After Divorcing the Scummy Alpha Movie Queen, I Became Extremely Popular - Chapter 26

It Seems Luo Jingyun truly doesn’t want me anymore

With a “thud,” the door was pushed open from the outside. Chen Shidong stepped into the room with a leisurely, brisk pace, only to suddenly realize someone else was standing there.

“Oh, Jingyun? Are you here to see Jizhu?”

Chen Shidong looked at Tan Jizhu again and said, “Am I… interrupting you two? I… I’ll leave right now. You guys carry on.”

“No need, Sister Shidong,” Luo Jingyun said, quickly correcting herself as she remembered Tan Jizhu’s warning. “Ah, there’s no need to trouble yourself, Senior Chen. We’ve already said everything we needed to say. I’ll be going now.”

“Leaving so soon?” Chen Shidong tried to call after her. “Stay a little longer.”

Once the person had completely left, Chen Shidong leaned in with a face full of gossip and asked, “What’s the situation? Jingyun came to find you—does she already know what you did for her?”

“Yes, she knows,” Tan Jizhu held up the item in her hand to show her. “To thank me, Luo Jingyun brought me sunscreen.”

“…” Chen Shidong hadn’t expected this outcome at all. She wanted to laugh, but seeing Tan Jizhu’s conflicted expression, she racked her brain for something nice to say. “Well… at least Jingyun showed some appreciation. Giving you sunscreen on such a sunny day—how thoughtful. Keep up the good work.”

Tan Jizhu sat on the bed, looking a bit self-destructive. “It’s been almost a month since Jingyun and I signed the divorce papers. Even though we haven’t gone to get the official certificate yet, I feel like she really doesn’t want me anymore.”

Chen Shidong wiped the smile off her face and transformed back into a psychologist. “What happened? Give me the details.”

Ever since her last chat with Chen Shidong, Tan Jizhu had clearly realized her feelings. If Chen Shidong fell for someone else, she would silently offer her blessings. But if Luo Jingyun fell for someone else, she would be furious, lose her mind, and be unable to control her actions.

Chen Shidong, acting as the objective observer, had told her plainly: this behavior is called jealousy; it’s called possessiveness.

Tan Jizhu had played characters in love during her acting career and had performed scenes of jealousy, but she had never connected the two. After that hint, all the things she hadn’t understood before suddenly had answers.

She was jealous.

She liked Luo Jingyun.

Through these years of living together, she had fallen in love with Luo Jingyun. Or rather, no one could help but love Luo Jingyun; she had simply wasted nearly five years before realizing this fact.

“Senior, I feel like Jingyun has been so cold to me lately,” Tan Jizhu voiced her confusion.

Isn’t that your own fault! Chen Shidong complained internally, but she couldn’t say that out loud. She asked patiently, “Jizhu, have you tried having a proper talk with Jingyun?”

“I tried, but she didn’t give me the chance at all.” Tan Jizhu recounted the events to Chen Shidong. “For example, the other day I saw she was too slow and wanted to help her till the soil. She rejected me outright, and as a result, she collapsed from exhaustion today.”

Chen Shidong said, “So that’s why you went to see Jingyun that day. That’s a good start. Tell me the details of your conversation; let me analyze it for you.”

“I watched for a while, and Luo Jingyun’s tilling posture was truly unprofessional. So I asked, ‘Is this the result of your whole day’s work?’ Then, Luo Jingyun didn’t give me a chance to speak further; she tried to shove me away with a shovel and even teamed up with Park Soo-ah.” At this point, Tan Jizhu gritted her teeth. “I don’t know where this Park Soo-ah popped up from, but in just a few days, she’s become so close to Luo Jingyun. Luo Jingyun even calls her ‘Sister’ (Unnie).”

“And you, too!”

Chen Shidong had been in the mood for entertainment, but she was suddenly dragged into it. She pointed at herself. “Me? What does it have to do with me?”

“Luo Jingyun hasn’t known you for long either, and she calls you ‘Sister’ too. And then there’s your Liu Yuqi—on the train, she just had to be all touchy-feely with Luo Jingyun.”

Chen Shidong caught the keyword. “Touchy-feely? I’ll go back and ask Liu Yuqi what exactly was going on. No wonder Jingyun changed her address to ‘Senior’ when she left just now; so that’s the reason.”

“I’m older than her, too, but Luo Jingyun has never called me ‘Sister’.” Tan Jizhu’s tone held a hint of resentment.

“Okay, okay, let’s go through the logic from the beginning,” Chen Shidong said. “You walked up and asked, ‘Is this the result of your whole day’s work?’ It’s lucky Jingyun has a good temper and gave you a chance to leave. If it were me, I would have swatted you into a photograph with that shovel already.”

Tan Jizhu was a bit dazed. “Is there… something wrong with that sentence?”

“Where’s my shovel? I’m going to swat you away,” Chen Shidong grumbled before breaking it down. “There’s a huge problem! Don’t you think you sound like you’re provoking her? You want to help someone, yet you insist on mocking their slow progress? It doesn’t sound like help; it sounds like charity.”

Recalling Luo Jingyun’s reaction, Tan Jizhu admitted, “Analyzing it like that… it was indeed a bit much.”

“Also, if you want Jingyun to call you ‘Sister,’ just tell her directly. Why drag me into it, and why drag our Yuqi into it?”

Tan Jizhu suddenly became bashful. “I thought Luo Jingyun would understand what I meant. If I don’t let her call others ‘Sister,’ doesn’t that mean I want her to call me ‘Sister’?”

Chen Shidong’s expression went blank for a moment. “Do you want to listen to the nonsense you’re spewing?”

“Is there a problem with that?” Tan Jizhu was still oblivious.

