Chapter 102 Poaching Talents

Taozi brought Wang Ziran to a nearby coffee shop.

Taozi: "Thank you for helping him deliver the flowers. What would you like to drink? My treat."

Wang Ziran: "Huh? Oh, anything is fine."

Taozi: "Then I'll treat you to our most famous coconut latte."

Wang Ziran: "A Cai asked me to apologize to you. He hopes you'll add him back and is willing to send you gifts for a whole month."

Taozi: "Young Master Wang, do you know why I deleted him?"

Wang Ziran: "He made you angry?"

Taozi: "No, I just don't want to hold him back."

Wang Ziran: "Hold him back?"

Wang Ziran almost spat out the coffee he was drinking!

A Cai had dated countless internet celebrities, and none had ever rejected him before!

This young master was incredibly generous, switching internet celebrity girlfriends every two or three months. Had he really met his match?

Taozi: "At first, I was very grateful for the many gifts he sent during my livestreams. Later, I learned he was the rich second-generation A Cai, and I didn't dare to take his attention too seriously, because everyone knows he's never short of female companions..."

Wang Ziran: "A Cai told me he's serious about you."

Taozi: "He confessed to me, and I tried to accept his feelings, but I couldn't fall for him. So there were some arguments when we broke up. Maybe he's just not the type I like."

Wang Ziran: "I see. You're a really good girl, indeed, resisting the temptation of money."

Taozi: "I'm actually a very responsible person when it comes to relationships. I don't want to string him along when I realize I don't like him. It's not good for either of us."

Wang Ziran: "It seems A Cai is destined to be your devoted admirer."

Wang Ziran chuckled, but suddenly, he felt he had no right to laugh at A Cai. In the face of love, who wasn't a devoted admirer?

Even the richest A Cai couldn't win the heart of an internet celebrity. And the most influential Young Master Wang, couldn't he win the love of the Su heiress?

Wang Ziran took a sip of the coconut latte. He couldn't tell if it was the bitterness of the latte or the bitterness in his heart that instantly brought his mood down.

Taozi: "Young Master Wang? You seem to have something on your mind."

Wang Ziran: "Is it that obvious? Hahaha."

Taozi: "It's because you suddenly lowered your head and fell silent. I'm good at comforting people. Tell me about it, and I won't tell anyone else."

Wang Ziran: "It's nothing much, I just realized I'm like a devoted admirer too."

Taozi: "Are you talking about Su Ruiyi? I always thought your relationship was quite good."

Wang Ziran: "The relationship is good, but it's not romantic love."

Taozi: "Is it like feeling that it's love at first sight, and you can't possibly settle for being just friends?"

Wang Ziran's spirits immediately lifted. After all this time, had someone finally understood his feelings?

Wang Ziran: "Yes, yes, yes! I really don't want to be just good friends with Su Ruiyi. I want to take care of her for a lifetime! I want her to be my wife!"

Looking at Wang Ziran's determination, Taozi found it somewhat ironic. Perhaps Wang Ziran didn't even remember the girl who stopped being bullied because of his words.

— Taozi's Recollection —

Hongye International School was a highly influential bilingual teaching high school at the time. Children sent there usually chose to study abroad.

Therefore, Hongye's tuition fees were astonishingly high for that era, yet many children from wealthy families were still sent there.

In that cohort were Wang Ziran and Su Ruiyi, and of course, Taozi.

However, Taozi, who didn't rank among the school's prominent figures, had always been an inconspicuous presence.

She always ate alone, attended classes alone, and returned to her dormitory alone.

But girls in adolescence often had premature fantasies about love. Even if she was ordinary, she would secretly fall for the captain of the school's basketball team.

So she wrote many diary entries for that boy named Mike, filled with her fantasies about him.

That day, during the school basketball match, Mike's class and Wang Ziran's class both advanced to the semi-finals. Mike's class, being superior, took a 18-point lead in the first quarter without suspense, leaving Wang Ziran's class trailing.

