Transmigrated into the Villainous Scummy Alpha in a Talent Show Novel - Chapter 39

Tan Yi had already put on her headphones and started grooving to the music, while Jiang Ming frowned in confusion, turning to Lin Qi to ask, “So, what words are we supposed to say?”

A mischievous grin spread across Lin Qi’s face as she replied, “Words to describe Wei Xuanyue.”

All seven remaining trainees, except Wei Xuanyue herself wore expressions of sudden understanding. Soon, words like “sweetheart,” “adorable,” “talented,” “chatty,” and “kind-hearted” filled the program team’s cue board.

After the group had listed around thirty words, Lin Qi, eager to stir up even more fun, glanced at the exasperated “main character” and loudly added, “Wei Xuanyue!”

“Time’s up! Tan Yi, you can take off your headphones now.”

Despite the announcement, Tan Yi remained oblivious, still nodding along to the beat. The director sighed and instructed, “Sound team, cut the music.”

Finally removing her headphones, Tan Yi remarked, “That song was pretty good poppop ”

The PD raised a megaphone and announced, “The topic was: words to describe someone you like.”

That single sentence left Tan Yi stunned. What had she just been competing for? This question would’ve been perfect for Lin Qi! What did “someone you like” have to do with her high school Chinese score of 130?

Rubbing the back of her head in frustration, Tan Yi shot a pleading look at the seven trainees across from her. All six except Wei Xuanyue, were frantically signaling her with their eyes. Bewildered, she tentatively ventured, ” Wei Xuanyue?”

“Correct, one point.”

“Then this is easy!”

Tan Yi grinned, brimming with confidence. “Not the sharpest tool in the shed.”

In an instant, alarms blared. Caught off guard, all seven trainees plummeted half a meter as the floor panels beneath them gave way, landing squarely on acupressure mats. A chorus of agonized screams erupted.

Her face scrunched up in pain, Lin Qi clutched her suffering feet with one hand while tremblingly pointing at Tan Yi with the other. “And this is your 130-score brilliance?”

Suddenly remembering Jiang Ming beside her, Lin Qi hunched over and hobbled off the acupressure zone. She glanced at the girl, who was biting her lip with a furrowed brow, and asked, “You okay?”

Shaking her head, Jiang Ming muttered, “I’m fine,” but quickly stepped off the spiky mats, her face twisted in obvious discomfort.

As the six helped each other put their shoes back on, a figure swiftly approached Tan Yi. It was Wei Xuanyue, wearing a deceptively “kind” smile as she dragged the taller girl back onto the now-reset floor panels. “Director, throw her down once.”

The suggestion was met with unanimous approval from the trainee team, and the PD nodded to the props crew with a chuckle.

In a flash, Tan Yi’s guilty expression was replaced by sheer agony as she writhed on the acupressure mats. Rolling over only made her back ache too, leaving her curled up on the ground, looking as if her soul had left her body.

Once she’d slipped her shoes back on, Wei Xuanyue snorted. “Serves you right. You’re the one who’s ‘not the sharpest tool in the shed.'”

Naturally, the resident MC team won in the end. Rubbing the tip of her nose, Lin Qi watched as Gu Nian’er collected their team’s clue. Only then did she realize everyone had received one were they all different?

PD chimed in at the right moment, “People with different identities will see different clues. Undercover agents will see clues about the other team’s undercover members, which you’ll need to find a way to relay to the opposing side. Those who are genuinely part of this team will see clues about your own team’s undercover agents.”

For Jiang Ming, who grew up in Japan, this sounded like a tongue twister. Her expression mirrored the same confusion she had when first learning about her identity, and she instinctively turned to Lin Qi for clarity.

Leaning close to Jiang Ming’s ear, Lin Qi whispered, “What the director means is that undercover agents like us receive clues about the other team’s undercover members. Our true identities aren’t part of the MC team, right? If we get clues, they’ll point to the MC team’s undercover agents, and we’ll need to pass them on to someone in the MC team we believe isn’t an undercover agent. Meanwhile, the other trainees will receive clues about us.”

Jiang Ming nodded as if suddenly enlightened, lowering her head in thought and murmuring softly, “So that’s what the director meant.”

“Exactly,” Lin Qi confirmed.

With a meaningful glance at Lin Qi, Jiang Ming turned to her cameraman, clasped her hands together, and smiled apologetically. “Lin Qi, I’m sorry.”

Unaware of all this, Lin Qi was still nervously watching the MC team members, who were silently examining their clues. She was genuinely tense, okay?