“There’s a problem, and it’s a big one!” Chen Shidong said. “Between the two of you, has it always been Jingyun giving and you receiving?”

Tan Jizhu nodded in admission. Whether it was when they first met or after they got married, Luo Jingyun was always the proactive one. Not only did Tan Jizhu not give back, but she even used to find Luo Jingyun annoying.

“I think the reason Jingyun wants to divorce you is that she has given for so long without receiving any positive feedback, so she decided to cut ties. What you need to do next is to give to her,” Chen Shidong advised. “For instance, carrying her to the health center today and then finishing the tilling for her—those are both very good forms of feedback. They let Jingyun see your effort.”

Tan Jizhu pondered Chen Shidong’s words. “Right, it must be because I performed well today that Jingyun came to see me. But she came just to give me sunscreen? Do I look like someone who lacks sunscreen?”

“Otherwise, what? You tilled a few acres for her, so she has to offer herself to you in marriage?” Chen Shidong gave a polite smile. “Besides, even though it’s autumn, the sun here is quite fierce. Sunscreen is definitely a necessity. I think Jingyun was very thoughtful.”

“True, sunscreen is indeed indispensable.” Tan Jizhu pursed her lips. Tomorrow, she would have Luo Jingyun help her apply sunscreen—and she would do it right in front of Park Soo-ah!

“Looking at it this way, you both have a special kind of bluntness. You’re quite a match!”

High EQ: A match through special bluntness. Low EQ: What a pair of oddballs; every pot has its lid.

Hearing such praise, Tan Jizhu was very happy. “Yes, I understand, Senior. I will keep working hard.”

Chen Shidong patted Tan Jizhu on the shoulder. “In short, just remember four words: Speak less, do more!”

…

The doctor’s diagnosis was that Luo Jingyun didn’t have heatstroke; she had simply fainted from being in the sun for too long. After resting in the village health center for an afternoon, she was back to normal.

On the final day of the tilling task, Luo Jingyun went to the field and immediately saw the traces of Tan Jizhu helping her till the soil.

What remained unfinished wasn’t much. She and Park Soo-ah finally completed everything before dark.

The director’s team announced the rankings based on everyone’s final completion time. Tan Jizhu and Chen Shidong’s group were undoubtedly first, while Luo Jingyun and Park Soo-ah were last.

Luo Jingyun was a bit discouraged. “I said I’d carry you, but we ended up in last place.”

“It’s okay, I don’t care about rankings,” Park Soo-ah comforted her. “Anyway, we had fun tilling the soil together, and that’s enough.”

“I wonder if there’s a penalty for being last.”

Park Soo-ah pondered. “Probably not. They can’t make the penalty ‘go till more soil,’ right?”

Liu Yuqi stepped forward and said, “Congratulations to Jizhu and Shidong for taking first place. We’ll talk about the rewards later. Now, although the land is tilled, this is only rough processing. You can’t plant seeds directly yet. Later, after the villagers perform fine processing on the land you tilled, we can start planting.”

“While the villagers are helping, everyone has other tasks. The apples everyone picked last week have been sorted and categorized. Tomorrow, you can go to the city market to sell them. I wish you all success.”

Although it was still a task, it was much easier than tilling the soil. To get from the village to the market, they still took the same motorized tricycle they arrived in.

“Jingyun, let me help you up.”

In Luo Jingyun’s line of sight, two hands were extended, one from the left and one from the right. She looked up and found the owners of the hands were Park Soo-ah and Tan Jizhu.

The two of them spoke almost simultaneously. They glanced at each other, said nothing more, and focused their gaze on Luo Jingyun.

“No need to trouble yourselves,” Luo Jingyun waved them off. She was no longer the young lady in a dress; for better work, she had changed into a pair of convenient cargo pants. She slipped between Tan Jizhu and Park Soo-ah, nimbly hopped onto the tricycle, and said boastfully to them, “How’s that? Am I impressive?”

Park Soo-ah’s praise came out instantly. “Jingyun is so impressive!”

Tan Jizhu was a step slower and shot an annoyed glare at Park Soo-ah.

Watching the drama from behind, Chen Shidong let out a soft laugh and called out, “You two get on quickly, or we’ll be late.”

The road on the tricycle was still very bumpy, but Luo Jingyun could handle it now.

At the market, the eight guests began to discuss how to sell the apples.

Chen Shidong said, “I consulted the villagers yesterday. The village generally divides apples into three grades. The price for the first grade is 30 yuan per jin (approx. 500g), the next is 10 yuan per jin, and the last grade is 3 yuan per jin. I think we can use these prices as a reference.”

Luo Jingyun had never bought apples before; it was her first time hearing that apples were sold by weight. She whispered to Park Soo-ah, “How many apples are in a jin?”

Park Soo-ah stalled for a moment. “Uh, a jin is a jin. It has to be calculated based on the weight of each apple. The heavier the individual apple, the fewer apples in a jin.”

“Tsk, you don’t know how many it is either, do you?”

“Okay, I really don’t know.”

“These prices are what the villagers usually sell for, but now we are the ones selling. I think we can use our advantage to raise the prices a bit to help the villagers get a better income.” The person speaking was a guest whose name Luo Jingyun still hadn’t memorized.

Their teammate chimed in, “I think that makes sense. We are celebrities, after all. Using our celebrity effect to help promote for the producers can help sell them better and save the producers an endorsement fee. The producers will definitely be happy.”

“That’s a great idea. Then it’s decided. How much of a price increase would be appropriate?”

“I think we can just double the original prices.”

The other four discussed and made the decision, only then realizing that Chen Shidong and Tan Jizhu hadn’t joined the discussion. They asked, “Teacher Chen, Teacher Tan, do you think this is okay?”

Luo Jingyun crossed her arms, shook her head, and cut in: “I don’t think so.”