After Being Scummed – Chapter 43
by Little PandaYin Bai is the best in the world!
Because of the matter with He Zhiwen, Zuo Jingyou was entangled by the media at the entrance for quite a while. After finally managing to shake off the group of reporters, Zuo Jingyou, leaning on Yin Bai’s cane, walked to the guest seating area and sat down next to Yin Bai.
Originally, their seats weren’t together, but Yin Bai had mentioned it earlier, so Zuo Jingyou’s seat was moved next to hers.
Yin Bai turned her head, looked at Zuo Jingyou beside her, and asked with great concern, “How is it? Does your foot hurt?”
Leaning on her cane, she (Yin Bai) thought for a moment, then pursed her lips and said, “You stood for so long, it’s probably gotten worse. How about I have Zhang Yu send over a wheelchair later? If you still plan to attend the banquet, you should use the wheelchair.”
Seeing her speak so seriously, Zuo Jingyou couldn’t help but laugh. She looked up at her, a little helplessly, “It’s just a sprain, not a big deal. If I really use a wheelchair, people will talk.”
Yin Bai frowned, a little unhappily saying, “It’s just for convenience, who could say anything? It’s not their family’s wheelchair they’d be sitting in, what right do they have to an opinion?”
Zuo Jingyou looked up at her, a soft light in her eyes, “People would say it’s for a staged photo1. It was just getting mobbed by a crowd at the airport and twisting an ankle. If I use a wheelchair, they’ll say I’m making a big fuss over nothing, groaning without being ill, and it would also offend that group of media who ambushed me at the airport.”
“Anyway, it’s not a big deal. It’s best to resolve minor issues quietly.”
“In this circle, it’s sometimes like this: even if you fall on stage or get injured on a film set, you have to act strong as if nothing happened. Because not everyone can accept someone showing vulnerability in front of them; they’ll just think it’s being melodramatic.”
“But everyone experiences pain. Normally, even a simple toothache can make one feel like they’re dying from discomfort. Why is it that when it happens to others, people can’t empathize?”
“Perhaps this is what Mr. Lu Xun2 said: human joys and sorrows are not interconnected.”
Yin Bai pressed her lips tightly, furrowed her brow, and tapped her cane on the ground a few times—tok, tok—saying with great displeasure, “Those reporters are so annoying, always exaggerating everything.”
“Even though it was clearly stated you have no relationship with He Zhiwen, they still ask all sorts of questions. They were clearly the ones who caused your sprain, yet in the end, they’ll say you only sprained your ankle and are being too much of a drama queen.”
Yin Bai’s brow was tightly furrowed. Her pair of grey-blue eyes glinted with a somber light in the darkness, as if a cluster of black flames was slowly rising. “These people simply don’t understand human language, nor do they care about others’ feelings. Their minds are completely filled with where there’s gossip to expose, where there’s news to write. They don’t do proper work, just thinking about creating a big sensation all day long.”
The black flames in Yin Bai’s eyes burned fiercely. She forcefully tapped the cane in her hand—tok, tok—and said, both angry and annoyed, “Just like before, it was clearly agreed not to take pictures of me, but they always go on a wild photo spree. Snap, snap, snap! What’s so good about photographing me, a cripple? Do they think that by taking my picture, they can publish it saying Zuo Jingyou was out with a friend, but alas, the friend is a cripple?”
“These people are just scourges3, troublemakers4, and unscrupulous vermin5!”
Honestly, they never talk about good things, always saying unscrupulous things to grab attention, it’s so hateful!
Zuo Jingyou looked at her gnashing her teeth in fury, and her heart sank. She reached out, placing her hand over Yin Bai’s hand which rested on the cane, and looked at her with a gentle gaze, “Yin Bai…”
The cool back of her hand was covered by a layer of warmth, temporarily pulling Yin Bai’s drifting sanity back. Yin Bai stopped tapping her cane, turned to look at Zuo Jingyou, and asked huffily, “What’s wrong? Do you think I’m wrong, that I went too far with my scolding?”
Zuo Jingyou sighed, took her hand and placed it on the armrest between them, then looked into her eyes very seriously and said, “It’s not like that… It’s not out of the question that such people exist, but among those who wanted to photograph you just now, there were definitely also people who genuinely thought you were beautiful and wanted to take your picture for that reason.”
