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

Chapter 261 You, a Chinese person, are researching American health insurance in Britain?

In the distance, the figure stopped in his tracks, standing there blankly as if lost in thought.

Knowing that Victoria had heard him, Li Xiaoen felt relieved and realized that she had started to catch her breath. She slowly lifted her leg and moved closer to her.

It wasn't until he was not far behind her that Li Xiaoen saw Victoria break free from the girl's grasp and turn around blankly.

Today she wore a beige long-sleeved knit top paired with a white lace-trimmed long skirt, and her long blonde hair was simply tied back, making her look casual yet extremely elegant.

"Victoria, you're still so beautiful."

Meeting the girl's wide, emerald-green eyes, Li Xiaoen greeted her with a smile, "Seeing this scene, I think I must be blessed by Lady Luck today."

"Glib tongue!"

Before Victoria could react, the girl beside her glared at her coldly and moved to the side, blocking Victoria's path. "Sean, what are you trying to do now?"

"This time, you will not succeed no matter what. If you act on your own initiative, you will be deported!"

Upon hearing this, Li Xiaoen finally shifted his gaze from the pretty face he had been longing for day and night, and looked at Charlotte, who was gritting her teeth and cautiously looking over like a tigress.

Li Xiaoen opened her mouth, but gave up on explaining herself to the other person and turned her gaze back to Victoria. This action further angered her, and she frowned and walked over.

"Hey, don't get physical, okay?"

Li Xiaoen slapped away the hand that was reaching for his shoulder and said helplessly, expressing utter disdain for this third wheel who was brighter than the sun. "Isn't England supposed to be very particular about manners for gentlemen and ladies? I don't see any of that in you."

"Sean..."

Charlotte paused for a moment, then gritted her teeth and glared at him. "A lady is only for gentlemen. For a scoundrel like you, a spear and a sword are definitely more suitable!"

Why does this sentence sound so familiar?
Li Xiaoen felt a little strange. The situation at the moment did not allow him to think about it slowly. He looked back at Victoria, who had finally regained some consciousness.

"I came to England on some business, and I thought I'd drop by to see you."

Li Xiaoen shrugged and offered a smile as he explained the reason.

"Oh, oh..."

Victoria nodded blankly and turned her head to the other side.

"..."

that's all?

Li Xiaoen hesitated for a moment. It had been more than a month since they last saw each other in person, on their way to Bitmore Manor.

Although it was about the same length as the winter break, both of them knew exactly what it meant. Li Xiaoen had originally thought that even if Victoria was down on her luck, she would at least come closer to him and say something about how much she missed him.

"what……"

As if suddenly realizing something, Victoria exclaimed, "Sean, we're about to start class, please excuse me."

After saying that, she quickly turned around, grabbed Charlotte's arm (who was still stunned), and walked quickly towards the teaching building behind her.

Why do I always feel like Victoria is avoiding him, afraid to see him?

Watching the two girls walk away silently, Li Xiaoen raised his hand and touched his neck, feeling a little awkward about interacting with girls.

Victoria, let's have lunch together.
After editing the message and sending it to Victoria, but receiving no reply for a long time, Li Xiaoen had to edit another message and send it again.

If you don't agree, I'll block your classroom and sing all over the campus.
This time, it only took a moment before Li Xiaoen saw a message arrive.

I promise you, please don't act impulsively.
"Ha ha……"

Looking at his phone, Li Xiaoen chuckled twice, imagining Victoria's helpless and coquettish face. He shook his head and put the phone back in his pocket.

It's morning class time now, and there are still a few hours until noon, so he seems rather relaxed and carefree with nothing to do.

Just as Li Xiaoen was thinking of taking a short stroll around the university or the London area, he looked around and noticed several students of various skin colors and ages standing not far away, staring intently at him. Some of them even held up their phone cameras.

Without refusing or running away, Li Xiaoen smiled, raised her hand to them, and turned to leave.

“Hey, Sean…”

I hadn't gone far when I heard a call from behind, in Chinese.

Li Xiaoen stopped and looked over. A young Chinese man wearing a white shirt and trousers was walking briskly towards him with a small backpack slung over his shoulder.

"Is there a problem?"

