After Being Scummed – Chapter 102
by Little PandaExtra Chapter Three: The Golden Time of Youth 7
Can you come see me?
Under Yin Bai’s wary gaze, the young man quickly introduced himself. He smiled and extended a hand to Zuo Jingyou. “Hello, Romeo. My name is He Zhiwen. I’m a young director.”
“I really admire your performance, so I was hoping for an opportunity to work with you?”
Zuo Jingyou studied the young man standing before her and asked with a smile, “What kind of collaboration?”
He Zhiwen replied, “A movie. I’m hoping you’ll be my leading lady.”
Yin Bai stood to the side, watching with cold eyes as He Zhiwen handed over his business card and Zuo Jingyou gave him her contact information. She felt like she had a thorn stuck in her throat.
Even after He Zhiwen left, Yin Bai’s expression was still terribly dark.
After sending He Zhiwen off, Zuo Jingyou turned back to see Yin Bai’s deeply unhappy face and asked with a laugh, “What’s wrong with you? You look so miserable.”
Yin Bai felt a stifling weight in her chest. She looked at Zuo Jingyou and said sullenly, “You just gave him your contact info like that? Aren’t you worried he’s a con artist?”
Zuo Jingyou reached out, grabbed Yin Bai’s hand, and started pulling her along. “Do I look that easy to fool? If someone manages to trick me, it’s only because I’m letting them.”
Yin Bai grumbled, “You do look easy to fool.” Otherwise, how could you just hand over your contact info after that damn He Zhiwen said a few words?
Seeing her so thoroughly displeased, Zuo Jingyou gave a knowing smile. “All right, all right. I’m starving. Let’s go get a late-night snack first.”
Yin Bai huffed but still followed Zuo Jingyou to celebrate with the rest of their club.
Everyone was out drinking happily until after two in the morning. Yin Bai, who hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol, called for her bodyguards and had them take all the girls from the club home.
Then she took Zuo Jingyou back to her family’s high-end apartment.
Zuo Jingyou had had too much to drink, so Yin Bai had a bodyguard-jiejie help her to the bed. Then she fussed over her for a while, taking off her coat and wiping her face and hands.
Once Zuo Jingyou had settled down, Yin Bai went to the bathroom to wash up before returning to the bed.
The drunken girl was wearing a thin turtleneck base layer, her face flushed as she curled up under the covers, her brow furrowed in discomfort.
Yin Bai sat on the edge of the bed, looking at Zuo Jingyou nestled beside her, and her own brow tightened?
She looked at the other girl’s flushed face and remembered how happy she’d been drinking with that group of people. A knot of frustration formed in her chest, impossible to dispel.
Yin Bai lowered her gaze and watched Zuo Jingyou intently for a long moment before reaching out to poke her cheek. “Hmph! You pest!”
She sighed, reached up, and flicked off the light, then slipped under the covers.
Yin Bai had only just settled in when Zuo Jingyou, deep in a drunken sleep, seemed to sense her warmth. Mumbling in her sleep, she shifted and rolled right into Yin Bai’s arms.
The strong smell of alcohol washed over Yin Bai. It wasn’t pleasant, but it was intoxicating. Feeling the weight of Zuo Jingyou’s head on her arm, Yin Bai’s heart suddenly began to race.
Her reason fled for a moment. Forcing herself to ignore the smell of liquor on Zuo Jingyou, Yin Bai reached out and gathered her into her embrace.
Only when Zuo Jingyou was curled up completely in her arms did Yin Bai poke her cheek again, her voice a mixture of indulgence and indignation. “I’ll settle the score with you tomorrow.”
By the time they both woke up the next day, it was already noon.
Zuo Jingyou got up and went to the bathroom to wash up. Meanwhile, Yin Bai called to have lunch delivered and started changing the bedsheets.
When Zuo Jingyou came out of the bathroom wrapped in a robe and drying her wet hair, she saw Yin Bai pulling the sheets off the bed.
Zuo Jingyou, still drying her hair, walked over to Yin Bai with a smile in her eyes, saying apologetically, “Ah, I’m sorry. I drank too much last night. Let me change the sheets in a bit, okay?”
Yin Bai glanced up at her. She saw Zuo Jingyou’s wet hair draped over her shoulders, a droplet of water tracing a path down her neck, into the collar of her robe, and coming to a stop in the hollow of her collarbone. Her heart felt like it was being scratched by a cat1, itching terribly.
She huffed, avoiding Zuo Jingyou’s gaze, and said awkwardly, “You should have been the one to change them in the first place!”
Seeing her unhappy expression, Zuo Jingyou felt a little uneasy. She walked to the side of the bed, bent down, and looked directly at Yin Bai. “Are you mad?”
Yin Bai shot her a look and mumbled, “What do you think? It’s not like you don’t know how much of a neat freak I am…”
“You drank too much last night, you didn’t even shower, you were completely drunk, and you slept in my bed. Of course I’m going to be mad!”
Zuo Jingyou paused in drying her hair and sat down on the bed. Watching Yin Bai strip the pillowcase, she showed a rare look of embarrassment. “Okay, okay, it was my fault… I shouldn’t have gotten so drunk and then slept in your bed.”
