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

Xie Yuanzhu walked into the restaurant with a yawn, only to find that there was only breakfast prepared on the table, but her brother Xie Yunzhou was nowhere to be seen.

"Huh? That's strange, where's my brother? Did he go to work so early?"

Xie Yuanzhu scratched her head. Although her brother was self-disciplined, he usually didn't leave home this early.

Shen Yao also came out of the guest room. She had a gentle smile on her face, looked well-rested, and had a rosy complexion.

"Good morning, Yuanzhu," Shen Yao greeted with a smile.

"Good morning, Sister Yao Yao! Come and have breakfast! My brother has disappeared somewhere, but never mind him!" Xie Yuanzhu immediately put her doubts aside and greeted Shen Yao warmly.

The two sat down to eat breakfast in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere. As breakfast was nearing its end, Shen Yao took a beautifully wrapped small gift box from her bag and handed it to Xie Yuanzhu with a genuine smile.

"Yuanzhu, this is for you."

"Wow, this is for me?" Xie Yuanzhu's eyes widened in surprise, and she quickly took the box. "Sister Yaoyao, why did you bring me a gift?"

She carefully unwrapped the package, and when she saw what was inside, she couldn't help but let out a soft gasp:

"Oh my god, it's T-brand's latest diamond hair clip! I saw it in a magazine last time and loved it! It's so expensive!"

Xie Yuanzhu knew her stuff and knew that this hair clip was quite expensive.

She looked up at Shen Yao, her eyes filled with both the joy of receiving a beloved gift and worry and heartache:

"Sister Yao Yao, how much is your internship salary? How can you buy such expensive things! You're spending too much, this... I can't accept this."

Shen Yao looked at her, who was both happy and worried about the money, and felt a little amused and warm.

She reached out and gently patted Xie Yuanzhu's head, her tone relaxed and natural: "Why would I care about these things? Seeing our Yuanzhu smiling so happily with her pretty hair clip makes everything worthwhile."

Her words were gentle, and her eyes were full of love for her younger sister.

Xie Yuanzhu's eyes welled up with tears at her words. She gripped the sparkling hair clip tightly and nodded vigorously, "Yes, thank you, Sister Yaoyao. I love it so much, I'll wear it every day from now on."

She immediately and happily clipped the hair clip into her hair, looking at herself in the phone screen from left to right, as happy as a child.

The two lingered for a while longer before Shen Yao got up to say goodbye. Xie Yuanzhu reluctantly saw her to the door, repeatedly urging her to come and visit often.

Stepping out of the Xie family's vermilion gate and standing once again in the alley, Shen Yao took a deep breath in the slightly cool morning air.

Xie Yunzhou, now that you've stepped into the woven net and feel the threads of entanglement, how can you easily extricate yourself? The more you try to escape, the tighter she'll bind you.

During a break from filming at the TV station, Wang Luoning anxiously placed a heat pack on Yao Yao's cold abdomen, his brow furrowed. "Yao Yao, you look frighteningly pale. Why don't you go back and rest?"

Shen Yao shook her head weakly and gratefully grasped Wang Luoning's hand.

This familiar care suddenly reminded her of that person.

Xiang Yuchuan is arrogant and lazy; his only legitimate occupation is squandering his family fortune and enjoying life.

This is the kind of person who, under her painstaking guidance, remembers her special days each month.

On one occasion, she felt just as bad. She curled up on the soft sofa in the living room of her apartment in Shanghai, too weak to even move.

Xiang Yuchuan had made an appointment to go to the horse farm, but when he saw her listless appearance just before leaving, he frowned.

He strode over and placed his large hand on her cold abdomen without a word: "Yaoyao, how did you get like this again? How many times have I told you not to touch anything cold? Did you ignore me?"

The words were reproachful, but the warmth emanating from his palm was scalding.

As he continued to berate them, he took out his phone and decisively canceled the trip: "Hey, I'm not going, something came up."

After hanging up the phone, Xiang Yuchuan looked down at Shen Yao, who was curled up in a ball, and bent down to pick her up in his arms.

"Lie down, don't move." He settled her on the bed in the bedroom and covered her with the blanket.

Then, this pampered young master, who never lifted a finger in the kitchen and who always had his coffee brewed and served to him, plunged headfirst into the kitchen.

Shen Yao listened groggily to the clumsy, even awkward, sounds coming from outside: the opening and closing of cabinets, the sound of running water, and the slight clinking of pots and pans.

After a long while, Xiang Yuchuan came in carrying a bowl.

The bowl contains brown sugar ginger tea, which looks quite rich in color, but the ginger slices are cut into different sizes, which is rather casual.

He helped her lean against him, tested the temperature, and then held the bowl to her lips.

"I drank it." His tone was still as matter-of-fact as ever, as if he had made the most delicious food in the world.

The spicy yet sweet and warm liquid slid down my throat, warming me all the way to my stomach, and even seemed to dispel some of the chill in my abdomen.

Xiang Yuchuan's brows relaxed only after watching the girl finish drinking the beverage in small sips.

The empty bowl was casually placed on the bedside table, but he didn't let go of her. Instead, he adjusted his position so that she could nestle more comfortably in his arms. His warm palms remained firmly on her lower abdomen, slowly, clumsily, yet extremely patiently massaging it.

