After Being Scummed – Chapter 48

Zuo Jingyou, my tooth hurts!

When Yin Bai mentioned a toothache, Zhang Yu immediately made an appointment with a familiar dentist without hesitation.

After arriving at the clinic and consulting the dentist, the dentist gave Yin Bai the most reasonable advice: “This is a chronic problem for you. Your wisdom teeth are impacted and need to be extracted.”

Upon hearing the word “extraction,” Yin Bai was frightened and covered her aching left cheek, shaking her head vigorously, saying, “No extraction, no extraction! Just give me some anti-inflammatory medication!”

Two years ago, when Xiao Nian broke up with her, she couldn’t bear it and impulsively went to the hospital to have her right wisdom tooth extracted. Even though the pain made her regret ever being angry with Xiao Nian, it was almost like a fate worse than death.

Now, they want her to have another tooth extracted when she is perfectly fine? She won’t suffer through that ordeal again!

The doctor, seeing her reluctance to seek treatment for her ailment, earnestly advised, “This is only treating the symptoms, sooner or later, it will still hurt. Miss Yin, why don’t you just have the tooth extracted? Extracting a tooth isn’t that painful!”

The doctor, with a wealth of experience, certainly wouldn’t subject the patient to the kind of suffering a rookie doctor might.

But, no matter how much the doctor tried to persuade her, Yin Bai, who had already endured the ordeal once, remained unmoved. The doctor, feeling helpless, eventually prescribed some medicine and watched as Yin Bai left in distress, not knowing what to do.

However, this time, the pain was really too severe. Yin Bai continued to suffer for several days, and even anti-inflammatory medication was of little help. Her dental problems made her mood even worse, and she would frequently act capricious, demanding this and that. Zhang Yu, following her instructions, bought a bunch of picture books to take home for her.

Yin Bai, in pain from her toothache, had little energy, and she was quickly discovered by her two little companions. On the weekend, Tong Tong and Wen Wen practiced spoken French with Yin Bai, and they noticed Yin Bai always had her hand on her face, looking very uncomfortable. They asked her what was wrong.

Yin Bai furrowed her brows and looked at her little companions, who were feeling helpless, and said, “My tooth hurts…”

The children were genuinely surprised that their older friend had such troubles. They quickly ran over with their little legs and comforted her by patting her head, saying, “Then we won’t study today. Let’s eat something delicious!”

Yin Bai turned her head and looked at Wen Wen, who had said this seriously, and said very unhappily, “I can’t eat delicious things. My teeth are bad, and they hurt a lot!”

Wen Wen extended her fingertip, touched her own chin, and tilted her head as she thought, “But eating delicious things will make you feel better. When you’re in a good mood, you won’t think about your toothache anymore!”

But forget it, eating delicious things would only make her toothache worse.

Yin Bai didn’t say anything, she just let out a deep sigh. Tong Tong, looking at her older friend’s distressed expression, thought for a moment, patted her on the shoulder, and said, “Fairy Sister, I’ve had a toothache before, and I’ve even lost a tooth. My mom said my teeth were bad and needed to be replaced. Right now, all you need to do is have the tooth pulled!”

“The dentist can pull the tooth out quickly, with a ‘whoosh,’ it’s gone. Once you get rid of the bad tooth, you can eat delicious things!”

Yin Bai turned to look at Tong Tong, and seeing how earnest she was, hesitated a bit and asked, “Really?”

Tong Tong patted her chest and said with great conviction, “Really! After it’s pulled, it won’t hurt anymore!”

Tong Tong opened her mouth wide, pointed to a missing upper tooth and said, somewhat unclearly, “I used to have a loose tooth like this one before, couldn’t eat anything properly, and it hurt. But after I had the tooth pulled, everything tasted so good!”

Wen Wen, who was standing nearby, straightened her posture and confidently added, “Tong Tong is right; you need to pull out the bad tooth! After it’s extracted, you can eat lots of delicious things!”

Yin Bai turned to Wen Wen and blinked her big eyes, asking, “You’re not lying, right? Is it really true?”

Wen Wen looked at her seriously, her big, bright eyes, and said, “I’m a good kid who doesn’t lie. I wouldn’t lie to my friend!”

Alright!

Yin Bai turned to Tong Tong, her expression hesitant, and asked, “Should I go and have the tooth pulled?”

Tong Tong nodded vigorously and said, “Yes! Fairy Sister, you should go!” The little child, in an attempt to comfort her older friend, added with a smile, “And I’ll share a little secret with you~ My mom said that when you pull out a tooth, something good happens.”

“So, Fairy Sister, something good is bound to happen after you have your tooth pulled!”

Encouraged by her young friends, Yin Bai, who couldn’t bear the pain any longer, eventually chose the lesser of two evils. On Monday, she made an appointment with the dentist and had both her upper and lower left wisdom teeth removed.

Although her teeth were severely misaligned, the entire tooth extraction procedure went very smoothly due to the dentist’s exceptional skill. After having the teeth pulled, Yin Bai, who had waited for more than thirty minutes, reluctantly removed the cotton balls from her mouth and got into Zhang Yu’s car to go home.

Haicheng is a quite hot city, and even in late October, the hot and dry “autumn tiger” still danced boldly in this city.

On the way home, Yin Bai leaned against the car window, gazing outside where the bright sun shone, presenting a beautiful autumn scene. She felt a chill in her heart.

