After Being Scummed – Chapter 41
by Little PandaJust bear it!
Zuo Jingyou’s team reacted quickly, and in no time, they had posted everything about Zuo Jingyou’s composed handling of the reporters online. Amidst a horde of hounding reporters, the seemingly vulnerable Zuo Jingyou appeared remarkably calm and unhurried, fully living up to the strong presence she had cultivated in front of cameras over her many years in the industry.
After watching this interview, netizens expressed one after another that they were stunned by Miss Zuo’s powerful aura. Just as a crowd was still savoring the rare sight of Zuo Jingyou’s domineering presence on full display, another quietly uploaded video quickly blew up1 on Weibo as well.
Although the major media outlets didn’t want to offend Yin Bai, the sight of her sweeping Zuo Jingyou away as they broke out from the encirclement of reporters was still made into short videos and GIFs, circulated by various marketing accounts.
When the vast majority of netizens saw this scene, they all felt that Zuo Jingyou, who had calmly faced the media earlier, instantly turned into a little pampered wife in the big shot’s arms. Coupled with the fact that Yin Bai had brought over a dozen bodyguards this time, once the scene unfolded, it looked even more like “the mafia boss and her little pampered wife2.”
The netizens who had just been captivated by Zuo Jingyou’s calm composure, the very second they saw the two of them leaving together, started shipping3 the “domineering CEO and little pampered wife” CP.
Most importantly, Zuo Jingyou, who was basically the TOP4 in almost all CP pairings, looked so incredibly delicate and adorable in this big shot’s embrace—truly irresistible!
The internet erupted with a new wave of discussion. The buzz surrounding “the gossip5 about Zuo Jingyou and this big shot” overshadowed the issue of “whether Zuo Jingyou was taking drugs.”
Netizens started to dig into Yin Bai’s background. Who exactly was she? Why did the reporters, who had been hounding Zuo Jingyou, all stop filming and dare not make another move as soon as she arrived?
What was her relationship with Zuo Jingyou? Why was she able to show up at the airport at seven in the morning with a group of people and take Zuo Jingyou away from the encirclement?
Due to their ambiguous behavior, netizens’ speculations ran wild. But one thing was certain: Zuo Jingyou probably wasn’t as straight as she had previously appeared!
Zuo Jingyou might actually be a big shot in the lesbian circle6, who knows!
Even though Yin Bai protected her identity very well, it couldn’t withstand the huge scene she caused at the airport this morning, which set the entire internet abuzz. Some insiders, unable to resist their desire to “eat melon7,” POsted8 semi-truthful information about Yin Bai on an anonymous forum.
“The one who came back from the airport with Teacher Z this morning is a super famous big shot in the circle. She’s one of the country’s top-tier tycoons, the kind who doesn’t appear on rich lists.”
“Her group has undertaken many infrastructure projects for the government, donated to major research institutions, and has excellent relationships with high-level figures. She’s an entrepreneur praised as a model example year after year.”
“A few years ago, she entered the entertainment industry because of a certain newly married female star. She often provides financial backing9 to small-time directors and screenwriters with creative ideas. Movies like the previous niche film 《Seventeen Years Old》, and 《Listening to the Wind》, etc., were all her private investments.”
《Seventeen Years Old》 was a very famous movie from a few years ago about anti-domestic violence and school bullying. It became a dark horse hit during the summer vacation that year, reaping a box office of one hundred million with a budget of less than five million, and sparked considerable discussion at the time. It even led to further promotion of domestic violence restraining orders that year.
Director Xu Shishi10 also won Best New Director that year for this film. In her acceptance speech, she kept thanking a benefactor11 who encouraged her to make the movie, directly calling that person an angel.
No one expected that this angel was actually the same person as the big shot who took Zuo Jingyou away!
With fresh gossip to consume, everyone perked up and eagerly asked, “And then? And then? I just want to know what her relationship with Teacher Zuo is!”
The OP12 quickly replied: “Not sure, but this big shot was the secret lover of a very famous female star a few years ago. This big shot keeps a low profile, and all media outlets know not to keep her photos, or they’ll have lawyers knocking on their door. So when she was dating the star back then, she handled PR for many rumors.”
“As for now… Teacher Zuo is single again… She should be single…”
The replies below erupted: “Oho~”
“Woohoo~”
Someone else asked: “Let me timidly ask, are there any photos of the big shot? I feel like that big shot must be very young and beautiful!”
The OP answered: “Even if I had them, I wouldn’t dare post them; lawyers would come knocking. Everyone, read this thread while you can and cherish it!”
