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

Chapter 221 In that quiet, warm, and ordinary night, accidents always happen unexpectedly.

Forcibly suppressing the urge to activate the [Eye of Insight], Li Xiaoen was plunged into darkness. He could only try his best to amplify his hearing, but all he could hear was the gurgling of boiling water and the laughter of other customers at other tables in the lobby.

We haven't heard from Victoria yet.

Li Xiaoen pondered for a moment, then revealed a nonchalant smile on his face, closing his eyes as he glanced left and right at the two girls in front of him.

"Don't you know that sometimes, no answer is also an answer?"

After saying that, Li Xiaoen reached out and groped in the dark on the side of the table, found a cup of milk tea with water droplets on it, and then took a sip.

He opened his mouth to laugh and tease the other person, but a piece of food that was still warm was suddenly stuffed into his mouth, startling him so much that he immediately started trembling.

The thing that entered his mouth was indeed not a beef ball, but rather small pieces, but it was clearly food. Li Xiaoen hesitated for a moment, but as he tasted it carefully, a spicy flavor spread in his mouth, irritating him so much that he frowned and let out a long hiss.

"Ha ha……"

Just as he reached for the tissue box he remembered, he heard two girls laughing across the table, and then a tissue was shoved into his hand.

"This is ginger, am I right?"

Ignoring the laughter of the two girls, Li Xiaoen spat the ginger in his mouth into a tissue before speaking leisurely.

Upon hearing this, Su Fei'er immediately stopped smiling and poked at the constantly rolling beef balls in the pot with her chopsticks. "Even at a time like this, you still can't bear to open your eyes. Should I call you childish or stubborn?"

"Hey……"

Li Xiaoen raised his hand, "Shouldn't this sentence structure describe both the good and the bad aspects?"

"what happened?"

Sophie raised her eyes, pursed her lips, and chuckled, "So you can't come up with a way to affirm your own point of view, and you're coming to us for advice?"

"As someone who has read many storybooks and novels throughout my life, I am very knowledgeable and can think of many things."

Li Xiaoen said with a calm and collected tone, "But this time, I've decided to let the two beautiful ladies decide on the praise for me."

"Praise?"

Sophie raised an eyebrow, and Victoria, who was standing to the side, raised her hand to her forehead and took over the conversation.

"Reading extracurricular books is a good thing, but please don't say that you read them during class time, as that is not something to be proud of."

Sure enough, the well-behaved noble princess was very particular about these things.

Li Xiaoen found it amusing, and Su Feier's nonchalant sneer rang out again.

"Is it up to us to decide? But I can't think of anything right now. It might take a while, and you might have to wait."

"..."

Is this retaliation for the excuses he used to stall for time at the hotel?

Li Xiaoen's face turned blank.

Sure enough, just by listening to the two girls with distinct personalities, or even just by reading simple written records, he could clearly tell which girl said which sentence.

"If you can't think of one now, then save it for later. When the first good word comes to mind, that will be a compliment to me."

With a helpless shrug, Li Xiaoen steered the conversation back on track, "So, can we begin our bet: to taste the difference between raw and cooked beef balls?"

"Already preparing."

Victoria rolled her eyes. "Don't rush. They were just taken out of the pot. We're letting them cool down so you don't burn yourself."

"Oh, is it?"

Li Xiaoen raised an eyebrow, then smiled and nodded repeatedly, "Indeed, the beautiful goddess of victory is still favoring me."

As soon as he finished speaking, the room fell silent. Li Xiaoen's smile slowly stiffened. Just as he was about to speak to make amends, a sharp pain shot through his foot under the table, causing him to gasp involuntarily.

“Sean, Sophie put it in first, I helped her later.”

Just then, Victoria's explanation came to my ears.

"Open your mouth!"

Before Li Xiaoen could speak again, Su Feier coldly shouted.

Feeling bitter inside, Li Xiaoen opened his mouth in agreement, and a beef ball was stuffed into his mouth at the right moment. He chewed it carefully, enjoying the slightly angular and elastic texture in his mouth, and couldn't help but take a deep breath.

"These are cooked from raw beef balls."

After he finished speaking, the room fell silent. Li Xiaoen was certain of his answer and felt relieved. At this moment, he suppressed the urge to speak out and waited silently.

"Open your mouth..."

