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

Chapter 256 Taking a shortcut during other people's holidays

"sure."

Li Xiaoen had no intention of hiding it from the girls, and nodded in agreement, "I'll make you a barbecue dinner then, which will fulfill the promise I made to you before."

As they spoke, Li Xiaoen swam closer to the edge of the pool. He watched as the wide eyes of the girls returned to normal, each with a hint of helpless dejection.

"Hey……"

Li Xiaoen couldn't help but speak up, "I know I have a great figure, but could you guys tone down your reactions a bit?"

The girls were taken aback for a moment, then immediately slapped their knees and burst into laughter.

"Sean, move your phone away, or go somewhere else..."

Serafina suppressed a smile. "We'd like to see your villa."

"You'd like to see the villa, right?"

Noticing that Suffer's expression was a little off, Li Xiaoen felt a chill. He reached for his phone, switched it to the front, and then pushed himself ashore, slowly scanning the area around the villa's backyard.

"Sean..."

After remaining silent for a long time, Victoria finally spoke up, "How about we go check out the kitchen?"

"Okay, Your Highness Princess."

Li Xiaoen stretched out a hand in front of the screen and waved it forward. He then moved his feet, passed a lounge chair by the pool, grabbed a bath towel, wrapped it around his waist, and pointed his phone screen at various parts of the kitchen.

"Sean, look in the living room, look in the living room..."

After the trip was over, Mary spoke up again.

"Good good..."

Helpless, Li Xiaoen took out a sports drink from the refrigerator and walked towards the living room while drinking it.

Aside from Suffer's lack of interest, Li Xiaoen found it somewhat amusing to see the three girls huddled together on the phone, staring at him with curious eyes.

For some reason, it gives me the feeling of someone who has become successful and is returning home in glory.
Clearly, the family backgrounds of these young ladies are far beyond what he can currently match.

After satisfying the curiosity of the girls one by one and chatting about their trip to England, Li Xiaoen finally hung up the phone.

Based on the time difference, it was around 11:30 in London time when Sean Lee snapped out of his work and sent another message to Victoria.

Later, I'll bring you to see my house.
From the moment Mary said she wanted to visit his house, he sensed that the girl's mood wasn't quite right, and now it was time for her to go back to her room to sleep.

Hmm.
Just moments later, a milky white kitten nodding emoji appeared in the chat box, making Li Xiaoen smile.

Because he kept sending emojis in the chat, Victoria, after her initial curiosity, was gradually "corrupted".

"Sean, I've tried the app your studio released, and it's very well done."

Victoria sent another message, "I've already found people here to help you promote it."

Li Xiaoen: "..."

No, I really don't want to be a kept man.

His expression turned strange, and after a long silence, Li Xiaoen typed a thank you message to the girl, followed by a "I'll repay you with my body" emoji.

In a luxuriously decorated room in a castle far away in England, a basketball on the bedside table emits a faint, breathing blue light, and melodious music emanates from within. A girl with long, flowing blonde hair holds her phone in both hands and collapses headfirst onto the soft bedding.

The next day.

Li Xiaoen got up early, swam a few laps in the pool, washed up, ate breakfast, and drove to the studio.

The items he purchased yesterday have been delivered at his request and placed in various locations in the studio. Seeing that his colleagues sitting at their workstations all had satisfied and relaxed smiles on their faces, he felt that the tens of thousands of dollars he spent were worthwhile.

"Sean, do you have time to talk?"

As soon as he raised his hand to signal to them, Evan stood up and came over, asking in a low voice.

"Is it about Sharma?"

Li Xiaoen glanced down at the other person's haggard appearance.

"Ah."

Nodding, Evan forced a smile.

"Come on, follow me."

With a wave, Sean Lee led the way to the office that Catherine had set up the day before.

Since she had already offered it to him, Sean Lee naturally didn't stand on ceremony with Catherine and simply treated it as his office.

"Sean, I want to beg you, could you please let Sharma go?"

As soon as Li Xiaoen sat down, he heard Evan's impatient voice, "Don't worry, Sharma will never bother your friends again, and she will never bother any girl again!"

"Wait, didn't I only kick him once?"

Li Xiaoen paused for a moment, then quickly interrupted, immediately realizing what was happening, "You mean, Sharma was taught a lesson, or something?"