Alright, if they couldn’t see photos, a description of her appearance would do, right? Everyone begged the OP for a while before the OP finally replied: “Okay, okay, I’ll talk about it then.”
“The big shot is almost thirty this year, 1.81 meters13 tall, and has three-quarters Eastern European blood. Black hair, blue eyes, fair-skinned and beautiful. She uses a cane because of some difficulty with her legs, but it doesn’t affect her beauty at all! I’ve seen her in person up close; she’s stunningly beautiful, outshining14 a host of celebrities!”
The entire forum got excited because of this reply. A foreigner, and a very tall female big shot at that—future entertainment circle novels could use her as the prototype for their financial backers15!
No one expected Yin Bai’s trip to pick someone up would cause such a huge stir. On the way to the hotel, Zhang Yu, sitting in the front passenger seat, was scrolling through messages from the PR team. She turned her head to look at Yin Bai in the back seat and asked, “BOSS, when you took Teacher Zuo away, someone recorded it, and it’s all over the internet, causing a huge buzz. I checked; it’s only a very blurry view from the back, no side or front view of your face. How should we handle this?”
Yin Bai sat beside Zuo Jingyou, watching her take off her high heels and rub her ankle with a frown. Yin Bai frowned too and said to Zhang Yu without turning her head, “How else to handle it? Delete it! Didn’t I say? Any videos or photos with me in them, delete them all!”
Zhang Yu sighed, sounding quite helpless. “The PR team says they can’t delete it over there. If we delete it now, the backlash will probably be huge. BOSS, even though we’re capitalists, we can’t just cover the sky with one hand16 like this. We have to consider public opinion, okay?”
Yin Bai turned her head, frowning at Zhang Yu. “Can’t delete it? Then what am I paying the PR team for?”
Zhang Yu shrugged and tried to persuade Yin Bai earnestly17, “BOSS, you have to consider, your employees aren’t gods. Besides, you didn’t show your face this time. Those media outlets have technically abided by our agreement. It’s impossible to make them delete everything.”
The traffic from this storm was too massive, and with Zuo Jingyou’s popularity adding to it, Zhang Yu wasn’t surprised at all that it had blown up like this. With such good marketing material and KPIs18 at stake, it would be a miracle if these entertainment media outlets, which thrived on leeching off celebrities, were willing to let go of this hot topic.
Even a super tycoon couldn’t stop their bloodsucking instincts!
Yin Bai frowned and pondered for a moment, quickly understanding the current situation. She mused for a bit, then finally tapped her cane and said, “Forget it. If there’s nothing critical, let’s not do anything about it this time.” After all, she wasn’t some unreasonable devil capitalist.
Seeing that Yin Bai didn’t intend to make things difficult for the PR team anymore, Zhang Yu quietly breathed a sigh of relief. But thinking about those romantic rumors, Zhang Yu had to cautiously “touch the tiger’s tail19” again. “Right, BOSS, besides the video leak, PR also said there’s another matter that needs your decision on how to handle it.”
Yin Bai gripped her cane, her brows tightly furrowed, and said with great displeasure, “What is it now? Didn’t you say it was only my back view? How can there be other problems?”
Zhang Yu carefully glanced at Yin Bai, then, with the corner of her eye, peeked at Zuo Jingyou, who was rubbing her ankle as if nothing was amiss. Zhang Yu said cautiously, “It’s just… you and Teacher Zuo are rumored to be together again.”
Yin Bai froze for a moment, then turned her head to look at Zuo Jingyou beside her.
What, rumored to be together again? These marketing accounts really have too much free time. Can’t they see I was just rescuing my dear friend?
Zhang Yu swallowed hard and said with some difficulty, “So, in a bit, we might have to trouble Teacher Zuo to clarify the rumors again… It’s not easy for our BOSS to handle this.” Indeed, it wasn’t easy to handle. Anyway, Zhang Yu couldn’t figure out what Yin Bai was thinking now.
Previously, she had always thought Yin Bai wasn’t interested in Zuo Jingyou. But then there was the apple-feeding incident, and now this, showing up very early in the morning with a group of bodyguards to pick Zuo Jingyou up—the whole display was grander than what even Zuo Jingyou’s official partner might do. Zhang Yu was starting to get confused.
After all, her BOSS had a regular schedule, waking up at eight every day. To get her to wake up earlier, prepare a group of bodyguards, and rush to the airport so early in the morning to pick someone up—that had to be true love of significant proportions!
