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

Chapter 200 Has Sophie's strategy changed again?
[Congratulations, host, you have obtained a message in a bottle after using one fishing opportunity this month]

It was already the morning of the second day.

Around noon, Li Xiaoen walked back to his dormitory from the school cafeteria. He used the time-pool energy he had accumulated during this time to draw a prize. He paused for a moment when he saw the prompt on the screen in front of him, and then opened it.

[June 6, 19xx. Soon, the largest townhouse complex in California will be completed. My commission will be huge when it sells. I can't wait to check out the newest car.]

[On June 7, 19xx, I noticed something strange today. On my way to work, I passed a secluded, undeveloped intersection and saw our chief engineer standing next to a luxury car, bowing and scraping as if talking to some important person inside. They seemed to have noticed me, and I was so scared that I quickly hid. I don't know if they noticed me or not.]

[June 8, 19xx. Today I tested my supervisor, the chief engineer of the construction team. Fortunately, he didn't notice me, which I'm glad, but I can't help but pay more attention to his actions now. I saw him call a few construction workers aside for a private talk. They seemed to be plotting something. I don't know. God help me, I don't want to get involved in any trouble.]

June 9th, 19xx. Oh no, it's like the sky has fallen, God! The company's newly built community caught fire, destroying all the work we've worked on for years, and my bonus is gone too. Was it the chief engineer? I don't know, but his suspicious behavior beforehand makes me suspicious. Should I report him? But I've heard he has powerful connections, so I don't dare. I've lost my money, and I'm being tortured mentally. I'm in so much pain…

On June 10, 19xx, because it consisted of townhouses, despite the most urgent firefighting efforts, half of our community was burned down. Even if the remaining half were sold at a 6% discount, no one dared to buy it. I had already dropped out of school and was at home. The chief engineer's actions during those two days kept replaying in my mind, and I was extremely conflicted.

[On June 11, 19xx, the company suffered huge losses. The project manager, even Louis, the eldest son of the company's CEO, had no choice but to step down and let his second son, Samuel, take over. In a news interview, he said that anyone who provided any clues would be rewarded with one million dollars. One million dollars would be enough for our family to live on for a long time and buy a lot of things. I want to try it.]

[June 12, 19xx. Oh my God, forgive my sins. Today I went and told the chief engineer everything I saw that was suspicious, and I got my million-dollar check. But when I saw Samuel drive away, his car looked exactly like the one I had spoken to the chief engineer in that day. Just as I was filled with fear, someone put their arm around my shoulder from behind, and that car stopped...]

"..."

After seeing the fire in the community, Li Xiaoen frowned deeply. He slowly read through the article and tried to search on his phone without success. He rushed into his dormitory, not even bothering to greet Daniel, who was unusually back. He went back to his room and searched on his computer, but could only find relevant information in the photographed newspaper.

Looking at the young, handsome figure in the newspaper, clearly a white elite, he finally let out a long sigh.

Louis Marceau.

Another real estate company, and another one named Louis—it's clear we can't afford to take any chances. Li Xiaoen couldn't help but shake his head with amusement.

He had only seen images of his father online when he was searching for Su Feier's family company, and he never expected that the message in the system's message bottle would bring news of his long-standing injustice.

After all these years, let's find more relevant information before telling Suffer.

With no classes in the afternoon, Li Xiaoen sat back down at the computer and began carefully searching for any information about that incident.

He didn't know how much time had passed until he couldn't help but yawn, at which point Li Xiaoen suddenly came to his senses.

He had been preoccupied with this matter and had even forgotten about his daily midday nap. Just as he was about to go to bed for a short rest, his phone rang at an inopportune moment.

It's Serafina's.

After a moment's hesitation, Li Xiaoen pressed the answer button.

"Sean, I've brought all your prizes from my birthday party to Victoria Dorm. You can take them back with you."

"Ok."

After thinking it over, Li Xiaoen gave up the idea of ​​taking a nap, got dressed, and went out.

After knocking on the door and waiting for Victoria's reply, Li Xiaoen pushed the door open and entered. He glanced at the sofa in the living room and, sure enough, all four girls were there.

Don't you have classes in the afternoon?

Li Xiaoen asked, slumping onto the single sofa beside him.
"Sean, are you very tired?"

Victoria, who had intended to make a lighthearted joke about the young man, was taken aback by what she saw.

"I usually take a nap, but I missed it today because of something."

With his face pressed against the soft sofa, and a faint fragrance filling his nostrils, Li Xiaoen spoke in a slightly muffled voice.

"is it?"

Victoria smiled sheepishly and glanced at her other friends. "Looks like we've bothered you."

"What do you mean 'disturbing'? I'm too happy to tell him."