Four raw beef balls in a row, and victory was just one step away. Li Xiaoen suppressed the urge to mock Su Feier's useless scheme, but he didn't hear the girl speak again, and he couldn't help but hesitate.

"Sufiel?"

Li Xiaoen called out.

"Just wait, what's the rush?"

Sophie rolled her eyes and retorted.

"Ok."

Shrugging, he felt the time drag on with his eyes closed. Bored, Li Xiaoen gestured with his chin towards the two girls, trying to start a conversation, "I'm placing bets here, you guys aren't just watching, are you eating too?"

"Eating."

Amused yet reproachful, Victoria scoffed, "Do you think we'd just stand by and wait for you?"

"Yes, that's good."

Li Xiaoen nodded and smiled at Victoria, "Beautiful goddess of victory, could you please feed me another piece of beef?"

"bring it on."

With her red lips pursed, Victoria casually handed the beef on her fork to the young man.

"Thank you."

Chewing on the soft slices of meat, Li Xiaoen breathed a sigh of relief as his mouth was no longer bulging from the large meatballs. He smiled and nodded.

After eating several beef balls in a row, even though he had no problems with his teeth, he felt a little tired, especially since he had been blindly tasting them with his eyes closed.

"Victoria, could you feed me one more beef ball?"

Li Xiaoen called out again, "Sophie is definitely trying to delay on purpose; she doesn't want me to open my eyes."

As previously stated, guessing correctly five times in a row would mean victory for him. Given his temperament, Suffer is certainly capable of doing something like that since he hasn't been able to get the last one yet.

Li Xiaoen thought to himself, this was his very certain guess about Su Feier based on his own experience.

"Victoria, I'm here..."

Only then did Suffer finally speak again, as if everything was under control. Li Xiaoen took a sip of milk tea and a relaxed smile appeared on his face.

"Open your mouth."

This time, Sophie used a fork to pick up a beef ball from her bowl. Noticing Victoria's surprised look, she quickly shook her head at her before handing it to the young man, mimicking her previous tone of voice.

I have a vague, ominous feeling.

Li Xiaoen hesitated, but reluctantly opened his mouth and bit into the food offered to him. As soon as he closed his mouth, he began to cough repeatedly.

With a furrowed brow, Li Xiaoen took a big gulp of milk tea, which eased the spiciness in his mouth. He took a deep breath, opened his eyes to look at Su Feier, and then immediately squinted again.

"Cooked beef balls with wasabi, am I right?"

Before Suffer could answer, the system screen appeared in front of her.

[Winner of the bet! Congratulations, host, you have received the reward: True Life No. 1 x5]

Sophie did not reply, but instead lowered her head and used her chopsticks to pick up a piece of beef and put it in her mouth to taste.

Ignoring the young man's gaze, she instead reached over with a spoon, scooped out two beef balls from his pot, and placed one in Victoria's bowl.

“Victoria, the meatballs made from raw beef are even tastier, you should try some.”

"Oh……"

Victoria's gaze unconsciously darted back and forth between the two of them, and she nodded slightly.

"Shouldn't we talk about the reward I'll get if I win this game?"

Li Xiaoen spoke first, "Or rather, what price are you going to pay?"

"Have it?"

Suffer took a bite of the meatball, but it was too hot, so she quickly let go, hissed, and took a big gulp of her milk tea to cool down. She looked up at him and asked, "Did I say before what my stake is in this game?"

Li Xiaoen: "..."

Looking directly into the young man's eyes, where his brows were gradually furrowing, Suffer sighed with a cold laugh, "Fine, this dinner is on me. Consider it my bet."

"Indeed, my mother's education of me was correct."

Silently watching Su Feier eat by herself, Li Xiaoen suddenly sighed and inexplicably brought up other things, attracting the attention of the two women.

“My mother taught me when I was young that humility makes one progress, while pride makes one fall behind. I should always remember that there are always people better than me and that there are always people stronger than me in this world. Now I have seen it with my own eyes.”

"what do you want to say in the end?"

Sophie frowned. Seeing the young man smiling leisurely and about to speak, she quickly stretched out her foot from under the table and stepped on his foot.

With the arrow already on the bowstring, and disregarding the girl's threat under the table, Li Xiaoen pulled his foot away and quickly spoke.

"Sophie, I've discovered that you have an even thicker skin than I do. Perhaps the next revolution in the new era of humanity will still fall upon you."