Zuo Jingyou’s eyes curved into a smile as she looked at Yin Bai and chuckled softly. “Yin Bai, you know, you could have just thrown me on the sofa last night. It’s so warm in here, I wouldn’t have caught a cold…”
Yin Bai looked up and shot her a sidelong glance, as if to say, “Are you kidding me?”
Zuo Jingyou couldn’t help but laugh. She placed her hand on the back of Yin Bai’s and said with a grin, “I was drunk, and you still let me sleep in your bed. Xiao Bai, you really do love me, don’t you!”
Perhaps it was the word “love,” but Yin Bai reacted as if a switch had been flipped. Her whole face instantly flushed pink, and she turned into a giant red shrimp.2
Face beet red, she stared at Zuo Jingyou and stammered, “Who… who said I love you!”
Nonsense! She did not love Zuo Jingyou!
Zuo Jingyou tilted her head. “Oh? So you don’t love me?” Then she sighed. “Sigh, that makes me so sad. I obviously love you very much, so how can you not love me back?”
Watching her put on this dramatic act, Yin Bai blushed and sputtered, “Oh, cut it out. Zuo Jingyou, it’s a shame you’re not an actress. What’s all this about love? You’re overthinking things!”
Not wanting to get tangled up in this topic any further, she patted the bed and said, “The bed reeks of your alcohol. Hurry up and change the sheets for me before lunch. I still need to take an afternoon nap!”
Zuo Jingyou said, “Oh,” and sighed softly, biting her lip. “All right, I’ll listen to you then.”
Zuo Jingyou finished drying her hair, tossed the towel on the sofa, had Yin Bai get off the bed, and dutifully started making it.
After they finally finished tidying the room, the food Yin Bai had ordered arrived. The two of them sat in the living room and ate Zuo Jingyou’s favorite mala xiangguo.3
Yin Bai was rinsing the meat in hot water as she ate. Midway through the meal, she noticed Zuo Jingyou was looking at something on her phone, a distracted expression on her face.
Seeing this, Yin Bai frowned and looked at Zuo Jingyou with displeasure. “What are you looking at?”
Zuo Jingyou glanced up at her, chewing on her chopsticks. “Oh… looking at a script.”
“A script? What script?” Yin Bai’s brow furrowed as a thought flashed through her mind. The script that man was talking about last night?
Zuo Jingyou nodded. “Mhm.” She then passed her phone to Yin Bai. “I think this He-xuezhang4 is quite talented. The script is really interesting, so I want to give it a try.”
Yin Bai took Zuo Jingyou’s phone but didn’t look at the script. Instead, she stared intently at her. “You want to be an actress?”
Zuo Jingyou pressed her lips together, thinking for a moment. “I never thought about it before. I just simply love theater, love performing, love stories… but if I have the talent and the ability, I think I’d like to try…”
At this, Zuo Jingyou broke into a smile, her eyes filled with a brilliant light. “Life is short, so why not give it a shot!”
Yin Bai was mesmerized by the light in her eyes. She poked at the rice in her bowl and said thoughtfully, “Is this what people call a dream?”
Yin Bai mumbled to herself, then looked up at Zuo Jingyou and said earnestly, “If you want to do it, then you should go for it.”
“Okay.”
The next day, Zuo Jingyou accepted He Zhiwen’s invitation and went to the audition, accompanied by Yin Bai.
After the audition, He Zhiwen’s team was very pleased with Zuo Jingyou, unanimously agreeing that she was the leading lady for this script.
With Yin Bai by her side, Zuo Jingyou signed the contract with He Zhiwen. When winter break arrived, Zuo Jingyou, with an assistant arranged by Yin Bai, officially joined the film crew5 to start shooting.
As a newcomer to the entertainment industry, she knew next to nothing about filmmaking. But Zuo Jingyou had plenty of natural acting talent, and under He Zhiwen’s guidance, she quickly developed a feel for the camera, and the filming process grew smoother and smoother.
For the entire winter break, Zuo Jingyou was on set filming. The only time she could video chat with Yin Bai was at night after they wrapped for the day.6
During every call, Zuo Jingyou would tell Yin Bai about what was happening on set. She’d talk about the cameraman-dage7, about the actors she had scenes8 with, about the weather, about all sorts of fun things…
But every single time, she would mention He Zhiwen.
Every time she said his name, it was like a knife stabbing into Yin Bai’s heart—an itchy, painful wound. He Zhiwen… He Zhiwen again… Is the director the only other person on the whole film set?
Yin Bai was dying of jealousy, but she couldn’t resist the temptation of seeing Zuo Jingyou on video, so she kept calling her every day as usual.
This went on until one evening, while Zuo Jingyou was video chatting with her after wrapping up, He Zhiwen came up from behind, patted her on the shoulder, and said with a smile, “Jingyou, it’s my birthday today. We’re going for barbecue in a bit, you have to be there!”
Zuo Jingyou turned her head, her eyes curving as she smiled at him. “Okay, He-gege!9”
After saying that, Zuo Jingyou turned back to Yin Bai on the screen and coaxed her with a smile, “Okay, Xiao Bai, I’m going to go get ready. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Bye-bye.”
