xiaoen nodded and extended his hand. "You've seen my file?"

"Ha ha……"

Faced with the young man's blunt question and his sister's sullen expression, Jasper nodded and laughed twice. "After all, you tricked my sister into going to China, and you still need me to help cover it up so our parents won't find out. I'd better investigate carefully before I feel at ease."

"I would be very upset if my father found out."

"Um……"

Li Xiaoen glanced sideways at the girl who had taken it upon herself to call him at the airport during his class reunion, and nodded, "Thank you for your trouble."

"Yes, it's no trouble at all."

Jasper smiled and nodded, then gestured to a Lincoln limousine parked not far away, "Let's get in first, it's cold in here."

"So, did you have a good time in Yuecheng?"

Once in the car, Jasper glanced at Suffer sitting opposite Li Xiaoen, next to him, and casually asked with a smile, "I still remember Pengcheng, which is next to Yuecheng, for its achievements in the field of technology..."

……

As they chatted, the car started smoothly and sped off toward New Jersey. To Li Xiaoen's surprise, he didn't feel much braking.

After being dropped off in front of his villa, Sean Lee said goodbye to Jasper and his sister. Only after entering his own house and feeling the fresh and warm air inside did he raise his hand and shout.

With just over a week left before school starts, he can stay in his own luxurious villa.

After putting down my luggage, I walked to the swimming pool in the backyard and saw that the pool was already filled with crystal-clear water despite the falling snow. I did some light exercise and then jumped in.

This is the upgrade location he selected using the [Base Component Self-Selection Card] he received from his last family mission: a fully intelligent furniture control system.

He had already turned it on when he got off the plane, increased the ventilation and heating in the villa, and refilled the swimming pool.

"call--"

Despite having warmed up beforehand and feeling the cold water seeping into every pore, Li Xiaoen couldn't help but exhale a long breath and swim with even more effort.

It's said that taking a cold shower in winter helps boost immunity, so if he goes winter swimming, wouldn't that make him even stronger?

Unable to contain his inner turmoil, Li Xiaoen swam back and forth several times until the novelty of returning faded and his limbs began to feel weak and heavy, before finally getting ashore.

After tidying up his luggage, just as he started to fry the steak, the system screen appeared at the right time.

[Virtual Time Pool: Successfully charged: 20%]

[Virtual Time Pool: 100% charged]

"..."

Has something happened to Suffer?

Li Xiaoen paused for a moment, checked his phone, but no messages came through.

During the few days he spent with Su Feier in Yuecheng, he gradually accumulated some energy from the [Virtual Time Pool]. Based on his previous experience, it seemed that charging was not a bad thing for him.

Unable to trace the source of this energy, Li Xiaoen used up his lottery chance for the month as well.

[100% charge consumed, no gains obtained]

"..."

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained a message in a bottle after using one fishing opportunity this month]

Without dwelling too much on whether it was right or wrong, Li Xiaoen casually opened it.

On January 5th, 20xx, thanks to my eldest sister's hard work and the combined efforts of the rest of us, our Gallagher family finally prepared our winter fund. Seeing the snowstorm getting heavier outside, we are still confident that we can get through this winter safely.
On January 6, 20xx, our mother, Monica, who had been away from home for a long time, returned. She suddenly became very kind, showing concern for us children who had been separated for so many years, hugging us, and even cooking for us. Aside from our father's persistent alcoholism, our eldest sister, who had been taking care of our entire family, finally breathed a sigh of relief and was even encouraged by our mother to attend night school. We felt more confident about getting through this winter…
On January 7, 20xx, while everyone else was out, Monica was rummaging through the kitchen for food when she unexpectedly discovered her winter savings hidden in a baby formula can. She stole it and squandered it all. When her family returned and found out, they were devastated…
On January 8, 20xx, a real blizzard struck. The entire state of New Jersey was shrouded in darkness and snow, and Camden was no exception. Every delivery person who came to help raised prices, more than tripling the cost of food and heating supplies. We had no money; we couldn't afford food, let alone heating…
On January 9, 20xx, we burned some of the furniture in our house; my eldest sister had to borrow money from loan sharks; and my brothers stole canned food from the supermarket…
January 10, 20xx...
"..."

There really is a blizzard.

Looking at the entries in the bottle, which resembled a child's diary, Li Xiaoen shook his head and sighed.

It's often said that America is a free country with high wages and excellent welfare, but there are still people at the bottom struggling to survive.

He might be able to save one family, but there will always be a second, a third, and countless other impoverished families. Helping them up doesn't rely on individual ability—moreover, he only knows that this family is in Camden, New Jersey, and has no other information to offer, nor can he do anything about it.

After calming himself down, Li Xiaoen decided to take care of himself in this country where he was all alone. He quickly finished his steak and drove to a nearby supermarket.

I bought a month's worth of steaks and all kinds of meat and vegetables, and even a non-electric heating device, filling the entire trunk and other seats of the car before driving back.

Oh, and that golden eagle too. Make sure it doesn't get hurt in that forest because of your orders.

