After Divorcing the Scummy Alpha Movie Queen, I Became Extremely Popular - Chapter 8

“A private meeting? What is going on?”

Luo Jingyun clicked on the trending photos. They looked like paparazzi shots taken from a distance, but the image quality was crystal clear, showing no signs of being photoshopped.

She zoomed in on the photo’s multiple times, scrutinizing every detail. She didn’t find any overly intimate gestures; throughout the images, the two simply walked side-by-side like friends.

Despite the lack of scandalous behavior, the fact remained that Tan Jizhu had left the dinner with Luo’s two mothers specifically to see Chen Shidong. Furthermore, this was the first time Luo Jingyun had ever heard of a connection between Chen Shidong and Tan Jizhu—the latter had never mentioned it. This omission bothered Luo Jingyun immensely.

Clicking through the subsequent trending topics, Luo Jingyun began collecting clues from the various information and comments like a detective.

“Wow, wow, wow… am I seeing this right? My ancient CP (Couple) has been resurrected!”

“It’s not that ancient, it’s only been four or five years.”

“Wait, I was confused before clicking this, and I’m even more confused now. Have Tan Jizhu and Chen Shidong ever worked together? Why do they know each other?”

“I can imagine the tension. Both are competing for Best Actor at the Houtu Awards in a few days. Someone please explains the history!”

“Speaking of the Houtu Awards, I believe my Shidong will definitely win again! Everyone, please show your support!”

“I’ve seen all the nominated works this year. Although Chen Shidong’s acting is incredible, it’s not that different from her performance in last year’s winning film. Giving it to her again would feel repetitive. I think Tan Jizhu has a better chance.”

“Are you guys just going to ignore the other three nominees?”

Luo Jingyun’s train of thought mirrored the comments. When she had searched for information on Chen Shidong earlier, there had been no mention of a connection to Tan Jizhu.

Luo did know about the Houtu Awards, however. After all, Tan Jizhu had promised that if she won the Best Actor award, she would give Luo a permanent mark. Thinking of this, Luo Jingyun docked even more points from her impression of Chen Shidong.

“CP fans and solo fans, stop fighting! I found a hidden detail—look closely at the hat Tan Jizhu is wearing in the airport photos!”

“The hat doesn’t look strange?”

“I see it! Chen Shidong has worn that exact hat before!”

“So, they’re matching couple items?”

“No, look at the stitching and the wrinkles on the hat. Isn’t it identical to the one Chen Shidong wore a week ago?”

“It’s exactly the same.”

“Either it’s a couple style, or they’re sharing the same hat. Either way, I’m shipping it.”

Based on the comments, Luo Jingyun looked closely at the hat Tan Jizhu was wearing. It indeed didn’t belong to her. This meant Tan Jizhu could only be wearing Chen Shidong’s hat.

In all the time they had been together, Luo Jingyun had used Tan Jizhu’s clothes or accessories, but Tan Jizhu had never used hers. When asked, Tan Jizhu simply said their styles were different and didn’t match. Later, Luo Jingyun deliberately tried to align her style with Tan Jizhu’s and made specific requests, which only then prompted Tan Jizhu to wear a few pieces of her jewelry.

Luo Jingyun had chalked this up to Tan Jizhu being obsessive or simply not liking to use other people’s things. However, everything happening on the trending search completely overturned that assumption.

“Stay on topic! We’re discussing how they know each other, not who wins the award (though I love the ‘lovers-turned-rivals’ vibe).”

“True. Awards aside, whoever wins can’t stop my CP from interacting at the ceremony!”

“I’ll answer how they know each other! Way back in the day, both Tan Jizhu and Chen Shidong were models. They shot a magazine together. [Cover_Photo.jpg]”

“Omg, I’m an old fan of Chen Shidong and even I haven’t seen this!”

Luo Jingyun was seeing the photo for the first time as well. She had to admit that even with the dated, heavy “smoky” makeup, Tan Jizhu’s features were superior.

“Both of them look so good in this photo, like my two moms!”

