Transmigrated into the Villainous Scummy Alpha in a Talent Show Novel - Chapter 26

Under the intense and dedicated training, a week quickly passed, bringing the day of the first performance.

The night before, Lin Qi had been called to draw lots, whether it was good luck or not, she wasn’t sure. She ended up with the last spot. When she returned backstage, she saw everyone already dressed in their performance outfits.

She shouldn’t have frozen, but the moment she stepped in, her gaze instinctively locked onto the most dazzling figure in the crowd, despite their reserved demeanor. Accustomed to seeing Jiang Ming in loose training clothes, the sight of the girl now in a cool gray dress, her fair and rounded shoulders exposed, was striking. Her once-sharp, angular shoulders now seemed softened by a layer of supple skin it seemed the female lead’s appetite had improved lately.

Amused by her own motherly concern, Lin Qi curved her lips slightly and continued observing Jiang Ming, who appeared somewhat shy.

Two thin straps wrapped around the back of her neck, and though her arms were slender, they faintly revealed the contours of muscle. Without even looking, Lin Qi knew the dress was backless, Jiang Ming’s chest curvature made it obvious.

She had accidentally seen it before when hanging clothes in the dorm. Normally, Jiang Ming wore sports bras, which accentuated her lean, aloof aura. Now, she was probably just wearing pasties the thought made Lin Qi’s face heat up.

Clearing her throat, she averted her gaze, only for her eyes to land on the gray skirt below. Looking up, she met Jiang Ming’s bright, fox-like eyes, which usually held no emotion but now gleamed with unmistakable anticipation.

“Do I look good?”

The question was in Chinese. Lin Qi had noticed this more than once someone so cold and distant in Japanese sounded so soft and sweet in Chinese.

Her throat moved involuntarily, warmth surging from her chest to her limbs, making the air feel thinner. She could only nod dumbly. “You look good.”

Moving closer, she noticed something different about Jiang Ming’s hair. Originally jet-black, it now shimmered faintly with a blue hue deep, serene, and mesmerizing.

“Your hair?”

“The makeup artist said it looks better this way. It’s just temporary color spray, I’ll wash it off tonight.”

Lin Qi was surprised. Had the female lead’s Chinese improved enough to form such long sentences now?

“Yeah, it suits you.”

To mask the creeping sense of uselessness she felt toward Jiang Ming, Lin Qi reached out and curiously touched her carefully curled hair. It felt slightly damp compared to its usual dryness, but no color transferred to her fingers.

“Group ‘The Listeners,’ you’re up for rehearsal.”

The production team opened the backstage door, and Lin Qi spotted the camera slung over the staff’s shoulder. She quickly withdrew her hand. Jiang Ming’s ranking was already low, she shouldn’t let fans catch onto her feelings. Idols dating was practically a cardinal sin.

“Wait a moment, please! I haven’t changed yet, I’ll be right there. Thanks!”

With that, Lin Qi grabbed her performance outfit and dashed to the dressing room. It was also cool gray, but perhaps because she leaned more toward an alpha image, hers was a tailored suit. After swapping out the pink skirt, she felt refreshed.

In her past life’s survival show, the uniform had been gray. Every time she wore it, fans would call her “husband.” Between that and her personality, Lin Qi had never been fond of pink.

Hurrying onto the stage, a wave of familiarity washed over her. It had been so long since she last stood under the spotlight. After transitioning into acting, Lin Qi had often immersed herself in film school to hone her craft. Originally, after filming that day, she was supposed to be a guest performer at a concert, hosted by one of her former teammates before their group disbanded. All eight of them had been invited to make a grand appearance.

Something she had looked forward to for so long, and now, thinking back, it still filled her with regret. It wasn’t as dramatic as the toxic solo fans made it out to be. In truth, the nine of them had gotten along quite harmoniously. Though there had been arguments, they had also formed genuine friendships. But before she could attend that day, she found herself transported to this world.

Standing on stage again, Lin Qi even felt the urge to cry.

Blinking a few times to hold back the tears, she took a couple of deep breaths to steady her erratic breathing. Raising her eyes, she glanced at the staff preparing below the stage, thinking no one would notice her momentary lapse until a hand grasped hers.

It was Jiang Ming, her delicate brows furrowed with concern as she stepped closer. Her warm, soft hands held Lin Qi’s, and the upward glance in her eyes was filled with worry. Her voice, small and gentle, asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I” Nervous for my first time on stage.

The prepared excuse stuck in her throat when faced with such sincere concern. For some reason, Lin Qi didn’t want to lie to Jiang Ming, she simply couldn’t bring herself to.

“Can I tell you after tomorrow’s performance?”

“Does this involve your secret too?”

“Mm.”

Jiang Ming nodded, mimicking zipping her lips shut with a reassuring smile. “I won’t ask again.”

“Alright, let’s start the rehearsal.”

Lin Qi had opened her mouth to say something though she wasn’t sure what, but seeing Jiang Ming’s curved eyes, she felt she ought to speak now. Unfortunately, the rehearsal was about to begin.

After seven days of practice, the dance had become muscle memory, and Lin Qi moved with effortless ease. As a seasoned idol, she knew how captivating this relaxed demeanor could be for fans, so she leaned into it.

The rehearsal went smoothly, and after a collective bow, everyone dispersed.

