After Being Scummed – Chapter 2

Wait a minute, it really is Zuo Jingyou!

After returning from the awards ceremony, Yin Bai canceled all her business meetings. As a conscientious capitalist, she even gave Zhang Yu a week-long mini-vacation.

After Zhang Yu dropped her off at the villa in Baihe Mountain Resort, she happily went on her holiday.

Yin Bai didn’t need to think twice to know that after Lu Qing won the award at the ceremony, she must have proposed to Xiao Nian, and the internet would surely be buzzing with the news.

To avoid experiencing a second round of heartache, when she got home, she wisely turned off her phone, shut down all the internet devices in her house, and forced herself not to look at any news about Xiao Nian and Lu Qing. She retreated into her home theater and quietly nursed her wounds.

For two consecutive days, Yin Bai hid in her home theater, rewatching all the major movies Xiao Nian had starred in during her nine years in the industry. In the end, it was hunger that drove her out. She took a shower, ordered room service from the hotel, and only then did she begin to regain some of her composure.

In late April, the spring sunlight was delightful. After having brunch, Yin Bai wrapped herself in a silk nightgown and nestled on the first-floor sofa. She applied a towel wrapped around ice cubes to her eyes. Due to the cold sensation, she occasionally let out a soft whimper.

These past two days, she had been reminiscing and crying like a fool in her home theater while clutching a tissue box, revisiting the old times with Xiao Nian. As a result, she had swollen her eyes from all the crying.

Now, her eyes were hurting badly, and even opening them was a bit difficult.

As Yin Bai applied the cold compress to her eyes, she self-deprecatingly thought, perhaps this was her just desserts. Who made her so arrogant and ignorant of love in her youth, thinking that a mere contract could bind them for a lifetime and that Xiao Nian’s interests would always align with hers?

Well, look at her now. Xiao Nian had become more enlightened, distancing herself from capitalists and the ruthless entertainment industry cesspool, pursuing her ideal life.

Serves you right, you deserve it, you deserve to cry like a big fool.

Yin Bai lay on the sofa, indulging in self-pity once again. She lay there for a while, and suddenly, the home phone rang, startling her to her core.

She removed the towel from her eyes, turned her head, and squinted in the direction of the phone with suspicion.

Who could be calling her? Not many people knew her home phone. Could it be Xiao Nian? No, no, no, given Xiao Nian’s personality, she would never call her back.

Could it be Jin Xiangyu? Didn’t she say she wouldn’t be handling work lately?

Yin Bai frowned slightly, feeling a bit displeased. After hesitating for a moment, she finally got up from the sofa and walked towards the home phone.

As she approached the phone, Yin Bai realized that a glimmer of hope was rising within her. For that brief moment, she hoped that the person on the other end was Xiao Nian.

She even started to daydream, thinking that maybe Xiao Nian was calling her. She had fallen out of love with Lu Qing, decided to come back, they would reconcile, and then live the rest of their lives happily together.

At the thought of this, Yin Bai’s heart trembled intensely. She couldn’t help but self-mock, realizing that such a ludicrous and idealistic fairy tale wasn’t even believable by children, and only someone as naive as her could come up with such a fantasy.

Yin Bai reached the home phone and picked up the incessantly ringing call, softly answering, “Hello…”

As the voice on the other end fell silent, there came a relieved tone from Jin Xiangyu, “BOSS, you finally answered the phone.”

Upon hearing that it was Jin Xiangyu, Yin Bai couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed deep down. Perhaps Jin Xiangyu had been urgently trying to reach her these past couple of days, so she rarely complained over the phone, “Your phone has been off these past few days, and you didn’t answer the home phone. Zhang Yu said she couldn’t find you even though she’s on vacation…”

Yin Bai detected a hint of worry in Jin Xiangyu’s anxious words. She cleared her throat lightly and interrupted Jin Xiangyu, “Didn’t I say I was taking a break? Can’t you refrain from bothering me when I have something going on? Why are you in such a rush? Worried that I won’t be able to pay your salary this month?”

