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

Chapter 262 London Trip

Unfortunately, London's iconic landmarks, Big Ben and the London Eye, are two kilometers away, and it takes quite a while to walk there. Among the attractions near University College London, the only ones that are easily accessible are the British Museum and the Library.

Searching on his phone, Li Xiaoen glanced around at the road and slowly lifted his foot.

There were no must-see attractions. He strolled slowly and leisurely along the streets beside the highway, appreciating the charm of this ancient city through the quaint and classical alleyways.

There are many Victorian Gothic buildings, many of which are visibly constructed from flat, gray, massive stones. On some high places and at corners, years of accumulated gray-black dust add to the ancient charm of the area.

The archway design, with its ancient style and vibrant black and white colors, along with the intricate stone carvings and openwork decorations, and the pointed roofs rising from every corner of the massive building, attract many tourists to stop and admire it. There are also numerous mobile phone cameras pointing at it from every direction.

Li Xiaoen, who was already very interested in this type of architecture, looked around with curiosity, feeling overwhelmed by the beauty.

Compared to the modern high-rises in Manhattan, he preferred the classical and elegant architecture there.

Strolling around, stopping occasionally, and entering the British Museum with tourists of all skin colors from around the world, Sean Lee began to leisurely wander inside, following the signs.

It must be said that the former British Empire truly lives up to its name. According to reports, the museum houses more than eight million artifacts from around the world, with only eight-half of them originating from England. Due to limited exhibition space, ninety-nine percent of the collection is confined to storage.

The Rosetta Stone and mummies from Egypt, the sculptures of the Parthenon in Greece, the Aztec serpent from Mexico, the Portland vase from Italy—each exhibit, from various civilizations around the world, though simply displayed, constantly conveys the power and grandeur of the former British Empire.

Even in the Chinese exhibition area, Li Xiaoen saw the Admonitions of the Instructress to the Court Ladies and Dunhuang murals, as well as familiar Tang tri-color porcelain Arhat statues.

After wandering around for a while, it was only after receiving a message from Victoria on his phone that Sean Lee strolled out of the museum.

They communicated on the phone, and on the way back to school, they bumped into each other. Notably, there was another unsightly figure next to Victoria.

"Victoria, do you want to get rid of this troublesome woman?"

As he approached, he saw that the girl's complexion had regained some of its former brightness. Li Xiaoen took a step closer and, as she looked up in surprise, leaned in and spoke.

Although he was speaking in a whispering posture, his voice did not decrease at all, and the volume was just enough to reach Charlotte, who was following beside him and watching him warily.

"You bastard!"

After a moment's hesitation, Charlotte immediately understood the young man's provocative meaning. Gritting her teeth, she cursed, "If you continue to be rude to me and disrespect Victoria, don't blame me for being impolite!"

"That's just how I am. If you're going to be impolite, then how exactly are you going to be impolite?"

Turning around, Li Xiaoen glanced over casually and chuckled, "If you could really sense the atmosphere, you'd probably know that Victoria doesn't want you around, interrupting our time together..."

Upon hearing this, Charlotte, who was initially angry, froze and turned to look at Victoria blankly.

"Sean, what are you saying?"

With a helpless scolding, Victoria glared at Charlotte with a reproachful look, then placed her hands on Charlotte's arms. "No, I just want you by my side. We grew up together and have been together all this time. How could I possibly send you away at this time?"

After comforting Charlotte with gentle words, Victoria turned her gaze back and glared at the young man in front of her who looked like a street thug. "Don't tell Charlotte these jokes. She doesn't know you. How would she know you're joking?"

In short, Victoria was both a way to comfort Charlotte and to salvage some of Sean Lee's image in Charlotte's eyes. In terms of caring for and understanding others, Victoria was the best person he had ever met.

Understanding the girl's good intentions, Li Xiaoen nodded repeatedly in agreement.

"Victoria, you don't have classes this afternoon, right?"

Extending his hand to the girl, Li Xiaoen smiled and raised his chin. "You know, before I went to university, I was a poor guy who had to deliver food. This is my first time in London, and I really need a local guide..."