“They are both Alphas. Look at the lines of their arms and those determined expressions—it feels so safe. If they could both be my moms, I’d die of happiness!”

“They match so well!”

“This print magazine is out of circulation now. It had an interview where they said they were seniors and juniors from the same school and are from the same hometown. They even rented an apartment together after graduation. The fate between these two is much deeper than we imagined.”

“This is exactly my favorite ‘rental room’ trope!”

This comment entered Luo Jingyun’s “knowledge blind spot.” What did “rental room literature” mean? Did people write novels in rental rooms?

“Rental room literature… Oh my god, I get it, I get it!”

“Back then, the two of them were so poor they had nothing but love.”

“Pure love. That’s the flavor I want.”

“The key is that these two actually achieved a perfect Happy Ending for the trope.”

“From being nobodies supporting each other to standing together at the peak of glory!”

“The drama! No wonder they’re both powerhouses. Smart screenwriters should be handing them scripts right now.”

By now, Luo Jingyun understood what it meant. These people were actually shipping Tan Jizhu and Chen Shidong—did they think she was dead? Just as she was about to reply, she saw a sensible netizen arguing back.

“How can you ship this? I remember Tan Jizhu is married, isn’t she?”

“Doesn’t that make the ‘illicit love’ trope even better?”

“Shipping is about enjoying your own space. If you don’t like it, click away.”

“Private enjoyment is fine, but this is on the trending searches. If the news is true, then Tan Jizhu is cheating and Chen Shidong is the third party.”

Luo Jingyun really wanted to “like” that comment. Luckily, she remembered she was on her main account and managed to restrain her finger.

“Wait a minute. Aside from the day she got married to Luo Jingyun, Tan Jizhu hasn’t posted anything else. It was their third anniversary a few days ago, and she didn’t even post for that. I suspect they might have divorced long ago.”

“I agree! Not to mention special days, she doesn’t even mention Luo Jingyun in interviews. They must be divorced. If it were true love, how could she resist showing it off?”

“Are you the worms in Tan Jizhu and Luo Jingyun’s stomachs? How do you know their private business so well? Neither has publicly announced a divorce.”

“You can guess these things. Maybe they haven’t gone public because of asset division; I heard Luo Jingyun’s family has some money.”

“Speaking of Luo Jingyun, I used to have high hopes for her. Her acting in those few dramas was good, but she hasn’t filmed much lately.”

“She only got those roles because of her family connections. If she were from an ordinary family, she never would have gotten into such good productions.”

“In my opinion, the only reason Luo Jingyun could marry Tan Jizhu was her family. Now that Tan Jizhu is famous and nominated for a Houtu Award, they aren’t on the same level anymore.”

“God, combined with the ‘rental room’ history with Chen Shidong, this is like a story of two ordinary people supporting each other only to be torn apart by the powerful Luo Jingyun! Hang the capitalists!”

“My CP is so tragic!”

“Actually, since Tan Jizhu and Chen Shidong knew each other first, Luo Jingyun should be the third party.”

“Exactly! There’s no ‘first come, first served’ in love. The one who isn’t loved is the third party!”

“The comments above are totally backward! But shipping it this way does have a unique flavor.”

Seeing the comments claiming she was the “third party,” Luo Jingyun reported them immediately. How could people be so brainless?

After reporting every comment, she found offensive, Luo Jingyun locked her phone and threw it aside. The comments might be deleted from the webpage, but they were etched into her heart and wouldn’t be erased so easily.

Those netizens were strangers, yet they had easily spoken the truth she tried so hard to hide. No—rather than saying she hid it, it was more that she had spent the last few years deliberately pretending not to see it. Her two mothers had warned her long ago, but she had insisted on forcing it.

…

When Tan Jizhu returned home, Luo Jingyun was already sitting on the living room sofa. Tan Jizhu walked over and asked, “Didn’t you stay overnight at your mothers’ place today?”

Luo Jingyun sneered. “What? Did you hope I wouldn’t come back today?”

