Transmigrated into the Villainous Scummy Alpha in a Talent Show Novel - Chapter 22

After watching Jiang Ming finish that bowl of plain noodle soup, the brown sugar water she had prepared earlier was no longer scalding hot. Lin Qi handed it to the girl with a pained expression, “Here, have some. It’s sweet.”

Jiang Ming took the cup but hesitated before drinking. After a moment’s pause, she caught sight of Lin Qi’s slightly disappointed look. The words “It’ll make me gain weight” lingered on the tip of her tongue, but in the end, they were washed down by the warm, sweet liquid.

Drinking this cup of sugary water was far more worthwhile than seeing Lin Qi unhappy.

The warmth traveled from her neck all the way to her abdomen. Jiang Ming, who had been feeling quite uncomfortable in the morning, now felt refreshed energetic enough to dance all afternoon.

“Let’s go. We still have dance class this afternoon.”

Well, maybe not.

As soon as Lin Qi finished speaking, she heard a tiny, pitiful whimper from behind. Turning around, she saw Jiang Ming frowning, her lips pursed. “We still have dance class?”

“Yep. The dance instructor would be really sad to see you resisting like this.”

“But dancing during my period is so painful.”

It seemed that after their previous conflict, Jiang Ming had become increasingly prone to acting spoiled around her. Like now the girl looked up at her with soft, complaining tones, her well-behaved hair whorl drawing Lin Qi’s gaze.

Unable to resist, Lin Qi reached out and ruffled Jiang Ming’s hair, only to have the girl nuzzle gently against her hand like a cat being petted.

Her heart skipped a beat. Lin Qi abruptly withdrew her hand, meeting the confused, innocent gaze looking up at her. She couldn’t exactly blame Jiang Ming for this.

It was her own thoughts that were impure.

“I’ll talk to the instructor later about modifying the choreography. The current routine is too exhausting doing it once feels like performing the theme song three times over.”

At this, Jiang Ming, who had been acting spoiled and whiny just moments ago, suddenly protested, “No, don’t! The current dance is really good. Don’t change it because of me.”

Smiling, Lin Qi took the hand that had been swaying by Jiang Ming’s thigh, then closed the door behind them as she walked forward naturally. “Don’t worry, it’s not because of you. We were planning to revise the choreography anyway. Don’t you think your role as center is too understated? Aside from the chorus, which you sing, I’d believe Tan Yi was the center if someone told me.”

“We’re all teammates here…”

To her surprise, Jiang Ming was now the one fumbling for words to comfort her. Lin Qi chuckled and gently squeezed the soft flesh at the base of Jiang Ming’s thumb, the only part of the otherwise bony girl that didn’t feel sharp to the touch.

Well, perhaps there was one other place…

But Lin Qi didn’t dare let her thoughts wander there.

“Do you know why I brought you here? It was to pull strings. In my team, if you’re not the absolute center, I’d consider it my failure.”

These fiercely protective words brought tears to Jiang Ming’s eyes. Swallowing down any self-deprecating remarks like “I don’t want to be a burden to you,” she quickly lowered her head to hide her welling emotions, her voice small and muffled. “Why are you so good to me?”

A fatal question.

At first, it had been out of a soft-hearted desire to make amends. But now, it was genuine affection.

Lin Qi wasn’t afraid to confront or voice her feelings. She simply worried that if she spoke them aloud, Jiang Ming, who was destined to fall for the other female lead, Song En, wouldn’t know how to act around her.

This sensitive, easily flustered kitten had finally made a friend. She wouldn’t let her own selfish desires taint their friendship.

“You shouldn’t ask that question. By asking it, you’re placing yourself in a very low position, as if you don’t deserve my kindness. But that’s not the truth. You need to step back, stand up, and see how wonderful you are. Then you’ll understand why I want to be good to you.”

After speaking, Lin Qi mustered the courage to ruffle Jiang Ming’s hair again. “Be more confident.”

Though these words came from the heart, Lin Qi inexplicably felt like a motivational soup delivery person, pouring encouragement daily onto this barren rose, hoping she would perk up and bloom with confidence.

Jiang Ming’s already burning eyes grew even hotter. She let tears of gratitude and joy silently fall to the ground, then actively clasped Lin Qi’s hand in return. When she looked up, she met a pair of peach blossom eyes filled with warmth and sincerity.

Her heart skipped a beat. Jiang Ming couldn’t bear to hold the gaze, afraid the longer she looked, the more she would lose herself. And aside from a heart too fearful to give away, the barren and possession-less Jiang Ming didn’t know what else she could possibly lose.

” I won’t let you down.”

Lin Qi couldn’t miss Jiang Ming’s reddened eyes, like a little rabbit’s, achingly vulnerable and endearing. She reached up to wipe away the tears that had spilled over, damp and warm, carrying Jiang Ming’s rising body heat.

“You don’t need to say things like that. Just do your best, and don’t pressure yourself too much. I don’t expect you to perform exceptionally, just stay safe and well.”

“I know. So I’ll do my best to deliver a great performance.”

With the motivational soup delivered, the two arrived at the practice room. Lin Qi glanced at the other seven teammates already chatting and smiled apologetically. “Sorry, everyone. Jiang Ming and I weren’t feeling well today, so we missed practice.”

The others were understanding, shaking their heads and saying, “No problem.”