Victoria was taken aback by Li Xiaoen's considerate gesture. She pursed her lips and handed him her bag, just like when the two of them were together in America. She laughed out loud, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, when she heard the young man's self-pitying request.

"Okay, I promise you, stop crying when you're not crying, okay?"

Victoria raised her hand to cover her mouth with a demure gesture, giving him a playful glare.

"Does it not exist? Perhaps you can't see it clearly."

Li Xiaoen retorted seriously, leaning her head closer, "Victoria, do you want to take a closer look?"

Unfortunately, just as he got close enough to her bright, oval face to be within arm's reach, Li Xiaoen's face was suddenly blocked by a hand that reached out from the side. The palm firmly covered his face, and he could smell a strong scent of gardenia perfume.

"Cough cough..."

Reluctantly straightening up, Li Xiaoen coughed twice to relieve the slightly pungent smell entering his nostrils. He looked up and met the cold, mocking gaze of the big light bulb.

"Charlotte, you should know what the original purpose of perfume was."

Without a care in the world, Li Xiaoen picked up Victoria's bag and spoke in a leisurely voice.

"Sean..."

With a slight frown, and seeing that the young man was about to start using his quick wit, Victoria quickly stepped closer and tugged at his arm. "Let's go, I'll take you to lunch."

Li Xiaoen was naturally happy to hear Victoria's words. He nodded and smiled as he raised his hand to put it on the girl's shoulder, but Charlotte pulled him back.

"what do you want to say in the end?"

Looking back intently, Charlotte shielded Victoria behind her and raised her head defiantly, "Perfume is initially used to cover up bad smells."

"If you think I use perfume to cover up bad smells, you're disappointed. It's just my etiquette when I'm out and about. It's not something a poor Chinese guy who was delivering food not long ago could understand."

"Have you ever heard of a saying?"

Li Xiaoen wasn't surprised, and his teasing smile returned. "You can tell a woman's character by her perfume, or..."

"Her style, even her desires, are hidden beneath her outward appearance..."

Upon hearing this, both girls froze, staring at each other in stunned silence.

Just as Charlotte was feeling a chill, the young man immediately turned his gaze to Victoria.

"Victoria, you English nobles, do you really have body odor?"

Li Xiaoen's expression suddenly turned serious.

The initial stunned look in her eyes was quickly replaced by astonishment. Victoria's pretty face immediately turned bright red, and she glared at him resentfully.

"What are you talking about? That's from the old days. Body odor hasn't been a thing in our family for a long time, okay?" "Is that so?"

Even though she already knew the answer in her heart, Li Xiaoen still pretended to be suspicious and nodded, "Okay, since we're friends, I'll believe you."

"No need! That's a fact, don't worry about anything else!"

Seeing that Li Xiaoen was about to put the matter to rest, Victoria became anxious, stepped closer, and grabbed the young man's arm, "Don't you know whether I have it or not?"

"Oh, right..."

With a sudden realization, Li Xiaoen lowered her eyes with a smile and looked at the clear, emerald green eyes of the girl, saying, "If you hadn't said anything, I would have almost forgotten."

Victoria's face froze instantly. She quickly looked away, lowered her head, and walked to the side on her own, forgetting even her companion Charlotte behind her.

"Ha ha……"

Li Xiaoen laughed twice, adjusted the elegant and classic bag slung over his shoulder, glanced at Charlotte who was still standing there, and quickly followed after her.

On the bustling street, a young man with a girl's bag slung over his shoulder turned his head and teased the girl beside him, making her laugh. The girl kept her head down and hurried on her way, not saying a word, and even turned her head to look at the other side where the young man was not.

They were a strikingly good-looking couple, and this heartwarming and funny scene attracted the attention of many passersby, whose faces were filled with happy smiles.

Charlotte subconsciously looked up and stared blankly at the two people walking side by side ahead. She only realized what was happening when they stopped and turned around, and quickly followed them.

