After Divorcing the Scummy Alpha Movie Queen, I Became Extremely Popular - Chapter 21

Can You Just Let Anyone Touch Your Gland?

Back in the room, Park Soo-ah brought over a glass of hot water and asked with concern, “Jingyun, what happened just now? What’s going on between you and Tan Jizhu? I thought I heard you mention… mention pheromones?”

Park Soo-ah was a Beta. She couldn’t smell pheromones and didn’t know much about them, only that they usually appeared when Alphas or Omegas experienced significant emotional fluctuations. Thus, she deduced that something must have happened between Luo Jingyun and Tan Jizhu outside.

Luo Jingyun set the water aside and sat on the bed huffily. “I don’t know either. Tan Jizhu is just a psychopath!”

“Jingyun, I’m a Beta. I can’t smell pheromones, and I won’t be suppressed by them. If something like this happens again, come find me. I’ll protect you!”

Luo Jingyun patted Park Soo-ah. “It’s fine. Even though Tan Jizhu is an Alpha, I have more than enough to deal with her. No need to trouble yourself.”

After all, they had a 98% compatibility rate. If they really got serious, it was hard to say who would lose their mind or lose control first.

Park Soo-ah sat beside her. “We’re teammates now; we should protect each other. Don’t be polite with me.”

“Don’t worry, I definitely won’t be. Help me check if that water has cooled down. If it has, bring it over so I can have a sip.”

The two continued tidying the room. Once they were mostly finished, Luo Jingyun did a quick wash-up. After a long day, she could finally rest. Lying in bed, she reflected on the day’s events.

During the day, she had been in a glamorous big city having breakfast with her two mothers; by evening, she was in this economically underdeveloped village.

To be honest, Luo Jingyun did regret participating in this show. This bare room wasn’t even the worst part. She had heard from the staff that meals during filming would be organized by the production team. In this remote wilderness, ordering takeout was impossible. As for bathing, they had to go to the village’s public bathhouse.

In all her life, the greatest hardship Luo Jingyun had faced was university military training. The difficulty level of this show was ten times worse.

At the same time, Tan Jizhu’s occasional sarcasm was a major source of irritation. And just now, for some unknown reason, Tan Jizhu had suddenly snapped and started releasing pheromones everywhere.

Luo Jingyun pulled the quilt over her head weakly. She didn’t know if she could last until the day filming wrapped.

…

After a night’s rest, filming continued the next day. The Heart of Farming Journey was not one of those “showy” programs where actors just filmed a few shots of farm work before resting. The production team insisted on seeing things through, requiring everyone to work diligently.

Yesterday, by sheer luck and the quality of her apples, Luo Jingyun had won the right to pick her teammate first and hadn’t been too tired. Today, however, the production team issued clear instructions: the four groups were each responsible for a section of the orchard and had to pick all the apples.

Luo Jingyun had been picking apples since she woke up. By noon, she sat under an apple tree to drink water, looking out at the seemingly endless orchard. She lamented, “Heavens, how long is this going to take? I promise to treat every apple with respect from now on.”

Park Soo-ah didn’t stop working even while chatting. “It’s okay. If you’re tired, you can rest for a bit. I’ve got this.”

“Ugh, picking apples isn’t that tiring; it’s just too sunny. Luckily I had you help me with my luggage so I could bring all my sunscreen.”

Park Soo-ah smiled. “It’s what I should do.”

“We’ve been at it for half a day. The sunscreen I put on this morning is probably useless by now. I’m going to go reapply. You coming?”

Park Soo-ah looked at the apples they had gathered. “How about we push a bit more until we have a full cart? When we take it back to the staff, we can stop by the room for the sunscreen on the way.”

“Fine.”

The two worked for a while longer until they finally filled a handcart. Each pulling one side, they headed toward the living area. There was quite a distance between the village residential area and the plantation. Luo Jingyun admired the scenery as she walked.

The wide rural road had no shade other than the telephone poles, allowing for a very long view. However, almost every direction was blocked by mountains. Without a car, she wondered how long it would take to walk out of a place like this.

“Hey, it looks like someone is following us,” Park Soo-ah happened to look back and saw two figures.

Luo Jingyun glanced over. “Probably another group that just finished picking and is heading to the village.”

At this distance, she couldn’t see their faces clearly. She didn’t care much and continued pulling the cart.

“Jingyun! Soo-ah!” After walking a bit further, the person behind them suddenly called their names.