For once, Lin Qi noticed something amiss, one person, Zhu Yu, a strong contestant who had always been in Class A, refused to meet her eyes.

Why?

Just yesterday, they had been chatting harmoniously.

Lin Qi sensed Zhu Yu was hiding something, her demeanor guilty and fearful.

Before she could probe further, the dance instructor arrived, pushing open the door with visible exhaustion. “Did you miss me after just one afternoon apart?”

Truthfully, after spending all of yesterday, plus this morning and afternoon together, both teacher and students were nearly sick of each other.

Blame the vocal coach’s sudden absence and the substitute instructor’s delayed arrival. The dance instructor sighed being a working professional was tough.

As everyone practiced, Lin Qi observed the team’s collective exhaustion and spoke up. “Instructor, I think the choreography needs adjustments. Jiang Ming, as the center, is practically invisible here.”

“Jiang Ming is the center?”

The question amused Lin Qi. “You didn’t know Jiang Ming is the center for this song?”

“I always thought it was you or Tan Yi. The choreography doesn’t highlight Jiang Ming at all.”

“My mistake. When I first arranged the dance, I prioritized synchronization and forgot to emphasize the center. Should we revise it now?”

“Absolutely. We can’t let Jiang Ming be shortchanged.”

“Mm!”

The teacher was very understanding and seemed to like Jiang Ming as well, so she immediately agreed to Lin Qi’s request. This was also the first person Lin Qi had asked once the highest authority gave the green light, no one could argue if she quietly gave the female lead more killing parts.

In truth, the choreography wasn’t altered much. She just added some movements during the chorus to bring Jiang Ming from the side to the center, while she and Tan Yi stood on either side like two guardians. During the group dance, their eyes would be fixed on the center, where the C-position stood.

This way, the visual appeal of the dance wasn’t diminished, but it would be unmistakably clear that Jiang Ming was the center.

Lin Qi was already looking forward to how stunning the female lead would look under the spotlight, dressed in performance attire.

By the time they finished revising the choreography, it was already 4 p.m. Lin Qi was interrupted by a staff member who suddenly knocked on the door. “Lin Qi, you’re needed for an external shoot.”

This had happened in her past life too popular contestants would be pulled away by advertisers eager to capitalize on their appeal, filming commercials to be inserted into the show, leveraging fan economies to boost product sales.

After all, survival show fans were like fertilizer-drenched leeks you could cut one batch, let them grow a bit, and then cut them again.

Lin Qi rode the program’s car to a commercial building. She had been indifferent at first, but the moment she stepped into the office, a woman pulled her into a tight hug, and she froze.

“Qiqi! It’s been over a week did you miss your mom?”

Before Lin Qi could answer, the woman continued, “Mom missed you so much. I couldn’t eat or sleep, worried you weren’t doing well there.”

“My precious Qiqi, you’ve lost so much weight.”

Finally breaking free, Lin Qi stared in shock at the woman who looked exactly like her mother from her past life even the childish personality was identical. Her throat tightened in disbelief.

“Qiqi, you didn’t forget your mom, did you? Did all that training fry your brain? I told you our family could’ve just formed a girl group for you. Why suffer like this?”

Lin Qi, who had neither lost weight nor fried her brain: Save me.

She hadn’t expected her mom to turn into this kind of sugar daddy-esque figure after becoming wealthy.

Feeling a sense of familiarity, Lin Qi smiled and shook her head. “I’m doing fine. Didn’t you watch the broadcast? I got an A for my debut stage. Barring any surprises, I’ll debut as the center.”

“Look at those dark circles Mom’s heart aches.”

Because this woman was so similar to her real mother, Lin Qi was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. She ended up hugging her mom and crying, not to complain about her struggles but simply to become a child again in her mother’s embrace.

Childish and unfiltered.

The two talked for a long time, and there really was an ad to shoot. After filming, Lin Qi basked in her mom’s praise “My daughter’s so pretty, just like me” before reluctantly preparing to leave.

“Wait! Your mom has a gift for you.”

With that, a brand-new phone was placed in her hands, along with a charger, earphones, and other accessories stuffed into a yogurt bag gifted by the advertiser. Her mom winked. “Don’t worry, I’ve taken care of everything. You could use this right in front of the dorm supervisor, and it’d be fine.”

Now that was a huge surprise…

Lin Qi chuckled, tucking the phone into her pocket before giving her teary-eyed mom a heartfelt hug. “Mom, I’ll call you.”

Reluctantly parting ways, Lin Qi took her mother’s car back to the fully enclosed training camp for the talent show, feeling inexplicably melancholic. She wondered how her parents in her original world were doing.

Had the money she earned as a top idol been enough for their retirement?

Maybe they should consider having another child while they’re still young.

With a sorrowful expression, she returned to the dormitory. It was already nine o’clock, and there were still three hours left until the vocal training class ended at midnight. Feeling exhausted, Lin Qi decided to wash up and go straight to bed.

Unexpectedly, someone was already in the dorm.

Jiang Ming sat on the bed with reddened eyes, looking as if she had suffered a great injustice.

Quickly putting her things away, Lin Qi approached her. She gently cupped Jiang Ming’s soft cheeks with both hands, turning her face to meet her gaze after Jiang Ming instinctively tried to avoid eye contact. “What’s wrong? What happened? Who upset you?”

“N-nothing.”