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

The tent was quiet, with the faint breathing of a few girls in the background. With the dim light coming from the four corners, the two looked at each other in silence. What was supposed to be a thrilling and sneaky affair had suddenly turned into a quiet silence.

The girl lying on his body and looking up was so cute that Li Xiaoen couldn't help but lower his head and kiss her forehead again.

With her gaze lowered, Victoria began to prop herself up again, and upon seeing this, Li Xiaoen immediately reached out and hugged her.

"Victoria, you came to see me so late, you didn't just come to drop by, did you?"

Seeing the girl struggling, Li Xiaoen quickly said something.
"No, I was just sleepwalking and suddenly ended up here."

Rolling her eyes, Victoria quickly turned her gaze away, not daring to look the young man in the eye.

"Alright alright……"

Li Xiaoen nodded with a smile, "Since you've already sleepwalked here, why waste this precious opportunity?"

"What valuable opportunity?"

Victoria's body suddenly tensed up, and then she felt the young man's hot hand, which was on her lower back, move down to her buttocks and begin to knead them greedily.

Victoria instinctively held her breath and looked up. The young man's face suddenly loomed large, completely silencing her before she could speak.

"Humph……"

With a suppressed groan, Victoria struggled briefly before losing all her strength. She placed her hands on the young man's chest, then wrapped them around his neck and responded to his advances.

"Perfect timing, shall we fulfill our promise from last night?"

He briefly pulled away from her full, red lips, then kissed the girl's beautiful profile, extending to her delicate ear, and whispered something.

Upon hearing this, Victoria's body trembled slightly.

Their clothes were removed amidst kisses and caresses, and fortunately, the sleeping bag they brought was spacious enough for their frequent small movements.

Behind them, Victoria couldn't help but let out a few soft moans, which startled Sean Lee. He quickly lowered his head and covered up her warbling.

Before going to sleep, the two of them were covered in sweat again.

……

The next day.

Still asleep, Li Xiaoen was awakened by a crisp snapping sound.

A searing pain shot through his cheek, followed by a cold, icy hand that hadn't left his face. He frowned and let out a long breath.

Opening his eyes, Li Xiaoen was greeted by Su Feier's pretty face looking down at him. He was stunned for a moment, then quickly sat up and looked around the tent.

Charlotte sat down next to Victoria and gestured for her to get up. Sophie was beside him, while Serafina and Mary stood to one side, arms crossed, glancing at the two who had just woken up, their eyes filled with meaningful glances.

"..."

"What time is it?"

Li Xiaoen pulled open his sleeping bag and stretched.

"On such a remote island without signal, the concept of time is probably useless, right?"

Suffer withdrew his hand and repeated what Li Xiaoen had said earlier, which made Li Xiaoen raise an eyebrow.

Could it be that he's being targeted with something?

Could it be that Sophie saw what happened between him and Victoria last night? Or did she deduce it from the fact that they both slept in late today?

Thinking it over in his mind, Li Xiaoen remained expressionless and quickly got up to start packing his sleeping bag and bedding.

"We're heading back today, so we need to be mindful of the time."

With the girls taking the lead, several others also began to tidy up.

After everything was completed, when they returned to the yacht for a simple breakfast, Li Xiaoen remained unfazed by the occasional glances from the other girls, while Victoria became increasingly taciturn, her ears gradually turning red.

Hey, the way you look is very suspicious.

After glancing at Victoria, Sean Lee thought to himself, and just as he lowered his head to take a sip of coffee, he felt a sharp blow to his foot, which startled him so much that he coughed twice, immediately attracting the attention of Charlotte and a few other girls.

"Sean, what's wrong?"

Seeing Li Xiaoen's eyes narrow slightly, Serafina pursed her lips meaningfully, "Did you do something wrong that you can choke on a simple breakfast?"

"Eat your breakfast."

