After Being Scummed – Chapter 87

Do you want to get married?

Yin Bai and Zuo Jingyou stayed at the hotel for a day. When Yin Bai recovered almost completely, Zuo Jingyou flew back to Haicheng with her.

Because Zuo Jingyou missed the symbolic New Year’s Eve, everyone decided to have another delicious meal for her, celebrating the Spring Festival on the evening of the first day of the lunar year.

Of course, most of the dishes were made by Zuo Jingyou. While enjoying the delicious food, Sun Mingrui sighed and said, “Ah, indeed, it only feels like a New Year’s Eve dinner when we eat the food made by Xiaoyou…”

Upon hearing this, Yin Bai, fearing that Zuo Jingyou would lose confidence, encouraged her along with the children, saying, “Of course, Big Sister’s cooking is also excellent, and she can graduate successfully!”

Big Sister?

Zuo Jingyou, sitting beside Yin Bai, turned her head to look at her with a subtle expression.

But at this moment, everyone chimed in, comforting Sun Mingrui that she actually did a good job, and if she practiced more, they would entrust her with the New Year’s Eve dinner next year.

Even Zuo Jingyou picked up a piece of food for Sun Mingrui, smiling and comforting her, “Big Sister has been assisting me for so many years, and I have never tasted her cooking. So, Big Sister, you must make me a delicious meal in the future!”

Sun Mingrui glanced at Zuo Jingyou and teasingly remarked, “Why are you also calling me Big Sister now?”

Zuo Jingyou just smiled and remained silent.

After dinner, Zuo Jingyou and her family rewatched yesterday’s Spring Festival Gala. They chatted for a while and put the children to sleep before Zuo Jingyou and Yin Bai returned to her villa.

In fact, ever since Tongtong entered the second grade and became less clingy to Zuo Jingyou, Zuo Jingyou didn’t often stay overnight at home. The neighboring villa belonging to Yin Bai became the place where she frequently stayed.

The two of them returned to Baihe Villa, where they basically had meals at Zuo Jingyou’s house during the day and stayed overnight at Yin Bai’s house in the evening. Although Zuo Jingyou was technically unmarried, she lived as if she were a married young person who had married the neighbor next door.

After freshening up, Yin Bai, who had been exhausted the previous night, embraced Zuo Jingyou and lay lazily on the bed, yawning. Zuo Jingyou leaned against Yin Bai’s chest, listening to her heartbeat. She reached out and poked Yin Bai’s shoulder, asking, “Why did you suddenly call my sister ‘Big Sister’?”

Yin Bai responded with an “Oh” and began to explain to Zuo Jingyou, “Your sister felt like we’re family now. I used to always address her as Miss Sun, Miss Sun, and she thought it felt too distant.”

“So I started calling her Sister Sun!”

Zuo Jingyou chuckled, twisted Yin Bai’s ear playfully, and said with a smile, “Sister, you’re really bold. Isn’t she angry with you?”

Yin Bai replied with a playful smile, “No, she’s not angry. She’s just like you, with a very good temper. She won’t scold naughty kids.”

Who compares themselves like that and says they’re a mischievous child?

Zuo Jingyou playfully flicked Yin Bai’s face with her finger and said, “Mischievous.”

Yin Bai held Zuo Jingyou’s hand, somewhat curious as she asked, “By the way, why does Sister always call you ‘Xiaoyou’? Is that your nickname?”

Zuo Jingyou nodded and said, “Yes, it’s my nickname. My father came up with it. When I was young, I was like a duck on land, and he hoped that I would learn to swim early.”

Yin Bai blinked her eyes and said, “Your father came up with it? But if he wanted you to learn to swim, shouldn’t he have called you ‘Xiaoyu’ (Little Fish)? Like a fish, you would quickly learn.”

“If I were to give you a nickname, I would definitely choose that.”

Zuo Jingyou laughed, sighed, and said, “But, my dear, when I got my nickname, you didn’t even exist.”

“Okay.” Yin Bai bit her lip and sighed. Suddenly, she smiled, pulled Zuo Jingyou’s body closer, and playfully called her, “But it’s not too late now, right~”

“Xiaoyu… Xiaoyu… Xiaoyu…”

With each call, Yin Bai, like a little puppy, playfully nibbled on Zuo Jingyou’s sensitive areas. Zuo Jingyou felt ticklish and shrunk away, trying to suppress her laughter as she said, “Yin Bai… Yin Bai, stop it…”

Yin Bai didn’t listen and continued to call her persistently, “Xiaoyu… My dear Xiaoyu… Hehe…”

Zuo Jingyou couldn’t help but giggle from being tickled. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, she reached out and pushed Yin Bai’s head away from her body, her eyes shimmering with a hint of playfulness as she glanced at her, “Behave, stop teasing.”

Alright, stop making trouble.

Yin Bai pinned her down gently and looked at her tenderly, asking, “If I stop making trouble, can I kiss you?”

Under such clear and pure gaze, Zuo Jingyou, rarely seen, blushed with a touch of girlish shyness. She pursed her lips and nodded softly, “Of course you can.”

Yin Bai leaned in, and a gentle kiss landed.

They spent the night entwined, and when they woke up the next morning, it was already past nine o’clock. When they hurriedly freshened up and went to the neighboring house, Sun Mingrui had already prepared breakfast for the children—ginger shredded chicken congee.

Except for putting in too much ginger, everything was perfect, and everyone praised Sun Mingrui.

