Yao Tao loved handsome men most of all.
But liking something was nothing compared to loving it!
Take right now, for instance.
The vibrating WeChat payment notifications instantly turned Yao Tao into a conductor!
All she needed was a baton, and she could have spun and leaped around the dorm with her eyes closed!
"What are you doing?!" Bai Jianai walked in to find Yao Tao sitting in her chair, eyes shut, waving her paws around.
Yao Tao pointed at her endlessly vibrating phone. "Can you hear it? The decadent scent of money!"
Bai Jianai was speechless...
"Aren't you afraid someone will spill the beans and Qin Zhen will come after you?" Bai Jianai qualified as pretty, fair-skinned, and rich herself, with a comfortably well-off family. Honestly, she had never met anyone like Yao Tao.
Quietly making a fortune off someone else.
She looked so demure on the outside, but she was black-hearted through and through.
At first, she had been fooled by Tao Tao's appearance too, until one day she went back for her forgotten phone and found Yao Tao putting on a voice as she cursed out someone on WeChat.
"Why are you trying to buy anything if you don't have money?"
"Calling you an idiot would be an insult to idiots!"
"You're trying to haggle with me?"
"Fine, go report me. With this many people in my group, I'd like to see how you manage it!"
"What, you'll be happy if you ruin everyone's livelihood?"
Only then did Bai Jianai realize that the popular account on the School Forum, with the username Qin Zhen's Toxic Solo Stan, belonged to Yao Tao.
After that, Yao Tao stopped pretending around her and let her true self run wild.
If anything, they had grown closer.
"Would they dare?" Yao Tao turned around and rested her chin on the back of her hand. "If they dared, would I have survived until sophomore year?"
Yao Tao clicked her tongue twice. "Only an idiot would pass up money. Do you have any idea how much Qin Zhen is worth?"
"Yes, yes." Bai Jianai took off her jacket, sat down at her own desk, and gave her a thumbs-up. "You're amazing. Top-notch."
"Oh, I'm nothing special~" Bai Jianai had only received a passing mention in the novel. She wasn't an important character.
After getting along with Bai Jianai for over a year, Yao Tao couldn't vouch for anything else, but this pretty little rich girl wasn't the type to stir up trouble.
The four girls in their dorm got along pretty well.
Oh, right. The other two were twin sisters. They had gotten into a car accident while out having fun and were still in the hospital.
"Aren't you worried they'll resell them?" Bai Jianai was puzzled too.
"High-resolution photos, individually coded. Never fails." Yao Tao kissed her laptop. "My only regret is not majoring in computer science. With skills like mine, who could copy my work?"
"Besides, you think I don't know what those pretty girls are thinking?" Yao Tao waved her phone. "Who doesn't want an exclusive for their private collection? Let me show you one real high roller!"
Curious, Bai Jianai asked, "What high roller?"
"Come on, girl, let me show you just how much a single photo can be worth!" Yao Tao enlarged the photo on her phone.
It captured the instant Qin Zhen jumped up to shoot.
The shot was practically perfect. It was hard to imagine it had actually been taken with a phone.
The young man was suspended in midair, his upper body leaning back slightly, the basketball still touching his palm. Soft light enveloped him perfectly, as though gilding Qin Zhen in gold.
This one photo could rival a celebrity's professional portrait!
Even Bai Jianai had to admit that her heart was fluttering.
Seriously, what idiot didn't like good-looking people?
Unless someone had defective taste, there was no way they could dislike a face like that.
"Do you know how much work I put into editing this into a ready-to-use wallpaper?" Yao Tao drew her phone back. "Guess how much this one sold for?"
"How much?" Bai Jianai asked offhandedly.
"Exclusive rights, this much!" Yao Tao held up three fingers.
"Three thousand?" Bai Jianai was quite surprised.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk!" Yao Tao raised her eyebrows. "Girl, the sky's the limit if you dream big. Be bolder!"
"It can't be three hundred thousand, can it?" Bai Jianai ventured.
