After Being Scummed – Chapter 42
by Little PandaShe is the Bright Moon!
Yin Bai massaged Zuo Jingyou for a while, but Zuo Jingyou, feeling quite embarrassed, asked her to stop.
After a while, the car drove into the hotel Yin Bai had booked earlier. Not long after Yin Bai helped Zuo Jingyou into the suite, Yin Bai’s private doctor also arrived at the hotel.
The doctor examined Zuo Jingyou’s ankle, confirmed there were no fractures or other issues, just a sprain, then gave her some spray and advised Zuo Jingyou to apply an ice pack.
Yin Bai had Zhang Yu bring some ice. Zuo Jingyou took off her shoes and nestled on the living room sofa, placing the ice pack, wrapped in a towel, gently against her injured ankle.
Yin Bai, leaning on her cane, sat beside her. Watching Zuo Jingyou bite her lip, enduring the cold from the ice, Yin Bai frowned with worry, “How is it? Is it very cold?”
Zuo Jingyou pressed the ice pack against her ankle, looked up at her, and shook her head, “It’s not very cold.”
Seeing her denial, Yin Bai sighed and turned to Zhang Yu, “Zhang Yu, bring a blanket over.”
Before Zuo Jingyou could say she didn’t need it, the perceptive Zhang Yu turned and quickly fetched a blanket, draping it over Zuo Jingyou.
Zuo Jingyou, draped in the blanket, one hand on her ankle and the other wrapped around her knees, looked at Yin Bai opposite her and spoke softly, “Why did you come over this morning? Didn’t we agree to meet at the venue?”
“Besides, I already told you I’d listen to you and return to Haicheng early. Why did you still come?”
I made it so clear, why is she still so worried about me?
Yin Bai, leaning on her cane, sighed repeatedly, “I told you, I was worried about you. I woke up startled in the middle of the night, and when I got up, I found Weibo had exploded. I figured you’d definitely be surrounded and intercepted by that pack of ravenous wolves, so I was extremely uneasy and came over.”
A slight smile touched Zuo Jingyou’s lips. She softened her voice and said to her, “Just because you were uneasy, you needed to bring so many people? This entourage of yours is more exaggerated than a wedding snatching1.”
Yin Bai looked at her and said very seriously, “It’s because I was worried you’d be cornered that I prepared to get you out safely. Just like Alice wanting to save the Mad Hatter, I was prepared to do whatever it takes. I need to ensure you’re safe. Isn’t this lineup perfectly normal?”
Zuo Jingyou gazed at her for a long moment. She couldn’t detect any unusual emotion in Yin Bai’s clear eyes and sighed inwardly. Her friend is truly too pure, so pure that my current speculations feel like they’re tainting our friendship.
Zuo Jingyou composed herself and smiled at Yin Bai, “Mm, so thank you for coming to save me, regardless of everything.”
Yin Bai raised an eyebrow and said with an extraordinarily smug smile, “You’re welcome. It’s my honor to serve a friend.”
Zuo Jingyou smiled faintly. “Then you mustn’t have slept well last night, right? Are you sleepy?”
It was fine when it wasn’t mentioned, but as soon as it was, Yin Bai felt the drowsiness she had been ignoring surge up instantly. She raised a hand to cover her mouth, gave a lazy yawn, her eyes tearing up slightly. “I’m alright, just a little sleepy.”
Zuo Jingyou’s lips curved into a gentle smile. “The grand ceremony doesn’t start entry until evening. You should go rest for a bit. You’ve picked me up now, so don’t worry anymore.”
Yin Bai thought that made a lot of sense. She nodded and said, “Okay, I’ll go rest then. I’ll get up around two in the afternoon for a meal. Have Zhang Yu notify your stylist and assistant to bring the formal wear here. If your foot still hurts in the afternoon, don’t wear high heels. Change into a different gown, understand?”
Zuo Jingyou, one arm around her knee, cupped her chin and quietly watched the chattering Yin Bai before her, saying with a sense of helplessness, “I know, why are you such a worrywart.”
She’s someone who has struggled and tumbled2 in the circle for a long time, not a rookie on her first day. There’s no need to nag her like this.
Yin Bai evidently realized this too. She stopped talking, awkwardly rubbing the handle of her cane and stammered, “Ah… sorry, I just accidentally…”
It’s a bad habit I picked up when I was working part-time as Xiao Nian’s assistant.
