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

"what happened?"

Li Xiaoen asked in confusion.

"No, it's nothing."

Shaking her head, Catherine's thoughts were complicated as she turned back to look at the cards in her hand.

Their face-down card was the Ace of Hearts, and their face-up card was the Ace of Diamonds, while their opponent Frederick's face-up card was the 7 of Spades.

"Sean..."

Catherine looked at Sean Lee with surprise.

"Discard."

Li Xiaoen laughed.

"We are not..."

Catherine was taken aback by what she heard, and quickly asked what was wrong. But when she saw the young man shaking his head stubbornly, she reluctantly pursed her lips and turned the card back over.

"Okay, I understand."

Despite having excellent cards, Sean Lee still told her to fold, which made Catherine somewhat discouraged. "I'm just a tool to get and read the cards; I have to do everything according to your instructions."

Wasn't that what he meant from the beginning?

Li Xiaoen's expression turned strange for a moment. He placed his hand, which had been hanging down under the table, on Catherine's thigh, causing her to tense up and stare at him. Then he slowly said, "Can you not be so silly? The way you're beaming with joy, everyone can tell you have a good hand."

"..."

Is this woman sulking again?
Seeing Catherine silently turn around, Sean Lee raised an eyebrow, and the next moment, his hand that was placed on her thigh was knocked away.

Forget it, let them calm down first. The most important thing now is to squeeze more money out of Frederick.

Sean Lee shook his head, leaned back in his chair, and gave instructions after seeing Catherine receive a new round of cards.

"Add another 300,000."

……

As it turns out, real-life gambling isn't as unpredictable as in the movies. They didn't encounter flushes, three Aces, or four Kings in the following games. With full information and their opponents essentially holding their cards upside down, the game didn't end until noon.

Based on the principle of losing more than winning, and adding the initial ten million US dollars they won, they won nearly ninety million in total in this betting game.

Frederick's accomplices clearly noticed that something was wrong with him and helped him quickly leave the venue. Once they assumed that the betting game was over, the whole place erupted in cheers.

"Sean, we made ninety million this time!"

After counting her chips, Catherine had long forgotten her earlier sullenness and looked at Sean Lee with surprise, "You really didn't lie to me? You've only seen it in movies, and you've never practiced it?"

As she asked this, she suddenly realized something and jumped up, "I know! You kept folding and not calling at the beginning of the bet to wear down that person's energy and mentality before you finally cast your net!"

"Yes, you are right."

Li Xiaoen smiled and nodded, "Catherine, you're so smart."

"Humph……"

Rolling her eyes, Catherine turned her head to look in another direction.

After gesturing to everyone present, the two followed the manager to a VIP room to exchange their chips.

The staff were in charge of counting the chips, and Catherine registered the accounts to which the money was deposited. With nothing to do, Sean Lee took a sip of soda, moved to the balcony outside, and took a deep breath of the sea breeze blowing in front of him, finally getting rid of the strange smell that Frederick had deliberately spread.

Is there really any special, naturally volatile odor that can confuse people's minds and interfere with their judgment?
As Li Xiaoen was pondering this, his phone rang.

"Sean, something's happened at the company!"

Just as I put it to my ear, Haskel's grave voice came through the other end: "TikTok, Facebook, Google, and Instagram have jointly filed a lawsuit against us for violating user privacy and stealing user data from their websites. We've already received the summons..."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiaoen's face suddenly darkened.

"Sean..."

Catherine also received a call from Valerie. She hastily finished exchanging her chips and walked over, her face grave. She looked at Sean Lee, "Several companies joining forces to sue suggests they were prepared long ago..."

As she said this, she glanced down at her phone, "Now the online opinion has reversed, and many bloggers have started attacking BanYan."

"It's alright, I anticipated this situation from the beginning."

Li Xiaoen took a deep breath, shook his head and said reassuringly, "We'll go back right away after we finish signing the contract with Mr. Hobart."

"Catherine, could you help me make a reservation? Is there a private jet that can pick us up from the cruise ship? The sooner the better."

Li Xiaoen continued, "The cooperation with Qatar's Adil Group will continue; I'll handle it."

"it is good."

There was no time to delve into the details. Catherine nodded hastily. Her initial anxiety subsided considerably upon seeing the young man's ever-present smile.

"Oh, yes."

Suddenly remembering something, Li Xiaoen tugged at Catherine's hand as she was about to turn and leave, emphasizing, "Don't worry about the online public opinion, don't hire any online trolls or anything like that..."

