After Divorcing the Scummy Alpha Movie Queen, I Became Extremely Popular - Chapter 1

“Okay, cut!” The director stood up from behind the monitor, directing the order of the set. “This take was excellent; we’re moving on. Lighting and props, adjust the scene. Everyone else, take a break for lunch.”

Hearing the cue to rest, Tan Jizhu felt her entire body relax from its state of tension. Amidst the noisy crowd on set, she scanned the area for her assistant. Her period-costume hem was far too cumbersome, so she gathered the fabric in both hands to navigate through the busy crew.

“Teacher Tan!”

“Jizhu,”

Two voices called out to her. One was familiar, while the other was relatively unknown. Tan Jizhu looked toward the unfamiliar voice and realized the speaker was an actress who had appeared in the scene they had just filmed.

Her assistant, Zhu Li, walked straight toward her holding a phone. “Jizhu, you have a call.”

To comply with set regulations, the phone had long been set to silent mode. However, seeing the name flashing repeatedly on the screen, a flicker of displeasure crossed Tan Jizhu’s face. She gestured for Zhu Li to wait a moment and turned to the other actress. “Is there something you need?”

The actress wore a bright smile. “Hello, Teacher Tan. My name is Sun Kexin, and I play your disciple in this drama. I don’t have many scenes in the early stages, but we’ll have more scenes together later on. I’m coming to you now because I have some questions regarding the script that I’d like to consult you on. I hope this will make the future filming go more smoothly.”

Tan Jizhu replied, “Regarding script issues, it’s better to consult the director or the screenwriter. Furthermore, everyone has a different interpretation of their character. I suggest you analyze it yourself; I’m afraid my analysis might interfere with your own judgment.”

“Teacher Tan…”

After the polite refusal, the woman seemed to want to say more, but Tan Jizhu simply said coldly, “Alright, let’s eat first.”

Having wasted some time, Tan Jizhu looked at her phone. Unfortunately, it still showed a pending call status. It seemed that if she didn’t answer, the other party wouldn’t give up. Her brow furrowed deeper, but she decided to delay as long as possible. She said to Zhu Li, “Sister, you answer it for me.”

This wasn’t the first time this had happened. Zhu Li sighed, resigned to her fate, and connected the call.

“Jizhu! You finally answered my call.”

The voice on the other end was full of jubilation; Zhu Li almost didn’t have the heart to interrupt.

“How is the filming going? Can you take a day off the day after tomorrow?”

Zhu Li spoke up: “Hello, Jingyun, it’s me.”

Luo Jingyun’s voice paused for a moment on the other end, then she said politely, “Oh, it’s Sister Zhu Li. Where is Jizhu? Can you let her take the phone?”

“Jizhu, she…” The assistant looked at Tan Jizhu, who had already walked away, and understood perfectly. She had done this far too many times.

“Jingyun, Jizhu is busy right now and doesn’t have time to take the call. When will she be finished? Er… I’m not quite sure; it depends on the crew’s schedule. Ah, okay, I’ll tell Jizhu. She’ll definitely call you back once she’s finished. Mm-hmm, okay, I got it. Goodbye, Jingyun.”

Hanging up the phone, Zhu Li ran a few steps to catch up with Tan Jizhu and gave a brief report of the call. “Jizhu, Luo Jingyun called. She wants to celebrate your third wedding anniversary with you.”

Tan Jizhu remained cold-faced and asked, “The wedding anniversary? When is it?”

“The day after tomorrow.”

Tan Jizhu said with a touch of coldness, “The crew is busy every day. As the lead, I especially cannot take leave.”

Zhu Li looked troubled. “But…”

Tan Jizhu was also well aware of Luo Jingyun’s personality—one could hide for a while, but not forever. She said, “Forget it. I’ll explain it to her personally tonight. Let’s eat first.”

Hearing this, Zhu Li brought over the pre-ordered meal and followed Tan Jizhu onto the trailer to eat.

Tan Jizhu sat on the sofa eating while reading the script for the next scene. Her movements as she flipped through the pages were very elegant, and the faint outlines of veins could be seen on the back of her hands.

As a female Alpha, Tan Jizhu possessed a dignified, “earth-mother” style of beauty. Combined with her deliberate training, the smooth lines of muscle on her arms and abdomen were visible, undoubtedly making her the dream lover of countless Omegas and Betas.

