The Guide to Rising to Power: The Ultimate Schemes of a Green Tea Beauty

Just a second before his lips were about to touch hers, Shen Yao suddenly took a small step back as if startled, avoiding the kiss.

She covered her mouth with her hand, her cheeks flushed red, her eyes filled with panic, shyness, and a hint of helplessness.

"Senior, no, no." Her voice trembled.

Xiang Yuchuan froze, remaining bent over, a feeling of indescribable loss and embarrassment welling up inside him.

This was the first time in his life he had wanted to kiss a girl, and he was rejected?

Shen Yao seemed afraid to look at him, and quickly said, "It's too late! I should go back! Goodbye, senior!"

After saying that, she practically fled, her retreating figure hurried and disheveled as she ran towards the dormitory building.

Xiang Yuchuan stood there, looking at the empty path, feeling an indescribable sense of suffocation.

He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, and for the first time began to doubt his reputation as a "playboy." Was that why she wouldn't let him kiss her?

The timing was perfect.

Let him taste a little success, let him think he's about to succeed, and then suddenly pull away at the moment when he's most emotionally invested and moved.

This huge psychological gap will be like a hook, firmly embedded in his heart.

The unattainable is always more alluring, especially for a young master like Xiang Yuchuan who is used to getting whatever he wants. This feeling of "wanting but not getting" is more attractive than any kind of obedience.

From that day on, Shen Yao's attitude underwent a complete 180-degree turn.

She no longer readily accepted his invitations to dates, and her WeChat replies became brief and cold, carrying a clear sense of distance. Occasionally, when they bumped into each other on campus, she would immediately lower her head and hurry away like a startled rabbit, as if he were some kind of monster.

Xiang Yuchuan was completely dumbfounded.

The gift he sent was returned unopened, with the added note, "It's too precious; I'm unworthy of it." His message went unanswered.

He, Xiang Yuchuan. Even someone who had lived the life of a pampered young master for over twenty years was beginning to reflect—for the first time ever—whether he had done something wrong.

He had never spent so much time and effort on a woman before, nor had he ever experienced being treated with such inconsistent behavior and having his emotions so easily swayed.

Shen Yao's "cooling-off" strategy lasted for nearly two weeks.

Over the past two weeks, Xiang Yuchuan has gradually become impatient, moving away from initial confusion and reflection.

His gifts disappeared without a trace, his invitations were declined with various excuses, and even when they "bumped into" each other on campus, Shen Yao avoided him as if he were the plague.

Young Master Xiang has never been treated like this before.

He started to lose interest. She's just a woman, so what if she's beautiful? So what if she's his type?

Shanghai has no shortage of beautiful women, of all shapes and sizes. If he just beckoned to Yu Chuan, plenty of women would pounce on him. Why waste time on a pretentious, hot-and-cold Shen Yao?

The desire to conquer that arose from "wanting but not getting" was gradually replaced by a sense of frustration of "I'm not going to serve you anymore" after repeated setbacks.

His vague, inexplicable feelings of affection for Shen Yao became blurred under the weight of this restlessness. He himself couldn't figure out what that strange feeling was, but he was certain that he disliked this feeling of being out of control.

"Never mind," he thought to himself. He prepared to completely remove Shen Yao from the list.

Shen Yao noticed the change in Xiang Yuchuan's attitude. He stopped sending messages frequently, stopped waiting stubbornly downstairs at the dormitory, and even once when he saw her from afar at a coffee shop, he only glanced at her coldly before looking away.

The time is right.

Shen Yao knew that things would turn around if they went too far, and if the cooling-off period was too long, the fish might really swim away.

Now is the perfect time to shift from "push" to "pull". She needs a trigger, an opportunity that will compel her to ask him for help and greatly stimulate his protective instincts.

The opportunity came quickly.

Or rather, she actively created the opportunity.

She's gotten herself into trouble. A man she met at the coffee shop where she worked part-time, who claimed to be a manager at a small company, has tried to ask her out several times, but she's politely declined each time.

That day, the man actually blocked her way home from work and started arguing with her. Shen Yao didn't fight back fiercely, but showed great panic and fear. When the man tried to pull her away, she "accidentally" hit him with her bag, and then, taking advantage of his momentary daze, she turned and ran.

She ran in a panic, not knowing where to go, but unfortunately, the weather turned against her, and a torrential downpour began.

The icy rain soaked her through instantly, her thin clothes clinging to her body, making her teeth chatter with cold. She deliberately didn't bring an umbrella, making herself look even more disheveled.

She ran all the way back to the school gate, soaking wet, her hair sticking to her face, looking like a homeless stray cat.

Just then, she saw the familiar black sports car parked near the school gate.

Xiang Yuchuan, who was in the car, also saw her.

He was getting ready to drive away, ending this boring day.

Seeing that shivering, disheveled figure in the rain, he paused for a moment, then a complex mix of emotions welled up inside him. There was a sense of relief, but also a touch of inexplicable heartache.

He immediately suppressed his unease, clicked his tongue in annoyance, and decided to pretend he hadn't seen anything, starting the car.

Just then, Shen Yao seemed to see a savior and stumbled to his car.

The rain blurred her vision, but her upturned face was covered in water streaks, indistinguishable between rain and tears, and her eyes were filled with despair and helplessness.

Through the glass, she cried out in a trembling, tearful voice:

"Senior, please help me."

That one sentence unexpectedly pierced through the hard shell of feigned indifference in Xiang Yuchuan's heart.

He looked out the window at the fragile figure, as if she could break at any moment, and at the pure fear and pleading in her eyes.

Fuck!

He cursed under his breath and almost instinctively unlocked the car.

The moment the car door opened, Shen Yao, damp and cold, stumbled in, leaving a puddle of water on the expensive leather seats.

She was shivering from the cold, hugging herself tightly with both hands, her head down, sobbing softly and quietly, her shoulders heaving, looking utterly pitiful.

Seeing her like this, all the cold words he had prepared stuck in his throat.