Li Xiaoen responded in Chinese, "Are you an international student from China?"

"Oh, yes."

The man smiled and nodded, looking at me with wide, excited eyes. He extended his hand and said, "I am Wang Chuxin, and I am currently pursuing a medical doctorate at UCL."

"Li Xiaoen is currently studying computer science at Princeton University for his undergraduate degree."

After shaking hands with the other person, Li Xiaoen introduced herself in the same way.

"Sean, you say you have an undergraduate degree, but your true abilities surpass even those of master's and doctoral degree holders, don't they?"

Wang Chuxin laughed twice, "Don't you know that you're very popular in our study abroad circle, and even in the overseas university student circle?"

"It's not just the videos of you playing basketball and singing at parties, but also the detective stories at high-end charity galas in New York, the explosive popularity of your studio's app, and even the villain comics based on you from the beginning..."

As he listed them off one by one, Wang Chuxin's voice grew increasingly excited. "You are the first Chinese person to be so popular and famous among young people in universities in countries like the UK and the US."

Actually, there's more.

Li Xiaoen smiled helplessly and could only nod in agreement.

The promotion and viral success of his studio's app reignited an already considerable online buzz in a new way.

He saw many videos introducing him online—magic, singing, basketball, comic book villains. These entertainment-oriented tags and topics, combined with the studio's trending app full of internet technology, created a contrast in behavior and versatility that was embodied in him. This mutual support further boosted his popularity to a new level.

In fact, not only on overseas networks like those in the UK and the US, but also in China, there have been many articles about him. Some of these articles start with shocking headlines, saying that the founder of a wildly popular overseas app development studio actually has this side to him in private. His parents were so amused by these videos that they were sending him several videos every day for a while.

"Sean, may I interview you?"

Wang Chuxin looked over expectantly, and as he spoke, he had already taken out a microphone and a cell phone from his bag.

"..."

So, they came prepared after all.

Li Xiaoen's expression turned strange for a moment. Since he had nothing else to do, he simply nodded in agreement.

“Hey, Sean…”

Just as Li Xiaoen stepped into the coffee shop on campus, a surprised call came from behind. Turning around, he saw a young Chinese woman he didn't recognize, her face beaming with delight as she quickly approached him. "You are..."

Li Xiaoen hesitated for a moment. He couldn't recall knowing any Chinese students in England. He had come to UCL today and had run into two of them.

"My name is Ye Linrou, you can call me Kathy, I'm also an international student at UCL."

Smiling, the woman reached out her hand. "It's great to see you here. Are you here for tourism? Do you need a tour guide? I've been studying in London for several years."

"Trust me, I will take you to many interesting places."

As she spoke familiarly, she raised her hand and tossed her long, smooth hair that was draped over her shoulders.

"Thank you, I have a plan, no need to trouble yourself."

After exchanging a glance with Wang Chuxin, Li Xiaoen smiled awkwardly and shook his head in refusal.

Only then did Wang Chuxin greet him with a smile.

"Kathy, I'm sorry, Sean must be busy. I'll interview him first, then it'll be your turn. Please wait a moment."

“Whatever…”

Ye Linrou smiled and waved her hand, "If it's Sean, I'm still very willing to wait."

"Do you know each other?"

Although he had seen many people online speaking in such an abstract way, this was the first time Li Xiaoen had encountered it in real life. He looked at the two people with some embarrassment. Two Chinese people approached him from the front and back, and they knew each other, which made him subconsciously wary.

"Oh, yes, we know each other, but we only got in touch last night."

Seeing through Li Xiaoen's thoughts, Wang Chuxin smiled and waved his hand, "I made an appointment with Kathy yesterday to do an interview with an international student. We were supposed to meet this morning, but since I ran into you in between, I thought I'd interview you first."

"It seems I've disturbed you after all."

Li Xiaoen nodded, and his seemingly meaningful words prompted Wang Chuxin to hurriedly shake his head and wave his hands, raising an eyebrow involuntarily.

Although Ye Linrou was a bit too outgoing, she was still quite good-looking, and today she had clearly put on elaborate makeup. In his [Character Lens] observation, her charm level was 12 points.