Zhu Li sat opposite her, trying her best not to make too much noise with her movements, accompanying her in silence.

She had been with Tan Jizhu for nearly five years and had watched her progress step-by-step from an anonymous extra to the most prestigious female star in the entertainment industry. She knew all the bitterness and hardships involved.

Tan Jizhu’s family situation was poor, and she had entered the entertainment industry to pay off debts. However, in the industry, looks alone are far from enough. Having no connections, Tan Jizhu faced immense difficulties when she first entered the circle; sometimes a role that had already been settled could be snatched away by someone else the next day.

When she finally did get a role, the production crew, who looked down on those without fame, would often make them wait indefinitely. In the freezing snow, Tan Jizhu waited for a long time dressed in thin costumes. Zhu Li and the manager, Deng Mei, truly couldn’t stand it; the two of them would sandwich Tan Jizhu between them, using their bodies to shield her from the cold wind and hugging together for warmth.

The turning point occurred the day Tan Jizhu met Luo Jingyun.

At that time, Tan Jizhu had landed a role in a campus mystery drama, playing a female student who didn’t appear very often. The lead, however, was played by Luo Jingyun—a “rich young lady” detective who solved a series of mysteries at the school through the power of her wealth.

Outside the drama, the personas of the two were much the same. Luo Jingyun was the “little princess” pursued by everyone in the crew; the filming schedule and progress all revolved around her. Tan Jizhu was just an ignored extra.

Yet, a miracle happened. Two people who should have had no further contact after filming ended suddenly crossed paths. To be precise, Luo Jingyun unilaterally developed feelings for Tan Jizhu. During filming, she spoke directly with the screenwriter and director to increase Tan Jizhu’s scenes, promoting her to the second lead.

After filming ended, Luo Jingyun’s pursuit of Tan Jizhu only intensified. Expensive jewelry, ninety-nine bright red roses, and various priceless gifts were all sent to the entrance of Tan Jizhu’s company. But Tan Jizhu didn’t accept a single thing, returning them all in their original state.

So, Luo Jingyun changed her approach, showering Tan Jizhu with various resources and introducing her to major productions. Although Tan Jizhu was poor, she had her own bottom line that she wanted to maintain; she did not want to become someone who got ahead through the back door. Consequently, she continued to reject all of Luo Jingyun’s advances.

Later, Tan Jizhu’s Omega mother, Tan Jing, fell seriously ill and had no money for treatment. Luo Jingyun found out about this somehow and appeared at just the right time, like an angel helping without expecting anything in return, giving Tan Jizhu all the assistance she needed. Not only did she provide financial support, but she also contacted a specialist to give Tan Jizhu’s mother priority treatment, successfully helping her pass the critical period.

After treatment, Tan Jizhu’s mother was no longer in danger and was now recuperating in a quiet residential area in the city.

Originally, Tan Jizhu felt irritated by Luo Jingyun’s almost obsessive pursuit. But after this incident, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything harsh to her. She bowed to express her gratitude, saying she was willing to give her life to Luo Jingyun and was willing to go through fire and water for her.

Luo Jingyun just smiled and said, “Tan Jizhu, are you truly stupid or just acting? I don’t need you to go through fire and water. If you really want to thank me, then marry me.”

After marriage, Luo Jingyun put even more effort into being good to Tan Jizhu, even setting aside her own acting career. She provided Tan Jizhu with various resources and introduced her to major productions.

Zhu Li and Deng Mei knew that Tan Jizhu didn’t like these “delivered” resources. Fearing that Tan Jizhu would reject these opportunities out of pride, they spent an entire night persuading her, telling her she could lose anything but she couldn’t lose money.

After a night of internal struggle and the advice of her two friends, Tan Jizhu finally realized that to survive in this world, one always has to give up some ideals. Thus, Tan Jizhu “bent her back for five pecks of rice” and accepted all the resources Luo Jingyun provided.

However, Tan Jizhu did not become arrogant because of this. She knew that her ability to have these opportunities was not due to her own strength, so she—not having a formal background in acting—enrolled in relevant courses and delved into studying the craft. By now, Tan Jizhu had become an actress who possessed both popularity and talent. The film starring Tan Jizhu was nominated for multiple awards at the Houtu Awards this year, and she herself was nominated for Best Actress.