Jin Xiangyu immediately held her tongue and adopted her usual tone to respond, “Of course not, BOSS. The bonuses you gave me before are enough to cover my salary for the rest of my life.”

Yin Bai replied coldly with an “Oh,” and said, “Alright then, I’ll inform the finance team of our group, and starting next month, you won’t receive a salary anymore.”

Jin Xiangyu immediately interjected, “Please, BOSS, don’t joke with me like that. My whole family relies on this salary to make ends meet.”

Upon learning that Yin Bai hadn’t spiraled into self-destructive behavior due to her failed relationship, Jin Xiangyu breathed a sigh of relief. She cleared her throat and continued, “There are a few projects that require your attention lately.”

“I’ve already sent the project documents to your email. Take a look and get back to me by Friday.”

While Yin Bai held a position as a director in the conglomerate, she wasn’t heavily involved in the company’s affairs. When her parents passed away in a car accident when she was young, and her grandmother passed away when she was eighteen, she inherited a substantial fortune.

At the time, she had just started college and didn’t choose to manage the conglomerate herself. However, she also didn’t entrust her relatives, who coveted her wealth, with running the company. Instead, she formed a professional management team to handle her assets.

Among a group of professional managers, she had her eye on Jin Xiangyu.

Jin Xiangyu didn’t disappoint her. After taking on the role, she not only expanded the business of the Yin Group but also helped Yin Bai earn a substantial amount of money.

Yin Bai was known in her circle as a spendthrift, and everyone knew that if she took an interest in a project, she would invest in it, regardless of whether it was profitable or not.

So, on regular days, many people who couldn’t meet Yin Bai would send project proposals to Jin Xiangyu. Those projects that seemed profitable would typically be evaluated by Jin Xiangyu’s team. However, various community development and seemingly less significant projects almost always ended up in Yin Bai’s inbox for her to screen.

Once Yin Bai decided on the direction of project investment, Jin Xiangyu and her team would work tirelessly, often through sleepless nights, to provide the most suitable investment proposals.

In summary, it was Jin Xiangyu, the hardworking employee, who toiled diligently to earn money, while their boss contentedly played the role of a carefree spendthrift.

When she heard about work coming her way, the spendthrift let out a sigh, pinched her forehead with one hand, and mumbled, “I got it, I got it. I’ll take a look. You go ahead and handle it.”

Hearing her boss’s tone, which sounded lively enough, Jin Xiangyu felt reassured. She replied, “Okay, BOSS, please do it as soon as possible. Otherwise, there’s too much piling up in your inbox, and it’ll be difficult to manage.”

Yin Bai made a sound of agreement and felt her eyes twitching vigorously. She pinched her forehead again and added, “Um, could you also schedule a doctor’s appointment for me later? My eyes have been hurting a lot these past two days.”

She felt it was necessary to see a doctor, and she even suspected that she might cry her eyes out.

Jin Xiangyu responded promptly, “Alright, BOSS.” Then, she tactfully reminded, “However, BOSS, this is something your personal assistant should handle. If you really need it, you should consider ending her vacation and having her return soon.”

After all, with the kind of salary you pay her annually, along with the cars and houses you’ve bought her, can you still be considered a capitalist?

Yin Bai gave a casual “Hmm” in response, saying, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up.”

Jin Xiangyu quickly added, “There is, there is, BOSS. You’re alone right now, so it’s better to keep in touch at all times.” She didn’t want her boss to be all by herself, and she worried that she might wake up one day to the dreadful news of her boss’s passing.

Compared to other capitalists, Yin Bai was already considered quite conscientious. Not only did she allow Jin Xiangyu to showcase her talents, but she also provided a salary twice the market rate. If she could, Jin Xiangyu would happily work for this kind of wealthy person for her entire life!

Yin Bai paused for a moment and then softly hummed in agreement. After thinking for a moment, she said to Jin Xiangyu, “I’ll stay connected, don’t worry.”

