Transmigrated into the Villainous Scummy Alpha in a Talent Show Novel - Chapter 24

At first, An Zizi didn’t believe it. Leaning against the railing, she tilted her head slightly. “Jiang Ming? That delicate girl standing next to you earlier? If I remember correctly, you only met her after entering the training camp, didn’t you?”

Her chest rose and fell, but her face remained cold, her sharp gaze fixed on Lin Qi. “Yet you broke up with me the day before you entered the camp.”

Hiss,

An inexplicable guilt surged in Lin Qi’s heart. She turned her head away, avoiding An Zizi’s eyes, and clenched the fabric of her pants tightly. “Because I don’t like you anymore.”

“Not liking me anymore there must be a reason, right? Did I do something wrong?”

Even now, she maintained her rationality and logic. Lin Qi couldn’t help but admire her ex for that. But when she looked up and saw the redness in An Zizi’s eyes, guilt welled up inside her again.

To be honest, if she hadn’t already met Jiang Ming, Lin Qi would have genuinely liked someone like An Zizi, a confident, principled, and aloof woman. Not romantically, perhaps, but as a friend, she would have been great.

But now, all she could feel was guilt.

How could she possibly say something as cruel as, “I don’t like you anymore, but let’s be friends”?

“Fine, I’ll tell you the truth. From the very beginning, I had an ulterior motive for getting close to you. I was your fan. The online smear campaign against you, I orchestrated it. Making you fall for me was just part of my plan. Now, I feel guilty. Every time I see you, I’m reminded of how despicable I am. So”

Before she could finish, another slap landed on her already unlucky cheek, this one far harder than Jiang Ming’s. Lin Qi instinctively covered her stinging face and fell silent.

She had read about it in the book, the entire process of how An Zizi and the original owner of this body got together.

To call the original owner scum would be an understatement. After falling in love at first sight with An Zizi, who was a dance instructor on a previous talent show, she immediately used her connections to dig up fabricated scandals about her. Then, she mobilized her family’s army of marketing accounts to spread the rumors far and wide. In the age of viral trends, it was easy to manipulate public opinion. Soon, An Zizi was drowning in a sea of online hate, utterly helpless.

That was when the original owner made her grand entrance as the savior, solving all of An Zizi’s problems and even persuading her to join her company. She hid her selfish motives completely, claiming she only helped her for the sake of her family’s entertainment business.

An Zizi, usually sharp and perceptive, had never held any expectations for love. Yet, amid the relentless online attacks, she fell for Lin Qi, who had appeared out of nowhere.

After being inexplicably dumped, the once-proud woman even lowered herself to join the talent show as a last-minute instructor, just to demand a reason, something that would make the breakup acceptable.

But she never expected to uncover this truth.

“Say it again.”

Her voice, choked with tears, was even icier, sharp as shards of glass, making Lin Qi’s heart tremble.

“I was wrong. I’m just trash. Please… don’t hurt yourself over this, okay?”

Returning to her true nature, Lin Qi softened her voice to comfort the cold-faced woman crying before her. Though the slap was somewhat undeserved, she didn’t feel angry. After all, she was inhabiting the original owner’s body, granted a second life, it was only fair she bore some of the consequences.

Like this slap.

“I’m not angry at all!”

What could be said? An Zizi was clearly so angry her eyes were red, her usual aloof demeanor tinged with sorrow. Her cold, hard gaze had melted into tears, making her less intimidating but even more pitiable.

Lin Qi inexplicably felt as though she was seeing her past self, stubbornly insisting she was fine even when wronged, eyes red but refusing to admit vulnerability, swallowing down the pain like shattered teeth mixed with blood.

Her tone softened further. “Alright, you’re not angry. It’s all my fault. You, the magnanimous one, shouldn’t hold it against a petty person like me. Just treat me like a fart and let me go, okay? Pretend you never met such a despicable, dirty scoundrel.”

An Zizi gave a deep look at the person whose expression was now filled with gentleness. In the two months they had dated, she had never seen Lin Qi act so submissive. Logically, after learning that everything had been arranged by Lin Qi, she should have been furious, should have felt wronged, should have slapped her and walked away with dignity,

But why was this person being so tender now?

Was she trying to make her soften again?

No way! She wouldn’t fall into the same trap twice!

“Let’s go in.”

As if finding the whole thing distasteful, An Zizi turned to leave, only for Lin Qi to grab her wrist. Frowning, she shot a cold glare back, only to meet eyes brimming with worry and concern.

“Here, wipe your eyes, they’re too red. If your makeup won’t smudge, you could wash your face in the restroom. There are tear stains.”

Instinctively wanting to say “thank you,” An Zizi refused to show weakness again and only snorted. “None of your business.”

Yet her body betrayed her, and she headed toward the restroom. Lin Qi found her pridefulness rather endearing. If they could become friends, it wouldn’t be a bad outcome.

“I’ll go work on the choreography now!”

Shouting at An Zizi’s retreating figure, Lin Qi didn’t wait for a response before turning and entering the practice room.

The moment she stepped inside, seven pairs of eager eyes locked onto her. Lin Qi suddenly felt like a mother duck, with seven little ducklings sitting in a row before her.

Then Tan Yi started quacking. “Captain, were you and Teacher An… ex-girlfriends?”

