After Divorcing the Scummy Alpha Movie Queen, I Became Extremely Popular - Chapter 31

Tan Jizhu, Where Do We Even Have a Home Anymore?

Luo Jingyun was utterly astonished. She shot back, “Tan Jizhu, do you even know what you’re saying?”

Tan Jizhu nodded with certainty. “Jingyun, of course I know what I’m saying.”

She stepped toward Luo Jingyun, reaching out to embrace her, and whispered, “Jingyun, I’m sorry. Because of the massive gap between us, the old me was always plagued by inferiority. I felt I wasn’t good enough for you, so I never realized my love for you—and because of that, I did so many things that hurt you. I know now that I was wrong. I understand that everything you did back then was for my own good. Though it might be late to say this, can you forgive me? Can we start over?”

The weight in Luo Jingyun’s hands shifted as her toiletries spilled onto the ground. She spoke slowly, “Tan Jizhu, you want to make up with me, is that it?”

Tan Jizhu nodded vigorously, clutching Luo Jingyun tightly. “I want to make up. I don’t want to divorce you.”

“Fine then, let’s make up,” Luo Jingyun said. Her voice was flat, devoid of any ripple of emotion. In the rural night, it carried a hollow sense of distance.

“That’s wonderful! Thank you for being willing to forgive me. I promise I’ll do better than before—ten times better, a hundred times better!” Tan Jizhu was so agitated she didn’t know where to put her hands; she reached out, wanting to cup Luo Jingyun’s face.

However, Luo Jingyun took a step back and suddenly burst into laughter. She laughed so hard her body trembled, and she eventually had to clutch her stomach.

“Jingyun, what’s wrong?” Tan Jizhu had no idea what was happening.

Luo Jingyun laughed until tears came to her eyes. The moment she looked up, her expression was laced with malice. “Tan Jizhu, did you really think that’s how I would answer you?”

The woman before her was still beautiful and refined, but the sheer spite on her face sent a wave of dread crawling up Tan Jizhu’s spine. She stammered, “Jingyun, what… what do you mean by this?”

Luo Jingyun’s laughter vanished, replaced by a cold, mocking sneer. “Tan Jizhu, I should be asking you—what do you mean by saying this now?”

“Jingyun, I just want us to get back together.”

“Tan Jizhu, you say ‘divorce’ and we divorce; you say ‘get back together’ and we get back together? Even the Civil Affairs Bureau isn’t that easy to talk to.”

Tan Jizhu defended herself in a small voice, “I wasn’t the one who proposed the divorce.”

“But you agreed to it, didn’t you?”

“Jingyun, I’m sorry. I was acting on impulse. When we were signing the agreement, I kept finding excuses to stall—I even fussed over the font and the character spacing. Back then, I didn’t understand what was wrong with me, but I’ve realized it now. It was because I didn’t want to divorce you. Because I love you. I know it’s late, but I’m thick-skinned enough to hope you’ll give me one more chance. Let’s go back to how we were at the very beginning, okay?”

“Back to how we were?” Luo Jingyun gave Tan Jizhu a shove. “As I recall, we weren’t all that ‘good’ in the beginning. Weren’t you the one who hated the idea of marrying me?”

“I…”

Luo Jingyun’s face was a mask of distrust and ridicule. She pushed Tan Jizhu again. As the latter stumbled back, Luo Jingyun pressed forward. “Tan Jizhu, we’ve known each other for five years and been married for three. You didn’t say you loved me on our anniversaries. You didn’t say you loved me when I needed you by my side. You didn’t love me enough to mention my name at the awards ceremony. Now that we’re actually divorced, you suddenly regret it and say you love me? Do you actually love me, or are you just unable to handle the fact that suddenly there’s no one around to serve you and worship you?”

“It’s not like that!” Tan Jizhu shook her head frantically. “Jingyun, I’m not! I didn’t come to reconcile because I want you to keep putting me on a pedestal. I know I was wrong. I didn’t say I loved you, I didn’t stand by you, and I didn’t say your name at the awards—those were all my mistakes! A huge mistake! Once we’re back together, I promise I’ll never do those things again. I’ll say I love you as many times as you want to hear it. I’ll let the whole world know I love you.”

“Enough,” Luo Jingyun barked, her expression growing increasingly impatient. “The divorce papers are signed, and we’ve already announced it on social media. Talking about a ‘reconciliation’ now… you’re truly delusional.”

“It doesn’t matter. We haven’t officially collected the divorce certificate yet. I’ll just say it was my fault. Once we get back together, I’ll cancel all my work and just stay home to be with you.”