In a sense, Luo Jingyun could be considered Tan Jizhu’s benefactor and career guide. That Tan Jizhu could reach where she was today was due not only to her own hard work but, more importantly, to the immense help Luo Jingyun provided in the early stages.

However, Luo Jingyun was not perfectly flawless. After the two married, some of her flaws gradually became apparent. She had the appearance of a sweet baby, but her temper was not good; she was prone to getting angry over nothing. Her possessiveness was too heavy; she always wanted to know Tan Jizhu’s trajectory every second of every minute. She also constantly treated the people around them as love rivals, using her connections to get rid of them all.

Zhu Li even suspected that if she and Deng Mei weren’t already married, and if both were not female Betas, Luo Jingyun would certainly have ignored their years of friendship with Tan Jizhu and found an excuse to send them away.

Zhu Li knew that she and Deng Mei were definitely biased when judging the matters between Luo Jingyun and Tan Jizhu; they both favored Tan Jizhu. So in the first two years, Zhu Li and Deng Mei would even help cover for Tan Jizhu, fooling Luo Jingyun together. They would also join in saying a few bad words about Luo Jingyun, feeling that if she didn’t have a wealthy family background, there was no way her life would be so smooth.

But after interacting with Luo Jingyun for a long time, one would discover that this person was not bad at heart; she was simply spoiled from childhood. Everything she did was because she liked Tan Jizhu. Later, Zhu Li and Deng Mei didn’t want to interfere in other people’s family affairs, so they stopped asking about anything.

However, as an assistant, one always has to handle some things that Tan Jizhu is unwilling to do, such as the phone call just now. She didn’t know how Tan Jizhu would choose to handle this matter later.

Once they finished eating, Zhu Li threw their lunch boxes into the trash. The crew relocated to the next scene to continue filming; in the interim, Luo Jingyun didn’t call again.

After finishing the day’s filming, Tan Jizhu and Zhu Li returned to the hotel together.

Standing in the hallway, Zhu Li couldn’t help but offer a word of advice. “Remember to call Luo Jingyun back.”

“Yeah, I’ll tell her I’m not coming back.”

“You really plan to tell her that? This is your wedding anniversary. If you don’t go back, she’ll definitely throw a fit, right?”

“If she throws a fit, she throws a fit. It’s not like it’s the first or second time anyway.” Tan Jizhu’s tone held a sense of habituation. “Does she think everyone can do whatever they want just like her?”

“…Fine.” Zhu Li said no more and swiped her card to enter her room.

Tan Jizhu also took out her room card, but then someone suddenly called out to her in the hallway. Looking back, Tan Jizhu found that the person looking for her was Sun Kexin from lunch.

Sun Kexin walked a few steps to stand before her, maintaining a perfect smile on her face. “Teacher Tan, the set was quite busy at noon, so you might not have had time to guide me. Actually, I am a fan of yours and have liked you for a long time. When I learned I could appear in the same drama as you, I felt very honored.”

Tan Jizhu replied with a distant tone of thanks, “Thank you for your support. But it’s very late today; get some rest early.”

Sun Kexin blocked Tan Jizhu’s path and continued, “Teacher Tan, I cherish the opportunity to act with you. I am wandering through the entertainment industry alone and have no experience. I only made up my mind to enter this circle after watching the dramas you starred in; you have always been the goal I pursue. And I also want to do my best to act well in the few scenes I have with you to leave a good impression. I hope you can give me some guidance in your spare time.”

Hearing the other party’s earnestness regarding acting, Tan Jizhu was somewhat moved. She had also walked step-by-step from being an extra to this point, and she also had a goal she pursued in her heart.

The empathy made Tan Jizhu’s tone no longer so cold. “I understand. But it’s too late today. If there are any questions, we can talk at the set tomorrow.”

“Teacher Tan, I’m afraid learning on the spot tomorrow will waste time. If it’s convenient for you, could you give me some brief pointers now?”

“I…”

Before Tan Jizhu could answer, another female voice refused on her behalf.

“She’s not convenient!”

Tan Jizhu and the other woman both looked toward the speaker. They saw a girl of exquisite beauty leave her suitcase where it was and walk toward them with measured steps, her footsteps absorbed by the soft hotel carpet. She was wearing a primrose-yellow dress with a ring of matching lace gauze at the hem that swayed with her movements, like an ethereal little elf.

Tan Jizhu frowned and asked, “Luo Jingyun, why are you here?”