After Being Scummed – Chapter 98
by Little PandaExtra Chapter Three: The Golden Time of Youth 3
Come to my house to eat!
After that day, Zuo Jingyou and Yin Bai began to contact each other three not five times1.
The Drama Club2 held reading activities every week. Zuo Jingyou divided the members into different small groups, allowing them to play different roles during the reading sessions and give everyone a vivid and emotional reading performance.
Perhaps it was out of favoritism, or maybe some other desire to take care of Yin Bai, but Zuo Jingyou placed Yin Bai in her own group.
The first time they performed, they were reading Shakespeare, and Zuo Jingyou intentionally assigned her roles with a lot of lines.
In private, Yin Bai protested to her like a small child, but Zuo Jingyou just coaxed her, “Try it, what’s the harm in trying? This is a team effort between you and your friend, me. It’s our Drama Club’s first time performing on stage in front of the members…”
Yin Bai grumbled in protest for a while, but seeing it had no effect, she had no choice but to go back to hitting the books.
As a result, during that week’s reading, when their group was performing 《Hamlet》, Yin Bai “read” all her lines with a deadpan face and in the most affectionate voice, all without looking at the script.
After this performance, everyone in the audience gave Yin Bai a round of clap clap clap applause, praising her for being full of emotion and well-prepared, saying it would have been perfect if her expression wasn’t so stiff.
Yin Bai sat in the crowd, tugging awkwardly at the corner of her mouth.
After the meeting, Zuo Jingyou took Yin Bai out to eat, still applauding her and saying repeatedly, “Bravo!”
Yin Bai forced a smile and looked at Zuo Jingyou, asking, “So for this performance, we didn’t need to memorize the lines, right?”
Zuo Jingyou froze for a moment, then collapsed onto Yin Bai’s shoulder in laughter. She draped one arm over Yin Bai’s shoulder, laughing so hard she couldn’t stand up straight. “Don’t tell me… don’t tell me you thought this was a performance that required memorizing the script…”
“Yin Bai… haha… you’re so adorable… How can there be someone as earnest as you…”
Being called earnest, Yin Bai’s whole body went rigid, not daring to move an inch. Zuo Jingyou was very close, practically pressing her own weight onto Yin Bai, both heavy and warm.
Her laughter sprinkled by her ear, more pleasant than a nightingale’s song. Her breath landed on the side of her neck, carrying an ambiguous, sweet fragrance.
For some reason, Yin Bai didn’t dare to turn her head to look at her. She just straightened her back, her ears turning red as she answered, “I thought it was required.”
Zuo Jingyou was dying from her cuteness. She couldn’t help but pinch her fair, pinkish face and say with a smile, “With that many lines, and everyone being so busy with their studies, how could anyone possibly memorize it all? Besides, it was stated from the beginning that it was a reading performance, not a theatrical play. How could it require memorization?”
Zuo Jingyou’s eyes curved into crescents as she looked at her gently, “Ay, if you weren’t sure, why didn’t you just ask me directly?”
Yin Bai turned her head, trying to dodge her warm hand, and mumbled, “What was there to ask? I memorized it, so it’s memorized…”
Zuo Jingyou kneaded her face, saying with a laugh, “But that wastes so much time. Aiyo, my poor little school sister3, the thought of her secretly memorizing so many lines all by herself, maybe even blaming me for being biased and giving her such a huge workload… just thinking about it makes my heart ache so much.”
Yin Bai turned her head and saw her insincere expression of heartache, frowning slightly as she said, “I didn’t.”
“Hm?”
Yin Bai pressed her lips together and said to her very seriously, “I never blamed you.”
Zuo Jingyou was taken aback for a moment, only to see Yin Bai part her lips and say slowly, word by word, “I wouldn’t secretly speak ill of you over something like this. I’m just… not used to talking so much or doing so much in front of other people…”
Zuo Jingyou understood. She pinched Yin Bai’s face and said with a smile, “Then you’re amazing, being able to overcome something you’re not good at.”
A smile formed on Yin Bai’s lips, and she said, a little embarrassed, “Because you’re my friend… so… I will do anything I promise you.”
Ah, today’s Yin Bai is so good with words!
From her words, and from her past awkward actions of distancing herself from crowds, Zuo Jingyou could almost be certain that her beautiful friend probably had very few companions.
