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

Shen Yao's first thought was:

Could it be that they overacted?

She knew Xie Yunzhou was susceptible to her coquettishness and dependence, but she overacted. He actually thought she was head over heels in love with him and was trying to claim a title while things were still going strong. What was she going to do then?

Shen Yao pretended to be nonchalant, but secretly raised her eyes to peek at the man's expression from under her eyelashes.

Xie Yunzhou was looking directly at her, his dark eyes calm and serene. She looked up, and he caught her in the act.

Caught spying, Shen Yao didn't know whether to look away or not, so she simply pretended to be clueless: "What did you say?"

Xie Yunzhou looked at her with a half-smile, and repeated himself slowly and clearly:

"Shen Yao, I'm saying—be with me?"

Shen Yao swallowed hard, her tongue circling in her mouth before she could find her voice. She twisted her fingers, a troubled expression on her face, her tone sincere yet fearful:

"I used to be your cousin's girlfriend, and I even met your aunt and uncle... Is it inappropriate for us to be like this?"

Dude, I was your cousin's girlfriend, okay? We've met the parents. Think about how awkward that is. Do you really want to act out a soap opera about rich kids?

Besides, Xiang Yuchuan is your and Fang Yunci's best friend, he grew up together. I'm your cousin's ex-girlfriend, your best friend's ex-girlfriend, and now I'm your daughter-in-law...

Can the uncle and aunt handle this relationship?

Xie Yunzhou's lips curved slightly. A mischievous smile flickered in his dark eyes:

"Isn't that perfect? ​​My parents have met you. Every year at Yuanzhu's birthday party, they praise you to me."

The man's voice lowered, becoming serious:

"Don't let the good stuff go to outsiders. If you marry me, the relationship between sisters-in-law will be good, saving us the trouble of adjusting to each other."

Wow, what a great relationship between sisters-in-law!

Looking at his serious yet secretly flirtatious demeanor, Shen Yao went through a mental turmoil before finally deciding to cut her losses quickly.

At first, she might have tried to push or pull back or subtly back down, but this kind of thing can't be left ambiguous forever.

"You know, I have a lot of men pursuing me," she said, her tone flat and straightforward.

"If you break off with them, I can let it go."

Xie Yunzhou replied seriously, his gaze fixed on her face, without a hint of joking.

"Why should I break it off?"

Shen Yao suddenly countered with a question, her voice rising slightly at the end. She spoke with confidence and conviction.

Xie Yunzhou's smile vanished, and his hand on her waist tightened unconsciously.

"This isn't good. Can you live like this forever? Stop being so playful, it's not fun. Promise me you'll break up with them."

Do men prefer "good girls" or "bad girls"? This is a question that many girls have struggled with.

But Shen Yao now understands very well that men in reality don't care about those flat labels at all.

What they love is the tension between "high value" and "unattainability": how much weight you have, how hard you are to hold onto, and how much effort they have to put in to reach you.

Which man can tolerate the woman he likes moving between multiple men and maintaining an ambiguous relationship?

Unless she is truly too important and too unattainable, making it hard for people to let go, they have no choice but to grit their teeth and endure it.

What should we do, Xie Yunzhou?

Your cousin and you once fought over a woman together. The thrill and emotional rollercoaster you experienced—can you ever find that feeling again with any other woman in your life? And who else could make Fang Yunci personally step in to compete with you for the same hand like she did?

Even cliff bungee jumping might not give you this kind of extreme feeling.

How will you choose?

Xie Yunzhou and Shen Yao looked at each other.

She looked at him quietly, her posture relaxed, her whole being exuding "I'm not in a hurry".

Xie Yunzhou couldn't lie to herself and say that she was still young, didn't like being restrained, and had a vague concept of rights and responsibilities in relationships.

She knew it perfectly well! She was training him like a dog, making him accept that "the master has other dogs," and teaching him to wag his tail and beg for the master's affection, otherwise he would be replaced by other dogs.

Xie Yunzhou's expression darkened slightly, and his voice turned colder:

"Sit still, get off."

Shen Yao could tell he was genuinely annoyed, but she didn't confront him directly. She always expressed her needs tactfully and pragmatically.

"I'm not going down! And what if I never agree to your request? Will you break up with me then?"

As she said this, Shen Yao unconsciously pouted her lips, which were red and plump, making her look like she was being coquettish.

Xie Yunzhou looked at her for two seconds and then stopped pushing her.

He simply reached out and gently cupped her face, then his lips fell and pecked her lips.

"I'm not breaking up with you." His voice was indifferent. "If I were to break up, I would have done so the first time I found out about Yu Hang. I can't control what happened before, but this matter will be resolved eventually."

The subtext is clear: if she can't solve it, he'll help her solve it. In his own way.

Shen Yao nestled in Xie Yunzhou's arms and said in a muffled voice, trying to put him down: "You can't handle this."

After a pause, he added another blow:

"Even your cousin can't manage it all."

Xie Yunzhou felt a throbbing sensation in his temple.

He looked down at the pathetic yet self-righteous face in his arms and realized he might really kill her.

"Shen Yao," the man sneered, "you're getting cocky now?"

Shen Yao felt a chill run down her spine.

She sensed that Xie Yunzhou was slowly accepting this fact, accepting that she wouldn't stop for anyone.

But she also knew perfectly well that she wouldn't be able to walk out of this office with her legs straight today.

"Isn't this inappropriate?"

Shen Yao chuckled twice, trying to play dumb, and reached out to block his hand that was pulling at her clothes.

"How can you have a conscience to bully a cute customer service representative?"

Xie Yunzhou ignored her, continuing what he was doing, and even added slowly:

"The office is exciting, don't you like that?"

To achieve her goals, she could step on a man's arm or jump onto his shoulder to climb up, her posture graceful.

And it seems that this is the only trick a man can use to make her behave for a while.

Shen Yao was being tossed and turned by him until tears were welling up in her eyes. She leaned on the edge of the desk, sobbing and cursing him.

Xie Yunzhou suddenly stopped, his voice calm, as if asking casually, "Will you get pregnant?"

Shen Yao was so startled that she almost jumped out of his arms.

What's going on with both of them? Liang Xiheng is one, and Xie Yunzhou is another. Why are they both starting to think about such scary things?

She retorted, panting, and said irritably:

"Shall I find a master to exorcise the evil spirits for you?"

Xie Yunzhou remained silent, silently increasing the force of his blows.

Shen Yao started crying again.

Xie Yunzhou, that lecherous monster! He's ruined her life!

She really wanted a young boy. Young boys are strong, have sweet words, and most importantly, are easy to fool. A bag of spicy snacks is enough to win them over.

Unlike these men, each one is more difficult to deal with than the last, and each one is more troublesome than the last!

She was crying and screaming in her heart, but Xie Yunzhou looked down at her aggrieved appearance and only slightly curled the corners of his mouth.

He scooped her up and pulled her closer, his lips brushing against her earlobe as he whispered, "Still have the energy to curse... Looks like Zhouzhou and I haven't tried hard enough."