On that day, almost all the girls in the school were gathered outside the basketball court to watch the game. Taozi squeezed through the crowd, her eyes fixed on Mike. Like the other girls, she screamed ecstatically, hoping to catch Mike's attention.

The whistle blew, and the game ended. Mike's class won. The girls swarmed onto the court, some offering water, others towels.

As the crowd surged, Taozi's bag was jostled open, and her diary fell to the ground. But countless feet stomped around, kicking the diary across the floor until it landed at Mike's feet.

When Mike picked up the diary, he curiously flipped it open and saw his own photos pasted inside. It seemed the diary's owner had taken quite a few candid shots of him.

Taozi quickly pushed her way through, trying to stop Mike from reading the diary, but it was too late. Mike read a passage aloud in front of everyone.

Mike: "I like a boy, his name is Mike. He's the most handsome man I've ever seen! I hope one day I can be his girlfriend..."

As soon as he finished reading, laughter erupted from the crowd. Even Mike looked at the flustered Taozi with a cold sneer.

Mike: "Is this yours?"

Taozi dared not speak, but all the girls began to point and whisper at her. Now she was not only a laughingstock but also the type of student universally disliked by the girls.

Mike: "Are you worthy?"

More mockery followed. At that time, Taozi was dark-skinned and small, with many pimples on her face. She was far from the word "beautiful."

Mike tore out the diary pages one by one, refusing to return them to Taozi.

Mike: "You're so ugly, and you dare to have a crush on me? It's sickening! Don't write such things, and definitely don't like me, because the thought of being liked by an ugly creature like you makes me want to die!"

Afterward, some of the more aggressive students began to shove Taozi. Those with more strength pushed her to the ground. Taozi started crying in fear, until a voice sharply rebuked those bullying her.

Wang Ziran: "Are you crazy? Bullying a girl, are you even men?"

Everyone knew Wang Ziran was the son of the association president, so they dared not provoke him. They dispersed from Taozi's side.

Wang Ziran: "What are you looking at? Get lost!"

Wang Ziran walked over and looked at Taozi, who was curled up, hugging her knees, sobbing uncontrollably.

Wang Ziran: "How are you? Do you need me to get someone to take you to the infirmary?"

Taozi looked up at Wang Ziran. In that instant, she suddenly felt that she had liked the wrong person in the past. A true knight should be like Wang Ziran!

Su Ruiyi: "Are you alright?"

Su Ruiyi took out a tissue and offered it to Taozi. But Taozi glanced at the glittering heiress, then at Wang Ziran, who had been by Su Ruiyi's side all along.

From that moment on, she harbored a thought in her heart: only girls like Su Ruiyi were worthy of Wang Ziran!

She quickly took the tissue and fled without looking back.

— End of Taozi's Recollection —

Taozi: "Will you always like Su Ruiyi? Even if she rejects you countless times, will you persist?"

Wang Ziran: "Of course!"

Taozi: "And if she likes someone else, will you still like her?"

Wang Ziran: "I don't know. Right now, I see her liking another man, but I don't want to give up yet. I think no one could love her as much as I do..."

"If that man doesn't love her as much as I do, how could I bear to give up? Don't you think so?"

After hearing Wang Ziran's words, Taozi's heart was filled with a mixed bag of emotions.

During school, she had seen how close Wang Ziran and Su Ruiyi were. She thought she would never have any interaction with a boy like Wang Ziran, especially since he had always been devoted to Su Ruiyi. But fate had arranged for her to meet someone she liked through A Cai.

Now, she knew even more clearly that Su Ruiyi would never fall for Wang Ziran. Perhaps it was destiny that she and Wang Ziran were meant to be!

Taozi silently repeated a thought in her heart: "If your eyes are only for those who don't like you, how can you see me who likes you..."

Wang Ziran: "You're spacing out, what are you thinking about?"