"It's not like she's paying to sleep with him. Your dreams just shot a little too high!" Yao Tao let out a breath.
"You're getting more and more...!" Bai Jianai blushed. "Aren't you embarrassed saying things like that?"
"We're both adults. What are you going to do later if you're this shy?" Yao Tao shrugged. "You need to learn to have a thicker skin, babe, or you'll definitely get the short end of the stick someday."
"Enough of that. How much did it actually sell for?" Bai Jianai didn't want to trade dirty jokes with her. When Yao Tao got shameless, she could embarrass someone to death!
This topic had to stop!
"Thirty thousand, and I threw in three private photos of Qin Zhen that have never been circulated!" Yao Tao finished bundling them together and sent them privately to her dear buyer.
"Aren't you afraid someone will report you?" Bai Jianai was stunned!
Thirty thousand for this? What sucker had bought it?
"Not a chance." Yao Tao tapped away on her phone. "She fantasizes about being Qin Zhen's girlfriend. She needs me."
"..." Bai Jianai was at a loss for words. "Just be careful. Aren't you Qin Zhen's toxic solo stan too? Aren't you worried she'll get jealous?"
"My kind of toxic solo stan is different from hers," Yao Tao replied. "Qin Zhen makes me the most money, so I'm his toxic solo stan. It's just a label. I actually sell photos of other people too."
"I take private commissions as well, but not many. They're too risky."
"But if the girls offer enough money, I'm open to it!"
Yao Tao delivered that speech as though she had quite the professional code of ethics.
"I'm seriously worried this will blow up in your face!" Bai Jianai stopped engaging with her.
"Heaven knows, earth knows, you know, and I know. No one else knows. You wouldn't sell me out, would you, babe?" Yao Tao was an expert at acting cute.
"All right, all right, stop grossing me out. Just watch yourself." As Bai Jianai waved her off, she caught sight of a photo Yao Tao was editing on her computer, taken from behind and to one side.
The young man in the photo was surrounded by girls, his face turned slightly to the side. He was awfully good-looking.
"Who's that?" Bai Jianai asked curiously.
"A junior." When it came to anyone handsome or pretty at their university, male or female, remembering them was as easy for Yao Tao as remembering her direct supervisor. "But this guy... you'd be better off not getting to know him."
"Huh?" Bai Jianai looked at Yao Tao. "Do you really hate him?"
"All I can say is, I respect his choices." Yao Tao spread her hands.
Now Bai Jianai was thoroughly intrigued. "Tell me about him?"
"There's not much to tell." Yao Tao spoke while editing the photo. "You've seen Seven Days, right?"
"That's him. He weaponizes his good looks. He'll accept anyone who confesses to him, but he always breaks up with them a week later."
"While you're dating, he'll do anything you want!"
"He's a million miles away from pure love."
"You're actually a pure-love fan?" Bai Jianai asked in astonishment.
"What's that supposed to mean? Why can't I be a pure-love fan?" Yao Tao pouted. "You're so mean!"
On reflection, Bai Jianai supposed that was true. Yao Tao never got involved with sketchy people. She was too busy taking photos of handsome guys to make money.
Thinking of how she had neither a father nor a mother, Bai Jianai softened again, even if her way of making money was a little shady. "I shouldn't have said that. Sorry, little peach."
"Don't worry, I won't take it to heart!" Yao Tao quickly finished editing the photo. "A good girl like you shouldn't get mixed up with him. If you see him, keep your distance!"
Seeing her expertly move on to the next photo, Bai Jianai stopped disturbing her.
"Still, be careful. Don't end up unable to graduate. Qin Zhen's family is rich and powerful. If something happens, I might not be able to help you." Bai Jianai couldn't resist adding another worried reminder.
"Relax, it's been almost a year and a half. That proves everything's fine. The girls at our school all know how to behave." Yao Tao was practically soaring with joy.
Thank the male lead for letting her make money.
Credit the good karma to Little Azure Dragon!
Yao Tao was delighted. Another friend request had popped up on WeChat!
Before you continue