After Being Scummed – Chapter 47

Am I Not Your Little Fox?

After the premiere, 《The Female Teacher》 was officially released in major theaters across the country, and Zuo Jingyou’s work became even busier.

Almost every day, she had to face all sorts of variety shows, interviews, announcements, and more… This packed schedule left the already busy woman with no time at all to take a break.

            

Time quickly flew by to mid-October. After finishing a variety show one day, Zuo Jingyou, still wearing a full face of exquisite makeup, kicked off her high heels and curled up exhaustedly in the back seat of the car, video-calling Yin Bai.

In the cramped back seat, under the dim light, Zuo Jingyou leaned her head against the car window, pinching the bridge of her nose as she said wearily, “Today’s recording went on for so long…”

Yin Bai, wrapped in a bathrobe and leaning against the headboard, watched the exhausted look on Zuo Jingyou’s face in the video, her heart aching for her.

            

The ambiguous, hazy light fell on Zuo Jingyou’s already small and delicate face, making her sharp chin look even more slender. Yin Bai’s lips tightened, her eyes filled with concern as she looked at Zuo Jingyou. “You’re working way too hard. In the future, if you get work that goes this late, it’s better not to accept it if you can.”

Logically, Zuo Jingyou was already an actress with considerable status. Why did she feel that Zuo Jingyou was suffering even more now than Xiao Nian had when she first debuted?

Zuo Jingyou raised a hand to massage the muscles in her neck, leaning against the window and looking at Yin Bai in the video, her eyes filled with a soft light. “Being a director is different from being an actor. Plus, I want this movie to perform well, so it’s normal to work a little harder.”

            

Seeing the fatigue in her eyes, Yin Bai’s heart ached. She pressed her lips together and said, a little unhappily, “You’re already doing very well. The box office is over seven hundred million. I’ve made a lot of money from you!”

Speaking of which, Zuo Jingyou was quite lucky. Most of the movies released during the National Day holiday period were family-friendly, tribute films, or popcorn flicks.

Originally, He Zhiwen had shot a film set in the Republican era last year, which was scheduled for release this National Day. However, He Zhiwen was imprisoned for drug-related issues in the first half of the year, so the movie could only be shelved.

            

Without competition from similar films, and with Zuo Jingyou’s strenuous promotional efforts—she even agreed to her agent’s suggestion of “CP marketing”—the movie’s popularity soared, attracting many viewers. Moreover, the quality of the film itself was excellent. Audiences who saw it felt it was worth the ticket price and gave it good reviews, spreading positive word-of-mouth recommendations​¹.

Therefore, although 《The Female Teacher》’s box office wasn’t particularly outstanding among this year’s films, it was still quite considerable.

Especially since the budget, under Zuo Jingyou’s meticulous control, had been cut to the absolute minimum, maximizing the use of resources. This meant that Yin Bai, as the largest investor, had basically made a fortune.

            

Hearing the “big capitalist” Yin Bai talk about the box office, Zuo Jingyou’s lips curved into a smile, her eyes twinkling with a fine, broken light. “When it comes to making money, every little bit more counts… Besides, if I earn a bit more, the budget for my next film will be secured.”

When Yin Bai heard her mention her “next film,” her eyes lit up. She sat up straight, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Zuo Jingyou. “You mean, you’ve already thought about what you want to film next?”

Zuo Jingyou nodded and bit her lip, thinking for a moment. “I have a general idea, and the script is just a rough outline. I still need to gather some materials…”

            

Yin Bai clapped her hands happily, saying cheerfully, “Great, having an idea is a good thing! If you want to film it, just film it. Don’t worry about funding. Just find me to invest. I’ll give you favorable terms. I support you, and you can lead me to make money!”

Zuo Jingyou’s eyes curved into a smile. She tilted her head, leaning against the car window, a rare hint of coyness in her voice. “What investor is as generous as you? The script isn’t even a shadow of a thing yet. How do you know you won’t lose money investing in me?”

Yin Bai replied with a grin, “I don’t know about other people, but if I invest in you, I definitely won’t lose money!”

            

Zuo Jingyou herself was the ultimate guarantee.

Zuo Jingyou was pleased by her unconditional support. She raised a hand to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear and sighed, “Even with your investment, I’m not ready to shoot a second movie so soon.”

“I owe a lot of favors. After this period, I have to go pay back those debts.”

            

Things like making cameo appearances in other directors’ films—she would be busy paying all those back.

Yin Bai didn’t think this mattered. She said with a grin, “It’s okay, you can take your time paying those back.”

