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

Only a week into the new semester, Shen Yao's name had already become a topic of discussion among the lower-year students in the School of Journalism and Communication.

It all started with Zhang Chen.

This senior student seemed to make no attempt to hide his special care for Shen Yao.

Not only did he "bump into" her in front of the teaching building where she had her classes and enthusiastically introduce the characteristics of each teacher, but he also took the initiative to add her to the WeChat group of the "Campus Film Association," where he served as vice president.

The group was full of upperclassmen, and Zhang Chen tagged Shen Yao in the group several times, asking her if she was adjusting well and if she needed any help, his concern was evident in his words.

As a result, many people know that a girl named Shen Yao has joined the School of Journalism and Communication this year. She is very beautiful and has won the favor of senior Zhang Chen.

Shen Yao was fully aware of all this and took advantage of it.

When she replied to Zhang Chen's WeChat messages, she always expressed just the right amount of gratitude.

"Thank you, senior, you're so kind." "I'm so sorry to have troubled you again, senior."

After several encounters, Shen Yao had figured out Zhang Chen's background.

He comes from a middle-class family, his parents are civil servants, and he is an active member of the college with a certain network of connections, but he is still far from the "ladder" that Shen Yao really wants.

It has value, but its value is limited.

Shen Yao mentally labeled him.

It can serve as a stepping stone for getting familiar with the campus and acquiring information in the early stages, but it is by no means a long-term goal.

The real problem is money.

The cost of living in Shanghai far exceeded her expectations. Despite her frugal lifestyle, her part-time income from the coffee shop and her previous savings were almost gone after paying tuition and purchasing necessary living and study supplies.

She needs money, a lot of money, to invest in herself.

She looked at her bare face in the mirror. She had excellent natural features, but lacked refinement.

She needs better skincare products to maintain her fair complexion, she needs to learn how to apply makeup to highlight her strengths and conceal any potential flaws, and she needs more sophisticated clothing to enhance her appearance, rather than relying solely on a white dress and youthful looks.

She also noticed that due to long-term malnutrition and recent deliberate dieting, although her figure was slender, it was not well-proportioned, and she needed money to exercise and reshape her body.

The same applies to the content. The curriculum of the School of Journalism and Communication covers a wide range of topics, from news writing to communication theory, from sociology to psychology.

In class, she heard her classmates from big cities talking eloquently and quoting classics, while she could only frantically take notes, as many concepts were completely unfamiliar to her.

This gap in knowledge and perspective terrified her more than the difference in appearance.

She immediately understood that beauty was the key to entry, but inner qualities were the foundation that would allow her to gain a foothold in this elite community and even climb to a higher level.

All of this requires the accumulation of money and resources.

She still works part-time at the coffee shop every day after class.

Store manager Chen Yuan took better care of her, often bringing her breakfast or letting her take some exquisite snacks home under the pretext of "new product tasting".

Shen Yao accepted everything without question, responding with a grateful smile. However, whenever Chen Yuan tried to take the relationship a step further, she would always cleverly use excuses such as "being busy with studies" or "wanting to rely on herself" to maintain her aloof and self-respecting persona while keeping him in suspense.

With the money she earned from part-time jobs and through extreme frugality, she finally managed to buy two more outfits.

One is a well-tailored light blue shirt paired with a dark pleated skirt, which makes her look both pure and scholarly.

The other is a slightly more mature off-white knitted dress, gentle and appropriate, suitable for some slightly formal occasions.

She still doesn't wear makeup, but she takes better care of her skin and studies how to tie a better ponytail using the simplest techniques. The only drawback is that her hair is a bit dry and frizzy.

Immersed in the library, Shen Yao not only devoured professional books, but also borrowed fashion magazines, psychology books, and even biographies of celebrities, like a dry sponge desperately absorbing all the knowledge she thought was useful.

The diet made her feel hungry often, but looking at her gradually clearer collarbone and waistline in the mirror, she felt it was all worth it.

