A surprisingly mature take on the “scummed” trope.

*this review may contain minor spoilers*

After her lover, Xiao Nian, publicly leaves her for another woman, influential business patron Yin Bai furiously storms out of an awards ceremony only to encounter Zuo Jingyou, a rival actress to Xiao Nian.

Unbeknownst to Yin Bai, Zuo Jingyou is also experiencing a similar tragedy in her own private life: The media has recently exposed her husband’s extramarital affair, and to Zuo Jingyou’s dismay, rather than apologizing, He Zhiwen plans on leaving her for his new “true love.”

In the ensuing aftermath of being thrown aside by their respective partners, Zuo Jingyou and Yin Bai begin to kindle an unexpected friendship—and possibly something more—as they relearn what it means to fall in love with another human being after being hurt in the past.

The novel After Being Scummed doesn’t waste time pontificating about revenge or angst. It has better things to do, such as developing an excellent story about a “villain” finding her own happy ending after the “hero” wins, cleverly disguised as exactly the opposite.

Because Yin Bai was the villain in Xiao Nian’s world. She was a wealthy female donor who exploited Xiao Nian’s debts and relative powerlessness to further the development of their relationship. So when Xiao Nian finds someone she really loves—and who loves her—why wouldn’t she leave Yin Bai?

In After Being Scummed, author Jiang Yi Shui does an excellent job of humanizing and justifying both parties’ actions. Yin Bai is as much a victim of her circumstances as Xiao Nian, though, to be completely clear, this does not make her any less culpable for her actions.

While Yin Bai and Xiao Nian explicitly had a consensual relationship, the novel makes it clear that a relationship built on inequality is fundamentally broken.

Without a healthy relationship to model her own behavior on, Yin Bai believed that her “love” for Xiao Nian could overcome any obstacles (see: class and power dynamics) and end like a fairy tale. When Xiao Nian leaves her, Yin Bai is finally forced to confront her own “fantasy.”

And it’s only by reflecting on her past behavior and maturing as a person that she becomes capable of “real” love.

In a genre where “first love” is often romanticized, Yin Bai and Zuo Jingyou are a refreshingly mature couple. Their previous romantic experience has made them better at recognizing what they want and what they need—as well as what it takes to be that person for someone else.

I am especially taken by Zuo Jingyou’s personality, and I wish I saw more examples of her assertiveness in other female leads. Zuo Jingyou is a person who is done with pretenses: If she needs to have a conversation about her feelings, she will.

She is the pillar that supports the narrative, and the planet which Yin Bai orbits.

After Being Scummed is not a very dramatic read. It’s more of a low crescendo, a swan song for its main leads. Yin Bai, Zuo Jingyou, and Xiao Nian are all far too old to bother engaging in low-value bickering. They all have better things to do with their lives, such as spending time with their loved ones or furthering their career goals.

And this is how it should be.

Plot: 4.5 ^[1]
Characters: 5
Romance: 5
Translation: 3.5
Bias: 4

Overall: 4.2

Link(s): [Original Novel] [Fan Translation]

^[1] My one major criticism with the novel has to do with its mid-to-late subplot about the girl in the hotel (if you’ve read the After Being Scummed, you know what I’m talking about). I’ve always disliked when these types of stories use situations like those as a way to morally “elevate” its main character(s). To put it briefly: I think it’s a very tactless method to approach an extremely sensitive topic, and it’s a cheap way to bandage over the systemic injustices that lead to those circumstances. If you’re not going to do it justice: Just. Don’t. Include. It.