After Being Scummed – Chapter 3

Oh dear, the strange neighbor auntie is very fierce

Seeing Zuo Jingyou, Yin Bai couldn’t help but think of Xiao Nian.

Speaking of it, it was also at the Thorny Flower Awards ceremony 6 years ago when Xiao Nian and Zuo Jingyou were both nominated for Best Actress. However, in that battle, Xiao Nian narrowly lost.

At the tender age of 24, Zuo Jingyou, after winning the major award, accepted director He Zhiwen’s proposal and entered the realm of marriage.

He Zhiwen, several years older than Zuo Jingyou, is said to have been childhood friends with her. 6 years ago, when He Zhiwen publicly declared Zuo Jingyou as “my muse” to numerous media outlets, he was as proud as Lu Qing just a few days ago.

After winning the award, announcing one’s life partner became a trend, thanks in part to He Zhiwen.

On the day Zuo Jingyou was proposed to, Yin Bai was also present. However, at that time, she didn’t have the opportunity to watch the stage. Instead, she held Xiao Nian’s hand and awkwardly comforted her, “It’s okay, we’ll have another chance.”

Xiao Nian looked at her, her expression even more relaxed than Yin Bai’s, “Yeah, there will be another chance. It’s just that this time, I didn’t win the award and disappointed you.”

At that time, Yin Bai was somewhat reserved and quiet. In her heart, she was thinking something like, “No, you didn’t disappoint me; you’re the best in my heart.” But all that came out was a somewhat awkward, “Yeah.”

Thinking about this, Yin Bai wished she could go back in time, grab her own collar, and shake herself vigorously, to see just how much nonsense was in her head when she was young.

“Why don’t you praise her, praise her!”

She couldn’t even manage a single stingy word of praise or admiration, choosing wrong once and then repeatedly, it’s no wonder she ended up being dumped.

Looking back now, she could regret every single thing she did to Xiao Nian back then until her head hurt.

Yin Bai took a deep breath, trying to shake off these heart-wrenching memories, and refocused her attention on Zuo Jingyou.

Zuo Jingyou’s husband, He Zhiwen, is the second son of the Laida Group. He’s a person with some artistic talent, having directed several art films and won awards. In the industry, he’s considered a well-known young director.

More importantly, as the second son of the Laida Group, he’s wealthy, very wealthy.

The Laida Group is in the real estate business. In Yin Bai’s heart, those involved in real estate dealings were essentially “capitalists” who profited from the sweat and toil of the common people. She looked down on them a bit deep down, so her interactions with the He family were relatively rare.

The He family was so wealthy that, thanks to He Zhiwen’s entry into the film industry, they even established a film company. Although their influence couldn’t match Yin Bai’s, they had more than enough resources for Zuo Jingyou’s film projects. With such a powerful backing, Zuo Jingyou had no need to approach her for investments.

Could it be that the real estate industry had become a bubble economy, and the He family’s stock prices had plummeted, leading to bankruptcy?

It shouldn’t be the case. If that had happened, she would have heard rumors long ago and instructed Jin Xiangyu to make a ruthless move to acquire the He family.

Yin Bai couldn’t resist her morbid curiosity, so she opened her browser and entered a search query: “He Zhiwen’s family bankrupt!”

The search results didn’t yield any information about bankruptcy, but they did uncover a trending topic that had just erupted: Lin Xiaoyou’s rumored affair.

Yin Bai was left utterly puzzled.

She knew Lin Xiaoyou, a male actor who had just debuted a few years ago and had previously worked with Xiao Nian.

Why was Lin Xiaoyou’s rumored affair partner connected to Zuo Jingyou’s husband, He Zhiwen? What was going on with this browser, making such bizarre associations? No wonder this internet company was plummeting in value day by day!

However, soon Yin Bai realized that there was indeed a connection between the two. It appeared that Lin Xiaoyou’s rumored affair partner was none other than He Zhiwen, the award-winning young director who was Zuo Jingyou’s husband.

Yin Bai suddenly felt a twinge of toothache.

She had personally seen both Zuo Jingyou and Lin Xiaoyou. Even though she had her reservations about Zuo Jingyou, she had to admit that, whether in terms of looks or temperament, Zuo Jingyou outshone Lin Xiaoyou by a large margin.

