After Being Scummed – Chapter 84

Rice-eating people have a rice-eating spirit!

Zuo Jingyou sat quietly on the side and comforted Xiao Nian for a while before tentatively asking, “Teacher Xiao, are we still shooting today?”

She felt that Xiao Nian wasn’t in a good state, a bit suppressed, and might need to go out with her loved one alone for a while to relax properly.

Xiao Nian took the tissue, wiped away her tears, and looked at Zuo Jingyou with red eyes, saying, “We can continue shooting. I won’t delay the work. Thank you, Teacher Zuo.”

Zuo Jingyou didn’t know if she was referring to comforting her or to her situation with Yin Bai. But regardless of which one it was, Zuo Jingyou accepted it calmly.

She smiled gently and confidently said, “You’re welcome.”

Xiao Nian finally adjusted her state and, in a decisive manner, embraced her past self, achieving reconciliation within herself.

Her explosive performance in the play infected Zuo Jingyou, and the two of them, in a state of utmost perfection, completed this tragic yet healing redemption.

Tomorrow will come after all, as long as you give me a hug.

Xu Shishi, standing behind the camera, walked towards Zuo Jingyou and Xiao Nian by the bed after calling “CUT.” She clasped her hands together, looking at the two who still bore traces of disorder, and tearfully said, “Thank you… thank you, both of you…”

“I feel that I have accomplished the essence of this film… and it’s all thanks to you for making it shine.”

Xiao Nian, with tears in her eyes, looked up at Xu Shishi and forced a smile. When she lowered her gaze, a series of tears fell like pearls.

Zuo Jingyou, by her side, observed the relief that followed her outpouring of sadness. A faint smile curved at the corner of her mouth as she reached out and handed a tissue to Xiao Nian, saying, “Wipe your tears.”

Xiao Nian wiped her tears and kept saying thank you.

Zuo Jingyou looked at her with a gentle smile. Their assistants approached and helped them get dressed. When everything was in order, Yin Bai, who had been waiting outside for a long time in a wheelchair, was pushed in by the staff while holding a bouquet of flowers.

Zhang Yu stood beside her, holding a bunch of miscellaneous ribbon tubes. With a snap, she opened them, and a shower of ribbons scattered towards Zuo Jingyou in the crowd.

Zuo Jingyou raised her gaze and saw Yin Bai approaching in a wheelchair, holding flowers. Her eyes were filled with tenderness. “Teacher Zuo, happy birthday!”

As she began, all the staff members, including Xiao Nian, held a ribbon tube and simultaneously opened them, enthusiastically shouting, “Teacher Zuo, happy birthday!” amidst the cheerful popping sound.

Zuo Jingyou was covered in ribbons, but she showed no signs of annoyance. With her hands clasped together, her eyes filled with a gentle smile, she said, “Thank you… thank you, everyone…”

Yin Bai made her way through the crowd and stood in front of Zuo Jingyou, presenting the bouquet of flowers to her. “Flowers for Teacher Zuo. This afternoon, we will celebrate Teacher Zuo’s birthday together.”

Xu Shishi quickly added, “That’s a wrap! That’s a wrap! Tonight, we’ll go out and celebrate, a birthday celebration for Teacher Zuo!”

Everyone happily exclaimed “Okay” and Zuo Jingyou said “Thank you” again. She turned her head and looked at Xiao Nian, stating, “Teacher Xiao Nian, you should come too.”

It’s not a question, but a statement.

Xiao Nian didn’t hesitate and immediately agreed.

That night, a lively group of people celebrated Zuo Jingyou’s birthday. In the midst of the cheerful crowd, Zuo Jingyou took a group photo, and in the photo, there was the silhouette of Yin Bai eating cake.

When Zuo Jingyou posted this photo on Weibo, she also tagged Xiao Nian. Sharp-eyed netizens became excited when they noticed Yin Bai’s silhouette in the photo.

Oh wow, it’s really like Zhao Min and Zhou Zhiruo, such a grand and exciting scene.

In the following month, Yin Bai accompanied Zuo Jingyou on the set of 《Give Me a Hug》 until the completion of filming. After wrapping up, 《Dawa》 was also ready for release, and Yin Bai started traveling around for promotional events with Zuo Jingyou, covering different regions.

Since their relationship became public, Yin Bai often tagged along with Zuo Jingyou, displaying an affectionate and doting girlfriend image. They generously shared sweet moments, driving their fans crazy. When they encountered fans at the airport, the bolder ones would greet Yin Bai, and she would nod in acknowledgment.