Zuo Jingyou understood. She didn’t probe into why a big boss like Yin Bai would develop such a nagging habit regarding this matter. She smiled and reassured Yin Bai, “Alright, it’s fine. Go get some sleep. Don’t worry about me.”
“Okay then.” Yin Bai stood up from the sofa with her cane, took a step out, and said dejectedly, “Then I’m off to sleep.”
Zuo Jingyou looked up. “Mm, go on.”
Yin Bai, holding her cane, shuffled two steps towards the room, then turned her head back and said, “I’m really going to sleep now!”
Zuo Jingyou looked up, seemingly catching a trace of reluctance in Yin Bai’s eyes. Her lips curved in an extremely helpless smile. “Go on. I’ll go rest too after I’m done with the ice pack.”
“Oh.” Yin Bai turned and walked forward with her cane, looking a little dejected.
Zuo Jingyou didn’t understand where Yin Bai’s low spirits came from, but she could vaguely sense the subtle changes in her emotions. Sometimes, Yin Bai is just like a child, so easy to understand.
Zuo Jingyou sighed and called out to Yin Bai’s retreating figure, “Yin Bai…”
Yin Bai turned around with her cane and looked at Zuo Jingyou. She saw Zuo Jingyou wrapped in a dark red blanket, hugging her knees as she sat on the sofa, looking up at her and saying softly, “I’m very happy that you came to pick me up.”
Yin Bai immediately broke into a smile. She pursed her lips, her eyes as bright as if they had captured starlight, and said cheerfully, “You’re welcome. As long as you’re happy.”
Watching her smile, Zuo Jingyou thought, She really is like a child in this regard. When she does something good, she needs to be praised, to be acknowledged, to have the person she helped say, “I’m so glad you came to help me.”
In this respect, Yin Bai is truly too adorable.
At two in the afternoon, Yin Bai got up on time. After having lunch with Zuo Jingyou, she had the stylists quickly do their makeup and hair so they could head to the venue.
Because Zuo Jingyou had sprained her ankle and couldn’t wear very high heels, she had to switch to T-strap shoes3 with nearly flat heels. Since the shoes were changed, the previous gown couldn’t be worn either. Zuo Jingyou thought for a moment and chose a sapphire blue qipao with gilt patterns from her backup options.
The exquisitely tailored qipao perfectly accentuated her well-proportioned and graceful figure, making her appear even more charming and svelte than her usual elegant and poised self. Her jet-black hair was coiled up, revealing a long, fair neck and the white pearl stud earrings adorning her earlobes, giving her a look that was both aloof and noble.
After her styling was done, Zuo Jingyou stood up, supporting herself with her right foot while holding onto the back of a chair. She leaned down to look at Yin Bai, who was sitting on the sofa, and asked with a smile, “How is it? Do I look good?”
The woman in the qipao leaned against the back of the sofa, her figure svelte and exquisite, charming and captivating, exuding myriad charms4. Yin Bai, sitting on the sofa with her cane, looked up at her, unconsciously tightening her grip on the cane. She was stunned for a good while before finally offering her assessment, “Very beautiful! Zuo Jingyou, you were born to wear a qipao.”
She’s just too beautiful, so beautiful that for a moment, Yin Bai felt like her usual aesthetic sense was about to change.
Zuo Jingyou lowered her eyes and chuckled softly, a dim light flickering in them. “Is that so? That’s good then.”
She smiled, then looked at Yin Bai’s cane and joked with her, “But it’s still a bit inconvenient for me to walk right now. My dear friend, do you have a spare cane?”
Yin Bai followed her gaze to the cane in her own hand, then looked back up at Zuo Jingyou and said with a smile, “What do you want my cane for? Didn’t I say I’d help you walk into the venue?”
Why would she need a cane? Isn’t having me enough?
Zuo Jingyou winked at her and said somewhat playfully, “My dear friend, you should know that you can only help me walk a short distance. Once we’re inside the venue, countless cameras will be pointed at me. If you stay with me the whole time, you’ll definitely be photographed. Even if you want to delete them later, you won’t be able to get rid of your photos.”
Yin Bai paused, then remembered that Zuo Jingyou was a female celebrity, different from herself. How careless of me. I actually thought we could walk together the whole way.
Alright, since that’s the case, Yin Bai decided to be a little more generous to her friend.
She tapped her cane on the ground and said to Zuo Jingyou, “I have a spare cane. If you really need it, then I’ll lend it to you.”
