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

Chapter 280 Strike Back at the Pain Point

"Still not working?"

After another ten-plus hours of travel, the plane was about to land. Li Xiaoen refreshed the international news a few times, especially searching for the tag "India," but still couldn't find any breaking news. He couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

He turned his head to look out the window at the vast city cluster illuminated by thousands of lights, and his brows slowly furrowed.

As early as yesterday, when he and Amelia entered the alley, he saw two nearby nursing homes through the Eye of Insight. The horrifying and disgusting crimes inside were still on display. He took the time to anonymously report them to various departments of the Indian government and even major news media, but he has yet to receive the response he deserves.

So, was he just too naive and underestimated the evil in human nature?
Li Xiaoen couldn't help but sigh, suddenly recalling what he had seen online before, thanks to his superb computer network skills, about the dark and bloody industry chain of Indian nursing homes. He never expected that he would actually experience it firsthand.

Suddenly, the plane felt a sense of weightlessness. Li Xiaoen took a deep breath and, as the plane landed, completely cleared his mind of all thoughts and put them out of his mind.

As the plane landed, Professor Phyllis and Amelia walked out of the hall. Sean Lee was the first to see Catherine's figure and was momentarily stunned.

Today she was wearing a sleeveless knit top and white trousers. An orange belt accentuated her slender waist. Her long golden hair was swept back and cascaded down her back. She wore large sunglasses on her small face and simply stood there with her arms crossed, quietly waiting. This simple gesture unconsciously attracted the attention of everyone around her.

She possessed a quiet and elegant demeanor, maintaining a calm and composed appearance even under the gaze of the crowd until she looked up and saw Li Xiaoen and the others, at which point she happily raised her hand to greet them.

"Sean..."

"..."

"I think it's better if you don't open your mouth to speak..."

As he stepped closer, Li Xiaoen smiled helplessly and teased him.

"Oh, so that's the style you like."

Catherine nodded seriously, holding the bag's handles with both hands in front of her, and obediently agreed, "Next time, oh no, tonight, I'll do as you say."

"Cough cough..."

Unable to suppress a dry cough, Li Xiaoen took a deep breath and waved to Professor Phyllis and the other person who were looking at him strangely, "That's just how she is, don't believe her."

"Um……"

With a long, meaningful hum, Catherine's bright eyes revealed an innocent look as she looked away from everyone, her gaze wandering left and right.

"If you don't speak, no one will think you are mute."

Li Xiaoen's face darkened. After confirming with Professor Phyllis that the two of them planned to take an Uber back to school, he waved goodbye to them and then walked towards the parking lot not far away.

"Hmph...hmph...hmph..."

After he left, Catherine naturally didn't bother Professor Phyllis and the other person. She immediately turned around and followed, humming a song with a smile on her face, looking quite content.

“To speak ill of your boss in front of company partners, Catherine, is this how you act as a secretary?”

When there's work to be done, the secretary does it; when there's nothing to do, the secretary's good job isn't his turn. Instead, he's the one being slandered and defamed. Li Xiaoen rolled his eyes and glanced at Catherine, who was standing beside Yiyi, with annoyance.

"What's wrong? Doesn't that just prove your charm?"

Catherine smiled nonchalantly, then leaned closer with a meaningful look. "Sean, why are you reacting so strongly? Are you worried that one of your secret lovers overheard those words?"

"Let me think... that older woman definitely isn't it. So it must be the girl next to you, the one with glasses who looks like a nerd?"

As Catherine spoke, her expression grew increasingly certain. She patted Li Xiaoen on the shoulder and sneered, "As expected of you, Mr. Scumbag. Your study abroad journey is certainly not lonely at all..."

"Stop having such a gossipy mind."

Sean Lee rolled his eyes and walked to his Aston Martin sports car. He simply moved and leaned against the passenger door without taking the keys offered to him. The car had been parked downstairs at the company, and the keys were in his office cabinet. He hadn't expected Catherine to have gotten them and driven the car over.

“Taking without asking is stealing, Miss Catherine.”