“Since when are you so talkative?”

She thought no one else would dare pry after Tan Yi’s boldness, so Lin Qi sat down, ready to discuss the choreography. But then Jiang Ming’s timid voice piped up.

“Lin Qi, is it true?”

Startled, Lin Qi met Jiang Ming’s slightly evasive gaze. Her breath hitched. She couldn’t brush off the female lead the same way she had Tan Yi. Awkwardly, she laughed. “Yeah.”

Lowering her head, she didn’t dare meet Jiang Ming’s eyes. Why did she feel guilty?

Jiang Ming didn’t even like her so why did she feel so uneasy now?

“What’s all this gossip about?”

At that moment, An Zizi pushed the door open, her face icy again, her eyes no longer red. The aloof beauty looked down at the eight people sitting in a row, her gaze turning even colder when it landed on Lin Qi.

“Finished with the choreography?”

Lin Qi immediately looked up, her expression the picture of obedience. “Almost, ”

Frowning at the suddenly cute (?) Lin Qi, An Zizi didn’t press further. She just pulled up a chair, crossed her arms, and sat down, tilting her chin up slightly.

“Then get to it.”

It was like that song She stands right in front of her, but how much of her past self can you still see?

Lin Qi nodded but felt somewhat awkward. There were only four chairs in the classroom, just enough for four pairs eight people in total, but An Zizi was already occupying one of them.

Swallowing hard, she said, “Um, Teacher An, that chair is actually one of our props.”

An Zizi smiled and stood up willingly. “Got it.”

For some reason, Lin Qi sensed a hint of murderous intent in those smiling eyes. She shrank back slightly, quickly grabbed the chair, placed it in the center of the classroom, and then urged everyone to take their positions.

“Let’s start with the arrangement we practiced earlier. Tan Yi, you’ll fill in Zhu Yu’s spot.”

As she walked toward Jiang Ming, the girl took her hand. Lin Qi looked down and met Jiang Ming’s soft, bright gaze. Her voice was gentle as she whispered, “Good luck.”

The unease Lin Qi had felt since seeing An Zizi suddenly melted away. Ignoring the fact that her ex-girlfriend was standing right there, she reached out and ruffled Jiang Ming’s soft, fluffy hair, shaking her head. “It’s fine. Trust me.”

“Ahem! Is this how you choreograph?”

Turning toward An Zizi, whose face had darkened, Lin Qi reluctantly withdrew her hand. Her palm tingled slightly, and she rubbed it against her thigh before forcing a smile. “Sorry, Teacher An.”

Raising her fair wrist, the white mechanical watch showed it was already 9:40. An Zizi watched coldly as the two stopped their affectionate display, her gaze lingering on Jiang Ming, still the same delicate, fragile impression.

Even though she already knew Lin Qi was a two-faced scumbag, why did she still feel upset?

Closing her eyes briefly, she steadied herself before reopening them. An Zizi shot a disdainful glance at Lin Qi, who was now earnestly discussing choreography with the team. But the disgust felt superficial.

To her despair, An Zizi realized she actually liked the gentle side of Lin Qi.

It was a demeanor she had never encountered in the entertainment industry upright, kind, and warm. The sharp, striking features softened with focus, exuding an air of integrity, like pine and bamboo, standing out starkly in this murky environment.

Not wanting to dwell on it, An Zizi pulled out her phone and found the contact labeled “Xia Xia.” She typed out a message, deleting and rewriting before finally settling on: “I saw Lin Qi.”

The reply came instantly: “What did she say?”

“She admitted she orchestrated the online smear campaign. Making me fall for her was intentional.”

“That bastard! I told you Lin Qi couldn’t be trusted!”

“But today, she seemed different from before.”

“How different? A turtle flipped over is still a turtle.”

After a long hesitation, An Zizi sent: “She seems better now none of her old arrogance, just gentleness.”

“Oh no, my dear, don’t tell me you’re falling for her again?!”

“No.”

After typing those two letters, An Zizi glanced at Lin Qi’s tall figure, now standing straight-backed instead of slouching lazily as before. The poised posture made even her silhouette strikingly attractive.

“I won’t make the same mistake twice.”

Deceiving herself, An Zizi typed out the sentence and turned off her phone, oblivious to the reply that came through: “Then I’ll have her come as my backup dancer at my next concert. I’ll see what she’s all about.”

Unaware of all this, Lin Qi was currently swamped, busy preparing a new choreography. Meanwhile, an omega sat leisurely in the green room, legs crossed, dressed in an elegant red dress. Her delicate fingers tapped away on the screen, a radiant smile on her face. She picked up a peeled lychee from the table, popped it into her mouth, and with a flick of her tongue, spat out the pit.

She beckoned to her manager with a smile, her voice as alluring as her stunning appearance. “Sis, for my concert in May, let’s invite the top nine contestants from the current survival show to be my backup dancers.”

The manager nodded. “Sure, I’ll call their production team to discuss it.”

A short while later, the manager returned. “Xia, the production team said they’d be more than happy to. But each of you will need a designated backup dancer. Would you like to pick one first?”

The beauty picked up another lychee, a playful curiosity in her smile. Before slipping the fruit between her red lips, she uttered a single sentence: “I want Lin Qi.”