After parting ways with Catherine, Sean Lee picked up the bag she had carried earlier, activated his [Eye of Insight], and headed clearly toward Hobart's room.

"Mr. Li..."

Upon opening the door, the assistant greeted Li Xiaoen with a quick nod before inviting him inside.

“Mr. Hobart…”

Li Xiaon cut to the chase, "I'm here for two things. First, about what we discussed before: BanYan's deep collaboration with the two game companies. Second, about why you became so infatuated with the bet against Frederick..."

Upon hearing this, Hobart, who had just finished a board meeting on a computer conference to decide to cancel the deep cooperation business with BanYan, was immediately stunned.

……

After Catherine was ready and returned to her cabin on the cruise ship, she saw Sean Lee sitting at the table, slowly looking at the court summons sent by Haskel and the evidence submitted by the suing company that had caused a stir online.

“There are no direct flights between the cruise ship and New York, so I called a helicopter from nearby Hawaii to come over first, and then we’ll take a private plane from Hawaii back.”

As Catherine walked into the room, she said, "Even the fastest helicopter won't arrive until around 2 a.m. tomorrow."

"Well, hard work."

Li Xiaoen nodded and gestured to the bag on the sofa. "The contract for in-depth cooperation with Qatar's Adil Group has been signed. The contract is in your bag."

"Oh, good."

Catherine nodded quickly, but was quite surprised.

Internet access on cruise ships is expensive, but it's nothing to them, and the same is true for Qatar, which has almost achieved "common prosperity" in the Middle East.

The lawsuit against BanYan has caused a huge stir online, and the people at Adil Group must be aware of it. She had originally given up all hope for this collaboration.

"Sean, are you hungry?"

As she approached, Catherine carefully observed Sean Lee's reaction before speaking cautiously, "I'll have the restaurant prepare lunch and bring it up."

While coordinating her flight and return trip, she also briefly read online about the lawsuit against the company, which was quite a blow to BanYan, whose business had just started to improve.

"Are you being so cautious because you've finally realized I'm your boss and are afraid of having your salary docked?"

Li Xiaoen turned around, put his arm around the back of the chair, and chuckled. Not getting a response from Catherine, he could only nod in agreement, "Sure, just have them prepare it and bring it up. Also, bring a few extra drinks."

"Given the current situation, you want to drink?"

Catherine, who was about to turn and leave, paused.

"The plane won't arrive until early tomorrow morning at the earliest. Instead of worrying here, why not use this time to get drunk?"

Li Xiaoen smiled helplessly and let out a long breath, "If we go back, we'll have to face the real battlefield."

After silently observing Li Xiaoen for a while, Catherine nodded slightly.

"it is good."

Lunch was served quickly, including a bottle of champagne and several cocktails. After the tense and exciting gambling game that morning, the two were unusually quiet during the meal.

After hastily finishing lunch, and seeing that Sean Lee had already gone to the balcony outside the room to drink, Catherine took a deep breath, tidied up the remaining food and tableware, and sat down at the computer on the table to carefully study the court summons and evidence documents against her.

Upon returning, Li Xiaoen would have to personally face and handle this difficult public relations event. She could get drunk now, but she couldn't be idle; she had to gather all the information and deliver it to the young man as quickly as possible when he needed it. The afternoon sun shone brightly, spilling across the vast expanse of the blue sea, reflecting shimmering patches of light.

Since it was in a corner, and the shipyard had probably soundproofed these top-of-the-line rooms, Li Xiaoen could only faintly hear the noise of the tourists thanks to his keen hearing since childhood, which only made the quiet atmosphere in the room even more intense.

I was originally planning to have a good time on the ship for a few days after signing the contract, but after dealing with Frederick, this happened right after signing the contract, and I had no choice but to return to port early. It's a bit like fate playing tricks on us.

Li Xiaoen sighed with helplessness as he drank his strong liquor and replied to each of his friends who sent him messages of concern and well wishes on his phone.

"Sean, are you drunk?"

Unlike Victoria's kind words of comfort and suggestions for help, Suffer directly sent a video call. As soon as she answered and saw Li Xiaoen's expression, her originally gloomy face couldn't help but furrow her brows.

"At least get drunk, then you'll have to get busy with those kinds of things when you get back."

Li Xiaoen smiled and shook his head, taking a deep breath. "Don't worry, didn't you mention the lawsuits from those companies to me from the beginning? I had already anticipated this."

"Is it about anticipating problems, not preparing for them?"

Seeing the young man, who always had a smile on his face, looking somewhat drunk in the video, Su Feier felt a pang of heartache.

"Yes, I didn't expect it to come so quickly."

