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

"what happened?"

Catherine cradled Sean Lee's head, tilted her head, and teased, "Are you too shocked to speak?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xiaoen frowned and took a deep breath.

Catherine's mood improved even more when she finally received no response from the young man. She raised a hand to cover her mouth and laughed repeatedly.

However, before she could catch her breath, she suddenly found herself suspended in mid-air and then falling onto the bed.

The soft bed made her bounce a few times. Catherine subconsciously stopped smiling, but when she looked up, she saw Li Xiaon pressing down on her from above and pushing her down onto the bed.

"Sean..."

Catherine's heart skipped a beat, and she exclaimed, "I... I was just joking..."

Before she could finish speaking, the young man roughly pressed his lips against hers, and her slightly struggling hands were immediately grabbed by his, their fingers intertwined, and she was pinned to the bed.

The young man's familiar scent aggressively and quickly filled her nostrils and mouth, making her gasp for breath, and she immediately lost all strength.

Despite being so drunk that his mind was hazy and his movements were sluggish, Li Xiaoen still enjoyed himself for a while.

When he groggily opened his eyes again, a deep darkness had already enveloped the room.

I slept until 11:30 p.m.

Still not fully sober, his head ached a little. He looked around the bed and first found a glaring plum blossom on the sheet beneath him, but unfortunately he couldn't find Catherine.

As soon as I activated the Eye of Insight, I saw the room door open and Catherine push a food cart in. She was still wearing an office lady uniform skirt suit, but the style was slightly different from what she had worn in the afternoon.

They had just had that kind of relationship a few hours ago, but now Catherine seemed like she was at the beginning. Before that, everything seemed normal, but it was strange.

"You finally woke up."

Pushing the food cart onto the table in front of the balcony, Catherine glanced over and, while moving the food from the cart onto the table, said leisurely, "The helicopter will arrive in almost two hours. If you're still not awake, I'll have to wake you."

"I should take a shower after dinner. I can't go back to work looking like this."

After saying that, she bent down, smoothed her pencil skirt, sat down on the chair, picked up a knife and fork, cut a piece of steak, put it in her mouth, and chewed it carefully.

"..."

After silently watching Catherine for a while, Li Xiaoen had a complex thought. He took a deep breath, sat up on the bed, looked around, pulled the bath towel hanging on the bedside table to wrap around his lower body, and walked towards Catherine.

Instead of sitting opposite her, as Catherine looked up, Sean Lee reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her into his embrace.

"Are you still planning to play the game of getting drunk and indulging, then waking up and pretending nothing happened?"

In the quiet room, Li Xiaoen asked helplessly, his voice breaking the silence.

These words made Catherine's eyes freeze for a moment. Forget about struggling, she quickly avoided the young man's burning gaze.

"So, you weren't drunk back then?"

Does that matter?

Li Xiaoen asked in return, and as Catherine looked on, he lowered his head and kissed her rosy lips again.

"Humph……"

Catherine gave a soft hum in response, but as the young man's hot body pressed close and his hands began to greedily knead her back, she quickly pushed him away. "Sean, let's eat first. It's getting late, we need to prepare to leave as soon as possible..."

"I'll eat you first..."

Li Xiaoen glared at Catherine, chuckled, and used force to lift her up and put her on the table.

"Etc., etc……"

Catherine's breathing quickened involuntarily, but she endured it, pushing away the young man's head that was kissing her neck, and glaring at him, "Don't you know how long you last? We won't even have time to clean up later!"

"..."

"So, taking too long has become a flaw of mine?"

Li Xiaoen's expression turned strange.

Feeling a tingling sensation in her heart from the young man's words, Catherine pursed her lips and rolled her eyes at him.

"It's not about the time; it's about your greed. You want it without considering the schedule and plans."

"Ok."

Sean Lee shrugged, leaned closer to Catherine, and asked with a beaming smile, "So... do you want to?"

Catherine's eyes widened suddenly, and without hesitation, Sean Lee lowered his head and sealed her soft, lovely lips with his own...

"No need, no need to take off your skirt..."

"..."

"No one noticed, right?"

