After Divorcing the Scummy Alpha Movie Queen, I Became Extremely Popular - Chapter 20

“Why didn’t you choose me as your teammate?”

Luo Jingyun looked bewildered. “Tan Jizhu, what are you talking about? What kind of person do you think I am?”

Tan Jizhu clenched her fists, her body trembling slightly. “Luo Jingyun, you’ve always been this way—going your own way, making decisions for others without ever considering their feelings! Your family is wealthy, you have two loving mothers to back you up, and you can walk away from anything whenever you want. But have you ever considered anyone else? One small decision of yours could affect someone’s entire life!”

“Wait, whose life did I affect?” It was as if Luo Jingyun had suddenly seen the light. “Oh, so this is what you’ve been waiting to spring on me.”

“Tan Jizhu, are you trying to say that because I suddenly showed up, I interfered with you and Chen Shidong being together? Allow me to remind you—we are divorced. Although we haven’t collected the certificates yet, the agreement is signed and the public announcement has been made. You don’t need to worry about those two pieces of paper.”

“Now you and Chen Shidong are living together; isn’t this the perfect opportunity for you to pursue her? Don’t worry, I can swear to heaven that I will absolutely not interfere with your pursuit of Chen Shidong. Because I no longer have any feelings for you.”

“Luo Jingyun!” Tan Jizhu’s shaking intensified. She reached out and grabbed Luo Jingyun’s wrist. “Since you have no feelings for me, why do you continue to stay on this show! Why do you keep appearing in front of me!”

Luo Jingyun’s wrist hurt from the grip. She forcefully shook off Tan Jizhu’s hold. “Tan Jizhu, I’ve told you many times, I don’t want to breach my contract! If you can’t stand the sight of me, you should be the one to quit.”

“Luo Jingyun, why didn’t you choose me as your teammate?”

As if she had heard a hilarious joke, Luo Jingyun burst out laughing. “Tan Jizhu, would you even be happy if I chose you?”

“I…”

“You wouldn’t be!” Luo Jingyun concluded. “You would surely be thinking of every possible way to break our team up so you could partner with Chen Shidong.”

Tan Jizhu became somewhat incoherent. “So you’d rather just choose a complete stranger?”

“A stranger? You mean Park Soo-ah? She’s not a stranger. She lent me a helping hand when I was in trouble; she’s a wonderful person, she’s my ‘Soo-ah Sis’.”

“‘Soo-ah Sis’?” Tan Jizhu’s expression grew increasingly cold. “Aren’t you an only child? Exactly how many ‘dear sisters’ do you have?”

“How many sisters I have is none of your business. Stop worrying about things that don’t concern you.”

“You!” Tan Jizhu threw out a harsh remark. “Luo Jingyun, don’t think I don’t know—you’re just playing hard to get! I’m definitely not falling for it.”

Not this again. Luo Jingyun looked at her with disdain. “Tan Jizhu, you’re truly sick.”

With that, Luo Jingyun didn’t intend to deal with this “patient” any longer and turned to leave.

“Sss…” The moment she turned, Luo Jingyun suddenly felt an intense wave of pressure. The cold scent of bamboo pheromones seemed to materialize into thousands of sharpened bamboo stakes, stabbing into her scent gland.

An Alpha’s pheromones are aggressive and oppressive; even without a permanent mark, they can affect an Omega.

The 98% high compatibility caused Luo Jingyun’s legs to lose their strength. She covered her neck and doubled over, warning, “Tan Jizhu, you actually dare to use pheromone suppression on me!”

Tan Jizhu didn’t move; she stood there like a diffuser, continuously releasing her pheromones.

Feeling the pheromones in the air grow thicker, Luo Jingyun warned, “Tan Jizhu, you’re crazy! Pull your pheromones back, now!”

When a powerful Alpha releases pheromones, it can cause surrounding Omegas and Alphas to fall into heat or a rut simultaneously. This was a remote mountain area; if something happened, it was unknown if there would be enough suppressants to control the situation.

