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

The interrogation room door was half-open in front of Shen Yao.

She stood outside, looking inside through the glass.

A single beam of white light shone on Xue Huaiqing, encircling him in the center of the light.

The man leaned back in his chair, his posture so relaxed that it hardly seemed like he was on trial. His long legs were casually crossed, and his almond-shaped eyes were looking up at the ceiling, seemingly looking at nothing at all.

The gunshot wound on his chest may have healed, or it may leave a scar that will never fade, hidden under his shirt.

His expression held an indescribable quality. Beneath the calm lay a deep weariness, shrouded in a faint detachment, as if all the turmoil had sunk to its deepest depths, leaving only a thin layer of light on the surface.

Shen Yao watched from afar, hesitating for a moment.

She was like a child who had done something wrong, seeing her parents in the distance, unsure whether to take a step forward or pull back.

Not everything can be controlled. She knows better than anyone that human emotions and feelings are the hardest to control.

Throughout her life, Shen Yao's childhood pain, fear, and turmoil were like patterns etched into her bones. For a girl in her early twenties, those days were so profound that they could not be erased.

Poverty, wandering, having to be subservient to others, living under someone else's roof—those memories are like the paint on the walls of an old house; they may look like they've been freshly painted, but water stains still seep out on rainy days.

It was that unforgettable childhood that shaped the foundation of her personality and the trajectory of her destiny for the rest of her life.

Throughout those unforgettable teenage years, Xue Huaiqing remained steadfastly here.

His embrace was like an unyielding wall, providing her with a small corner to curl up in, allowing her to steal a bit of peace amidst the turmoil.

He was one of the focal points of all her positive emotions.

Because of Xue Huaiqing, Shen Yao recalled her childhood days, not only the nightmarish situation, but also the freedom and vastness, the road she walked hand in hand with him, the wind, the fields, and the warm palm of the boy.

So after all that had happened between her and Liang Xiheng, Shen Yao, who was morally shallow, felt a sense of dread when she saw Xue Huaiqing again.

She didn't know how to face him, how to face those silent eyes.

Shen Yao finally reached out and pushed open the door.

Xue Huaiqing looked up at her but didn't say anything.

There was no ripple in those peach blossom eyes, but when his gaze fell on her, Shen Yao felt as if someone had touched every inch of her bones.

Feeling guilty under his gaze, she simply sat down in silence, placing her hands on her knees like a student waiting to be scolded.

Xue Huaiqing's gaze lingered on her for a while, and after confirming that she was indeed unharmed, he smiled:

"Yaoyao, why are you making such a face? Anyone who didn't know better would think I came to see you. Who locked you up here?"

Shen Yao felt even more embarrassed by his words.

That's just the kind of person she is. Even if she feels she's in the wrong, she'll still make the man feel wronged first and try to coax her first.

Shen Yao subconsciously still felt that Xue Huaiqing was a paper tiger, intimidating but actually posed no danger.

She obediently lowered her head: "Aqing, I was wrong..."

Xue Huaiqing rested his chin on his hand, looking at the girl with a leisurely air: "What did you do wrong?"

Shen Yao felt a little annoyed whenever she thought about that matter.

Liang Xiheng is so arrogant! How could she send wedding invitations to all her "lovers"?!

When she saw it with Xiao Weilin and Yu Hang, she wished she could drag Liang Xiheng out of the ground and beat him up again.

Shen Yao mumbled "uh-huh" for a long time, stammering and hesitating.

Xue Huaiqing leisurely pulled a gold-embossed invitation card from his inner breast pocket, waved it in front of her, and said slowly:

"You're married? I've been checking the news every day lately, thinking, Yao Yao, now that you're back and have seen how good life is abroad, do you still care about this country bumpkin?"

Shen Yao was on the verge of tears.

Strangely, the man's teasing words suddenly dispelled the lingering pain in her heart, like fog meeting sunlight, evaporating silently.

She reached out and took his hand, just as she was about to speak:

"Aqing, I..."

Before she could finish speaking, Xue Huaiqing had already grasped her hand in return. His palm was warm, dry, and steady.

"Your mistake is that you're starting to think you're wrong again," he said, looking into her eyes and enunciating each word clearly.

Shen Yao was stunned by him.