"Don't worry, this top-of-the-line room has the best privacy protection."

He couldn't help himself, and as if possessed, he raised his hand and slapped her.

"what……"

A sharp crack echoed from the room, and Catherine screamed urgently and tautly, her body tense and trembling uncontrollably. She turned and looked at the young man with a pitiful expression, "Why did you hit me?"

"Ha ha……"

Turning his gaze away from the deep, dark sea before him, Li Xiaoen lowered his hand and gently stroked the spot where his hand had just touched him. "This is punishment for you for teasing me all this time..."

……

"Come on, time is running out, let's fill our stomachs quickly."

After a storm, it was one o'clock in the morning. The sea outside the balcony was as dark and silent as ever. The visibility was less than ten meters ahead. All light and sound had sunk into the mud and disappeared without a trace, as if the previous desperate shouting had never happened.

After a quick wash, Catherine was so tired that her limbs felt weak, and she leaned limply against the sofa.

Sean Lee sat next to her, wolfing down his steak, and then handed a piece to Catherine.

"You know time is running out, don't you?"

Upon hearing this, Catherine suddenly regained her strength, turned her head and glared at the young man, kicking him a few times. "This is the first time I've seen someone who looks so refined and respectable on the outside, but is actually so despicable behind the scenes!"

It's about Li Xiaoen dragging her to the balcony and hitting her.

"How can this be described as unbearable?"

Li Xiaoen shrugged helplessly, looking somewhat innocent. "This is between the two of us. It doesn't violate the law or morality, does it?"

This is nothing compared to the American style and sluggishness at night; this is already as pure as plain water.

"Besides... didn't you stop talking about it later?"

As he spoke, Sean Lee raised an eyebrow at Catherine, which immediately earned him a flurry of kicks. "Shut up! Shut your mouth!"

"Okay, okay, I won't say anything more, alright?"

Li Xiaoen nodded repeatedly, both amused and exasperated. He pressed the feet that Catherine had brought under his arms and handed her the steak on the fork. "Eat up, we don't have much time left."

Seeing that Li Xiaoen's expression darkened slightly, Catherine reluctantly opened her mouth, bit off the steak on her fork, and snatched the plate from the young man's hand.

"..."

"Okay, okay, I'll go get it myself."

Without dwelling on it too much, Li Xiaoen nodded and walked back to the dining table.

After quickly filling their stomachs and hurriedly getting dressed, the helicopter was already parked on the top-floor helipad.

"Let's go, our vacation is over."

With his backpack on and pushing Catherine's suitcase in his hand, Sean Lee sighed, glancing back at the room before his gaze fell on Catherine.

Just before she was about to leave, Catherine took the sheet off and put it in her suitcase.

Watching silently, Catherine's originally fair and elegant face, which was also full of charm, flushed slightly. She raised her eyes and glared at him resentfully.

Is this something you've been keeping all along, or are you afraid of losing face if others find out it's your first time?
Li Xiaoen pondered to himself that, based on his understanding of American girls, it was most likely the latter situation.

"Let's go."

Li Xiaoen laughed heartily, put his hand on Catherine's shoulder, and led her out of the room toward the rooftop parking lot.

The journey was silent. During the layover on a private jet in Hawaii, Li Xiaoen briefly glanced at the trending topics on the internet on his iPad. When the plane was about to land at New York Airport, he suddenly came to his senses. It was five o'clock that afternoon.

Turning to look at Catherine sitting across the aisle, seeing her head tilted to the side, fast asleep, her eyes revealing her exhaustion, Li Xiaoen sighed softly.

He didn't know whether Catherine had rested after he finished his business and fell asleep the day before, but the girl's exhausted state made him feel sorry for her.

"Catherine, wake up, we're in New York."

Li Xiaoen leaned over and shook the other person.

"Hmm... Oh..."

After a moment of confusion, Catherine quickly regained her senses, sat up straight, her face tense and serious, and raised her hand to tidy her slightly disheveled hair that was draped in front of her.

After getting off the plane, while walking out of the station to meet other passengers, Catherine couldn't help but glance at Sean Lee's expression a few more times.

