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

Chapter 244 Probing and Negotiation

Manhattan, New York.

Inside the coffee shop on the first floor of 11 Pennsylvania Plaza, in a corner of the upper level, Li Xiaoen was drinking coffee while looking down at her phone.

As if sensing something, he looked up at the entrance of the coffee shop, where a young woman wearing a white shirt with a floral collar and a dark red pencil skirt was walking in, immediately attracting the attention of the men and women in the shop.

She had long, wavy, golden hair that flowed freely. Her fair, oval face had a hint of allure in her eyes, yet her gaze clearly conveyed the authority of someone who had long held a high position and could not be looked at directly.

As if sensing something, Catherine also looked up at the stage and met Lee Shawn's gaze.

With a playful smile on her lips, she casually placed one hand on the bag slung over her shoulder, strolled to the counter to order a coffee, and then walked upstairs.

"It's really you."

Catherine stopped at the table, crossed her arms, and gave a meaningful smile.

"So what if it's me? I don't think it violates the law, affects morality, or involves anyone's interests."

Setting down his coffee, Li Xiaoen looked at Catherine sitting opposite him and said calmly, "I really find it strange that you would make things difficult for a comic book, a niche entertainment product that is clearly making money for the company you acquired and paying taxes to the United States."

"Or do you simply want to see me?"

After speaking with George that morning and learning that Hearst Corporation had only given him that option as an ultimatum without offering any avenues for negotiation, Sean Lee called Catherine's number from his memory.

While I'm at it, I'll clock in for the week at the Apple store upstairs and then arrange to meet her at the coffee shop downstairs.

"That's not a niche audience; you have quite a few fans online."

Catherine, with a meaningful look, propped her chin on her hand and looked over with a smile, "You still remember my phone number? If it weren't for something, you really wouldn't call me, would you?"

"I'm actually quite good-looking and have a good figure."

As she spoke, Catherine looked down at her chest and waistline.

"It's pretty good."

Li Xiaoen nodded, leaned to the side, and stared intently at the cleavage that was faintly visible at the gap in the other person's collar.

"Looking at a woman like that, Mr. Sean, don't you think it's very impolite?"

Catherine frowned slightly and shifted her arm, which was supporting her chin, to block Sean Lee's gaze.

"Ah……"

"The king of words," Li Xiaoen chuckled, leaning back in his chair and crossing his legs. "Speak, what do you want to do, or rather, what conditions do you want?"

It's puzzling, really. Whether it was the heinous Catholic crime in Aurora or the Paladin arms scandal, he gave them the opportunity to report it exclusively first. Now he's being harassed by them over trivial matters and asked to pay some kind of price.

"Looking back now, your idea was really good."

When the coffee was served, Catherine nodded to the waiter, took a small sip, and then looked at Sean Lee, starting a conversation about other things, "Using such a way of promoting your Chinese culture in an entertainment-filled manner, I must say, your ambition is even stronger than that of first-generation Chinese immigrants, or even Chinese Americans in politics."

"The sample size is too small; your words are very much in line with the tone of American politicians..."

The conversation had become increasingly heated without them realizing it, and Li Xiaoen smiled and chimed in, "Ultimately, it all comes down to expressing one's own subjective will."

Whether due to their upbringing and cultural background or racial relations within the United States, Chinese Americans, and indeed Asian Americans as a whole, rarely tend to pursue careers in politics or the cultural sector. Instead, they are more likely to enter high-paying professions such as medicine, law, and programming.

"Tell me, what do you want to do?"

Unwilling to talk to the other person any longer, Li Xiaoen sighed and brought the topic back.

The smile on her face quickly vanished, and Catherine placed her hands on the table, leaning her upper body slightly forward.

"Sean, tell me, you were behind the Paladin Arms Company operation, weren't you?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xiaoen's gaze darkened slightly.

"It seems I was right."

Raising her hand to cover her mouth, Catherine chuckled, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably, her full breasts shaking slightly.

"Is this just your personal guess without any evidence?"

Li Xiaoen's expression turned strange.

"you are right."

With a confident smile, Catherine stared intently into the distance. "I've been in the media industry since I was a child, and I've seen almost every kind of sordid thing in the world. I even studied psychology in college."

"At first I had some doubts, but after meeting you, I became certain."

