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

Chapter 282 Resignation and Interview

The next day, Monday.

Li Xiaoen arrived at the company early. Just as he sat down at his desk in the office, the door was opened from the outside, and Catherine walked in with a folder in her hand and brisk steps.

"Here, these are the questions the reporters might ask you during the interview, as well as a general overview of the tour and the process the cameras will capture. Try to mentally prepare a rough outline beforehand."

Catherine tilted her head and said, placing the folder in front of Sean Lee.

"Are you being that cautious?"

Li Xiaoen raised an eyebrow. He had never been interviewed, or rather, had never been interviewed in person. He picked up the document, opened it, and looked at it. "When will the reporter arrive?"

"Um……"

Looking up at the ceiling, Catherine crossed her arms and pondered for a moment, "Around ten in the morning, I'll go and confirm the exact time later."

"No need for that trouble, it was this morning, right?"

Li Xiaoen put down the documents, leaned back in his chair, and raised his chin at Catherine. "I think our current daily work environment and atmosphere are good enough and good enough for publicity."

"You didn't tell anyone else about the interview, did you?"

"I was just about to go out and talk to them about tidying up the work environment."

Catherine paused for a moment, then quickly said, "Sean, if you think that watching some news headlines with a few brief shots and unusual camera angles is popular, then let me tell you, everything under the camera in any interview is scripted and meticulously planned."

"Don't worry, that's not the reason."

Li Xiaoen smiled and waved his hand, offering a reassuring reassurance, "I truly believe that our current work routine and environment are sufficient."

"..."

After staring blankly at the young man for a long while, Catherine finally took a deep breath, nodded, and said nothing more.

The company belongs to Li Xiaoen, and any decision undoubtedly requires her permission and authorization. The young man is so smart that he should at least understand the meaning and implications of her words. Since he is going his own way, he must have some ulterior motives.

Besides, even if he gets caught up in a dangerous situation due to a lack of experience and shrewdness, he is still young—almost frighteningly young considering the current size and achievements of the company. He has plenty of time to learn from his mistakes and make a comeback.

This is a huge advantage that others do not possess.

"So, you're not going to tell anyone about the interview?"

Catherine tilted her head tentatively to confirm.

Li Xiaoen smiled and nodded, but before he could say anything more, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in."

Li Xiaoen shouted in that direction.

"Sean..."

The door opened, and in came a young man recently hired as a software engineer in charge of developing new app features. He had his head slightly bowed, his face showing a hint of helplessness and apology, and he held several stacked sheets of paper in his hand. "I'm sorry, I'm here to tell you my resignation..."

"The company has its own rules and procedures. You should contact your HR colleague to handle the resignation procedures."

Catherine's face darkened, and before Li Xiaon could speak, she said to the man, "Valerie took the day off today, let's talk about it tomorrow. Get the paperwork done for you quickly..."

Before she could finish speaking, Catherine felt her wrist being enveloped in a hot embrace and tugged, and she couldn't help but turn her head to glare at the young man.

Are you the boss or am I the boss?
Li Xiaoen thought to himself, but since Catherine was doing it for the company's sake, he couldn't say anything. He just smiled and shook his head.

"You're Jeremy, right?"

He gestured to Catherine to make coffee, and after receiving a glare and doing so, Li Xiaoen shifted his gaze to the man, smiling and inviting him to sit down.

"Oh...okay."

Jeremy, who had been coldly rejected by Catherine, thought he was going to be harassed today. But when he heard Sean Lee's words, he was taken aback, nodded quickly, and walked to the table to sit down.

"Relax, I'm the boss of this company, you don't need to pay attention to what Catherine says."

Li Xiaoen laughed twice, and this unusual reaction immediately startled the man. Catherine turned her head from the coffee machine and looked over, "Tell me, what was the reason for your resignation?"

"Is the money too little? Or have you been wronged somewhere?"

"No, no, absolutely not."

Jeremy quickly shook his head in denial, forcing a smile, "Exactly, I want to take it a step further."

After finishing his brief remarks, Jeremy lowered his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Hmm... I understand."

