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

Shen Yao took a deep breath, and when she spoke again, her voice had completely changed.

It was a trembling that was a mixture of despair, fear, and the urge to collapse, choked with sobs and filled with a heartbreaking sense of powerlessness:

"Mr. Zhou. It's me, Shen Yao..."

Her words were broken and intermittent, as if she were about to suffocate, "I'm sorry to bother you, I really don't want to live anymore..."

She uttered the last few words almost in a sob, with a resolute air of utter despair.

This move was extremely risky, yet also extremely ruthless.

Shen Yao chose to place herself directly in the most extreme and vulnerable position of "victim," ruthlessly throwing the heavy moral choice of "whether to lend a helping hand" to Zhou Jingyan, the "gentleman" on the other end of the phone.

She was gambling, gambling on Zhou Jingyan's sense of responsibility, gambling on his gentlemanly demeanor.

Betting on the inviolable "heroism" deep within him, betting on whether she holds any special place in his heart.

There was complete silence on the other end of the phone.

All that could be heard was Shen Yao's heartbreaking sobs.

A few seconds later, Zhou Jingyan's voice came again, his previous doubts completely replaced by seriousness and urgency, his tone even carrying a hint of tension:

"Shen Yao? Where are you? What happened? Don't do anything foolish, tell me your location."

"I'm downstairs at your office."

Downstairs at the company? Zhou Jingyan's brows furrowed immediately, a huge question rising in his mind.

Why would she suddenly travel from Shanghai to Beijing? And why would she appear downstairs at his company?

This question only flashed through my mind for a moment before being replaced by the image of Shen Yao's delicate face, which always seemed somewhat timid and as if a gust of wind could blow her away.

Life is at stake.

Almost without thinking, he grabbed his suit jacket draped over the back of the chair and strode towards the office exit, rapidly instructing his assistant who followed him in: "Cancel all my appointments for tonight immediately, it's urgent."

"But Mr. Zhou, there's still more to come later..." the assistant tried to remind him.

"Cancel everything." Zhou Jingyan's tone revealed a rare hint of impatience.

He didn't wait for the elevator; he pushed open the emergency exit door and rushed down the president's private staircase in two strides.

Zhou Jingyan's voice was slightly breathless from rushing down the stairs, but he remained calm:

"Shen Yao? Tell me your exact location, where are you?"

There was only intermittent sobbing on the other end of the phone; there was no answer.

Zhou Jingyan's heart sank.

She was such a beautiful young girl, alone on the unfamiliar streets of Beijing late at night. What if she encountered bad people? Or perhaps she really couldn't think straight and had already...

For the first time, he spoke to the person on the other end of the phone in an almost stern tone, his voice rising several decibels in urgency:

"Shen Yao, speak. Tell me, where are you?"

The girl on the other end of the phone seemed startled by his sudden sternness. She sobbed for a moment before answering in a fearful voice, "I'm in the alley over there..."

"Stay where you are, I'll be right there." Zhou Jingyan immediately pinpointed her approximate location—a relatively quiet, dimly lit alleyway on the side of the company building.

He rushed out of the stairwell, quickly crossed the lobby, ignoring the surprised looks from the surrounding employees, and ran straight towards the side door.

As soon as he rushed out of the side door and turned into the entrance of that alley, he didn't even need to look for it; his gaze was immediately drawn to a figure deep in the alley.

Under the dim streetlights, the girl in the thin white dress was huddled against the cold wall, shivering.

She was still holding her phone, her face streaked with tears that glistened in the dim light.

He was as pale as a sheet of paper, as if he might be swallowed up by the night at any moment.

Zhou Jingyan rushed to her, stopped, slightly out of breath, and looked her up and down urgently to make sure she was not physically harmed.

"Shen Yao," he called out.

Shen Yao raised her teary eyes, and the moment she saw him, her tears flowed even more fiercely. Her lips trembled, but she couldn't utter a single word. She could only look at him with her eyes filled with helplessness.

Like a frightened little animal, she instinctively reached out, trying to grab his clothes for a sense of security, just like last time.

But the moment her fingertips touched him, she recoiled as if burned, her body trembling with fear, as if even touching him had become a luxury and an offense.

Seeing her frightened appearance, Zhou Jingyan almost instinctively reached out and took Shen Yao's small, icy hand that had just withdrawn.

Shen Yao sobbed as if she wanted to say something, but her other hand, which was wiping away tears, froze in mid-air. She instinctively wanted to turn around and avoid his gaze.

Zhou Jingyan wouldn't let her escape, turning her back around and examining her carefully in the dim light.

No, that's not right.

One side of her cheek seemed slightly more swollen than the other. Although her skin was still fair, the unnatural curve did not escape his eyes.

"Don't move," he said in a low, concerned voice, reaching out to touch the suspicious mark.

Shen Yao seemed startled, abruptly raising her hand to push him away. Her movements were so fast they were almost frantic, and her eyes flickered, making her seem even more like she was trying to cover something up.

This reaction further fueled Zhou Jingyan's suspicions.

He gripped her wrist firmly, a rare display of strength, and gently wiped away the tears from her face with his fingertips, while also finally seeing clearly the truth hidden beneath her disheveled hair and dim light.

On her pale, delicate cheek, a blurry yet clearly discernible handprint was clearly visible, slightly red and swollen, forming a stark contrast with the surrounding skin.

Shen Yao seemed to have her most painful wound touched, and she frantically covered her face with her hands, "Don't look..."

Zhou Jingyan's pupils suddenly contracted, and his brows furrowed tightly.

A handprint?

Who was it? How could they have attacked her so brutally?

That already endearing face, now bearing these obvious scars, looked even more pitiful, as if it would shatter at the slightest touch.

Zhou Jingyan believed he had seen many storms and helped many people who truly needed help, but no one had ever been like Shen Yao in front of him.

With just a glance or a subtle gesture, he could so easily evoke a mixture of protectiveness, anger, and a natural male affection for women deep within him.

In particular, she looked so young and helpless.

She is still a girl who needs to be carefully protected, not a mature woman.

Zhou Jingyan suppressed his anger, trying his best to make his voice sound gentle and reliable, with a soothing quality, and asked in a low voice:

"Shen Yao, tell me, who made this call? Did they run into some trouble in Shanghai?"

Perhaps it was the gentleness and concern in his tone that were so genuine, or perhaps it was because he had first appeared as a "protector" to save her from dire straits, but at this moment, Shen Yao seemed to have completely let down her guard.

The girl seemed overwhelmed by his concern. She suddenly leaned forward, but instead of rushing into him, she softly fell into his arms as if she had lost all her strength.

She gently wrapped her arms around his waist, as if afraid to exert any force, buried her cheek in the fabric of his shirt, and let out a very soft sob.

Zhou Jingyan's body stiffened abruptly.

The girl's body was cold and thin, and felt light and weightless when held in one's arms.

She only reached his shoulder, and now she was curled up in his arms, such a small ball, her whole body trembling uncontrollably, and hot tears quickly soaked his shirt.

A unique scent, a mixture of a young girl's fragrance and tears, instantly enveloped him.

Zhou Jingyan lowered his eyes, looking at the fluffy head in his arms, feeling the fragility and despair emanating from her icy body.

The hand that had originally intended to push her away eventually, with a hint of despicable contempt even he himself felt, gently rested on her thin back.

Let her lean on it for a while.

She needs comfort.

He forcefully suppressed the distracting thoughts in his mind and simply embraced the girl in his arms with a force that was purely meant to comfort her, a girl who seemed to have been abandoned by the whole world.