"You can tell what someone has done just by looking at them. With such a superpower, it's a shame you're not a detective."

Li Xiaoen shook his head helplessly. "I don't want to waste any more time talking to you. Tell me, what do you want about the comic?"

"Nothing much happened, or rather, I've already achieved my goal."

With a smile, Catherine answered softly.

"..."

"What's wrong? Are you angry?"

Raising an eyebrow, Catherine teased him again. Seeing that Li Xiaoen didn't speak and was about to get up and leave, she then changed her expression and said, "Let's work together. I think your app needs my promotion."

"Are you investigating me?"

Li Xiaoen paused in his act of getting up, looked up, and frowned.

Although no confidentiality measures were taken, he has only mentioned the app to Suffer so far, and hasn't even told Victoria, with whom he keeps in daily contact. Those who know about it are undoubtedly people who are interested in him and have considerable investigative capabilities.

"These kinds of things are easy to find out if you pay a little attention."

Shrugging, Catherine noticed the young man's darkening expression and gave him a gentle, beautiful smile. "Sean, with your outstanding qualities, it's normal for girls to like you and for you to be investigated, isn't it?"

"I've been following you ever since that night at Serafina's birthday party."

Does it refer to the night I offended her?

Li Xiaoen thought to himself, he had been worried at the time, but Su Feier said she would help coordinate, and now she's causing him trouble.

Let's work together.

Seeing this carefree young man, who had attracted so many beautiful girls, including Sophie and Victoria, suffer a setback in front of her, Catherine felt a strange sense of excitement and accomplishment, and she smiled as she spoke.

“I can invest in your studio and take care of all your expenses and publicity. You will still manage the studio, but you have to sign a contract with me. I want 60% of the studio.”

"Angel investor?"

So that's what they were waiting for. Li Xiaoen raised an eyebrow. "My studio has only been established for a month. I don't have much confidence yet. You're so sure it will succeed?"

"You lack confidence, but I do have some."

Catherine nodded. "So, considering the size of your studio now, my conditions should be pretty good, right?"

"sure."

Li Xiaoen sighed and nodded, "If you can convince that company on the fourth floor to agree to the same conditions, I'll agree to your terms too."

"what company?"

Catherine frowned.

"apple."

Snapped.

A sudden slam of the table echoed in the quiet shop, attracting the attention of many people, but the two remained completely undisturbed.

"Aren't you afraid I'll expose your use of a virus to attack Paladin Arms Company?"

“If there’s no evidence, I suggest you frame me for murder. Maybe that way I can be threatened into agreeing.” “What about Sophie? To be honest, if I tell her, she’ll believe me.”

"As you wish."

"Under the same conditions, I only want 40% of the studio."

"No."

"Thirty percent, that's the lowest we can go!"

"Catherine, can't you tell? I won't agree to even one percent."

Lee Shawn replied with a sigh.

If he were truly short of money and resources, he wouldn't have rejected Suffer's suggestion to create a studio under her internet company long ago.

If he wants to be a kept man, why doesn't he go for Sufferer? Why does he go for this capricious and unfamiliar woman? Isn't he just asking for trouble?
After finishing his sentence, seeing that Catherine did not respond for a long time, Sean Lee took a deep breath, stood up, and said, "Now that we've finished talking, I'll be leaving."

After saying that, Li Xiaoen turned and walked down the stairs. Just as he reached the lower stairs, a figure darted out from beside him and went down the stairs before him.

Do we even need to argue about this?

Li Xiaoen found it amusing but didn't pay any attention, silently following behind.

As he arrived at the door, he unexpectedly ran into Caroline and Lavinia, who were dressed in tight-fitting bodycon dresses in black and red, respectively, which made him subconsciously glance at them from head to toe.

"Sean?!"

Upon seeing the young man, the two exclaimed in surprise at the same time.

Good morning, Caroline, Lavinia.

Li Xiaoen smiled and nodded, "I went up to the company just now, but I didn't see the two of you."

Caroline is the girl who switched jobs from the Maserati dealership when we first confirmed the location of the company where we played house last semester. Lavinia is the pretty receptionist.

"Just now, when I wasn't at the front desk, I was probably in the conference room entertaining guests."

Lavinia gave a helpless smile.

