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

Chapter 209 Is this where he's waiting?

The pistol that Mengkel was carrying was a Smith & Wesson M&P with an 8-round magazine. He had fired one round earlier in the field outside the suite, and he emptied the magazine yesterday when he faced Father White.

According to subsequent revelations, the truth is that Father White did not personally commit the crime against the two children, but rather invited other colleagues who came to his home as guests. This is why he was able to have the potential to become a diocesan bishop.

It was already the next morning when Li Xiaoen and his companion learned the whole truth from the latest news reports. After this incident, they lost all interest in sightseeing and immediately set off to return.

However, while the experiences of others filled him with emotion, his own situation left him somewhat at a loss. After escorting Suffer back to her dormitory, Li Xiaoen saw Victoria and several other girls waiting at the door.

"..."

"You told them?"

Turning blankly to look at Suffer, Li Xiaoen asked, completely bewildered.

“Victoria asked me first where I had been these past few days, and I told her.”

With a nonchalant smile, Suffer answered and the car stopped. Before Li Xiaoen could react, there was a knock on the right window, and Victoria had arrived.

Open the car window.

"How's it going? How did things turn out?"

Without looking at Li Xiaoen, Victoria asked Suffer with concern.

"Um……"

Sophie smiled and nodded. "With Sean's help, things are progressing very smoothly."

"Oh, that's good."

Victoria breathed a sigh of relief and then looked up. "You must be tired from running errands. I've prepared a special dinner for you as a reward. Come and eat with us."

Although he spoke in the same gentle voice as always, Li Xiaoen felt something was off. He didn't respond immediately, which immediately attracted the attention of all the girls.

"Hey... has your brain been frozen?"

Serafina also peered through the car window and gave a meaningful sneer.

"Maybe."

Coming to his senses, Li Xiaoen nodded meaningfully, a remark that startled the girl. "But I still believe that even if I'm frozen, my brain is still a bit smarter than yours..."

"You bastard……"

Upon hearing this, Serafina was stunned for a moment, then gritted her teeth and glared at him fiercely, "I challenge you to a one-on-one fight!"

"Alright, all of you, shut up."

Rolling her eyes, Victoria murmured, "Stop talking outside, it's warm inside, come on in."

As soon as she finished speaking, Suffer opened the car door and went inside with several girls.

"..."

So, this was the trick Sophie had been waiting for him?

Turning back to see the girls leaving, Li Xiaoen chuckled and rubbed his forehead with a headache. He got out of the car and just as he turned around, he bumped into a figure.

"Be careful……"

Quickly regaining her balance, Li Xiaoen reached out and grabbed Mary, who was falling backward, helping her regain her equilibrium.

With the feeling of weightlessness gone, Mary breathed a sigh of relief and patted her chest.

Why didn't you go back inside?

Letting go, Li Xiaoen asked in surprise. He had been wondering why he hadn't seen Mary in the car earlier, but it seemed she had already slipped away to this side of the car.

"Sean..."

There was no answer. Mary looked up at her with expectant eyes and asked, "Did you bring back any gifts for us when you went on your trip with Sophie?"

"Oh, you mean this?"

Li Xiaoen nodded in sudden realization, but looking at Mary's expression, he felt a sense of déjà vu, as if he were a child asking his uncle who was returning from abroad if he had brought back any American snacks. He found it somewhat amusing.

"Yes, of course there is."

Li Xiaoen nodded. Next to the main building of the resort was a gift shop, and he had bought some things before checking out. Moving to the trunk of his car, he said, “Aurora has many specialties. I brought you handmade cowboy hats, Fuji cherry blossom series pens, and even some local craft beer…”

"Eh...eh..."

With her eyes wide open, Mary quickly waved her hand and asked, "Aren't there any special snacks or food?"

"Ha ha……"

With a meaningful smile, Li Xiaoen picked up the exquisitely packaged gift box he had tossed aside earlier, tapped the girl's head, and shoved it into her arms. "Just for you, I specially bought the entire cranberry product line over there, with dried fruit and jam, right..."

"And there's also handmade maple syrup."

As he spoke, Li Xiaoen piled another small square gift box on top.