Li Xiaoen responded irritably, quickly pulling his foot out from under the table from Su Feier's foot. Before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, Su Feier relentlessly stepped on him again.

Li Xiaoen dodged again, this time more nimbly, pulling him under the chair he was sitting on. Unexpectedly, Su Feier kicked him directly in the shin.

The strange noise coming from under the table startled Serafina and the others, who all looked down.

This time, Suffer did not leave. Instead, she raised her foot even higher and placed it directly on Li Xiaoen's thigh.

"..."

When they looked up again, the girls exchanged glances but remained silent.

After breakfast, the group spent the morning tidying up the island and enjoying the sea breeze while drinking beer. After lunch, they began their return journey.

Itching to get behind the wheel, Li Xiaoen took the helm of the yacht from Serafina and, following her instructions, circled the sea a few times before successfully returning to the original port.

To Li Xiaoen's surprise, as soon as he stepped off the ship, he saw Prince Philip, the Prince of Wales, come to greet him.

"Hahaha……"

Philip laughed and, before even getting close, opened his arms and gave Sean Lee a warm hug. "I hope I didn't bother you by coming here without telling you beforehand?"

“I also came here on business. I heard that Victoria also came and went to the island with you. I guessed that you were on your way back, but I didn’t expect to actually run into each other.”

"No, that's not true. It's just that I don't have any guests to entertain you with."

Since their collaboration with Cambridge University, the two have maintained contact, and their relationship has progressed rapidly as BanYan's popularity has grown.

Sean Lee greeted them with a smile before coming over to Philip's side. Mr. Henry, Serafina's uncle, nodded in acknowledgment.

After a few pleasantries, Philip welcomed Sean Lee into a luxurious, extended Lincoln limousine. To his surprise, Mr. Henry did not get in; instead, Victoria, who had returned with him, sat beside him.

"Is something the matter, Prince Philip?"

Noticing something amiss, Li Xiaoen took the initiative to ask, "Xiaoen, you can just call me by my name."

Philip smiled and waved his hand, glancing at Victoria before revealing his plan.

"Should we bring in the Cambridge University studio and establish a branch or company of BanYan directly in London?"

Having heard Philip's words in their entirety, Sean Lee frowned slightly and asked another question to confirm.

"Yes."

Philip nodded in affirmation, then smiled and glanced at Victoria. "Don't worry, our branch in New York is only for business within England. All the initial funding and procedures will be paid by ourselves. Once we make a profit, we will submit it to our headquarters in America in proportion."

"Actually, I'm not worried about funding or returns."

Li Xiaoen smiled and shook his head, took a deep breath, and did not immediately agree to the other party's request.

There are many examples of American companies setting up branches or offices in other countries, which are all choices made to optimize their interests based on local policies.

Admittedly, for a business that is purely software and operates online, where the work and main business are simply data transmission and processing via computer programming, setting up a branch office in another country would be redundant.

In many cases, this is simply to comply with local database management policies, but it undoubtedly means that the company has split into two independent entities, which is a significant potential pitfall for future development and coordination.

Such cases are more common in physical industries that include production lines, such as Apple's production lines or car factories in other countries.

For traditional industries, this is a step they have no choice but to take honestly. But for BanYan, whose main products are apps and websites and whose main business is push notifications, it's really asking for trouble.

As for the initial capital expenditure for building the branch company that Philip mentioned, given BanYan's current achievements in the internet industry, it is indeed not easy to raise funds, so the temptation is not high.

"Sean, I know your concerns."

Philip spoke in a deep voice, glancing at Victoria, who was looking down and struggling with her decision, "Of course, Victoria will be the primary decision-maker for BanYan in England."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiaoen finally raised his eyes.

Seeing this, Philip couldn't help but smile and sigh, "Sean, you know that England has missed too many opportunities in the past ten years or so. This time, we want to seize them firmly!"

"At that time, if you have any ideas about the business in England, you can talk to Victoria directly, after all, she is the main decision-maker."