Zuo Jingyou’s lips curved into a light smile. “Thank you.”
After everything was settled, Zuo Jingyou and Yin Bai took a car to the venue. As Yin Bai walked Zuo Jingyou through the entrance passage, arm in arm, the surrounding reporters and photographers furiously snapped pictures of the two of them.
Yin Bai was very annoyed by the flashing lights. She turned her head to a familiar photographer and said displeasedly, “Take fewer pictures!”
The photographer chuckled and said, “Fewer pictures, fewer pictures, Chairman Yin, I remember the rules. I won’t show your full face!”
Anyway, at such large events, Yin Bai usually wouldn’t make things too unpleasant. Yin Bai hmphed and continued walking forward with Zuo Jingyou’s arm in hers. Zuo Jingyou turned her head, her gaze softening as she looked at Yin Bai’s pursed lips and frosty expression.
Such an occasion really is difficult for her.
Just as she was thinking this, a reporter she knew started calling for her to stop. “Teacher Zuo, your qipao today is so beautiful! Let us take a few more pictures!”
Zuo Jingyou curved her lips, glanced at the person, and put on a professional smile, responding very appropriately, “Alright, once I’m inside, you can take all the pictures you want.”
She didn’t linger as she usually did, but quickly followed Yin Bai through the entrance passage. The moment she stepped into the venue, countless spotlights surged towards Zuo Jingyou.
Just as they entered this sea of dazzling stars, Yin Bai released Zuo Jingyou’s hand and said with a smile, “Alright, Teacher Zuo, I’ve brought you to the entrance of your Milky Way Avenue5. You’ll have to walk the rest of the way yourself.”
Yin Bai reached out, took the spare cane from Zhang Yu behind her, handed it to Zuo Jingyou, and gave her a gentle push on the waist. “Go on, I’ll wait for you at my seat over there.”
Zuo Jingyou nodded and replied with a smile, “Okay.” She turned, leaned on Yin Bai’s spare cane, and walked into the depths of the dazzling starlight.
Yin Bai stood at the venue entrance, watching her leave. Only after a while did she, leaning on her cane, make her way around the countless bright flashes, walking alone in the dimness towards her seat.
Zuo Jingyou, leaning on the cane, soon arrived at the center of countless cameras. Under the dazzling flashes, in front of various familiar media lenses, she cooperatively struck appropriate poses and smiled, presenting her perfect self as usual.
Elegant and poised, impeccable.
Just as all the flashes in the venue lit up for her, Zuo Jingyou looked up in the direction Yin Bai had gone. Through countless dazzling lights, across a bright river of stars, Zuo Jingyou saw Yin Bai passing through the crowd alone, looking cool and detached. As usual, when Yin Bai passed by, all the surrounding film industry people stood up in unison, greeting her with compliments.
Watching Yin Bai’s figure, hobbling with a cane as she passed through the crowd, Zuo Jingyou couldn’t help but curve her lips into an incredibly gentle smile.
She is the bright moon, Zuo Jingyou thought.
Therefore, even when weaving through numerous starlights, she is the most dazzling, the most brilliant existence. Even if she’s hazy and ambiguous, she illuminates the dim world, making it impossible for people to ignore her.
And also makes it impossible for one to let go.
LP: Well, a certain someone let go of her subtly looking at Xiao Nian
Re-translate on June 10, 2025
Footnotes
- 搶婚 | qiǎng hūn | Lit. ‘snatch a marriage/wedding’. Refers to the dramatic act of stealing a bride or groom, often from their own wedding ceremony, a trope in some stories.
- 摸爬滾打 | mō pá gǔn dǎ | Lit. ‘to grope, crawl, roll, and beat’. An idiom meaning to go through hardships, to struggle and gain experience, often in a tough environment like the entertainment circle.
- 丁字鞋 | dīngzìxié | Lit. ‘T-character shoes’. Refers to T-strap shoes.
- 風情萬種 | fēngqíng wànzhǒng | Lit. ‘ten thousand kinds of amorous feelings/charms’. An idiom describing someone (usually a woman) as exceptionally charming, alluring, and graceful in many ways.
- 銀河大道 | Yínhé Dàdào | Lit. ‘Silver River Great Road’ or ‘Milky Way Avenue’. A metaphorical term for the path of a star/celebrity.
Zuo Jingyou is definitely gonna realize shes fallen first
Zuo Jingyou is definitely gonna realize shes fallen first