That day, Shen Yao had just finished her afternoon classes and was about to go to the coffee shop when Zhang Chen sent her another WeChat message:

Hey Shen Yao, our Film Association is having an internal film screening this weekend! We'll be showing a classic art film, followed by a discussion. Lots of senior students will be there. Want to come? It's a great learning opportunity! (smiley face)

Shen Yao looked at her phone screen.

This is an opportunity to expand one's network. Zhang Chen's value becomes apparent at this moment.

She tapped her fingertip lightly, replying to the past:

[Really? Thank you so much for always thinking of me! I'd really like to learn more, but I don't know much about movies, and I'm afraid I'll say something wrong and embarrass you (shy)]

First, show weakness and lower expectations, while giving the other party an opportunity to demonstrate their abilities.

Sure enough, Zhang Chen's reply immediately became incredibly enthusiastic:

【No way! It's just a casual movie outing where we can all chat! Don't worry, I'm here! 7 PM this weekend, Room 301, College Building, see you there!】

The weekend is almost here.

Before this, Shen Yao used all her spare time to do one thing: practice making a natural-looking makeup look.

She couldn't afford high-end cosmetics, so she could only carefully select foundation, ultra-fine eyeliner, and nude blush that were closest to her skin tone from budget stores.

She practiced repeatedly in front of the small mirror in the coffee shop's restroom.

Foundation should be thin and sheer, never looking like a mask; inner eyeliner should be so thin as to be almost invisible, just to make the eyes look more vibrant; blush should be applied below the cheekbones to create a natural, healthy glow.

She failed countless times, her face sometimes looking dirty, sometimes looking too deliberate.

But she had enough patience to adjust her techniques and dosages as if she were conducting a precise experiment.

Finally, on Saturday afternoon, she completed a makeup look that even she could hardly detect was flawless.

Her skin looked naturally flawless, her eyebrows and eyes were more refined, and her overall complexion was much brighter, yet there was no trace of makeup.

Just before she was about to leave, in her dormitory, Lin Weiwei was casually painting her nails while answering a phone call.

"Yeah, I know. As for that internship interview at the fashion magazine next weekend, my dad has already talked to their editor-in-chief. It's just a formality. Oh well, I'll just go and have some fun, gain some experience."

She hung up the phone and noticed Shen Yao seemed to be leaving, so she casually asked, "Oh, dressed so simply, going on a date?"

Shen Yao's heart skipped a beat. A smile appeared on her face:

"No, Vivi, it's just that the college's film association has a film viewing and learning event. I'll go check it out."

"Oh, Zhang Chen's club." Lin Weiwei nodded knowingly, her tone tinged with disdain. "Go ahead, go ahead, it'll be good to get to know more people."

Shen Yao smiled and agreed, but the moment she turned to leave, her smile instantly turned cold.

The hallway was quiet and deserted, and only then did she allow the surging bitterness in her heart to surface.

She remembered how she had to carefully navigate the relationships between the manager and customers to earn her meager hourly wage at the coffee shop; she remembered how she ate only the cheapest vegetables for days on end to save a few dollars; she remembered the heartache she felt when practicing makeup in front of the mirror, afraid of wasting even a single drop of cosmetics…

Lin Weiwei, in a casual remark, described it as "resources" that she might not be able to reach even after years of hard work.

In this society, without money, a powerful father, or connections, it's truly difficult to get by.

For women in particular, beauty, if not protected by power, can become the source of trouble.

A strong sense of resentment and a fierce determination welled up in her heart.

How long will it take for me, Shen Yao, to work hard on my own? Years? Decades? Centuries? When will I finally reach the starting point that others are born with?

She remembered her mother's gentle yet tragic life, Shen Dazhu's hideous face, and the old bachelor who almost bought her...

She never wants to repeat that fate!

Use someone else's strength against them.

These four words had never been so clearly etched in her mind.

She can't just blindly charge forward like a bull; she has to find a fulcrum to leverage resources and power that were previously unattainable for her.

Zhang Chen was the first step, but it's far from enough.

She needs a stronger, more powerful "force".

She took a deep breath, completely suppressing the last trace of emotion in her eyes.

After straightening her blue shirt, which made her look exceptionally clean, and confirming that she was flawless, Shen Yao walked towards room 301 of the college building with light and steady steps.