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

Chapter 246 I Want to Pursue Him

"Sophie said they were just good friends for the time being, but Sean said he was pursuing Sophie."

"Young people these days are really interesting."

Ignoring the subtle expressions on the faces of those around her, Christine raised her hand to cover her mouth and let out a soft giggle. If it weren't for the fact that the person in front of her was a beautiful woman, one would have thought that it was the voice of a young and sweet college student.

"I see."

Henry nodded. He naturally understood the teasing tone in Christine's words. He was surprised and suspicious. He couldn't help but glance at Seraphina. He saw that his niece's expression was calm, but there was a hint of annoyance in her eyes. He didn't need to hear anything more to know the answer.

"Alright, quite a few people have arrived at the venue. The banquet preparations are all complete. Everyone can enter now."

With unreadable thoughts in his mind, Henry turned to the side and gestured towards the entrance of the clubhouse.

The hosts personally came out to invite them, and the group did not linger. They exchanged pleasantries with smiles and then moved towards the clubhouse.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the world's four largest museums, has extremely strict conditions and restrictions on the leasing of its open spaces, making it arguably the most exclusive institution in all of New York City.

The Paladin arms scandal had only been going on for two days, yet Serafina's family was able to organize this banquet, demonstrating their considerable influence.

There were several tall, burly bodyguards and security personnel in uniform at the entrance of the clubhouse, and Li Xiaoen couldn't help but think to himself.

"Serafina, is the allocation of these security personnel all handled by your family?"

Noticing the familiar insignia on their uniforms, Sean Lee turned to Serafina, who was lost in thought, and asked her a question, startling her so much that she glared at him.

"Of course it is."

Serafina pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. "The club usually has its own security team, but since our family is in this business, why entrust such an important matter to others?"

"Moreover, entrusting one's security to other teams, regardless of the reason, will inevitably arouse suspicion from other laymen."

It was rare to see Serafina so articulate and analytical, and Lee Shawn smiled, raising his chin slightly.

"And this is also an important opportunity for you to promote your own network security services?"

"Yes, you are right."

Serafina nodded in agreement and went to the door. Even a young lady like her had to wait patiently for security checks before she could pass through.

The hall was elevated, and its interior was decorated in a simple yet elegant style, grand and imposing. Li Xiaoen had never been here before, and as he looked up and scanned the space, he was filled with emotion.

Following the flow of people, just as Li Xiaoen entered the banquet hall, his arm was suddenly grabbed by two hands, and a surprised voice immediately reached his ears.

"Sean, I was right, you really did come."

The voice was light and pleasant, like a wind chime, but Li Xiaoen's body suddenly tensed up.

Ignoring the stares of the girls walking ahead of him, Li Xiaoen turned his head blankly to look at the girl beside him who was tightly gripping his arm.

A radiant smile graced her fair and charming face, revealing her red lips and white teeth.

"Catherine?"

Startled, Li Xiaoen gasped, glancing down at the hands gripping his arm, still unsure. "Why are you grabbing me like that?"

Amidst the various complex gazes watching from not far away, Li Xiaoen quickly shook off the entanglement on his arm.

"I'm just happy to see you here."

Her hands were flung away, and Catherine pouted in dissatisfaction, then stubbornly grabbed them again, looking just like a spoiled little girl.

Sister, are we very familiar?

Seeing this, Li Xiaoen laughed in anger and gave him a disapproving sidelong glance.

"I'm warning you, if you dare to be rude to me again after using a virus to infiltrate Paladin Arms Company, I'll tell Suffer and make it public!"

Catherine glared back, leaned closer, lowered her voice, and uttered a threatening word with a sweet smile.

"Hey……"

Li Xiaoen was surprised that he could still be threatened. He snorted coldly, pulled his arm back, and said in a low voice, "Do whatever you want. You dare to threaten someone based on just a guess? Don't you think too highly of yourself?"