The atmosphere froze instantly upon hearing this. Victoria looked at the two of them, and was momentarily exasperated. She stretched her foot out from under the table and gave Li Xiaoen a light kick.

"What's wrong? Are you about to cry?"

Li Xiaoen leaned to the left and right, carefully observing the two girls. As soon as he finished speaking, another heated exchange broke out under the table.

……

When the three of them finally finished their dinner, stumbling and scrambling, and came out, the entire world was already shrouded in a hazy night.

As night fell, the crowds in Chinatown increased rather than decreased. Tourists strolled the streets, and red lanterns and decorations shone with a festive glow. Shops opened their doors wide, and customers came in an endless stream.

It's still so lively at night, which is rare in America.

Following the flow of people, Li Xiaoen walked along Chinatown, looking left and right at the red lanterns and couplets hanging in the shops. Occasionally, there were big-headed Buddhas wearing big headgear dancing with lion dancers, and occasionally, shouts could be heard from a crowd gathered in the distance.

Holding an unfinished milk tea in his hand, Li Xiaoen followed the two girls with a leisurely pace, glancing around as he couldn't help but feel a little sentimental.

In this foreign land of New York, he finally saw a bit of the true flavor of Chinese tradition.

"Sean..."

The two girls in front stopped, turned around, raised their hands, and called out with a smile, "As a Chinese person, aren't you going to explain to us the traditional Chinese culture here?"

"What's there to say? What you've seen is all there is to it."

Li Xiaoen waved his hand, and seeing the two girls quickly composed themselves, he could only nod helplessly, "Alright, alright, come with me..."

"Do you know what these signs posted on both sides of the shop entrances are called...?"

As they walked through Chinatown, Li Xiaoen didn't have any plans. He casually introduced whatever he saw to the two girls until they stopped in front of a supermarket.

Seeing them standing in front of the giant claw machine, staring wide-eyed inside, Li Xiaoen's face turned blank, and he waited with his arms crossed.

"Sean, I want the giant panda in there."

Victoria looked away from the claw machine, her emerald green eyes filled with anticipation.

"..."

"This is the hardest part, but it also contains the biggest reward."

Li Xiaoen's expression turned strange as he looked away from the almost life-sized panda plush toys inside. "Besides, if you want plush toys, you can find them online, or at the very least, you can spend some money to have them custom-made. Maybe the quality will be even better, right?"

He murmured his explanation, the expectation in Victoria's eyes showing no sign of diminishing. After a moment's hesitation, Li Xiaoen could only nod helplessly. "Hehe..."

Despite pursing her lips, Victoria couldn't help but smile. She nodded, moved closer, and took the young man's arm with both hands, her voice soft and sweet, "Sean, you're so kind..."

"Um……"

Nodding helplessly, Li Xiaoen's expression remained calm. He had originally intended to give it a try, but at this moment, he made up his mind.

Today, he absolutely has to take this panda plush toy home!

[Virtual Time Pool LV1 Use, Selected Direction: Claw Machine Game, Investment Time: One Year]

……

It took nearly three hundred dollars and twenty minutes for Sean Lee to successfully fish out the giant panda. He couldn't help but laugh at Victoria's beaming face as she hugged the panda, which was almost as tall as her.

Noticing Suffer standing quietly with her arms crossed beside her, Li Xiaoen smiled and raised his chin at her again, "Suffer, what kind of doll do you want? I'll get it for you."

"No, thank you. I don't like dolls."

Shaking her head, Sophie turned her head to the other side. "Let's go, let's go see other places."

"Ok."

Li Xiaoen, his mind unreadable, nodded in agreement. Victoria then stuffed the large doll into his arms, followed by the girl's giggling.

"Sean, it's easier for you since you're tall, so could you please hold it for me for now?"

Next, the three of them watched a lion dance, solved lantern riddles, did paper cutting, watched a firecracker ceremony, made rubbings of the character "福" (fortune), and prayed at a temple. They didn't drive back to school until 9 p.m.

The car stopped in front of the dormitory. Suffer had already gotten out and walked around to the back of the car. Seeing that Victoria was still sitting in the back seat without moving, Li Xiaoen turned around in confusion. Suddenly, the girl's pretty face loomed closer in his line of sight. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"Sean, you had a lot of fun today, thank you."

When Li Xiaoen finally came to his senses, all he could see was the girl hurriedly getting off the bus, clutching a panda plush toy.