She seemed aloof but was also easy to talk to. When Zuo Jingyou took photos with fans, Yin Bai and Zhang Yu would assist by holding things on the side, appearing as Zuo Jingyou’s other assistant.

Sometimes, fans would come late at night, and Yin Bai and Zuo Jingyou would buy snacks and drinks to send them off. As this happened multiple times, Zuo Jingyou’s fans felt that Yin Bai was a thousand times more considerate than the previous assistant, Lao He.

And so, Yin Bai went from being a respectable Director Yin to being called “Xiao Bai” (Little Bai).

The script for 《Dawa》 was based on a real-life prototype, and this fact was naturally revealed during its release. At the beginning, the film relied on Zuo Jingyou’s box office appeal and managed to secure a good share of the National Day box office.

However, Zuo Jingyou’s story was so well-crafted, and the film was shot in Xu Ruofeng’s signature “mockumentary” style¹, making people feel like they were witnessing the story unfolding right before their eyes.

Through Dawa’s narration, the film told the story of her entire life. In the end, Dawa transformed into an eagle in the raging fire, forever soaring in the sky above the grasslands.

The film was exceptionally well-made, and as a result, the initial audience who watched it gave it very favorable reviews. Although due to the inherent tragedy of the story, it couldn’t achieve the same box office success as popcorn movies, it still garnered quite impressive results.

Throughout the entire duration of the film’s release, neither Xu Ruofeng nor Zuo Jingyou’s team used the real story of 《Dawa》 for promotion.

It was only after the film was taken off screens that Xu Ruofeng wrote a lengthy article detailing the true life of a woman named “Dawa” and published it.

This story caused a wave of uproar online, leading to discussions on domestic violence and sexual violence. Various parties became involved, ringing the alarm bells for the unfortunate life of Dawa.

Taking advantage of the public discourse, Zuo Jingyou and Xu Ruofeng traveled together in the Tibetan region and, along with Yin Bai, established the “Dawa Foundation” to help children who have dropped out of school and those who have experienced domestic violence.

In that year, Zuo Jingyou did many meaningful things.

In the blink of an eye, it was the end of the year again. This year, Zuo Jingyou was invited to appear on the Spring Festival Gala, so she couldn’t go home and have the reunion dinner with her family on New Year’s Eve. Sun Mingrui, who usually spent most of his time in the laboratory, had to return home two days in advance. He had dinner on New Year’s Eve with Professor Sun, Yin Bai, and their two children.

Since their relationship became public, the adults in the family knew about Yin Bai and Zuo Jingyou’s relationship. Professor Sun and Sun Mingrui were not narrow-minded people, so when they learned about their relationship, they didn’t have much to say and naturally accepted Yin Bai as part of the family.

Since Zuo Jingyou wasn’t at home, Sun Mingrui was the only one who knew how to cook. Yin Bai thoughtfully suggested that they could have the reunion dinner at a hotel.

However, Sun Mingrui, with the stubbornness typical of traditional parents, insisted that the reunion dinner should be cooked at home to be more fragrant. So he decided to cook by himself.

Although everyone was worried about Sun Mingrui’s cooking skills, they also knew that they couldn’t dampen the confidence of a good parent, so reluctantly, they agreed.

In the blink of an eye, it was the end of the year again. This year, Zuo Jingyou was invited to appear on the Spring Festival Gala, so she couldn’t go home and have the reunion dinner with her family on New Year’s Eve. Sun Mingrui, who usually spent most of her time in the laboratory, had to return home two days in advance. She had dinner on New Year’s Eve with Professor Sun, Yin Bai, and their two children.

Since their relationship became public, the adults in the family knew about Yin Bai and Zuo Jingyou’s relationship. Professor Sun and Sun Mingrui were not narrow-minded people, so when they learned about their relationship, they didn’t have much to say and naturally accepted Yin Bai as part of the family.

Since Zuo Jingyou wasn’t at home, Sun Mingrui was the only one who knew how to cook. Yin Bai thoughtfully suggested that they could have the reunion dinner at a hotel.

However, Sun Mingrui, with the stubbornness typical of traditional parents, insisted that the reunion dinner should be cooked at home to be more fragrant. So she decided to cook by herself.

Although everyone was worried about Sun Mingrui’s cooking skills, they also knew that they couldn’t dampen the confidence of a good parent, so reluctantly, they agreed.

Therefore, on the morning of New Year’s Eve, after Yin Bai dressed neatly, she went to the neighboring house with her little companions, leaning on her cane.

As it was New Year’s Day, the children and Professor Sun woke up early, playing with LEGO in the living room while waiting for breakfast.