After ending the call, Yin Bai continued to apply the cold compress for a while. When her eyes felt a bit better, she went upstairs to her study, opened her laptop, and began reviewing the emails from the past few weeks.

The emails marked in red by Jin Xiangyu contained projects worth investing in for the next quarter. Yin Bai took a quick glance, conducted some data comparisons, and then entrusted them to Jin Xiangyu with confidence.

After reviewing the main emails, Yin Bai finally opened some less critical minor projects.

These incoming project proposals were quite interesting, ranging from initiatives like “Stray Animal Shelter” written by college students to projects related to “Transgender Restrooms,” and more.

Although it was evident that they were testing the waters, trying to see if they could secure an investment, Yin Bai still picked out two projects for Jin Xiangyu to further explore. For example, the “Stray Animal Shelter” project, even though she wasn’t fond of cats and dogs, she thought it might be worth considering.

Apart from these peculiar projects, Yin Bai’s inbox was filled with more scripts and the like.

During the years when Yin Bai and Xiao Nian were together, they invested in numerous film projects in the entertainment industry. Some were profitable, some weren’t, and all in all, they had dozens of them. While they cast a wide net, they still made a decent sum, further solidifying her reputation as the “spendthrift.”

So, almost every day, there were aspiring directors and writers reaching out to her, sharing their dreams of making it in the film industry, recounting their creative journeys, and detailing their transparent careers, hoping that Yin Bai would generously support them financially to achieve their dreams.

Whenever Yin Bai saw their heartfelt pleas for funding and considered reaching into her pocket, she’d open their scripts or project proposals and, well… she’d usually change her mind.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to give money; it was just that even though she might be somewhat naive and wealthy, she wasn’t inclined to be so extravagant. She wished these aspiring creators with dreams of filmmaking would put more sincerity into their scripts, making them more inspiring and captivating, just like their heartfelt pleas!

After spending an afternoon reading terrible scripts, Yin Bai felt her eyes hurting even more.

She rested her cheek on her hand and held the mouse in the other, idly clicking on another project.

This project proposal was quite well-prepared, lacking the lengthy narratives about how challenging it had been to pursue a filmmaking dream in the entertainment industry. Instead, it was a standard project proposal.

The list of key personnel, project plans, and so on…

Yin Bai skipped past those details and jumped to the scripts in the later part.

As she read on, she found herself becoming somewhat fascinated by the story.

The story had a simple title, 《Madam》, and it was set in the late Qing Dynasty. The female protagonist was the legitimate daughter of a prominent late Qing Dynasty minister. During a time when the new cultural movement was challenging the decayed traditional culture, this girl, who had long been promised in an arranged marriage, went to Japan for her studies with her mother’s support. Upon her return, influenced by the cultural climate of the era, she could only secure a position as a private tutor for a noblewoman…

After reading the entire plot synopsis and carefully reviewing the script, Yin Bai suddenly found herself intrigued. Works that showcased female empowerment, not only in the domestic film and television market but also on an international scale, were relatively scarce. If polished well, this could become a great piece.

Yin Bai bit her lip, scrolled back to the front of the project proposal, and took another look at the list of key personnel. Suddenly, she froze.

— Director: Zuo Jingyou

— Screenwriter: Zuo Jingyou

Wait, Zuo Jingyou?

That Zuo Jingyou who witnessed so many embarrassing moments of her? Yin Bai was momentarily stunned. She couldn’t help but think, It can’t be, can it? It can’t be this coincidental, can it?

She knew that in the past year, Zuo Jingyou had gone to a film school to study directing. So, was this really Zuo Jingyou’s self-written and self-directed debut work?

Yin Bai furrowed her brow, thinking, If it’s really Zuo Jingyou, there’s no need to seek investment from me in this manner, right? Could it be that her husband’s family has faced financial difficulties?

The author has something to say:

Oh yes, indeed, it’s her, Ms. Yin!