Transmigrated into the Villainous Scummy Alpha in a Talent Show Novel - Chapter 21

Back in the dormitory, Lin Qi rubbed her sore shoulders. She had initially planned to go straight to bed, but the lingering taste of pickled vegetables in her mouth was unbearable. In the end, she decided to brush her teeth before lying down.

After rinsing with water and brushing with rose-scented toothpaste, her mouth was finally filled with the fragrance of flowers. Satisfied, Lin Qi prepared to go to bed.

She instinctively glanced at Jiang Ming, who was sitting at the desk removing her makeup. Jiang Ming worked quickly without the foundation, her cheeks had regained their rosy hue. However, the once flawless and fair skin under her eyes now bore dark circles, a clear sign of exhaustion, worse than when she had stayed up all night memorizing lyrics.

“You need to get proper sleep from now on. Although these three months of the talent show are important, they’re not worth sacrificing your health. If you ruin your body now, you’ll carry the consequences for the rest of your life.”

Unable to resist lecturing in a motherly tone, Lin Qi, who had experienced this herself in her past life, couldn’t bear to see Jiang Ming repeat her mistakes. The lifelong burden of stomach problems was truly unbearable.

Hearing this, Jiang Ming turned her head. “I can’t sleep.”

The unspoken implication was obvious.

Why couldn’t she sleep?

Because of guilt, because of remorse, but mostly because of fear.

She was afraid that her subconscious actions had pushed away someone close to her, afraid she might revert to her old terrifying self, and afraid that Lin Qi would grow to dislike her.

Jiang Ming, who had mustered the courage to lower her defenses and let someone in, now felt both sorrowful and aggrieved, trembling with fear that Lin Qi might leave and never return, fear that she might deliberately distance herself.

Overwhelmed by these emotions, Jiang Ming was too shy to voice them. Yet Lin Qi seemed to sense everything through the faint mist in Jiang Ming’s eyes, as if glimpsing a cat curled up in the corner at three in the morning through that silent, restrained gaze.

“You… didn’t remove all your makeup.”

Lin Qi’s voice was hoarse as she uttered this lie, more to herself than to Jiang Ming. She raised her hand, purposefully reaching toward the naturally rosy lips below her gaze soft and damp from being wiped with a makeup remover, tempting to touch.

“I think I, got it all off.”

The lips beneath her fingers had barely moved when Lin Qi gently pressed them with her fingertip, her gaze lingering on the slightly parted mouth. A sudden thirst overcame her, and she swallowed hard, her voice low. “Don’t move.”

Though certain she had already wiped away all traces of makeup, Jiang Ming obediently froze at the half-commanding tone, trusting that this new, kinder Lin Qi wouldn’t deceive her.

Moreover, the fingertip pressing against her lips carried an undeniable intensity, yet Jiang Ming felt no fear. Instead, as the distance between them narrowed, her heartbeat grew erratic, the pounding in her chest drowning out all thought, leaving her powerless to resist.

Slowly standing up and leaning closer, Lin Qi seemed fixated on those red lips, her head lowering with the desire to taste them.

“Mmm.”

The moment their noses touched, Jiang Ming let out an involuntary, shy whimper one so soft it snapped Lin Qi back to her senses.

The beast of desire was shackled and locked deep within. Lin Qi withdrew her hand and sat back on the bed, her breathing uneven. “It’s, all clean now.”

Finally free, Jiang Ming’s face burned as if on fire. The distance between her and Lin Qi just now, if they had been even a fraction closer, then maybe…

“I-I’m going to check in the mirror.”

She bolted to the bathroom and quickly shut the door behind her. Only in this completely enclosed space did she feel safe. Jiang Ming looked at her reflection her face flushed crimson as the sound of her heartbeat drowned out everything else.

What was she thinking?

The other girl had just kindly helped wipe off the lipstick she hadn’t fully removed, yet Jiang Ming had been thinking about kissing Lin Qi.

She crouched down, burying her burning face between her folded knees, and let out a soft, overwhelmed whimper.

But did wiping off lipstick really require getting that close?

Close enough for Jiang Ming to catch the faint scent of roses in her breath. The moment their noses brushed, it felt as if they had done something even more intimate than kissing, a secret joy bursting from deep within.

The elusive thread she could never grasp had finally returned to her hands. Jiang Ming saw the answer clearly now, yet she couldn’t control the kite dancing in the wind.

Outside the door, Lin Qi glanced at the mirror on the desk, finding Jiang Ming’s flustered state both adorable and amusing. There was already a mirror right here surely she had run to the bathroom out of shyness?

Come to think of it, she wasn’t sure what had come over her earlier either. She had actually wanted to just kiss her then and there.

But Jiang Ming was the female lead! Wasn’t it inappropriate for a villainess like her to try and steal her away?

She was acting like those sneaky homewreckers she despised most in games. Song En hadn’t even made an appearance yet, and here Lin Qi was, already trying to take her place.

Shaking her head to dispel the disappointment of not having kissed Jiang Ming, Lin Qi was so exhausted she turned off the lights and climbed into bed. She called out toward the bathroom, “I’m going to sleep first. Don’t be shy, it was just wiping off lipstick.”

With that, the carefree and uncomplicated girl drifted off to sleep without a second thought, completely unaware when someone stole a kiss from her.