Wait… weren’t they cursing unscrupulous media and dog reporters? Why did it suddenly turn to her?
No, wait, she was the one who brought this up first.
Yin Bai felt the warmth transmitting from her hand, blinked at Zuo Jingyou, and followed her line of thought, “I’m a cripple, what’s there to see?”
Zuo Jingyou held her left hand with both of hers, her lips parted slightly, and looking at her, she said very clearly, word by word, “You are beautiful.”
Yin Bai met her sincere gaze, and her heartbeat inexplicably skipped half a beat. She swallowed with difficulty and stammered, “I’m a cripple; when I walk, my shoulders are uneven, I move laboriously one step at a time, my posture is awkward. How is that beautiful?”
She really didn’t understand why these people always had to take her picture when she was walking. Her walking posture really wasn’t good-looking!
Zuo Jingyou enveloped Yin Bai’s hand with her palm and squeezed it firmly. “It is beautiful. Because your face is beautiful, and every step you take when you walk is firm. Your posture is exceptionally, exceptionally beautiful. It’s a work of art, the Venus6 in an artist’s eyes, the embodiment of beauty.”
Yin Bai stared at Zuo Jingyou before her, who was full of sweet words, her pupils constricting violently, her heart pounding.
This person… how can this person tell such barefaced lies? Really… really…
Yin Bai opened her mouth, taking a good while to react, then looked at Zuo Jingyou blankly and said, “My friend, your filter7 for me is a bit too strong.”
She was clearly super conscious about limping when she walked, looking very awkward and strange, but now that Zuo Jingyou said this, she suddenly didn’t want to mind it so much!
*She even had a feeling of, *I’m the most beautiful in the world!**
So praise was this powerful? She really wanted Zuo Jingyou to say a little more.
Zuo Jingyou looked at her and smiled softly, “It’s not a filter; you really are very beautiful. Yin Bai, the imperfect part of you is the world’s way of carving you into a work of art.”
Yin Bai’s anger dissipated at once. She held her cane with one hand and said awkwardly, “It’s fine without the carving.” She just wanted to have a normal pair of legs, to look like a normal person.
Not… not like this.
If one could choose, who would want to become a disabled person, to become such a work of art?
Zuo Jingyou lowered her eyes, stroked Yin Bai’s hand, and said to her as if coaxing a child, “I know, I know. Of course, a perfect Yin Bai would also be great, but the current Yin Bai is also very precious.”
“Don’t pay attention to what others think; you are already the best. I’ve said it, if others offend you because of it, it’s never your fault. It’s their stupidity, their ignorance that makes them unworthy of appreciating you. You shouldn’t harbor any negative emotions about this, other than anger.”
Zuo Jingyou looked up, holding her hand, enveloping her with warmth, and said with utmost sincerity, “Yin Bai, when you walk, you are as firm as a mountain, steady and reliable. Your posture is more beautiful than anyone else present here.”
Yin Bai admitted to herself that she was comforted.
Although she knew clearly in her heart that there was no way a cripple leaning on a cane could walk more beautifully than a normal person, Zuo Jingyou’s words still made the corners of her lips lift.
The corners of her lips curved slightly, and pretending she didn’t believe the other, she asked, “Really?”
“Really!” Zuo Jingyou nodded emphatically, her grip on Yin Bai’s hand transmitting a warm strength.
Yin Bai raised an eyebrow, pointed to a female star currently surrounded by photographers, “Look, that female star, she walks so lightly and gracefully, agile like a little bird. I think she’s more beautiful than me.”
Zuo Jingyou smiled faintly, knowing she was being contrary, and looked at her with a beaming smile, “But you have long legs, a quick pace, and you can stir up a little breeze when you walk. You’re much more lively and vibrant than her.”
Alright, barely satisfactory.
Yin Bai pursed her lips, her eyes filled with a triumphant light. She pointed again, this time to a female director who had just walked over, “Then what about this one? She walks steadily, her posture is composed, and she’s cool and beautiful. Isn’t she much better than me?”
Zuo Jingyou followed Yin Bai’s finger and saw Lu Qing leading Xiao Nian in front of the media cameras at that very moment, and she instantly understood.
She turned her head, her eyes curving into a smile, and gazed at Yin Bai’s eyes with infinite tenderness, “Not at all! You’re clearly one point eight meters tall, with big eyes, long eyelashes, delicate features, a fair complexion, fair-skinned and beautiful, both beautiful and cool~”
“How could anyone else compare to you?”
