Transmigrated into the Villainous Scummy Alpha in a Talent Show Novel - Chapter 20

When she woke up again, it was already morning. Lin Qi was shaken awake by Tan Yi. “Captain, why did you sleep here? You’ll catch a cold.”

“Ugh ”

Her back ached, her muscles were sore, and there was hardly a comfortable spot on her body. Lin Qi lifted her hand to rub her stiff neck. If she hadn’t remembered what happened yesterday, she might have thought she’d been beaten up and dumped in the practice room.

“I came here to practice and was so tired that I fell asleep here.”

As she spoke, her disobedient eyes involuntarily glanced at Jiang Ming standing by the door. The girl’s face was fair, rosy, and full of vitality clearly, she had slept very well last night.

Lin Qi scoffed at herself for being sentimental. Here she was, pitying Jiang Ming for the bullying she’d suffered from the original owner, but what about Jiang Ming?

She had slapped Lin Qi and then acted like nothing had happened.

“Captain, what happened to your face?”

Hearing Tan Yi’s surprised voice, Lin Qi finally touched her cheek and looked at the person sitting on the floor in the mirror. Although the slap mark had faded after ice treatment, half of her face was still swollen.

Coming up with a flimsy excuse even she didn’t believe, Lin Qi forced a smile. “I slept with this side of my face pressed against the floor all night. Must’ve gotten swollen from the pressure.”

Fortunately, Tan Yi didn’t press further and moved on to another topic. “Captain, are you feeling okay? You were lucky to miss last night’s training. The teacher added some new dance details it was exhausting.”

“Last night?”

Damn, she’d completely forgotten about that class. As someone who prided herself on being a diligent student, Lin Qi was already thinking about how to explain herself to the teacher today.

“Yeah, Jiang Ming said you had diarrhea and took leave for you. Are you better now?”

Tan Yi looked Lin Qi up and down and shook her head. “Captain, training is important, but you should wait until you’re fully recovered before practicing. Look how pale your face is.”

It was true. In the mirror, her complexion was deathly pale, and even her usually rosy lips had a purplish tint, making her look as if she’d been poisoned utterly exhausted.

And the taste of instant noodles in her mouth was disgusting.

Lin Qi didn’t even feel like talking anymore. She just nodded and lowered her head, waiting for the teacher to arrive.

By eight o’clock, the dance teacher arrived. She first looked at Lin Qi with concern, taking in her pallor. “Lin Qi, don’t you want to rest a bit longer? The choreography changes aren’t that big. With your skills, you’ll pick them up quickly.”

Hearing this, Lin Qi gritted her teeth against the pain and stood up, shaking her head. “I’m fine.”

“Then, Jiang Ming, you go with Lin Qi to the next room and train separately. Teach her the choreography changes from last night, and then rejoin the group later.”

After hearing this, Jiang Ming merely frowned at Lin Qi and asked in Japanese, “What did the teacher say?”

That shouldn’t be the case these words weren’t that difficult.

Suspiciously eyeing Jiang Ming’s confused expression, Lin Qi had no choice but to lean in and whisper near her ear, “The teacher told you to teach me the dance.”

“That short? I thought she said a lot more.”

“That’s the gist of it.”

As if speaking any more would be a waste of breath, Lin Qi pressed her lips tightly together, her gaze drifting to the corner of the wall, unwilling to look at Jiang Ming. Her voice was low and subdued. “Follow me.”

Truthfully, she just didn’t want Jiang Ming to smell the instant noodles on her breath.

But Jiang Ming didn’t know, she followed behind, taking advantage of Lin Qi’s inability to see her. Her fox-like eyes, which appeared cool and detached on the surface but held an alluring depth within, were now filled with sorrow and helplessness. The sensitive little cat walked in silence, her anguish spreading endlessly in her gaze. Her grayish eyes grew even dimmer, starkly contrasting with her fair, luminous complexion.