"You're just playing a trick on me!"

Looking up from the gift in her arms, Mary's eyes finally lit up with a smile, and she glared at Mary reproachfully.

She couldn't help but chuckle and hummed softly, "Since you brought me a gift, I won't hold it against you for going out with Suffer alone."

"As for Victoria and the others, you'll have to figure that out yourself..."

To be honest, foodies are the easiest to please.

Just as he was mentally complaining, Li Xiaoen paused for a moment after hearing Mary's next sentence.

"What did you say before?"

Lee Shawn tentatively probed Mary for information.

"What else can I say?"

Mary pursed her lips and gave her a funny yet mischievous look. "It's because you went on a trip alone with Sophie. If Victoria hadn't called to ask, I wouldn't have known that your relationship with Sophie had developed so quickly that you could even go out on business together."

"is it?"

Li Xiaoen raised an eyebrow and gave a helpless smile.

"Even if it's urgent, can't you just leave first? Can't you even take a moment to call back?"

Mary countered with a dismissive wave of her hand, "You should think about how to deal with Victoria and Serafina."

Victoria is one thing, but Serafina? What the heck?

Li Xiaoen's expression turned strange; he had always considered the other person a brother.

Just as he was internally complaining, he saw Mary happily carrying the gift box back into the house, so he had no choice but to pick up the gifts he bought for the other girls and follow her.

With no one in the living room, Li Xiaoen placed the gift on the table before going into the kitchen.

"Is it some new dish?"

Upon first seeing the large, plate-sized pork knuckle on the island counter, Li Xiaoen was somewhat surprised. "Is this... a crispy German pork knuckle?"

"Yes, you are right."

Victoria smiled and nodded, then turned to the other girls who were helping in the kitchen, "Okay, bring it to the table, let's eat together." Feeling a little awkward, Li Xiaoen watched the girls leave before approaching Victoria.

"what happened?"

Turning around, Victoria saw the young man standing in front of her looking at her. Her smile immediately vanished. She took out a fruit tea she had made that morning from the refrigerator and added ice. "What are you doing standing here? Go to the dining table and eat."

"I see you're working so hard cooking, let me help you."

A seemingly casual remark caused Li Xiaoen a sharp pain in his teeth. He smiled awkwardly, "Did you just learn how to make that crispy pork knuckle? It looks delicious. Anyone who didn't know better would think it was a dish from an authentic German restaurant."

"Oh……"

Victoria rolled her eyes. "Thank you for the compliment."

"..."

Seeing that the young man did not reply, Victoria turned around and looked at him.

"Guess what gift I brought you?"

Only then did Li Xiaoen speak with a smile.

Turning back, Victoria initially intended to ignore the young man, but then, realizing it would be impolite, she pursed her lips and said, "I don't know."

"This isn't a guess."

Li Xiaoen sighed helplessly, and with a flick of his wrist, he held a small gift box in his hand. "I bought you a fountain pen, a Fuji Sakura series. I don't know much about it, but everyone says it's a specialty of Aurora."

He shrugged, leaned closer to the girl's ear, causing her to frown and lean back warily. "Victoria, I strongly suspect they're scammers. I checked on Amazon, and the exact same thing is forty dollars less than what they sell in gift shops. And guess what's even more outrageous?"

Victoria was only being polite, but the young man persisted in pestering her. She glanced at him with displeasure, but seeing him looking at her with expectant eyes, she could only nod and ask, "What is it?"

"That pen is made in China. I checked it on a Chinese online shopping platform, and the price was sixty dollars less!"

"Everyone says it's a unique feature of Aurora, so how come it's made in China? Isn't this a lie?"

"Oh, I understand."

Nodding in agreement, Victoria remained calm despite the young man's indignation. The atmosphere of the conversation heated up, and she couldn't help but voice her concerns, "I've noticed you and Suffer have always had some conflicts. It's just a winter break and a collaboration, and you two have become so close? You're even going on trips together to investigate things..."

"Um……"

Ultimately, returning to the core issue, Li Xiaoen pondered, carefully choosing his words, "I had this idea at the time, and just did it without thinking too much about it."

Given the nature of young people, they are indeed capable of doing such a thing.