Perhaps, she herself was her only friend.
Zuo Jingyou was a little curious about this and was about to ask Yin Bai.
But before she could open her mouth, Yin Bai spoke first, “Zuo Jingyou, are you like this with everyone?”
Zuo Jingyou blinked, asking in confusion, “Like what?”
Yin Bai mustered her courage and looked at her very seriously, “You know… leaning on their shoulder, pinching their face, and things like that.”
Zuo Jingyou understood. She shook her head, then pinched Yin Bai’s face again. “Not with everyone. I just can’t help but want to tease cute girls when I see them.”
Yin Bai: “…”
She was silent for a moment, then looked at Zuo Jingyou and said flatly, “Zuo Jingyou, the way you act is like a middle school boy.”
Zuo Jingyou was puzzled, “Hm?”
Yin Bai’s lips parted slightly, and she uttered two words: “Childish!”
Zuo Jingyou was amused by her again. She placed both hands on Yin Bai’s face, her palms cupping Yin Bai’s soft, pink cheeks, and said without any semblance of a senior, “So what if I’m childish? Yin Bai, you’re so nice to squish, so soft and pink…”
Yin Bai said “oh,” then raised her own cool hands to press against Zuo Jingyou’s face, saying very coldly, “Then I have to squish you back.”
The two of them held each other’s faces, squishing back and forth. You looked at me, I looked at you, and in that shared gaze, they couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
Zuo Jingyou patted her face, her eyes curving with laughter as she said, “You’re just the same, childish!”
Because the Drama Club only had activities on weekends, and their majors were different, they usually only had a chance to meet during regular meetings or weekend events.
Soon, it was November. A cold autumn spell arrived, and Zuo Jingyou caught a rare case of the flu.
That night, when Yin Bai called her to practice lines, she heard that her voice was stuffy and hoarse and asked her what was wrong.
Zuo Jingyou replied that it was an upper respiratory tract infection, a little inflammation.
The next day, Yin Bai had someone deliver a pile of appropriate medicine and a large thermos of rock sugar pear soup to her.
When Zuo Jingyou returned to her dorm in the evening and received the items, she was stunned. She quickly called Yin Bai and asked, “This is a huge thermos of rock sugar pear soup. Did you make it?”
Yin Bai had no classes in the afternoon and was resting at home. She was flipping through a Shakespearean drama that Zuo Jingyou liked and shook her head, “Not me, the family’s auntie made it. Is it good?”
Zuo Jingyou nodded, “Mhm, it’s delicious, thank you!”
“But it’s such a big thermos, I can’t finish it all. Can I share it with my roommates?”
Yin Bai’s fingers, which were turning a page, paused. She said softly, “Mhm.”
She paused for a moment, then told Zuo Jingyou, “Of course you can.”
“Then thank you so much.”
Yin Bai chatted with her for a little longer, then said hesitantly, “During Double Eleven4, do you have any free time?”
“Hm? That’s a Tuesday. I have a full day of classes, so I probably won’t be free. What’s up?”
A full day of classes… that makes things difficult.
Yin Bai paused, then said, “It’s nothing. I just wanted to ask you out for a meal.”
Zuo Jingyou quickly agreed, “Okay, okay, a meal sounds great. When, what time? Where are we going?”
Yin Bai couldn’t help but lift the corners of her lips. She told her, “Just after your classes end on Tuesday. Come to the North Gate, I’ll take you to eat.”
“Okay!”
After they had set the time, Yin Bai was in a very cheerful mood.
Because she was in a good mood, she kept having things sent to Zuo Jingyou’s dorm right up until the 11th.
Besides the unfailing rock sugar pear soup, there were also vast amounts of fruit, yogurt, snacks, and other things… Most of these latter items were sacrificed to the five viscera and six bowels5 of Zuo Jingyou’s roommates.
This frequent gift-giving made Zuo Jingyou’s roommates think that some boy or girl was pursuing her intensely again.
It wasn’t that this kind of thing hadn’t happened before, but in the past, Zuo Jingyou would always find the person responsible, calculate the monetary value of the gifts, and transfer the money directly back to them.
This time, however, Zuo Jingyou didn’t do that.
