After Divorcing the Scummy Alpha Movie Queen, I Became Extremely Popular - Chapter 29

“The chosen person cannot refuse.”

As soon as these words left her mouth, almost everyone present was stunned. None of them had expected Tan Jizhu to choose Luo Jingyun as her new teammate.

Chen Shidong was one of the few with a normal expression. She looked over at Liu Yuqi from a distance; the latter noticed her gaze and met it. The two silently exchanged a wealth of information through their eyes.

Luo Jingyun froze for a moment, even doubting her own ears. She pointed at herself. “Me? You’re saying you want me to be your new teammate?”

“That’s right, it’s you.” Tan Jizhu walked over and pulled Luo Jingyun away from Park Soo-ah’s side.

Park Soo-ah reacted instantly, hurriedly grabbing Luo Jingyun’s other hand. “Jingyun.”

Luo Jingyun looked left and right, her eyes blinking rapidly like an overloaded computer trying to dissipate heat through its fan.

What exactly was going on?

“Excuse me, please let go.”

Park Soo-ah instinctively loosened her grip, but then immediately tightened it again.

Tan Jizhu saw all of this and commanded, “Let go.”

“I won’t!”

“Let go. Luo Jingyun is my teammate now.”

Being snapped at, Park Soo-ah quickly said, “But Jingyun hasn’t agreed to it yet.”

“Right, Jingyun? You didn’t agree to be Tan Jizhu’s teammate,” Park Soo-ah hurried to confirm with Luo Jingyun.

“Ah, right,” Luo Jingyun snapped out of it. She tried to shake off Tan Jizhu’s hand but failed. She could only bark at Tan Jizhu, “Tan Jizhu, let go! I haven’t agreed to be your teammate yet.”

Impressive. The usually polite Park Soo-ah wasn’t even using “Senior” anymore, addressing her directly by name. And Luo Jingyun—she actually hesitated!

Tan Jizhu called for backup, asking Liu Yuqi, “Director, the rules this time are the same as last time, right? The person chosen cannot refuse.”

A flash of helplessness crossed Liu Yuqi’s face, but she nodded. “Yes, the person chosen cannot refuse.”

Having received confirmation, Tan Jizhu directly shoved Park Soo-ah’s hand off Luo Jingyun’s arm.

“Did you hear that? I chose Luo Jingyun, and she can’t refuse. So the two of us are a team now. Me and Luo Jingyun!”

As if afraid Luo Jingyun would regret it, Tan Jizhu changed the subject. “Senior, you should hurry up and pick a teammate.”

Chen Shidong was beyond speechless; only Tan Jizhu could come up with such a blatant way of snatching someone. To ease the atmosphere, she looked at Park Soo-ah. “Soo-ah, let’s be a team then.”

Park Soo-ah bit her lip but still said politely, “Okay, Senior.”

The remaining four were arranged into pairs, and everyone ended up with a different teammate than before.

“Alright, everyone go back and rest first—”

“Director!”

Liu Yuqi’s words were interrupted. She looked at Tan Jizhu and asked, “Jizhu, what is it now?”

Tan Jizhu spoke with conviction, “Director, since we’ve changed teammates now, shouldn’t the room assignments change as well?”

“Uh…” Liu Yuqi was suddenly unsure. She stole a glance at Chen Shidong, who also looked helpless. “Changing rooms…”

“Director, I don’t want to change rooms.”

Liu Yuqi looked at Luo Jingyun, who had raised the objection. “Jingyun doesn’t want to change?”

“Correct, I don’t want to change!”

“Luo Jingyun!” Tan Jizhu said in disbelief. “You don’t want to change rooms?”

“Director, I am an Omega, and Tan Jizhu is an Alpha. There is a distinction between A and O; we definitely cannot stay in the same room. Even if we were to change, I couldn’t be in one with her.”

Although all eight guests were female, their attributes were different. Just as Luo Jingyun said, Alphas and Omegas generally did not room together. Pairs with identical attributes, or combinations like AB or BO, were basically fine.

The other four guests consisted of three Betas and one Omega. Liu Yuqi asked, “Do you all want to change?”

The four had already huddled together and shook their heads in unison. “We don’t want to change.”

Liu Yuqi shrugged. “Jizhu, there’s nothing we can do then. You and Shidong are both Alphas, so let’s just keep Jingyun and Soo-ah living together. You’re all in the same courtyard anyway, and the distance between the houses isn’t far. Plus, we’re more than halfway through filming this show; there’s really no need to change. It’s too much of a hassle.”