Seeing the young man's eyes narrow slightly, Victoria finally took a deep breath, reached out and took the small gift box, stuffing it into her coat pocket.

She opened her mouth, but resisted the urge to ask if the two of them had shared a room.

Their relationship probably won't develop that quickly, right?

Victoria tried hard to convince herself, but she couldn't help but stuff the fruit tea in her hand into the young man's arms.

"My club is having a field trip this semester, could you come with me?"

"Outings and visits?"

Taking the fruit tea from her arms, Li Xiaoen felt her hands were icy cold. Hearing this, she raised an eyebrow and said, "I remember your club is the Ancient Architecture and Ruins Research Society. What kind of ancient architecture and ruins could there be in America?"

He had always thought that the Victoria Club was at most a group that searched for information online and was an interest group that exchanged ideas. He never imagined that they would have activities such as going out to explore.

"Could it be some kind of Native American stone house or cave?"

"There are still some castles that the English built when they settled on this continent more than a hundred years ago."

Victoria rolled her eyes at her. "It's up to you whether you want to or not. If not, forget it."

"Yes, of course I do."

Li Xiaoen quickly spoke up, chuckling, "I'm a very helpful person, especially to beautiful girls."

"Lust at first sight? Plotting something wicked?"

"I'm complimenting you, beautiful Miss Victoria."

"Oh, really? If beauty has no name, then I am just another medal in your collection."

"A frog at the bottom of a well can only see a corner of the sky and lament its smallness, while people can look at a flower and appreciate the beauty of spring."

"Is it due to a narrow perspective?"

"Perhaps we can try a different approach? I praise a girl's beauty, but there's only one in front of me."

"..."

After passing by, Victoria didn't say anything more and walked towards the dining table outside the kitchen.

"time to eat."

So, did this mean I passed?

Li Xiaoen tilted his head, thinking to himself that the dining table not far away was a battlefield, and unfortunately, he had to go there.

Li Xiaoen raised her hand to rub her face before following Victoria's footsteps to the dining table, where she immediately received the gazes of all the women.

Isn't there still one chair?

Li Xiaoen looked around but didn't find them. To avoid further trouble, she didn't dare to ask and could only sit down in the only empty seat, next to Victoria and Sophie, facing their gazes.

"what--"

Seraphina put the can down on the table, let out a long breath, and glanced at him meaningfully. Before she could speak, Sean Lee preemptively struck.

"Did I say this craft beer was a gift for you? And you're already drinking it?"

Meeting the other person's gaze, Li Xiaoen spoke casually, taking out his phone to check, "I won't take advantage of you, just give me two hundred dollars later."

"I haven't settled the score with you yet, have I?"

Serafina was annoyed and glared at him, "Let's have a one-on-one fight after dinner. I'll beat you so badly I'll send you to the hospital."

"Ah……"

Li Xiaon couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle. With his current fighting skills and physical abilities, Serafina might not be able to beat him. Things were different now, and he wasn't worried about such a threat at all.

This sight made Serafina laugh and gasp a few times, clenching her fists and gritting her teeth.

"Alright, we've been together for so long, why are you resorting to physical violence?"

The scene of Sophie's duel with Li Xiaon was still fresh in her mind. Victoria quickly stood up and greeted them, picking up a knife and fork to cut the pork knuckle in the middle. "This is my newly learned German crispy pork knuckle. Everyone, come and have a taste..."

The pork knuckle was cut into pieces, and each person had several pieces of crispy meat on their plate. There was no step of testing for poison first. Li Xiaoen picked up a piece with his fork and put it in his mouth. He was surprised to find that it had a chewy and soft texture.

This crispy pork knuckle only had crispy skin on the very outermost layer. He had never eaten it before and didn't know if it was Victoria's cooking skills or if authentic pork knuckles were like this.

As I was pondering this, a fair arm reached out from the side of the plate in front of me.

"Sean, this piece of pigskin is too much for me to eat, you can have it."

A soft, ordinary sentence suddenly exploded in his mind. Facing the surprised gazes of the other girls, Li Xiaoen turned his head blankly and met Su Feier's very ordinary and natural gaze.

(End of this chapter)