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

First class.

Shen Yao leaned back in her chair with her eyes closed, while Zhao Tang admired her newly done manicure, the rhinestones sparkling.

"I told you your job was so interesting, I've lost all interest in being a host."

Shen Yao leaned back in her chair, her eyes still closed.

"The road ahead is still long."

Zhao Tang turned her head to look at her: "You're still not satisfied? Do you know that my dad has already mentioned you to me!"

She deliberately dragged out that sentence:

"I, Zhao Tang, have actually come to be subservient to others."

Shen Yao also turned her head to look at Zhao Tang, her tone softening, with a hint of coquettishness at the end:

"Sister Zhao Tang, beautiful Sister Zhao Tang, I'm satisfied, can I go to sleep now?"

Zhao Tang was speechless at her shout and just snorted.

What do you have to offer me to make me willingly do it?

Shen Yao remained calm and raised her finger to her pretty face, which was pure yet alluring, innocent yet with a touch of bewitching charm.

Zhao Tang was speechless for a moment.

Her pretty face is definitely worth it.

But... could you change this habit and be more charming to girls?

From the very first day they met, Shen Yao had always used this trick to manipulate her, and it never failed.

Shen Yao closed her eyes again.

Liang Xiheng's incident was a complete shock to her, and it also gave her an unprecedentedly clear understanding of herself.

These young men have already seen a world far beyond her imagination. Decades of experience cannot be easily matched by her overnight stays and desperate efforts.

She cannot stop, she cannot be satisfied.

To gain a foothold in the world of fame and fortune and outmaneuver those born at the top, she needs to become even sharper.

Shen Yao's breathing gradually calmed down.

Just a second before takeoff, her phone, which was on the tray table, suddenly vibrated.

The screen lit up, and a message floated into view, from Xiao Weixun.

Congratulations, young widow.

Shen Yao stared at that line of text for a long time.

She really felt she needed to teach Xiao Weixun a lesson.

_

The first thing Shen Yao did after returning to Yanjing was to contact Qin Fang.

She has business to discuss with him.

Firstly, Qin Fang himself has foreign ancestry; his mother has considerable influence in Europe. She wanted to ask him for help in searching for Liang Zhenghe's whereabouts, as she didn't believe he could truly vanish without a trace.

Secondly, to make Xiao Weixun uncomfortable.

She hadn't forgotten about the recording.

Does he mean it's all wiped clean? In this world, only Shen Yao's word counts; other people's words don't matter.

Not to mention that strange text message.

They called it a collaboration, but outwardly it was presented like a date. At least, that's how Qin Fang understood it.

When Shen Yao met him at the coffee shop, she almost spat out her coffee.

Floral shirt, slicked-back hair, collar undone... a glittering chain around his neck, he looked like a peacock spreading its tail feathers in a state of blissful oblivion.

"Yaoyao, long time no see, you've become even more beautiful."

Qin Fang sat down with a smile, crossed his legs, and kept his eyes glued to her face.

Throughout the conversation, Shen Yao said he would just say "Oh, oh, oh, right, right, right," and then steer the conversation back to her lipstick shade and her new hairstyle.

Shen Yao smiled patiently and answered each sentence one by one, gradually pulling back the conversation.

Qin Fang has never been able to win her over, and he is still unwilling to give up.

What she cares about is the result; the process is unimportant.

So when Qin Fang got into the conversation and casually invited her to go horseback riding, Shen Yao readily agreed.

The horse ranch was chosen in a wild riding pasture in Yanjiao. The grassland was vast, the autumn sky was a clear blue, and the wind carried the scent of grass and earth.

Qin Fang rode a tall, chestnut-colored horse, circling around Shen Yao's pony and pointing out how she should hold the reins.

While giving perfunctory "uh-huhs," Shen Yao was secretly plotting how to steer the conversation back on track.

Just then, she looked up, her gaze passing over Qin Fang's flamboyant back, and met a pair of dark eyes.

Lu Xiuting stood outside the fence, leading a jet-black thoroughbred horse, and had been watching there for who knows how long.

The man's face darkened slightly, his pupils as deep as a lake in winter, revealing a subtle and inexplicable quality.

Shen Yao's heart skipped a beat.

It's a ghost story.

What is he doing here?

"Miss Shen can't ride a horse?"

Lu Xiuting strolled over unhurriedly, tapping his palm with the horsewhip in his hand intermittently.

