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

"Snapped!"

A resounding slap landed hard on Shen Yao's left cheek.

She staggered to the side from the slap. In the instant her vision blurred, she stared at the hard wooden edge of the bed in front of her, and then, without hesitation, she brought her forehead to meet it.

A burning pain instantly spread from my cheek, and a sharp sting came from the spot on my forehead where I had been hit. Warm liquid slowly flowed down my forehead.

In stark contrast to the intense physical pain, Shen Yao's heart was filled with an icy calm.

If a person who achieves success is unwilling to stake their own flesh and blood, joys and sorrows on the gamble, how can they make the show so genuine that people are willing to cheer?

A man like Fang Yunci, whether he sees through things or not, ultimately arrives at the same destination. The wounds are real, the pain is real, and the blood that flows is real. And what he wants, perhaps, is this very "truth."

He will like her.

Shen Yao's soul ignited a raging fire—a fire of desire and ambition. She was willing to shed blood to get what she wanted!

Dad, you're still the same as always.

Shen Yao lay on the ground, not getting up immediately, but remaining in that disheveled position.

She turned her head slightly, looking at the enraged Shen Daqiang with her eyes brimming with tears.

"Dad, please stop gambling, really. I beg you, something terrible will happen..."

Her tone sounded full of a daughter's worry and pleading for her father's misguided path, but deep down she knew better than anyone that every word she uttered precisely pierced the sensitive and fragile nerves of men like Shen Daqiang.

Shen Daqiang hated nothing more than others, especially women, questioning his gambling skills and luck. He glared at his daughter, who lay lifeless on the ground, his eyes flashing with malice, and he launched into a tirade:

"You know nothing! I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice! Who gives you the right to lecture me? What's wrong with gambling? I win money through my own skill! I'm on a winning streak! Wait until I win this big hand, then let's see if you dare to talk nonsense again!"

He grew angrier as he spoke, and looking at Shen Yao's face, which was still dazzlingly beautiful even in its disheveled state, he raised his foot, clad in dirty leather shoes, and kicked her hard at her body curled up on the ground.

"I can win money! I'm sure I can win! Serves you right for cursing me! Serves you right for talking so much!"

Shen Yao did not dodge, but took the kick head-on. The kick landed on her lower abdomen, and the intense pain made her curl up into a ball instantly, letting out a suppressed groan.

Yes, that's it. Be angry, lose control.

Just as Shen Daqiang was cursing and preparing to kick Shen Yao again, "Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Suddenly, several extremely rough and rapid banging sounds came from outside the room door. The force was so great that the door panel was shaking loudly.

Immediately afterwards, a young man's extremely impatient and irritable voice pierced through the door:

"Tsk, open the door!"

"What are you doing inside? Open the door!"

Outside the door, Xiao Weilin's face was gloomy. He irritably scratched his head of black hair and said to the middle-aged hotel manager beside him, who had been forcibly dragged from the service desk, was pale with fright, and was holding a master key card:

"Key, hurry up and open the door! What are you dawdling for?"

The manager was so frightened by the menacing aura emanating from him that his hands trembled. He frantically searched for his card while stammering an explanation:

"Young Master Xiao, this...this is against the rules. We need to check the situation inside..."

"Confirm my ass! You know my surname is Xiao?"

Xiao Weilin, too lazy to waste words, snatched the key card from the manager's hand, roughly pushed him aside, and stuck the card to the door lock himself.

With a soft "beep," the indicator light on the door lock changed from red to green.

Without hesitation, Xiao Weilin kicked the door open, the heavy door slamming against the wall with a loud bang.

The scene inside the room instantly caught Xiao Weilin's eye.

Shen Yao curled up on the carpet, her light-colored clothes stained with dust, and the winding bloodstain on her forehead was shockingly red, with half of her cheek swollen and red.

She pressed her hands tightly against her lower abdomen, her body trembling slightly from the pain. Her long, ink-black hair was disheveled, half-covering her face, which only highlighted her vulnerability—a vulnerability that could precisely tear Xiao Weilin's rationality apart.

Shen Yao raised her eyes at the right moment. Those eyes, which were usually bright and sparkling with laughter or anger, were now filled with tears that seemed about to fall, as well as a sense of grievance.

Her voice was faint, yet it clearly pierced his eardrums: "Xiao Weilin... why did you take so long to arrive?"

This sentence is like a switch being flipped, or a cold, hard command from a violent machine, or a master issuing an unyielding command to a loyal hunting dog.

A torrent of rage mixed with sharp pain surged up Xiao Weilin's head, and his blood seemed to flow backward and congeal in an instant.

How could she... have gotten herself into this state?

The hotel manager, who followed closely behind, was also shocked by the scene in the room and gasped in horror, his face turning deathly pale.

Xiao Weilin turned his head sharply, his eyes now churning with a terrifying storm: "Get out."

The manager trembled at his gaze and didn't dare stay a second longer. He scrambled out, closing the door behind him, even though the lock was broken.

Only the three people facing off remained in the room.

Shen Daqiang was also stunned by this sudden turn of events. His raised foot was still frozen in mid-air as he stared in astonishment at the young man who had barged in.

When he saw Xiao Weilin's excessively beautiful, even somewhat effeminate, face, a surge of anger mixed with contempt instantly welled up inside him.

He pointed at Xiao Weilin's nose and began to curse:

"Who are you? Who let you in? Get out! I'm disciplining my own daughter, what's it to you! You pretty boy, mind your own business! You think I won't beat you up too?"

He cursed wildly, spittle flying, his face contorted in rage. Seeing the boy merely staring coldly at him without reacting, he still felt unsatisfied. He turned his head, intending to kick Shen Yao on the ground, muttering obscenities:

"You little slut, is that the guy you've been hooking up with outside?! I'll beat you to death..."

Before he could finish his curse, Shen Daqiang suddenly tightened his grip on his wrist, a brute force that made his bones ache. Before he could react, he was met with a heavy punch.

He felt a stinging sensation in his nose, and warm liquid immediately welled up. His vision blurred, and he staggered backward, the world spinning around him. His body crashed heavily against the wall, causing the wall dust to fall in a shower.

"You...you dare to touch me?!" Shen Daqiang covered his collapsed nose, his voice distorted by the pain and fear, but he still tried to bluff.

Xiao Weilin didn't even bother to lift his eyelids.

At this moment, all he could think of was the image of Shen Yao cowering on the ground, trembling slightly. His violent energy surged and crashed through his veins like boiling magma.

Shen Yao is someone he can touch? Does he want to die?

Xiao Weilin's lips curled into a slight smile. He took a step closer, grabbed the man's collar, and slammed him against the wall. His fists pounded down with a gust of wind, each blow precisely hitting a vital spot.

"Ugh!" Shen Daqiang let out a horrifying scream as warm liquid spurted from his mouth and his body curled up into a twisted ball.

But this is just the beginning.

Xiao Weilin's fists landed hard on him, making a series of muffled thuds. Shen Daqiang didn't even have the strength to fight back.

He even had time to think about not scaring the trembling Shen Yao, so he grabbed Shen Daqiang's hair and dragged him away from that area.

His gaze swept over the crystal ashtray on the coffee table, and without thinking, Xiao Weilin picked it up and smashed it.

"I'm calling the police," Shen Daqiang managed to squeeze out a hoarse threat between bouts of excruciating pain, "You...you just wait..."

Xiao Weilin paused. As if he had heard the funniest joke, he bent down and patted Shen Daqiang's cheek, his voice laced with laughter.

"Sure. Do you need me to dial for you? And tell the person answering the phone that it was Xiao Weilin who did it."