After Being Scummed – Chapter 100
by Little PandaExtra Chapter Three: The Golden Time of Youth 5
It’s so good to know you.
During dinner, Grandma Yin kept putting food on Zuo Jingyou’s plate, telling her to eat more. She also asked about Zuo Jingyou’s tastes, saying she would make her favorite dishes next time.
Seeing this, Yin Bai indignantly poked at her bowl and chopsticks, staring straight at Zuo Jingyou with a resentful look on her face.
It was clearly her birthday today, but Grandma was doting on Zuo Jingyou and not on her anymore! My heart really, really hurts!
When Zuo Jingyou looked up, she saw this puffy-cheeked, jealous little face and found herself at a point where she could not know whether to laugh or cry.
Zuo Jingyou extended her chopsticks and placed a piece of meat in her bowl as well. Only then did the corners of Yin Bai’s pouting mouth curve down, revealing a hint of a smile.
Although this person loved eating flying vinegar1, she was just too easy to read and too easy to appease. Zuo Jingyou found this particular trait of hers especially cute.
The meal was a very happy one for the whole Yin family, young and old. After dinner, the auntie brought out a cake, and the family celebrated Yin Bai’s birthday in a simple way.
Yin Bai accepted her birthday gifts and said her thanks cheerfully. The group chatted for a while longer, but Grandma Yin truly had matters to attend to, so she had Yin Bai take Zuo Jingyou for a walk around in her wheelchair.
Zuo Jingyou pushed the wheelchair for her. As they walked and talked, Zuo Jingyou asked, “Why don’t you use a wheelchair at school?”
Yin Bai frowned, replying with some displeasure, “Some of the facilities at our school aren’t very friendly to disabled people. It’s not convenient for me to use a wheelchair.”
Zuo Jingyou thought about it and realized that was indeed the case. She smiled and said to Yin Bai, “It’s okay. If you want to in the future, I can push you.”
The corners of Yin Bai’s mouth couldn’t help but lift, yet she stubbornly said, “We’ll see when the time comes.”
The two of them strolled around the garden. Yin Bai told Zuo Jingyou that the garden here would have many roses in the spring, and that if she came then, she would see a very beautiful sight.
Zuo Jingyou nodded in agreement.
Yin Bai then showed Zuo Jingyou the family’s swimming pool, telling her happily, “If you come in the summer, you can swim too. Grandma loves swimming, but I’m not very good at it. If you come, she might even have someone teach you.”
Zuo Jingyou smiled faintly and said to Yin Bai, “Summer is next year’s business. By then, who knows if you’ll still remember me, or if you’ll still be willing to invite me to your home.”
Yin Bai looked up at her, her gaze firm as she said, “Of course I will. You’re my friend.”
The two good friends finished their tour of the house, and it was about time to sleep. Yin Bai led Zuo Jingyou to the guest room and, sitting in her wheelchair, said to her, “I’ve put new pajamas and clean, disposable underwear on your bed. You can go to sleep after you shower.”
“I’ll take you back tomorrow. If you need anything, you can come find me. My room is right next to yours.”
Zuo Jingyou blinked and said okay.
After speaking, Yin Bai wheeled herself back to her own bedroom to shower. Not long after she came out of the bathroom and had dried her hair, she heard a knock on the door.
Yin Bai figured it was either her grandmother or Zuo Jingyou, so she immediately put down the hairdryer, maneuvered her wheelchair toward the door, and muttered, “Coming, coming,” as she went to open it.
She opened the door and peeked outside to see Zuo Jingyou standing there in an extremely thin nightdress, her hair wrapped in a white towel, saying with a grin, “I couldn’t find a hairdryer in my room, so I wanted to ask if you have one?”
Zuo Jingyou leaned down, looking at Yin Bai with a beaming smile. “I’m not bothering you, am I?”
Her beautiful face suddenly came into sharp focus for Yin Bai. A familiar, sweet fragrance enveloped Yin Bai from above, startling her so much that she subconsciously pushed her wheelchair back a little.