“What are you two doing?” Chen Shidong, also an Alpha, felt the hostile pheromones. She walked out of the room. “Jizhu, are these your pheromones? Put them away, quickly!”

“Sister Shidong, please do something, Tan Jizhu has gone mad!” Unable to help herself, Luo Jingyun could only call out to Chen Shidong for help.

“Wait for me!” Realizing the situation immediately, Chen Shidong ran back into their room and reappeared in less than thirty seconds with a syringe in her hand.

With a swift motion, Chen Shidong injected the Alpha suppressant into Tan Jizhu.

Tan Jizhu’s fierce expression softened slightly. She glanced at Chen Shidong and Luo Jingyun, unable to believe what she had just done. “I… what happened to me?”

Having recovered slightly, Luo Jingyun didn’t miss this golden opportunity to snap back. “Tan Jizhu, you’re a grown adult. If you can’t even control your pheromones, you should quit the show and stay at home!”

“Jingyun, what happened?” Park Soo-ah was a Beta; she couldn’t smell the thick Alpha pheromones in the air. She was simply startled by the noise. Seeing Luo Jingyun’s pale face as she exited her room, she rushed over in concern.

“It’s nothing,” Luo Jingyun said. “I just didn’t expect to run into a lunatic just by stepping out for a bit.”

Park Soo-ah subconsciously looked at Tan Jizhu, only to find the other woman staring back at her with eyes full of hostility. They had only known each other for a short time—had she offended this person?

The other guests, hearing the commotion, also emerged from their rooms. Even Liu Yuqi and some staff members came over from the adjacent courtyard to check on the situation.

“Eh? What happened? Why is everyone standing outside?”

“The mountain air is good; everyone took the chance while there’s no work tonight to come out and get some fresh air,” Chen Shidong gave a very dignified answer.

Luo Jingyun didn’t want anyone else to link her with Tan Jizhu anymore, so she followed Chen Shidong’s lead.

“Right, we also came out to look at the stars.”

Liu Yuqi joked, “Oh, so that’s it. I thought you were dissatisfied with today’s grouping and were planning to re-divide the teams.”

“That’s definitely not it. I am very satisfied with my current teammate.” Luo Jingyun emphasized her words one by one.

Liu Yuqi glanced at Chen Shidong, who gave a slight nod.

“As long as everything is fine. Everyone should get some rest; filming continues tomorrow.”

At those words, the onlookers dispersed. Luo Jingyun didn’t give Tan Jizhu a single glance as she took Park Soo-ah’s hand and walked into the house.

Chen Shidong whispered a reminder, “Jizhu, go back inside.”

As if waking from a dream, Tan Jizhu followed Chen Shidong back into the room with stiff movements.

Back in the room, Chen Shidong poured a glass of hot water for Tan Jizhu, who still looked unwell. “What happened? A rut or your period?”

Tan Jizhu took a sip of the water and said softly, “Neither.”

With the advancement of technology, women—whether Alpha, Beta, or Omega—could precisely control their physiological periods, usually lasting between one to three days. An Alpha’s rut and an Omega’s heat could also be regulated through suppressants. This meant that under normal circumstances, a person would not be affected by these two physiological reactions.

Chen Shidong took on the role of a caring older sister. “Then are you willing to tell me why?”

Tan Jizhu thought for a moment and shook her head. “Senior, I don’t know what was wrong with me today.”

“Alright, then let’s sort through the thoughts one by one. You were fine during the day, but at night, your pheromones suddenly fluctuated wildly, affecting everyone nearby. During this time, only one thing happened: Luo Jingyun chose Park Soo-ah as her teammate. So, were your pheromones affected by this event?”

Tan Jizhu suddenly gripped the cup tight before immediately letting go, denying it: “Of course not!”