When they reached the neighboring classroom, with a considerable distance still between Lin Qi and Jiang Ming, the latter finally spoke up, “Teach me the changes made to yesterday’s dance routine.”

Jiang Ming lifted her head to look at Lin Qi, whose expression remained unreadable. Her lips trembled slightly as if she wanted to say something but didn’t dare. The words lingered on the tip of her tongue before she swallowed them back. Lowering her head, she wrapped her “I’m sorry” in a simple “Okay.”

Fetching a chair, Jiang Ming sat down and took Lin Qi’s hand. “For that dance break, the teacher changed it to holding hands like this.”

As they danced a short duet, Lin Qi could feel the hand holding hers trembling faintly. Amused, she didn’t pull away.

So much for the teacher’s reassurance, this was what they called “minor changes”?

Though the chorus movements remained largely the same, the addition of hand-holding introduced countless new details and small adjustments to the choreography.

Suddenly, Lin Qi understood Tan Yi’s earlier comment. Her face twisted into a frown. Already in a bad mood, she now wanted to dance even less.

“You can’t neglect practice because of me.”

Meeting Jiang Ming’s guilt-ridden gaze, Lin Qi’s heart ached. She put some distance between them. “I’m not.”

“Then why are you avoiding me?”

Jiang Ming clenched the hem of her shirt. The sound of her tears hitting the floor was barely noticeable, but her voice could no longer stay steady. Her eyes were shattered, streaked with tear stains, and the young girl, overwhelmed by grief, trembled at the end of her words.

“I’m not avoiding you.”

“You are!”

As if to prove her point, Jiang Ming took two steps forward. Predictably, Lin Qi moved in sync backward.

Seeing the girl before her tilting her head up with a look that said, “Let’s see how you explain this,” her eyes red like a little rabbit’s yet her face still flawlessly pale, Lin Qi grew puzzled.

Wait, shouldn’t her face be flushed after crying?

Curious, Lin Qi leaned in for a closer look. Only then did she realize, this girl was wearing makeup.

No wonder her complexion looked so flawless.

“W-what are you doing?”

Now their positions were reversed. Jiang Ming became the one retreating, flustered as she let out a soft, panicked murmur.

Lin Qi found her unbearably adorable. All her earlier negativity dissipated, and even yesterday’s conflict was forgotten. Step by step, she advanced toward Jiang Ming, a teasing smile on her lips. “I’m proving that I’m not avoiding you.”

“T-then there’s no need to get this close!”

“If I stay far away, you’ll just accuse me of avoiding you again. What then?”

“I-I won’t say it anymore.”

Looking like a wronged puppy, Jiang Ming made Lin Qi shake her head with a laugh. Though she said that, Lin Qi still maintained a safe distance one that ensured Jiang Ming wouldn’t catch a whiff of the instant noodles on her breath.

I should’ve gone with something milder, like chicken broth. Why did I have to pick the spicy pickled cabbage flavor?

Lin Qi sighed inwardly.

“Teach me the dance.”

Taking the initiative to hold Jiang Ming’s hand, Lin Qi noticed she was still looking down. A mischievous impulse surged within her, and she reached out to lift Jiang Ming’s pointed chin, tilting her head with a playful smile. “Are you avoiding me?”

Their eyes met, and the other pair was misty, as if veiled in a hazy gauze

She could clearly see Jiang Ming’s neck flushed crimson, her throat bobbing slightly as her entire body trembled faintly. Raising her head, her eyes were also rimmed red. “I’m really sorry about yesterday. Please don’t be angry anymore, okay?”

After speaking, Jiang Ming took the initiative to embrace Lin Qi. The hand that was being held remained still, while the other clutched at the fabric of Lin Qi’s back, revealing a look of utter dependence. “I was just scared you’d go back to being that version of yourself I used to dislike.”

“That won’t happen. Never again.”

A damp warmth spread on her shoulder, and Lin Qi’s heart ached in tandem. It was the first time she had seen the female lead in such a fragile state. She tightened her arms around the silently crying girl.