“By the way, in November, will you be done with all your current work?”

            

Zuo Jingyou nodded and told Yin Bai, “That’s right. Aside from attending the Peony Flower Awards ceremony at the end of November, I’ve pretty much turned down all other engagements.”

Hearing this, Yin Bai’s eyes instantly lit up. She said excitedly to Zuo Jingyou, “So you mean you’ll have about a month of free time? How about this, since you’ll be free anyway, let’s go on a trip together!”

Zuo Jingyou paused for a moment, then saw Yin Bai in her phone exclaiming with delight, “You haven’t had a break for over half a year! When I took Tongtong out during the summer vacation, you only managed to squeeze out two days! How about we go on vacation in the Southern Hemisphere this time? To the seaside, we can swim and sunbathe!”

            

“Of course, if you don’t like summer, we can go to Europe again, head towards Iceland. Maybe we’ll even see the aurora!”

“Ah! Okay, how about this, you tell me your schedule, and I’ll have Xiang Qiu arrange our itinerary right away!”

At this moment, Yin Bai was like a child planning a trip with a friend, absolutely ecstatic.

            

Zuo Jingyou looked at the smile on her face but finally spoke up, cruelly interrupting Yin Bai’s plans. “Yin Bai…”

Yin Bai looked at her, her eyes full of light. “What’s wrong? Do you have other plans? You can tell me.”

Zuo Jingyou pressed her lips together and sighed softly, looking at the person who was making decisions and getting happy all by herself like a child, feeling a little helpless. “Although I’ll be free next month, I can’t go out with you.”

            

Yin Bai was stunned. She stared blankly at Zuo Jingyou, her eyes filled with bewilderment. “Huh? Why? Didn’t you say you have no more engagements? Why can’t you go out with me?”

Upon hearing she was being rejected, the corners of Yin Bai’s eyes drooped, looking as pitiful as a small, abandoned puppy.

Seeing this “abandoned” puppy look, a pang of guilt washed over Zuo Jingyou.

            

What should I do? Just seeing her look disappointed makes my heart ache. I’m even tempted to cast aside my promise to someone else and choose to go on a trip with Yin Bai.

The moment this thought arose, Zuo Jingyou suppressed it. Biting her lip, she said with some difficulty, “You asked too late. I already promised my senior sister that I’d go with her to gather creative inspiration next month, so I turned down all my engagements…”

Senior sister? Creative inspiration? Next month?

            

A whole month, spending it all with that person?

Zuo Jingyou turned down her invitation for someone else?

Yin Bai’s mind was a mess of chaotic thoughts. It took her a while to process it before she looked at Zuo Jingyou and asked, “Your senior sister… is it that Xu Ruofeng-shijie? Are you two going to gather inspiration for a whole month?”

            

Zuo Jingyou nodded and explained to Yin Bai, “She told me about a story before and wanted to collaborate with me on a film, so next month I’ll be going with her team to gather inspiration…”

Oh… a team collaboration. That’s fine, then…

Yin Bai pondered for a moment, then asked again, “When are you planning to leave?”

            

“We fly out on the 2nd. Why?”

The 2nd? Doesn’t that mean her plans are completely ruined?

Yin Bai spent a while digesting this on her own, leaning against the headboard in a daze, showing no reaction. Seeing her still not recovered from the blow, Zuo Jingyou said guiltily, “Yin Bai, how about next time? Next time, I’ll invite you. I’ll go on a trip with you, okay?”

            

“I’ve already made plans with my senior sister this time. It’s for work…” She really couldn’t cancel it.

It took Yin Bai a while to react. Then she forced herself to cheer up, pursed her lips into a smile, and said, “It’s fine, it’s okay. We can just make plans for next time.”

“You and your senior sister have a good time gathering inspiration. Take lots of pictures for me. I’ll ask you out again when you’re free next time.”

            

It’s fine. It’s not a big deal. It’s just for work, after all.

Yin Bai expressed her understanding and chatted a bit more with Zuo Jingyou. It wasn’t until Zuo Jingyou got back to her hotel and was about to wash up for bed that Yin Bai finally hung up the phone.

But the moment she hung up, Yin Bai furiously threw her phone onto the bed and, clenching her fists, yelled petulantly, “Ahhhhhhh!!”

            

“I asked too late!! She’s going out with someone else!! With someone else!!”

Yin Bai’s body slid down, and she rolled into her quilt, grabbing it to wrap around herself. In her frustration, she bit down on the quilt. “Damn it, damn it! A month, a whole month! She’s going to go play with someone else for a month!”