Regardless of the family, on the second day of the Lunar New Year, it was inevitable to meet with relatives and friends. Zuo Jingyou had two aunts and an uncle in Haicheng, so after breakfast, the group of people headed to the designated hotel for lunch.

Yin Bai was bored, so she went along as well.

At the dining table, the younger generation sought her and Zuo Jingyou to take photos together and asked for autographs. The older generation, both implicitly and explicitly, talked about how Sun Mingrui was still young and shouldn’t always be preoccupied with work. They suggested that she learn from Jingyou, who had achieved success in her career and found a partner.

After mentioning Sun Mingrui, they began to inquire about Zuo Jingyou. They asked about her plans with Yin Bai, when they were planning to get married, and if they wanted children.

Nowadays, with such advanced technology, can two women also have a child?

Yin Bai had never seen such a situation before, and her fair complexion turned even paler. The environment she grew up in was different from most people’s, and no one explicitly or implicitly indicated that marriage was such an important matter for her.

Yin Bai was so frightened that she couldn’t eat properly at the entire dining table, and she seemed restless on the way back.

Professor Sun, seeing her frightened appearance, comforted her with a gentle expression, “In traditional views, it seems that getting married and having children are necessary for personal fulfillment.”

“But it’s not a necessary condition for everyone’s well-being. So, Xiaobai, you can just ignore what those aunts and uncles said.”

“No need to take it too seriously.”

Yin Bai was still a bit dazed and hesitantly responded with an “Oh,” then turned her gaze to Zuo Jingyou.

She wondered how Zuo Jingyou felt about it. After all, Zuo Jingyou had been married before, so she probably also wanted to get married.

Professor Sun noticed her looking at Zuo Jingyou, and the affection in her eyes became even more apparent. She paused for a moment and kindly said to Yin Bai, “When Xiao You wanted to marry that Xiao He, she came to seek my opinion. I told her that my opinion and the opinions of others don’t matter.”

“What matters is whether you want to get married. Are you prepared for marriage? And also, family, children, responsibilities, and so on… These are things that you will have to take responsibility for. Can you handle them with composure?”

“Just consider what matters to you and make your own decisions. That’s the most appropriate thing to do.”

Zuo Jingyou nodded and said, “Yes.”

She reached out and held onto Professor Sun’s arm, playfully saying, “That’s why Mom is the best mom in the world…” When the sisters divorced, they didn’t feel any psychological burden at all.

After hearing Professor Sun’s words, Yin Bai felt a slight sense of relief. Yes, what others think doesn’t matter. The key is how she and Zuo Jingyou feel about it.

Since she had already made up her mind to spend the rest of her life with Zuo Jingyou, she had to ask Zuo Jingyou’s opinion.

So when they returned home that night, Yin Bai knelt on the bed and earnestly discussed this matter with Zuo Jingyou, saying, “Teacher Zuo, tonight I want to have a serious discussion with you about a legitimate right that we, as partners, may need to obtain. What do you think?”

Zuo Jingyou had guessed that she would eventually ask this question, but she didn’t expect Yin Bai to bring it up tonight. Her young lover really couldn’t keep things hidden.

With this in mind, Zuo Jingyou sat across from Yin Bai, smiling gently at her and said, “What about you? You tell me first, how do you feel about it?”

Yin Bai felt a bit embarrassed and hesitated before saying to Zuo Jingyou, “Right now, I need your opinion. Since you have experience with marriage, you can go first.”

Zuo Jingyou thought that was indeed the case. After careful consideration, she said to Yin Bai, “Based on my limited experience with marriage, I don’t believe that marriage is the ultimate destination for love.”

“Although in the doctrines of many people and religions, marriage is considered sacred and solemn, from my observations, it is love that is sacred and not marriage.”

“Marriage is more of a contract between two individuals, a commitment to maintaining family harmony and providing security in each other’s lives. That’s why you see many people who continue to maintain pitiful marriages even when they have clearly lost love.”

Yin Bai nodded and said, “That’s true. Sometimes I find it hard to understand why people continue to exhaust each other in a marriage when there is no love left. I’ve seen many examples of this in the marriages of people around me.”

For example, those who have children and a family but still have open marriages, each person playing their own game.

Marriage is indeed a contract and does not necessarily symbolize love.

Zuo Jingyou smiled and said to her, “So you see, do you think we need this contract?”

Yin Bai frowned and didn’t answer.

Zuo Jingyou continued, “Personally, considering our current relationship, I don’t think we need it. From a practical perspective, even if we get married and eventually get divorced, I would still receive a significant amount of assets. However, I don’t care about those assets because I believe that if I ever need something, you will provide me with ample support.”

“Just in terms of our careers, if we were in a relationship, I know you would support me greatly. Your business connections are the biggest advantage in this industry.”

Wow… so straightforward!

Yin Bai nodded and said, “That’s true. Even if Teacher Zuo doesn’t ask, I would still strive to help Teacher Zuo!”

Zuo Jingyou smiled, “Yes, you’ve always been like that. You’ve even introduced me to many endorsement opportunities, and I’ve made a lot of money in the past two years. So you see, I already have the benefits I can get, the essence of marriage, so I don’t need those things.”

“But there is still an important question between us.”

Yin Bai was puzzled and tilted her head, looking at Zuo Jingyou, “What question?”

Zuo Jingyou smiled and looked at Yin Bai, saying, “I want to ask you, do you want to have a child? A child who is both like me and like you.”

“This question is far more important than marriage.”

Yin Bai was immediately stunned in place.