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

After Fang Yunci's ambiguous "Is that so?", a brief silence fell over the private room.

Shen Yao lowered her head, unconsciously poking at the remaining dishes on her plate with her chopsticks. She seemed to be shrouded in a low-pressure atmosphere, and even her carefully styled bun seemed to droop a bit.

She looked exactly like a child who had been criticized by an adult and was throwing a tantrum but dared not retaliate, with a pitiful and aggrieved expression.

Fang Yunci took in her reaction, a fleeting, unfathomable emotion flashing in his eyes.

He put down his teacup, breaking the silence, his tone returning to its previous gentleness, as if the brief probing had never happened:

"We have many other nice desserts here, would you like to try some, Miss Shen?"

Shen Yao raised her head, glanced at him, her eyes filled with a stubborn, defiant look, and a hint of resentment. Her voice was muffled:

"...I do. Thank you, Mr. Fang."

She took the dessert menu from the waiter, didn't even look at it carefully, and pointed directly to the most expensive one, "Gold Leaf Bird's Nest Stewed Milk," saying, "This is it."

The tone carried a childish and willful air, as if to say, "I'm in a bad mood, so I have to eat the most expensive food."

After ordering, she returned the menu to the waiter, then looked up and stared straight at Fang Yunci.

Those eyes, naturally upturned, appeared exceptionally bright and moist due to the emotional turmoil. They were filled with a mixture of annoyance at being slighted, resentment at being wronged, and a coquettishness that seemed almost instinctive, a desire to attract the other person's attention.

She might be trying to express her dissatisfaction in this way.

But in the eyes of a man as experienced as Fang Yunci, this childlike and undisguised emotional outpouring, especially on her pure yet slightly seductive face, was not annoying at all; on the contrary... it was exceptionally alluring.

Looking at her annoyed and aggrieved expression, Fang Yunci felt a slight stirring of a certain wicked sense of humor and sadism that was usually suppressed by his upbringing and reason.

He rarely showed such a teasing streak; a slight smile played on his lips, his tone remaining gentle yet tinged with amusement.

"What? You even picked the most expensive dessert? Are you blaming me for not praising your ambition earlier?"

Shen Yao didn't expect him to be so direct, and her face flushed red instantly, half from embarrassment and anger, and half from the awkwardness of having her thoughts exposed.

She instinctively retorted, her voice rising slightly, "No! I... I just want to eat this!"

"Oh?" Fang Yunci raised an eyebrow, looking at her leisurely. "It seems I misunderstood. However, Miss Shen's reaction makes it seem as if I've hit the nail on the head?"

"Mr. Fang!" Shen Yao was both angry and anxious, but she was tongue-tied and didn't know how to refute this seemingly gentle but actually pressing man. Her eyes began to redden slightly.

Seeing her on the verge of tears, Fang Yunci's mischievous pleasure was satisfied, but what followed was an even stronger urge to make her look even more pitiful and then coax her properly.

He continued to tease her slowly and deliberately, his words guiding and joking. After a few exchanges, he had forced Shen Yao into a complete retreat, leaving her with no logic and only shame, indignation, and grievance.

Finally, a tear slipped down her cheek from the corner of her reddened eye.

Seeing that she was actually crying, Fang Yunci seemed to suddenly wake up.

Looking at the eighteen-year-old girl in front of him, her eyes brimming with tears, her nose red, and her expression a mixture of anger and embarrassment, he felt a sense of "annoyance" for the first time.

What's wrong with me today? Why did I take it so seriously with a little girl? And I even made her cry? This is really not my usual gentlemanly behavior.

He was unusually flustered, and handed her a tissue, his voice softening considerably, tinged with apology:

"Okay, okay, I'm not teasing you anymore. It's my fault, I was just joking with you. Don't cry."

He watched as she took the tissue and awkwardly wiped away her tears, her shoulders still trembling, and the strange feeling in his heart intensified.

Being with a vibrant young girl makes me feel childish myself?

Oh well, I made her cry, so I'll have to comfort her myself.

Fang Yunci smiled helplessly to himself and began to soothe her gently, even saying a few soft words for the first time, promising not to tease her like that again.

Shen Yao sobbed as she secretly observed his reaction.

Looking at the girl in front of him, whose tears were like beads from a broken string, which he could not wipe away no matter how he tried to coax her, and who was becoming more and more aggrieved, Fang Yunci experienced for the first time in his life what it meant to be "helpless".

He has always been adept at dealing with people, whether they are business rivals or political figures, he can handle them with ease.

But when faced with this young girl who was only eighteen years old, whose emotions came and went quickly, and who acted entirely on her feelings, all his usual techniques seemed to fail.

He softened his voice, repeatedly assuring her that "it was my fault," "it won't happen again," and "don't cry, your eyes will get swollen if you cry anymore." He even awkwardly told a lame joke in an attempt to distract her.

Shen Yao wasn't actually that aggrieved anymore; she was just acting.

She carefully measured her sobs, continuing until she felt the time was right, before slowly stopping her tears.

She picked up a spoon, scooped out a small mouthful of the freshly served bird's nest stewed milk topped with gold leaf, and put it in her mouth. The sweet and smooth texture made her feel a little better.

She raised her still-watery eyes, glared at Fang Yunci reproachfully, and complained with a slightly nasal tone:

"Mr. Fang, how old are you anyway? Why are you joking with me like this..."

The question was direct yet carried a touch of girlish naiveté, as if accusing him of being disrespectful to his elders.

Fang Yunci was taken aback by her question, then looked at her eyes, which were even more moist and bright after crying, and her slightly pouting red lips, and chuckled softly.

Laughter burst forth from his chest, carrying a rare sense of relaxation and joy.

"Compared to Miss Shen, am I not an 'old man'?" he joked, then frankly admitted, "I'm twenty-six."

Twenty-six and eighteen are a full eight years apart.

When this number was mentioned, even Fang Yunci himself was slightly taken aback.

Eight years, almost half of her current lifespan.

Looking at the youthful face before him, so vibrant that even her tears seemed to radiate life, and then reflecting on how he had been immersed in the complex world of interests for many years, he couldn't help but feel a little conflicted.

An unconscious, indulgent mentality, typical of older people, arises spontaneously.

Well, there's an eight-year age gap, so let's give in to the younger kid.

He said to himself.

This realization strangely soothed the slight annoyance he had felt from teasing too much, replacing it with a more tolerant, more brotherly helplessness and indulgence towards his mischievous little sister.

"Okay, it's the 'old people' who are wrong; they shouldn't tease children."

He smiled, his tone carrying a concession he himself didn't realize, "Hurry up and eat your dessert, it won't taste good when it gets cold."

Shen Yao keenly noticed this change in his tone and eyes.

She seemed to have been appeased, her tears turning into a smile. She lowered her head and ate her dessert in small bites, occasionally stealing a glance at him, like a child who had gotten a good deal but was still acting innocent.