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

Chapter 255 Conflict
The dinner was held at an Indian restaurant ten miles away, and we only chatted briefly before arriving at our destination.

As soon as Li Xiaoen got out of the car after parking, Catherine quickly approached him in her high heels, grabbed his arms, and pressed some of her weight against him.

"Sean, my legs are weak..."

Looking up with a slightly reproachful expression, Catherine, who had been making a scene in the car just moments before, now "turned the tables," appearing as a shy and timid little woman.

"What mischief are you plotting now?"

Looking down, Li Xiaoen's expression was helpless.

Indeed, women are born actresses.

"You're so rough, you made my legs go weak..."

With one hand gripping the young man's arm and the other resting on her thigh, Catherine glared at him reproachfully.

Just as Li Xiaoen was frowning, several gasps of surprise came from not far to his side. He looked up and glanced at the shocked faces of Sharma and the others, and his face immediately darkened.

"let's go."

Suddenly realizing what was happening, Sharma quickly turned around and greeted everyone warmly as she walked toward the restaurant.

“I’m a man, and you’re a woman, a beautiful young lady at that…”

Walking at the back, unnoticed by anyone else, Catherine immediately let go of his hand and walked normally beside him. Li Xiaoen couldn't help but glance over, "I don't care, but don't you really care about your reputation?"

"Is that right?"

Catherine smiled nonchalantly, turning to look at him slyly. "I'm pursuing you, and even if I were a woman, this outcome wouldn't be unacceptable."

"..."

"As you wish."

When the topic of pursuing him came up again, Li Xiaoen had nothing to say and shook his head, no longer dwelling on it.

Indian restaurants, especially those in America that are of a certain standard, did not present the scene of eating with one's hands and worrying about hygiene that I had imagined. I was a little worried at first, but after using my [Eye of Insight] to observe the entire restaurant inside and out, I felt a little more at ease.

This is an authentic Indian restaurant. Besides various kinds of porridge, there are some whole-grain flatbreads and some grilled meats. To Li Xiaoen's surprise, the taste is not bad.

"Come……"

Sharma ordered drinks and drank to her heart's content. She picked up a glass and looked at Catherine, saying, "I'd like to toast you."

"I'm sorry, I don't drink."

Upon hearing this, Catherine smiled faintly and shook her head in refusal without hesitation.

Upon hearing this, the corner fell into complete silence.

Many employees in the studio looked up from their wolfing down their food, all staring wide-eyed at Li Xiaoen. Li Xiaoen didn't react at all, but picked up a glass of juice and took a sip.

"I'm the one who invited you, and you won't even give me this much face?"

Faced with the knowing looks from everyone, Sharma's face darkened, clearly embarrassed. "It's just a sip, and you don't even have to drive. Is there something you're worried about?"

"I have no reservations."

She denied it casually, leaning back in her chair, crossing her legs, and looking over with indifferent eyes. "I just don't want to drink it."

With an uncertain expression, Sharma stared intently at the past, then got up from her seat and moved closer.

Faced with this scene, even though the others at the table were showing signs of nervousness and helplessness, Catherine maintained a faint smile and even leisurely picked up a glass of juice and took a sip.

Before Sharma could get close, Li Xiaoen stood up and stepped in front of her.

"Sean, are you really going to stop me?"

Looking up, she saw that the young man's handsome face was equally indifferent. Sharma gritted her teeth, her face trembling, and her body was already shaking. "You can still sit back now."

Li Xiaoen remained unmoved, but couldn't help glancing sideways at a few Indian employees gathered in twos and threes not far away, their faces grim as they looked at the approaching group.

As if sensing his gaze, Sharma's eyes turned even colder.

“Now sit back down. In addition to working at your studio and helping it grow, I can also fund your studio with four million US dollars. You only need to give me 10% of that.”

Upon hearing this, Li Xiaoen's expression turned strange. Before he could speak, Catherine behind him sneered, drawing everyone's attention.

She didn't care at all, and could even be said to enjoy it. She stood up, playfully put her hand on Li Xiaoen's shoulder, rested her head to one side, and looked over with a teasing expression.

"Four million US dollars? You're so concerned about such a small amount? It's not even worth as much as one of my necklaces."

"How dare you make fun of me?!"