Serafina rolled her eyes and took the bait, tossing the car keys to Lee Shawn as he turned to look at her.

"The gifts we won are all in the car. You can just drive them back later."

Serafina was clearly unhappy when she said this.

"You don't want this car anymore?"

He took the key in his hand and looked at it. It was the key to the Aston Martin DBS Superleggera Volante, the grand prize he had won last night. Li Xiaoen raised an eyebrow and looked over.

You see, after he got back, he curiously checked and found that the top-of-the-line convertible sports car was worth about six hundred thousand US dollars.

"Henry found out that I took your reward and made me return it to you."

Serafina rolled her eyes and offered an indignant explanation.

"is it?"

Li Xiaoen paused for a moment, then chuckled.

"So, at your birthday party, I was the biggest winner, wasn't I?"

Li Xiaoen rolled over on the single sofa, lay horizontally on it, put her legs and head on the armrests, and stared blankly at the ceiling of the living room.

Ah, if only I had a lap pillow.

He couldn't help but fantasize, but unfortunately, it was impossible under the current circumstances.

call……

A soft whooshing sound rang out, and a ball-shaped black shadow flew over quickly and hit him. Li Xiaoen glanced down, picked up the pillow and put it on his stomach, then closed his eyes again.

"Thank you."

"what……"

He could hear Serafina grinding her teeth in annoyance, but thankfully his goddess of victory, Victoria, was there. Listening to the girls' hushed, comforting voices, Lee Shawn closed his eyes and couldn't help but smile slightly.

The weather was still cold at the end of January, but the room was very warm and had a faint fragrance. Li Xiaoen, who had only intended to take a nap, gradually felt his eyelids grow heavy and quickly lost consciousness.

After an unknown amount of time, Li Xiaoen heard a noisy commotion in his hazy consciousness. He frowned slightly, took a deep breath, and struggled to open his eyes.

What came into view were Victoria and Serafina, and Mary's seemingly jostling and laughing figures. Sean Lee frowned in confusion and propped himself up to sit up.

Only now did his consciousness slowly return, and he stared blankly at the various colors of paint clearly visible on the fingers of the girls.

Did you get my permission?

Upon hearing this, the three girls paused for a moment, turned around and looked over at the same time. Victoria even bit her lip, but still couldn't suppress the smile on her lips.

“This is the kind of thing we have to do to deal with bastards like you.”

Serafina spoke again, righteously and without a trace of guilt, and her words were met with nods of agreement from Victoria and Mary.

After silently watching the girls for a while, Li Xiaoen took out his phone, turned on the front camera, looked at the messy scribbles on his face and forehead, sighed and nodded repeatedly.

"As expected, even so, I'm still so handsome."

"shameless!"

A few girls rolled their eyes at me.

"Hey……"

He was about to wash his face when he saw Serafina suddenly stick her entire hand out, covered in paint. Li Xiaoen exclaimed in surprise, tumbling off the sofa in fright. "Doing this in front of me? Aren't you being a bit too arrogant?"

"Humph……"

With a soft hum, Serafina didn't answer, but instead raised her hands and leg and moved closer again.

"That's how you play, right?"

Li Xiaoen quickly dodged, looked around, and saw Victoria holding the bowl of paint, so he moved closer.

"Sean, don't go too far."

Seeing the young man get paint on both hands, Victoria's heart jumped, and she quickly warned him.

"I know."

Li Xiaoen smiled and gave the girl a reassuring nod. Then, he raised his hand and ran his fingers across her fair face.

The slightly damp touch was fleeting, and Victoria was stunned for a moment, staring at the young man with her mouth agape in disbelief.

As he looked over in shock, Li Xiaoen glanced at him and then reached out and drew a line on his other cheek.

"Sean..."

Finally realizing what was happening, Victoria cried out and hurriedly reached her hand into the bowl of paint.

“This is a response, Miss Victoria.”

With an amused explanation, Lee Shawn turned around, looked at Serafina who was standing there in fright, and walked over with a cold smile.

"Ah... ah—"

With a panicked scream, Serafina turned to run away, but was immediately grabbed by the arm by Sean Lee…

Outside, snow was falling heavily, and the cold air seeped into the clothes of every passerby, making them quicken their pace. Inside the second-floor house, it was warm as spring, and excited screams echoed throughout the hall.

After a while of fussing, the girls finally sat back down on the sofa, exhausted. Their eyes, however, still held an unyielding fighting spirit as they looked at the young man.

Don't look at me like that.

Li Xiaoen rested his arms on his knees, amused as he met the three pairs of eyes. "The three of you are ganging up on me, and you still have the nerve to look at me like that?"

"You're a man!"

Serafina glared at him, and because she was the one who provoked him first, the young man paid the most attention to her.

