After Divorcing the Scummy Alpha Movie Queen, I Became Extremely Popular - Chapter 14

Farewell, Tan Jizhu

“We’ll do as you say…” Tan Jizhu thought Luo Jingyun was talking about the permanent marking. She froze for two seconds before realizing her partner was talking about divorce.

Tan Jizhu doubted she had heard correctly and questioned, “Luo Jingyun, what are you saying? You’re saying you want to divorce me?”

Luo Jingyun nodded. “Yes, I said let’s get a divorce.”

Tan Jizhu frowned, her tone immediately carrying a strong sense of dissatisfaction. “Weren’t you always pestering me, saying we’d do a mutual permanent marking after the Houtu Awards? What kind of act is this now?” Mentioning the Houtu Awards gave Tan Jizhu a sudden flash of insight. “Is it because I didn’t mention you in my acceptance speech? Or is it because I thanked Senior, so you’re jealous?”

Luo Jingyun didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It seemed Tan Jizhu had always known exactly what she cared about, yet she refused to compromise even a little for her sake.

Tan Jizhu felt this was the answer. She stood up, her voice accusatory. “Luo Jingyun, why are you always jealous? Haven’t those previous matters already been clarified? Senior is my mentor; if it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have entered the entertainment industry. It’s only right that I thank her when I win an award. Stop being so unreasonable.”

“It’s not because of that.” Luo Jingyun shook her head. “Or rather, it’s not just because of that.”

Tan Jizhu suddenly became very stubborn. “Then what is it for? A few days ago, you were pestering me and acting spoiled to get a permanent mark, and now you want a divorce? You’re as fickle as a child.”

Luo Jingyun was silent for a moment before asking, “Tan Jizhu, do you love me?”

“…” Tan Jizhu was floored by the sudden question. She sank back onto the sofa. “Why ask that all of a sudden? It’s too cheesy.”

No answer was, in itself, an answer.

Luo Jingyun smiled. “See, you don’t love me. We’ve known each other for five years and been married for three, yet you still don’t love me. Even for a single mark, I have to beg you just to get it.”

“Jingyun,” Tan Jizhu defended herself, “I’m not like you, born into a wealthy family. My first priority is how to survive. These matters of love and affection aren’t parts of life I have the energy to deal with.”

“You’re right. Our family backgrounds are a chasm between us. Perhaps everything I’ve done over the past few years has just been ‘unreasonable’ in your eyes.”

Tan Jizhu neither shook nor nodded her head, sitting there silently like a finely crafted statue.

“Since I’ve worked so hard for so long and still haven’t made you love me, let’s stop wasting each other’s time. Let’s divorce. That way, you won’t have to be troubled by my ‘unreasonableness’ anymore.” Luo Jingyun spoke with sadness, but seeing the impatience in Tan Jizhu’s eyes, she knew that continuing to cling on would do neither of them any good.

Tan Jizhu was momentarily at a loss for words. She still couldn’t believe Luo Jingyun would actually propose a divorce. Out of spite, she said, “Luo Jingyun, divorce is not a game. If you regret it later, I will absolutely not remarry you.”

“I know.”

This calmness only fueled Tan Jizhu’s anger. “What do you know? Do you think divorce is that easy? What about our communal property? What about this house? And… and how do we explain this to our respective companies?”

Luo Jingyun said calmly, “You don’t need to worry about the money. Didn’t you sign a prenuptial agreement with my two mothers before?”

“They told you?”

“Yes. They thought you would refuse, but they didn’t expect you to sign so decisively.” Luo Jingyun asked, “Did you already foresee that there would be a day we’d get divorced?”

Tan Jizhu replied, “I didn’t marry you for your money. Since your mothers brought over the premarital property certification, there was no reason for me not to sign.”

Luo Jingyun no longer cared. She continued, “That’s good; it saves a lot of trouble. As for the post-marital assets, you’ve been the one working these past few years. I don’t want a single cent of the money you earned. This house was bought after the marriage, and I’ll leave it to you. As for the company side, Deng Mei and the others are surely more experienced at handling these things than we are.”

Tan Jizhu frowned. “Leave the house to me? Even though it was bought after the marriage, you were the one who paid for it. What do you mean by leaving it to me?”

“Exactly what I said. Both our names are on the deed, but I am voluntarily giving up my share.”

“Are you planning to use money to pity me again? Do you think I still care about this one broken house?”

Luo Jingyun didn’t understand why Tan Jizhu was so angry. Shouldn’t she be happy to finally be rid of such a big burden like herself?

Luo Jingyun thought for a moment. “Then how about we sell the house and split the money?”