Yin Bai was overjoyed. She let go of her cane, raised a hand to touch her cheek, and said with a beaming smile, “I think so too. Teacher Zuo truly has good taste.”
She always said, when it came to faces, how could she lose to anyone!
The only thing she might lose out on to others was probably just because she was a cripple.
Zuo Jingyou saw that she was finally happy, tapped her fingertips on the back of Yin Bai’s hand, and echoed with smiling eyes, “But of course, I’ve always had excellent taste.”
After saying that, Zuo Jingyou paused, then pursed her lips a little unhappily and said, “It’s just that my taste in men… isn’t quite up to par.”
Yin Bai was thoroughly amused. She reached out and patted the back of Zuo Jingyou’s hand, consoling her, “You can’t be blamed for that; it’s mainly that most men are no good. Actually, compared to others, He Zhiwen is already much better. At the very least, he’s good-looking and talented!”
Zuo Jingyou nodded, saying thoughtfully, “That makes sense…”
The two chatted for a while holding hands. Before long, acquaintances came to greet them. Zuo Jingyou had no choice but to let go of Yin Bai’s hand and start socializing with the people she knew.
At seven in the evening, the awards ceremony officially began. After the host gave a long speech, the award presentations started. When it came to the “Best Newcomer” award, it was presented by the newlywed couple, Lu Qing and Xiao Nian. As soon as the two went on stage, they were teased by the host.
Everyone still remembered Lu Qing proposing to Xiao Nian in this awards hall a year ago, so when the host said, “Proposed last year, married this year, will there be a baby next year?” all the guests in the venue laughed.
Amidst this teasing laughter, Zuo Jingyou turned her head to look at Yin Bai beside her, who was gazing intently at the stage. In the dim light, the emotion on Yin Bai’s face was unreadable; only her side profile, carved out by the light, was as beautiful as a goddess’s sculpture.
Zuo Jingyou’s heart stirred. After thinking for a moment, she finally reached out, tapped Yin Bai’s shoulder, and called softly, “Yin Bai…”
Yin Bai immediately turned back, looking at her in confusion, “What’s wrong?”
In the dimness, Zuo Jingyou looked at Yin Bai’s bright eyes, her lips pursed slightly. After a good while, she said, “Please allow me, as a friend, to gossip8 a bit: why do you like Xiao Nian?”
Yin Bai blinked at her, tilted her head to glance at Xiao Nian on stage, who was dressed in a fiery red gown, then turned her gaze back to Zuo Jingyou and said very seriously, “Don’t you think Xiao Nian is a lot like the rose in The Little Prince?”
Ah… she does seem quite similar.
Zuo Jingyou glanced at Xiao Nian on stage, then propped her chin on her hand and looked into Yin Bai’s eyes, asking, “Just because of that?”
Yin Bai nodded. “Yes, just because of that. For me, with her… it was love at first sight.”
Love at first sight, huh… that could be a bit tricky.
LP: Re-translated on June 13, 2025
Footnotes
- 摆拍 | bǎipāi | To pose for a photo; a staged photo or publicity stunt.
- 鲁迅 | Lǔ Xùn | Pen name of Zhou Shuren (1881-1936), a leading figure of modern Chinese literature, known for his sharp social critiques.
- 害人精 | hàirénjīng | Lit. harm-people spirit/essence; a person who brings harm or trouble to others, a bane or scourge.
- 麻烦鬼 | máfan guǐ | Lit. trouble ghost/devil; a person who constantly causes trouble or is a nuisance.
- 缺德虫 | quēdé chóng | Lit. lacking-virtue worm/bug; a despicable, unethical person.
- 维纳斯 | Wéinàsī | Venus, the Roman goddess of love, beauty, etc. Often referring to the statue Venus de Milo, which is famously armless, an icon of beauty despite perceived ‘imperfection’.
- 滤镜 | lǜjìng | Lit. filter (camera); Metaphorically, seeing someone through a biased or idealized lens, similar to “rose-tinted glasses”.
- 八卦 | bāguà | Lit. Eight Trigrams (from I Ching); slang for gossip or to gossip. Used here as a verb.
Zuo Jingyou is really trying to murder Yin Bai with sweetness here… xD
Zuo Jingyou is really trying to murder Yin Bai with sweetness here… xD