After Divorcing the Scummy Alpha Movie Queen, I Became Extremely Popular - Chapter 35

“Do you know why I liked you in the first place?”

All other courses had finished recording, leaving only the most grand event: the Sports Meet. The production team had set up the venue early, with cameras stationed at every corner, everyone standing by in high spirits, hoping to present a brilliant competition. In addition to basic track and field events, the team had arranged a tug-of-war. The eight guests were responsible for recording scores and cheering for the children.

After a whole morning of this, Luo Jingyun had been acting as a cheerleader for so long that her throat was nearly hoarse.

“Jingyun, take it easy. We still have our own match this afternoon,” Park Soo-ah said, handing her a bottle of water.

Luo Jingyun took it and rinsed her throat. “Isn’t this afternoon just the table tennis match? I’m definitely going to leave them in the dust.”

Journey of the Cultivating Heart had to consider ratings, after all. So, after holding the sports meet for the children in the morning, they allowed the guests to experience the joy of sports as well. They chose table tennis, the national sport, which everyone knew how to play.

Despite her bluster, Luo Jingyun’s table tennis skills were not top-tier. She had played a few times and could manage to serve the ball; whether she could hit it back was usually a matter of luck.

“I heard the match-ups are decided by drawing lots. I wonder if we’ll be in the same group.”

Luo Jingyun shrugged. “Drawing lots? Doesn’t matter to me.”

No, it does matter, Luo Jingyun added silently in her heart. As long as I don’t draw Tan Jizhu, everything will be fine.

…

After the eight guests finished lunch and rested for a while, they began preparing for the afternoon competition. Tan Jizhu crept up to Chen Shidong and asked, “Senior, is everything settled on Yuqi’s end?”

Chen Shidong rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I’ve already talked to Yuqi. She’ll make sure you’re grouped with Luo Jingyun. Happy now?”

Tan Jizhu smiled and thanked her. “Yes, thank you, Senior.”

Chen Shidong frowned and pointed at Tan Jizhu. “When are you actually going to succeed in winning your wife back? Can you speed it up a bit? Every time you fail, you come back to pester my Yuqi. I’ve really put up with you for a long time.”

“I also hope I can win Jingyun back soon. Senior, please pray for me along with Sister Yuqi.”

“Pray for you?” Chen Shidong said as if venting. “Based on what you’ve done, if I were Jingyun, I wouldn’t forgive you either.”

“…” Tan Jizhu was silent for a moment. “I’ve realized my mistakes. No matter how much Jingyun blames me, I will work hard to make amends.”

“Then good luck. Anyway, once Journey of the Cultivating Heart is over, Yuqi and I are absolutely done meddling in your mess. Best of luck.”

Liu Yuqi saw Tan Jizhu and Chen Shidong whispering and sighed, holding her forehead.

She had seen the rumors about the two of them online. As Chen Shidong’s partner, she trusted her character. But she wasn’t a saint; when the recording officially started and she saw Tan Jizhu and Chen Shidong standing close together, she still felt a faint twinge of jealousy.

Now, seeing them together didn’t make her jealous—it just made her tired of the job. Why did she ever agree to let Tan Jizhu participate in the show? What was supposed to be a good program about helping farmers had turned into Tan Jizhu’s quest to win back her ex-wife.

After finalizing the process, the production team began the afternoon recording. After Liu Yuqi finished her positive opening remarks, they moved on to the drawing of lots.

“Jizhu, Shidong, you two served as physical education teachers during the teaching period, and you put a lot of effort into planning this sports meet. So, you two will be the first to draw lots.”

Chen Shidong said politely, “Let Jizhu go first then.”

“Alright.” Tan Jizhu walked to the drawing bucket, reached in, and pulled out a slip. Without even looking at it, she handed it directly to Liu Yuqi.

“The first group is Tan Jizhu and Luo Jingyun,” Liu Yuqi announced the result with her eyes closed, because she truly couldn’t manage to tell a lie with them open.

“Eh? Me?” Luo Jingyun pointed at herself. “Me and Tan Jizhu?”

Liu Yuqi opened her eyes and tossed the drawn slip back into the bucket, saying, “Yes, it’s you.”

