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

After returning from Apple, there was another period of quiet development. It was late July, the middle of summer vacation.

Princeton's summer break is about three months long. During this time, most students spend the first half traveling and relaxing, and the second half returning to their studies, or even going out for internships.

Of course, there are exceptions. There are quite a few students who are either interning from beginning to end or going on vacation. He is an example of someone who is working, while Daniel and Michael, two carefree friends, are examples of those who are going on vacation.

Early in the morning, Li Xiaoen was swimming in the pool when he picked up his phone, which had been ringing incessantly and was lying on the shore, and started a video call with the two of them.

Looking at Daniel, who was proudly showing off the two sleeping Brazilian beauties on either side of his bed on his phone screen, Lee Shawn's expression gradually turned indifferent. He raised his hand and brushed the hair that had fallen in front of his face back up.

"If you're here to brag about how popular you are in Brazil, I've already received that. If there's nothing else, I'll hang up now."

Li Xiaoen sighed.

"Hey, Sean..."

Upon hearing this, Daniel quickly suppressed his barely suppressed smile and hurriedly tried to salvage the situation, saying, "You have no idea, the girls here in Brazil are so enthusiastic. I was just sitting at a bar drinking by myself, and they came up to me and started chatting with me."

"Besides, the cost of living here is really low. Two thousand dollars can keep you comfortable here for a long time!"

Lying back down on the bed, with the two unconscious Brazilian girls on either side, Daniel said with excitement in his eyes, "Sean, do you think I could work in America, come here to live and vacation, get married, and live a really comfortable life?"

"Sure, either you spend at least five hundred dollars a week to travel back and forth, or you don't go back to Brazil for a long time. Of course, you'll also experience the customs and culture of girls in Brazil. It's hard to say what your wife will do when you're not home."

Li Xiaoen mercilessly exposed Daniel's travel syndrome. As the other man gave a sheepish laugh, Li Xiaoen's face darkened. "Also, don't brag to me about how popular you are in Brazil. Did you get the girl's permission to do this?"

"They all know you."

Daniel quickly shook his head innocently, "I still told them that I'm your roommate, classmate, and friend, that we're really close. They even said I'm your fan..."

Li Xiaoen: “???”

Just as Li Xiaoen's expression turned strange, the two Brazilian girls on either side of Daniel finally woke up and immediately noticed the phone camera.

"Sean!"

After a moment of surprise, they simultaneously burst into a joyful shout.

"Hello you all."

Li Xiaoen was a little embarrassed and raised his hand to wave in front of the camera.

"Sean, you are our idol!"

The two girls immediately crowded in front of the camera, filling the entire screen, and began speaking in broken English, "Many students at our school are your fans. The BanYan app is really amazing..."

"Thank you, thank you for the compliment..."

Li Xiaoen nodded, quickly found an opportunity to hang up the video call, and then breathed a sigh of relief.

In Brazil, it seems they speak Portuguese. Daniel, who doesn't speak the language, actually managed to find two college girls. His methods and courage are truly remarkable.

After swimming another lap, just as I was about to go ashore to make breakfast, the doorbell rang.

Li Xiaoen hesitated for a moment, then walked along the path in the garden on the side of the house to the door. Only then did he see Catherine, who was wearing an office lady uniform with a fitted bodycon skirt. He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"Your flight is scheduled for noon today. What are you doing here so early?"

Li Xiaoen asked in confusion, without even asking how the other party knew his villa's address, and opened the door for Catherine.

The project cooperation in Qatar has been completed, and the two of them are flying to Qatar to discuss acceptance with the client and sign subsequent contracts.

"I knew you, this unscrupulous boss, would neglect my work and let me work over there before I even got to the office at almost ten o'clock, right?"

Catherine rolled her eyes and muttered a sarcastic remark as her gaze unconsciously swept over the young man's naked body. She then moved on, taking in the sights of the room like a tourist.

"You've come at the perfect time. I haven't had breakfast yet. Could you make me one?"

Following the principle of "use whoever is available," Li Xiaoen closed the door behind him and followed Catherine, saying with a smile.