And with that, Zuo Jingyou briskly hung up. On the other end of the screen, Yin Bai stared wide-eyed at the disconnected call.
Am I a child? And what’s this “He-gege” nonsense! What’s a girl like her doing going out for barbecue in the middle of the night! Go? No way, she’s not going!
Gritting her teeth, Yin Bai redialed Zuo Jingyou’s number. The moment she heard a “Hello?” she said fiercely, “Zuo Jingyou, get back to your hotel right now! Immediately!”
Zuo Jingyou’s eyes crinkled. Holding the phone, she bit her lip to keep from laughing. “What’s wrong? Do you need me for something? Why do you want me back at the hotel right now?”
Yin Bai took a deep breath. “It’s already nine o’clock. It’s not safe for a girl to be out by herself. Get back here, and you’re not allowed to go to the party!”
But of course, this was the moment Zuo Jingyou chose to feign ignorance. She pretended to be disgruntled. “It’s only nine. And Xiaoxia-jie will be with me, so I’ll be fine. Didn’t you also arrange bodyguards for me? I’m perfectly safe…”
“It’s He-dage’s birthday today, I have to go to his party.”
Yin Bai was furious. Is this about going to a party? It’s about you being with He Zhiwen in the middle of the night!
She couldn’t bring herself to say it, so she just said resentfully, “Anyway, if I say you can’t go, you can’t go!”
“Get back to the hotel now. We had an agreement: you have to be back in your hotel by ten every night, no going anywhere.”
Zuo Jingyou sighed. “Xiao Bai, you’re really so worried about me…”
“Sigh, it’s just grabbing a meal with everyone. It’s not like I haven’t gone out for late-night snacks with them before. Why are you so worried this time? Ah, Xiao Bai, you’re not eating vinegar10, are you?”
Zuo Jingyou rambled on, and Yin Bai listened in silence for a moment, feeling that thorn in her throat again as her face flushed bright red.
After a moment, she took a deep breath and said, as if abandoning herself to despair11, “Yes, I am eating vinegar! And I’m angry!”
“If you don’t come back to the hotel tonight, I won’t speak to you for a month!”
Ah, she said it. She actually said it!
Hearing this, Zuo Jingyou let out a snort of laughter. “Okay, if you don’t want me to go, I won’t go. Why resort to threats…”
“A whole month of you not talking to me? That would be so miserable. How could you bear to do that to me? I miss you every single day, you know.”
In the quiet room, Zuo Jingyou’s faint sigh traveled through the phone. Sitting on her bed, Yin Bai heard the words “miss you,” and all her anger and jealousy vanished.
She was silent for a moment, then asked, “Really?”
Zuo Jingyou’s voice was firm. “Really.” She looked up at the dim lights in the distance, her breath misting in the cold air as she said in a hoarse voice, “Xiao Bai, if I don’t go to He Zhiwen’s birthday party today… can you come see me?”
LP: Re-translated on October 21, 2025
Footnotes
- Hanzi: 心像是被猫挠了一样 | Pinyin: xīn xiàng shì bèi māo náole yīyàng | Explanation: A common metaphor describing a feeling of anxiousness, itchiness, or unbearable curiosity.
- Hanzi: 大红虾 | Pinyin: dà hóng xiā | Explanation: Literally “big red shrimp.” A common metaphor for someone blushing furiously.
- Hanzi: 麻辣香锅 | Pinyin: málà xiāngguō | Explanation: A spicy stir-fry dish, literally “numbing-spicy fragrant pot.” Ingredients are chosen by the customer and then stir-fried together in a spicy sauce.
- Hanzi: 学长 | Pinyin: xuézhǎng | Explanation: A term for a male senior student or alumnus. Can be used as a respectful form of address.
- Hanzi: 进组 | Pinyin: jìn zǔ | Explanation: Literally “to enter the crew.” An industry term for when an actor officially joins a production and begins work.
- Hanzi: 收工 | Pinyin: shōugōng | Explanation: Literally “to collect work.” A common term on film sets and in other industries for finishing work for the day.
- Hanzi: 大哥 | Pinyin: dàgē | Explanation: Literally “big brother.” A common, friendly form of address for an older man, implying respect.
- Hanzi: 对手戏 | Pinyin: duìshǒuxì | Explanation: Literally “opponent play.” A scene between two main actors, especially one involving conflict or intense interaction.
- Hanzi: 哥哥 | Pinyin: gēge | Explanation: Literally “older brother.” Used as an affectionate form of address for an older boy or young man, not necessarily a relative.
- Hanzi: 吃醋 | Pinyin: chīcù | Explanation: Literally “to eat vinegar.” The common Chinese idiom for being jealous, especially in a romantic context.
- Hanzi: 自暴自弃 | Pinyin: zì bào zì qì | Explanation: An idiom meaning to give up on oneself, to abandon oneself to despair or vice. From a passage in ‘Mencius’.
Huhu but what about our baby tongtong 😭
I was thinking about that too while reading this chapter 😭
Huhu but what about our baby tongtong 😭