After Being Scummed – Chapter 99

Extra Chapter Three: The Golden Time of Youth 4

Who said you’re my older sister!

Hearing Zuo Jingyou mention a gift, Yin Bai pressed her lips together, a rare hint of bashfulness showing. “I didn’t tell you beforehand, so it’s okay about the gift. I’m already very happy that you could come home with me today.”

            

Zuo Jingyou’s eyes curved into a smile. “You can’t say that. A meal is a meal, and a gift is a gift.”

Zuo Jingyou reached out, took Yin Bai’s hand, and gave her a gentle smile. “My good friend is having a birthday, how could I possibly not give a gift?”

Yin Bai was still trying to refuse. “I already said you don’t have to, it’s really okay…”

            

“It’s not okay at all.” Zuo Jingyou turned her head to look at the driver in the front seat and called out, “Driver-jiejie, can you stop at the mall up ahead?”

The driver-jiejie was very on the ball​¹, smiling as she replied, “Of course.”

A short while later, the car stopped at the entrance of the mall. Zuo Jingyou quickly got out. Seeing this, Yin Bai hurriedly grabbed the corner of her clothes and asked in a bit of a panic, “Where are you going?”

            

Zuo Jingyou flicked her on the forehead with a finger and answered with a grin, “To buy you a gift, my dear friend.”

Zuo Jingyou opened the door, got out, and skipped toward the mall with a light spring in her step. “Wait for me, I’ll be back in five minutes.”

She said five minutes, but Yin Bai ended up waiting in the car for ten. Those ten minutes felt incredibly long, so long that Yin Bai couldn’t stop herself from starting to call Zuo Jingyou.

            

She urged Zuo Jingyou to hurry up on the phone, and Zuo Jingyou coaxed her, “I’ll be really quick, just wait for me a little longer.”

Yin Bai just mumbled something about how she’d said she didn’t want a gift. Zuo Jingyou huffed and said, “It’s one thing for you to not want it, but I still have to give it.”

The two of them talked on the phone for quite a while before Zuo Jingyou finally came running back toward Yin Bai, hugging a super-sized Doraemon​² plushie.

            

Sitting in the car, Yin Bai was completely stunned when she saw Zuo Jingyou walking toward her with that huge Doraemon. She clutched her phone, watching as Zuo Jingyou approached, leaned over, and stuffed the enormous Doraemon into her arms, blinking as she asked, “So you got out of the car just to buy this for me as a birthday present?”

Zuo Jingyou ducked into the car, pulled the door shut, and answered while fastening her seatbelt, “Yeah, I was in a hurry, so this was all I could think of buying.”

Zuo Jingyou turned her head and looked at Yin Bai, who was hugging the giant plushie, and said with a smile, “Didn’t you say before that you really liked Doraemon? Now I’m giving you one this big. Do you like it?”

            

The corners of Yin Bai’s mouth couldn’t help but turn up. She raised a hand to stroke Doraemon, but spoke words that didn’t come from her heart​³. “Do you think I’m a child? I’m already an adult, do I still need such a big plushie to hug to sleep?”

Zuo Jingyou’s lips curved. She said softly to her, “Who said you had to hug it to sleep… So, do you like it?”

Yin Bai huffed and didn’t answer.

            

Zuo Jingyou reached out and took her hand, her gaze softening as she wheedled, “Come on, answer me. If I bought a gift you don’t like, wouldn’t I have made the trip for nothing? That would be so sad.”

Though her words spoke of sadness, her expression didn’t show the slightest hint of it. Yin Bai let out a aojiao​⁴ huff and finally answered awkwardly, “Alright, alright, I like it.”

“Ah, that’s good then. As long as you like it.” Zuo Jingyou breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Yin Bai very seriously. “Happy birthday, my good friend!”

            

Yin Bai couldn’t help but smile a little, pressing her lips together as she replied shyly, “Thank you… Thank you so much, Zuo Jingyou.”