Suddenly remembering this, Li Xiaoen changed direction and drove towards the forest. It was the same scene he had seen at the orientation event at the beginning of last semester. Now, revisiting the place, looking at the farm and the entire forest behind it in the distance, Li Xiaoen felt quite emotional.

Hey, do you have an appointment?

I was stopped at the entrance of the farm. An employee wearing overalls and with thick arms walked over quickly and waved his arms, saying, "Without an appointment, the farm will not provide hospitality."

Has your business model changed?

Li Xiaoen paused for a moment, parked the car on the side of the road, got out and looked around the entire farm and the forest behind it.

Mingming, when they came as a group for the last welcome event, they encountered quite a few tourists who came by chance out of interest. Is it because Serafina reported their illegal underground dog fighting activities that this happened?

With doubts in his heart, Li Xiaoen was about to speak when he saw a golden eagle fly down from the sky and land steadily on the wooden fence next to him.

"..."

"Okay, looks like I don't need to go in."

Seeing the golden eagle fly back to the ground and rub its head against his calf, Li Xiaoen smiled helplessly and raised his hand.

"Is this...your pet?"

Staring in shock, the man looked the golden eagle up and down, then at the young Chinese man in front of him. "You should know that it's illegal to keep wild animals as pets."

“After being punished for the last violation, our farm has been very vigilant about these things.”

"No, you misunderstood."

Li Xiaoen waved his hand, "I encountered this golden eagle last time I came here, maybe it recognizes me and that's why it's acting this way."

After saying this, Li Xiaoen bent down and reached out to touch the golden eagle, but immediately startled it and made it fly away.

"You see, that's it."

With a shrug, Li Xiaoen offered no further explanation, turned around, got back into his car, and drove away quickly.

Why do I feel like there's something strange about this?

Watching the Maserati sports car drive away into the distance, the man couldn't help but frown. The next moment, he saw the golden eagle that had been circling in the sky turn its direction and follow it in the air, leaving him stunned in place.

This big bird has really stuck with him.

On the first floor of the villa, Li Xiaoen sipped the coffee he had bought and watched the golden eagle standing on the table, wolfing down raw beef. He couldn't help but ponder to himself.

His previous instructions to the golden eagle were to return to that forest and leave to migrate if any unexpected situation arose. He never expected that it would stay there during this blizzard.

Stroking the silky feathers on the golden eagle's back, Li Xiaoen stepped into the backyard of the house and found a few unused steel pipes on the side of the house and fence. He then built a simple perch outside the window of the first-floor storage room.

"You can stay here for now. Build your own nest, and if you get cold, just fly out the window into the storage room."

Li Xiaoen glanced at the intelligent-looking golden eagle, gave it a casual word of advice, and then turned and went back into the house.

When spring comes, it would be better to transplant a tree from there.

As he walked up the stairs, Li Xiaoen pondered that in order to prevent the golden eagle from losing its ability to fly and hunt, and to avoid a situation like that in the zoo, he did not plan to feed the golden eagle indefinitely. Instead, he would give it a nest and let it find its own food.

Life gradually got back on track and things started to get better; the house even had pets.

Somewhat amusingly, Li Xiaoen returned to his room and sat down at the table.

Sophie will be back for two days, which will give him time to fully refine the reasoning model at its current stage and finish writing the paper.

For machine learning reasoning models, given the topic of human-computer interaction in his project, there is no way to determine a final result. The only thing to do is to improve them little by little, striving to make the reasoning model more and more closely resemble the user's psychological intentions.

What he's doing now is simply getting closer to the current field.

The time for retrieving the advanced learning card had arrived. After successfully retrieving it, he was even more adept at handling the project. Based on his previous experience, his knowledge level had probably reached that of a doctoral student.

With his mind racing, Li Xiaoen suddenly increased the speed at which he typed on the keyboard.

The wind and snow outside grew heavier and heavier, and the forests and grasslands outside the house were covered in a thick layer of snow. The lawns in front of every house in the community were covered with a thick layer of snow. It wasn't until two days later that the residents of the community realized that a blizzard was coming. They braved the wind and snow and drove out to buy enough supplies to store inside their houses.

Even the energetic golden eagles, which soar through the sky and occasionally bring back hares and squirrels from the forest, obediently hid inside the warm house.

Standing in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the devastating snowstorm outside, Li Xiaoen sipped his hot coffee and felt a sense of relief and ease.

Seeing that it was almost time, Li Xiaoen turned around and went downstairs, opened the door, and went to greet a car that had just been parked smoothly on the side of the road.

The car door opened, revealing Suffer wearing a thick down jacket and a hat.

"are not you cold?"

He waved and signaled the car to leave. The two quickly walked back into the house. Suffer couldn't help but turn his head and ask a question, his breath quickly condensing into white mist.

"It's alright, my body can handle it."

Li Xiaoen shrugged. "I'm going to go winter swimming in the pool."

"Really? In this kind of weather?"

Sophie raised an eyebrow, pushed open the door and went inside. She saw a large bird perched on the stair railing, paused, and nodded knowingly. "You don't need to say anything, I believe you."

"..."

"I don't know either, it flew here by itself."

Glancing at the self-important golden eagle, Li Xiaoen forced a helpless smile.

