After Divorcing the Scummy Alpha Movie Queen, I Became Extremely Popular - Chapter 5

We Still Don’t Have a Permanent Mark

From that day on, Tan Jizhu lived in the other bedroom of the suite. She didn’t kick Luo Jingyun out, and when they encountered each other in the common areas, she would acknowledge her with a greeting. As the wrap day approached, Luo Jingyun informed Tan Jizhu of the specific date they were expected home for dinner, and the latter nodded, indicating she would attend.

Luo Jingyun felt that they didn’t seem like legal partners at the moment, but rather like college roommates who weren’t very well-acquainted—living together temporarily, only to go their separate ways upon graduation.

This makeshift dormitory life ended on the day the production wrapped. Fortunately, they didn’t go their separate ways. Taking advantage of the early hour, Luo Jingyun and Tan Jizhu returned to the city where they usually resided.

Luo Jingyun had chosen the villa here herself. It was not far from the airport, making it convenient for both of them to travel for work. When she bought it, it had just opened for pre-sales; aside from the basic infrastructure, it was practically a shell. Lu Qiu and Jiang Xian had introduced her to several well-known interior designers, telling her she could make any demands she liked.

Luo Jingyun felt this villa was to be her and Tan Jizhu’s love nest, so she handled everything personally. She oversaw every detail, nearly going to the factories to watch the workers produce the furniture.

She prepared matching couple’s sets for daily items like toothbrushes, cups, and clothes. Every corner of the room contained her love for Tan Jizhu.

However, Tan Jizhu didn’t seem to like it very much. She often told Luo Jingyun that she felt the place was too big and many rooms had low utilization rates, which she found wasteful.

Luo Jingyun simply said that once she got used to living there and their belongings increased, she might even find the place too small. It was just that over the past few years, Tan Jizhu had been busy filming and hadn’t spent much time there, leaving only some basic daily necessities behind.

Upon returning home, Tan Jizhu did not insist on sleeping in separate rooms again. As she lay beside the other woman, smelling that familiar, cool scent of bamboo, she realized it was already early autumn and the weather was about to turn cold.

…

On the day of the scheduled dinner at home, Tan Jizhu changed into a casual suit. She expected Luo Jingyun to take a long time to dress up, but to her surprise, the other woman emerged from the walk-in closet quite quickly. She wore a simply cut white dress paired with a well-crafted wool coat. Her long hair, usually tied up, was draped over her shoulders, accented by a matching headband.

Luo Jingyun picked out a nude lipstick and applied it. She turned and asked, “Jizhu, how do I look?”

“Very beautiful.” Tan Jizhu turned her head away and walked toward the door. She feared that if she continued to look at those lustrous lips, she wouldn’t be able to resist kissing Luo Jingyun.

No, I absolutely cannot have that thought, Tan Jizhu warned herself. Luo Jingyun is just a spoiled eldest miss; I must not soften my heart toward her!

It was already noon when they arrived at Lu Qiu and Jiang Xian’s home. Luo Jingyun’s Alpha mother, Jiang Xian, greeted them at the door. “Jingyun, Jizhu, come in and eat. It’s been ready for a while; we were just waiting for you.”

Luo Jingyun noticed Jiang Xian was wearing casual sportswear and asked, “Did you go working out?”

“Yes, I just finished yoga with your Mommy Qiu. She went to change her clothes.”

Luo Jingyun asked in a low voice, “Is Mommy Qiu still angry with me?”

Jiang Xian reminded her, “She’s not angry anymore. Just be a bit sweet-talking when the time comes, and it’ll surely be fine.”

“Oh, got it!” Luo Jingyun tucked her arm into Tan Jizhu’s. “Let’s go in.”

Lu Qiu was already seated at the dining table. She had changed into a classic Chinese-style outfit, her hair pinned up in a bun with a decorative hairpiece.

Luo Jingyun spoke with a hint of flattery, “Wow, Mommy Qiu, this outfit is so beautiful! The hairpiece is gorgeous too; it really suits your temperament!”

Lu Qiu countered, “Which of my outfits isn’t beautiful?”

“…” Luo Jingyun hurried to say, “Mommy, every single one of your outfits is beautiful! Did you buy new clothes recently? Let me see them later.”

“You talk better than a singer,” Lu Qiu said with a touch of sarcasm. “If you came back to see me every day, you’d get to see all my new clothes.”

Luo Jingyun knew she had successfully coaxed Lu Qiu back into a good mood. She rubbed her nose and gave a silly laugh.

Lu Qiu looked up at the person standing and said, “Jizhu, don’t just stand there. Sit down and get ready to eat.”

“Okay, thank you, Auntie.” Despite being married to Luo Jingyun for three years, Tan Jizhu was still not used to calling these two “Mom.” She was even less capable of acting spoiled like Luo Jingyun by calling her “Mommy.”