After receiving the gift, Yin Bai, with a joyful heart, led Zuo Jingyou back to the Yin family home.

The Yin family currently resided on a private peninsula in Songshan District​⁵. The car passed through the bright peninsula highway, driving deep into its interior.

            

Sitting in the car, Zuo Jingyou noticed how sparsely populated the area was. There was only one extremely conspicuous, sprawling villa on the mountain. She joked, “Don’t tell me your family is the only one on this whole peninsula?”

Yin Bai thought for a moment and explained, “Mhm, it’s just our family. I heard from my grandma that this used to be where my great-grandfather’s family lived. After everyone moved away, she bought the entire peninsula and built a house…”

Zuo Jingyou was stunned for a moment, then broke into a smile. “My horizons have been broadened.”

            

Zuo Jingyou had always known that Yin Bai was rich, but she never imagined she was rich to this extent. Although her own family was well-off, she was still awed by the sheer magnate-level status of Yin Bai’s family.

Seeing her say this, Yin Bai actually grew a little uneasy. She hugged Doraemon and looked at Zuo Jingyou very seriously. “My family isn’t really anything special. It’s just that my grandma is especially good at business, and she’s also built a lot of infrastructure for the government… The old lady struggled her whole life and used her savings to buy an island…”

“But she also told me that this island will be donated to the government in the future, leaving only the land this house is on for her to live…”

            

“So my family is nothing amazing.”

Yin Bai thought for a moment and added, “Of course, my grandma is still amazing.”

Zuo Jingyou smiled, unable to resist reaching out to pinch Yin Bai’s cheek. She said to her, “I know, I know. Our grandma really is an incredible person!”

            

The car soon drove into the manor and stopped at the entrance of the large villa. Zuo Jingyou pushed the door open, got out, took the plushie for Yin Bai, and put an arm around her waist to help her out of the car.

Zuo Jingyou held Doraemon for her as she and the cane-using Yin Bai walked toward the house together.

Just as the two reached the doorway, an old woman with a full head of graying hair, hale and hearty, walked out from inside. Seeing Yin Bai, she called out in a kind and gentle voice, “Xiao Bai!”

            

Yin Bai’s head shot up, and she broke into a brilliant smile that Zuo Jingyou had never seen before, replying like a well-behaved child, “Grandma, I’m home!”

Grandma Yin walked to Yin Bai’s side, took her hand, and looked at Zuo Jingyou with a beaming smile. “Aiya, Xiao Bai, what a rare sight! How did you bring such a pretty dear​⁶ back for Grandma.”

Grandma Yin looked at Zuo Jingyou and said kindly, “Dear, what’s your name?”

            

Hugging Doraemon, Zuo Jingyou looked at the lean, healthy, and sharp old woman before her and said with a sweet smile, “Hello, Grandma. My name is Zuo Jingyou. I’m Yin Bai’s xuejie​⁷.”

“Aiya, so you’re a xuejie. I thought you were classmates. No wonder you seem so much more mature and steady than Xiao Bai.”

As Grandma Yin spoke, she helped Yin Bai inside, not forgetting to turn her head to look at Zuo Jingyou. “Oh my, we didn’t know you were coming, and Xiao Bai didn’t say a word to the family. I have no idea what you like to eat…”

            

“Ah, right, they’re still cooking in the kitchen. The chef here is amazing, he can make anything. Whatever you want to eat, just tell Grandma now, and I’ll have someone prepare it.”

Although Grandma Yin had a thunder-swift, wind-swept​⁸, and say one, not two​⁹ disposition in the business world, as soon as she returned home to her precious granddaughter, she was just like any ordinary old person who doted on their grandchild, spoiling her endlessly.

She loved the house and its crow​¹⁰, and by extension, she shared that affection with Zuo Jingyou, whom Yin Bai had brought home.

            

Zuo Jingyou’s eyes curved as she replied obediently, “Grandma, I’m not a picky eater. I’ll eat whatever you’re eating.”