“If I had known she would be so free, I should have asked earlier! Ah! A month! A month!”

            

“Tongtong only gets to see her on weekends! And this senior sister, whoever she is, gets to whisk her away for a whole month!”

Yin Bai was furious. She rolled around on the bed, hugging the quilt and muttering resentfully all night.

After finally venting her emotions, Yin Bai fell asleep wrapped in her quilt, only to dream of Zuo Jingyou with Xu Ruofeng on some glacier, some vast grassland, driving and taking a boat together by the sea.

            

Everything in the dream was bizarre and fantastical. The plot and scenes kept changing, and everything was chaotic and unclear.

When she woke up in the morning, the only thing Yin Bai could remember was being in a desolate desert, where Xu Ruofeng had her arm around Zuo Jingyou’s shoulder as they leaned against a jeep, watching the sunset together.

Sitting up in bed, Yin Bai recalled this scene from her dream and clenched the quilt on the bed, gritting her teeth.

            

So infuriating! So infuriating!

Am I not Zuo Jingyou’s little fox anymore? Why would she turn down an invitation from such a special friend like me for someone else?

So infuriating! So infuriating!

            

She was so angry that her wisdom teeth were starting to ache faintly!

Yin Bai, who was already in a bad mood early in the morning, felt even worse after her wisdom teeth started hurting. After getting up and washing, nothing she saw seemed right.

During breakfast, she was picky and fussy, saying with an impatient frown, “What’s wrong with Auntie Song? Why is there so much ginger in the shredded chicken congee today?”

            

Zhang Yu, who brought her breakfast, was stunned. “Boss, can you be reasonable? Yesterday, you were complaining there wasn’t enough ginger and said you wanted more!”

Yin Bai, holding the cane by her side, said huffily, “I don’t feel like eating it today, can’t I?”

Fine, fine, you’re the boss.

            

Zhang Yu just thought this was one of Yin Bai’s intermittent fits of petulance. Who knew that after breakfast, Yin Bai would become even more unreasonable? She complained that Zhang Yu’s black and white outfit wasn’t festive and looked unlucky.

Zhang Yu was about to explode with anger from her words and retorted, “Do I have to wear red and green to be considered festive?”

Knowing she was in the wrong, Yin Bai pointed her cane at a nearby vase and said it was placed poorly and needed to be moved.

            

Hearing this, Zhang Yu went to arrange the vase for her. Under Yin Bai’s nitpicky directions, Zhang Yu and Xiang Qiu were tormented for a whole morning, moving the position of every single decorative item in the house.

After the two of them finally finished placing things according to her wishes, Yin Bai offered a new opinion: “I don’t think this vase looks good here. It’s better to put it back where it was.”

Zhang Yu was about to be driven mad by her. What were you doing earlier, then?

            

Zhang Yu had put up with her tantrum all morning, but finally, she couldn’t take it anymore. With her hands on her hips, she looked at Yin Bai on the sofa and said, “Boss, you’re just looking for trouble. Please, do us a favor and stop adding unnecessary work for us, okay!”

Yin Bai had also had enough of her own fussing. She snorted lightly, turned her head away, and said no more.

Zhang Yu felt she was being very abnormal. She sighed, walked over to her, and leaned down to look into her eyes, asking patiently, “Boss, did someone make you unhappy? If you’re still not feeling well, how about we go on a vacation?”

            

Zhang Yu had been with her for several years and knew what Yin Bai was like when she was acting up. As long as she was coaxed a little, it wasn’t a big problem.

Yin Bai also knew she wasn’t being herself. She averted her gaze and said sullenly, “I didn’t… No one made me unhappy.”

No one made you unhappy, so why are you tormenting us?

            

Zhang Yu sighed and asked Yin Bai seriously, “Really?”

Yin Bai shook her head. “No!”

Zhang Yu didn’t believe her. She thought for a moment and asked tentatively, “Did you have a fight with Teacher Zuo?”

            

Yin Bai paused for a long moment before saying sullenly, “I didn’t…”

She didn’t have a fight! She was just… she was just… her friend… was about to abandon her!

Just thinking about it made her heart clench, her head throb with pain. Her bones, her teeth, every part of her body ached intensely!

            

Yin Bai leaned on her cane, looked up at Zhang Yu, and finally said helplessly, “Zhang Yu, make a hospital appointment for me. My tooth hurts.”

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LP: Re-translated on June 17, 2025

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