"Be careful." The man's gaze slowly slid from her to Qin Fang's chestnut horse, then back again. "It would be heartbreaking if you fell or got hurt."

Shen Yao looked up and met Lu Xiuting's dark pupils.

He had a smile on his lips, but the smile was only on the surface; what was underneath looked rather strange.

Shen Yao replied indifferently, "No need, thank you for your concern."

Lu Xiuting raised an eyebrow, lightly tapping the riding whip in his palm with a crisp sound:

"That's true—your old flame Xue Huaiqing is about to go to jail, and you're not in a hurry to mourn his grave, but you still have the mood to go out on dates."

Shen Yao: "..."

Did you eat shit?

When did this guy get so close to Xue Huaiqing? He keeps calling her his "old flame." Is it wrong of her?

Is she still holding a grudge about what happened with Xiang Yuchuan back then? In her memory, wasn't he quite magnanimous and open-minded?

His current strange and sarcastic demeanor makes him look like someone owes him eight million.

Completely oblivious to the awkward atmosphere, Qin Fang enthusiastically called out from the side, "Yaoyao, look how handsome my horse is! Want to come ride it with me?"

He patted the horse's neck, beaming with pride.

Lu Xiuting lowered his eyes and slowly patted his jet-black thoroughbred horse.

The horse snorted and flicked its tail, as if to express its master's disdain and indifference.

The man looked up at Qin Fang, a slight, nonchalant smile playing on his lips.

"Mr. Qin, how about a match? Would you mind not disturbing us?"

Qin Fang glanced back at Shen Yao, his eyes filled with reproach, then laughed loudly and accepted the challenge:

"OK!"

As Shen Yao dismounted, she passed by Lu Xiuting and glared at him fiercely.

However, Lu Xiuting didn't even look at her. He took a long stride, mounted his horse, and with a flick of the reins, the black horse galloped off.

Shen Yao's gaze missed its mark, leaving her with a frustrating feeling of punching cotton.

She simply stood by the fence, crossed her arms, and coldly watched the two figures speed across the grassland.

It must be admitted that the scene is indeed pleasing to the eye.

Qin Fang has the bone structure of a Westerner, with a high nose and deep-set eyes, and he has a wild and unrestrained air when riding a horse.

Lu Xiuting was different. His bone structure appeared well-defined in the sunlight, with high, straight brows. When riding a horse, his shoulders and back formed a smooth line, and his clothes fluttered in the wind.

That kind of heroic spirit is wrapped in a nonchalant roguishness.

As Shen Yao was watching, suddenly, Lu Xiuting gave the horse's belly a light kick. The black horse let out a high-pitched neigh, its hooves flying, and it suddenly accelerated like a black lightning bolt.

Before Qin Fang could react, his horse was startled by the force of the impact and lost its footing.

Shen Yao's heart tightened, and she hurried over there.

Qin Fang lay on the grass, a few blades of grass stuck to his head. He paused for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter.

He stood up, looked at Lu Xiuting who had reined in his horse and stopped not far away, and made a sarcastic remark with an ambiguous meaning:

"Yaoyao, look at you, you're such a femme fatale! What's the point of having such a beautiful face?"

Shen Yao felt her scalp tingle and her cheeks flush from the teasing, realizing she had lost face in front of acquaintances.

She walked a few steps to Lu Xiuting's horse, looked up at him, glared at him, and said through gritted teeth in a low voice, "You did this on purpose, didn't you? You said it was a competition, but you're just trying to annoy me."

Lu Xiuting sat on horseback, looking down at her, one hand lazily resting on the reins, the other hand with the riding whip draped over his shoulder.

His handsome face was full of innocence, but the roguish smile in his eyes was impossible to hide.

"What does this have to do with me?"

Shen Yao: "…………"

The autumn wind blew across the meadow, ruffling the stray hairs on her forehead. She clenched her fists, feeling that she was about to lose her composure.

Are you sick?

Lu Xiuting looked down at her.

Sunlight streamed down from behind the man, gilding him with a fuzzy golden edge. His dark eyes narrowed slightly, and the curve of his lips hinted at a half-smile.

He suddenly leaned down, elbows on the saddle, and brought his face close to hers, his voice audible only to the two of them:

"Then tell me, what illness do I have?"

Shen Yao subconsciously took a half step back.

Qin Fang then brushed the grass clippings off his clothes and walked over:

"Yaoyao, men are very cunning."