Yin Bai looked up, her eyes wide as she stared at Zuo Jingyou, who had closed the distance between them. Her heart suddenly began to race. She pressed her lips together and only spoke after a long moment. “I have one. Come in, I’ll get it for you.”
Yin Bai led Zuo Jingyou into her room. Zuo Jingyou followed behind her, looking at the room, which was decorated as dreamily as a starry sky, and exclaimed, “Yin Bai, your room looks so romantic!”
Yin Bai glanced up at her and asked in return, “Is it nice?”
Zuo Jingyou nodded emphatically. “Of course it’s nice.”
Yin Bai smiled, handing her the hairdryer. Her eyes curved as she said, “On account of your sweet words, here you go.”
Zuo Jingyou pressed her palms together and looked at Yin Bai very seriously. “So, on account of my sweet words, can I ask you to dry my hair for me?”
Yin Bai blinked, looking at her while holding the hairdryer. “I’ve never heard such a request before.”
Zuo Jingyou gave a sly smile and said to her in a soft voice, “So I’m letting you broaden your horizons.”
“Please, please? My hair is so thick and long, it’s so boring and troublesome to dry it myself.”
Yin Bai gripped the hairdryer, thinking to herself, So if I dry your hair for you, it won’t be troublesome for me?
Although that was what she thought, she didn’t say it out loud. As if ghosts and gods were at work2, she nodded and said with a hint of nonchalance, “Alright, then I’ll force myself to do this difficult thing and blow-dry it for you.”
She said she would force herself, but when Zuo Jingyou actually sat beside her and let her help dry her hair, she was quite happy to do it.
The nineteen-year-old Zuo Jingyou possessed a unique aura that was somewhere between a young girl and a young woman, like a peach that was about to ripen, her slightly mature air mixed with a touch of unripened greenness.
Her slightly damp, long hair was draped over her shoulders, hiding her long, snow-white neck. Yin Bai held the hairdryer, lifting the long hair at her neck and blowing on it with a whoosh.
Perhaps the hot air was too scorching, but Yin Bai felt her own face burning unnaturally. She lowered her gaze, her eyes unconsciously drifting toward Zuo Jingyou.
She looked at Zuo Jingyou’s exposed, delicate collarbones, at her pinkish-white skin as magnificent as a pink rose, and finally, her gaze landed on the side of Zuo Jingyou’s neck.
Her line of sight lingered on the side of Zuo Jingyou’s neck for a long time. Although she didn’t forget to keep drying Zuo Jingyou’s hair, her mind had long since wandered off to who knows what country.
Zuo Jingyou quickly noticed that her heart and spirit were not at peace, so she asked, “Yin Bai, why do you keep looking at me?”
Yin Bai subconsciously retorted, “Who… who said I was looking at you!”
Her speech was stuttered and halting, clearly lacking confidence. Zuo Jingyou’s lips curled, and she let out a soft laugh. “I could feel it. Of course I know whether you’re looking at me or not.”
Yin Bai’s confidence instantly deflated. She huffed and didn’t grumble anymore.
Zuo Jingyou’s eyes curved into crescents as she asked again, “So what were you looking at? I’m quite curious. What is it about me that’s worth you spacing out for so long?”
Yin Bai pressed her lips tightly together. After a good while, she pointed to the side of Zuo Jingyou’s neck and said to her, “You have a small red mole here. It looks… quite cute.”
This time, it was Zuo Jingyou’s turn to be surprised.
A rare flush of pink colored her face. Forcing down the heat in her cheeks, she pretended to be nonchalant and asked, “Really? How come I didn’t know? Where is it?”
The next second, Yin Bai’s cool fingertips landed on her warm neck, pressing lightly. “Here.”
The tips of Zuo Jingyou’s ears turned red. She raised a hand to touch the spot where Yin Bai’s fingertips had been, suppressing the sudden palpitation that surged through her, and said faintly, “Is that so… This is the first time I’ve known I have a mole here.”
Yin Bai pulled her hand back. She rubbed her fingertips, as if still feeling that momentary smooth sensation, and said somewhat distractedly, “Well, it’s on the side of your neck. It’s normal that you can’t see it.”