The effects of the anesthesia gradually wore off, and the pain surged intensely from the incision site, causing her mouth to produce a significant amount of fluids. Yin Bai wanted to swallow the oral fluids, but the numbing effect of the medication made the swallowing motion extremely difficult.

It’s so uncomfortable… so uncomfortable…

The pain began in her mouth but seemed to flow down her throat into her stomach and then radiated to her heart, affecting every part of her body with this sense of pain and discomfort.

Yin Bai leaned by the window, looking at the scenery outside, forcing herself to divert her attention amidst the pain, thinking about what Zuo Jingyou was doing at this very moment.

Is she having an interview today, or did she fly to another city for a press conference? Or is she participating in a variety show recording?

How’s the weather over there? Is it also sunny, or is there already a hint of winter in the air? It’s almost eleven o’clock, right? Is she getting ready to have lunch…

Countless thoughts raced through Yin Bai’s mind. Amidst the intensifying pain, one thought stood out strongly in her mind: I really want to see Zuo Jingyou… I really want to talk to her…

At this moment, Yin Bai realized the extent of her dependence on Zuo Jingyou.

Is there anyone else in this world, apart from love, whom she can trust to this extent?

Zuo Jingyou is indeed a friend she can trust.

With these thoughts in mind, after returning home, Yin Bai reached for her phone from Zhang Yu and silently took the elevator up to her floor, using her cane for support.

On her way to her room, Yin Bai repeatedly opened Zuo Jingyou’s WeChat but hesitated about whether to bring up the topic of having her tooth pulled and perhaps pitifully complain about it.

But every time she thought about how Zuo Jingyou was going to spend a month with someone else next month and had turned down her invitation, Yin Bai became too angry to discuss this matter with her.

She was angry, jealous, but at the same time, she missed her terribly!

Yin Bai’s mind wrestled with conflicting thoughts for quite some time. When she changed into her pajamas and lay in bed, enduring the pain like a lifeless body, she couldn’t resist picking up her phone. She curled her body in discomfort and sent a message to Zuo Jingyou, “Zuo Jingyou, I went to have my teeth pulled, and it hurts.”

Her tone was filled with a sense of helplessness, like an immature child seeking the sympathy of an adult.

She waited and waited, but after a while, she didn’t receive a response from Zuo Jingyou via text message. Instead, she received a video call from Zuo Jingyou.

As soon as Yin Bai saw Zuo Jingyou’s video call, she was startled and quickly ended the call. After all, she had just had her tooth extracted, her face was slightly swollen, and she couldn’t speak clearly. Moreover, she was drooling, and the whole situation was far from elegant. She didn’t want to have a video call with Zuo Jingyou in this state!

Yin Bai was afraid that Zuo Jingyou might call again, so she quickly replied to Zuo Jingyou with her phone in hand, saying, “I can’t talk right now, please send me a message.”

Zuo Jingyou’s message came in quickly: “Is it still hurting? Have you had lunch? Did you take the pain medication?”

The tone seemed very anxious, and the concern was evident.

Yin Bai’s mood improved slightly, and she replied with her phone in hand, “No… I can’t take medication yet…”

Zuo Jingyou was very worried and continued to ask, “Have you had ice cream? I heard that eating ice cream can help with the wound.”

Yin Bai said in a pitiful tone, “I can’t eat, I’m in so much pain.”

“What can we do about this?” Zuo Jingyou felt very disheartened and asked with concern, “Is there anything I can do for you, Yin Bai?”

Upon seeing this message, Yin Bai’s mood improved greatly, and she quickly replied to Zuo Jingyou, saying, “Are you busy right now? If not, can you talk with me?”

Zuo Jingyou quickly explained, “I’m on my way to the airport. I’ll have lunch at the airport in a while. I can chat with you for a bit.”

Yin Bai asked, “What time is your flight?”

Zuo Jingyou replied promptly, “My flight is at 2:30.”

Yin Bai calculated and realized that Zuo Jingyou still had three hours to chat with her. She happily said, “I’ll give you a WeChat call, and you can talk, while I chat with you through WeChat.”

Zuo Jingyou replied with just one word: “Okay.”

Seeing this response, Yin Bai immediately initiated a video call with Zuo Jingyou. The call was quickly answered, and Yin Bai opened the video extension. Zuo Jingyou’s voice came from her spacious room, “Yin Bai, what would you like to talk about?”

Her voice was very pleasant, clear and cool, like the gentle flow of a stream. For a brief moment, Yin Bai felt that her oversized room was suddenly filled by Zuo Jingyou.

Yin Bai pursed her lips, wanting to laugh but afraid to strain her wound. She couldn’t manage to smile, so she replied to Zuo Jingyou with her phone, saying, “You can talk about anything. I’m feeling a bit sleepy.”

She felt so much pain, and she thought that a nap might help alleviate it.

Zuo Jingyou chuckled softly, “Okay, would you like me to read to you?”

Yin Bai replied, “Read what?”

Zuo Jingyou leaned against the car window and had her assistant pass over another spare phone. She began searching for Shakespeare on that phone and gently said to Yin Bai, “How about Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’?”

Yin Bai was very familiar with Shakespeare’s famous play and didn’t have any objections. She happily replied, “Okay.”

LP: Extracting a wisdom tooth because of a breakup?!