After Being Scummed – Chapter 27

Let’s play together!

In the blink of an eye, it was New Year’s Eve. Yin Bai gave big red envelopes to the few employees who were with her and had Zhang Yu arrange for them to be sent home for the New Year.

Zhang Yu now lived locally. She stayed with Yin Bai at the villa until the twenty-ninth and also went home on the morning of New Year’s Eve. Without Zhang Yu, the villa felt empty, and Yin Bai didn’t really feel like getting up. She planned to stay in bed until around noon and then, when it was about time, pay a visit.

            

But before she could even fully wake up from dozing off again​¹, Zuo Jingyou’s call came in. Yin Bai was still half-asleep. When she answered the phone, her voice wasn’t very clear: “Hello?”

Zuo Jingyou on the other end of the line sounded a little surprised. She chuckled softly, “You’re not up yet?”

It was already nine or ten in the morning, but Zuo Jingyou’s voice was like a nightingale singing with the morning dew, extremely pleasant and captivating.

            

Yin Bai rolled over, still having no desire to get up. She mumbled indistinctly, “Nope. Your family wouldn’t be having dinner at this hour, right?”

Zuo Jingyou laughed, “How could that be? It’s just time for breakfast. By the way, did you have someone send over the ingredients from Zhenxiu Fang​²?”

Yin Bai hummed in agreement, her voice incredibly soft, “Mm-hmm, I can’t just freeload a meal, right?” She yawned, saying very sleepily, “I didn’t mean to order any specific dishes. Just cook whatever you want with the ingredients I sent. If you don’t want to, you can give them to someone else.”

            

Zuo Jingyou sighed softly, “You’ve spent too much.” She paused, then asked, “By the way, I also just received a jade screen with a ‘white snow and red plum blossoms’ design. That wasn’t from you too, was it?”

Yin Bai buried her head under the covers, her voice muffled, “Yeah. I bought it a few years ago and thought it would suit your home’s decor style. Just consider it a gift for your mom…”

Zuo Jingyou really didn’t know what to say; returning it didn’t seem appropriate. She paused, then said with a sense of helplessness, “That’s very thoughtful of you…” I’ll have to find a suitable decorative item for Yin Bai and give her a return gift someday, she thought.

            

“It’s nothing. You invited me for New Year’s Eve dinner, after all.”

Yin Bai really wasn’t fully awake; each sentence she spoke was softer than the last. Listening to her, Zuo Jingyou felt as if a little kitten was licking her ear, meowing incessantly, making her feel inexplicably ticklish.

Zuo Jingyou switched the phone to her other ear and said with a smile, “Well then, let me treat you to breakfast too. Do you eat tangyuan​³?”

            

Speaking of food, Yin Bai paused for a moment, a bit dazed, and subconsciously asked, “Are they good?”

Zuo Jingyou chuckled softly, “They’re delicious. Do you want sweet or savory ones?”

Sweet? Savory?

            

These two flavors ran through Yin Bai’s mind, clearing up most of her muddled consciousness. She grabbed her phone, poked her head out from under the covers, and hurriedly asked, “Savory? Why are there savory tangyuan? That’s not right! What kind of weird​⁴ flavor is that?”

Her agitated emotions came through clearly over the phone. Zuo Jingyou even spared a thought, This time she might have been startled awake. Hugging her arms, Zuo Jingyou gently explained, “Yes, there are. My mom and I both eat savory ones. The children have the local taste, so they prefer sweet ones.”

“Well, I’ll be​⁵!” Yin Bai took a light breath and asked curiously, “What kind of filling do the savory ones have?”

            

Zuo Jingyou paused, then told Yin Bai, “It’s a meat filling, with a bit of chili, but it’s not very spicy.”

Yin Bai exclaimed, “You guys really can put chili in anything! Just as expected from a Yuncheng girl! A little chili pepper!”

