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

As Xiang Yuchuan waited for the results of the exchange student selection and for news from her father's investigation, her inner torment grew day by day.

He found that his suspicions had quietly shifted from "whether Shen Yao was hiding something from him" to a direction that terrified him even more.

How much sincerity does Shen Yao truly have for him?

He recalled more and more frequently the coffee shop manager's words, "She looked very disheveled when we first met."

He began to think that Shen Yao might not just come from an ordinary family; there might be a more complex and unknown story behind her.

Perhaps her motives for approaching him were far more utilitarian than he imagined.

Whenever he tried to scrutinize Shen Yao, all he saw was her innocent yet somewhat tired face.

She was always busy, working tirelessly on that damn exchange program, even cutting back on her dates with him.

"Yuchuan, you don't look well. Have you been working too hard lately? You need to get some rest."

Shen Yao occasionally noticed his gloomy expression, but her concern sounded more like a routine formality. After giving a perfunctory reminder, the topic immediately shifted back to her studies and projects.

"My current innovation project has reached a critical stage, and my mentor is pushing me hard. Once I'm done with this, I'll definitely spend more time with you."

Her eyes were bright, full of anticipation and drive for the future, but lacked any focus or concern for her boyfriend.

Xiang Yuchuan's heart sank little by little.

He began to realize that his importance in her heart might not be as great as he had thought.

Xiang Yuchuan even had a terrible thought: Is she deliberately distancing herself from me?

This thought filled him with panic and anger.

He couldn't help but think:

Is she really just using him, waiting to get her exchange student spot or find a better stepping stone before kicking him to the curb?

No, absolutely not!

He immediately rejected the idea.

She was clearly so passionate in bed...

Thinking of those passionate nights, and how Shen Yao writhed and yielded beneath him, Xiang Yuchuan's cheeks flushed slightly.

How could a woman who doesn't love him act so passionately at that moment?

He tried to convince himself with this reason, but the doubts in his heart were like vines, getting tighter and tighter.

Sometimes, when provoked by Shen Yao's neglect and indifference, Xiang Yuchuan would uncontrollably pull her into the bedroom and possess her.

He seemed to want to use this most primal method to prove that she still belonged to him and to dispel the unease in his heart.

Shen Yao always showed amazing cooperation and enthusiasm in response to his emotionally charged demands.

She would hook her arms around his neck, look at him with moist eyes, breathe sweetly in his ear, and wrap her soft body tightly around him, pulling him completely into the vortex of desire.

Her passionate response each time allowed Xiang Yuchuan to temporarily forget all his troubles in the ultimate pleasure, indulging in the gentle embrace she created.

The sound of water pattering filled the air. Xiang Yuchuan lowered his gaze and mechanically rubbed the thin fabric that belonged to Shen Yao in his hands.

Beneath the foam, her essence seemed to be slowly fading away.

He turned his head and gazed at Shen Yao, who was fast asleep, her sleeping face as serene as an unguarded infant.

She was right beside him, within reach, yet he felt as if there was an impenetrable fog separating them.

After each intimate moment, a profound emptiness and uncertainty would wash over him like a tidal wave, almost drowning him.

Xiang Yuchuan longed for Shen Yao's complete soul, but after the physical heat faded, all that remained was cold suspicion.

Is this tenderness out of love, or merely a way to soothe and numb him with my body so that he will continue to obey?

Xiang Yuchuan turned off the tap, and the silence amplified infinitely in the darkness.

He liked her, without a doubt, but the suspicion and unease mixed in with that liking were dragging him into an endless torture of reason and emotion.

His proud intuition was frantically warning him that something was wrong with this woman; yet his emotions and physical memories were desperately defending her, searching for evidence that she loved him.

Shen Yao watched Xiang Yuchuan's struggle with cold indifference.

She knew in her heart that now was the best chance to end the relationship.

She has made the most of Xiang Yuchuan as a springboard.

His connections, money, and feelings have all been fully converted into practical benefits for her.

It's time to find the next, better stepping stone.

She's also gotten tired of Xiang Yuchuan.

She couldn't possibly give up the opportunity to go to the capital for Xiang Yuchuan, much less fantasize about actually marrying him and becoming a rich playboy's wife.

He looks unwell? Perfect!

It would be best if he took the initiative to break up with him.

She even maliciously thought that this way she could gain a pitiful reputation as a "dumped woman," garner sympathy, and make her next move easier.

As for that little bit of reluctance?

Compared to the grand blueprint and bright future, it's simply insignificant.

Men and relationships are just stepping stones; once you've used them, you should throw them away.

She said to herself.

Therefore, she selectively ignored all of Xiang Yuchuan's emotional signals and devoted all her energy to the battle for the exchange student spot.

She only showed extreme passion and obedience when Xiang Yuchuan lost control of his emotions and needed to use her body to temporarily calm him down.

Xiang Yuchuan's inherent pride as a young master from a wealthy family ultimately overwhelmed his anxieties and indecisiveness stemming from love.

enough!

He cursed himself in his heart.

When did he become so spineless?

For the sake of a woman, you're constantly suspicious and insecure? You're acting like a resentful woman!

Even if, even if it turns out in the end that Shen Yao really lied to him and was just using him, so what?

Was he supposed to wag his tail and beg her not to leave?

That's an absolute joke!

He has never been one to drag things out.

If the outcome is the worst, then just dump her cleanly and break up completely!

He asked Yu Chuan, "Does he lack women?"

Having figured this out, he forcibly suppressed all the doubts, anxieties, and even lingering attachments surging in his heart, wrapping them in a thick layer of ice called "indifference."

Xiang Yuchuan quickly reverted to his old ways, even becoming more unrestrained than before.

He began frequently calling on friends and going to various entertainment venues, partying every night with his frivolous buddies, using alcohol and noise to numb himself and fill the emptiness in his heart.

Several times, at the dinner table, someone, after getting drunk, asked with a slurred speech:

"Young Master Xiang, where's your beautiful girlfriend? We haven't seen her in ages! Are you hiding her so well?"

Xiang Yuchuan held his wine glass, a nonchalant smile on his face, but his eyes were cold, and he casually replied:

"Her? She's busy studying, a good student, not like us."

He deliberately used this nonchalant, even somewhat distant tone to talk about Shen Yao, as if she were just an insignificant, faded thing from the past.

He was trying to prove to others, and to himself, that he didn't care at all.

As for Qin Fang, since he was hit by Xiao Weilin's car last time and spent a whole night at the police station, he seems to have toned down quite a bit.

On one hand, he was being closely watched by Zhou Jingyan and that madman Xiao Weilin; on the other hand, his collaborative project with Shanghai TV Station had entered a critical stage, keeping him extremely busy. He had neither the mind nor the energy to pursue Shen Yao any further.

And so, Xiang Yuchuan and Shen Yao, who were nominally a couple, entered into a peculiar state of cold war.

There were no arguments, no confrontations, they simply kept their distance without saying a word.

Xiang Yuchuan uses indulgence to mask his inner torment, while Shen Yao uses busyness to pursue her future.

When the two occasionally meet, the atmosphere is subtly awkward and distant.

Xiang Yuchuan was no longer as enthusiastic and proactive as before, and Shen Yao was happy to have some peace and quiet, so she devoted all her energy to preparing for the exchange student program.