After Divorcing the Scummy Alpha Movie Queen, I Became Extremely Popular - Chapter 39

This is a Test

“Tan Jizhu, you…”

The moment she heard those words, Luo Jingyun desperately wanted to curse. But she immediately remembered that she herself had once said the exact same thing to Tan Jizhu when she needed help.

Back then, Tan Jizhu was still an obscure actress who didn’t earn much. Her mother, Tan Jing, had unfortunately fallen seriously ill and was in urgent need of money. At that time, Luo Jingyun had been pursuing Tan Jizhu for nearly two years, providing resources and showing all kinds of favor, but Tan Jizhu had remained unmoved.

Just as she was worrying about what to do, Luo Jingyun learned about Tan Jing’s illness. She saw it as a perfect opportunity and immediately took over all the expenses, even introducing top specialists to treat Tan Jing. After Tan Jing recovered, Tan Jizhu came to her house specifically to thank her, saying she was willing to work like a horse or an ox to repay the debt.

Luo Jingyun suppressed the successful smile tugging at the corners of her mouth and said to Tan Jizhu, “I don’t need you to work like a horse or an ox. I just want you to devote yourself to me and marry me.”

She remembered that when Tan Jizhu heard this, she froze for a long time before speaking in a negotiating tone: “Gratitude is gratitude, and I am willing to give everything to repay the favor, but marriage…”

Luo Jingyun continued to hoodwink her, “Isn’t repaying a favor about giving the benefactor what they want? Right now, I want to marry you.”

“Jingyun, I feel I’m not good enough for you.”

“Oh, there’s no such thing as ‘good enough.’ It’s enough that I like you. Besides, being with me has no downsides. My family is wealthy and powerful, and our compatibility score is high. You aren’t losing out at all.”

There was another long silence, so long that Luo Jingyun switched to a threatening tone: “Jizhu, I can guide things in a positive direction, but I can also guide them in a negative one. You must consider this very carefully.”

Only then did Tan Jizhu speak: “Okay, I agree. We’ll get married.”

And so, the two of them registered their marriage. The ill-fated relationship began there.

“Have what?” Tan Jizhu sat by the bed in the health clinic, waiting for Luo Jingyun’s next words. “Did you want to say I have an illness?”

“No, I suddenly remembered that I once said the same thing to you,” Luo Jingyun denied, then asked, “Tan Jizhu, when you heard me say that back then, you must have been extremely dissatisfied with me, right? When I threatened you, did you wish you could kill me?”

“What? No, it wasn’t like that.” Tan Jizhu didn’t know why Luo Jingyun brought this up, and fearing a misunderstanding, she hurried to explain, “I wasn’t dissatisfied with you, and I didn’t hate you.”

Luo Jingyun shook her head and spoke slowly, “I know. Back then, I spent money and effort to help you save Auntie Tan, and you were indeed grateful. But I used that favor to force you to be with me. That’s why, during those three years of marriage, you never wanted to pay attention to me.”

“Jingyun, back then I cared too much about my pride and got stuck in a dead end,” Tan Jizhu argued desperately for herself. “But now I’ve realized—the gap between us was so large that I should have worked hard to reach your level instead of blindly blaming you. I’ve realized my mistake now, you…”

Luo Jingyun still shook her head. “It’s okay, you don’t need to say more. A needle doesn’t hurt until it pricks your own skin. Back then, I only helped you with money, and money is the thing my family lacks least, so I didn’t really put in much ‘effort.’ You don’t need to feel guilty or indebted now. Like I said last time, between us… let’s just leave it at that.”

Tan Jizhu was so anxious she was nearly in tears. “Jingyun, I’m sorry. I only said that as a joke; I didn’t mean anything else. Don’t be angry with me. You can even hit me, just don’t ignore me.”

Luo Jingyun gave a polite, detached smile. “Alright, Jizhu. I want to rest. Can you let me be alone for a bit?”

Even though she wanted to say more, considering Luo Jingyun’s condition today, Tan Jizhu left the health clinic.

Lying on the clinic bed, Luo Jingyun gazed up at the slightly yellowed ceiling. An iron ceiling fan divided the view into several large sections. Her inner emotions were similarly partitioned.

Luo Jingyun was truly grateful that Tan Jizhu had risked danger to save her. But when Tan Jizhu asked her to “devote herself,” she felt a burst of rage.

How did she dare say that! How did she dare say she loved her only after ignoring all her efforts and after the two of them decided to divorce!

However, the anger lasted only a short time before she remembered she had said the same thing—and under even more excessive circumstances.

If that was the reason Tan Jizhu had been cold to her for three years, unwilling to mention her existence to others, and refusing to even say her name at an awards ceremony, she could understand it.

She originally thought the divorce would end this ill-fated connection, but who knew they would meet again on the same variety show?

Luo Jingyun had seen everything Tan Jizhu had done over these past few days. Aside from the first few days when Tan Jizhu seemed “sick,” she had later helped her plow the fields, taken her to the clinic when she fainted from the sun, helped her tune the piano, and just now, saved her. All of these were substantive acts of help.

Tan Jizhu said she had realized her feelings and that she liked her.

Should she believe Tan Jizhu?

Should she give Tan Jizhu another chance?

Luo Jingyun’s eyes grew sore from staring at the ceiling. She shook her head to toss out the redundant thoughts, turned off the light, and prepared to sleep.

Waking up the next day, the production crew found another small handcart for Luo Jingyun. Park Soo-ah volunteered to be Luo Jingyun’s dedicated driver.

“Jingyun, let’s go!”