She came from an ordinary family. Her Omega mother was a teacher, and her Alpha father ran a small business. Although it didn’t compare to a wealthy family like Luo Jingyun’s, Tan Jizhu’s childhood had been relatively happy. But at some point, her Alpha father became addicted to gambling. Because of his losses, he took all his anger out on her and her Omega mother.

From then on, life became a mess. By the time Tan Jizhu reached adulthood and went to university, it happened that her Alpha father was imprisoned for gambling. She summoned the courage to take her Omega mother and flee the city where they had lived for years. At school, she studied hard to earn scholarships and worked in nearby commercial districts when she wasn’t in class. It was there she met a senior from the same school who brought her into the entertainment industry.

Although she could only start with bit parts, her good image meant she often got roles with lines. Later, with the senior’s recommendation and her own hard work, she gradually moved from being an anonymous extra to a supporting actress whose name could be found on the cast list. It was also at that time that she met Luo Jingyun.

Just when Tan Jizhu thought everything was heading in a good direction, fate proved fickle. Her Omega mother was diagnosed with an illness, and her Alpha father found them after getting out of prison. These two events threw her life into chaos once again.

But this time, Luo Jingyun stepped forward.

She quickly contacted experts in the field of her mother’s illness and settled the issue with her father properly. All the difficulties Tan Jizhu faced were resolved in an instant. All except one: she felt only gratitude toward Luo Jingyun, not love.

In Tan Jizhu’s view, she, Luo Jingyun, and Luo Jingyun’s two mothers belonged to two entirely different worlds. The house Luo Jingyun bought was already magnificent enough. But her two mothers’ house was even more so—it was like a golden palace.

At the beginning, Tan Jizhu only knew that Luo Jingyun’s family was wealthy. It wasn’t until she met Lu Qiu and Jiang Xian that she realized just how wealthy they were.

A major reason why people didn’t immediately know Luo Jingyun was the daughter of Lu Qiu and Jiang Xian was that her surname was different from either of her mothers’.

According to Luo Jingyun, because she was born from a high-tech artificial womb, her mothers felt it wasn’t appropriate for her to take either of their surnames. Instead, they took “Luo” from Los Angeles—the place where they had committed to each other—as her surname.

Technology had advanced rapidly in recent years. Artificial wombs were originally developed for Betas who had difficulty conceiving. Later, they were gradually popularized, allowing partners of any gender to utilize technology to conceive offspring through an artificial womb.

Zhu Li and Deng Mei were both Betas; they had long since made plans and expected to have a child next year or the year after. Luo Jingyun and Tan Jizhu were an Omega and an Alpha and could conceive through natural means, but Luo Jingyun claimed she wanted to follow family tradition and give birth via an artificial womb.

However, that was just Luo Jingyun’s excuse. She had told Tan Jizhu the real reason after one of their nighttime activities: she didn’t want to give birth herself because she was afraid of the pain. Luo Jingyun also said that the place where they first met was a film studio with an unpleasant name that wasn’t suitable as a surname. When they actually had a child, they would just randomly flip through a dictionary for a character that sounded good and had a nice meaning to use as a surname, and they could do the same for the name.

Tan Jizhu remained noncommittal. She was born of natural conception and knew deeply how difficult it had been for her mother to give birth to her. She felt that although this method of human reproduction was ancient and primitive, it was actually quite low-level. Specifically, the union of male and female was the lowest of the low. The maternal body not only had to carry the child for ten months but also had to endure both physical and mental blows during the period before and after childbirth.

Yet, the other party used only a very short amount of time to gain a child painlessly and could even grandly bestow a surname, usurping the credit of the woman. This was entirely the exploitation of women by the party incapable of childbirth.

Tan Jizhu did not discuss the details with Luo Jingyun in depth, because she didn’t want to have children at all.

Jiang Xian served several dishes to Lu Qiu and greeted the two people opposite them. “You two eat as well; I specifically found a three-star Michelin chef to prepare this meal.”

Seeing her two mothers showing off their affection, Luo Jingyun curled her lip in disdain. She said to the person beside her, “Jizhu, you serve me some food too; I want to eat that.”

Tan Jizhu obediently served the dish Luo Jingyun pointed out and even asked if she wanted anything else.

Luo Jingyun was very satisfied and pointed to others, all of which Tan Jizhu helped put into her bowl.

Seeing this, Lu Qiu and Jiang Xian exchanged a glance.

Jiang Xian spoke first, asking, “Jizhu, I heard from Yunyun that you recently wrapped a drama. Do you have any plans for what’s next?”