"Then why don't you tell me what I'm going to do with it?"

Catherine glared at the young man with displeasure, then moved aside, got into the driver's seat, and started the car.

"Tell me, what's the situation at the company?"

As she got into the car and drove away from the airport, Li Xiaoen rolled down the window, letting the cool evening breeze blow into the car and mess up her hair.

"It is steadily improving, with both the number of online users and the number of registrations showing a fairly good upward trend."

Catherine pursed her lips, the evening breeze sending shivers down her spine. She took a deep breath. “In the last two days, more than a dozen companies have sent me requests for business collaborations. Also, two headhunting firms in New York and several internet giants like Google have emailed me, wanting to talk to you.”

"A headhunting firm?"

Li Xiaoen raised an eyebrow, casually closed the car window, picked up a bottle of water that Catherine had placed on the left-hand shelf earlier, unscrewed it, and took a sip.

"Yes, they are still two of the best headhunting firms."

Catherine nodded, glancing at the young man from the side of the road ahead, but unfortunately, she couldn't see any change in his calm expression. "Their goal is probably the same as those giants like Google: either to poach your entire team or to discuss an acquisition."

"Hahaha……"

Li Xiaoen laughed twice, leaned back in his chair, and said with emotion, "To attract the attention of headhunting firms and internet giants is a significant and memorable step for our company."

"Sean, aren't you going to ask them what price they paid for acquiring the company, or for poaching you, or the entire team?"

Catherine suddenly asked, her voice as calm as ever.

"Talk about it."

"Um……"

Taking a deep breath, Catherine looked ahead and murmured, "The specific amount still needs to be discussed with them personally. They only gave me a reference number."

"The headhunter offered you a salary of no less than 200 million US dollars per year, plus a signing bonus and a certain amount of stock options."

As she spoke, Catherine couldn't help but glance at Sean Lee. Seeing that the young man had a smile on his face and didn't react, she continued, "If it's a package deal for your entire company and team, it'll be about five hundred million US dollars. The salaries and benefits of the other employees will be several times higher."

Discussing the matter in his mind, and noticing Catherine's gaze, Sean Lee pointed ahead with a helpless yet amused expression.

"I know I'm handsome, outstanding, and charming, but please drive carefully, okay?"

"You are now disregarding the life safety of a talent with an annual salary of at least two hundred million US dollars."

"Virtue."

Rolling her eyes, Catherine turned back and refocused her gaze on the road in front of her.

It was also late at night, and she was driving in the direction she had left from New York. There were very few cars on the highway, which is why she dared to drive like that. "Tell me, the thoughts and intentions of other people are not important. What's important is the thoughts of everyone in your company."

Catherine sighed and said, "Think about it carefully, there are very few jobs in the world that offer an annual salary of over 200 million US dollars, plus stock options and shares in an internet giant."

"Even the CEO of Apple doesn't earn as much as you. With this kind of performance, Suffer's family probably won't say anything anymore."

"Hmm, it does sound quite tempting when you put it that way."

Nodding and sighing, Sean Lee gave a relaxed and contented smile. "Hey, Catherine, you know, if I sell the company and work there for another year, I'll have at least a few hundred million dollars in savings..."

"Then I'll quit my job, and that money will be enough for me to squander and live a comfortable life, right?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, an eerie silence fell over the entire car.

"boring."

As her anxiety gradually subsided, Catherine took a deep breath and exhaled softly.

"Ha ha……"

Li Xiaoen chuckled twice, "For you, and for your future share of the company, I'll do whatever it takes to grow and expand the company, won't I?"

"That's very well said. But you should tell it to Sophie; she'd like it better."

Catherine scoffed, recalling the five percent share that Li Xiaoen had promised her when he invited her to join the company. She felt a little resentful, but even so, she still had to remind the young man, "You as an individual can remain unmoved, but the employees in the company may not be. Are you prepared?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xiaoen's smile slowly faded.

"This step was inevitable, wasn't it?"