Luo Jingyun sat cross-legged on the cart, trying to keep her center of gravity low. Although the filming location wasn’t far, Luo Jingyun felt this was even more jarring than her first ride on a motorized tricycle.

After getting off, Luo Jingyun suppressed her nausea and said to Liu Yuqi, “Sister, just find me a simple crutch. I’ll get by with a crutch.”

The bamboo had been cut, but there were still many steps before the weaving could begin.

A villager brought out several tools and explained them one by one: “This is a machete, used to split the bamboo. This is a scraping knife to strip the bamboo fibers. This is sandpaper, used to sand down the bamboo strips and remove the burrs.”

“Everyone cut bamboo in the forest yesterday, but splitting it is quite different. This step doesn’t require brute force; it requires ‘clever strength.’ Like this: first, lightly chisel a small notch at the edge, then aim the machete at this gap and apply a little force to get two semi-circular bamboo shells. Then, divide the bamboo into the appropriate size.” After the villager finished the demonstration, he said, “Alright, everyone give it a try.”

Everyone followed the instructions to split the bamboo. Luo Jingyun looked at the mountain of bamboo in front of her and estimated it would take until night to finish. Struck by a sudden idea, she stood a piece of bamboo upright and swung the machete down with a crack. With a tearing sound, the vertical bamboo split into two, but the crack was more crooked than a coastline.

“Lassie, you can’t do it like that.” The teaching villager heard the noise and walked over. One look at the mangled bamboo and he knew what had happened.

Luo Jingyun rubbed her nose awkwardly. “I was just trying to save time. I didn’t expect to waste more.”

The villager found a stool and sat across from Luo Jingyun, explaining in accented Mandarin, “When cutting bamboo, you must follow the direction of the bamboo fibers. If you use brute force blindly, you’ll only cause waste. Follow the movement I showed you: chisel a small opening in the direction of the vertical fibers, then aim at that opening to cut. Only then can you do more with less effort.”

Luo Jingyun stopped trying to be clever and obediently notched a small opening. She placed the machete on the notch, and without much force, the bamboo tube split into two.

“See? Isn’t that much easier?”

“It really is! It felt like it just popped open.”

The villager said, “Bamboo is noble; it would rather break than bend. Only by following the grain of the bamboo can you get the result you want; otherwise, you’ll get nothing. Alright, I won’t nag you with big philosophies anymore. You keep at it.”

Luo Jingyun looked at the two pieces of split bamboo. One had an extremely uneven surface, filled with aggressive splinters that looked like they could slice skin with a light touch. The other was much neater and ready for use.

[Image showing the difference between bamboo split against the grain versus along the grain]

Could it be that her past self failed to follow the “grain” of the relationship? Luo Jingyun stole a glance at Tan Jizhu, then quickly retracted her gaze before the other could notice, and continued with her work.

With this trick, the entire morning was spent splitting all the bamboo into appropriately sized strips. After eating with the crew, the guests returned for the next steps.

The villager taught them how to evenly scrape off the waxy outer layer of the bamboo to reveal the inner bamboo splints. The next step was using sandpaper to sand the revealed fibers.

After listening, Luo Jingyun felt this task was much simpler than cutting or splitting. She confidently shaved off the obvious burrs, but as she moved to get a better grip, a sharp pain shot through her palm. Looking closer, she realized the bamboo was covered in tiny, hair-like splinters.

“Hiss… I can’t even handle you?” Luo Jingyun immediately asked for a glove, but she was refused. The villager said that wearing gloves would prevent her from feeling the state of the bamboo through touch. Suppressing the urge to roll her eyes, Luo Jingyun had no choice but to switch hands back and forth to keep sanding.

By the end of the half-day, her fingers were riddled with small cuts. Several times, bamboo splinters had pierced straight under her skin at awkward angles; the wounds weren’t deep, but they stung.

“Jingyun, let me help you.” Tan Jizhu walked over and picked up a bamboo strip from the table, preparing to help.

“No need,” Luo Jingyun blocked the movement. “Go busy yourself with your own work. I can do it.”

“But your hands…”

Luo Jingyun feigned a breeze-like indifference. “This is a test. I can finish it myself.”

Tan Jizhu sighed and returned to her own station.

Although Luo Jingyun didn’t want to continue, she had already talked big, so she had to pick up the sandpaper and keep sanding. When the recording ended and she left the room, Luo Jingyun shook both hands. “I really want to go back in time and slap myself. Why did I suggest the idea of weaving bamboo baskets!”

Liu Yuqi smiled upon hearing this. “Jingyun, hang in there. You’ve endured so much hardship already; what’s a little more? Besides, once the show airs and people pay more attention to Tongxi Village’s intangible cultural heritage, it will be a wonderful thing.”

“True,” Luo Jingyun continued shaking her hands. “I’ll just consider it as accumulating merit for my future self.”

When she showered that night, the wounds stung even more when they hit the water. Luo Jingyun inhaled sharply like she was eating a heavy, spicy hotpot.

When work resumed the next day, Luo Jingyun headed to the filming location with a somewhat gloomy mood, leaning on her crutch. Because the work was ongoing, everyone’s bamboo was left exactly as it had been the previous night.

As soon as Luo Jingyun arrived, she felt something was off. Looking closer, she found that the bamboo strips on her table had already been sanded smooth. Without even thinking, she knew exactly who had done this for her. She immediately looked at Tan Jizhu in the crowd, who noticed her gaze instantly and looked back. But after just a moment, Tan Jizhu looked away, as if she were afraid Luo Jingyun would try to give the strips back.

After a moment of hesitation, Luo Jingyun limped over to Tan Jizhu.