"Come on, let's go inside and talk."

Seemingly oblivious to the exchange between the two, Ye Linrou smiled, took Li Xiaoen's arm, and led the way into the coffee shop. "Perfect timing, Dr. Wang, could you give me a few questions to ask Xiaoen when I interview him?"

"Oh... no need for that, I can walk."

After being pulled a few steps, Li Xiaoen quickly broke free from the other person's grasp, offered a helpless explanation, and began to regret accepting the interview.

"Sean, come on, can we take a picture together?"

After ordering the coffee, Ye Linrou immediately came over with a smile, holding her phone. Although she was asking a question, she didn't wait for Li Xiaoen's answer and instead pointed her phone at the two of them.

"Can we... take care of our business first?"

Exhausted, Li Xiaoen quickly looked at Wang Chuxin sitting opposite him and emphasized something.

"Alright, alright, let's begin."

He immediately understood and nodded, handing over a portable microphone. "Here, Sean, clip this to your shirt collar."

The interview content was all the same, nothing more than the current school and major, the difficulties encountered while studying in the United States, the experience and feelings of studying abroad, and a slight touch on the direction of study and employment trends.

After the brief interview, as Wang Chuxin's interview shifted to Ye Linrou, Li Xiaoen was about to say goodbye when he was stunned into silence by a single sentence from the other party.

"My major is political history, which is the study of US healthcare policy. I am currently pursuing my PhD at UCL."

"..."

Clearly, even the interviewer, Wang Chuxin, hadn't expected this answer, and an eerie silence fell over the corner of the coffee shop.

"Cough cough..."

Li Xiaoen coughed twice, which brought Wang Chuxin back to his senses. He couldn't help but look at the strange expression on his face. He lowered his head, picked up the coffee that had just been served, and took a sip.

"So, you have a PhD in social sciences?"

Wang Chuxin reacted quickly, nodding seriously and asking, "Could you tell me what your major usually involves?"

"I've just been writing all the time."

Looking up and recalling, Ye Linrou gave a simple answer, "That's right, there's a quota of 500 words every day when I wake up."

"However, what is written down... may not necessarily be useful."

Carefully choosing her words, Ye Linrou added, "Because your advisor might say that what you wrote doesn't have its own theoretical framework, isn't very logical, isn't analytical, or something like that..."

"Let's get back to the question we're more concerned about. You've been researching in this area for so many years, so what are the main career paths for social science PhDs in this field?"

Wang Chuxin nodded repeatedly.

"Most importantly, we need to see which classes the skill set is compatible with..."

"The career path for social science PhDs is, of course, still in academia, such as publishing houses, policy agencies, NGOs, charity organizations, research support, and the like..."

"Even the recently emerging field of AI can help study the direction of AI training and learning based on AI's responses to questions and the context..."

Originally, Li Xiaoen was just sitting quietly to the side, a curious bystander, when he was suddenly dragged into it for no reason. When he received the gazes of the two people looking at him, he couldn't help but feel a chill.

“If machine learning relies on people or a single environment, it will inevitably fall into a vicious cycle of rigid, outdated ideas.”

Li Xiaoen shook his head and replied, "Our studio's motto is to be all-encompassing, with equal weight given to different contexts on any platform."

Upon hearing this, the two nodded seriously, and the interview continued. He immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

If he were to go on a business trip to England and cause trouble for the studio with this kind of burden, he would probably cry himself to sleep for days before he could recover.

While secretly grumbling, Li Xiaoen, at Princeton, finally had a real understanding of the rumors circulating on the Chinese internet about the "English-medium master's degree."

A Chinese student studying in the UK, majoring in US healthcare policy...

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed in his entire life that such a thing could exist in this world.

In an effort to stimulate and retain international students, British universities have created numerous one-year master's programs, often in unimportant humanities and social sciences or non-STEM fields with zero technical or professional relevance.

Without listening any further, and seeing that their interview was about to end, Li Xiaoen took his leave at the opportune moment.

It's already past 10 a.m., and there's still more than an hour until lunchtime. What should we do next?

Li Xiaoen glanced down at his phone, pondering to himself.

What should he see in this ancient yet bustling city?
(End of this chapter)