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

Upon hearing the name "Lu Xiuting," Shen Yao, amidst her extreme fear, managed to spare a sliver of attention, her mind inappropriately contemplating the matter.

Who is the head of the disciplinary inspection commission's investigation team?

This identity sounds like it carries considerable power!

If only... no, now is not the time to think about that!

She immediately dismissed the dangerous thought, because the aura emanating from the man before her was far more unsettling than his title.

He doesn't seem like a law-abiding person at all; he's more like a ruthless outlaw!

Lu Xiuting seemed completely unconcerned about the hostages' lives, not even glancing at Shen Yao, his gaze fixed on the assailant like a hawk's.

"Wang Yumin, your knife and my gun, want to make a bet and see who's faster?"

Before he finished speaking, he actually raised the gun with one hand, the movement fluid and swift.

A soft click was the sound of a bullet being chambered.

The dark muzzle of the gun was pointed directly at Shen Yao and the thugs behind her without hesitation!

He's serious!

Through her disheveled hair, Shen Yao could clearly see the cold, emotionless focus in Lu Xiuting's eyes.

He didn't care at all whether he might accidentally hurt her!

This realization sent a chill down Shen Yao's spine, making her feel as if her blood had frozen!

"You...you mustn't do anything reckless!"

The middle-aged man behind him was clearly shocked by Lu Xiuting's ruthless approach of disregarding the safety of the hostages, and his voice trembled violently.

He probably understood Lu Xiuting's style of doing things better than Shen Yao, and knew that if this man said he would shoot, he really would!

Extreme fear made him instinctively tighten his grip on Shen Yao's arm, and all traces of tenderness and pity for the beauty vanished. The knife pressed against her neck shifted slightly due to his trembling.

A sharp, piercing pain shot through me.

The sharp blade left a thin line of blood on Shen Yao's slender neck, and bright red blood instantly seeped out.

"Ah!" Shen Yao cried out in pain, tears streaming down her face. She was filled with anger and fear at Lu Xiuting's "disregard for human life"!

"Bang!".

Just as Shen Yao was about to scold him for being cold-blooded and heartless, a crisp gunshot shook the entire passage!

The bullet wasn't aimed at Shen Yao or the thug, but rather struck a metal sign not far from the thug's feet, sending up a trail of sparks.

The loud noise and sudden impact terrified the already highly stressed assailant, causing him to reflexively pull his arm back.

In that split second when the opening appeared, Lu Xiuting moved!

He was like a cheetah that had been poised for a long time, his movements as fast as a ghost, sidestepping, lunging forward, and seizing! The movements were all done in one smooth motion!

"Snap!"

A sickening cracking sound of bone breaking was accompanied by the thug's agonizing scream.

Shen Yao felt a sudden loosening of her neck, and the suffocating grip disappeared.

Her legs went weak, and she stumbled forward.

The next second, instead of falling to the cold ground, she crashed into a hard and hot chest.

While subduing the thug and throwing him to the police officers who rushed up, Lu Xiuting used his other hand to precisely and even somewhat roughly grab Shen Yao's waist, who was about to collapse, and pulled her into his arms.

Bang, bang, bang...

It was Shen Yao's own uncontrolled heartbeat, and also Lu Xiuting's steady and powerful heartbeat transmitted through the thin fabric of his clothes.

The immense fear of surviving the ordeal, the stinging pain in her neck, and the anger and curiosity towards the dangerous man before her—all these emotions instantly overwhelmed Shen Yao.

Almost instinctively, she buried her face in Lu Xiuting's chest as a form of retaliation and probing.

The girl gripped the man's shirt tightly with both hands, trembling like a leaf in the wind, and sobbed in a voice filled with grievance and fear:

"I...I thought I was going to die..."

Her tears quickly soaked the black T-shirt on his chest.

Lu Xiuting's body seemed to stiffen for a moment.

Only then did he lower his head and see the face of the "unexpected find" in his arms for the first time.

In the nick of time, he only noticed that the woman was a young woman who had become the hostage of the criminals.

At that moment, the girl looked up at him with teary eyes.

A stunningly beautiful face.

Because of fear and crying, the girl's face was pale, which made her tearful eyes appear even darker and brighter, like black glass immersed in water.

Her long eyelashes were wet with tears and stuck together, looking pitiful and fragile.

Her nose was red, and her soft, full lips trembled slightly from crying.

The most striking feature was the fresh bloodstain on her slender, delicate neck, which, against her fair skin, was both glaring and possessed a strange, alluring beauty.

Beautiful, lovely, fragile, alluring.

It makes you want to hold her in your arms and comfort her, and yet...

I also wanted to see her more broken and devastated.

In just a few minutes, from calm to being kidnapped, then to gunshots and being rescued, Shen Yao experienced the most thrilling moments of her life.

The stinging sensation on my neck was still there, and the fear of the cold blade against my skin had not completely subsided.

But it was under this extreme stimulation that Shen Yao's inherent calculating instinct of "not being able to suffer losses" and "always wanting to gain something from everything" actually overcame the weakness and fear of surviving the ordeal.

They suffered, they were terrified, and they bled.

So what if this man in front of me is dangerous?

Do you think it's so easy to take advantage of Shen Yao?

This shock and physical pain must not have been in vain!

Once she made up her mind, she immediately put on a convincing act.

The girl, as beautiful as a fragile porcelain doll, seemed terrified and huddled tightly in Lu Xiuting's firm, warm embrace.

Her slender arms were tightly wrapped around his waist, her small face was pressed against his hard chest, her whole body was trembling uncontrollably, and she was whimpering softly.

It was like a frightened little animal that had finally found shelter but refused to come out.

Her soft curves and slender waist were clearly conveyed to Lu Xiuting's senses through the thin fabric.

The faint fragrance emanating from her hair and body was constantly testing Lu Xiuting's senses.

Lu Xiuting frowned.

During his years as team leader, he has experienced countless dangerous situations and has also encountered the reactions of hostages after their rescue.

Most of them cried, collapsed, or expressed their gratitude incoherently.

But this is the first time I've seen someone stick to me like this, like a piece of chewing gum, impossible to shake off.

His usual ruthless and evil aura, which made even the most vicious criminals afraid, was awe-inspiring. Every hostage he rescued was filled with respect for him. Who would dare to snuggle into his arms like that?

It seems this girl was truly terrified.

Lu Xiuting found a reasonable explanation for himself.

After all, what happened just now would have been too stimulating for an ordinary girl.

He tried to move slightly, intending to push her away a little to make it easier to handle the subsequent matters.

But as soon as he moved, the girl in his arms hugged him even tighter.

She raised her tear-filled face, her eyes, washed with tears, filled with helplessness and pleading.

Looking at the glaring bloodstain on her neck and then at her pitiful appearance, Lu Xiuting ultimately couldn't bring himself to utter the rebuke that was on the tip of his tongue.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the inexplicable irritation and strange feeling in his heart, and whispered:

"It's alright now, you're safe."

He did not forcefully push her away again.

Lu Xiuting let her cling to him like a koala, then turned his sharp gaze to Wang Yumin, who was completely under police control and looked ashen-faced, and began to calmly issue instructions to handle the scene.