Backstage once more, the girls took turns changing into their uniform skirts, leaving only Lin Qi and Jiang Ming behind.

“You go first.”

Not catching Jiang Ming’s blush, Lin Qi pulled her phone from the inner pocket of her uniform skirt. Come to think of it, she hadn’t checked it in days.

She glanced at the rankings after all, the voting would close at 8 p.m. tonight, and it was already past 7:50.

She was no longer in first place; another trainee from Class A had taken the spot. But she understood. After the incident with Zhu Yu, uninformed viewers had branded her as a bully. Lin Qi didn’t mind, though. The truth would come out once the episode aired.

What surprised her was Jiang Ming still lingering in the 70s. Lin Qi frowned. That didn’t make sense. With 200,000 votes, she should have broken into the top 60, right?

A carton of milk cost 60 yuan and came with nine voting tickets. 200,000 could buy 30,000 votes, and with various promotional events, it should have totaled nearly 40,000. She had checked, the gaps between ranks in the lower tiers were small, usually just over a thousand votes. 40,000 should have pushed Jiang Ming into the 50s.

Why is Jiang Ming still at the back now??

Before Lin Qi could even feel disappointed about not being first, her mind was already consumed with worry, what if Jiang Ming got eliminated again?

It was all the fault of that spoiled, wasteful original owner of this body. With only a little over 200,000 left in the account, how could she compete? If it were her original self, she wouldn’t have hesitated to invest millions.

She could have asked her mother for help, but after all, that wasn’t her real mom. Lin Qi didn’t want to owe too much.

After scrolling for a while, the unlucky girl, her vision darkening with frustration, finally noticed that the admin of the fan support group had sent her multiple private messages. She had assumed they were just fans crying out for the “rich lady” and ignored them. Only now, while bored and deleting messages, did she realize.

“Hello, due to the Minor Protection Act, we need proof of your adult status before we can use your funds.”

The message was sent that same evening.

Hiss

Surely the admin wouldn’t be that inflexible, right?

Could it be that her 200,000 was still untouched??

Just as she was about to message and ask, the dressing room door opened. Jiang Ming peeked out, her face completely flushed. “Lin Qi, can you help me?”

Putting her phone down, Lin Qi, still caught up in her frustration, didn’t even think about what Jiang Ming might need help with.

Only after entering the dressing room did she realize how stifling the air was. Her usually thick-skinned self suddenly felt shy.

“W-what’s wrong?”

Jiang Ming lowered her head, brushing her hair to one side before turning around to expose the back of her slender, fair neck. Her voice was soft, carrying an inexplicable tremor. “I tied this into a dead knot.”

Clearing her throat, Lin Qi’s gaze flitted nervously, unsure where to look whether at Jiang Ming’s neck or the expanse of bare back below.

“You can’t untie it either?”

As Jiang Ming began to turn back, Lin Qi quickly reached out to touch her slender neck, not wanting her to see how red her own face had become.

The skin felt as soft as clouds, smooth and delicate like fine silk. In the brief moment of hesitation, Lin Qi could practically see the flush spreading from fair to rosy across Jiang Ming’s skin.

So Jiang Ming was embarrassed too.

This realization eased her tension a little, and her focused gaze finally settled on the tangled strings.

It was a bow. Probably because Jiang Ming couldn’t see, she had pulled the wrong strand, threading it through the loop of the bow, resulting in the current mess.

It wasn’t hard to undo. Though Lin Qi wasn’t the sharpest, her hands were deft, and she had it untied in no time.

This, however, caught Jiang Ming off guard. She had been using the back of her hand to cool her increasingly warm cheeks when suddenly, the tightly fastened knot at her back loosened. The long dress slipped downward, and the sudden lack of restraint left her chest feeling exposed and chilly.

Thankfully, her reflexes were quick. Jiang Ming immediately pressed a hand to her chest, her face, neck, and ears now burning so red they might as well be on fire. Tears of embarrassment welled in her eyes as she hastily turned and pushed the still-dazed Lin Qi out of the dressing room.

The entire time, she didn’t dare lift her head, her entire body steaming like a cooked crab.

Heavens knew how desperate she had been in that dressing room, how much hesitation and shame she had battled before finally mustering the courage to ask Lin Qi for help. Exposing the back of her neck to someone else, Jiang Ming had never even imagined doing such a thing. Even though she hadn’t presented yet, that area… that area wasn’t meant to be seen by others!

Pushed out, Lin Qi was still in a daze. Damn, what had she just seen?

The moment the long skirt fell away, how could she have expected that just as she was about to say “done,” she’d catch a glimpse of the faint outline revealed beneath soft, rounded curves that looked utterly inviting.

Help!

Sinking onto the sofa, she buried her face in her knees, resigned to her fate. She didn’t want to turn into a pervert, but Jiang Ming was just so beautiful. The way she swayed in that long skirt was far more alluring than in her training clothes, and…

Without it, she was downright mesmerizing.

She really wasn’t some kind of degenerate!!

Deeply aware that she couldn’t let her thoughts spiral further, Lin Qi grabbed her phone and started playing The Great Compassion Mantra.

Finally emerging, Jiang Ming, now dressed in a pink uniform skirt still had flushed cheeks but tilted her head in confusion. “What are you listening to?”