It's probably a common problem for locals; they all think there's nothing fun to do in their hometown. Under Shawn Lee's subtle probing, Victoria and Charlotte could only name a few tourist attractions from online travel guides. However, they both raved about a French restaurant.

In London, England, the first restaurant recommended by locals was a French restaurant. This strange answer amused Li Xiaoen, who teased her about it, but it immediately drew stubborn arguments and explanations from the two girls.

Notably, Charlotte was far more agitated than Victoria, who was of royal birth, and kept chattering away.

"Hey hey hey..."

With a headache from all the noise, Li Xiaoen helplessly raised her hand, "Charlotte, you don't have a boyfriend, right?"

"What... what do you want to do?"

Charlotte's usually fluent tongue became sluggish, her voice inexplicably panicked, and she even took a half step back, looking warily at the young man.

"Don't misunderstand, don't misunderstand..."

Charlotte was alright, but when Victoria gave him a meaningful look, Sean Lee still felt he should speak up and explain. He shrugged and said, "With such a strong and irritable personality, low emotional intelligence, and inability to read other people's expressions, plus such a long-winded mouth, I think the man who can fall in love with Charlotte must be a hardworking, resilient, and one-in-a-million warrior."

"Shut up!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a shout came from ahead. Facing a gust of wind rushing towards him, Li Xiaoen's heart tightened, and he quickly leaned back, barely dodging Charlotte's kick.

Before he could react, Charlotte threw another punch at his face. Relying on the fighting experience he had gained from his accelerated training at Serafina's house, Shawn Lee calmed himself down, spread his fingers, and raised them upwards, grabbing his opponent's wrist perfectly.

"You...you let go..."

Her first attack failed, and she was captured and subdued while pursuing him. Charlotte gritted her teeth and glared at him, "You rude man, you should be ashamed of your rudeness!"

"Ah……"

Li Xiaoen sneered, "You were the one who hit me first, and you were the one who cursed me first, so how come I'm the one who was rude?"

“You are the one who should feel ashamed, Miss Charlotte.”

"Sean..."

Victoria, feeling rather troubled, quickly tugged at Sean Lee's shoulder and called out softly.

"Don't worry, I still won't hold anything against a woman."

Nodding, Sean Lee shook off Charlotte's arm, ignoring her defiant glare as she rubbed her wrist, and shrugged. "Victoria, look at her like this, wasn't I right?"

"Alright, Sean..."

She glared at them with displeasure, then grabbed the young man's arm with one hand and Charlotte's hand with the other, pulling them towards the nearby park. "For my sake, you two should try to understand each other and stop arguing... promise me!"

As she spoke, noticing the young man's lazy and carefree attitude, Victoria immediately changed her tone.

"As you command, Your Highness Princess!"

Raising an eyebrow, Li Xiaoen smiled and raised his other hand, waving it on his forehead. Immediately, the girl grabbed his arm and he felt her grip tighten.

Having learned from past mistakes, today's lunch was at a British restaurant near Big Ben, recommended by Victoria. After waiting in the park for a short while, a luxury car arrived and took them to their destination.

"Sure enough, Big Ben is just like I remember it."

Looking up at the ancient clock tower that stood tall and attracted the attention of most people in the vicinity, Li Xiaoen couldn't help but sigh.

"Victoria, do you know?"

Suddenly laughing, Li Xiaoen pointed to Big Ben at Victoria, "When we were in school, the cover of one year's English textbook was this Big Ben."

"is it?"

With her eyes wide open, Victoria nodded seriously, "How are you feeling?"

"Hmm... Perhaps it's because of the memories from my youth, but I really like it and feel quite emotional about it."

Under the gaze of the two girls, Li Xiaoen carefully answered, "I'm a sentimental person."

Just then, a figure crouching down nearby caught the attention of the three.

It was a middle-aged woman, dressed casually and carrying a bag, clearly a tourist. She looked up at Big Ben, seemingly unable to control herself, and wiped her face with her hands, letting out bursts of sobs.

The three of them couldn't help but exchange a strange look.

(End of this chapter)