Luo Jingyun’s expression shifted from mockery to a deadpan statement of fact. “Home? During the division of assets, the house went to me. I’ve already authorized my mother to sell it. Where do we even have a home anymore?”

“I can buy the house back!” Tan Jizhu promised. “I’ll buy it right now.”

“Save your breath,” Luo Jingyun pushed Tan Jizhu aside. “Tan Jizhu, you can buy a house with money, but can you buy love?”

Tan Jizhu stood frozen. Those were the exact words she had once said to Luo Jingyun. Now that they were being thrown back at her, she realized for the first time the true magnitude of her mistake.

“Tan Jizhu, you didn’t know how to cherish what you had, and now you regret it. But there are no regret pills in this world.” Luo Jingyun issued her final ultimatum. “I am not getting back together with you. I didn’t join this show because of you; I joined to re-enter the entertainment industry and to network for my family’s foundation. So, the reason I’m staying isn’t because of you. We’ve already filmed more than half. Once the show is over, we are going to collect that divorce certificate.”

“Jingyun…”

“Tan Jizhu, don’t come looking for me anymore. If you’re really that bored, go feed the pigs in the village. Just stop bothering me.”

With that, Luo Jingyun strode away.

Tan Jizhu stood there, helpless and lost. She saw Luo Jingyun’s toiletries scattered on the ground. Not long ago, she had used the exact same brands as Luo Jingyun. Tears seemed to well in her eyes, blurring her vision.

No! I can’t just give up like this!

Tan Jizhu wiped the tears from her eyes, picked up the items one by one, and jogged to catch up with Luo Jingyun.

“Jingyun!”

“Tan Jizhu, did you not understand a word I just said? Stop bothering me!”

Handing the items back, Tan Jizhu continued to apologize. “Jingyun, I’m sorry. I know you don’t want to see me, but I will prove to you through my actions that I’ve realized my mistakes.”

Luo Jingyun snatched her things back and said, “In your dreams. I will never forgive you.”

Luo Jingyun thought she had made herself perfectly clear, yet she still felt a surge of irritation when she saw Tan Jizhu in the music classroom the next morning.

“Jingyun, Soo-ah,” Chen Shidong, who had come along with Tan Jizhu, greeted them with a smile. “Jizhu and I happen to have no classes right now. Is it alright if we sit in on your music lesson?”

Although Park Soo-ah was wary of Tan Jizhu, she didn’t know the details of what had happened the previous night. Thinking it best not to rebuff a friendly face, she said, “No problem.”

“That’s great. Let us get a little taste of artistic inspiration too.” Chen Shidong and Tan Jizhu took seats in the back row of the classroom.

Throughout the entire time, Tan Jizhu didn’t say a single word, but her eyes never left Luo Jingyun.

Luo Jingyun glanced at the corner cameras and the program staff, forcing herself to swallow her rage.

This woman is doing this on purpose! She had deliberately chosen a setting where Luo Jingyun couldn’t kick her out!

When it was time, the students trickled in. Once the bell rang, Luo Jingyun and Park Soo-ah began their teaching.

They sang a line and had the students repeat it, correcting individuals who struggled with the notes.

When the lesson ended, the cameraman looked over the footage and said tactfully, “There isn’t much usable footage here. Could you teachers try to show the audience something ‘fresh’ in the next class?”

When he said “students,” he really meant the viewers watching the show.

Luo Jingyun sighed. “Cameraman, Soo-ah and I have thought about it, but these songs are quite basic. It’s hard to come up with anything ‘fresh.’ Maybe we could try an a cappella version?”

“That could work,” the cameraman mused. “By the way, Jingyun, didn’t you say you could play the piano? Why didn’t you use that piano just now?”

Luo Jingyun answered honestly, “That piano is too old and broken. It’s completely out of tune; it’s unusable.”

The cameraman, who didn’t know much about pianos, assumed she meant it was totally broken. “That’s a shame. If it can’t be used, then forget it.”

Tan Jizhu, who had been listening from the sidelines, curiously walked over and pressed a key. Seeing it produced a sound, she said, “But it still makes a sound?”

Luo Jingyun retorted sarcastically, “It makes a sound, sure, but the pitch has wandered off to the ends of the earth. How am I supposed to play it?”

The cameraman chimed in, “I’ve heard that instruments can be tuned. This piano should be tuneable, right?”

“It can be tuned, yes, but Soo-ah and I looked around yesterday and couldn’t find any tuning tools.” Luo Jingyun turned back to the cameraman, explaining patiently.

“That really is a pity,” the cameraman thought for a moment. “You definitely won’t find piano tuning tools at the local market. To buy them, you’d probably have to take a train to the neighboring city.”

Luo Jingyun sighed. “It’s fine. After I go back, I’ll just buy a better piano and have it sent here. The kids can enjoy it then.”

