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

Chapter 40: Short of money? Looking for a rich woman
"No, I didn't tease you."

Seeing Victoria's big reaction, Li Xiaoen hurriedly explained.

“This time, you’re giving me another ball?”

Victoria pointed to the basketball lying quietly in the gift box, her voice choked with sobs.

Li Xiaoen suddenly realized and waved his hands repeatedly, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "This is not just a ball, I've processed it. Can you take a closer look first?"

"..."

Victoria said nothing more. She lowered her head and carefully examined the basketball that had made her so angry. Her emerald green pupils suddenly dilated.

Only then did she realize that the entire basketball was fixed to the base. There was an inconspicuous button on the base, and she couldn't help but stretch out her finger and press it.

As soon as she raised her hand, Victoria found that the entire basketball was lit up, with lights of various colors flashing inside like breathing. Among them, every original line on the basketball was also penetrated by light streams of various colors.

More importantly, melodious classical music slowly came out from the basketball court. The music being played at this moment was Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata".

"How's it going? Do you like it?"

Hearing the melodious piano sound coming from the other side, Li Xiaoen looked at Victoria's pretty face with red eyes and stunned expression, and couldn't help but asked with a smile.

Victoria took a deep breath and pursed her lips.

"Your aesthetic taste is truly terrible."

"..."

"Aesthetics?" Li Xiaoen was a little surprised.

"Classical piano music, what kind of fancy lighting did you pair with this basketball?"

Victoria looked up at Li Xiaoen, her face expressionless. "Are you thinking this is a light show?"

"I'm going to do it myself, so I'm going to make it as cool as possible."

Li Xiaoen shrugged helplessly. You know, after he made the finished product, Daniel and the other two were stunned and received unanimous praise from them.

"Then imagine what it would be like to see Beethoven playing the piano under these chaotic lights."

Victoria rolled her eyes and said this, but couldn't help but curl up the corners of her mouth in laughter when she thought of that scene.

Victoria quickly composed herself and pursed her lips to suppress the smile on her face. "Did you make this basketball?"

"Of course, is it powerful?"

Li Xiaoen became more confident when talking about this, and raised his chin. "Actually, if you want to change the light color, it's very simple. Just modify the code."

"When I get tired of this lighting, I'll ask you to change it."

Victoria turned her head to the side and picked up the basketball. Only then did she realize there was a tightly sealed package underneath. "What is this?"

"You like our Chinese milk tea."

Li Xiaoen didn't keep the secret this time.

"Hmm... well, it's a decent gift."

Victoria snorted. Seeing Victoria's proud expression, Li Xiaoen remained calm, "Anything that's not perfect doesn't deserve to exist. Since you don't like it so much, Victoria, I'll repackage it. I'll have the drone bring it back and throw it in the trash."

"waste!"

It was a quote from Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. Li Xiaoen was clearly responding to her declaration this afternoon.

Victoria glared at him angrily, her face flushed for a moment, and she said something hastily before hanging up the phone.

"I'm going to take a shower and go to bed."

Holding the basketball and the package, Victoria watched the drone take off and fly towards Li Xiaoen's dormitory. She pursed her lips with a smile and turned to go into the house.

After putting away the drone, Li Xiaoen breathed a sigh of relief. Now, it was time to consider using the deposit-doubling card.

After borrowing all the available money online, Li Xiaoen looked at the three people who were selecting songs for the evening party and said, "How much money do you have? Lend it to me for one day and I'll pay you back the next day..."

"You really can't come up with $500?"

Looking at Daniel and Michael looking at each other in silence, Li Xiaoen was unable to react for a moment. What's worse, Michael is still in debt.

The only good thing was that Malcolm, the only black man, now had about a thousand dollars in his pocket.

"We in America are different from your China."

Facing Li Xiaoen's shocked look, Michael spread his hands to save face. "We don't have the habit of saving money here. Many people still spend money in advance. There are many people like me who are in debt."

"Should I say that your life is pretty hard too?"

Not knowing what expression to make at this moment, Li Xiaoen could only complain helplessly.

In fact, in the United States, Michael and his wife's family background can be considered middle-class, and they were admitted to Princeton University, which provides scholarships based on need. Their situation is undoubtedly much better than that of students at other American universities.

The university tuition here is very expensive, and many families need to take out loans to pay for the tuition and miscellaneous fees. This is why there are so many office workers who have to pay off their student loans for several years or even more than ten years.

In this country that claims to be the most prosperous and developed beacon in the world, ordinary people are still struggling. In this world, no matter where you are, money is still too important.

With such emotion, Li Xiaoen became more determined to make a fortune.

Just by accepting Malcolm's $1,000 and adding the loan from the Chinese platform, which amounted to $17,000, Li Xiaoen's total savings reached about $19300.

Fearing that they would worry and keep asking questions, and also to avoid suspicions that would be raised from time to time in the future, Li Xiaoen did not choose to ask his parents and elders, and fell into deep thought for a while.

There was no way he could think of borrowing money from the United States. Without a green card, he couldn't even borrow a hundred dollars. So he could only focus on his university classmates.

Or, why not go ask that rich lady Victoria?
Li Xiaoen suddenly had an idea in his mind. He looked at the remaining time on the doubling card, which was 19 hours, and quickly took out his mobile phone to send a message to the other party.

└Victoria, will you still be in the dorm tomorrow? I need to talk to you about something. ┐
└What's up? ┐
After a while, Victoria responded.

└Let’s talk about it tomorrow. I think it’s better to tell you in person. ┐
He estimated that the success rate would be higher if he talked face to face. Even if Victoria used her imaginative mind to guess, he could explain it immediately. Li Xiaoen typed a reply.
└By the way, Victoria, I'm going to get up early tomorrow for a run and will pass by the school cafeteria. Do you want anything for breakfast? I'll bring it to you. ┐
"..."

Victoria, who was originally happily drinking milk tea, frowned when she saw Li Xiaoen's courteous words on the phone.

└You're not going to make me mad again, are you? ┐

└No, how could that be? It was really just a small favor. ┐
└Mr. Sean, you are suspicious.┐
└Ms. Victoria, you are really suspicious. ┐
└So... can I refuse to help? ┐
└Miss Victoria, I firmly believe that only superficial people don't judge people by appearances. Someone as beautiful as you, as beautiful as Snow White, can't have a black heart. ┐
└Hmph…┐
(End of this chapter)