So, was He Zhiwen blind? He had married such a stunning woman, and yet he was getting involved in extramarital affairs. It’s worth noting that Yin Bai had been with Xiao Nian for 7 years, and despite numerous advances from other admirers, she had remained unfazed!

Indeed, men were all the same! Blind, ugh!

Feeling a bit bored, Yin Bai, with a voyeuristic mindset, opened Weibo and clicked on the trending topic. In the trending topic, there were countless pictures of Lin Xiaoyou and another man, engaging in ambiguous and intimate behavior in front of hotels, inside cars, and in public places – holding hands, hugging, embracing, and cuddling.

It was probably due to the influence of the He family that in the group of photos, He Zhiwen’s face was always blurred, either in profile or with his back turned, and so on.

Yin Bai clicked on the pictures and examined them carefully. She noticed one that was taken over three months ago, at the location of the private banquet she had attended with Xiao Nian.

She remembered that at that private banquet, Zuo Jingyou hadn’t appeared with He Zhiwen. However, in this photo, it showed He Zhiwen and Lin Xiaoyou getting out of a chauffeur-driven car, hand in hand, discreetly entering the venue.

Looking at the sweet profiles of the two in the photo, it was evident that these two treacherous men were deeply in love.

Yin Bai let out a soft sigh and couldn’t help but recall that night when she was dumped by Xiao Nian, lying on the ground in a daze, and how Zuo Jingyou had extended a helping hand to her.

That was her first private encounter with Zuo Jingyou, and in such an awkward situation, Zuo Jingyou had shown remarkable tolerance and composure.

Yin Bai remembered the handkerchief that Zuo Jingyou had handed to her, and for a brief moment, she felt a twinge of sympathy toward Zuo Jingyou.

So, during that time, did Zuo Jingyou know if her partner had already strayed? Did she know, or was she unaware?

If Zuo Jingyou did know, and she saw Yin Bai being dumped by Xiao Nian, did she extend a helping hand with the mindset of two souls facing similar hardships?

As this thought crossed her mind, it seemed to alleviate the embarrassment in Yin Bai’s heart that had arisen from two encounters where Zuo Jingyou had caught her in awkward situations.

She gripped the mouse and scrolled down the page, only to stumble upon a comparison the marketing account had made between Lu Qing’s proposal to Xiao Nian and He Zhiwen’s proposal to Zuo Jingyou.

In the end, they even brought up suspicions of He Zhiwen having an extramarital affair, saying they hoped that Lu Qing and Xiao Nian’s same-sex marriage was based on true love and could last forever with a sardonic tone.

When Yin Bai saw the words “same-sex marriage,” she was nearly infuriated!

What on earth was this “same-sex marriage” nonsense! Xiao Nian and Lu Qing hadn’t even gotten married yet; they might even break up. Where did “same-sex marriage” come from?

Yin Bai felt incredibly frustrated, and her curiosity about the gossip vanished. She decided to close the Weibo page and focus her attention on the script instead.

Perhaps that’s just how people are. Once someone you might have had conflicts with experiences something similarly unfortunate, due to empathy, your negative emotions towards them can weaken considerably.

At this moment, as Yin Bai looked at Zuo Jingyou’s name, she suspected that Zuo Jingyou already knew about her husband’s affair; otherwise, she wouldn’t have come to her for investment.

Thinking about this, Yin Bai couldn’t help but sigh.

Due to her years of monitoring various aspects of Xiao Nian’s life, Yin Bai had some understanding of her old rival, Zuo Jingyou. If Xiao Nian was hailed as the earthly beauty due to her overly captivating appearance, then in the hearts of many cinephiles, Zuo Jingyou was the moonlight, the water fairy, the elf, the epitome of earthly beauty, and even an immaculate angel.

You see, even someone with so many accolades like Zuo Jingyou can have her husband stray. It goes to show that being good enough doesn’t guarantee you true love.

As Yin Bai pondered, she couldn’t help but think that Zuo Jingyou might be considered a member of her “Heartbroken Alliance” now.

She thought about Zuo Jingyou’s handkerchief and those two sentences that had caught her attention, “I didn’t see anything.” At this moment, those words felt like a comforting understanding.