“Of course not,” Tan Jizhu said, taking off her casual blazer and hanging it aside. “I just thought you would want to spend more time with them.”

“Right. If I spend more time with them, it leaves plenty of room for you and Chen Shidong.”

Hearing Chen Shidong’s name from Luo Jingyun’s mouth, Tan Jizhu felt it was strange.

“What are you talking about? You know Chen Shidong?”

“Tan Jizhu, what exactly is your relationship with Chen Shidong?” Luo Jingyun pointed at the phone screen showing the photos of the two. “You left my mother’s house early saying it was for work. Was your ‘work’ a tryst with Chen Shidong?”

Tan Jizhu looked at the content on the phone and realized she and Chen Shidong had been caught by reporters.

“Chen Shidong is my senior and my fellow countrywoman. Meeting her was for work; she was introducing me to a resource for a variety show.”

Hearing this, Luo Jingyun laughed aloud. “A variety show? Didn’t you say actors should maintain a sense of mystery and that you didn’t want to share too much of your private life? I recommended so many varieties show resources to you before and you rejected them all, but you’re willing to participate in one introduced by Chen Shidong? Is her resource better than mine?”

“The shows you introduced were indeed good, but they were filled with top-tier veterans. Wouldn’t it be bizarre for a nobody like me to go on them?”

“Fine! I want to see exactly what kind of resource this Chen Shidong introduced to you!” Luo Jingyun snatched her phone back, preparing to make a call.

Worried about involving Chen Shidong, Tan Jizhu quickly stopped her. “Enough, Luo Jingyun! Can you stop always acting like a spoiled child?”

“I’m acting like a spoiled child? People online think we’re getting a divorce and you won’t explain, yet you blame me for acting out?”

“Why explain? Chen Shidong and I are innocent, and you and I aren’t divorced. Doing something unnecessary would only make those gossiping netizens think something actually happened.”

“Tan Jizhu, you really are ‘as indifferent as a chrysanthemum.’ You never told the media about our situation before, and now everyone is guessing if we’ve divorced. They even say if we aren’t divorced, your ‘Senior Shidong’ is a third party interfering in a family!”

Hearing that this would affect Chen Shidong, Tan Jizhu immediately took out her own phone to check the public opinion. Seeing people taking the opportunity to smear Chen, she quickly called her manager, Deng Mei.

“Sister Deng, have you seen the trending searches? Help me clarify. Chen Shidong and I are just good friends. I was in a hurry when I went to pick her up and borrowed her hat because I was afraid of being spotted by fans.”

Deng Mei said something on the other end, and Tan Jizhu nodded in agreement. Hanging up, she looked at Luo Jingyun. “Jingyun, I need you to help clarify this as well.”

“Me?” Luo Jingyun found it hilarious. “You remember me now?”

When someone is suspected of cheating, a clarification from the spouse is the most convincing.

“Quickly, contact your manager. Just say you know that Senior Shidong and I are just friends.”

“Tan Jizhu, I asked you to post something for our anniversary before and you wouldn’t do it. Now that you want me to clarify, I’m supposed to just do it?”

Tan Jizhu felt she had already caused trouble for Chen Shidong; if it wasn’t clarified in time, the guilt would be even greater.

“Luo Jingyun, how long are you going to keep being jealous over nothing? If you dare to ruin Chen Shidong’s career the way you ruined Sun Kexin’s, I will never let you off!”

“Ruined Sun Kexin’s career?”

“Wasn’t it you? You had Sun Kexin fired from the crew—isn’t that ruining her career? A small actress with no background, deprived of an opportunity just like that by you.”

Luo Jingyun had to think for a moment before she even remembered who Sun Kexin was. She belatedly realized why Tan Jizhu’s attitude toward her had been so terrible on their third anniversary.

“So, you were mean to me on our wedding anniversary all because of a stranger? And today you’re losing your temper with me, also because of an irrelevant person? Tan Jizhu, is there really a place for me in your heart?”