After some more small talk as they headed out, Luo Jingyun and Park Soo-ah moved on to their next task.

The pigsty was not far from the school and the village. Guests who didn’t have classes were assigned as temporary pig feeders. When Luo Jingyun saw the mixed pig feed—a brownish-black sludge—she nearly gagged.

A bizarre stench wafted through the pigsty. Luo Jingyun stuffed some tissues up her nose and lamented, “When I first got here, Tan… someone tried to scare me, saying the houses we stay in have pigs on the first floor and people on the second. It terrified me. Luckily the production team had a conscience and found us our current house. Otherwise, I really couldn’t have handled this smell.”

“Gosh, making people live with pigs? Isn’t that mistreatment?” Park Soo-ah looked puzzled and disgusted. She and Luo Jingyun worked together to pour the feed into the stone troughs. “Ugh, why doesn’t anyone give these pigs a bath? It smells terrible.”

Luo Jingyun agreed. “Exactly. I really can’t imagine how these living creatures eventually turn into the pork on a dinner table.”

Park Soo-ah shook her head as well. “It’s a miracle. How do they turn into pork belly, ribs, and pork stew with vermicelli?”

“Soo-ah, stop, you’re going to make me hungry,” Luo Jingyun said, rubbing her stomach. “Well, I guess we’ve now ‘seen the pig run’ as well as ‘eaten the pork’.”

“It’s about time for lunch. Let’s head back and see what there is to eat.”

“Let’s go.” Carrying the buckets, the two started walking back.

During the filming of Journey of the Heart, two chefs followed the production team to Tongxi Village to prepare three meals a day. The food wasn’t gourmet, but it tasted alright. It was just that after eating it for a while, one would eventually get tired of it.

“Man, I really want some cake,” Luo Jingyun sighed. “I didn’t see any cake shops at the market last time. Do you think we could order delivery?”

Park Soo-ah looked at the surrounding mountains. “We’re deep in the mountains. Never mind whether they deliver here; even if you paid for the delivery, the cream would have melted into a puddle by the time it reached us.”

“You have a point,” Luo Jingyun had a sudden inspiration, pointing to the sky. “What if I called my mothers and had them send a cake over by helicopter? Then the cream wouldn’t melt, right?”

“…A helicopter… for a cake…” Park Soo-ah was stunned by the suggestion. She wiped away non-existent sweat from her forehead. “Isn’t that a bit… excessive?”

“I guess so. But just talking about it makes me crave it.”

Park Soo-ah consoled her, “Just hang in there. We’ll go eat together once the filming is done.”

“Alright, I guess that’s my only option. I know this one bakery…”

“Jingyun.”

Before she could finish, Luo Jingyun was stopped by Tan Jizhu, who was walking toward them.

“Walk fast!” Luo Jingyun whispered to Park Soo-ah. “Don’t pay her any attention.”

“Oh, okay.” Park Soo-ah naturally didn’t want Luo Jingyun to talk to Tan Jizhu anyway and tried to bypass her.

Tan Jizhu quickly turned to catch up. “Jingyun, can I have a private word with you?”

“No!”

“Jingyun, just for a moment.”

Park Soo-ah stepped up bravely. “Senior Tan, Jingyun doesn’t want to talk to you. Please leave.”

“Jingyun,” Tan Jizhu reached out to grab Luo Jingyun’s arm, but the latter yanked it away like a startled cat.

“Tch, Tan Jizhu, keep your hands to yourself!”

“Senior Tan, you—”

Tan Jizhu looked annoyed. “I’m talking to Jingyun. Why are you butting in?”

Luo Jingyun scoffed, stepping in front of Park Soo-ah to shield her. “Soo-ah and I are finishing a task. Why do you insist on bothering us?”

The sight stung Tan Jizhu deeply. The old Luo Jingyun would have defended her unconditionally. Now, Luo Jingyun saw her as an enemy.

“Fine, I’ll keep it short. I won’t take much of your time,” Tan Jizhu said, taking a deep breath to state her purpose. “Jingyun, I just wanted to ask—why didn’t you play the piano during music class?”

Frustrated by the repeated topic, Luo Jingyun snapped, “I already told the staff. The piano is out of tune. It’s unplayable.”

“Is it really truly unplayable?”

“Yes.”

“But the piano still makes a sound.”

Luo Jingyun didn’t feel like arguing anymore. She waved her hand dismissively and said, “Then you go play it.”

Tan Jizhu said earnestly, “Jingyun, this is my hometown too. I know how much poverty can limit a person. Maybe that out-of-tune piano looks like junk to you, but it might be the only chance these children have to ever touch one.”