After Being Scummed – Chapter 78
by Little PandaHave you seen the nineteen-year-old Yin Bai?
Besides the New Director Award, 《Female Teacher》 also won awards for Best Original Screenplay, Original Music, and Best Supporting Actress. Compared to the glory of the entire film team receiving these awards, the fans felt increasingly sorry for Zuo Jingyou, who had been injured and hospitalized.
The fans, transforming into Leeuwenhoeks1, dug out that the man who committed the assault at the scene was a sasaeng fan of Xiao Nian. After this, as if they had opened the Eye of God2, they suddenly understood that Zuo Jingyou’s accidental injury might have originated from an emotional dispute.
A Big V3 with considerable fame made a speculation: Xiao Nian’s sasaeng fan, disgusted by the affair between Yin Bai and Xiao Nian, and under multiple blows, broke into the venue to retaliate against Yin Bai. As a result, Zuo Jingyou protected Yin Bai from injury, taking the blow for her.
Summary: The affair between Xiao Nian and Yin Bai is likely true. Zuo Jingyou didn’t hold it against her, and her love for Yin Bai is true.
After this theory emerged, it was widely circulated on major forums. Regardless of whether the affair between Xiao Nian and Yin Bai was real, when people saw Zuo Jingyou unhesitatingly dive to shield Yin Bai beneath her, who wouldn’t call it true love?
Numerous melon-eating netizens sighed with emotion. No matter how you analyzed it, it only proved that Zuo Jingyou, who subconsciously saved someone, was a very good person.
Even if black ones4 brought out more black material5 to slander her, it couldn’t compare to this action that spoke directly to people’s hearts. After all, Zuo Jingyou saving someone was a solid fact, while the black material was nothing but fabrication.
For a time, the number of posts on Weibo hoping for Zuo Jingyou’s safe and sound recovery multiplied.
With public opinion fermenting to this degree, Zuo Jingyou had no choice but to post on Weibo: “Thank you to the committee for their recognition, thank you to my manager and friends for their support, thank you to Miss Yin Bai for her generous financial backing, and thank you to the staff for their hard work… Receiving this award is my honor and my motivation. In the future, I will work even harder to make better films. 【Jia you】【Jia you】6“
This Weibo post was accompanied by a photo of her manager, Kong Tianyi, accepting the award on her behalf. After publishing her acceptance speech, Zuo Jingyou commented below about her injuries: “The doctor said the injury isn’t very serious, so I ask all my moviegoers and fans not to worry too much about me. I just need to rest for a while, and I’ll be all better~”
Her tone remained very optimistic and strong, without a hint of selling misery7. Sitting beside her, Yin Bai said to Zuo Jingyou with a long face, “You’re clearly hurt so badly, why don’t you say so?”
It’s just like last time, swallowing everything herself. It makes my heart ache to death.
Zuo Jingyou put down her phone, nestled into her embrace, and wrapped an arm around her waist, smiling softly. “It’s not a very serious matter, and it will all get better. Besides, aren’t I already acting spoiled8 with the person who loves me?”
Yin Bai bit her lip, looking at her with some resentment. “You’re really an expert with sugar-coated cannonballs…” Even the deepest worries were about to be coaxed away by Zuo Jingyou.
Yin Bai sighed, leaned down to kiss Zuo Jingyou’s lips, and whispered, “I’ll stay here with you tonight. You can sleep peacefully.”
Zuo Jingyou nodded and said, “Okay.”
After a restless night, Zuo Jingyou was indeed exhausted. After letting Yin Bai help her wipe her body clean, they ignored the ensuing turmoil and fell asleep in each other’s arms.
After a night of peaceful sleep, Yin Bai was having breakfast with Zuo Jingyou in the morning when she suddenly received a call from Zhang Yu. On the phone, Zhang Yu said with extreme excitement, “BOSS, BOSS, are you awake? Check Weibo! Check Weibo now!”
Yin Bai said helplessly, “What’s happened now? Didn’t I tell you to sue all the black ones?”
Zhang Yu was so excited she was incoherent. “No… not the black ones, it’s Teacher Xiao Nian!”
Xiao Nian?
Yin Bai frowned and said to Zhang Yu, “Are you still half-asleep? Teacher Zuo is right here with me, and you’re telling me to go look at Xiao Nian? Please, be a person9 and clear your head!”
Zuo Jingyou, who was beside her, heard the name “Xiao Nian” and looked up at Yin Bai, asking softly, “What’s wrong?”
Yin Bai shrugged and replied, “It’s nothing, probably not important.”
On the other end of the line, Zhang Yu sighed and said anxiously, “In short, Xiao Nian is live on Weibo. If you don’t watch, you’ll regret it!”
What is there to regret?
If Zuo Jingyou left me now, or if she minded this, that’s what I would regret for a lifetime!
That’s right, I’m just that kind of fickle woman. My heart is in the shape of Zuo Jingyou now!
Without a second thought, Yin Bai hung up on Zhang Yu. She even muttered, Is Zhang Yu’s brain not working? Why is she so slow-witted now!
Zuo Jingyou looked up at Yin Bai. “Zhang Yu told you to watch Teacher Xiao Nian’s live stream?”