"Yaoyao, why are you so delicate?" He lowered his head, his chin gently brushing against the top of her head, his voice muffled, "I'll have to keep an eye on you like this every month from now on."

Shen Yao snuggled closer to him, seeking a warmer spot. He smelled wonderful, a clean, soapy scent mixed with his unique aroma.

She tilted her head back, leaned in, and gently kissed his chin.

Xiang Yuchuan was stunned for a moment, then his eyes darkened, and he lowered his head to capture her lips.

The kiss carried the lingering sweetness of brown sugar ginger tea and his own strong aura, yet it was exceptionally gentle and tender, as if he were carefully soothing all her discomfort.

When the kiss ended, their noses brushed against each other, their breaths mingling.

He looked at Shen Yao's slightly flushed cheeks, chuckled, and his tone returned to its arrogant, young master-like manner:

"Looks like you're feeling better? You even have the energy to provoke me now."

_

On the weekend, Qin Fang's eye-catching sports car was parked smoothly at a relatively quiet intersection near Yenching University.

He got out of the car himself, walked around to the passenger seat, and gentlemanly opened the car door for Shen Yao.

A custom-made, satin-finish white shirt with wide shoulders hung loosely at the collar, with a matching ribbon dangling from his chest, ending just at his waist. He wore flowing black wide-leg cargo trousers with metal buttons along the seams.

Shen Yao bent down and got out of the car, standing still in the dim light of dusk.

Today she wore a light blue off-shoulder dress, with a delicate chain around her neck adorned with rhinestones, and her long, straight black hair, reaching her waist, fell smoothly down, the ends swaying gently in the night breeze.

The outer corners of her eyes were drawn with an extremely thin eyeliner to create an arc, and her lips were a glossy bright red, shimmering with a glaze-like sheen in the warm, ambiguous light.

Qin Fang's gaze lingered on her for a moment before he smiled and gestured, "Let's go, Yao Yao, the restaurant is upstairs."

Shen Yao looked up at him, a gentle smile spreading across her face as her eyes sparkled: "Mr. Qin, you look like you just stepped off a fashion show today."

Her voice was soft and gentle, yet it tickled my heart like a feather.

Qin Fang chuckled and naturally took half a step closer to her, walking side by side toward the elevator: "That depends on who's watching—wearing it for you to see, at least the effort wasn't in vain."

There were only the two of them in the elevator.

Qin Fang reached out and pressed the floor button, then turned to the side, his gaze falling on her face: "Wang Tao praised you to me again, saying that the version you revised for that project proposal last time was even better than the original."

Shen Yao tilted her head slightly, a strand of long hair slipping from her shoulder and brushing against the back of his hand. She seemed oblivious, simply raising her clear eyes to look at him:

"It's because Mr. Qin didn't think I was stupid and was willing to give me a chance to try."

As she spoke, her lips parted slightly, and the bright red of her lips appeared exceptionally vibrant under the cold light of the elevator, creating a silent contrast with her non-aggressive gaze.

Qin Fang suddenly raised his hand and gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, his fingertips lightly brushing against her earlobe.

"The opportunity has been given, but not many people can seize it." He lowered his voice, which had a magnetic resonance, and looked at her frankly. "Yaoyao, you always make me feel that this investment was really worthwhile."

The restaurant boasts an elegant and tranquil ambiance, with floor-to-ceiling windows offering stunning views of Beijing's dazzling nightscape.

When ordering food, Shen Yao spoke fluently in English with the waiter, her pronunciation elegant and appropriate.

Qin Fang leaned back in his chair and looked at her.

He raised his glass, looking at her through the amber liquid, a smile playing on his lips with the excitement of a child discovering a new toy: "Every day when I come to the station, I think about what treasures I can dig out of Miss Shen Yao today?"

Shen Yao's eyes were like water as she tilted her wine glass slightly towards him. "Then, Mr. Qin, you'd better protect your curiosity."

Upon hearing this, Qin Fang raised an eyebrow and smiled, a smile that shone brightly against the dazzling night view. He raised his glass and gently clinked it against hers, producing a crisp sound.

"Curiosity killed the cat?" He shook his head, his tone cheerful and certain. "But I'm not a cat. I'm... an audience member willing to pay a premium for truly interesting stories."

Amidst laughter and chatter, Shen Yao's gaze fell upon a neon light outside the window. As if remembering something, her long eyelashes drooped, casting a soft shadow on her eyelids, and the surrounding light seemed to quiet down.

"Mr. Qin, you have extensive connections, do you know where Yuchuan is now?"

The girl paused, as if using all her strength to keep her voice steady:

"I... I didn't mean anything by it, I just suddenly wanted to know if he was doing well without me..."

Looking at her like this, Qin Fang's eyes were filled with a mixture of pity for the fragility of beautiful things and a kind of "understanding" that carried a knowing meaning.

When he spoke again, his tone naturally carried a touch of genuine emotion:

"To be honest, I don't know much either. It just so happens that his grandfather's birthday was a while ago, and he mentioned to his grandfather that... he had just broken up with a girl. Of course, he only mentioned it casually and didn't say your name."