During the wait for breakfast, the goods Yin Bai had previously ordered started to arrive one after another. Since they were ordered in Sun Mingrui’s name, Yin Bai stood at the door the whole morning, acting like an announcer, calling out for Sun Mingrui to come and move things:

“Miss Sun, there’s a delivery for you to sign for…”

“Miss Sun, the seafood delivery has arrived…”

“Miss Sun, the vase I just bought… please come and sign for it quickly…”

Miss Sun, Miss Sun… It sounds so polite.

After signing for another gift, Sun Mingrui turned her head and looked at Yin Bai, curious as she asked, “Didn’t Xiaoyou (Zuo Jingyou) tell you how you should address me?”

Yin Bai blinked her eyes, looking quite bewildered, and replied, “She did tell me, that’s why I call you Miss Sun.”

Sun Mingrui sighed, thinking to herself that she thought she was particularly inept at dealing with interpersonal relationships, but it turned out that Yin Bai was even worse.

So naive and easily fooled, yet blessed with such a beautiful appearance. No wonder her younger sister likes her to the point of obsession.

After all, Sun Mingrui’s previous act of stepping forward to protect Yin Bai and getting injured in the process had worried her for quite a while.

Sun Mingrui raised the pen in her hand and tapped Yin Bai’s forehead, saying, “I am Xiaoyou’s older sister, you should call me Big Sister, Sister-in-law!”

Yin Bai raised her hand to cover her forehead and muttered, “It can’t be counted that way. Although I am in a relationship with Zuo Jingyou, we each have our own individual roles.”

“She calls you sister, I call you Miss Sun. Isn’t that appropriate?”

Otherwise, how would she interact with the other two companions? Does it mean that if she is in a relationship with Zuo Jingyou, Tongtong would have to call her “Mom”?

This is absolutely unacceptable.

She’s coming up with all sorts of twisted reasoning.

Sun Mingrui picked up the pen again and tapped Yin Bai’s forehead, saying, “Call me Big Sister.”

As they say, wealth cannot be indulged in, poverty cannot be shifted, and might cannot be bent! Yin Bai hesitated for a while and obediently said, “Okay, Big Sister Sun.”

This term of address was not pleasing, but Sun Mingrui still accepted it.

She sighed and looked at Yin Bai, saying, “Don’t call me so formally. We’re all family, got it?”

“Oh, okay.” Yin Bai tugged at the corner of her mouth, forcing a smile, and said, “Then, Big Sister, please go and make breakfast quickly. Professor Sun, Tongtong, and Wenwen are all very hungry!”

This whole family was relying on Big Sister to cook and save the day!

Sun Mingrui rubbed her temples, somewhat helpless, and said, “If you didn’t buy so many things, I would have finished cooking breakfast by now.”

“Never mind, why don’t you go and play with Tongtong and the others on the sofa? I’ll call you when it’s ready to eat.”

“Okay.”

Dismissed, Yin Bai returned to the sofa, leaning on her cane. Professor Sun, who was building LEGO with the children, heard the sound of her cane approaching and looked up at her, pushing her reading glasses and asking, “Xiaobai, what did you buy again?”

Yin Bai smiled and said, “Just that vase I liked before, it’s a New Year’s gift for you.”

“And we also got new LEGO sets. Tonight, we can build the new one.”

Tongtong, who was leaning over the table lost in thought, looked up and exclaimed with surprise, “Really?”

Yin Bai reached out and ruffled her head, smiling as she said, “Of course it’s true. And it was your mom who promised to buy it. She won’t be able to come home tonight, but we have new LEGO to keep you company!”

Tongtong made an OK gesture and happily continued building LEGO with Professor Sun. At this moment, Wenwen, who was snacking by the table, sighed and said, “Ah, did my mom say when breakfast will be ready?”

“It’s the New Year, and Auntie isn’t home. Can my mom handle it?”

Yin Bai tilted her head and thought for a moment, hesitating as she said, “She should be able to… If your mom really can’t handle it, we can go to a hotel for dinner tonight.”

“Yay!” Wenwen cheered and jumped up!

Yin Bai looked at Professor Sun and smiled as she asked, “What do you think, Professor?”

Professor Sun nodded in agreement, “I agree with your approach. After all, it’s important to have a joyful meal during the New Year.”

With a four-to-one consensus, Yin Bai felt that if breakfast didn’t turn out delicious, they could still have their New Year’s Eve dinner at a hotel!

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1. A mockumentary (a portmanteau of mock and documentary) is one type of film or television show depicting fictional events, but presented as a documentary which in itself is a subset of a faux-documentary style of film-making.