"You did it on purpose, right?"

Catherine paused, turned around, frowned, and glanced at him sideways.

"I'm going swimming. Since you're already here, and we're just killing time anyway, why don't you help make breakfast and speed things up so we can head to the airport to check in earlier?"

Sean Lee shrugged, gave Catherine a cheerful smile, and continued walking towards the back of the house. He then jumped into the air and plunged headfirst into the icy pool.

I must say, having a private swimming pool in the back of your house is a truly divine enjoyment in this sweltering summer heat; its value is something you can't appreciate in winter.

Watching the young man who, after giving a single instruction, thrashed about in the pool like a fish or dragon, Catherine crossed her arms, narrowed her eyes, and couldn't help but take a deep breath.

After watching the young man's strong body in the pool for a while longer, she pursed her lips helplessly, turned around, and walked towards the kitchen on the first floor next door.

She first scanned the kitchen utensils throughout the kitchen, then opened the refrigerator, glanced at the usable ingredients, and then picked out some.

Snapped.

Just over ten minutes later, a crisp sound rang out from the edge of the swimming pool. Li Xiaoen jumped out of the water, splashing a spray of water. Looking up, he saw a white plate on the table by the shore, with the aroma of food wafting from it.

Catherine was already sitting quietly to the side, holding a cup of coffee in her hand, sipping it carefully. Judging from her appearance and demeanor, she was clearly displaying the air of a wealthy young lady.

"I didn't expect you to be such a good cook, you cooked so quickly."

Li Xiaoen rested his arms on the shore and gave Catherine a teasing compliment.

"..."

Catherine glanced down at it, then casually looked up and took a sip of her coffee.

Shrugging, Li Xiaoen didn't pay attention. Looking at the height of the pool water from the shore, he suddenly had an urge to experiment.

Without giving much thought to the possibilities, Li Xiaoen immediately took action. He first gathered his strength in the pool, then suddenly pushed off with his legs and jumped onto the shore.

The resistance in the pool was still great. He first felt his body becoming heavier and heavier. The pool water seemed to have become thicker, firmly restricting and pulling him.

After a few bounces, the pool water churned and splashed, splashing two pools of water onto the shore, unexpectedly soaking Catherine's high heels and black stockings.

"Sean..."

Catherine gasped and quickly pulled her feet up from the ground, but it was too late. She glared at him and asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry, I'm very sorry."

Li Xiaoen was a little embarrassed, and pointed to the shore helplessly, saying, "I wanted to try to see if I could jump directly from the pool to the shore." He opened his mouth, but Catherine immediately laughed in exasperation, her chest heaving beneath her white shirt.

"Aren't you bored and childish?"

"Just a simple challenge."

Li Xiaoen waved his hand dejectedly, "I saw online that some people can do it."

"Some people can do it, but you..."

Catherine pursed her lips, her gaze towards the young man gradually turning suspicious and provocative.

"Hey, are you questioning me?"

Li Xiaoen shrugged and quickly defended himself, "You know, before this challenge, I had already swum several laps in the pool."

"Okay, I believe you. Can we get ashore now?"

With a forced smile, Catherine quickly regained her composure after speaking, "Let's leave early to check in, just to be on the safe side."

"You just don't believe it."

Li Xiaoen shrugged, ignoring the other party's provocation, and looked back at the shore in front of him.

Gathering his strength, he took a deep breath, tensed all his muscles, bent his legs, and jumped up, splashing water as he finally stood steadily on the shore.

"Humph……"

Li Xiaoen snorted and proudly raised his chin at Catherine.

"childish."

Rolling her eyes, Catherine looked away from the well-defined muscles of Lee Shawn's chest and abdomen, then looked down at her own stockings, which were now damp and uncomfortable.

Unable to bear it any longer, she took off her shoes and put her hands inside her pencil skirt. Just as she touched the top edge of her stockings, she couldn't help but squint and turn her head to look in Li Xiaoen's direction, only to meet his dark, inky eyes.

"..."

"There are rooms on the first floor; you can go in and change."

Li Xiaoen was a little embarrassed and gestured towards the inside of the house.