"Oh……"

Upon hearing this, Catherine's eyes revealed a playful smile. "If you really didn't do it, then why don't you dare to say it now? Why do you have to whisper it to me? You're afraid to make it public, and you're so sure I won't dare to announce it?"

"..."

Looking up at the young man's increasingly dazed expression, Catherine gave a soft snort, grabbed his arm with both hands, twisted her slender waist, and smiled as she met the various meaningful gazes directed at her.

"It seems that Sean is even more outstanding than I imagined."

With a meaningful smile, Christine glanced at Serafina before looking at Sophie and fixing her gaze on her.

No longer caring about hiding anything, Suffer's pretty face was now terribly gloomy.

"let go!"

Having only been stunned for a moment, things had escalated to this point. Li Xiaoen quickly spoke up, helplessly shaking off Catherine's hand that was gripping his arm, and taking two steps back to create distance, "Catherine, I don't think our relationship has reached that intimate level yet, has it?"

"It hasn't come yet, but it will come later."

Even after being treated like that, Catherine still smiled and said, "Anyway, you're single now, aren't you? I have the right to pursue you..."

"If you're going to act crazy, please go somewhere else and don't bother others, okay?"

Taking two quick steps, Suffer stood between the two men, her brows furrowed as she looked at them.

"what are you talking about?"

Even when faced with a harsh curse, Catherine maintained a faint smile and shrugged, "I'm just pursuing Sean, it's none of your business, is it?"

"Suffer, what is your position in saying this to me?"

As she finished speaking, Catherine's smile faded, and she looked over indifferently, crossing her arms and meeting Sophie's gaze defiantly.

These words immediately created a tense atmosphere.

What on earth is going on?

Li Xiaoen had a terrible headache. He couldn't help but look up from Suffer and look at Catherine, who was confronting him, and took a deep breath.

To the uninformed, it would seem as if two beautiful women were fighting over him, but he knew in his heart that Catherine was simply seeking revenge.

He wasn't sure if it was because he had offended her before, or because he had rejected her proposal for cooperation, or both, but to retaliate like this made him really need to reconsider his relationship with her. Although he had always heard Sophie say that she rarely had a good word to say about Catherine, he could still clearly sense the deep, subtle, and unfathomable affection between them—which was why he had sent the Paladin Arms Company scandal to her email address.

In retrospect, it may be because of their deep relationship and mutual understanding of each other's vulnerabilities that they were able to speak so bluntly and easily provoke each other.

As if noticing his gaze, Catherine looked up, her contemptuous expression quickly melting into a sweet smile.

Sister, you're really just looking for trouble!

While mentally ranting, Li Xiaoen stepped between the two girls, looked them over, and was about to speak when Su Feier grabbed his tie.

Before he could react, the girl tightened her grip, and Li Xiaoen instinctively bent down. Suddenly, the stunningly beautiful face with a strong possessive look in her eyes loomed large before him, and her full, rosy lips pressed precisely against his.

Just as Li Xiaoen's eyes were wide open and his mind was blank, their lips touched briefly and then parted, and a casual sound immediately reached his ears.

Are you satisfied with our relationship?

"Um……"

Catherine narrowed her eyes, a playful smile appearing on her face. She let out a long snort, "Sophie, it's hard to imagine that you, who have always been disdainful of men, could actually go this far..."

"Enough with the nonsense, can you get lost now?"

Sophie smiled.

Avoiding Sophie's gaze, Catherine nodded and looked around. Before leaving, she turned back, smiled at the young man beside Sophie, and raised her hand to her ear, "Sean, I'll wait for your call."

Having said that, ignoring the shocked looks from others, she turned gracefully and blended into the crowd.

"As expected, I was right."

After Catherine walked away, an awkward silence fell over the group. Christine then spoke first with a smile, pulling everyone back to their senses.

"There are some things that are not convenient to discuss beforehand, so please forgive me."

He was certain that his feelings were genuine, and he didn't care whether the relationship was public or not. Now that he saw Su Feier couldn't resist the provocation and go public, Li Xiaoen could only go along with the girl's wishes. Seeing that the scene just now had attracted incredulous and surprised looks from everyone around him, he looked around and nodded with a smile.