Luo Jingyun looked back and saw that the two people were Tan Jizhu and Chen Shidong. One was waving happily, while the other looked cold and indifferent.

Being called out made Luo Jingyun feel slightly awkward. She quickly scanned the surroundings, but there were no side paths or places to hide. The two behind them were moving fast, while she and Park Soo-ah were moving slowly. They would be caught soon. This meant they had to greet them.

How awkward. I don’t want to talk to them. Should I pretend to play on my phone? Or just ditch the apples and run?

Forget it. Deliberately avoiding them would seem too obvious. It was better to just say hello. Since Park Soo-ah and Chen Shidong were there, Luo Jingyun decided she would only talk to them. Whether Tan Jizhu mocked her or was being passive-aggressive, she would just act like she didn’t hear it.

Soon, Chen Shidong and Tan Jizhu caught up.

“Jingyun, Soo-ah, are you going to drop off apples too?”

Luo Jingyun greeted her politely. “Yeah, first time. This is your first time too, right Sister Shidong?”

“Actually, no. It’s our second time.”

Park Soo-ah said in surprise, “Second time? So fast! Is there a reward for being first in this too?”

“I’m not sure about that,” Chen Shidong chatted casually. “But when we dropped off the first batch, we ran into the director. She said after we finish picking, we have to help sell them too.”

“I see. Then I need to speed up. I didn’t think picking apples was that hard, but after a morning of this, my arms are quite sore.” Luo Jingyun chatted politely for a few moments and was about to find an excuse to slip away when she heard Tan Jizhu say in a lukewarm tone:

“You can’t even handle this? The villagers have to do this every year. Don’t you think they get tired? They don’t just harvest; they have to water, fertilize, and de-bug the trees. They have a mountain of work to do.”

“…” Luo Jingyun ignored her, not even sparing Tan Jizhu a glance.

Park Soo-ah spoke up for her. “To each their own specialty. Maybe the villagers have found some tricks after years of work that we just haven’t discovered yet.”

“Oh, you’re right! Jizhu and I actually did find a few tricks.”

Park Soo-ah put on the expression of an eager apprentice. “Really? Could Senior Chen share those tricks with us?”

Chen Shidong asked, “How have you two been working?”

“To speed things up, Jingyun and I have been working separately, each responsible for a row of trees.”

Chen Shidong clapped her hands. “See, there’s your mistake. Don’t pick separately. One person picks the apples, and the other holds the basket to catch them. That way, the person with the basket can rest a bit, and then you swap. It’s much faster.”

“Oh, I’ll remember that.” Park Soo-ah quickly committed the tip to memory. “We’ll try that when we go back.”

“Also, when you pick them, don’t just pull. Give the apple a little twist; it comes off easier.”

“Got it!”

The four of them walked toward the village together. Most of the conversation was between Chen Shidong and Park Soo-ah. Luo Jingyun silently noted the tips and didn’t say another word.

Near the residential area, staff and villagers were already waiting under a makeshift shed. Luo Jingyun and Park Soo-ah split up: Luo went to the room to get sunscreen, while Park went to hand over the apples.

After finding the sunscreen and coming out, the villagers of Tongxi were just finishing their morning work and returning for lunch. Luo Jingyun saw that they were all wearing woven bamboo hats and approached them with a plan.

“Sister, your hat is so pretty. Where did you buy it? I want one too.”

The village woman was very warm and immediately took off her hat to show Luo Jingyun. “This wasn’t bought; we wove it ourselves.”

“You wove it yourselves? That’s amazing!” Luo Jingyun praised her sweetly. “The skill, the shape… it’s beautiful. I feel like your bamboo hats are no different from those designed by luxury brands—the craftsmanship might even be better. They’d definitely stand out at a fashion week.”

“We don’t know about luxury brands, but if you want it, you can have this one.” The woman stuffed the hat into Luo Jingyun’s arms. “The sun is very harsh right now. You look so fair, don’t let it burn you.”

“Oh, I couldn’t possibly. How about this, I’ll pay you the market price.”

The woman waved her off. “Forget about money. The bamboo strips are ours, and we wove it ourselves. It doesn’t cost much. Just take it.”

“Thank you, Sister!” Luo Jingyun didn’t insist further. Thinking of Park Soo-ah who was still busy weighing apples with the staff, she said, “Sister, I have one more favor to ask. Could I get one for my teammate too?”