"What's wrong with the man?"

Li Xiaoen shrugged dismissively, "I support gender equality."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but laugh when he saw that Serafina's face and even her neck, all the skin exposed except for her T-shirt, was covered in paint.

If the color were changed to red, Serafina would look exactly like Guan Yu right now.

"Alright, alright, let's go wash up. I'll cook dinner, and we'll all eat together."

Seeing Serafina's face darken again, Victoria quickly tried to smooth things over with a laugh.

The group got up and squeezed into the washroom on the first floor. After washing for a short while, Li Xiaoen turned around and looked back.

"what happened?"

Already worn out by the young man and unable to defeat him in a fight, Serafina narrowed her eyes as she looked at Sean Lee. "Serafina, this paint...it can't be washed off..."

Li Xiaoen murmured, and Serafina was stunned for a moment. She looked down at the paint all over her body and froze in place as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.

"Sean!"

While still cleaning the remaining paint off her face in front of the mirror, Victoria turned around upon hearing this and playfully patted the young man's arm, "Don't scare Seraphina, it'll wash off!"

Upon hearing this, Serafina opened her mouth wide and slowly came to her senses.

"Don't worry, Serafina, how could my paint not be washable?"

Turning back, Victoria quickly explained, gesturing to the fact that the paint had been washed off her arm, restoring its original fair complexion.

"what--"

Realizing what had happened, Serafina became furious. Gritting her teeth, she searched around and saw that Victoria had already poured out the previous paint. She had no choice but to raise her hand and pounce on Sean Lee again.

"I want to duel with you!"

"Alright, Sean was just joking..."

Having already prepared herself, Victoria quickly stepped in to stop them. She was both amused and exasperated by the two who were causing such a ruckus. She turned around and glared at them, saying, "Sean, go wash up in the kitchen."

"Oh alright."

Sensing the situation was turning bad, Li Xiaoen nodded and quickly slipped out.

When they arrived in the kitchen, the girls' voices quieted down considerably. Li Xiaoen took a deep breath, washed the paint off his clothes, and fell into deep thought again.

He had already asked Suffer about it when he was smearing paint on each other with the girls. Suffer had left because of something, and he had no doubt that the girl left because of him.

Sophie was very clever, and he had almost never been able to figure out what the girl was thinking. Seeing that she had acted close and ambiguous with him in front of several girls in Victoria, and now she left on her own, he just couldn't figure out what the girl was thinking.

Has her strategy changed again?

After sending several messages, and seeing that Su Feier hadn't replied to any of them, Li Xiaoen started to feel a bit of a toothache.

With something on his mind, Li Xiaoen endured Serafina's hostile gaze, finished a quick dinner, and then drove off in his new car.

To be honest, having connections is really helpful. The paperwork for the new car is complete and it's already registered in his name. The relevant documents will be sent over tomorrow.

With a sigh in his heart, Li Xiaoen parked the car in front of the dormitory, took the various fishing gear, ties, shoes and other items from the trunk back to the dormitory's storage room, leaving only the sunglasses in the car.

While enjoying the cozy atmosphere inside the new car, Li Xiaoen called Su Feier.

He didn't answer the phone until it automatically disconnected. After a moment's hesitation, he dialed again, but still to no avail. He had no choice but to send a message to the girl.

Are you busy? Reply to my message when you see this; I'm worried about you.
After sending the message, Li Xiaoen hesitated for a moment, then dialed the number a third time. Sure enough, this time the call was answered.

Li Xiaoen picked it up and held it to his ear, then chuckled helplessly.

"what's up?"

Sophie's cold voice came through the phone.

"It's nothing, I just didn't answer your messages or calls, and I was worried about you. Hearing your voice makes me feel better."

Li Xiaoen said slowly, "You have something to do this afternoon. What is it? Do you need my help?"

"Are you checking up on me?"

Sophie gave a cold laugh, leaned back in her chair, and let out a long sigh. "So you want me to stand there and watch you flirt with them?"

The young man didn't respond to her question. Sophie gritted her teeth and sneered, "What? Have you become mute again?"

"I didn't know they were going to draw on my face."

Li Xiaoen offered an explanation.

"And what about before that? What were you arguing with them about?"

"There was no pestering, wasn't it just a normal chat?"

"..."

Would you like to come here?

After a moment of hesitation, Suffer spoke again.

"Yes, I want to be with you."

"36th floor, 277 Fifth Avenue, Midtown Manhattan, New York."

After saying that, Suffer hung up the phone. Li Xiaoen stared at his phone silently, lost in thought.

Why does it feel like when the two of them first met, Suffer told him to go out and get beaten up?