Face still burning, Jiang Ming lay back on her own bed, her heart pounding wildly. She pulled the blanket over her face, rolling back and forth under its cover before squeezing her eyes shut in self-deception and murmuring, “I’m not shy at all.”

Her soft, muffled voice hid within the blanket, whispering unspoken delight.

The growling of her stomach rudely yanked Lin Qi from her sweet dream. She sat up in agony, successfully turning her hair into a bird’s nest with a few sleepy scratches.

Why did she have to wake up now?!

She had been dreaming about Jiang Ming kissing her!

It had felt so real!

Stupid, noisy stomach!

If organs could talk, her stomach would probably whine in protest, “If I didn’t wake you up, you’d starve to death!”

Grumbling, she dragged herself out of bed and checked the clock on the wall, 12:30 PM. With class at 2:00, she still had an hour and a half left. She had successfully slept through an entire dance lesson.

Turning her head, she saw Jiang Ming still sleeping peacefully. The girl must have been truly exhausted.

Though Lin Qi had slept sitting up, she had at least gotten a solid ten hours of rest unlike this girl, who had stayed awake all night.

Tiptoeing to the cafeteria, Lin Qi bought herself some spicy favorites and a few lighter dishes for Jiang Ming before humming a cheerful tune back to the dorm.

As she unlocked the door, Lin Qi couldn’t help but feel grateful for her own bravery. Standing barefoot on the cold tiles was a girl in a white T-shirt, her hair cascading over her shoulders, eyes rimmed red as tears welled up.

What’s going on??

Before Lin Qi could calm her racing heart from opening the door to see someone who looked like Sadako, she was suddenly embraced. The arms behind her held tightly, and Jiang Ming’s head rested on her shoulder.

“Wait, wait, the noodles! The soup’s about to spill!”

After struggling for a while, she managed to save the slightly deformed bowl of soup noodles. Lin Qi placed both meals on the table before finally meeting Jiang Ming’s gaze, which had been following her the whole time. “What’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?”

Jiang Ming didn’t mention the panic and unease she felt upon waking up to an empty bed. She just nodded obediently, “Yeah, a really scary one.”

Her pitiful expression was utterly endearing.

Lin Qi’s heart melted instantly. She leaned in and hugged the trembling “kitten,” soothingly stroking the back of her head. The smooth, dark hair felt nice under her fingers. “It’s okay, don’t be scared. I’m here.”

I was scared because you weren’t here.

Jiang Ming didn’t say those words aloud, acutely aware that she was sinking deeper into this feeling. With difficulty, she pulled away and asked, “Did you go to the cafeteria to get food?”

“Yeah, this is your soup noodles.”

Jiang Ming frowned in distaste at the bland-looking broth, then glanced at the layer of meat in Lin Qi’s bowl. For once, she felt a rare craving. “This looks too plain.”

“No, it just looks that way. It’s actually quite flavorful.”

“You’re lying! I had it yesterday it tasted just as bland.”

Lin Qi raised an eyebrow in surprise. She had bought Jiang Ming soup noodles yesterday, but that was before the slap. She hadn’t expected the female lead to actually eat it.

Her happiness grew, spreading into a smile, but principles made her shake her head. “No, you’re on your period. You can’t eat anything spicy light food is better.”

“Auntie?!”

Unexpectedly, Jiang Ming’s eyes lit up with sudden brightness and excitement at those words.

At first, Lin Qi didn’t understand, but then she remembered, Jiang Ming did have an aunt, the one who had rescued her from the psychiatric hospital.

Judging by the way Jiang Ming was looking around, she must have mistaken “period” for her aunt.

“You’re lying, right? There’s no way Auntie could get in here.”

The light in Jiang Ming’s eyes dimmed as she lowered her head, visibly disappointed.

Helpless, Lin Qi explained, “We usually call ‘menstruation’ ‘Aunt Flo’ here. It’s just a habit, I said it without thinking.”

Seeing Jiang Ming still looking down, Lin Qi tentatively asked, “Do you miss your aunt a lot?”

“Yeah, she’s really good to me.”

The girl finally lifted her head, but her eyes remained dull, even sadder than when she’d seen the plain noodles. It made Lin Qi’s heart ache too.

The novel had mentioned how grateful Jiang Ming was to her aunt, for getting her out of the psychiatric hospital, sending her to music school, and giving her the familial love she’d been missing.

Lin Qi understood how important the aunt was to Jiang Ming and why the female lead felt so down now. She wanted to do something, anything, to bring light back into those gray eyes.

“How about this? For our first performance, I’ll ask my mom to give her backstage pass to your aunt. Then you two can meet.”

“But wouldn’t that mean you couldn’t see your mom?”

“It’s fine. It’s not like”

Before the words “real mom” could escape her lips, Lin Qi realized she was on the verge of exposing herself again. “It’s not like we won’t see each other anymore. You’re more important let’s fulfill your wish first.”

“Lin Qi, thank you.”

The dimness in her eyes was replaced by starlight. Seeing this, Lin Qi smiled contentedly, hoping she could spend these three months happily.

Before meeting Song En, she would protect Jiang Ming.

Unaware of Jiang Ming’s deepening feelings once more, Lin Qi thought bitterly to herself.