Zhang Yu didn’t know what others thought, but after saying all this, she felt like a giant, multi-kilowatt light bulb20 placed between the two of them, shining brightly and feeling utterly superfluous.
Zuo Jingyou, who was rubbing her ankle, paused. For some reason, her heart skipped half a beat. She pressed her lips together, then raised her eyes to meet Yin Bai’s gaze. Suppressing her awkwardness and apprehension, she asked, “Yin Bai, how do you want me to clarify it?”
How to clarify? How else could it be clarified? Of course, by saying they were friends and she was just here to rescue Zuo Jingyou!
Yin Bai lowered her gaze, looking at Zuo Jingyou beside her.
At this moment, Zuo Jingyou was sitting on the seat with her long hair loose, hugging her knees, and leaning against the car window. She looked up at Yin Bai, her eyes clear, bright, and incredibly lovely and poignant.
Yin Bai met Zuo Jingyou’s gaze, looking into her bright, fawn-like eyes, and her mind went blank for a good while. She didn’t know if it was her imagination, but she felt that Zuo Jingyou, at this very moment, seemed several years younger than her actual age, exuding a rarely seen girlish aura.
That’s right, a girlish aura.
Yin Bai gripped her cane, staring blankly at Zuo Jingyou for a long moment. Seeing she didn’t answer, Zuo Jingyou tilted her head, looked at her, and tentatively called out again, “Yin Bai?”
Only then did Yin Bai snap back to her senses. She raised a hand to her lips, coughed lightly to cover her lapse in composure, and said, “Just do what your PR usually says: stick to the facts, condemn the media a bit, and mention that your foot is sprained. That should be enough.”
Zuo Jingyou nodded, lowered her eyes, and replied with a soft, “Mm.”
Yin Bai followed her gaze down to her ankle and asked with concern, “How’s your ankle? Does it hurt a lot?”
Zuo Jingyou nodded. “Mm, it hurts a bit.” She paused, then looked up at Yin Bai and explained, “I’m a bit… I can’t really handle pain well.”
Yin Bai smiled faintly. “I can tell.” She chuckled softly and said to Zuo Jingyou, “The doctor is already on the way to the hotel. When we get there, we’ll have her take a look at you.”
Zuo Jingyou nodded. “Mm, but I don’t think it’s anything serious. It should just be a sprain.”
Yin Bai examined it carefully, looking at Zuo Jingyou’s slightly swollen ankle, and concluded, “I also think it’s probably a sprain. But if it’s not treated properly, you probably won’t be able to wear that gown and walk the red carpet in high heels this afternoon.”
Yin Bai tilted her head, thought for a moment, and said to Zuo Jingyou, “I learned massage for a while before. I know how to improve circulation. Would you mind if I rubbed it for you?”
Zuo Jingyou’s mind buzzed. She looked up, staring at Yin Bai in a daze for a long moment.
Seeing no response, Yin Bai blinked and asked with a sincere expression, “Do you want me to rub it for you?”
This wasn’t something she needed to refuse. Zuo Jingyou thought for a moment, then smiled at Yin Bai. “Then I’ll trouble you.”
Zuo Jingyou asked Zhang Yu for a wet wipe. Then, Yin Bai watched as Zuo Jingyou held the wet wipe in her right hand, gently pressed it to her own ankle, moved down along her beautifully contoured instep, carefully separated her toes, wiped each one clean, then came back up along the toes, wiped the sole of her foot clean, and only then tossed the wipe aside. She placed her clean left foot in front of Yin Bai and said with a bright smile, “Yin Bai, it’s ready.”
Yin Bai’s mind felt sluggish for a moment. Her gaze rested on the exceptionally beautiful jade foot21 before her, and it took her a while to react. “Oh… okay.”
She hastily put down her cane, reached out to roll up her sleeves, and placed Zuo Jingyou’s injured left foot on her own lap.
Yin Bai lowered her head, looking at the fair, glistening, pink-tinged jade foot resting on her lap, and examined it closely for another long moment. Her toes are lustrous, her instep is fair, so fair and tender—it looks beautiful no matter how you look at it! she thought.
She suppressed those inappropriate, messy thoughts in her mind, bent down, cupped Zuo Jingyou’s foot with her left hand, and placed her right hand on the swollen ankle. She cleared her throat and said, “Here I go then.”
“Go ahead.” Zuo Jingyou nodded. The next moment, as she felt Yin Bai’s fingertips press against her ankle, she couldn’t help but let out a soft hiss.
