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

A strange, inexplicable emotion, mixed with a twisted possessiveness, made him suppress the urge to lash out immediately. He let out a heavy snort and said in a harsh voice:

"Hmph, afraid of losing face? You still have some shame? Fine, let's see what tricks you have up your sleeve! Lead the way!"

Shen Yao looked as if she had been granted a pardon, and quickly lowered her head, leading Shen Daqiang toward a mid-range business hotel that looked fairly clean.

Along the way, Shen Yao deliberately lagged half a step behind Shen Daqiang, keeping her head down and appearing weak and submissive.

As she rounded a secluded corner, she quickly took out her phone and discreetly edited a text message to Xiao Weilin.

She wasn't without other options when facing Shen Daqiang. Zhou Jingyan was right there; if she asked, he would definitely help her—in what he considered the best way.

But that's not what she wanted.

When faced with someone like Shen Daqiang, what she wants is not justice or fairness, but some kind of more direct and thorough "solution".

As for her career, Fang Yunci, as the station director, naturally has an advantageous position and can lift her up in the shortest time.

Xiao Weilin will definitely come too.

The game can still be played without him. But with him on the board, it seems more interesting.

As the saying goes, "An army is raised for a thousand days, but used for only one." Although she had never "raised" him for more than a few days, if Xiao Weilin was willing to be a pawn in her hands—or rather, a dog at her feet.

If we don't use it now, when will we?

Upon entering the hotel room, Shen Daqiang sat down in a chair as if he were at home, his mud-stained leather shoes stepping unceremoniously onto the clean carpet.

He squinted, surveying the room's rather decent furnishings, and let out a disdainful snort.

"Hmph, looks like they've made quite a bit of money!"

As soon as Shen Yao closed the door, Shen Daqiang slammed his hand on the table, pointed at her, and yelled:

"You little brat, you've got guts now, huh? You dare run away? If you don't give me an explanation today, I'll break your legs!"

Shen Yao seemed startled; her hand trembled, and her phone fell to the ground with a "thud." She hurriedly bent down to pick it up.

The moment she bent over, Shen Daqiang's insults came crashing down on her like a storm.

Shen Yao picked up her phone, clutching it tightly in her hand. Her body trembled slightly with fear, and tears streamed down her face like a broken string of pearls. Yet, she stubbornly shook her head, her voice trembling with sobs as she tried to explain:

"Dad... I didn't... I got in as an exchange student through my own hard work..."

"Bullshit!" Shen Daqiang didn't believe it at all. He suddenly stood up, approached Shen Yao, and spat almost onto her face.

"Don't fucking try to fool me! I don't care how you got it, right now, give me 500,000! You hear me? 500,000!"

Five hundred thousand? This number made Shen Yao's heart sink.

Although she was mentally prepared, she did not expect Shen Daqiang to have such a big appetite. This was definitely not just a simple gambling debt.

At that moment, Shen Yao felt as if she had gone mad and become a gambler.

However, Shen Daqiang was gambling on winning or losing at the card table, while she was gambling on people's hearts, the future, and the chance to completely escape this nightmare.

She used to have a very strong sense of self-respect, and would only lick her wounds in the shadows, never daring to show her misery and wretchedness to anyone.

The "misery" she described were often things she didn't feel were truly devastating. Essentially, she didn't want anyone to know she had such a terrible family background, and she didn't want to gain anyone's sympathy.

But now, she has changed.

Shen Yao clearly realized that appropriately exposing one's scars in front of certain people is a more effective weapon than any elaborate scheme.

If reopening the bloody wound could help her get what she wanted more quickly—for example, the condescending pity and protectiveness that a man like Fang Yunci might feel, or Xiao Weilin's anger—she could use that to get rid of Shen Daqiang, this bottomless pit, no, to use that to torment this beast Shen Daqiang.

So, she's willing!

Although Fang Yunci hasn't taken any further action yet, his seemingly gentle yet controlling gaze makes Shen Yao realize that he will come knocking on her door sooner or later, and that he is definitely watching her.

Instead of waiting passively, she should take the initiative and present herself to him, since she still needs to step on him to climb up the social ladder.

Thinking of this, Shen Yao raised her tear-filled face and, with the last vestige of hope for her father, asked a crucial question through tears:

"Five hundred thousand?! Dad, what do you need so much money for? Did you gamble again? You owe so much, is it from loan sharks?"

Shen Daqiang's eyes flickered for a moment when she asked him a question, and a look of guilt and impatience flashed across his face. He waved his hand irritably.

"Mind your own business! Pay up now, or I'll make you regret it!"

Seeing his guilty expression and eagerness for money, Shen Yao was certain.

How shameless is Shen Daqiang? He can justify his gambling debts, no matter how large, by claiming it's just "bad luck," and he would never be so ashamed to admit it.

The amount and purpose of the money were enough to make him feel guilty...

Looking at his face, distorted by greed and anxiety, Shen Yao felt a surge of nausea and disgust, and almost couldn't maintain her weak and pitiful act.

She suppressed her surging emotions, using all her strength to maintain a trembling, sobbing voice, and forced out the most crucial question:

"How much? How much do you owe? Tell me!"

Her voice rose with emotion, carrying a heart-wrenching sense of despair.

Shen Daqiang was taken aback by her sudden interrogation, then became enraged and raised his hand to strike her:

"You've gone too far! How dare you talk to me like that!"

_

The laboratory was quiet. Xiao Weixun, wearing his school uniform, sat at the lab table, his eyes lowered in focus.

On the spread-out draft paper, a complex physics problem that was clearly beyond the scope of the curriculum had been more than half-derived, yet his pen moved fluently and without the slightest hesitation.

Not far away, a few strands of Xiao Weilin's hair fell down, half-covering the black-rimmed glasses perched on his nose.

The eyelashes behind the lenses are very long, and when they droop down, they look like half a moonlight. The lip color is light, but the lip line is drawn very softly.

He was intently analyzing a stack of experimental data, and the usual gloom between his brows seemed to have been softened by his focus.

"Second Young Master, Second Young Master!"

The silence was broken by urgent shouts and the sudden opening of the door. Xiao Weilin looked up unhappily.

"What's wrong?" He took off his glasses, his voice tinged with annoyance at being disturbed.

A researcher rushed in, holding his phone, sounding somewhat flustered: "Um... she... she sent a message."

"Her?" Xiao Weilin was slightly taken aback, then seemed to be struck by something and suddenly realized who "her" was referring to.

He suddenly stood up, almost snatching the phone, and the two words "Help" and a short address on the screen caught his eye.

The chair tipped over with the force of him standing up, scraping loudly on the floor, but he was completely unaware, and his figure had already disappeared outside the door.

This sudden turn of events left the researcher who delivered the phone stunned and somewhat at a loss.

Only then did Xiao Weixun raise his head. His gaze swept across the open door, then fell back on the researcher, and a clean, clear smile appeared on his face:

"It's alright, you can go out now."