"do not you know?"

Evan paused for a moment, then lowered his head with a wry smile. "Sharma, ever since we went back from that Indian restaurant, the police have been causing trouble for us. They checked all our documents and fined us a lot. They even found contraband in our car, and we're going to be deported."

"After being put in an electronic ankle bracelet and returning from the police station, he was also beaten up by a local gang and is still in the hospital."

"Even that Indian restaurant has been targeted and subjected to various inspections; many undocumented immigrants have already been arrested..."

While the other person was speaking, Li Xiaoen gestured to the seat opposite Ai Wen, inviting him to sit down, his expression becoming increasingly intriguing.

One incident could be considered a coincidence, but two or three incidents, all targeting Sharma and her group of Indians, make it obvious to anyone who thinks about it.

"He must have done something bad, and God is punishing him."

Having already made up his mind, Li Xiaoen sighed meaningfully, "Don't worry, if I'm not mistaken, as long as he obediently leaves the country and doesn't cause any more trouble, he won't be bothered anymore."

Evan paused for a moment upon hearing this, then forced a smile and nodded repeatedly.

"You should take the day off today."

As Evan got up to leave, Sean Lee called out to him again.

"Sean, you need to..."

Stunned, Evan slowly turned around and looked at him, his face filled with unexpected bewilderment.

Don't worry, I'm not firing you.

Li Xiaoen smiled and comforted him, "I'll give you a day of paid leave. Get some rest and come back tomorrow in your normal state."

"well."

Nodding quickly, Evan's face lit up with excitement at the unexpected turn of events, and he turned and left immediately.

Before joining Li Xiaoen Studio, he didn't feel anything special, but after joining, he felt that his thinking ability was clearer and more agile than ever before. Problems that used to trouble him for several days were successfully solved in just one day, which made him very excited.

As news and promotions about the app gained traction, he felt the studio had immense potential. He had long since abandoned any intention to test the waters and learn; he was now focused on achieving remarkable success there.

"I'll go back and catch up on some sleep to recharge, then I'll come back this afternoon." Back in the work area, Evan nodded solemnly to his colleagues and said, "If you have any questions, feel free to leave me a message first."

Li Xiaoen couldn't see what was happening outside. He browsed the current progress on the studio's server and, seeing that it was almost finished, immediately began planning the next round of improvements.

On the third day, just as the hype was dying down, the new version of the app was launched.

This time, because it addressed most of the pain points and shortcomings of users, it once again generated considerable buzz.

Is this a paid online troll post?

On the afternoon of the fourth day, Li Xiaoen sat in his office, browsing online reviews and user feedback on the app. Seeing some posts that were full of praise, he became suspicious.

Is it because they've hired too many online trolls, diluting and blurring the true direction of app optimization?

With the product generating a lot of buzz online, Li Xiaoen, the studio owner, couldn't help but feel genuinely puzzled.

The office door suddenly opened, and looking up, Catherine walked in with a cat-like gait, carrying a bag.

After closing the door, she first turned around gracefully, glanced around, and then turned to focus on the young man behind the desk. She strolled over, sat half-sitting on the desk with her arms crossed, and spoke leisurely.

"This is my office, and you're taking it for yourself without any hesitation."

"You're wrong, this is my office."

Turning his chair around, Li Xiaoen looked up to meet the other person's mischievous gaze. "Sharma being targeted, was that your doing?"

Even though he already knew for sure, Li Xiaoen still asked.

"Yes."

Without hiding anything, Catherine smiled casually, raising her hand to examine her fingernails, "Letting someone like him leave America with all his limbs intact is already magnanimous of me."

"I wonder how many girls will suffer harassment or even persecution from him when he returns to India or goes somewhere else."

"Is it that serious?"

Li Xiaoen raised an eyebrow and asked himself honestly, based on his short half-day experience with the other party, he hadn't yet equated the other party with a criminal who committed crimes and depraved evil.

But upon closer reflection, the sordid affairs of the wealthy he encountered through his "Punishing Evil and Promoting Good" system achievements, and the beastly behavior hidden beneath their glamorous exteriors, are not uncommon.

Shaking his head, Li Xiaoen stopped worrying about it and nodded at Catherine before leaning back in his comfortable chair.

"Tell me, why did you come to me?"