Zuo Jingyou’s lips curved into a smile, and she lowered her gaze, asking softly, “So, do you want to eat some tangyuan? If you do, I’ll pack them in an insulated container and have the kids bring them over to you.”

            

“Of course!” Yin Bai rolled over onto her stomach, lying on the bed with her eyes half-closed, and said, “Free delivery, why wouldn’t I eat it!”

She said it with such conviction​⁶. The smile on Zuo Jingyou’s face deepened. “So, do you want sweet or savory?”

“Sweet!” Yin Bai said clearly. She paused, then after a moment, added in a low voice, “And one savory one to try.”

            

Zuo Jingyou said, “Okay.” Shortly after, she had the children knock on Yin Bai’s door, carrying half a box of tangyuan.

Since it was the children who came over, Yin Bai didn’t bother changing out of her pajamas. She just combed her hair and went out to greet her little friends, and then had a little [of the tangyuan] with them.

After finishing breakfast, the two children urged Yin Bai to change her clothes. They said Zuo Jingyou was preparing to cook and wanted Yin Bai to go over and play with them.

            

Yin Bai figured she was just idle at home anyway, so she might as well go play with the children somewhere else. She clapped her hands and happily agreed to the children’s request, “Okay, you guys wait a bit. I’ll change my clothes and go over with you.”

The two children said in unison, “Okay-dokey!”

Yin Bai went to her walk-in closet. From a pile of new spring arrivals, she picked out an off-white lace blouse, paired it with coffee-colored striped suit trousers, and finally, added a coat of a similar color. Wearing Martin boots​⁷, she grabbed her new cane and went out with her little friends.

            

Of course, before leaving, she didn’t forget to bring the gifts​⁸ she had prepared earlier. And so, laden with bags big and small, she paid her visit.

Zuo Jingyou hadn’t expected the children to actually get her up. When she saw Yin Bai arriving with a pile of gifts, she was very surprised. “Didn’t you already send gifts over this morning? Why are you bringing so many more things?”

This was far too much!

            

Leaning on her cane, Yin Bai handed the things in her hand to Zuo Jingyou while saying, “I heard from Zhang Yu that you can’t visit empty-handed during the New Year. So I brought gifts for your mom, your older sister, and you. It’s just a small token, nothing much.”

After speaking, Yin Bai pointed to the two children beside her. “As for my friends here, they already came to my place yesterday and picked up their gifts in advance, so you don’t need to worry about them.”

Zuo Jingyou couldn’t help but laugh as she invited Yin Bai in. “You really are… too much. It’s just New Year’s Eve dinner.” Carrying the gifts, Zuo Jingyou took out a brand new pair of indoor slippers and handed them to Yin Bai. “I’ll have to trouble you to change your shoes today.”

            

Yin Bai readily agreed, “Of course.”

Yin Bai and the children changed into indoor slippers in the entryway. She stood up with her cane and looked at Zuo Jingyou with a smile. “Of course, it has to be a bit grand! You invited me to spend New Year’s with you, hey.”

Wenwen, who was beside them, finished changing her shoes. She eagerly tugged at Yin Bai’s belt, pulling her forward. “Hurry, hurry, we’re doing a puzzle today! Tongtong and I have been playing for ages and still haven’t finished it!”

            

Tongtong held Yin Bai’s hand as if supporting her. “That’s because Sister is too clumsy, she can’t even tell them apart!”

Yin Bai was pulled along by them, slowly moving forward with her cane. As she walked, she said helplessly, “Alright, alright, we’ll play! But friends, can you please not pull me? You’re about to pull me over!”

She was a little limper; she couldn’t walk fast!

            

Hearing her say this, the two children slowed their pace. As if compromising, they said, “Okay, okay, we’ll wait for you, we’ll wait for you!”

Zuo Jingyou, carrying the items, walked slowly behind the three of them. She watched Yin Bai, leaning on her cane, limping as she tried hard to keep up with the children’s pace.