Yin Bai’s eyes widened in surprise. “You heard that?” After speaking, she mumbled to herself, How is the reception on this crappy phone so bad that you could hear that?
Zuo Jingyou smiled. “My hearing is just too good.”
As she said this, Zuo Jingyou reached for the phone. Biting the spoon she was using for her porridge, she unlocked the screen and said cheerfully, “Well, there’s nothing else to do this morning. Since Zhang Yu told you to watch it, let’s take a look.”
Yin Bai was dumbfounded. “You don’t mind?”
Zuo Jingyou glanced at her with a half-smile. “If I minded things like this, do you think I would still be with you? Who hasn’t loved a few people in their youth?”
With that, Zuo Jingyou opened Xiao Nian’s Weibo and tapped directly into the live stream.
After a moment of buffering, Xiao Nian appeared, nestled on a sofa, wrapped in a white bathrobe with her black hair undone. The late April sunlight was bright. She swirled a wine glass, basking in the spring light, and looked at the screen with a faint smile, speaking softly, “I saw a lot of photos before… saying she has sadistic tendencies… that because her health is poor, her temper is also bad…”
“Actually, it’s not like that at all. On the contrary, she’s a very gentle person. Those injuries… they were all from filming…”
“You’ve probably seen the photo of her grabbing my hand and dragging me from the set. Actually, the bruise on my wrist wasn’t from her. It was from a previous shoot when an extra accidentally hit me with a whip… It was during the ambush scene in 《Cold Night》…”
“I had been working on set for about seventeen or eighteen hours at that time… She was worried about me, so she dragged me away…”
After speaking, Xiao Nian took a sip of red wine and turned to the screen, her eyes shimmering. “I don’t accept interviews from the media, not because I think it was a bad experience, but because I don’t want our relationship to be misunderstood.”
“She didn’t keep me; I chose her. Without her, I wouldn’t be where I am today…”
“Climbing from the very bottom of this industry to where I am now, apart from the hardships of filming, I never had to suffer what other actors have gone through…”
“She’s not as unbearable as you think, and I’m not as tragic and aloof as you imagine…”
“Do you even know Yin Bai? Do you know what kind of person she is? Have you seen her at nineteen? Do you know how pure her eyes were?”
“She is my little prince, but I am not her little rose…”
Xiao Nian’s eyes were glistening, and the affection in them didn’t seem feigned. Seeing the deep emotion in her eyes, Zuo Jingyou turned to look at Yin Bai.
Yin Bai bit her lip, watching the bullet comments10 scroll endlessly across the screen. Every comment accusing Xiao Nian of being vain and money-worshipping11 was like a sharp sword stabbing at the woman on the screen.
But she seemed oblivious, using the light-headedness from the wine to recount their unknown past.
Yin Bai sighed, reached out, and turned off Zuo Jingyou’s phone. Looking at her, she said, “Teacher Zuo, her reputation of many years is about to be ruined. The endorsements she signed and the movie she’s in will probably all go soak in soup12…”
“What do you think she’s trying to achieve with this?”
Since she was so resolute when she left, not leaving me with any hope, why is she doing this now?
Why?
Zuo Jingyou sighed and patted Yin Bai’s shoulder. “What else could it be? You already know in your heart, don’t you?”
“She once… loved you too…”
It was just too late. Everything was too late.
That morning, Weibo practically crashed, boiling over because of Xiao Nian’s live stream.
Instantly, Xiao Nian’s fans began to take off the powder13 in droves. Some business partners, seeing which way the wind was blowing, demanded to withdraw their endorsements and receive compensation. Xiao Nian’s willfulness left her entire team with scorched head and battered forehead14.
Among the many screenshots being shared, the most widely circulated was a clip from Xiao Nian’s live stream. She was in a white bathrobe, nestled on the sofa, looking at the sunlight outside the window and muttering to herself, “I was too young and too proud back then. I couldn’t tell what a person’s true heart looked like.”
“I always thought she just wanted a rose to put in her garden and admire.”
“I never truly appreciated how much time and energy she spent on me, how carefully she protected me.”
“It wasn’t until… much later that I understood what her true heart was like.”
“Only then did I realize her love was genuine.”
Xiao Nian tilted her head back, a tear sliding from the corner of her eye. “She once asked me if there was ever a moment I had loved her.”
“I regret that I never told her that the times I fell in love with her far outnumbered the times I fell in love due to a role15. It’s just that I was too young, too proud, and had too much self-esteem…”
“She never hurt me, and I hope that others won’t hurt her because of me.”
Xiao Nian sighed and looked at the screen, as if speaking to Yin Bai through it. “Yin Bai, goodbye. You must be happy.”
When the live stream ended, Zuo Jingyou posted on Weibo, tagging Xiao Nian: “She once said something to me: ‘Have you seen the twenty-one-year-old Xiao Nian? On stage, she was more beautiful than any rose in the world. For me, it was love at first sight.'”
It was a bloodbath, killed to the point of madness16. A group of melon-eating netizens were killed into being dogs17 by the love, hate, and drama of these three women.