Another villager immediately took off her own hat and handed it to Luo Jingyun. Delighted to have obtained two natural sun hats, Luo Jingyun went to find Park Soo-ah.

The latter had already handed over the apples and was waiting by the shed.

“Here, for you.” Luo Jingyun walked over and plopped the second bamboo hat onto Park Soo-ah’s head. “The village sisters gave them to me. They’re so kind.”

Park Soo-ah adjusted the hat to see. “Wow, I feel cooler the moment I put it on.”

“Right? Black hair absorbs heat. No sunscreen can beat physical sun protection.” Luo Jingyun pulled the sunscreen from her pocket. “But the brim of this hat is a bit small. We still can’t skip the actual sunscreen.”

Luo Jingyun squeezed a large amount of sunscreen into her palm, rubbed her hands together to spread it, and then applied it to her exposed cheeks, arms, and ankles. She applied a thick layer as if she were plastering a wall, terrified of missing a spot.

In the morning, because her hair had covered it, Luo Jingyun hadn’t applied any to the back of her neck. But as the noon temperature rose, she had to tie her hair up to stay cool. Now that her neck was exposed, she had to apply sunscreen there.

She tried to reach back but found she couldn’t get the right angle. She handed the bottle to Park Soo-ah. “Soo-ah, help me put some on the back of my neck. I can’t reach.”

Park Soo-ah was stunned by the request. “What?”

Luo Jingyun turned her back to Park Soo-ah and repeated, “I said, help me put some sunscreen on the back of my neck.”

With that, Luo Jingyun squeezed some sunscreen into Park Soo-ah’s hand. Before turning around, she didn’t forget to remind her, “You have to rub it in evenly. If there’s a tan line because it wasn’t applied right, I’m holding you responsible.”

“O-okay.” Park Soo-ah was so nervous her hands were shaking. She dipped her fingertips in and tremblingly began to apply it to Luo Jingyun’s neck.

As a Beta, her own gland was not fully developed. She couldn’t mark others or be marked like an Alpha or Omega. Even though her physiological knowledge was limited, she knew how important the gland was to an Alpha or Omega.

Her fingertips slid across a patch of skin that felt even more elastic. Is this Luo Jingyun’s gland? Is Luo Jingyun really just letting me touch her gland like this?

“Finished yet?” Luo Jingyun waited a moment, then tilted her head to ask.

“N-not yet. I’m rubbing it in more evenly.”

“Hiss, why is it so slow? You have to make sure it’s even. Don’t just do the area around the collar—rub a bit inside the collar too. The edges are easy to miss.”

“Okay, I’ll be careful.” Park Soo-ah allowed her fingertips to slip under Luo Jingyun’s collar, feeling clearly how delicate the Omega’s skin was.

But no matter how much she delayed, the task was eventually done. Reluctantly withdrawing her hand, Park Soo-ah said, “It’s done. It’s even.”

“Great!” Luo Jingyun patted Park Soo-ah. “Come, turn around. Let me put some on the back of your neck too.”

Park Soo-ah turned around stiffly. Luo Jingyun finished the job in a flash and handed the bottle back. “You can handle the rest yourself. I’m going to the bathroom.”

The village toilet conditions were poor. Luo Jingyun took a deep breath before entering, trying to hold it the whole time for fear of smelling anything.

Just as she felt she might suffocate, she finished and ran out. At the tap, she scrubbed her hands several times before she was satisfied.

“Luo Jingyun!”

Hearing her name, Luo Jingyun looked over. The moment she turned, her eyes met those of Tan Jizhu. Committed to her plan of having as little interaction with Tan Jizhu as possible, she immediately started walking away.

“Luo Jingyun, stop right there.”

“Tch, stop so you can mock me? In your dreams!” Luo Jingyun muttered, continuing her pace.

However, after only two steps, Tan Jizhu—whom she had been ignoring—suddenly rushed over, grabbed her hand, and roared:

“Luo Jingyun, what were you just doing?”

Being confronted so directly left Luo Jingyun a bit dazed. She answered instinctively, “I was putting on sunscreen.”

Observing Tan Jizhu’s anxious expression, Luo Jingyun raised an eyebrow. “What? You want some too? I’m not sharing with you!”

Tan Jizhu tightened her grip. “Luo Jingyun, stop trying to change the subject! Did you even pay attention in health class? Can you just let anyone touch an Omega’s gland?”