Grandma Yin’s face lit up with a smile. “This dear really knows how to talk. You must come home with Xiao Bai often in the future, come visit more.”

Zuo Jingyou nodded obediently and replied, “Okay.”

            

Yin Bai turned her head to glance at Zuo Jingyou, thinking to herself that she really was someone who knew how to stuff sugar-coated cannonballs; Grandma was truly happy that she had brought her home.

Grandma Yin led Yin Bai to the sofa, had the house-auntie help take the gift in her hands to Yin Bai’s room, and then instructed someone to prepare a guest room for Zuo Jingyou.

After all this was done, Grandma Yin finally sat down next to Zuo Jingyou, holding her hand and asking about this and that.

            

She asked how old Zuo Jingyou was and who was in her family.

Zuo Jingyou answered each question. “I’m nineteen. My family is quite simple, just my mother and my older sister.”

Grandma Yin was a little surprised and, for once, asked an extra question. “Then your parents are divorced?”

            

Yin Bai, who was off to the side, couldn’t help but perk up her ears upon hearing this, waiting eagerly for Zuo Jingyou’s answer like a little animal.

Zuo Jingyou shook her head and said with a smile, “No. My father was a soldier. When I was eight, he sacrificed his body for the country.”

Hearing her say this, another layer of pity was added to the way Grandma Yin looked at her. “You poor child. It must have been very hard for your mother to raise you and your sister.”

            

Zuo Jingyou lowered her eyes and said softly, “Yes, it was very hard. But thankfully, my sister was already able to help with chores back then, so we didn’t suffer much when we were little, Grandma.”

Grandma Yin couldn’t help but hold her hand tightly, sighing with emotion. “Ai, what a heart-wrenching dear.”

Grandma Yin called her ‘dear’ over and over, holding her hand in a clear show of affection. Being left out on the side, Yin Bai started to feel a little unhappy. She huffed and said awkwardly, “It wasn’t easy for Grandma to raise me either. Grandma worked hard too!”

            

Hearing her mumbling, Grandma Yin turned to look at her lovingly, her eyes filled with amusement.

Grandma Yin reached out, poked Yin Bai’s forehead, and said dotingly, “You little rascal. It wasn’t hard for Grandma at all. My little rascal is the one who has had it the hardest.”

At this point, Grandma Yin sighed, turned to Zuo Jingyou, and said, “Our Xiao Bai is also a heart-wrenching child.”

            

“Her parents passed away early, leaving just an old woman like me to accompany her.”

“Dear, since you and Xiao Bai get along so well, you two should be like sisters from now on. Come visit the house more, walk around, and keep an old woman like me company.”

Zuo Jingyou looked at Yin Bai with some surprise, then nodded and said very seriously, “You don’t have to say it, Grandma. I already see Xiao Bai as a younger sister. As long as you don’t find me annoying, I’ll come often in the future.”

            

They chatted for a while longer before the auntie announced that the food was ready to be served. Zuo Jingyou stood up and helped Yin Bai walk toward the dining table.

The two were standing very close. Yin Bai huffed and said in a strange, yin-yang tone​¹¹, “Who’s your younger sister? I never admitted you were my older sister, hmph!”

Zuo Jingyou’s eyes curved into a smile. She leaned close to her shoulder and asked softly, “I never said you had to call me older sister, Xiao Bai-meimei~”

            

Oh no, she’d been taken advantage of!

Yin Bai turned her head, glanced at the faint smile on Zuo Jingyou’s face, and let out another aojiao huff.

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The author has something to say:

            

After a week of meals, I finally got to eat it!

Alright, the extras will return to daily updates, I’ve rested enough!

The new replacement novel next door has already started, and the manuscript drafts will be updated on time at 6 p.m. every evening. I hope everyone will show it a lot of support. I will also update the extras here daily until they’re finished! (I’m so diligent, as expected of me!)

            

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LP: Re-translated on September 30, 2025

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