Luo Jingyun frowned. This was too unlucky. How was she grouped with Tan Jizhu again? Her gaze swept over Tan Jizhu and Liu Yuqi; she felt something was slightly off. She stepped forward and said, “Let me see the slip.”

Liu Yuqi’s tone was slightly stiff as she found an excuse for herself. “Oh dear, I accidentally dropped the slip back into the bucket.”

“What?”

“It was truly an accident,” Liu Yuqi continued reading her lines robotically. “Since you two are a group, your names should be taken out so others don’t draw them.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she found the slips with Tan Jizhu and Luo Jingyun’s names and placed them outside.

“?” Luo Jingyun felt like she was being played, but she had no evidence.

Chen Shidong stepped in at the right time. “The draw is over? Is it my turn?”

“Yes, it’s your turn.” Liu Yuqi, suffering through the ordeal of lying, quickly shoved the bucket toward Chen Shidong.

Tan Jizhu walked over to Luo Jingyun’s side. “Jingyun, we’re in a group. Let’s go get ready.”

“I’m not deaf.” Luo Jingyun’s entire body radiated resistance, but struggling now was pointless.

Chen Shidong drew an art teacher guest, Park Soo-ah drew a science teacher guest, and all the match-ups were set.

Before the official match, Park Soo-ah felt a bit worried. She ran to Luo Jingyun’s side and whispered, “Jingyun, should I go talk to Director Liu and ask to switch opponents? After all, you’re an Omega and Tan Jizhu is an Alpha, you guys…”

Luo Jingyun did indeed want to switch opponents, but as soon as she heard the second half of Park Soo-ah’s sentence, her face immediately dropped. She questioned, “Soo-ah, what do you mean by that? What’s wrong with me being an Omega? Can’t an Omega be an Alpha’s opponent? You think I can’t beat her?”

“No, no,” Park Soo-ah quickly apologized. “Jingyun, I’m sorry. I misspoke. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Fine, fine, I know you didn’t mean it.” Luo Jingyun felt agitated, but she still comforted Park Soo-ah, who she had startled. “You have to believe in Sister Yun. I’ll show you my strength right now.”

Luo Jingyun turned around coolly, only to see Tan Jizhu standing less than two meters away.

“Tan Jizhu, why are you eavesdropping on us again?”

Tan Jizhu smiled. “I wasn’t eavesdropping.”

“Heh, well it’s good you heard. Just wait to get crushed by me!”

“Mhm, I believe in you.” Tan Jizhu said intentionally, “I think Omegas and Alphas are the same; sometimes Omegas are even more powerful than Alphas.”

“Go away, and you say you weren’t eavesdropping? Get lost.”

The rules of the match were a single game to decide the winner; the first person to reach 11 points won. Luo Jingyun won the rock-paper-scissors and gained the serve.

Luo Jingyun held the table tennis ball in her palm, took a deep breath, and tossed it into the air. She slammed the paddle into the small orange ball as if she were hitting Tan Jizhu herself.

With a “snap,” the ball landed right in the center of the table. Tan Jizhu used a backhand, hitting the ball back at a tricky angle.

“1:0.”

As soon as the result was out, the serve switched to Tan Jizhu.

Tan Jizhu’s form was standard. With a drop of her hand and a swing of the paddle, the small yellow ball flew toward the edge at a very high speed.

Luo Jingyun judged that the ball would go out of bounds, so she didn’t chase it. However, by sheer coincidence, the ball landed exactly on the corner of the table. The score became 2:0.

Losing two points in a row, especially to Tan Jizhu, made Luo Jingyun increasingly frustrated. This led to her failing to play the next two balls well, and the score quickly reached 4:0.

Luo Jingyun felt like throwing her paddle and walking away, but she forced herself to calm down and requested a timeout to drink some water.

After stepping off the court, Chen Shidong gave Tan Jizhu a look, and the latter hurried over.

Chen Shidong said sarcastically, “Tan Jizhu, are you planning to compete in the Olympics?”

“What’s wrong, Senior? Weren’t those shots just now particularly brilliant?”

“Did you forget the purpose of rigging the draw to be with Luo Jingyun?”