Taking a deep breath, Li Xiaoen couldn't hide his smile, shook his head, and restarted the car.

Back in the dorm, after taking a shower, before Li Xiaoen could even sit down at his desk, Su Feier sent another message.

Come here, to my room.
"..."

Are you really angry?

Li Xiaoen raised an eyebrow as he looked at the message.

After playing the claw machine, Suffer's mood in Chinatown wasn't very high, and now it seems he really was upset. He had thought the girl wasn't interested in traditional Chinese culture.

Li Xiaoen thought to himself, recalling that at the time, both girls were staring intently at the screen inside the claw machine. Given Su Feier's personality, she wouldn't even consider any other prizes, and her only goal was the giant panda.

Upon realizing this, Li Xiaoen suddenly understood and couldn't help but feel a toothache.

After a moment of contemplation, he got up, changed into a shirt, tidied himself up carefully, and then went out towards the two girls' dormitory.

It was already 11 p.m. Since it was a weekday and there were classes the next day, there weren't many students outside the dormitory area. Li Xiaoen looked around and saw that the snow was noticeably thinner than when the semester had just started. He reached out and unzipped his coat from the top.

Spring is almost here.

He looked up at the deep, dark winter sky and couldn't help but sigh.

He could soothe Sophie's emotions, but what made him secretly happy was Victoria's growing boldness and initiative.

Although she refused to admit it verbally, various details revealed that she did it under Sophie's provocation—he vaguely felt that Sophie's efforts were helping him, stimulating Victoria, and making this outwardly gentle but inwardly strong princess develop a competitive and assertive mentality.

Li Xiaoen gave a strange smile, but after thinking about it for a moment, he sighed and shook his head.

He was suspected of trying to profit from both sides, but afterwards, whenever this happened, didn't he still have to appease Sophie's emotions?

While internally complaining, Li Xiaoen arrived at the doors of the two girls' dormitories and knocked on them.

It seemed as if she had been watching him from the room on the second floor. After a while, the door was opened, revealing Suffer in a nightgown.

Looking up, Suffer didn't speak, nor did she make way for anyone to enter the house.

Raising an eyebrow, Li Xiaoen first looked into the hall inside the house, but did not see Victoria's figure. He then activated his [Eye of Insight] and finally noticed her movements in the bathroom on the first floor of the house.

Without focusing his attention inside the bathroom, Li Xiaoen only sensed the gentle, cheerful music emanating from within, and that was enough for him to understand.

"You can't exactly call me here and then not let me in, can you?"

Li Xiaoen shrugged and forced a smile.

"Is it wrong to call you over and mess around when I have nothing better to do?"

Sophie crossed her arms over her chest.

"Here we go again, you're still the same..."

Shaking his head in exasperation, Li Xiaoen reached out and hugged the girl in front of him tightly without saying a word, then squeezed into the room and closed the door behind him.

"Do you know that I can shoot you for trespassing on someone else's property?"

Struggling fiercely, Suffer glared at him.

"This isn't appropriate in New Jersey, is it?"

Despite the girl's struggles, Li Xiaoen held her tightly around the waist and explained helplessly, "I remember that in New Jersey, the homeowner can only fire a gun after confirming that the intruder has committed an illegal act."

"You've been studying these laws quite a bit. Are you already prepared to trespass?"

Sophie raised an eyebrow and looked up, only to see the young man's face suddenly loom large as he captured her lips in his mouth.

"Well……"

With a soft hum, Suffer struggled for a few moments before gradually calming down. She then placed her hands on the young man's chest and abdomen, slowly responding.

Their lips and tongues intertwined passionately, and after a brief moment of tender lingering, Li Xiaoen took the initiative to pull away, panting heavily.

"Sophie, let's go back to our room."

Looking up, her eyes, which had been full of spring water, suddenly turned calm upon hearing these words, and Suffer's lips, which shone with a crystal-clear white light under the moonlight, curled into a cold smile.

"No."

"..."

"Sufeil..."

Unable to resist glancing back at the bathroom on the first floor, Li Xiaoen was both amused and exasperated, and called out softly again.

"Victoria got off the bus a little later than me today, and as soon as she got off, she was running around hugging that doll. Did she do something to you?"

As she spoke, Sufiel stared intently at her with a scrutinizing gaze.

"So you're angry about this?"

Li Xiaoen suddenly realized, but even so, he still couldn't bring himself to explain the problem.

