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

As night deepened, a private room in a high-end club was filled with smoke and the smell of alcohol.

Xiang Yuchuan and several of his usual buddies gathered together, and the table was covered with empty wine bottles and fruit platters.

He arrived a little late and was forced to drink a glass of wine as soon as he sat down.

"Hey, Young Master Xiang, you're starting to be late for outings now? Did your little girlfriend trip you up?" A chestnut-haired man joked with a smile, his tone carrying his usual teasing.

Another chimed in, "Exactly! I heard this deal's been going on for almost two and a half months, right? That's almost a record! What, is it for real this time?"

Xiang Yuchuan leaned back on the sofa, exhaled a smoke ring, a nonchalant smile on his face, and spoke with his usual cynical tone:

"Really what? It's just for fun. But this one is definitely more interesting than the previous ones, and it doesn't get boring as quickly."

As he said this, Shen Yao's face, sometimes innocent and sometimes coquettish, flashed through his mind, and a very subtle strange feeling passed through his heart, but it was quickly dispelled by the noisy atmosphere and alcohol around him.

"Hahaha, I knew it!" the chestnut-haired man laughed. "How could Young Master Xiang give up the whole forest for one tree! Come on, keep drinking!"

The atmosphere became lively again.

After several rounds of drinks, someone suggested playing Truth or Dare. The group, feeling tipsy, readily agreed.

When it was Xiang Yuchuan's turn, he chose Truth or Dare.

The chestnut-haired man's eyes darted around, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. He picked up Xiang Yuchuan's phone from the table, made him unlock it, and scrolled to Shen Yao's name in the contacts.

"Simple! Call your girlfriend, put it on speakerphone, and tell her, 'Let's break up.'"

A louder burst of laughter and whistling erupted from the surrounding area.

"Holy crap, that's ruthless!"

"Hurry up and attack! Let's see how the beauty reacts!"

"Young Master Xiang, haven't we played like this before? It's fine!"

Xiang Yuchuan's smile froze for a moment.

He had indeed done it before. He would casually make these prank calls to those "ex-girlfriends" he hadn't cared about at all, and whose names he could barely remember. He found it both boring and funny to hear the crying or incredulous voices on the other end of the line; it was just a form of entertainment.

But now, facing Shen Yao's name...

He inexplicably saw Shen Yao's watery eyes, the way she carefully accepted the gift, the way she trembled slightly in his arms, and even the delicate touch and warmth of her neck.

Let's break up.

If this were to get out...

He could almost picture Shen Yao's reaction. She might freeze, then ask why in a trembling voice; she might cry, her beautiful eyes filled with broken light; she might even actually believe it, then silently hang up the phone.

The thought of that scene made Xiang Yuchuan feel a sudden, stifling discomfort in his heart, as if something had twisted inside.

A strange feeling, similar to reluctance and heartache, suddenly welled up inside me.

He found himself unable to say it.

"What are you standing there for, Young Master Xiang! Hurry up and fight!" His cronies urged him on, their faces showing excitement at the prospect of a good show.

Xiang Yuchuan looked at the phone handed to him; the two words "Shen Yao" on the screen were particularly glaring.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and amidst the expectant gazes of the crowd, he suddenly reached out and somewhat roughly snatched back the phone, turning off the screen.

"Damn, this is boring." He cursed, put his phone back in his pocket, picked up the glass in front of him and drank it all in one gulp, trying to use alcohol to suppress the inexplicable irritability and guilt in his heart. "Let's try something else, this dare is too lame."

The private room fell silent for a moment, then erupted into an even louder uproar.

"Hey! Young Master Xiang, something's not right with you!"

"No way? You're serious?"

"They've protected her? They've protected her just like that?"

Annoyed by their noise, Xiang Yuchuan slammed his glass down: "Are you ever going to stop? Can't even drinking shut you up?"

His impatience and annoyance made his friends exchange meaningful glances, and they finally wisely stopped talking about it and started teasing other people instead.

