After Being Scummed – Chapter 24

What do you like?

That night, the fireworks over the film studio blazed for at least two hours. Beneath the sky full of fireworks, everyone pulled Zuo Jingyou, the director, over for a group photo, then gathered around to happily enjoy a late-night snack.

Taking advantage of the crowd, Zhang Yu quickly pulled Zuo Jingyou and Yin Bai together, had them stand with their backs to the fireworks, and, holding up her camera, said to them, “Come, come, Boss, Teacher Zuo, let me take a picture of you two!”

            

Yin Bai had no objection. Leaning on her cane in the swirling snow, she smiled at the camera. “Then you’d better make it look good!”

Zhang Yu made an OK gesture. “When I take photos, you can rest assured. I’m a professional!” Indeed, Zhang Yu’s photography skills were quite good; otherwise, Yin Bai wouldn’t have her tagging along everywhere.

Yin Bai coughed lightly, straightened her overcoat, and turned to look at Zuo Jingyou. “Is this okay, Teacher Zuo?”

            

Zuo Jingyou, holding the flowers, nodded. “Of course.”

The two stood together, a few centimeters apart, both looking at the camera. Against the backdrop of the sky full of fireworks and the falling snow, Zuo Jingyou held the bouquet and leaned slightly towards Yin Bai, her smile captured by the camera.

Zhang Yu rapidly snapped several shots. After she was done, she called Yin Bai and Zuo Jingyou over to look. “How about that? I take good photos, right!”

            

Yin Bai snorted lightly and said grudgingly, “They’re alright, I guess.” Although she also thought Zhang Yu had made them both look very good, she just didn’t want to admit it. Because if she praised Zhang Yu, her tail would wag even more than it already was.

Zuo Jingyou looked at the two of them in the photo, who seemed to enhance each other’s brilliance, and gave a very fair assessment, “Very beautiful. You have a better sense of the lens than some magazine photographers.”

Zhang Yu was extremely pleased. “Naturally, I told you I’m a professional.” After all, she had been playing with photography for over a dozen years!

            

Zuo Jingyou tilted her head, looked at Yin Bai beside her, and asked with a smile in her eyes, “By the way, can I take a photo with this bouquet?”

Yin Bai nodded. “Of course, it’s yours now.”

So, Zuo Jingyou had Zhang Yu help her, stood before the camera again, and took another solo picture. After it was taken, she said to Zhang Yu, “Could you please send the photos to my assistant later?”

            

Zhang Yu readily agreed with a “Sure.”

Everyone had a lively night. The next day at noon, Yin Bai bid farewell to Zuo Jingyou and headed to the airport with Zhang Yu. On the way, Zhang Yu was scrolling through Weibo beside Yin Bai and happened to see the photos Zuo Jingyou had posted the previous night. Besides the production wrap photos, there was another separate Weibo post.

This post had only one photo attached—the one Zhang Yu had taken of Zuo Jingyou yesterday.

            

Zhang Yu was overjoyed and nudged Yin Bai’s waist. “Boss, Boss, Teacher Zuo used my photo, hey!”

“Oh, really?” Yin Bai leaned over to look at Zhang Yu’s phone. On the screen, Zuo Jingyou stood holding the flowers, beneath the fireworks and amidst the snowflakes, a smile on her face.

Although the Zuo Jingyou in the photo was only wearing a black down jacket and her hair was slightly messy, she possessed a unique kind of delicate charm.

            

Yin Bai carefully examined this photo, which had no accompanying text, and then beckoned to Zhang Yu. “Give me your phone.”

Zhang Yu, not understanding, handed over her phone. “What’s wrong, Boss?”

Yin Bai took her phone, pressed the repost button, and typed a comment: “If one encounters freshly fallen snow just clearing, with a full moon in the sky; below, a vast expanse of white shadows, above, flowing bright silver, and you approach me with a smile; between the moonlight and the snow’s hue, you are the third, most breathtaking sight​¹.”

            

After writing this comment, she handed the phone back to Zhang Yu and said, “Repost it.”