LP: Re-translated on August 19, 2025
Footnotes
- 列文虎克 | liè wén hǔ kè | Refers to Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch scientist known as the “Father of Microbiology.” In Chinese internet slang, it describes netizens who are exceptionally skilled at digging up minute details and obscure information, much like looking through a microscope.
- 上帝之眼 | shàngdì zhī yǎn | Literally “Eye of God.” A metaphorical expression for having a comprehensive, omniscient perspective, as if seeing everything from above. In this context, it means the fans suddenly felt they understood the whole hidden truth.
- 大V | dà V | An internet slang term for a verified social media account, particularly on platforms like Weibo, that has a large number of followers and significant influence. The “V” refers to the verification checkmark.
- 黑子 | hēi zǐ | Literally “black ones.” A common slang term for anti-fans or online trolls who dedicate their time to slandering a particular celebrity or public figure.
- 黑料 | hēi liào | Literally “black material.” Refers to negative information, scandals, or damaging gossip about a person, often spread by black ones to ruin their reputation.
- 加油 | jiāyóu | Literally “add oil.” A ubiquitous Chinese cheer of encouragement, similar to “Go for it!” or “Come on!”.
- 卖惨 | mài cǎn | A slang term for the act of deliberately exaggerating one’s misfortunes or hardships to gain sympathy, pity, or attention from others.
- 撒娇 | sājiāo | A cultural concept that describes acting in a cute, coquettish, or childlike manner to show affection or get one’s way with a loved one. It is generally viewed as a positive and intimate behavior.
- 做个人 | zuò ge rén | A popular internet slang phrase that means “be decent,” “act like a human being,” or “have some basic empathy/common sense.” It’s often used in a scolding or exasperated tone.
- 弹幕 | dànmù | A feature on video-sharing websites originating from Japan and popular in China, where user comments are overlaid directly onto the video and scroll across the screen in real-time, creating a shared viewing experience.
- 拜金 | bàijīn | A term used to describe someone who is materialistic and prioritizes wealth and financial gain above all else, often in relationships.
- 泡汤 | pàotāng | Literally “to soak in soup.” A colloquial expression meaning that a plan or effort has failed, fallen through, or come to nothing.
- 脱粉 | tuō fěn | Literally “to take off the powder/fandom.” A slang term meaning to stop being a fan of a celebrity or public figure, to unfollow them on social media, and to withdraw support.
- 焦头烂额 | jiāo tóu làn é | Literally “scorched head and battered forehead.” A Chinese idiom (chengyu) describing a state of being in a terrible mess, utterly exhausted, or extremely troubled by a difficult situation.
- 因戏生情 | yīn xì shēng qíng | An expression meaning to develop real romantic feelings for a co-star while playing lovers in a movie or drama.
- 杀疯了 | shā fēng le | Literally “killed to the point of madness.” A popular internet slang term used to express that something is incredibly intense, shocking, or amazing.
- 杀成了狗 | shā chéng le gǒu | Literally “killed into a dog.” An exaggerated slang expression used to describe being completely overwhelmed, devastated, or emotionally wrecked by something, often in a humorous or dramatic way.
i feel really sad about their past relationship, they aren’t just really meant for each others.
Xiao Nian probably have a low esteemed back then, and she was overwhelm by debt. That’s why she think of herself as a commoner that wasn’t meant for the little prince.
Because even though that person is good for you, there is some people will think negatively “they are way too good for me” or positively “i should work hard, so I’ll be good for her” Xiao Nian is the former, to be honest she is way too realistic. I was expecting she would be those villainess who cause trouble and a white lotus with a mask but nooo she is just really vulnerable and timid person.
I HAVE A LOT TO SAY BUT AHHH i hope Xiao Nian wife is a really really good person because if isn’t I’m gonna kill her
THANK YOU TRANSLATOR AND AUTHOR
i feel really sad about their past relationship, they aren’t just really meant for each others.
Xiao Nian probably have a low esteemed back then, and she was overwhelm by debt. That’s why she think of herself as a commoner that wasn’t meant for the little prince.
Because even though that person is good for you, there is some people will think negatively “they are way too good for me” or positively “i should work hard, so I’ll be good for her” Xiao Nian is the former, to be honest she is way too realistic. I was expecting she would be those villainess who cause trouble and a white lotus with a mask but nooo she is just really vulnerable and timid person.
I HAVE A LOT TO SAY BUT AHHH i hope Xiao Nian wife is a really really good person because if isn’t I’m gonna kill her
THANK YOU TRANSLATOR AND AUTHOR
Really did not expect this kind of twist and I am loving it. This is more painful and hard to read than a mean villain ex stories because you will feel the regret too of their past. I am really hoping that Xiao Nian will have a happy life with her wife.
wow what an arc, and what a chapter to catch up to the translation with. Thanks for the tl! Happy new year!
wow what an arc, and what a chapter to catch up to the translation with. Thanks for the tl! Happy new year!
Weibo: Flabbergasted
Weibo: Flabbergasted
I don’t really know how to feel about Xiao Nian…
Thanks for the update
I don’t really know how to feel about Xiao Nian…
Thanks for the update