That tiny movement didn’t escape Chen Shidong’s eyes, but she didn’t point it out. “Okay, next question. Jizhu, did you and Jingyun divorce because of me?”

Tan Jizhu looked up. “Senior, why would you say that?”

“It’s not that I’m narcissistic, but mainly because we were photographed at the airport a few days ago, and the two of you clarified it for me. But after the Hou Tu Awards, you thanked me again, and the very next day the two of you got divorced. I couldn’t help but wonder.”

“Senior, it’s not your fault. It’s Luo Jingyun—she’s just too petty.”

To this day, Tan Jizhu still hadn’t figured out why Luo Jingyun was pestering her for a mutual permanent mark one moment, and demanding a divorce the next—and with such speed! If it weren’t for the fact that they both had to film this variety show, they would probably have their divorce certificates by now.

She really wanted to attribute this to Luo Jingyun being jealous, but she had seen Luo Jingyun jealous many times. Every time, no matter the reason, Luo Jingyun would pester her until she explained everything clearly; after Luo Jingyun judged the situation, she would consider whether to exclude those suspicious people.

“I don’t know Jingyun well, and I’m not clear on her personality. But I believe a marriage should rely on the efforts of two people working together.”

“I don’t think I ever really ‘managed’ this marriage. Because I only felt gratitude toward Luo Jingyun and didn’t have the love one has for a partner, I didn’t feel it was necessary to maintain the relationship.”

“Since you don’t like Luo Jingyun, why were you jealous?”

“Jealous? Where was I jealous?”

Chen Shidong chuckled softly. “Jizhu, you really are slow to react.”

“I’m not slow to react. I just never liked anyone before, so I don’t know what it feels like. If I had to say I liked someone, that person might be you.”

Chen Shidong pointed to herself. “Me? Are you sure?”

“Perhaps,” Tan Jizhu’s tone became hesitant. “At the age when peers usually experience their first stirrings of love, I was thinking about how to make money to give my mother a happier life. When I finally escaped with my mother, I met you. Whether during school or work, you have always guided me. Just like I said in my acceptance speech, you have always been the goal I strive for.”

“Jizhu, that’s called admiration, not love.”

“Is it… admiration?”

“How about this, I’ll tell you a secret, and you tell me the first thought you have after hearing it.”

Tan Jizhu listened intently. “What secret?”

“The secret is that I’m not single anymore; I have a partner.”

Hearing this news, Tan Jizhu didn’t feel much of an emotional stir. She simply followed up by asking, “Who is your partner, Senior? Is it convenient to tell me?”

“You know this person too—it’s the director of ‘Journey of the Cultivating Heart,’ Liu Yuqi.”

“Your partner is Liu Yuqi?” This news was more shocking to Tan Jizhu than the previous one. “Since when?”

Chen Shidong licked her lips, looking a bit shy. “Actually, we’ve been together for a long time. Do you remember? I transitioned from being a model to an actress because of a director’s recommendation. That person was Liu Yuqi.”

Tan Jizhu wasn’t aware of this detail. “You two couldn’t have been together since back then, right?”

“Yeah, pretty much. Yuqi has directed some artistic films over the past few years, but during one location shoot, due to the crew’s negligence, irreversible damage was caused to the environment. Since then, Yuqi decided she wanted to protect nature, which is why she came up with this theme. She originally thought about setting it in my hometown, but my hometown is developed enough that it doesn’t need poverty alleviation, so she chose a different city in the same province.”

“So that’s how it is.”

“See,” Chen Shidong pointed at Tan Jizhu, “your reaction was very calm, which shows you don’t actually like me.”

Tan Jizhu pondered for a moment and agreed with the conclusion. She didn’t like Chen Shidong; she just admired her. She had never felt romantic love before, and being misled by online comments and Luo Jingyun, she had assumed she had special feelings for Chen Shidong.

Chen Shidong continued, “Okay, now that we’ve solved the first question, here’s the second: Do you like Luo Jingyun?”