Zhang Yu glanced at the comment and gave Yin Bai a thumbs-up. “Impressive, Boss! Such a cultured person.” She immediately hit the repost button and also followed Zuo Jingyou’s Weibo account.

Yin Bai was very proud. “Of course! All that reading I do isn’t for nothing!” After saying this, she thought for a moment and then instructed Zhang Yu, “When we get back, print out all the photos you took these past few days, same size as usual, and hang them in the usual place. Oh, and print that photo of Zuo Jingyou too.”

            

Zhang Yu was delighted. “No problem, Boss.”

After they exchanged a few more words, Yin Bai started to feel carsick again. Zhang Yu quickly told her to rest and didn’t dare to disturb her further.

By the time their plane landed in Haicheng, it was already four in the afternoon. On the car ride home, Zhang Yu took out her phone to scroll through Weibo and discovered that Zuo Jingyou had followed her back and sent her a message: “Zhang Yu?”

            

This got Zhang Yu incredibly excited, and she quickly replied, “Yes.”

Zuo Jingyou, possibly on her phone, replied quickly, “Did you write that comment?”

Zhang Yu didn’t dare take credit and quickly explained, “No, it was the Boss! She’s the cultured one, not me!”

            

Oh… a cultured person…

On the other end of the phone, Zuo Jingyou carefully read the lines of poetry again, then raised her hand and bit her knuckle. So… what did Yin Bai mean by this?

Zuo Jingyou thought for a moment but didn’t dwell on it. She switched back to WeChat and sent a message to Zhang Yu’s WeChat: “Are you almost home?”

            

Zhang Yu replied quickly, “Just got off the plane, heading home now. Boss is a bit carsick and is resting her eyes. Is there anything Teacher Zuo wants to say to her?”

Zuo Jingyou paused, surprised by Zhang Yu’s astuteness. She thought for a good while before saying to Zhang Yu, “It’s nothing, I just wanted to thank her, so I wanted to ask you what she likes. I’d like to give her a return gift. Of course, could you help me keep this a secret?”

When Zhang Yu saw the word “secret,” her face lit up with a smile. Typing with both hands, she replied rapidly, “Of course! In principle, I’m not supposed to reveal the Boss’s preferences, but if Teacher Zuo is asking, then it’s no problem.”

            

After all, based on her observations during this period, Yin Bai really liked Zuo Jingyou. At least in Yin Bai’s categorization, Zuo Jingyou belonged to “one of us.”

Zhang Yu answered extremely quickly: “Food-wise, Boss isn’t picky about anything, but she doesn’t like onions or scallions. Oh, right, she really loves Teacher Zuo’s cake; she ate a lot of it before.”

“She usually likes to read, all sorts of miscellaneous books. She has a library at home. But she also likes it when others give her books; even if she already owns that set, she’ll be very happy to receive them.”

            

“She has a habit of collecting things, likes to buy watches, especially those shiny, ornate gold ones. She also likes to collect gold and gemstones, especially those with beautiful colors; those are her favorite. And she has a habit of collecting brooches and ties, because she’s too tall and doesn’t really like wearing skirts.”

“She’s not keen on buying cars or other luxury items, doesn’t think it’s necessary…”

“Her favorite color is blue, like the sky. Of course, she likes all light colors. There was a time she really liked green, but not this year.”

            

“Every month, she flies abroad to see an opera or a musical. She goes when she’s in a bad mood, and she also goes when she’s in a good mood.”

Zhang Yu rattled on and on, pretty much selling Yin Bai out completely. Looking at this long list, Zuo Jingyou could only type a series of ellipses: “……”

She pressed her lips together and only replied after a while, “Thank you.”

            

Zhang Yu replied quickly, “You’re welcome.”

After saying this, Zhang Yu turned to look at Yin Bai, who was resting beside her with an eye mask on, and quickly typed another line: “Because Boss doesn’t usually like to carry her phone, she sometimes uses mine. To prevent her from finding out I sold her out, I’ll delete today’s chat history. Teacher Zuo, I suggest you clear yours too.”