She finished drying Zuo Jingyou’s hair, put away the hairdryer, and said to her, “Alright, it’s dry. Hurry up and go to sleep.”
Zuo Jingyou stood up and gave her a gentle look. “Alright then. Goodnight, little birthday star3…”
The little birthday star wheeled herself over to see her out the door and also wished her goodnight.
But after saying goodnight, when Yin Bai wheeled herself to her bed and lay down in her deep blue quilt, she found she couldn’t sleep.
She left a single bedside lamp on. Curled up as if in the deep blue sea, she lay on her back, looking up at her ceiling covered with stars, her thoughts in a jumble.
One moment, she thought about how good Zuo Jingyou smelled; the next, she thought about how fair her skin was, about her slender and tall figure—not a single part of her wasn’t perfect.
As her thoughts culminated, an idea surfaced in Yin Bai’s mind: Zuo Jingyou’s neck must be very biteable.
She let her mind wander for a while longer when the phone she had placed to the side suddenly rang with a special ringtone.
This was the ringtone Yin Bai had specifically set for Zuo Jingyou. Upon hearing the sound, Yin Bai almost scrambled to reach for her phone and quickly answered the call.
In a moment, Zuo Jingyou’s voice traveled through the phone to her ear in the quiet night. “Xiao Bai~”
In the darkness, the girl’s voice sounded delicate and soft, making one’s heart soften for no reason. Yin Bai pursed her lips, curling up as she asked, “Why are you calling me?”
Zuo Jingyou let out a low laugh and said to her softly, “I suddenly remembered that I haven’t sung you the birthday song yet…”
Yin Bai mumbled, saying with some embarrassment, “Didn’t you sing it when we cut the cake?”
Zuo Jingyou said as if it were a matter of course, “But I haven’t sung it to you alone. Do you want to hear it?”
Yin Bai answered without hesitation, “Yes!”
Zuo Jingyou chuckled softly. A moment later, her gentle singing voice filled Yin Bai’s ear. “Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you!”
“Xiao Bai, happy eighteenth birthday!”
Yin Bai couldn’t help but raise the corners of her lips, clutching her phone as she said in a low voice, “Thank you, Zuo Jingyou.”
“You’re welcome, my friend.”
Listening to her laugh, as lovely as a nightingale’s, Yin Bai hesitated for a moment before saying, “Zuo Jingyou, actually…”
“Hm?”
Yin Bai paused, a great surge of courage suddenly welling up in her heart. “You’re the first friend to sing me the birthday song.”
Zuo Jingyou wasn’t surprised, merely smiling as she asked, “Am I also the first friend you’ve brought home?”
Yin Bai nodded. “Mhm.”
Zuo Jingyou laughed. “Then I’m so honored, Yin Bai. So in the future, will I continue to have the privilege of celebrating your birthday with you?”
Yin Bai nodded emphatically. “Of course!”
Yin Bai thought to herself that it was truly wonderful to have met such a gentle and kind friend in the year she turned eighteen.
The author has something to say:
Uuuuu, I’m back again
LP: Re-translated on October 2, 2025
Footnotes
- Hanzi: 吃飞醋 (chī fēicù). Pinyin: chī fēicù. Explanation: A colloquial metaphor that means to get jealous over trivial or unrelated matters, often without a solid reason.
- Hanzi: 鬼使神差 (guǐ shǐ shén chāi). Pinyin: guǐ shǐ shén chāi. Explanation: A chengyu (idiom) describing doing something inexplicably, as if driven by a supernatural force. It implies an action taken on a strange impulse, contrary to one’s usual intentions.
- Hanzi: 小寿星 (xiǎo shòuxing). Pinyin: xiǎo shòuxing. Explanation: A fond term of address for the person whose birthday it is, especially a younger person. 小 (xiǎo) means “little,” and 寿星 (shòuxing) refers to the God of Longevity, but is commonly used to mean “birthday boy/girl.”
ok this author might be a genius chef cooking up something this adorable
ok this author might be a genius chef cooking up something this adorable