“The Director is right!” Luo Jingyun chimed in quickly, then ran to Park Soo-ah’s side. “I’ll keep living with Soo-ah.”

“Luo Jingyun!” Tan Jizhu wanted to pull Luo Jingyun back, but Chen Shidong stopped her.

“Jizhu, let’s just listen to the Director’s arrangement.”

“But…”

“But what? Do you want Jingyun to find you annoying?”

Tan Jizhu realized she had lost her composure a bit. After calming down, she agreed not to change the rooms.

With everyone in agreement, today’s recording officially ended. Luo Jingyun pulled Park Soo-ah and hurried back to their room.

Once inside, Park Soo-ah asked, “Jingyun, why did Tan Jizhu choose you as her teammate? Haven’t the two of you already…”

Luo Jingyun rubbed her temples. “You’re asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?”

Sensing the impatience in Luo Jingyun’s tone, Park Soo-ah quickly apologized. “I’m sorry, Jingyun. I didn’t mean to criticize you. I just really don’t understand what’s wrong with Tan Jizhu.”

“Who knows what kind of fit Tan Jizhu is throwing. She clearly likes Chen Shidong and chose her the first time, so why choose me this time? It’s not like I provoked her.” Luo Jingyun truly couldn’t understand Tan Jizhu’s thoughts. Luckily, she had successfully prevented the room change.

Park Soo-ah grabbed Luo Jingyun’s wrist and said, “Jingyun, if Tan Jizhu does anything inappropriate to you, come find me. I will definitely protect you!”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry,” Luo Jingyun patted Park Soo-ah. “I can handle it! If Tan Jizhu dares to mess with me, I’ll kick her into the sky!”

After Park Soo-ah went to shower, Luo Jingyun finally had a moment to herself. Taking advantage of the free time, she made a video call to her two mothers to give them a general update on her experiences over the past few days. She focused on the fact that she had signed a long-term contract with a manufacturer, bringing a stable income to Tongxi Village.

Lu Qiu and Jiang Xian were very happy. “Yun-Yun, you’re so great! As expected of our daughter!”

“By the way, Yun-Yun, I saw that the new episode of your show has been edited. We’ve already deleted some negative comments, so don’t worry.”

Jiang Xian suddenly sighed. “I just don’t know who deleted them ahead of time last time. Luckily, we beat them to it this time!”

Luo Jingyun hesitated for a moment. “Last time, it was Tan Jizhu who found someone to help delete them. I’ve already asked her manager; it’s true.”

“It was Tan Jizhu?” Jiang Xian and Lu Qiu hadn’t expected that answer. “It was actually her?”

“Yeah,” Luo Jingyun nodded. “Maybe those rumors had a negative impact on her too, so she deleted them along the way.”

“Forget it, whatever her reasons, it’s fine as long as they’re deleted,” Jiang Xian said. “No matter what, your mommies are your strongest support!”

Lu Qiu nodded. “Yes, we’re here.”

Luo Jingyun’s conflicted mood finally eased. “Don’t worry, I’m not that fragile.”

After hanging up, Luo Jingyun fell into thought. Her purpose for joining this show was purely to pave the way for her future career; who would have thought Tan Jizhu would also participate?

Fine, she joined, but in the early stages, she was constantly against her, snapping at her whenever possible. Now, she chose her as a teammate—was it to make it easier to snap at her?

Forget it, forget it. Don’t think about it. Might as well browse on her phone.

Bored, Luo Jingyun clicked into the new episode of The Heart-Cultivating Journey. The beginning of the video picked up right where the last one left off, announcing the results of the group selection.

「 My god, did I hear that right? Luo Jingyun really didn’t choose Tan Jizhu? 」

「 When I saw the teaser released by the production team, I thought it was edited for hype. It turns out she really didn’t choose her? 」

「 You heard right, Luo Jingyun didn’t choose Tan Jizhu. 」

「 Is this the legendary “playing hard to get” or “push and pull”? 」

「 I think it’s possible! They aren’t in a group in front of the camera, but who knows how much Luo Jingyun is bothering Jizhu behind the scenes. So calculating. 」

「 I say, the previous few comments are enough! I’m not even a Luo Jingyun fan and I can’t take it anymore. If she chooses Tan Jizhu, you say she’s clinging; if she doesn’t, you say she’s playing hard to get. You guys really have something to say about everything. 」