Tan Jizhu suddenly realized. “Oh, right. I’m supposed to make Jingyun happy.”

Chen Shidong rolled her eyes. “Then look at what you just did. Was that making her happy?”

Tan Jizhu nodded. “Senior, I understand.”

“What do you understand?”

“You mean for me to intentionally lose to Jingyun to make her happy, right?”

“Yes, that is what I mean. But when you execute it, don’t be too obvious. It’s not good if she realizes you’re letting her win.”

“Mhm,” Tan Jizhu nodded solemnly. “Trust my acting skills.”

The match continued, with the serve still in Tan Jizhu’s hands. This time, her serve wasn’t as fierce as before. It was as if she were in slow motion; the ball floated over slowly.

Luo Jingyun reacted immediately and hit the ball back. Tan Jizhu worked hard to suppress her desire to smash the ball, playing several shots at gentle angles and moderate speeds.

After several rallies, the score reached 4:1.

Keeping Chen Shidong’s instructions in mind, Tan Jizhu didn’t just throw every point. She eventually controlled the score to 9:9. She only needed to let Luo Jingyun win two more points for her to take the victory.

She glanced at Luo Jingyun on the other side of the table, only to find that there was no joy on the other woman’s face.

Mhm, Jingyun must be hiding her feelings because the victory isn’t in her hands yet. Reaching this conclusion, Tan Jizhu continued to play with enthusiasm.

“9:10.”

“9:11.”

Liu Yuqi congratulated her, “Alright, congratulations to Jingyun for the victory.”

Tan Jizhu walked over to Luo Jingyun and reached out her hand. “Jingyun…”

Luo Jingyun lifted her eyelids and stared at Tan Jizhu for a long while. She said nothing, dropped the paddle, turned, and walked away. No matter how the others called after her from behind, she remained unmoved.

“Jingyun!” Liu Yuqi quickly told the cameraman, “Don’t broadcast this part.”

Chen Shidong was puzzled. “What’s wrong with Jingyun?”

Tan Jizhu was also completely baffled, but her legs were already moving. “I’ll go check on her.”

Park Soo-ah followed closely, saying, “I’ll go check too.”

“Don’t go,” Tan Jizhu warned. “I’ll go.”

“Why can you go and I can’t?”

Tan Jizhu didn’t want to waste words. “Senior, help me hold her back.”

Chen Shidong rolled her eyes but resignedly walked to Park Soo-ah’s side. “Soo-ah, let’s not meddle in their business.”

“No, Senior Chen, let go of me.”

Chen Shidong gripped Park Soo-ah tightly. “Soo-ah, you still have matches to play. Don’t worry about those two.”

Tan Jizhu chased after Luo Jingyun, but the latter didn’t pause for a second.

“Jingyun, what’s wrong? Aren’t you happy that you beat me?”

Luo Jingyun stopped in her tracks and looked at Tan Jizhu mockingly. “Should I be happy that I beat you?”

“Jingyun,” Tan Jizhu proactively attributed the reason to herself, “is it that I did something wrong again?”

Luo Jingyun continued walking forward. “Of course. You’re wrong—you’re incredibly, outrageously wrong!”

“I…” Tan Jizhu was at a loss. She ran in front of Luo Jingyun to block her. “Jingyun, can you tell me what I did wrong? I’ll change.”

“Tan Jizhu, you lost to me on purpose just now, didn’t you?”

“You… you noticed?”

Luo Jingyun laughed out of anger. “Did you think you were being subtle? You might as well have just thrown the ball on the floor! You didn’t just insult my table tennis skills; you insulted my intelligence!”

“Jingyun, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that,” Tan Jizhu apologized quickly. “Didn’t you say you wanted to win? I wanted you to be happy, so I thought about losing to you on purpose.”

Luo Jingyun turned around, her back to Tan Jizhu, and cursed, “Tan Jizhu, you really are stupider than a pig!”

Tan Jizhu admitted it: “Yes, I am stupider than a pig! So stupid that I didn’t realize my own feelings, and so stupid that I signed that divorce agreement!”

After a moment of silence, Luo Jingyun turned back around and shook her head. “Tan Jizhu, do you know why I liked you in the first place?”