Sharma, who was trying her best to suppress her anger, was so enraged by what she heard that her eyes widened in fury. She cursed loudly and threw the wine glass in her hand at him.

However, just as the wine floated into the air, it was lifted up by a hand and slapped aside. Sharma clenched his fist and rushed over, but unexpectedly, he was immediately struck in the abdomen. His body flew backward and crashed into a table. He was in so much pain that he couldn't stand up. He reached back and grabbed tightly, his face swollen and turning a liverish color.

"Sean, beat him so badly he can't get up, and I'll take care of anything for you."

Her face turned cold and icy, and Catherine pushed Lee Shawn's shoulders with both hands.

Do you think it's that simple?

With an annoyed look, Li Xiaoen glanced back and gestured to the waiters who had been watching from the sidelines but were now walking over with slightly sullen expressions.

Do you know any fighting techniques?

Without wasting too much time dwelling on it, Li Xiaoen asked another question, "Or rather, about techniques like dodging."

"will not."

"..."

"You don't even know any fighting skills, yet you dare to be so arrogant in this kind of environment?"

Li Xiaoen paused in surprise. He didn't believe that this woman was so smart that she would ignore her surroundings and her own safety and do something that would put her in danger.

"Isn't it because you're here that I'm doing this?"

She patted the young man on the shoulder as a matter of course, and even now, Catherine still had a calm smile on her face.

Li Xiaoen: “???”

Why are you looking at me like that?

Catherine rolled her eyes again. "I know you've studied martial arts and you're quite talented."

"Then thank you for your attention."

With a forced smile, Li Xiaoen watched as the men helped Sharma up, then quickly grabbed Catherine's hand and hurried toward the door.

"Sir, please wait a moment."

A middle-aged Indian man in a black suit with a gold name tag on his breast pocket blocked my way. "Please understand, if a conflict occurs in this store, please resolve it here. Let's talk things out and avoid causing any negative impact on our business."

"Are you two trying to negotiate?"

Looking back at the few store employees who had already closed in and whose faces were slightly grim, Li Xiaoen turned around and asked.

"Regarding how to negotiate, we believe we will give you a satisfactory answer."

The manager revealed a confident smile.

"Okay, I'll think about it..."

Nodding, Li Xiaoen turned his head to glance at Catherine.

"What else is there to consider?" The manager chuckled strangely, raising his leg to approach Li Xiaoen and the other man, while also rolling up his sleeves.

"I'm thinking about it..."

Muttering to himself, Li Xiaoen suddenly raised his foot and kicked the other person hard, saying, "How should I beat you up?"

After kicking the other person away, Li Xiaoen grabbed Catherine and ran out of the store. Once they were out of the encirclement, they turned around and knocked down the chasing waiters one by one.

To avoid attracting more Indians, Sean Lee gestured with his chin toward Haskel and his colleagues who were following him out of the store, then immediately pulled Catherine along and ran toward the parking lot.

In recent years, thanks to the phenomenon of one person leading another and sticking together for mutual support, the number of Indian Americans in North America has surged, and many have gradually established themselves in middle and senior management positions in various companies. Unexpectedly, he encountered such a situation.

Only after driving several miles away and confirming in the rearview mirror that no one was chasing him did Li Xiaoen breathe a sigh of relief. Just then, he was patted twice on the shoulder.

"Sean, well done."

Catherine smiled and asked, "What kind of reward would you like?"

"Thanks for the compliment."

Li Xiaoen rolled her eyes in annoyance. "My reward is the hope that misfortune will stay away from me and appear in front of me less often."

"You mean to say I'm unhappy?"

Catherine quickly suppressed her smile and looked over with narrowed eyes.

“You are very clever, Miss Catherine.”

Li Xiaoen smiled and nodded, then casually turned on music on the car's control panel.

It's so easy to talk to smart people. Besides Sharma's volatile temper, Catherine's shrewish reactions and actions also contributed a lot to what happened in the restaurant.

With a soft snort, Catherine rolled her eyes, but still reached out and grabbed Li Xiaoen's hand from the steering wheel, placing it on her thigh as the young man struggled.

At first, he didn't feel anything, but when he touched that delicate, smooth, slightly cold skin, Li Xiaoen immediately relaxed his struggling strength.

