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

The shadow of final exams quietly loomed over the campus, and even the air was thick with a tense and anxious atmosphere.

Shen Yao rubbed her throbbing temples as she looked at the stack of textbooks and notes spread out before her, and she truly felt a headache coming on.

This pressure is twofold.

On the one hand, she must achieve excellent grades and a high GPA in the final exams.

This is the foundation of her livelihood, the key to proving to everyone that she is "more than just pretty," and the cornerstone of her efforts to win scholarships and maintain her "top student" persona. She cannot afford to lose.

On the other hand, a very tempting opportunity is presented to us.

The school is now publicly recruiting hosts for its year-end gala.

This was not just a campus activity for her, but also an important test and demonstration of her professional abilities, and a stage that brought her very close to her childhood dream.

She could almost picture herself standing under the spotlight, in control of the entire scene.

She didn't want to let this opportunity slip by, and she absolutely couldn't let it go.

Ultimately, greed and ambition overcame the fear of hardship.

She decided to pursue both goals: to achieve impressive academic results and to secure a glamorous hosting position.

In the days that followed, she was like a rapidly spinning top. Library, study room, radio station, party preparation team…

She wished she could split every minute of her life in half.

Staying up late to read books and repeatedly practicing the script for hosting became commonplace, which also greatly reduced the time she could spend dating Xiang Yuchuan.

Xiang Yuchuan quickly expressed his dissatisfaction.

Once, he specially set aside an evening to take her to a newly opened Michelin restaurant, but Shen Yao declined on the grounds that she had to "rehearse for hosting a gala," and his face darkened.

"Is hosting a lousy gala really that important?"

He leaned against the conspicuous sports car parked downstairs from Shen Yao's dormitory, his tone clearly displeased, "You're my girlfriend now, why are you still studying so hard? What's the point? Can't you just relax?"

Shen Yao looked at his face, which was full of "Why don't they eat meat porridge?" and felt a surge of annoyance.

He is ignorant and incompetent because he has billions of dollars to inherit and his parents to rely on, so of course he can live a carefree life.

But what about her? What does she have besides herself?

Everything we have now—the house, the car, the seemingly glamorous relationship—is it all just castles in the air?

Once he loses Xiang Yuchuan's favor, he will instantly revert to his original state.

Is it the same if he doesn't study and I don't study at all?

But she couldn't say a single word of these things.

She suppressed the disdain and helplessness in her heart, put on a gentle, apologetic smile, and reached out to tug at his sleeve, her voice soft and sweet:

"Yuchuan, don't be angry~ I know you're good to me. But this hosting opportunity is really important to me; it's part of my professional practice. Besides, I want you to see me shine on stage. Wouldn't it be more prestigious for you to sit below?"

Looking at her tired yet still delicate face and listening to her soft explanation, Xiang Yuchuan felt most of his displeasure dissipate.

He sighed and reached out to pinch her cheek: "Alright, alright, I knew you'd say that. You'll have to make it up to me properly after you're done with this busy period."

"Okay~" Shen Yao replied sweetly, but she felt a sense of relief. She had finally gotten away with it.

The selection results for the gala host were announced without any suspense: Shen Yao.

When her name was called, a chorus of expected congratulations erupted around her, mixed with some complicated glances.

Shen Yao wore a polite smile.

"That's only natural," she told herself.

In terms of appearance, professional skills, and current popularity at school, if she can't even get a hosting opportunity like this on campus, then Shen Yao is a complete failure. She should pack her bags and go back to her village instead of making a fool of herself in this big city.

Her co-host was a third-year broadcasting major named Chen Mo, who was handsome and clean-cut, and was considered a well-known "male heartthrob" in the school. He had extensive hosting experience.

However, Shen Yao had learned in private that his family was of ordinary means and that he had relied on his excellent grades and scholarships to get into university.

Therefore, Shen Yao maintained a normal attitude towards him.

During rehearsals, she was professional and serious, never showing any intimacy or hints beyond the scope of their work.