Tan Jizhu waved her hand. “Since you paid for the house, you take it all. I don’t want a cent.”

Luo Jingyun agreed. It seemed Tan Jizhu wanted to avoid any further entanglement with her and didn’t even want to wait for the time it took to sell the house.

“Fine. I’ll mention this to my mothers and have them add it to the divorce agreement.”

“Add it?” Tan Jizhu asked back. “You already talked to your mothers about this before you even told me about the divorce?”

“Yes. Once we sign the agreement, we can go get the divorce certificate. It might take some time. Of course, if you want to announce our divorce now, I have no objection.”

“You really do tell your mothers everything,” Tan Jizhu said out of spite. “Fine, let’s post it now. Lest you wake up tomorrow and regret it again!”

Luo Jingyun asked rationally, “Don’t you want to discuss it with Sister Deng Mei first? After all, we haven’t gone through any procedures yet. Besides, you just won Best Actress. Won’t announcing your divorce now have a negative impact?”

Ha, she really has regretted it! Tan Jizhu insisted, “There won’t be any negative impact. I reached where I am step by step through my work. This won’t affect me at all.”

“Alright,” Luo Jingyun said, simply considering Tan Jizhu’s career. Since the other party didn’t care, why should she, the soon-to-be ex-wife, worry?

Tan Jizhu pulled out her phone, tapped out a few lines, and turned to Luo Jingyun. “I’ll copy a copy for you. Just post it directly.”

Luo Jingyun’s phone vibrated. A message arrived:

[After friendly consultation, Tan Jizhu and I have mutually decided to divorce.]

Seeing the message, which didn’t need a single word changed, Luo Jingyun felt Tan Jizhu’s thoughtfulness for the first time. After copying it to her social media app, Luo Jingyun was about to press the send button when Tan Jizhu stopped her. “Wait, I think it’s better to discuss it with Sister Deng Mei.”

“Whatever works.” Luo Jingyun put down her phone and sat to the side, waiting for Tan Jizhu to coordinate with her manager.

Tan Jizhu explained the situation over the phone. Deng Mei’s scream on the other end was loud enough to reach Luo Jingyun’s ears.

“Luo Jingyun is right next to me. If you have something to say, say it directly.”

Tan Jizhu turned on the speakerphone. “Sister Deng Mei wants to talk to you.”

“Sister, Tan Jizhu and I have decided to divorce after consultation.”

Deng Mei on the other end paused for a few seconds. “Jingyun, don’t act out of spite. It was indeed wrong of Jizhu not to mention you in her speech today, but to divorce over such a small thing is too impulsive.”

“Sister, I’m not divorcing just because of this one thing. This was simply the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

“Jingyun, both of you should calm down. Can’t you sit down and talk it over properly? There’s no grudge that can’t be settled overnight. Everything will be fine once you talk it through.”

“I’ve already made my decision,” Luo Jingyun’s voice was as calm as water. “I am informing you now, not consulting you. We can get the divorce certificate once the agreement is signed.”

“But…”

“There are no ‘buts.’ None of you ever thought well of my marriage to Tan Jizhu anyway. Now that we’re divorcing, shouldn’t you be happy?”

“You guys… we… fine. If you’re going to post it, don’t do it now. Wait until noon tomorrow. Give us poor workers some time to react.”

“Okay.” Hanging up on Deng Mei, Luo Jingyun looked at Tan Jizhu. “Since Sister Deng Mei said so, you should wait a bit longer.”

Tan Jizhu snorted. “Luo Jingyun, even if you regret it tomorrow and beg me in tears not to divorce, it won’t be of any use!”

“Mhm.” Luo Jingyun waved her hand and went to the guest bedroom to rest.

A night without dreams. The next day, Luo Jingyun was woken up by a call from a courier. Lu Qiu and Jiang Xian were very efficient; they had drafted the divorce agreement based on the key points she mentioned.

Luo Jingyun called Tan Jizhu out and handed over the papers. “The divorce agreement is drafted. See if there’s anything else that needs modifying.”

Tan Jizhu narrowed her eyes at Luo Jingyun. The latter frowned slightly. “Don’t look at me, look at the agreement.”

Shifting her gaze to the document, Tan Jizhu picked up a pen and made a few quick marks. “There are problems with these few clauses. I think they need to be modified.”

“Fine, how do you want to change them?”

Luo Jingyun modified the contents according to the other’s wishes. At first, Tan Jizhu’s requests were fairly normal, but they became increasingly strange. Luo Jingyun showed her displeasure. “It’s just a divorce agreement. Why do you have requirements for line spacing and font size? As long as the content is fine, it’s enough!”

