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

A well-made dog collar with soft leather and gleaming metal buckles.

Xiao Weilin abruptly raised his head, staring intently at Shen Yao, who was still looking at him with an "innocent" expression. His voice became hoarse and low due to extreme anger:

"Shen Yao! You fucking...you're asking for it?"

Shen Yao tiptoed and placed a gentle kiss on Xiao Weilin's tightly pursed lips, which were pressed together in a fit of rage.

The kiss was fleeting, almost like an illusion, yet it left behind an unbearable itch.

Immediately, she took a half step back and, in front of Xiao Weilin, deftly opened the metal clasp of the leather collar with a "click".

Shen Yao held the collar in both hands and presented it to him again. She looked up at him with her big eyes, which were filled with stubbornness and a strange expectation, and stared at him without blinking.

Xiao Weilin felt like he was going crazy!

You can't hit them, and they won't listen to your scolding.

Her pitiful yet stubbornly fixated look on him was like a soaked cotton ball lodged in his chest, making him feel suffocated and almost bursting.

Looking at the collar in front of him, and then at Shen Yao's "I'll cry if you don't wear it" attitude, Xiao Weilin suddenly reached out and snatched the collar from Shen Yao's hand, his face showing extreme irritation.

Without even looking, he roughly slipped the collar around his neck, his fingers tightening, and with a crisp "click," the metal buckle fastened securely.

The cool leather instantly pressed against his warm skin, bringing an extremely strange and humiliating sense of restraint.

"Is it done yet?"

Xiao Weilin practically roared, his eyes fixed on Shen Yao, "Can't you be normal now? Huh?!"

He wore a black collar around his neck that clashed with his overall menacing aura, like a caged beast forcibly shackled, filled with anger and humiliation, yet also carrying a strange, insane pleasure of trampling on all rules.

Shen Yao looked at Xiao Weilin's ridiculous appearance—a manic and irritable man who had no choice but to submit—especially at the incredibly conspicuous "decoration" around his neck, and her laughter almost burst out of her throat.

She quickly lowered her head, her shoulders trembling slightly, barely managing to suppress a laugh.

When she looked up again, her face was now adorned with a sweet, contented smile, as if the storm had passed and she was about to say something.

A deep, somewhat rigid, and serious male voice abruptly broke the pleasant atmosphere from the entrance of the garden path not far away:

"Wei Lin, what are you doing here? And who is this?"

Shen Yao was startled and quickly turned her head to look in the direction of the sound.

Two people were standing in the shadows at the garden entrance.

The one in the lead was a bit older, around thirty years old, dressed in a formal shirt and trousers. His face resembled Xiao Weilin's by about five or six points, but his features were more rugged and cold. His hair was styled in a meticulous two-eight part.

His skin was even, and his stubble was neatly shaved, as if it were a daily ritual. He wore gold-rimmed glasses and exuded an almost rigid, serious aura.

At this moment, he was frowning slightly, his gaze fixed on Shen Yao and Xiao Weilin.

Half a step behind him stood a boy who looked even younger, around sixteen or seventeen years old.

The young man had a handsome and refined appearance, fair skin, and a pair of classic puppy-dog eyes with slightly drooping corners, giving him an innocent and sincere look; his double eyelids were of moderate width, adding to his gentle appearance.

His nose bridge was straight but with smooth lines, not too steep; the tip of his nose was small and round, carrying a hint of youthful innocence. What was even more remarkable was his pure eyes and his very well-behaved and quiet temperament.

He was bowing his head slightly, intently cradling a brightly colored little bird that had flown in from who-knows-where in his palm, gently stroking its feathers.

The moment Xiao Weilin heard the sound, all the rage on his face was instantly replaced by astonishment and panic.

Almost reflexively, he raised his hand and tightly covered the collar around his neck with his clothes and palm.

The movement was so fast that it almost left afterimages.