「 Agreed! They’ve already released their divorce statement. Why do Tan Jizhu’s fans have to keep making things up? 」

「 It’s not that we fans are making things up; it’s that Luo Jingyun has a history. 」

「 If someone has a history, are they not allowed to turn over a new leaf? 」

「 If Luo Jingyun wanted to turn over a new leaf, she shouldn’t have come on this show. 」

「 Are you part of the crew? How do you know who signed the contract first? The fact that they can come on the same show after a divorce shows they had an amicable split. Fans just know how to stir up trouble between them. 」

「 I’m a Luo Jingyun fan, and I support her participating in the show. After being quiet for years, she finally has exposure. Tan Jizhu’s fans are just providing us with heat right now, so thanks. 」

「 To the person above, with that kind of mindset, you’ll succeed in anything. 」

「 Quick, go look at the pictures in the comments! Someone took candid photos. Luo Jingyun and Tan Jizhu are acting together. 」

「 See! What did I say! People with a history are just suspicious. 」

「 Are there any Chen Shidong fans? Tell me if the third person in the photo is Chen Shidong. 」

「 Chen Shidong fan here. I can tell you for sure, that’s her. 」

「 By the way, the fourth person is Park Soo-ah, the one Luo Jingyun chose to be in a group with. She just returned to the country recently; everyone please support her. 」

「 Ah, what’s the situation? Didn’t Tan Jizhu choose Chen Shidong? Could it be that Luo Jingyun is there to cause trouble? 」

「 Is the person causing trouble walking at the very front? 」

「 I’m the one who took the photo. It seems the four of them went to discuss business together. They were debating who should go, and then the Director decided on those four. But the person who absolutely had to go was Luo Jingyun; the other three might have been chosen randomly. 」

「 To the person before, come out and talk! 」

「 The show hasn’t aired yet; you can’t frame Tan Jizhu based on one side of the story. 」

「 God, Tan Jizhu’s fans actually know what “framing” is. 」

「 Isn’t this an agricultural support variety show? Why did it turn into a dating show? 」

「 Can only say the power of the guests is too great. 」

「 I’m getting more and more excited for next week’s episode. 」

「 Everyone, while chatting about gossip, please also pay attention to the recording location, Tongxi Village. Focus on the local livelihood; don’t waste the production team’s intentions. 」

Luo Jingyun skimmed through the comments. She long-pressed the screen, preparing to report all the slanderous comments in the report center, but after only a few minutes, those comments disappeared, leaving only normal discussions.

Luo Jingyun frowned. Was it Tan Jizhu deleting them again?

Highly likely!

After all, some of those comments weren’t good for her either; it was normal for her to have someone delete them.

Luo Jingyun decided that even if she was in a group with Tan Jizhu, she would keep her distance. Otherwise, it really would become the so-called “playing hard to get” from the comments.

…

The next day, recording continued.

Before the cameras rolled, Liu Yuqi reminded them, “Everyone, since we’ve changed teammates yesterday, please stand with your respective partners.”

Tan Jizhu grabbed Luo Jingyun. “Come here. Didn’t you hear the Director say to stand together?”

Luo Jingyun looked completely reluctant, standing by Tan Jizhu with her arms crossed. “I know, I know. Let go, don’t keep pulling me.”

“Then stay closer to me.”

“Crazy,” Luo Jingyun muttered under her breath.

Liu Yuqi had the cameramen check the equipment. “Alright, let’s get ready to roll!”

As the recording officially began, Liu Yuqi explained what they would be doing next.

“Education is the foundation of a nation, but due to the imbalance of resources, students in some small places cannot receive a good education. Over the next ten or so days, each group of guests will choose a course and bring a unique classroom experience to the students.”

A display board was pushed out, showing several elective subjects.

“Have you all thought about what to choose?” Liu Yuqi asked. “Next, we will play a game. The winning group will have the priority to choose.”

“Director,” Luo Jingyun suddenly raised her hand. “I have an idea.”

Liu Yuqi felt something was off, but she couldn’t stop Luo Jingyun from speaking. She asked, “Jingyun, what’s your idea?”

“Since we’ve come to the school to give the children a different experience, we should do our absolute best. So, I think deciding which subject each group teaches just through a game is a bit too arbitrary.”

Liu Yuqi had already guessed what Luo Jingyun was going to say. She took a deep breath and asked, “Then what do you mean?”

“I can play the piano, and Park Soo-ah can sing and dance, so the two of us would be more effective teaching music.”