"Humph……"

Catherine glanced up and gave her a disdainful look, but it didn't last long before it was replaced by astonishment. She quickly grabbed the hand that was messing around on her thigh and said, "Don't move!"

"Isn't this my reward?"

Li Xiaoen laughed twice, his expression shifting rapidly. He gritted his teeth, let out a long hiss, and quickly withdrew his hand.

"I'm tired from playing today, take me home."

Sitting up straight, Catherine straightened her clothes.

……

Would you like to come in and sit down for a bit?

After parking her car in front of a mansion near Seton Hall University, Catherine grabbed her bag and was about to get out of the car when she turned back and asked, "I live alone."

"Is something possible?"

With his arm resting on the steering wheel, Li Xiaoen returned an ambiguous smile.

"Hmm... if you try, it's still possible."

After some hesitation, Catherine finally gave her answer.

"let it go."

Li Xiaoen shook her head without hesitation and refused, "I don't like to take the initiative."

"Goodbye then."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Catherine turned around, opened the door, got out of the car, slammed the door shut, and walked toward the mansion in front of her.

“Hey, Catherine…”

She heard the young man calling her from behind. She took a deep breath and turned around impatiently.

"If you treat my car like this, I'll have to get it checked out. If anything is damaged, you'll have to pay for it."

Leaning out of the car, Li Xiaoen shouted.

Catherine's face suddenly darkened. She looked around and finally found a spherical ornament placed on the neatly trimmed grass. Just as she was about to walk over, a loud roar came from the roadside, and the young man had already driven away.

Her gaze followed the car until it disappeared from sight. Catherine remained standing there, looking in that direction for a long time before turning around and walking back into the house.

She took out her phone and looked down at the photos of the young man's large hand tightly gripping her thigh. She swiped to the left, and one photo after another showed the young man and her in a somewhat intimate manner.

"Humph……"

Catherine gritted her teeth and gave a cold smile.

Because of its proximity to New York, Sean Lee did not choose to return to the studio. Instead, he drove to Apple in Manhattan to complete his weekly tasks. Later, he went to a large department store to look for furniture and household items such as coffee machines, water dispensers, and refrigerators.

It's certainly not the dormitory or my own villa.

With Catherine's continued visits, he finally realized that the studio should not only have computers and office supplies, but also include these conditions to improve employee well-being.

We might as well just learn from the big companies in these areas.

Suddenly remembering something, Li Xiaoen quickly made up her mind, paid the bill, wrote down the studio's address, and immediately headed to the snack wholesale area...

After a shopping spree that cost nearly $80,000, Sean Lee finally returned to his villa in Ridgeview Estates at 6 p.m.

While swimming in the pool, Li Xiaoen's phone, which he had placed on the edge of the pool, suddenly rang. He picked it up and saw that it was a video call from Serafina.

Just as some doubts arose in his mind, Li Xiaoen quickly shook his head and extinguished the spit-out, then casually opened it and put it aside.

The video call connected, and the screen showed several girls sitting together on a sofa in a luxuriously decorated living room, clearly inside Victoria's suite.

"Sean, are you swimming?"

Originally intending to show off to Sean Lee, Serafina exclaimed in surprise when she saw the young man's bare upper body on the screen and the obviously luxurious villa's backyard behind him, "Are you in the villa's swimming pool?"

"Sean, are you being kept by a sugar daddy?"

On the other side, Mary leaned in, her eyes wide with surprise, and exclaimed.

Upon hearing this, Victoria was stunned, while Sophie pursed her lips, lowered her eyes, and sighed inwardly.

"Hey hey hey..."

Seeing the girls making wild guesses and trusting each other, Li Xiaoen couldn't help but call out to stop them, "This is my villa, I bought it with my own money."

"you?"

Serafina raised an eyebrow. "Do you have that much money?"

"Some idiot only bought that luxury car worth hundreds of thousands of dollars because I helped him invest."

Li Xiaoen retorted without hesitation, "It seems you were punished by your elders for being too cocky."

In the video, Serafina puffed out her cheeks.

"Sean..."

Mary excitedly interjected, "When I get back, I'd like to visit your villa, is that alright?"

A simple request instantly drew the attention of all the girls.

(End of this chapter)