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

Shen Yao felt a ringing in her ears, and her mind went completely blank.

She didn't hear a word of the words of comfort and encouragement her mentor said on the phone, and she didn't even know how she hung up.

On her way back to school, she could clearly feel the gazes coming from all directions—curious, inquisitive, and, most of all, sympathetic.

The news of her breakup with the young master Xiang had already spread like wildfire on campus.

Now, the exchange student spot she was so determined to get has also fallen through.

To outsiders, she appeared to be a pitiful woman who had failed in both love and academics.

Even the senior students who had worked hard on the project together and cheered for her sincerely now had regret and even a hint of pity in their eyes.

This sympathy stung her more and made her feel more embarrassed than the mockery.

"Junior Shen Yao," a senior student with whom she had a decent relationship hesitated before stepping forward and whispering words of comfort, "Don't be too sad. You didn't get selected this time, but there will be other opportunities in the future."

She paused, seemingly finding it difficult to speak, but couldn't help feeling indignant on her behalf, lowering her voice even further, "We heard that the freshman He Tian who was selected, his father is apparently a professor at Peking University. So, sigh..."

The meaning was clear even before the words were fully spoken.

The cover-up.

Shen Yao listened quietly, her face still showing a lost and dejected expression.

The world has never been fair, and she understood this sooner than anyone else.

She has an unusual capacity to accept these kinds of unspoken rules—she doesn't get angry or break down, but quickly rethinks things in her mind.

It turns out it wasn't that she lacked ability, but rather that someone had pulled strings.

The sorrow that had almost overwhelmed her had now quietly receded by more than half.

In a game where victory was determined by skill, someone suddenly overturned the table.

Then the rules of the game changed completely.

Now, is she a perfectly innocent victim?

A vague yet bold idea quietly took root in her mind.

Perhaps this is actually an opportunity to get closer to certain people.

But tears still fell from her eyes at just the right moment.

Seeing her silently weeping, the senior student felt extremely distressed and quickly handed her a tissue: "Junior, don't be like this. The list won't be officially announced for another few days. Maybe there's still a chance..."

Transfer?

Faced with absolute power and connections, what chance did an ordinary person like her with no background have?

So, was that vague thought an opportunity given to her by heaven, or the prelude to another misfortune?

There are five days left until the official announcement of the list of exchange students for Yenching University, and ten days left until the exchange students depart for Yenching University.

Shen Yao locked herself in her room, neither eating nor drinking, and sat on the sofa for a whole day and night.

Give up? Resign yourself to fate? Go back to that small county town, or stay in Shanghai, find an ordinary job, marry an ordinary man, and repeat your mother's humble and desperate life?

No, she absolutely refuses!

He Tian—the freshman who squeezed out her spot by relying on his family connections.

This is the last chance, and also the last cliff.

She decided to go find him, ask him directly, and make one last attempt to find out the truth.

A girl felt like she was standing on the edge of an abyss.

He Tian's answer will determine whether she clings desperately to the withered vine called "dignity" on the edge of the cliff, or lets go completely and falls into the abyss called "fall" that has already been prepared for her.

She used all her connections and finally found out where He Tian often frequented.

At the entrance of a noisy bar, she blocked the way of the stylishly dressed boy with a spoiled and arrogant air about him.

"Hello, He Tian, ​​I'm Shen Yao." Standing under the shifting neon lights, her voice was unusually calm. "Could I trouble you for a few minutes?"

He Tian clearly recognized her, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, which was then replaced by scrutiny and amusement.

Shen Yao's exceptionally beautiful face is a passport to any occasion.

He impatiently gestured for his friend to go first, then followed her to a relatively quiet corner, leaning lazily against the wall: "Speak quickly if you have something to say."

Shen Yao took a deep breath, looked him straight in the eye, and cut to the chase: "Was your exchange student spot at Peking University reserved for you because of your father?"

He Tian was taken aback by her directness, paused for a moment, then chuckled and readily admitted it, his tone brimming with an arrogant sense of entitlement:

"So what if it is? Shen Yao, reality is cruel. Connections are more useful than ability."

His gaze lingered unabashedly on her face and figure, filled with naked desire.

"But I'm curious, with your beauty, there must be plenty of rich guys in Shanghai chasing after you, right? Why bother going to Yenching University and suffering like this? Wouldn't it be better to just marry a rich man?"

His words annoyed Shen Yao.

If that vague plan is not carried out, the breakthrough point still seems to lie with him.

She suppressed her emotions and softened her voice: "He Tian, ​​going to Peking University is really important to me. I'm begging you, is there any way I can go too? Any conditions... I'll consider it."

Looking at her pitiful yet stubborn appearance, He Tian's mischievous sense of humor was stirred.

He leaned closer, almost touching her ear, his breath light and flirtatious, his tone condescending: "Any conditions? Ha, Shen Yao, you are indeed breathtakingly beautiful."

The man's gaze turned greedy and blatant. "How about this: if you please me, maybe I can consider finding a way to add another spot?"

Shen Yao looked at his face, which was filled with desire and contempt, and at his attitude of treating her like a plaything.

The abyss is right beneath our feet.

That withered vine called "dignity" was so fragile that it could be broken at any moment.

Should you hold on to it and then fall into an endless cycle of ordinariness? Or should you let go willingly and jump into a dirty abyss that might lead to a "shortcut"?

He Tian's attitude has already given him his answer.

Now, it's her turn.

"Snapped!"

A crisp slap rang out against the backdrop of the noisy bar street.

This is Shen Yao's answer.

She used all her strength to slap He Tian hard across his arrogant face.

The force of the blow was so great that he turned his head to the side, covered his cheek, and stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

Shen Yao didn't look at him again. She turned around abruptly and strode away without looking back, leaving the angry shouts and curses behind her far behind.

She walked very fast, the night wind lifting her long hair, but it couldn't dispel the burning anger and humiliation in her heart.

An idea, like tempered steel, took shape coldly and firmly in her heart:

She wants to kill He Tian.