Yin Bai glanced up at her, saw her biting her lip and frowning as she endured the pain, and softly soothed, “It might hurt a bit. Just bear with it.”
Bear with it? No, no, no, it’s not just about the pain.
Feeling the pressure from her ankle, Zuo Jingyou involuntarily clasped her own hands, pressing her lips tightly together without uttering a word. No one noticed that her ears, hidden beneath her black hair, had already quietly turned pink.
LP: Re-translated on June 08, 2025
Footnotes
- 殺瘋了 | shā fēng le | Lit. “killed crazily” or “went crazy killing.” Internet slang meaning to go viral explosively, to be overwhelmingly popular, to dominate a discussion, or for someone to perform exceptionally well, “slaying” the competition or situation.
- 黑道大佬和她的小嬌妻 | hēidào dàlǎo hé tā de xiǎo jiāo qī | Lit. “underworld big boss and her little pampered/delicate wife.” A popular trope in fiction, often romantic, involving a powerful, possibly dangerous figure and a more delicate, cherished partner.
- 磕CP | kē CP | Kē means to “knock” or “gnaw,” and CP stands for “Couple Pairing.” The phrase means to enthusiastically support or “ship” a fictional or real-life romantic pairing.
- TOP | In the context of CPs (Couple Pairings), “TOP” refers to the dominant partner in the relationship, similar to “seme” in Japanese BL/GL fandoms.
- 八卦 | bāguà | Originally “eight trigrams” (from I Ching), it’s now commonly used as slang for “gossip.”
- 姬圈大佬 | jī quān dàlǎo | 姬 (jī) is slang for lesbian (derived from the G in GL – Girls’ Love). 圈 (quān) means circle or community. 大佬 (dàlǎo) means big shot or influential figure. So, “a prominent figure in the lesbian community.”
- 吃瓜 | chī guā | Lit. “eat melon.” Internet slang for being a spectator to drama, enjoying gossip, or watching an interesting event unfold without direct involvement.
- PO | Internet slang, derived from “post.” Used as a verb meaning to publish something online.
- 扶貧 | fúpín | Lit. “poverty alleviation.” In this context, it means to provide financial support or funding to those who are struggling or have potential but lack resources, like up-and-coming directors or writers.
- 許師師 | Xǔ Shīshī
- 貴人 | guìrén | A “noble person” or benefactor; someone of high status or influence who provides significant help or support to another, often changing their fortunes for the better.
- 樓主 | lóuzhǔ | Lit. “building master” or “floor master.” Internet slang for the Original Poster (OP) of a thread on a forum or social media platform.
- 一米八一 | yī mǐ bā yī | 1.81 meters, approximately 5 feet 11 inches.
- 顏壓 | yán yā | Short for 顏值碾壓 (yánzhí niǎnyā). 顏值 (yánzhí) means “face score” or attractiveness level. 碾壓 (niǎnyā) means to crush or overwhelm. So, 顏壓 means to outshine someone else with one’s superior looks or beauty, to “beauty-crush” them.
- 金主 | jīnzhǔ | Lit. “gold master.” Refers to a wealthy financial backer or sponsor, often implying a sugar daddy/mommy dynamic in fictional contexts, especially in entertainment circle stories.
- 一手遮天 | yī shǒu zhē tiān | Lit. “to cover the sky with one hand.” An idiom meaning to hide the truth from the masses, to deceive everyone, or to abuse power to control everything.
- 苦口婆心 | kǔkǒu póxīn | Lit. “bitter mouth, grandmother’s heart.” Describes advising or admonishing someone patiently and earnestly out of deep concern, like a grandmother would.
- KPI | Key Performance Indicator. A quantifiable measure used to evaluate the success of an organization, employee, etc., in meeting objectives for performance.
- 摸老虎尾巴 | mō lǎohǔ wěiba | Lit. “to touch a tiger’s tail.” An idiom meaning to do something very risky or dangerous, to provoke someone powerful or short-tempered.
- 燈泡 | dēngpào | Lit. “light bulb.” In Chinese slang, being a “light bulb” (電燈泡 diàndēngpào) means being a third wheel, someone awkwardly present with a couple, “illuminating” their intimacy and making them uncomfortable, or feeling out of place oneself.
- 玉足 | yùzú | Lit. “jade foot.” A poetic and complimentary term for a woman’s beautiful, delicate foot.
YB your foot fetish is being revealed lmao
Hehe pervs
Yin Bai likes feet perhaps lmao
Hehe pervs
Yin Bai likes feet perhaps lmao