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

These words seemed to shatter the facade that Shen Yao had been deliberately maintaining in front of him.

Her eyes instantly reddened and filled with tears.

"No! Mr. Fang, how could I forget you?"

Seeing her tearful, pitiful state, Fang Yunci leaned forward slightly, closing the distance between them, and continued to ask the next question slowly and deliberately in that gentle tone:

"You haven't forgotten? So you broke up with Yuchuan?"

Shen Yao's face turned deathly pale in an instant, her lips trembled slightly, and tears finally rolled down her delicate cheeks uncontrollably.

She raised her tearful eyes and glared fiercely at Fang Yunci.

To Fang Yunci, that glance was like a kitten extending its claws, utterly harmless, and instead added a touch of cruel beauty.

She answered with a heavy nasal tone and suppressed sobs:

We broke up.

Fang Yunci got the answer he wanted. He didn't care why she and Xiang Yuchuan broke up; it was none of his business.

A brief silence fell over the carriage, with only Shen Yao's suppressed sobs filling the air.

She tilted her head to the side, her shoulders trembling slightly, and tears rolled down silently like beads from a broken string, soaking the tissue she was clutching in her hand and wetting her long eyelashes.

That aggrieved yet stubborn look was like a kitten shivering in the rain, drenched and unwilling to approach anyone.

The tears flowed longer than he had expected. Fang Yunci watched, his initial amusement fading.

"Okay, stop crying. It's okay to break up, it's not a big deal."

As Fang Yunci spoke, he pulled out a few clean tissues and handed them to Shen Yao.

Shen Yao sniffed, raised her teary eyes to look at him, her eyes still filled with lingering grievance, but she still took the tissue and silently wiped the tears from her face.

Seeing that her emotions seemed to have calmed down a bit and she was no longer as distraught as before, Fang Yunci breathed a sigh of relief.

He changed the subject, his tone returning to its usual gentleness: "Where are you going? I'll take you."

"The TV station." Shen Yao's voice still had a nasal tone from crying, but she had calmed down a lot.

"A TV station?" Fang Yunci asked casually. "You went to work at a TV station?"

"Yes, I'm doing an internship," Shen Yao replied softly, her gaze still fixed on the view outside the window, but her shoulders were no longer trembling.

Fang Yunci glanced at her; the girl's profile appeared soft and serene under the streetlights.

He casually asked a few questions about the job content and program types at the TV station, his tone like that of an elder showing concern for a younger person in a normal chat.

Shen Yao's answer satisfied him.

She was no longer the girl she was six months ago in Shanghai, who, although beautiful, was somewhat timid and cautious.

Her answers were clear and logical, and her professional terminology, while still showing some student naiveté in her industry insights, were fresh in perspective and rigorous in logic, demonstrating that she had indeed worked hard and grown rapidly during this period.

Fang Yunci's lips curled slightly, his tone carrying a hint of approval:

"It seems that Yenching University is indeed a good fit for you. You've made great progress in the past six months."

Upon hearing this, Shen Yao turned to look at him with some confusion, seemingly not understanding why he suddenly brought this up.

Fang Yunci looked at her eyes, which were exceptionally clear and bright after being washed by tears, and the expression on her face that was a little bewildered and innocent, purely belonging to a young girl.

The slightly serious appreciation that had arisen in his heart because of her excellent answer was instantly replaced by a more relaxed and slightly mischievous sense of pleasure.

Fang Yunci smiled, clearly pleased, and gazed at her still slightly chubby face. He casually posed a question that caught Shen Yao completely off guard:

"Do you like your birthday present?"

Shen Yao's mind went blank for a moment, and her face quickly turned into a deeper look of confusion.

What gift? What is he saying?

Fang Yunci saw the little girl almost instinctively move closer to him, tilting her tear-streaked face up, her eyes filled with confusion and urgency, her voice rising slightly:

"What? What gift?"

Her innocent and bewildered expression, eager for answers, pleased Fang Yunci.

He didn't answer immediately, but gave her a meaningful look, the gentle smile on his lips deepening, before turning back.

Shen Yao was left alone, staring at him intently, her mind racing.

A 19th birthday gift? Her 19th birthday was way over!

He sent it? When did he send it? What did he send? How come she didn't know? He just made a phone call, didn't he?

Fang Yunci's car came to a smooth stop near the television station building. He turned his head, gave Shen Yao a gentle smile, and spoke with encouragement:

"We've arrived. Work hard, you're excellent, and you have a bright future."

These polite words of encouragement sounded exceptionally sincere coming from his mouth, thanks to his deceptively mature and refined face and gentle voice.

Shen Yao quickly put on a polite smile, unbuckled her seatbelt, and thanked him, "Thank you, Mr. Fang, for bringing me here."

She pushed open the car door, one foot already outside, but then turned back, her face showing curiosity and unresolved confusion, and asked softly:

"Mr. Fang, what exactly is the gift you mentioned for my nineteenth birthday? I don't recall ever receiving any special gifts before."

Fang Yunci simply looked back at her with gentle eyes: "I've already given you the gift, you'll know later."

His father, the riddle-maker.

Shen Yao knew that asking any further questions would be pointless, so she stopped pressing the issue, said goodbye again, closed the car door, and turned to walk towards the television station building.

Stepping into the brightly lit television station, the innocent and curious expression on her face vanished instantly, replaced by a calm and thoughtful demeanor.

As she walked toward her workstation, she rapidly reviewed Fang Yunci's words in her mind.

"A gift for my nineteenth birthday..."

Why did Fang Yunci bring this up at this particular moment?

Shen Yao sorted out her chaotic thoughts one by one.

What happened after she met Fang Yunci that was enough to change the course of her life?

Fragments of memory flashed by, and eventually, a long-buried possibility gradually became clear.

grass.

Shen Yao suddenly stopped, feeling a chill and excitement creeping up her spine.

Is it an exchange student program at Yenching University?!

The exchange student program between Shanghai University and Yenching University is a new initiative launched this year, and the number of places is extremely limited, making the competition fierce.

This is ridiculous.

The very assumption made her want to laugh—it proved she had successfully piqued his interest. But just as a smile was about to spread across her face, she forced it back down.

This also means that the turning point in her fate may have originated from a single thought of his.

From that moment on, Shen Yao was perhaps laid out on a path whose direction had been predetermined by others.

As long as she doesn't give up her desire to improve herself, and as long as she keeps running, she will inevitably and naturally embark on this preordained path.

Her initiative and hard work became the perfect driving force, precisely sending her to the predetermined destination.

Fang Yunci...did he really, in a place she couldn't see, so easily turn the pointer of her destiny?