"My work area isn't in the development zone, so the only way I can run into them is by chance, like this."

Caroline smiled wryly, her gaze unconsciously drifting to Catherine beside Sean Lee, her heart filled with astonishment.

"Sean, this is...your friend?"

"Yes, my name is Catherine, it's nice to meet you."

She had been looking at the three of them meaningfully, but upon hearing this, Catherine immediately smiled, nodded, and extended her hand to shake hands with the two of them.

Why do I always have this ominous feeling?

The sight of the three beautiful women getting along so well made Li Xiaoen feel a little strange.

After exchanging only a few pleasantries, Li Xiaoen said goodbye and headed to his studio.

He understood what Catherine meant by publicity, even though she didn't elaborate.

It's just a newly developed app from an unknown small studio. It's definitely not qualified to be featured in a prominent position in their media publications. In terms of promoting the app's popularity, given the studio's current size, the most effective way is actually through individual user reviews and recommendations on online forums.

Simply put, they are online trolls.

Unfortunately, when he got involved in the hacking industry, he had also searched online for these potentially useful methods, and now they came in handy.

With no one in the studio during the three-day holiday, Li Xiaoen sat down in front of his computer, first setting up a virtual IP address, and then trying to contact online trolls.

They were having a brief online chat when the studio door opened. Li Xiaoen turned around and saw Su Feier carrying two cups of coffee.

"So fast?"

Upon returning to the incubation base, Suffer called to inquire, and he answered honestly. The girl arrived shortly afterward.

"Thank you for the coffee."

He pulled over a chair and let her sit down next to him. Li Xiaoen took a sip of his coffee.

"How does it compare to the taste of coffee in New York?"

Turning back from the computer, Suffer spoke meaningfully, her simple words causing the young man to pause in his typing.

"..."

"Did Catherine tell you?"

Looking to the side, Li Xiaoen raised an eyebrow.

If he doesn't agree to the terms of cooperation, he'll complain to Sophie. That woman is really ridiculously petty. Could she have even mentioned his suspicion that he used a virus to infiltrate that arms company?
Thinking to himself, keeping his head still, Li Xiaoen turned his eyes to look at Su Feier.

"If you want to see, why are you afraid to look directly at it?"

She cupped the young man's head in her hands, turning him to face her, and said slowly, "She told me that you have two beautiful female friends at Apple."

"The way they look at you reveals their undisguised affection."

"This is...my fault?"

With his heart finally at ease, Li Xiaoen carefully chose his words and asked a question in return.

"Stop flirting with women all the time, or you'll cause so much trouble."

Sophie rolled her eyes. She knew in her heart that a young man who was handsome, had a good figure, was cheerful, humorous and proactive would inevitably attract a lot of romantic attention.

"I'm not involved in this matter."

Feeling a bit weary, Sophie still asked the question that concerned her most, "What did you want to talk about when you asked Catherine out without my permission?"

"In fact, she forced me to ask her out so we could talk about something."

They could talk about anything with Catherine. Sean Lee shrugged and briefly recounted their conversation about the studio.

"She's dreaming. She's only paying a little money, but she wants to take up 60% of the studio just by sitting there?"

Upon hearing this, Suffer sighed in annoyance, "Did they even ask for my opinion?"

"Hehehe, Sophie..."

Li Xiaoen had to make another statement: "Now, I am fully in charge of my studio and own all of it."

"Didn't you say before that you would give me a little over 50% of the share?"

Sophie threw a punch in frustration.

"That's for later, okay? Let's talk about it later."

Li Xiaoen explained with a wry smile, "As you know, allocating more shares would only make things more chaotic in the early stages of the studio's development."

"Don't worry, I didn't mean anything by it. That statement still holds true. When the studio reaches a certain scale and needs management and financial tools for its business..."

After offering a few comforting words, and seeing that Suffer's expression had eased, Li Xiaoen finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although it's a nice thing to say to comfort people, it's not a lie.

He is ambitious, but not possessive. If Suffer could accept his greed, he would even give up his entire share to the other party.

"Right, Sean."

After putting the topic behind them, Sophie picked up a cup of coffee, took a sip, nudged the young man, and asked with a hint of helplessness, "There's a charity gala at Serafina's house tomorrow night. Are you going to attend?"

(End of this chapter)