The distance from the entryway to the sofa wasn’t very far. Even though Yin Bai was tall and had long legs, it took her quite a bit of effort to walk over.

            

Zuo Jingyou’s gaze shifted downwards, landing on Yin Bai’s legs. Her left leg was fine, but her right leg seemed as if it were tied to a heavy lead ball. With every step, her left foot moved first, and then her right leg slowly followed. Her steps were small, but each one was taken with determination.

If she hadn’t witnessed such a scene, even Zuo Jingyou would find it hard to believe that Yin Bai was disabled. But seriously, even if someone has a physical disability, it doesn’t really mean anything, does it?

Does the awkwardness brought about by a physical disability have to be called undignified? Does it diminish the brilliance of a person’s soul?

            

Not necessarily.

As Zuo Jingyou thought this, she saw Yin Bai finally sit down on the sofa with her cane. She saw Yin Bai let out a long breath, turn her head to look at the two children, and say with a grin, “Alright, take out your puzzle, let’s play!”

“Okay-dokey!”

            

The children cheered, took out the scattered puzzle pieces, and started playing with Yin Bai.

Zuo Jingyou stood at the edge of the sofa, watching the three of them enjoying themselves together harmoniously. She unconsciously curved her lips into a smile.

She thought to herself, For someone as good as Yin Bai, if one were to only look at her appearance and pity her because of her disability, that would be far too presumptuous.​⁹

            

It’s better not to pay too much attention to such things.

Thinking this, Zuo Jingyou looked at the three on the sofa and asked, “You’re playing games, would you like something to drink? I’ll bring it over in a bit!”

Yin Bai looked up, grinning, and said, “Thank you, Teacher Zuo!”

            

The two little rascals​¹⁰ followed suit, giggling as they said, “Thank you, Teacher Zuo!”

Zuo Jingyou was silent for a moment and didn’t correct the children’s form of address. She turned, put the gifts away, prepared a fruit platter and snacks for them, and then went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Yin Bai played puzzles with the children for quite a while. They were boisterous and very happy in the living room.

            

When Ms. Sun Yulan came out of the study, she saw the three of them huddled together, heads touching, picking up puzzle pieces and fitting them together.

Seeing them so lively, Sun Yulan also walked over and stood by the coffee table, watching for a while.

Yin Bai, who was having a lot of fun, suddenly felt a pair of eyes on her. She subconsciously looked up and, unsurprisingly, saw an elegant elderly woman standing beside her, carefully observing her. The woman was wearing a dark green qipao, her graying hair​¹¹ impeccably styled in a bun, and gold-rimmed glasses.

            

Yin Bai blinked and called out uncertainly, “Hello, Auntie?” Looking at her face, which bore a strong resemblance to Zuo Jingyou, she thought, Although she looks overly serious, judging by her appearance, this must be Zuo Jingyou’s mother.

It was Yin Bai’s first time meeting a friend’s elder, so she couldn’t help but feel a little apprehensive.

Sun Yulan nodded and hummed in acknowledgment. She looked at Yin Bai, then at the two children still searching for puzzle pieces. After hesitating for a moment, she tentatively asked, “Is this… fun?”

            

The old professor was engrossed in her academic pursuits and truly hadn’t played with her granddaughters much or experienced that kind of family joy.

Yin Bai looked at her—her tone was unfamiliar, yet she seemed somewhat eager to try. Yin Bai inexplicably felt that this Auntie might be like her, not very good at interacting with strangers.

She shifted her position, looked up at Sun Yulan, and offered a very gentle smile. “It’s quite interesting. Would you like to join us?”

            

Sun Yulan’s gaze lightly shifted from Yin Bai and landed back on the puzzle. As if cherishing each word like gold​¹², she uttered five words: “No need. You play.”

After saying this, Sun Yulan sat down on the sofa next to Yin Bai.

Yin Bai looked at her, then at the children who were still frantically comparing puzzle pieces. She shook her head and went back to playing.

            

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LP: Re-translated on May 25, 2025

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