"Would you believe me if I said that Victoria was just thanking me?"

Carefully choosing his words, Li Xiaoen tentatively looked at Su Feier.

"f**k you..."

With a curse, Suffer kicked the young man.

"Hey……"

With a gasp, Li Xiaon quickly bent back to avoid him, then breathed a sigh of relief. "Sufiel, let's talk this out, please don't do this..."

"Don't what?"

The two of them had made their way to the living room. Sophie sat on the sofa, slowly withdrew her foot, and snorted coldly, "Don't you like it?"

"Um……"

After a moment of contemplation, Li Xiaoen looked at Su Feier solemnly, nodded, then shook his head, "At times, I might like it."

"f**k you..."

Another curse rang out, this time accompanied by a cushion thrown at him. Li Xiaoen quickly grabbed it, glanced back at the bathroom, and whispered, "Sufeier, if something's wrong, let's go up to the room and talk, okay?"

"Don't go here..."

Why do you want to go to my room?

Sophie raised an eyebrow and gave a mischievous smile.

"Didn't you text me saying you were coming to my room?"

With a slight frown, Li Xiaoen had a bad feeling.

"Oh, you mean information?"

Sophie feigned sudden realization and chuckled, "I did say that, but I didn't say when. It could be tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, or any day in the future, but definitely not today..."

As she spoke slowly, Su Feier finally gritted her teeth and looked at the young man with a cold smile, "I already said when you first arrived that I was going to torment you tonight, but I didn't say where we were going."

"Of course, if you don't want to, I'm in a much better mood now, so you can leave now."

As she spoke, Suffer gave a gentle and beautiful smile.

Although she also wanted to get closer to the young man, she was determined to ignore him for the night, otherwise she wouldn't be entirely convinced.

"Are you feeling better now?"

Li Xiaoen nodded seriously, took a step forward, and sat down on the sofa next to Su Feier. Meeting the girl's frowning gaze, he gave a meaningful smile and said, "Shouldn't it be my turn to be happy?"

"..."

Startled for a moment, Suffer suddenly kicked her legs and retreated behind the spacious sofa, but unexpectedly, her right ankle was immediately trapped in a hot grip.

"Let me go..."

A sudden panic gripped her heart, and Suffer began to struggle violently. She failed to shake off the young man's hand, so she raised her other foot and kicked him as well.

“What the f**k…”

As he leaned forward with a smile, he was suddenly kicked in the chest. Li Xiaoen couldn't help but yell and raised his other hand to grab the girl's left foot. As if he had expected it, Su Feier's movements became even more strange and swift.

After several attempts, Li Xiaoen finally managed to firmly grasp the girl's two feet in his hands. He glared at her fiercely, panting heavily, and was about to carry her upstairs when a sudden sound came from the direction of the bathroom.

At the critical moment, alarm bells rang in Li Xiaoen's mind, and his thoughts raced. He quickly threw Su Feier back onto the sofa and crouched down to hide behind it.

"Sufeil..."

From the bathroom, she could faintly hear some sounds coming from the living room. Victoria came out humming a song after her shower and saw Sophie sitting on the sofa. She couldn't help but call out, "What are you doing?"

"watching TV."

Trying to calm herself, Sophie turned her head away from the television screen not far in front of her. "What's wrong?"

"nothing."

Victoria frowned slightly and shook her head, replying, "Exactly, why are you panting so much just from watching TV?"

Muttering to herself, Victoria hesitated, then walked towards the television. She touched the back of it and felt a chill, indicating that it had just been turned on.

With her eyes lowered, she looked up at Suffer, who was stunned, and felt a strange heaviness in her heart, making it hard to breathe.

After hesitating for a moment, Victoria still took out her phone with trembling hands and dialed Sean Lee's number.

The call went through, but no one answered. Victoria looked around but didn't hear the phone ring. She quickly walked to the largest blind spot in front of her, behind the sofa, but didn't see anyone. She suddenly turned around and walked quickly to other places out of sight. She went back and forth several times but still couldn't find anyone else. Her face darkened.

"Victoria, what are you looking for?"

Her heart was racing. Suffer took a deep breath, forced a smile, and asked a question.

Turning around, Victoria glanced at Sophie, but immediately stopped searching. She lowered her eyes to look at the floor, making soft, suppressed, and painful sounds.

"Sean, I know it's you. Don't hide anymore, okay..."

(End of this chapter)