Xue Huaiqing looked at her, his tone turning cold for a moment, then becoming clear and uncompromising: "Don't take anything Wenrui told you to heart. I've already made it clear to him."

Then his voice softened: "You haven't done anything wrong. I won't complain about who you want to date, or even if you develop feelings for someone."

Xue Huaiqing continued, "I may feel disappointed and sad, but I won't impose my personal emotions on you. And you will never wrong me because of loving someone else."

The man lowered his head and gently kissed the back of her hand; his lips were warm.

"I was angry only because his love brought you trouble and annoyance. Now that's gone, I'm naturally not angry anymore."

He spoke very magnanimously.

Xue Huaiqing had considered that the worst possible outcome was death, and everything he had now was a bonus.

He knew better than anyone what kind of life Shen Yao had lived as a child, and that's why he treated Shen Yao so differently.

Xue Huaiqing himself understood that his feelings for Shen Yao were complicated.

He is the embodiment of love combined with paternal and maternal love.

Love made him feel the desire and possessiveness a man has for the woman he loves; maternal love made him broad-minded and cared for her emotions and physical health; paternal love made him consciously take on responsibilities.

Shen Yao finally let her guard down. She completely softened in front of him and couldn't help but start complaining and asking for credit:

"It's not that I came back because I didn't want to see you... I went to find Qin Fang, hoping he could help me find Liang Zhenghe..."

She recounted the whole story, her tone tinged with grievance as she spoke.

"Damn Lu Xiuting, he's being sarcastic towards me!"

Xue Huaiqing listened, patted her head, and praised her for doing a good job.

Seeing the unconscious dependence in her eyes, he felt happy and secretly pleased.

That secret joy quietly licked at the walls of his heart.

Xue Huaiqing was not actually afraid of the marks Liang Xiheng had left in her heart.

He heard Zheng Wenrui's warning and became jealous.

He thought of his deceased parents, and of all the things that might have happened between her and Liang Xiheng, and spent many sleepless nights.

Xue Huaiqing's love was actually no more intense than Liang Xiheng's.

But he knew that Shen Yao didn't yearn for love, nor did she believe in romance. What she longed for was stability and security, the kind of security where she could turn around and see someone supporting her from behind.

Therefore, what he gave Shen Yao was a sense of security, a sense of belonging, and a sense of reliance—a reliance that would last forever.

If it weren't for the boy's accident that separated the two, beneath Xue Huaiqing's taciturn exterior lay a heart that longed to make the ruthless girl in front of him even more unrestrained.

He wanted to raise Shen Yao to be even more beautiful, more ruthless and arrogant, and even more indifferent to the love of other men.

Because there is a man who is willing to be her mother, her father, her relative, and her lover.

—This person is him.

Xue Huaiqing watched her finish her rambling, then fell silent for a long time before saying something inexplicably:

"pity……"

Shen Yao tilted her head in confusion and looked at him: "What's a pity?"

Xue Huaiqing smiled and shook his head.

"I regret that I have to stay here for a long time."

He was dealt the best hand. A mature man doesn't try to be clever and ruin the game.

_

The autumn rain fell softly, washing the streets of Yanjing into a damp, grayish-blue hue.

Shen Yao walked out from under the corridor, holding an umbrella, her steps still light and quick, just like when she stayed with Xue Huaiqing.

I looked up and saw the person in front of me.

Fang Yunci stood in the rain, a black umbrella embracing his gentle features.

He stood there, his gaze falling on her face through the sparse raindrops, scrutinizing her for a long while.

Shen Yao paused slightly under that gaze.

The autumn rain tapped softly on the umbrella, creating a series of echoing sounds.

Fang Yunci's smile was very faint, carrying a hint of composure after sudden realization, as if it were a sigh, or a kind of condescending coaxing.

"It seems—"

The man spoke slowly, his voice neither loud nor soft, falling into the sound of rain, "The baby isn't doing well without me."

Fang Yunci didn't say anything more, but the last syllable of his sentence clearly told Shen Yao: she could only receive the best protection by his side.

Shen Yao closed the umbrella, met Fang Yunci's astonished gaze, and threw it at him.

What kind of act is this man, whose belly is full of black water, putting on now?

"Mr. Fang, if you know I'm not doing well, then send me some money!"