Standing up, Catherine glared at the young man before stepping barefoot into the house.

What a pity, I almost missed seeing such a beautiful view.

Li Xiaoen smiled indifferently, shook his head, and began to eat the breakfast in front of him.

Not long after, he heard several footsteps behind him. Li Xiaoen turned around and saw a black object hurtling towards him and falling to the ground.

Catherine, who was walking aggressively towards him, had already removed her stockings from her bodycon skirt, revealing her fair and voluptuous legs.

Without a doubt, that black thing was the other person's stockings.

“You look good even without stockings.”

Faced with the other person's resentful gaze, Li Xiaoen smiled and flattered, "Don't you want your stockings anymore? It's not good to litter."

"You liked it, didn't you? It's a gift for you."

"Keep calm," Catherine said through gritted teeth.

"So nice to me?"

Li Xiaoen disagreed, instead raising an eyebrow, "You know, online, a beautiful woman's stockings can still sell for some money, especially if they've been worn."

As he spoke, the words "original flavor" unconsciously popped into Li Xiaoen's mind.

As soon as she finished speaking, Catherine's eyes turned dangerous. Sean Lee hesitated for a moment, then buried his head in his breakfast.

"Oh, right, Catherine..."

Rolling up a soft-boiled egg and putting it in her mouth, Li Xiaoen changed the subject, "You're all young ladies, so why do Victoria and Sophie have private jets to take their trips, but you have to take a private plane to Qatar by yourself?"

Traveling between the two places by private plane requires airspace access permits for both locations, as well as the expense of purchasing an air route. The procedures are quite complicated. Previously, Suffer had traveled to Yuecheng by airline, and I heard her mention that she was already looking for someone to arrange a New York-Hong Kong air route.

Qatar is fully Westernized and has a very close relationship with the United States. The Qatari companies that cooperate with them have official backing, so negotiating a private jet route should not be difficult.

"Why do you think I don't have a private jet?"

Catherine gave a cold snort, her fair and elegant oval face framed by her long blonde hair tied back, giving her a very capable look. "Because I abandoned my own company to work for some unscrupulous boss, how can I expect to get these resources from my family?"

"Having achieved all this, BanYan still hasn't earned their respect?"

Li Xiaoen paused for a moment, then couldn't help but ask.

After all, many people from the political and business circles on the right have already tried to win him over...

Thinking of this, and recalling what Jasper had said before about the Catherine family turning to the left, Sean Lee finally understood and immediately stopped himself from saying what he was about to say.

Has the partisan struggle in America become so intense?
Li Xiaoen felt a surge of emotion.

From this perspective, in the eyes of the Catherine family, Catherine went against the family's stance and went to work for the company of someone from the other party, which was indeed a case of being caught in the middle and pleasing neither side. Although he himself still considered himself and BanYan to be neutral, he was helpless because of his relationship with Sophie and Serafina and the other girls, which made him seem like he could be considered a right-winger at any time.

In particular, based on the previous relationship between Prince Philip of England and Mr. Henry, the English royal family is also leaning to the right.
Thinking about it this way, Li Xiaoen's gaze towards Catherine took on a deeper meaning.

Even if you're optimistic about his company, Catherine's achievements are truly remarkable, a testament to her loyalty and hard work.

"..."

Noticing the change in the young man's gaze, Catherine frowned slightly, feeling a sudden, inexplicable panic, and glared at him.

"Why are you staring at me? Haven't you ever seen a beautiful woman before?"

"I've seen them before, but you're the most beautiful I've ever seen, wearing a bodycon skirt and office lady uniform."

Li Xiaoen sighed, resting his chin on his hand as he spoke with emotion, "Catherine, I've been thinking, what will happen if you get married in the future?"

This is the truth of his words. Catherine has helped him so much now that she is his right-hand woman. She is also very familiar with BanYan's development and plans. If she gets married in the future and has family ties, especially given the uncertainties surrounding her husband, will their current close cooperation and assistance relationship have to be forced to end?
As Li Xiaoen was feeling emotional, a delicate, white foot suddenly kicked him in the chest. (End of Chapter)