"Philip..."

Only then did Victoria finally understand why the other party had asked her to get in the car, and she couldn't help but worry as she softly called out, "I'm not familiar with company management or internet push services."

"It's alright."

Philip waved his hand dismissively, "Like I said before, you can just ask Sean..."

Upon hearing this, Victoria opened her mouth, but then fell silent along with Sean Lee.

Philip wasn't in a hurry. He smiled, leaned back in his chair, and waited quietly for Sean Lee's reply.

Based on his investigation of Lee Shawn and his observations and feelings about the other person's temperament, he was confident.

In contrast, Victoria was caught in the middle, torn between her family and England, who had raised her, and her beloved. Her mind was in turmoil, her hands gripping her shirt tightly until they turned white, her eyes lowered, only daring to glance at Sean Lee out of the corner of her eye.

"Can I ask a question?"

The two siblings didn't have to wait long before Li Xiaoen looked up and spoke.

"You said."

Philip quickly sat up and raised his chin.

"According to what you said before, my relationship with Victoria..."

Carefully choosing his words, Li Xiaoen had to clearly ask the question that concerned him most. After he said this, it was Philip and Victoria's turn to fall silent.

“Although there is no precedent for this, if it is an outstanding young man like you, and Victoria herself likes him, we will still agree.”

Taking a deep breath, Philip felt ashamed of his previous assessment of Sean Lee, and nodded with a helpless smile, "The world's nations are merging and converging, and no one can stop this inevitable historical process, not even the most stubborn far-right parties in America..."

"Our British royal family is also seeking openness and change. Your affairs are naturally for you two to decide. Otherwise, we wouldn't have let her come to America to reunite with you for a holiday, would we?"

"Oh, that puts my mind at ease."

He had suspected it from the beginning, but when he heard Philip admit it himself, Sean Lee finally felt relieved and nodded repeatedly.

Upon receiving this news, Li Xiaoen's mind began to stir. He couldn't help but turn his head to look at the girl sitting beside him with her head down and her posture reserved. He reached out and took her soft little hand that was tightly clenched into a fist.

"Sean, what about that collaboration I mentioned earlier? What have you thought about?"

Not only did he not get the answer he wanted, but he was also fed a mouthful of dog food right under his nose. Philip finally couldn't help but speak up, "Given your relationship, and since it's just business in England, surely you can share the burden, right?"

"Don't worry, if it's Victoria, I'll naturally agree."

Without keeping her in suspense any longer, Li Xiaoen smiled and said, "Actually, I already agreed when you said that Victoria would be the main decision-maker."

"..."

His face gradually turned blank. Philip leaned back in his chair, silently watching Sean Lee, unsure of what to say.

At the same time, Li Xiaoen felt Victoria's small hand squeeze his palm.

……

Philip achieved his goal for his trip to America and returned with Victoria. After seeing them off, and seeing that the other girls had already gone home, it was already five o'clock in the afternoon, so he drove to his studio.

As the end of the workday approached, the R&D colleagues were still diligently and attentively working. Li Xiaoen pushed open the office door of the administration and human resources department from the work area and saw several female colleagues who had already relaxed and were chatting with each other while waiting to leave work.

As he opened the door and looked over, they froze for a moment, then quickly turned back into their chairs, looked at the computer, and began to pretend to be working.

Li Xiaoen found it amusing, raised his hand to comfort them, and then closed the door.

He doesn't care what his subordinates do, as long as the work is handled promptly and accurately.

If Catherine isn't in the HR office, then it must be in his office?

Thinking to himself, Li Xiaoen opened his office door without any trouble; it wasn't locked. He saw a dignified face looking up at him from behind the large desk.

"Sitting in the boss's seat without permission, my secretary, are you trying to seize power?"

Li Xiaoen lifted his leg and walked towards the other person, chuckling jokingly. (End of Chapter)