Tan Jizhu looked elsewhere. “It is a divorce agreement, after all. We must be cautious.”

Enduring her annoyance, they finally settled on the final version. The divorce agreement was printed in duplicate. Luo Jingyun picked up the pen, signed her name in a flourish, and then handed it to Tan Jizhu.

“Sign it quickly.”

The latter took it. Just as the tip of the pen was about to touch the paper, Tan Jizhu looked up and asked, “How do you plan to handle the house? Do I need to move my things out? When is a good time to move?”

“I plan to sell the house, so move your things out as soon as possible.” Luo Jingyun was determined not to have any further connection with Tan Jizhu. Keeping this house would only serve as a reminder of how ridiculous these past few years had been.

Tan Jizhu frowned. She hadn’t expected Luo Jingyun to actually sell the house. Looking at the contents of the agreement, she said, “The house should still appreciate in value, right? Why not wait a bit before selling?”

Luo Jingyun shook her head. “That bit of appreciation is less than my pocket money.”

Hearing this, Tan Jizhu signed the two copies of the divorce agreement with a large flourish and tossed one back to the other.

“Luo Jingyun, I’m telling you, don’t you regret this. From now on, your path is yours and mine is mine. We won’t cross paths. Even if you beg me, I won’t remarry you.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.” This person had repeated it three times now; was she really that worried she would go back on her word?

Luo Jingyun took her copy and put it in a file folder. To put Tan Jizhu at ease, she emphasized, “Message me when you’ve finished moving your things, and then we’ll go get the certificate. If you don’t want to message me, you can have Deng Mei or Zhu Li message me.”

Tan Jizhu said, “I have a variety show in a few days. I’ll probably have to wait a while before we can go get the certificate.”

Thinking that she also had the Journey of the Heart variety show coming up, Luo Jingyun felt that waiting a few days was fine. But would saying that make Tan Jizhu think she was regretting it?

Luo Jingyun suggested, “Since the agreement is signed, why don’t we just post the news of our divorce.”

Tan Jizhu glared sharply at Luo Jingyun. “Fine! If Sister Deng Mei hadn’t stopped us yesterday, we should have posted it last night!”

Before posting, Tan Jizhu confirmed with Deng Mei again. They finally decided to schedule the posts for 12:00 PM.

Having settled everything, Luo Jingyun looked around the house she had lived in for three years. The past played out like a movie in her mind, finally freezing on this moment. Luo Jingyun said goodbye to Tan Jizhu, as if saying goodbye to her own unrequited love.

“Goodbye, Tan Jizhu.”

Luo Jingyun left the villa without looking back. She hailed a taxi to her two mothers’ company. It was a workday, and those two workaholics wouldn’t be at home.

Led by a secretary, Luo Jingyun walked into the CEO’s office and plopped down in the executive chair. She had just spun around for the third time when the owners of the office returned.

“A rare visitor,” Lu Qiu said, placing a glass of water on the desk. “What brings you to the company to find us?”

Luo Jingyun grabbed their hands and acted spoiled. “Oh, I just missed you guys!”

Jiang Xian curled her lip. “Don’t act spoiled! Did you do something bad? Did you not divorce Tan Jizhu?”

After speaking, Jiang Xian had a ‘just as I expected’ look on her face as she turned to Lu Qiu. “See, what did I tell you? I knew she was tricking us.”

Lu Qiu pulled the water glass back. “Yun-yun, is that how it is?”

“It is not! I’ve already divorced Tan Jizhu!” Luo Jingyun showed them the divorce agreement. “Look! It’s already signed. At 12:00, the news of our divorce will be posted on social media. I definitely won’t regret it this time!”

The office clock happened to point to 12:00. Jiang Xian took out her phone to check.

“Hey, why isn’t my phone showing anything? Are you sure the divorce news was posted?”

Lu Qiu also took out her phone. “Is the network bad?”

“The app is probably lagging. After all, Tan Jizhu won Best Actress yesterday, so announcing a divorce today will definitely attract a lot of attention.”

After waiting nearly five minutes, Lu Qiu and Jiang Xian’s phones finally responded. After browsing the trending topics, they looked at Luo Jingyun with complicated expressions.

Luo Jingyun felt her skin crawl under their gaze. “What is it? Did it not get posted?”

She pulled out her phone and opened the app. The top posts were about her divorce from Tan Jizhu, but tucked in the middle was a trending topic related to a variety show:

#Tan Jizhu, Luo Jingyun, and Chen Shidong to Participate Together in Journey of the Heart