Li Xiaoen nodded seriously, then joked, "Luckily, it's not because you complain about the low salary. After all, I'm paying you guys 20% more than the market rate in Manhattan, New York. Otherwise, I would be running around trying to raise your salaries, find sponsors, and secure partnerships."

"No, the salary you offered is well above our level."

Jeremy quickly shook his head. "Really, I resigned for my own personal reasons."

"I'll give you three days to complete the handover, is that alright?"

Li Xiaoen nodded, and seeing Catherine bring over the brewed coffee, he took it and handed it to the man.

"No problem, I will handle the handover properly."

Jeremy nodded repeatedly, picked up his coffee and took a sip. To his surprise, the coffee tasted and smelled exactly the same as the coffee that the ordinary employees in the office area drank.

This made him feel even worse.

After chatting for a few more minutes, Sean Lee signed the papers decisively, and Jeremy got up and left the office.

"Everyone says that I'm confident enough to convince people just by being myself, based on my everyday, authentic self, and that you don't need to be like that."

After confirming that Jeremy had left, Sean Lee turned to look at Catherine, who was already sitting on the sofa, elegantly drinking coffee with her legs crossed, and said helplessly.

Even though he rarely drank coffee before college, after almost a year in America, Sean Lee had tried quite a few coffees of all price ranges, so he could naturally taste the differences. Everything in the office was arranged by Catherine, and this young lady would certainly not let herself drink the relatively ordinary kind of coffee.

"What's this?"

Catherine smiled casually, then took a leisurely sip of her coffee. "I'm just trying to maintain consistency; I'm playing along with you..."

"..."

"Don't tell me you gave Jeremy and me regular coffee from outside, but brewed yourself the original, better kind."

Seeing that the other person's eyes were slightly narrowed, Li Xiaoen tentatively asked.

"Ah...you're so smart, Sean."

With a feigned exclamation, Catherine flashed a charming smile. "Of course, if you're not happy about it, you can try to take it. I only had a little, so I don't mind giving it to you." "It's working hours now."

Li Xiaoen's face darkened, and he shook his head, ignoring the woman. Just as he looked at the computer, there was another knock on the door, and the two of them looked at each other simultaneously.

"Sean, at this crucial juncture, when reporters come to interview you, are you really not going to postpone it for a day?"

Twice in a row, the things the two had talked about the night before—other companies poaching their employees—came true, and Catherine couldn't help but speak up again.

"fine."

With a reassuring wave, Li Xiaoen called out towards the door, "Come in."

This time, he was alone again. After a brief chat, two more people arrived together. Li Xiaoen signed autographs for them one by one. It was already 9:45 in the morning.

Just as they dismissed the two, a commotion arose outside. The two opened the door to investigate and found a strange man and woman standing in the work area. The woman looked young and attractive, wearing a suit and skirt, with a name tag around her neck that clearly bore the Hearst Corporation logo. The man was dressed in overalls and had a large camera slung over his shoulder, making his identity self-evident.

Her gaze lingered for a moment on the woman who was looking around curiously and walking briskly with delight. Catherine's expression turned somber as she turned her head to look at a young woman she had brought to the company.

"Didn't I tell you to greet the guests in the reception area first? Why didn't you inform them beforehand and let them in?"

"No, Catherine."

The girl's face fell, and she said hesitantly, "I tried to stop them, but they forced their way in. I wanted to tell you beforehand, but it was too late..."

As the two were talking, the young reporter and her companion quickly walked up to them, a meaningful smile appearing on her fair and beautiful face.

"Catherine, I know we're here to interview you at the company you recently switched jobs. I specifically requested to come see you in person. Are you surprised?"

Turning back, Catherine narrowed her eyes at the woman, refusing to say a word, and led the young girl into the personnel office.

This was the first time Li Xiaoen had ever seen Catherine, who always took the initiative to tease and provoke others, react so calmly without retaliating. He was surprised and watched her go, but the young female reporter immediately moved to block his view.