“I hope this can be our little secret, okay?”

            

Zuo Jingyou couldn’t help but laugh. “Mm, okay.” After replying to Zhang Yu, she deleted their entire chat history.

Zhang Yu cleared the chat history, then turned to look at Yin Bai, who was leaning against the car seat, feeling incredibly sentimental.

Their Boss finally had someone other than Xiao Nian to care about her! Although it was different from the kind of concern Xiao Nian had, this was like motherly care from a good friend! But in the future, their Boss wouldn’t be a lonely soul​² who could only drag her around every day!

            

Hopefully, Teacher Zuo’s care would come even more intensely!

After a long journey, Yin Bai and Zhang Yu finally arrived home in the evening. As usual after a trip, Yin Bai had brought back gifts for her close subordinates.

Even for the hardworking Jin Xiangyu team at the company, Yin Bai had Xiang Qiu deliver a share.

            

Besides gifts for these people, Yin Bai also brought souvenirs for her two little friends.

Tongtong and Wenwen were very happy to hear that Yin Bai had gone to see the snow. The day after receiving their gifts, the two little friends gathered around her, chattering and asking Yin Bai if she had gone skiing or built a snowman.

Yin Bai said no, because she was afraid of the cold.

            

Wenwen patted her chest and boasted shamelessly, “Then you should have gone with me, I’m not afraid of the cold! I could even build you a snowman!”

Yin Bai deeply agreed. “You’re right. So, if you have time next year, shall we go together?”

Wenwen jumped up happily. “Yay!”

            

Tongtong was also very happy, tugging at Yin Bai’s sleeve and saying to her, “Then I want to go too! I can’t build a snowman, but I can warm your hands!”

“Wow!” Yin Bai clutched her chest, deeply moved. “Little cutie, my heart is about to melt from your warmth.”

Yin Bai was quite touched and, on the spot, made a very willful decision. That evening, she sent an invitation to Zuo Jingyou: “My dear friend, do you have any plans for the New Year? Will you be spending it with your mother in Haicheng?”

            

“If not, could I possibly bring my two little friends to go skiing with you?”

“I sincerely hope to have a wonderful winter with you.”

When Zuo Jingyou received this email from Yin Bai, she was surprised by its formal tone. She remained silent for a long time before replying to the email: “My dear friend, don’t you need to spend the New Year with your family?”

            

This time, Yin Bai, upon seeing the email, switched to WeChat and replied directly to Zuo Jingyou: “I don’t have any family left. My parents and grandmother have all passed away, and I don’t really keep in touch with other relatives, so I’m a free agent.”

“If you’re worried about an elderly person’s mobility, don’t worry about that. Because my legs aren’t good either, and I can’t ski, but I’ve picked a ski resort with hot springs. I’ll make sure you all have a great time!”

Her tone was full of enthusiasm; she seemed very much to be looking forward to this trip. Zuo Jingyou thought for a good while before replying, “I’d be happy to accept your invitation, but Tongtong’s father previously hoped to take her to the seaside for the winter during the winter break. So…”

            

When Yin Bai saw this reply, she couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. She thought for a moment and said with some regret, “Well, that can’t be helped. Since Tongtong needs to reunite with her father, I’ll just ask you again next year.”

She beat a retreat​³ so quickly. Zuo Jingyou pressed her lips together, thought for a good while, and then replied, “Actually, I’m not too keen on them, father and daughter, meeting. So I was thinking… perhaps I could discuss it with Tongtong, see if she’d rather go to the seaside with her father or go skiing with us.”

Yin Bai’s eyes instantly lit up. She cheered, “Yay!”

            

On the other end of the screen, when Zuo Jingyou saw these two words, she could almost imagine Yin Bai jumping for joy. Expressing her emotions so openly, she really was like a child.

But… an adult who was like a child was indeed very cute. Compared to her cheating ex-husband, Zuo Jingyou felt that accepting Yin Bai’s invitation would be a much wiser choice.

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LP: Re-translated on May 21, 2025

            

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