Yin Bai thought for a moment and replied to the email. She decided to invest in the film, but the specific amount of investment would have to wait until Jin Xiangyu went through the process and provided an assessment plan.

After dealing with all the emails, the private doctor that Jin Xiangyu had arranged for her also arrived at the villa.

The female doctor examined Yin Bai’s eyes, prescribed eye drops for her, and advised her to rest more before leaving. After the doctor left, Yin Bai crawled into her bed and slept soundly through the night.

When she woke up again, the morning light had already seeped through the curtains.

Yin Bai nestled under the covers, squinting at the sunlight filtering in. She felt that her recently rested eyes were even more sore.

With something weighing on her mind, she hadn’t slept very soundly that night. Despite her body still feeling tired, Yin Bai turned over, pulled the air-conditioned blanket over her head, and tried to go back to sleep.

However, after lying in bed for a while, Yin Bai always felt that the sunlight behind her was like a shadow, disturbing her peace. She resisted for a while, but couldn’t hold back any longer. She lifted the covers, got out of bed, and eventually headed to the bathroom to freshen up.

After calling for breakfast to be delivered, Yin Bai idled away some time, brewed a pot of black tea, grabbed a small cake, and a book before heading to the backyard’s wisteria arbor to read.

It was late April, and the well-pruned roses of various colors in the garden were in full bloom. Yin Bai sat on the wisteria arbor, flipping through a collection of poems in her hand, trying her best not to dwell on Xiao Nian’s situation, relishing the rare moment of tranquility.

However, this tranquility didn’t last long and was soon shattered by the playful voices of the neighboring children.

Today was the weekend, and the weather was exceptionally good. It seemed that the grandchildren of the elderly professor next door had come to visit. On a sunny weekend, the two children were playing ball in the backyard, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Separated by a wall, the joyful voices of the children reached her, “Pass it to me, pass it to me, throw the ball higher!”

“Ah, I can catch it!”

Listening to the children’s innocent voices, Yin Bai felt as if a group of ducks were quacking loudly in her ears, giving her a pounding headache. In her heart, children were one of the most headache-inducing creatures, if not the top one.

She lowered her head and glanced at the line of text in the poetry collection: “Starting tomorrow, I will be a happy person. Feeding horses, chopping wood, and traveling the world. Starting tomorrow, I will care about food and vegetables. I have a house facing the sea, where spring blossoms warmly.”

Alright, she decided that tomorrow she would fly to her small island abroad to spend a child-free weekend.

Yin Bai took a deep breath, closed her book, and leaned on her cane as she hobbled back towards the villa.

However, just as she had walked a short distance from the wisteria arbor, a white feathered shuttlecock suddenly flew over the two-meter-high wall and came straight in her direction.

With her keen ears, Yin Bai heard the sound of the wind behind her. Subconsciously, she leaned to the side to dodge, and as a result, she happened to use the back of her head to intercept the shuttlecock.

The shuttlecock was deflected for a moment and then bounced back, landing not far behind Yin Bai.

Yin Bai took a hit and felt some pain at the back of her head. She turned with her cane in hand, looking at the shuttlecock lying on the ground, squinting slightly.

What on earth was this, a lethal shuttlecock?

She walked over with her cane, bent down, and picked up the shuttlecock from the ground. Just then, two young voices reached Yin Bai’s ears through the wall, “Oh dear, Tong Tong, the ball flew over. What should we do?”

A little girl sounded very anxious, saying, “The auntie next door is really weird. The last time my little airplane flew over there, and when I went to ask for it back, she looked at me angrily.”

Yin Bai’s hand, holding the shuttlecock, stiffened. An auntie? Acting weird? What kind of weird auntie? She clearly was a little fairy!

Yin Bai clutched the shuttlecock and made up her mind. If those little brats came over to her and didn’t speak nicely, she definitely wouldn’t return it!

Just then, another girl spoke softly, “Sister Wen Wen, is she really mean? It’s okay, I have a way.”

Listening to the girls’ soft conversation, Yin Bai held the shuttlecock and let out a cold snort. She was curious to hear what kind of solution those kids across the wall had in mind.

So, Yin Bai leaned on her cane and walked back to the wisteria arbor, openly eavesdropping on the children’s conversation.

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