As he spoke, Li Xiaoen raised his arm and wrapped it around Su Feier's slender waist as a further explanation.

He also noticed the strange look in everyone's eyes, but in a public place, especially at such a high-end banquet, although many people were hesitant to speak out, no one actually opened their mouths to question them.

clap clap clap...

A sudden burst of applause rang out. It was Christine, who was clapping and smiling as she looked over. After a moment's hesitation, everyone else raised their hands and joined in the applause.

Li Xiaoen, with her sharp eyes, still spotted a few men and women who refused to agree and turned away.

This is to be expected. Despite politicians' repeated emphasis on racial equality online, it is not common for white girls to marry men of other races in the United States, let alone a beautiful young lady from a wealthy and powerful family like Sophie.

Right now, he's far from reaching the standard, not only with Victoria but also with Sophie.

The goal we strive for, and the happy life we ​​envision, are just around the corner, but the journey ahead is long and arduous.

Li Xiaoen sighed inwardly. Thanks to Catherine's provocation, even the pressure from Suffer had come on to him ahead of time.

"Thank you, thank you all for your blessings."

Hearing Christine and the others' blessings, Li Xiaoen smiled and nodded to the left and right. As the crowd gradually dispersed, Suffer immediately twisted her waist and broke free from his hand.

Looking over in confusion, he was met with a scrutinizing gaze from a girl with slightly narrowed eyes.

"Sophie, you're so smart, can't you see that Catherine is trying to provoke you?"

The die is cast, and Li Xiaoen offered a helpless word of comfort.

"Even so, for Catherine to do something like that and still pursue you, there must be something else between you that I don't know about!"

Sophie glared at him.

What else could it be?

Feeling completely innocent and with no remorse towards Catherine, Li Xiaoen shrugged helplessly. Then, recalling her threats, he sighed calmly, "Now that it's been announced, are you feeling any pressure?"

What pressure do I have?

Hearing this, Sufi snorted and looked at the young man with disdain. "You should be the one feeling the pressure. To everyone else, you are not good enough for me right now."

“You’re wrong, Sophie.”

With a smile on his lips, Li Xiaoen shook his head calmly and patted his chest, "That includes me too."

While the girl was still in a daze, he continued leisurely, "There's an old saying in China: 'If you haven't seen someone for three days, you should look at them with a completely new perspective.' I..."

"Since you think you're not good enough for me right now, why don't you try to please me?"

Suffer interrupted him, glaring at him and causing Li Xiaoen to pause in his eloquent speech.

"These...shouldn't we consider them two different things?"

His expression turned strange, and Li Xiaoen carefully chose his words to reply, which immediately drew a cold snort from the girl.

"Let's go, let's take our seats too."

Rolling her eyes at him, Suffer took the initiative to grab the young man's arms and pull him toward the front of the hall.

Perhaps word of their relationship had already spread throughout the banquet. As Li Xiaoen walked along, he felt many eyes staring at him, and many people were whispering among themselves. He couldn't help but take a deep breath.

"Sophie, perhaps I am not good enough for you now, but in the future, I will make them all envious of you."

Why care about their opinions?

Unlike the young man's somber expression, Suffer was much more at ease, ignoring the many gazes around him. She even gave the young man's arm a comforting squeeze, saying, "I remember you're not someone who cares much about what other people think."

"I personally don't care, but this concerns you."

Li Xiaoen explained, turning his head to smile at the girl beside Yiyi.

"Grumpy."

Rolling her eyes, Sophie turned back to look at the road ahead.

With their relationship now officially announced, perhaps Serafina and Christine's group gave them some space. The banquet hall was spacious, and there were various low-value, but plentiful items for sale in front of them. The two strolled around, stopping occasionally, and Sean Lee bought two bulletproof vests.

After going around in circles, the two sat down at a table near the front of the lobby. What followed was the start of the banquet and the auction of high-value single items.

(End of this chapter)