Facing her roommates’ interrogation, she just smiled and said, “No, it’s not like that. It’s just a cute friend.”
The more she denied it, the more everyone felt something was up, and they couldn’t help but let out teasing “aiyo” sounds.
Zuo Jingyou could only shake her head helplessly and laugh it off.
In the blink of an eye, it was the eleventh. After school that day, Yin Bai had the driver park the car at the North Gate and waited inside for Zuo Jingyou.
The closer it got to the end of class, the more anxious she became, restlessly tapping on the car window. It wasn’t until the bell rang and Zuo Jingyou’s call came through that Yin Bai finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She answered the phone and heard Zuo Jingyou’s voice coming through a cacophony of noise, “I’m out of class and walking towards the North Gate. Tell me your license plate number.”
A smile touched the corners of Yin Bai’s mouth, and she said softly, “Okay, I’ll wait for you in the car. No rush, take your time.”
Though she said to take her time, in her heart she was constantly anticipating, Hurry up, hurry up…
After hanging up, Yin Bai waited in the car for about another fifteen minutes before finally seeing Zuo Jingyou’s figure emerge from the school gate.
She couldn’t help but smile, leaning out the car window and waving to Zuo Jingyou, “Over here!”
Zuo Jingyou’s eyes curved, and she walked quickly towards her. Yin Bai opened the car door for her, and only after she got in and fastened her seatbelt did she let the driver slowly pull away.
Zuo Jingyou’s face was still flushed from her hurried run. She lifted a hand to fan her face, and after calming her rapid breathing, she looked at Yin Bai and said, “Good friend, what are you treating me to today? Why make such a great fuss by mobilizing the teachers and moving the masses6?”
Yin Bai smiled slightly and looked at her seriously, “We’re going to my house.”
Zuo Jingyou couldn’t process it for a moment. After a good while, she smiled sheepishly, “We’ve only known each other for a little over a month, are we going to meet the parents7 so soon?”
Yin Bai shook her head and said to Zuo Jingyou, “Not to meet the parents. Today is my birthday, so we’re going back to my house to eat.”
Zuo Jingyou was stunned. “Today is your birthday?”
Yin Bai nodded. “That’s right.”
Zuo Jingyou sighed, raising a hand to her forehead and biting her lip in annoyance. “Why didn’t you say so earlier? I don’t have time to buy you a present now!”
“Ay, next time, tell me earlier!”
The author has something to say:
Ah, I kept forgetting to mention, this extra is about Teacher Zuo meeting the parents, Yin Bai snatching Teacher Zuo from that He dog’s hands first, and Teacher Zuo and Yin Bai saving Xiao Nian! Anyway!! It’s to fulfill a dream!
When Yin Bai was a teenager, she was really a little terror!
Only Teacher Zuo, who coveted her beauty and had a good temper, could put up with her.
LP: Re-translated on September 19, 2025
Footnotes
- 三不五时 (sān bù wǔ shí): A Chinese idiom. The literal translation, “three not five times,” is used to preserve the original flavor. It means to do something frequently or from time to time.
- 戏剧社 (xìjù shè): Lit. “drama/theater society.” A common extracurricular club in schools.
- 小学妹 (xiǎo xuémèi): A familiar and affectionate term for a younger female student or underclassman. ‘小 (xiǎo)’ means little/young, and ‘学妹 (xuémèi)’ means female underclassman.
- 双十一 (Shuāng Shíyī): Lit. “Double Eleven,” referring to November 11th (11/11). It is also known as Singles’ Day, which was originally a day for single people to celebrate but was transformed by Alibaba in 2009 into the world’s largest online shopping day, similar to Black Friday.
- 五脏府 (wǔzàng-fǔ): A term from Traditional Chinese Medicine referring to the body’s major organs (heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, etc.). Here, it’s used humorously and metaphorically to mean their stomachs or bellies.
- 兴师动众 (xīng shī dòng zhòng): A Chinese idiom (chengyu). It means to mobilize a large force for a task, often implying making a great fuss over something minor.
- 见家长 (jiàn jiāzhǎng): Lit. “to see the parents.” A culturally significant event in East Asian societies that marks a serious stage in a romantic relationship, where one formally meets their partner’s parents for the first time.
wowowow a big tsundere??? a unique ones