Taozi: "Nothing. I was just thinking how I envy Su Ruiyi. If a boy had liked me for so long, I would have been moved to marry him long ago."

Wang Ziran was still fantasizing that Su Ruiyi would one day become his woman and didn't realize Taozi was hinting at him. Su Ruiyi wasn't worth his continued persistence.

Wang Ziran: "Alas, it's a pity. My Yi Yi is like a rock. I've confessed to her at least ten times!"

Taozi: "Perhaps, because you're too familiar, you've become a persistent pursuer in Su Ruiyi's eyes."

Wang Ziran: "What do you mean?"

Taozi: "Girls are like that. If a boy is initially rejected, and he continues to pursue her relentlessly, the girl gets used to it. She'll think that this boy will always be there for her and won't care about him anymore."

Wang Ziran: "How can you tell?"

Taozi: "Think about it, do you only see her when she contacts you? When you try to initiate contact, is she always busy?"

Wang Ziran nodded frantically. Wasn't this exactly Su Ruiyi's recent behavior?!

Taozi: "Then that's right. It seems that in her heart, you're really not important anymore."

Wang Ziran's mouth hung open, speechless for a long time.

Wang Ziran: "Then what should I do?"

Taozi: "You need to create a sense of crisis, make her feel that you might leave her."

"Think about it, someone who is always around you suddenly disappears. Will she feel a sense of crisis?"

"If she thinks you might be snatched away by someone else, she'll start to care about you."

Wang Ziran: "That sounds somewhat reasonable!"

Taozi: "I'm a girl, I understand girls' minds better than you."

Wang Ziran nodded, his eyes full of gratitude. Perhaps he couldn't win Su Ruiyi's heart precisely because he spoiled her too much!

Wang Ziran: "So I shouldn't pay attention to her, right?"

Taozi: "That's not enough. You need to attract her attention and make her actively notice that there are other girls around you."

Wang Ziran was troubled. Since childhood, Su Ruiyi had been his only female friend. He wouldn't even glance at the slightly younger nannies at home. Where would he find other girls now?

Taozi: "You can take a photo with me in it and post it on your social media."

Wang Ziran: "That might not be good..."

Taozi: "She doesn't know me. If she gets curious and asks you, you can just casually say you've recently met a new friend."

Wang Ziran: "Okay! It's settled!"

But as soon as he aimed the camera at Taozi's face, Wang Ziran hesitated again.

Wang Ziran: "Is it okay not to show my face? You can tell I'm a woman from my clothes."

Taozi nodded, but she deliberately pulled her collar down a bit, revealing the pendant on her clavicle chain.

Wang Ziran: "I've taken the photo. Should I say anything when I post it on my social media?"

Taozi: "If you were posting a photo with Su Ruiyi, what would you say?"

Wang Ziran thought for a moment: "Having coffee with my dear Yi Yi."

Taozi shook her head.

Taozi: "Our relationship isn't the same as yours with Su Ruiyi. How about you just post 'Girl across the way, look here'?"

Wang Ziran: "Alright! You're really good at this!"

Wang Ziran quickly edited the post and sent it. Soon, it received over a dozen likes, and some curious people asked if it was Su Ruiyi.

Wang Ziran: "They think it's Su Ruiyi..."

Taozi: "Just say 'She's not.'"

Wang Ziran did as he was told. Soon, there were replies continuing to inquire.

Taozi: "No need to reply anymore. Your target is Su Ruiyi, the others don't matter."

Wang Ziran: "Right! Teacher Taozi! Thank you! When Su Ruiyi and I are together, I'll definitely reward you handsomely!"

Taozi smiled. Would things really turn out as Wang Ziran wished?

Perhaps, after all these maneuvers, it would only drive Wang Ziran and Su Ruiyi further apart.

That would be for the best. Only when Wang Ziran completely gave up on Su Ruiyi would Taozi have a chance to approach him!