"Xiao Weichen, are you crazy? Can't you knock before coming in?"

Xiao Weichen's gaze seemed to merely sweep over them, without specifically focusing on his neck, and he didn't seem to notice that deadly "decoration".

Shen Yao's heart raced instantly, but her face quickly regained its composure, even showing the shyness and unease of being seen by a stranger.

She lowered her head slightly, avoiding Xiao Weichen's gaze.

Shen Yao's voice, like a clear mountain stream, tinged with shyness, rang out in the quiet garden, clearly reaching the ears of Xiao Weichen and the handsome boy:

"Hello Mr. Xiao, I am Shen Yao, a friend of Wei Lin."

The melodious voice instantly attracted the boy who was focused on stroking the little bird.

He looked up at the sound, and when his gaze fell on Shen Yao, a look of amazement flashed in his eyes.

The boy casually tossed the colorful little bird in his palm into the air, and the bird fluttered its wings and flew away.

He clapped his hands, a clean and slightly boyish smile spreading across his face, revealing two small canine teeth, and praised without reservation:

"Sister, you are so beautiful, and your voice is so lovely, like a nightingale's."

As he spoke, he turned with a smile to look at Xiao Weichen, whose gaze was fixed on Shen Yao, and asked in an innocent tone:

"Isn't that right, Dad?"

Dad? Shen Yao's face showed a hint of surprise and disbelief.

She quickly looked Xiao Weichen up and down again.

The man looked to be in his early thirties, not at all like someone who would have such a grown son.

The father and son are completely dissimilar. Xiao Weichen is more handsome and cold-looking, while the boy is pretty. If you had to say, Xiao Weilin looks more like his father.

Adopted son?

Her gaze involuntarily met Xiao Weichen's eyes, hidden behind his gold-rimmed glasses, once again.

Xiao Weichen seemed surprised by the boy's sudden remark, and their eyes met when Shen Yao looked at him.

His gaze behind his glasses flickered slightly, as if he had been momentarily lost in thought, but he quickly regained his usual composure.

"Miss Shen, hello. I am Xiao Weichen, Wei Lin's older brother."

Just as their eyes met briefly and the atmosphere became delicate, a low growl, suppressed with rage, exploded in Shen Yao's ears.

"Walk!"

It is Xiao Weilin.

He watched helplessly as Shen Yao and his old-fashioned, serious older brother exchanged glances, and listened to his nominal "nephew" praising her beauty in such an innocent tone.

He felt as if countless fine, sharp spikes had suddenly sprouted from the leather collar around his neck, tightly constricting his skin and causing waves of burning, stinging pain.

He could no longer stand being in this place!

Xiao Weilin suddenly bent down, picked up the trampled empty gift box from the ground, and clenched it tightly in his hand as if he wanted to crush it.

His other hand gripped Shen Yao's slender wrist like an iron clamp, and without a word, he roughly pulled her toward him.

Caught off guard, Shen Yao stumbled as he pulled her, crying out in pain.

Xiao Weilin ignored her reaction completely, grabbed her, lowered his head, and strode towards the garden exit with a gloomy face, almost rudely passing between Xiao Weichen and the boy.

In the instant they brushed past each other, Shen Yao could clearly feel two completely different gazes falling on her.

One gaze was Xiao Weichen's deep and unfathomable eyes; the other was the handsome boy's still pure and smiling gaze.

She endured the excruciating pain in her wrist and the discomfort of being dragged along. As Xiao Weilin carried her forward unsteadily, she turned around with difficulty and forced a smile full of apology and helplessness at the Xiao father and son who were left behind.

Then, Xiao Weilin dragged her out of the garden without any mercy, and her figure disappeared around the corner of the villa.

Xiao Weichen stood there, his gaze fixed on the direction where the two had disappeared, his expression unreadable.

The boy beside him tilted his head slightly, with a hint of regret.

In the garden, only the cries of startled birds and an eerie silence remained.