“Young, great entrepreneur, I’m Belinda, the reporter Hearst is here to interview you today. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

With a bright smile on her face, Belinda extended her hand.

"Hello, although your arrival was somewhat unexpected, you are still welcome."

Feeling a strange sense that the visitor was up to no good, Li Xiaoen remained outwardly calm and smiled as he shook hands with the person who had reached out.

"Then, Mr. Li..."

Belinda smiled and withdrew her hand, immediately getting into work mode, holding up a microphone and handing it to Sean Lee.

"We just saw two employees come out of your office with some papers. They look like they're from the technical department. Are they going through some kind of procedure?"

Still in the work area, in front of so many colleagues at nearby workstations, these words immediately silenced the entire studio.

As expected, they came with ill intentions.

With a sigh in his heart, Li Xiaoen immediately received several stares from his workstation. Looking up at the camera lens pointed directly at him, he instead showed a helpless smile.

"They came to me to process their resignation procedures."

After giving a brief reply, Li Xiaoen gestured to her colleagues in the work area, "You guys continue working. We'll discuss the specifics together at our team-building dinner tonight."

After saying that, Li Xiaoen turned to the side and gestured to Belinda and the other woman towards his office. "Alright, so as not to disturb their work, shall we find a quieter place?"

The sudden and extremely sharp questions were clearly not from the interview questions Catherine had given him initially. Far from surprising or alarming the young man, he handled them perfectly, down to the smallest detail.

Receiving a meaningful look from the young man, Belinda smiled, nodded, and turned to greet the camera lens.

"Let's go, let's see what this genius entrepreneur's office looks like?"

"coffee?"

After closing the door, Li Xiaoen gestured towards the sofa and asked, "Oh, you want something else to drink? I guess we only have bottled water."

"It's fine, coffee it is."

Smiling and nodding, Belinda thought meaningfully, then quickly scanned the unimportant parts of the office with her camera. "Hmm, I didn't expect that your company looks simple from the outside, but the interior decoration of the office is surprisingly unique."

Did someone help with the design?

"a friend."

Knowing that the other party and Catherine didn't get along, and that this question was clearly meant to bring Catherine into the conversation, Lee Sean nodded without saying it outright.

Belinda opened her mouth, intending to ask more questions, but then she saw Sean Lee place the coffee in front of her. Facing the handsome young man's face, which was looking down at her with a faint smile, she couldn't help but be stunned.

"Sean, you're so outstanding and so good-looking, God really blessed you."

She suddenly spoke, expressing her feelings.

"God is generous, but I think he favors those who work hard more."

Shawn Lee replied with a smile, sitting down on a single sofa, his gaze shifting between Belinda and the camera, "But I still have to say, hard work doesn't always guarantee a reward..."

"So you're talking about the time you started delivering food?"

Belinda relaxed and couldn't help but make a joke.

Sure enough, these things couldn't be kept from the media. Fortunately, he had already completed the formalities. Li Xiaoen sighed and shrugged, "You can't exactly say that delivering food was the foundation for doing BanYan now, can you?"

"I dare say it, but do you dare believe it?"

"Ha ha……"

Belinda couldn't help but chuckle. "Sean, looking so calm and relaxed, doesn't the departure of your employees at this crucial time have had any impact on you?"

"Could you please tell me the general reasons for the departure of these employees, and what adjustments the company needs to make in response?"

"I think anyone who's paying attention can guess it."

Li Xiaoen shrugged. "Because of the immense popularity we've generated online recently, our company and all our employees are highly sought after by other internet companies."

"Well, that's understandable."

With a chuckle, Belinda looked at Sean Lee with a somewhat enigmatic gaze, and spoke again, "BanYan means banyan tree, a subtropical plant belonging to the genus Ficus in the family Moraceae."

"This plant grows roots on its branches, which, due to gravity, sink deep into the ground and transform into new roots, thus extending the plant's growth. One tree can be equivalent to an entire forest..."

"Sean, in light of your company's business, could you explain the connection between that app product you released online and your company's business?"

How did you choose this name? Is there any special meaning behind it?

(End of this chapter)