Tan Jizhu put down her chopsticks, as if a subordinate reporting to a leader, and said, “Yes, I just finished a drama. Next, there are some commercial activities and an awards ceremony I need to attend.”

“Is the next drama decided yet?”

“No. Mainly because I haven’t come across a suitable script yet.”

Jiang Xian nodded. “Yes, you are currently at a critical stage of career development. Every role must be chosen cautiously; quality over quantity.”

“Yes, that’s what I think as well.”

Jiang Xian glanced at Luo Jingyun, who was eating with her head down, and said, “The ceremony you’re attending later is the Hou Tu Awards, right? I heard from Yunyun that you are determined to win the Best Actor award.”

Hearing her name, Luo Jingyun quickly looked up. “No, no, I didn’t say that!”

Tan Jizhu felt helpless and explained, “I wouldn’t say I’m ‘determined.’ It’s just that this award is very important in the film industry. If I am fortunate enough to win, it would be a form of validation for my career. If I don’t, I’m already very satisfied just to be nominated.”

“I see,” Jiang Xian continued. “I looked at the list of nominees; the competition this year is indeed very fierce. I wish you in advance that you can get the Best Actor award as you wish.”

Tan Jizhu nodded. “Thank you, Auntie.”

This topic came to a temporary close, and the four of them were almost finished eating. Lu Qiu stood up and said, “By the way, I also simmered some black truffle and mushroom soup. You should all have a taste.”

“Your Mommy Qiu simmered it for a long time; you must drink more. I’ll go help her bring it out,” Jiang Xian said, standing up to follow her into the kitchen.

Only Luo Jingyun and Tan Jizhu remained at the table.

Tan Jizhu asked without any emotion, “Why do you tell your mothers everything?”

Luo Jingyun didn’t react for a moment. “What do you mean?”

“Did you also tell your mothers that if I win the Hou Tu Best Actor award, we will have a permanent marking?”

“Oh, so it’s about that. I did say it,” Luo Jingyun said, sounding bewildered. “Why? Is it something I shouldn’t say?”

“Of course, you can’t just tell other people about this kind of thing!” Tan Jizhu was exasperated, not knowing how to continue.

Luo Jingyun, however, was full of arguments. “Hey, those are my mothers. How can they count as ‘other people’? Besides, one of my moms is an Alpha and the other is an Omega; do you think they wouldn’t know that the two of us still haven’t had a permanent marking yet?”

“Then… even so, you shouldn’t say it out loud!”

“Why exactly can’t I say it?”

“I…”

A phone ringtone interrupted their argument—to be precise, two phone ringtones.

While eating, both Luo Jingyun and Tan Jizhu had placed their phones face down on the table. Now, both phones were vibrating simultaneously.

They each picked up their own phone. When they saw the caller ID, they subconsciously stole a glance at each other.

“It must be a harassment call,” Luo Jingyun raised her phone, openly displaying the caller ID, which was an unsaved number. “Just hang up.”

Tan Jizhu also hung up her phone but offered no explanation.

Luo Jingyun pressed, “Was yours a harassment call too?”

“No, it’s a work matter. I’ll call back after we finish eating.”

Tan Jizhu was now a famous actress; work matters were usually handled by her manager or assistant. Furthermore, whether it was Deng Mei or Zhu Li, their names were two characters long.

Although Luo Jingyun didn’t see clearly who this caller ID was, she knew that person’s name was three characters long.

Jiang Xian and Lu Qiu brought the entire soup pot over. “Come, everyone have a taste. Drink a few more bowls; this can boost your immunity.”

The black truffle mushroom soup was sweet and fresh with a rich fungal flavor, and the chicken inside was tender enough to melt in the mouth. Luo Jingyun drank three whole bowls.

When they were finished, the domestic helper came over to clear up. Lu Qiu and Jiang Xian led them to the tea room, intending to continue chatting for a while.

Tan Jizhu stopped at the entrance of the tea room, her face full of apology. She said, “Aunties, I am truly sorry. I just received a call saying there’s a work-related matter I need to handle personally. I really can’t get out of it, so I must take my leave today. Please forgive me. When I’m free later, I will come over with Jingyun again.”

Luo Jingyun found it inexplicable and pressed, “What kind of work requires you to go handle it right now?”

Lu Qiu said, “Since it’s a work matter, we won’t ask further questions. Jizhu, go ahead and get busy.”

Tan Jizhu bowed to Jiang Xian and Lu Qiu. “Truly, I’m so sorry. Thank you for your understanding, Aunties.”

“?” Luo Jingyun was still pushing. “No, exactly what work is it?”

At that moment, Tan Jizhu’s phone rang again. She glanced at the caller ID, said a few more apologies, and left the tea room.

Relying on a split-second glimpse, Luo Jingyun saw the name clearly this time: Chen Shidong.