Clearly, this was a set of matching furnishings that she had carefully selected. Catherine glanced at it leisurely and took a deep breath.

"Sean, your studio's app has seen a surge in popularity again. Have you considered the revenue aspect?"

"now?"

Li Xiaoen raised an eyebrow. "Isn't this too hasty?"

Despite his current achievements being something many studios and even small companies can hardly match, Li Xiaoen still has no intention of generating revenue.

First, the studio had only been open for about two months, and its staff consisted only of software developers. Second, expanding its influence and popularity in the early stages was a money-burning process, and he originally planned to start considering it only after his one million dollars in savings had been almost gone.

“It doesn’t involve your main promotional business, but you can build on it and do some value-added services.”

With her hands on the table, Catherine leaned over and explained with a smile, "As your first investor, I've also brought you a partnership with my company."

"advertise?"

With difficulty, Li Xiaoen looked up from the other woman's ample bosom and tentatively began to speak.

The app from his studio is, simply put, a third-party platform that filters out currently popular software recommendations from within the market, further filtering and selecting them. The entire interface is simple and elegant, and the only difference between it and normal direct use is the simple menu that appears when it is brought up.

For this type of app, the main source of revenue is probably advertising—whether it's displaying ads on the opening screen, adjusting the weighting of ads during internal filtering, or inserting ads, the effect is excellent no matter what method is used.

"Yes."

A smile graced her fair face, showing none of the ruthlessness she had displayed just moments before when a single sentence had crippled and deported a man who was doing quite well in America. Catherine nodded. "I've already sent you the contract via email. You can take a look. You can fill in the price as you like."

"Thank you for your trust, but I'll pass."

He could fill in the price himself, but it certainly wasn't about letting him ask for an exorbitant price. Li Xiaoen sat up straight, didn't reach for the mouse, and shook his head in refusal. "Now is a crucial time for attracting users and developing the business. There's no need to rush to generate revenue."

"How long are you going to keep burning money?"

Catherine raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.

She had initially thought that Li Xiaoen simply had an idea and excellent professional skills, and was just a novice groping his way in the world of entrepreneurship. Now it seems that she was wrong.

"There is no specific timeframe. Once we have more than three million users, we will wait until the user growth rate slows down to a certain level."

After careful consideration, Li Xiaoen gave an ambiguous answer.

"three million?"

Catherine paused for a moment, "You're quite greedy, and quite confident."

"This is no ordinary app."

Li Xiaoen explained helplessly, "If I can't achieve such a large user base by relying on the software of several major internet giants, it would be a failure for me."

"..."

"It's hard to believe that such an arrogant attitude could come from a 19-year-old college freshman like you."

With her eyes slightly narrowed, Catherine carefully examined Li Xiaoen for a long time before letting out a soft sigh and expressing her feelings.

The young woman had her own plans from the beginning. She initially hoped to intervene and help the other party's studio when it was still in its infancy, so as to make an initial contribution to the establishment of the other party's company. This plan has now completely fallen through.

"If you're going to burn through all that money, you definitely won't be able to sustain it with just your personal funds, right?"

Catherine pursed her lips and spoke again, "I'll lend it to you? Just in my personal name, without any share of the studio, and without charging you interest."

It's another case of being fed by a woman.

I just want to be self-reliant and start my own business, but the pretty girl I find always wants to be my boyfriend. What's going on?

Li Xiaoen's expression turned strange for a moment, but under Catherine's gaze, he still shook his head and refused.

"Do you have other ways to generate income?"

Having been rejected repeatedly while investigating every detail of the youth's case, Catherine, who had never experienced anything like it before, asked incredulously, "Is it investment in the stock market or cryptocurrency?"

"No."

Li Xiaoen shook his head. Since they were about to start taking action anyway, he stopped being mysterious and said, "We'll find research teams at other universities to collaborate with, using the machine learning results and massive database from our app to develop push algorithms that are compatible with different companies."

“Will they agree to that?”

Catherine couldn't help but ask again, knowing that it's not easy for ordinary medium-sized companies to cooperate with university projects, let alone Li Xiaoen's studio with only a dozen people.

How will you know if you don't try?

Li Xiaoen smiled and shrugged, his calm and fearless smile stunning Catherine.

(End of this chapter)