Shaking his head, Li Xiaoen's expression remained unchanged. "Whether they stay or leave is their own decision. As the company develops further, it's a good opportunity to weed out some unstable factors and personnel."

"You can rest assured about the company's R&D; I've been keeping an eye on it."

This is the advantage of technology companies. As long as the basic technology is solid and the advantages are sufficient, other business cooperation and business parts of the market are not so necessary. They can only serve as icing on the cake. As the owner of the company, he has a technical background and has always paid attention to and controlled the current R&D progress. It is no exaggeration to say that he is the pillar of the company.

"Well, as long as you have an idea."

After a moment of confusion, Catherine remembered that Sean Lee had a background in computer algorithms, and a huge weight was lifted from her heart. She breathed a sigh of relief. "By the way, I've arranged for a reporter from Hearst to interview you tomorrow. Get ready."

"You mean your family's corporation?"

Li Xiaoen raised his eyebrows.

"Yes. This is a great amplifier for the company and for your brand awareness. If used well, it will be another boost to BanYan's online popularity."

"Okay, I understand."

Li Xiaoen nodded in agreement, a slight smile playing on her lips. "Suddenly, I feel that this kind of conversation between us is what a normal secretary and boss relationship should be like, right?"

"Hey hey hey..."

No sooner had he finished speaking than he saw the vehicle heading in another direction at the fork in the road ahead. Li Xiaoen quickly called out a few times, "My villa isn't in this direction."

"Who said I was going to take you back to your villa, boss?"

Glancing over, Catherine chuckled and snorted, "I'm going back to my house now. You can drive my car back when we get there."

"Of course, if a boss is really unscrupulous and wants to take advantage of his secretary, I can still accept it if he offers enough compensation."

After saying that, Catherine winked at Sean Lee in a suggestive way.

"..."

"Catherine, are you sure you want to talk to a man like this when we're all alone?"

Li Xiaoen rubbed his forehead in exasperation and said blankly, "Or are you hoping that kind of thing will happen?"

"What man?"

Catherine didn't answer, but instead agonized over a single word, unable to suppress a few tinkling laughs. "You mean, a kid who's not even twenty yet, and legally can't drink?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xiaoen's expression turned strange. He opened his mouth, but after a long while, he let out a few sighs of helplessness and angry laughter. He took a deep breath, turned his head to look out the window, and stopped talking.

This woman's words are really infuriating. Unfortunately, his age is an unchangeable fact that he can't refute. In other aspects, whether it's studying, starting a business, or any other field, being young is an advantage for him, but in Catherine's words, it becomes a disadvantage.

"What's wrong? Did I touch a sore spot and you're afraid to speak, little brother?"

Seeing the young man remain silent, Catherine was overjoyed and pressed her advantage, teasingly saying, "Say a few nice things, and I'll take you to the amusement park..."

"In your America, even middle school students often have had sexual experiences, right?"

Li Xiaoen chuckled and said calmly, "At my age, what can't I experience? I've even drunk quite a bit of alcohol."

"But there's this woman, almost thirty, I don't know if her desires are too great and she can't find an outlet, she just talks the talk all day long, trying to satisfy her unsatisfied heart..."

"Shut up!"

Before Li Xiaoen could finish speaking, Catherine interrupted him sharply, gritting her teeth as she retorted, "I'm only twenty-five, still young. I don't look almost thirty, I don't look like an old woman at all!"

"Oh, is it?"

Li Xiaoen feigned surprise, "Why? You look like you're almost thirty."

"Oh, I know why."

Li Xiaoen suddenly realized, "Compared to us Asians, you white people from Europe and America look more mature. You are good-looking and in your prime when you are young, but as you get a little older, your face will start to show signs of aging, with more fat and wrinkles, and your face will sag, so you will naturally look older..."

Chi-

Before they could finish speaking, the vehicle suddenly braked with a sharp screech, its speed plummeting. The two people inside the car were thrown forward, only managed to be stopped by their seatbelts.

"What are you doing, Catherine?"

Lee Shawn asked incredulously.

(End of this chapter)