Things are very different now. Sophie can no longer beat him, but considering their relationship, he may still "lose" in the end.

With this worst-case scenario in mind, Sean Lee took the opportunity to thoroughly experience the new car as he drove towards New York.

After parking the car nearby, it was already 9 p.m. when Li Xiaoen passed through the pre-arranged access control and arrived at the 36th floor.

Eclat Intelligence.

Stepping out of the elevator, Li Xiaoen immediately noticed a set of words clearly marked on the sign. He muttered the words to himself and looked around at the company's overall layout.

Eclat is French for "brilliant," and the company's name literally translates to "Brilliant Intelligence." Is this the internet company under Sophie's name?

Fortunately, he had studied French systematically, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to understand even the company name.

While internally complaining, Li Xiaoen walked towards the front desk and was soon greeted by a graceful woman in a bodycon skirt uniform.

"Hello, are you Mr. Li Xiaoen?"

"Yes."

Li Xiaoen nodded and was led past a large work area where some people were sitting, finally arriving at the door of a quiet office.

After receiving a response from the receptionist when she knocked on the door, Li Xiaoen was guided inside.

Turning her gaze from the tightly closed door, Li Xiaoen looked at Su Feier, who was sitting at her desk intently looking at her computer, and couldn't help but feel a little curious.

Although she was wearing casual clothes, the girl's suddenly focused and composed demeanor made her look like a sophisticated urban woman and a business elite.

"This is the first time I've seen this side of you."

With a joke, Li Xiaoen looked around the spacious office and moved to sit opposite Su Feier.

"..."

Receiving no response, Li Xiaoen's smile froze, and he spoke again, "Suffolk, shall I come over and take a look?"

There was still no response. Li Xiaoen pondered for a moment and was about to get up when there was another knock on the office door. It was only after Su Feier responded that the door was opened again.

A young woman in a new bodycon skirt, wearing a name tag on her chest, walked in carrying two cups of coffee. She placed them in front of the two women before bowing slightly and leaving.

"Coffee?"

Li Xiaoen stared at the drink for a moment, then looked up to see that Su Feier had already picked it up and taken a sip.

"Drink up, you won't have a chance to sleep until very late tonight."

Only then did Sophie speak to him softly.

"why?"

Li Xiaoen raised an eyebrow, and seeing that the girl didn't answer, he changed his question, "You're busy, is there anything I can do to help?"

"You don't have to do anything."

Looking up from her computer, Suffer finally glanced over and smiled. "Weren't you coming? Just sit here and keep me company while I work overtime."

"..."

Their eyes met, but Li Xiaoen looked away first, lowering her gaze to the coffee in front of her. She picked it up, touched it to her lips, felt the temperature, and took a large sip.

"Um……"

With a casual hum, Sophie lowered her head and looked back at the computer screen in front of her.

Although he wasn't given permission, Li Xiaoen still got up and went to Su Feier's side. Looking at the various charts and dense technical terms on the screen, he couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed.

"Are these your company's various reports?"

Suffer did not respond. Looking at Li Xiaoen, her heart sank. She nodded helplessly, "Okay, you go ahead and do your work. I'll stay here with you."

After saying that, Li Xiaoen sighed, turned around, and sat down on the sofa not far from the office.

After looking at his phone for a while out of boredom, he hugged a cushion, tilted his head back, and closed his eyes.

Suffering from the frequent attention drawn to the young man on the sofa, Suffer noticed that he was lying on his back as if fast asleep. Suffer's eyes narrowed slightly, and she lost all interest in looking at the reports on her computer.

She stared intently at the other party, and seeing that they made no move, she let out a long breath, got up, and walked over.

Looking down at Li Xiaoen's sleeping face, Su Feier bent down and reached out, but after thinking for a moment, she withdrew her hand, took off her high heel, and kicked the pillow in front of the young man's chest and abdomen.

"Hey……"

A loud shout suddenly rang out. Before Suffer could react, the young man had firmly grabbed her kicking foot. Looking up, she saw that Li Xiaoen's eyes were open, but they were clear and full of energy.

"Sufeil..."

Li Xiaoen gritted his teeth and looked at the girl helplessly, "Sneaking into someone while they're asleep, isn't that incredibly rude of you?"

"You're not asleep?"

Instead of answering, Sophie asked a question, her brows furrowing slightly. She tried to pull her foot back but couldn't, so she glared at him, "You liar, why aren't you letting go?"

"Is this the attitude of someone who took advantage of another's misfortune and was then caught red-handed?"

Li Xiaoen asked with a leisurely smile, unmoved by the girl's gradually gloomy expression, and pulled her over with force.

"what……"

Losing her balance, Suffer cried out in surprise and fell towards the young man.

(End of this chapter)