At this moment, the young man, who always had a smile on his face, finally regained his composure. His calm and serious demeanor made her gasp for breath, and the unease deep in her heart immediately subsided.

On other flights, many people disembarked together, and the two attracted a lot of attention along the way, clearly having learned about the controversy surrounding BanYan online.

With a normal expression, Li Xiaoen pushed his suitcase to the arrival area, where several familiar figures immediately gathered around.

"Sean, you're finally back!"

Haskel approached, a look of surprise and delight spreading across his tired face. "Everyone's been waiting for you to come back."

Along with him were several other colleagues from R&D or HR. Li Xiaoen glanced at the group of people whose expressions weren't very good, then smiled and nodded.

"Everyone has worked hard."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression froze, and a bleak smile appeared on their faces.

"It's just a lawsuit, it's just public relations, there's no need for everyone to be so nervous."

Li Xiaoen waved his hand reassuringly, then gestured with his chin toward the exit, "Let's go back to the company and face their lawsuit head-on."

"it is good."

Haskell and his group nodded quickly. "Sean, we came here without telling the rest of the company. There are already quite a few reporters surrounding the company, demanding an explanation. Evan is holding them off."

"Well, I see."

Li Xiaoen nodded, his heart heavy, and took a deep breath.

The company's troubles this time seem to be bigger than he imagined.

The journey was silent, with only the roar of the engine echoing in the quiet car. Li Xiaoen looked at the scenery along the way back, and when the car turned onto a secluded side road, he couldn't help but pause for a moment.

This is a small path leading to the back of the Princeton incubation facility; it looks like the main road has been blocked by reporters.

"Let's go through from the front."

Li Xiaoen snapped out of her daze and raised her chin.

There was a moment of silence in the car before Haskell responded quickly.

"Ok."

As expected, a crowd gathered in front of the incubation base building, and several SUVs were parked on the roadside, all bearing the logos of various media companies.

Surrounded by numerous reporters and with many cameras pointed at him, Xiao Aiwen was talking non-stop, painstakingly explaining something, giving off a vague sense of nostalgia for the paparazzi in Hong Kong movies from his childhood.

As the thought flashed through my mind, the car that drove up from the side of the road attracted everyone's attention. Everyone noticed Haskel in the driver's seat, and then they all shifted their focus and surrounded the car from the front.

"Sean?"

The vehicle couldn't move forward an inch, and Haskel looked back helplessly.

"It's okay, we can just get off here."

Li Xiaoen shook his head and offered a word of comfort.

As soon as he opened the car door, a barrage of questions rushed towards Li Xiaoen like a rising tide, and flashes of light shone incessantly, causing him to subconsciously squint and raise his hand to shield his eyes.

This action seemed to excite them even more, and they hurriedly crowded together, making the space in front of the car door completely packed, with several microphones being handed to Li Xiaoen.

"Mr. Li, Mr. Li..."

What are your thoughts on the lawsuit filed by several major internet companies, including TikTok and Facebook, against BanYan, which is currently experiencing rapid growth?

A blonde, blue-eyed young woman wearing black-rimmed glasses spoke quickly, handing the microphone to Sean Lee.

"Mr. Li, as the independent founder of BanYan, BanYan has developed rapidly since its launch on the Internet. Is this due to the theft of user data from other Internet companies? Could you please elaborate?"

"Has BanYan made any preparations to deal with the lawsuits filed by other internet companies?"

Although she knew BanYan was popular online, Li Xiaoen was still surprised by the noisy scene in front of her and quickly raised her hand to calm all the reporters down.

"Everyone, let our company staff go back first. I'll stay here and conduct the interviews, okay?"

Upon hearing this, many reporters were taken aback and took a few steps back to increase the distance between themselves and the vehicle.

Sean Lee glanced back at the car, exchanged a look with Catherine, nodded, closed the car door and let her drive into the building, before finally coming to his senses.

Facing numerous cameras and the intense gazes of reporters, Li Xiaoen first displayed a composed smile, a reaction that stunned everyone. (End of Chapter)