Chen Mo clearly had a good impression of her and tried to ask her out for dinner after rehearsals several times, but Shen Yao politely but firmly refused, citing that she still needed to study for her final exams.

Time flies, and the day of the party finally arrived.

The backstage area was a scene of bustling activity, with the sounds of people changing clothes and going over scripts filling the air.

Shen Yao sat in front of the makeup mirror, letting the makeup artist carefully apply makeup to her face.

She looked at herself in the mirror; her makeup was much more refined than usual, and her eyebrows and eyes appeared even more three-dimensional and captivating.

She changed into the dress provided by the school, a champagne-colored halter-neck dress, simple in style but well-tailored, which perfectly accentuated her beautiful figure.

Surrounded by the noise of voices and footsteps, Shen Yao's heart strangely calmed down, and even a surge of indescribable excitement and agitation welled up within her.

She had waited for this day for far too long.

From that little girl who looked up at the glamorous TV presenters in front of a broken television set to now standing under the spotlight, there have been a full eighteen years of struggle and hard work in between.

She took a deep breath.

"Shen Yao, Chen Mo, get ready to go on stage!" a backstage staff member called out.

Shen Yao stood up, straightened her skirt, exchanged a glance with Chen Mo, and nodded to each other.

She walked to the curtain and could clearly hear the clamor of voices coming from the audience.

The lights dimmed, and the host's opening music began.

Shen Yao straightened her back, a confident and approachable smile that she had practiced countless times appeared on her face, and with composed steps, she walked steadily towards the center of the stage, facing the spotlight that had captured the eyes of the entire audience.

The stage spotlight shone precisely on Shen Yao.

When she and her partner Chen Mo walked side by side to the center of the stage, the somewhat noisy commotion below the stage fell silent for a moment, followed by an even more intense burst of whispers and exclamations.

Under the spotlight, Shen Yao's beauty was magnified to the extreme.

Her usual long, straight black hair, which she usually wore loose, was carefully styled up, revealing her smooth, full forehead and graceful swan neck. A few wisps of hair lazily fell beside her ears, adding a touch of maturity and charm.

The champagne-colored dress made her skin look even whiter, and the well-tailored design accentuated her slender yet curvaceous figure.

Her makeup was exquisite, her eyes were smiling, and she radiated a dignified yet radiant glow.

"Wow, who is this female host? She's so pretty!"

"Shen Yao, a junior from the School of Journalism and Communication! Don't you know her? She's Xiang Yuchuan's girlfriend!"

"My god, no wonder Young Master Xiang is so serious this time, look at him!"

"Tsk, she's even better looking in person than in the rumors."

Many students in the audience, especially the boys, who didn't know Shen Yao before, stared wide-eyed, and some even blushed and felt their hearts race.

Those who knew her, however, shared her story with others with a sense of pride and boastfulness, praising Xiang Yuchuan's discerning eye.

In an inconspicuous corner of the auditorium, Xiang Yuchuan leaned against the wall, his hands in his pockets, his gaze passing through the crowd and landing on the radiant figure in the center of the stage.

He had absolutely no interest in these kinds of school parties; they were noisy and childish.

But because Shen Yao was hosting, he unusually came patiently and even declined his friends' invitation to go to the bar.

He looked at Shen Yao. He watched her calmly pick up the microphone, listened to her clear and melodious opening remarks, and saw her working seamlessly with her partner, maintaining a perfectly timed smile and controlling the rhythm of the entire event.

She was completely different from how she acted in front of him, sometimes shy, sometimes coquettish, and sometimes vulnerable.

On stage, Shen Yao is confident, poised, and radiant, like a true star admired by countless people.

A completely unfamiliar feeling welled up in Xiang Yuchuan's heart.

It's not simply possessiveness, nor is it a man's appreciation of beautiful women; it's a more complex emotion.

He watched as she smoothly introduced the first performance, gracefully retreating to the side of the stage to wait out the applause.

She performed flawlessly throughout the opening segment.

Xiang Yuchuan straightened up, turned his head, and quietly left the auditorium.