Xiang Yuchuan sat in the center of the noise, but felt that the surrounding sounds were blurred.

His own reaction and his friends' words echoed repeatedly in his mind.

They've protected her?

for real?

He lit another cigarette in frustration.

Ever since he had a falling out with his grandfather and ran away from Beijing to study at Shanghai University, he has been living a carefree and extravagant life. How could he possibly be serious about anyone? But why can't he bring himself to say that simple "Let's break up"?

After that night, Xiang Yuchuan felt like he had a thorn stuck in his heart. He kept replaying the action of snatching the phone back in his mind.

How could he possibly be serious about Shen Yao? His motto for life, Xiang Yuchuan, was to live for the moment and enjoy life to the fullest, passing through countless flowers without getting a single petal on him.

This cognitive conflict made him extremely uncomfortable. He began to subconsciously distance himself from Shen Yao, his WeChat replies became brief and delayed, and he made excuses to cancel a couple of dates.

He needed some space to sort out these inexplicable emotions.

This subtle change was naturally noticed by those around who were paying attention.

"See? I told you it wouldn't last more than three months. Young Master Xiang is tired of it."

"What a pity, Shen Yao is so beautiful..."

"What's the use of being pretty? This isn't the first time Xiang Yuchuan has changed girlfriends."

The rumors inevitably reached Shen Yao's ears.

At first, she was furious, cursing Xiang Yuchuan a thousand times in her heart.

But soon, strong reason prevailed over emotion.

She thought about it carefully and realized that Xiang Yuchuan's indifference seemed to be more than just "being tired of him".

If he's tired of her, he could treat her the same way he treated his ex-girlfriend: give her the cold shoulder, or even throw her a breakup fee and end the relationship.

But the way he is now seems more like he's running away from something.

What is he running away from?

A bold hypothesis emerged.

Xiang Yuchuan may have realized that he has developed feelings for her that go beyond "playing around".

This feeling may not be common, but it is precisely this unfamiliar emotion that confuses and frightens him, so he instinctively wants to distance himself to confirm it.

Having figured this out, Shen Yao's anger was instantly replaced by excitement.

Crisis? No, this might be a golden opportunity! An opportunity for her to negotiate and gain advantages.

She needed to confirm her suspicions.

That day, she calculated the time when Xiang Yuchuan might be with his group of cronies and went to the billiards club he frequented.

Sure enough, at the end of the corridor, she heard Xiang Yuchuan's familiar voice:

"Don't worry, it's just for fun, why would I take it seriously? It'll be over soon, we'll break up when it gets boring."

These words were like ice water splashed on Shen Yao's face, making her freeze.

Despite being mentally prepared, hearing him talk about "breaking up" so casually still sent a surge of burning anger to my head.

Her cultivation was still incomplete due to her young age, and she almost lost her composure for a moment.

She almost rushed in and pointed at Xiang Yuchuan's nose, calling him a bastard!

She stopped abruptly just a second before taking the first step.

She forced herself to calm down and took a deep breath.

The more he says these things, the more it proves that he has something to hide. He's using these words to appease his friends, but more importantly, he's trying to convince himself.

This just proves that her opportunity has arrived!

Go ahead and say it, Xiang Yuchuan, you dog of a man, all you have left is your mouth.

She didn't care at all what Xiang Yuchuan was really thinking at that moment; she only cared about how to put on this show to the best of her ability.

What she needs is not his remorse, but the maximum price he can pay after he feels guilty.

Judging by the time, and feeling that it was about right, Shen Yao took a deep breath and gathered all her emotions.

She remembered that rainy night, her mother's withered hands before her death, and countless moments of hunger, cold, and being scorned by others...

The real pain and humiliation buried deep in her heart became her most powerful fuel for acting at this moment.

Her shoulders began to tremble slightly, not feigned, but a physiological shiver brought on by those unbearable memories.

She raised her hand, seemingly trying to cover her mouth to stop sobbing, and deliberately knocked over a small vase on the decorative shelf by the corridor.

"Snap."