Li Xiaoen shrugged, smiled helplessly, and answered honestly, unable to resist swearing, "Damn it, I was originally planning to sign the contract with Qatar and have some fun on the cruise ship."

"If you want to go out, wait until this crisis is over and the company is developing steadily before we go out together."

Sophie rolled her eyes and replied irritably.

Despite it being a rare occasion to hear a young man swear, she felt a sudden sense of relief.

"Sean..."

In the video on the phone, Sophie moved to the private balcony of the room, with a lush green garden behind her, which must be her family's estate in the suburbs of New York.

"I miss you……"

Suffer looked at the somewhat drunk young man in the video and spoke softly.

"Um...what?"

Li Xiaoen paused for a moment, took a sip of his cocktail, and quickly asked.

"I said……"

Sophie pursed her rosy lips, glanced to the side, and her voice trailed off, "I...missed you..."

"what?"

"I said……"

Taking a deep breath, Suffer looked back at her phone screen and saw the young man looking at her with a big smile. Her pretty face, which had been a little awkward and shy, immediately fell down.

The girl's rare, alluring shyness instantly transformed into a fierce and aggressive demeanor, causing Li Xiaoen to subconsciously raise an eyebrow.

Want to know what I'm going to say?

Sophie said calmly, "I'll tell you in person when you get back."

"okay."

Li Xiaoen nodded, smiling as he looked at the girl in the video with a rosy complexion. "Suffolk, I missed you."

These words made Suffer, who was still angry, pause for a moment, and she pretended to look in another direction unintentionally.

"Can't you hear me, Sophie?"

Li Xiaoen smiled gently and repeated, "Suffolk, I missed you..."

"Sophie, I miss you..."

"Sophie, I miss you..."

"Okay, got it."

Just as she was about to say it for the fifth time, Suffer immediately turned her gaze back and gave her a reproachful glare.

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Li Xiaoen lay down on a lounge chair on the balcony and leisurely took a sip of wine.

"If you want to get drunk, stop when you've had enough, don't drink too much."

Suffer offered a mild word of advice.

"Good good..."

……

Time flew by. After hanging up the phone with Suffer, Li Xiaoen kept drinking, lost in thought. Suddenly, he came to his senses and saw that night had already fallen on the horizon.

The drinks that had been moved to the balcony were finished. Li Xiaoen struggled to his feet and went inside, only to find that his steps were unsteady. Even though they were in the same room, he finally saw Catherine again, whom he hadn't seen all afternoon.

"Alright, there's no need to devise any more plans. These kinds of lawsuits are all the same; we just need to address their lawsuits one by one."

Li Xiaoen staggered over to Catherine's side, tugged at her arm, and finally made her turn around and look at him.

Looking down, Catherine's eyes were tired, which made Sean Lee feel a little sorry for her.

"My little secretary is still the best."

Tilting his head, Li Xiaoen chuckled and remarked, "I, the boss, am leisurely drinking, while my secretary is constantly busy."

"Sean, you're drunk..."

Frowning, and seeing the young man's unsteady steps, Catherine quickly stood up and helped him.

"What I want is to get drunk, isn't it?"

Li Xiaoen chuckled and turned to look for more drinks on the table. However, because Catherine was holding his arm, he lost his balance and fell to the ground.

"careful!"

Catherine gasped and quickly leaned forward to catch the young man who was about to fall.

"No more drinking!"

Looking down at the young man in her arms, Catherine shouted.

"..."

"Alright alright."

After a moment of silence, Li Xiaoen nodded helplessly, but couldn't help glancing at Catherine's piercing eyes as she looked over, and complained, "As a secretary, you should give suggestions, not orders, when you talk to your boss, okay?"

"Ha ha……"

Catherine chuckled twice, but didn't say anything. She looked down at the young man, who was already drunk and barely conscious. A feeling of pity quickly spread through her, and she couldn't help but lower her head and kiss him on the lips.

"..."

"Catherine?"

Li Xiaoen was momentarily confused, then looked at the other person in shock.

"You think I don't know that you kissed me many times when I was drunk?"

Catherine gave a soft hum.

"You knew already?"

Li Xiaoen was stunned for a moment, his reaction was a little slow after drinking, and he quickly explained, "Hey, isn't it always you who goes crazy when you're drunk and grabs me to kiss me?"

"is it?"

"Yes!"

"Oh, okay..."

Catherine nodded, smiling as she looked at the earnest young man. "What if I said that when I was drunk, I was conscious and intentionally kissed you?"

Li Xiaoen: "??" (End of Chapter)