"Yes, I believe you. It's just that the animals are more friendly towards you."

Sophie nodded in agreement, walked to the stairs, stroked the golden eagle's feathers, and said casually, "I'll call Serafina over a few tigers and cheetahs another day, and you can help train them."

"I haven't tried it; that sense of familiarity might not necessarily work on those wild beasts."

Li Xiaoen shrugged, but saw that Su Feier ignored him and went upstairs with her suitcase.

"I'm going upstairs to take a shower, it's freezing in this weather."

Reluctantly turning back from the girl's retreating figure, Li Xiaoen glared at the golden eagle that seemed to be seeking praise and flattery, then turned and walked towards the pool.

He didn't know what to say for a moment. Was the golden eagle clever or stupid? It had been quietly staying in the storage room, but it had just come out on its own, and now it was acting as if it was welcoming Sophie.

Winter swimming greatly improved his lung capacity. Li Xiaoen felt the most obvious improvement for several days in a row, and only returned to his room when he was exhausted.

Do you actually have the superpower to make animals obey you?

He sat at the table, finishing his final paper, while Sophie, who was lying on the headboard, repeatedly turned her head to look at him from her iPad. Finally, she couldn't help but kick him.

She kept waiting for the young man to confess to her, but he remained indifferent and did nothing.

"Really, no. If I could really control animals and wanted to hide it from you, would I have let that golden eagle appear in front of you?"

Li Xiaoen spread his hands and explained, "Besides, if I really had that superpower, would I have needed to use a gun to defend myself against the pit bull I encountered during the orientation event?"

"..."

"I really feel like you're hiding a lot from me."

Seeing the young man's eyes narrow slightly, Suffer murmured a sound.

"Hey, look..."

Li Xiaoen looked at the past meaningfully, "If you can't win an argument, and there's no chain of evidence, not even a hint of suspicion, then you resort to this tactic again, don't you?"

Sophie paused for a moment, then launched a series of kicks at the young man.

"hey-hey……"

Helplessly raising his hand to block, Li Xiaoen was both amused and exasperated. "Sufeier, are you angry because you've been exposed?"

"I'm writing my thesis right now. Once I finish it, it'll be your turn to wear the maid outfit."

"dream!"

Gritting his teeth and shouting, Suffer kicked even harder.

"Ha ha……"

Li Xiaoen laughed twice, picked up his laptop and walked out of the room. "I know this is a difficult problem for you. I'll wait for you to slowly prepare yourself mentally."

The door closed as the words fell. Sophie stared silently at the doorway for a while, then looked down and glanced at the room where she was all alone. She couldn't help but take a deep breath.

"It's all your fault!"

After going down the stairs, Li Xiaoen glared at the excited golden eagle that was looking over, then sat down on the sofa and started typing on the keyboard again.

After the heavy snow, let's set up a study on the second floor and put the best computer there.

Li Xiaoen pondered this in his heart, and then a strange feeling arose in his heart.

Why does it give me the feeling of a pitiful husband being kicked out of his room by his wife after a conflict?
Shaking his head, Li Xiaoen focused all his attention on his thesis. The thesis was almost finished, and the feeling of being on the last hurdle gave him a lot of motivation.

After an unknown amount of time, a figure suddenly appeared in his line of sight, and he couldn't help but look up.

What came into view was a black and white maid dress. Li Xiaoen's mind went blank for a moment. He subconsciously looked up and saw that his usually arrogant oval face was now extremely conflicted.

Noticing the young man's gaze, Suffer's body tensed up involuntarily, and she turned her head to avoid his gaze.

"Alright, I've kept my promise. I don't owe you anything."

She uttered a soft sentence, then realized with shock that her voice was trembling. She turned around in a panic and headed up the stairs.

"Hey……"

Suddenly snapping out of her daze, Li Xiaoen quickly reached out and grabbed Su Feier's hand. Only then did she notice that the laptop that had been on her lap was falling down, and she hurriedly caught it in her arms.

"Sophie, could you please get me a glass of water?"

Li Xiaoen looked up and asked tentatively.

"..."

Biting her lip, Sophie felt uneasy all over. After a moment of hesitation, she quickly grabbed the kettle in front of the sofa, poured a glass, and handed it to the young man.

"Ok?"

Li Xiaoen's expression suddenly changed, and he looked up at her, "What kind of attitude is this? Is this how you serve your master?"

Upon hearing this, Suffer's body stiffened. She turned her head indifferently, staring blankly at the young man sitting on the sofa with wide eyes, her mouth slightly open, unable to react for a long time.

"f**k you..."

Almost roaring, Suffer was furious when she realized what was happening. Her full chest heaved as she raised her leg and kicked the young man hard.

"Ha ha……"

Unable to suppress a burst of laughter, Li Xiaoen quickly lay down on the sofa to dodge the attack, but Su Feier took the opportunity to stand on the sofa and kicked out with her other foot.

"Oh, it's just a joke, just a joke..."

Li Xiaoen smiled and dodged, but unfortunately, this sentence seemed to have angered Su Feier again, and she relentlessly "chased after" him.

(End of this chapter)