Cheng Wu, clearly a seasoned veteran, raised his hand and asked, “Then why don’t we just compare our clues? The undercover agents’ clues would be different from ours.”

PD, who had already anticipated this question, grinned mischievously. “The undercover agents know your clues after all, they’re about themselves. Of course they’d know.”

Arriving at the second location, Lin Qi was speechless. Well, well, well the ejection seat. A classic. So two out of the three things she’d guessed yesterday “acupressure mats, ejection seats, and name tag ripping” had turned out to be correct?

“Welcome to the second task!” announced the PD. “There are seven seats above. The regular MC team and the trainee team will split into groups of three and four. One person sits on the seat while another stands in front to answer questions. If the answer is correct, the next person takes a turn. If it’s wrong, the seat will eject immediately. Each group gets two chances, and you must switch roles. The team with the last person remaining on the seat wins.”

So both of them would have to take a turn getting ejected?

Lin Qi had initially planned to take both ejections herself after all, she’d played similar games in her past life. The sudden jolt was thrilling, though improper positioning could lead to injuries.

Frowning, Lin Qi said, “I’ll go first.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, don’t worry.”

Nodding at Jiang Ming, who looked concerned, Lin Qi went to change into water-appropriate attire, a white short-sleeved shirt and black shorts, both made of cooling fabric. To prevent any wardrobe malfunctions, the crew had even prepared tight-fitting long sleeves and pants for her to wear underneath.

Sitting on the ejection seat, she let out a long sigh. Glancing back at the massive pool behind her, she resignedly placed her hands on her knees.

“Alright, first group: Tan Yi will answer, Wei Xuanyue will prepare. The question is: What is the official name of your CP?”

Tan Yi’s already not-too-bright eyes widened in shock. “What?!”

The PD chuckled and repeated, “Your CP name.”

“Wait, I’ve been locked up in training camp for a month how would I know our CP name?”

An Zizi was currently sitting on the flying chair, smiling, but her eyes held a dangerous glint. “You should think carefully do you want your teammate to fall, or should I just confiscate your phone?”

With no way to argue her way out, Tan Yi waved her hands helplessly. “Teacher An, I really don’t have a phone. Wei Xuanyue, you go down.”

The person sitting on the chair, however, hesitated for a long time, wanting to speak up she had a phone! She knew it!

In the end, Wei Xuanyue tightly shut her eyes, placed her hands on her knees, straightened her back, and, with a loud bang from the machine, plunged into the pool with the resolve of a martyr.

Emerging from the water like a drowned rat, she spat out two mouthfuls of water and pushed the hair plastered to her face back. Wrapped in a towel handed to her by a staff member, Wei Xuanyue glared at Tan Yi and said, “Go sit the hell down.”

Knowing she was in the wrong, Tan Yi helped brush aside the strands of hair clinging to Wei Xuanyue’s temples. For once, the two shared a rare moment of warmth, both of their ears turning red.

“Ahem, I’ll go change.”

Being a happy spectator was truly a joy. Lin Qi wore a grin as she watched the drama unfold. She got up from her chair and leaned close to Jiang Ming’s ear. “I think there’s something between those two.”

A third pair of ears turned red. Jiang Ming shrank back slightly but nodded. “They do seem to care about appearances.”

“Hahaha, the word is ambiguity.”

“Ah, close enough.”

By then, Tan Yi had changed her clothes and obediently taken her seat on the flying chair. The PD resumed the game’s proceedings. Lin Qi and Jiang Ming still had two groups ahead of them. One by one, they were launched, and soon, it was their turn.

Before the director could speak, Lin Qi quickly interjected, “Director, Jiang Ming just started learning Chinese. Can you make the question a little easier?”

“Sure.”

Relieved, Lin Qi propped her hands on her knees only to hear the PD rattle off a tongue-twister at breakneck speed:

“Nan Nan has a lan lan, lan lan holds a pan pan, pan pan carries a wan wan, wan wan contains a fan fan. Nan Nan flips the lan lan, lan lan knocks over the pan pan, pan pan smashes the wan wan, wan wan spills the fan fan. Jiang Ming, what is inside the basket? No hints from others!”

Jiang Ming had been listening intently, but the rapid-fire repetition of “Nan Nan,” “lan lan,” “pan pan,” “wan wan,” and “fan fan” left her utterly bewildered. To make matters worse, the director’s enunciation was unclear, making her feel like she was sitting for a Chinese proficiency exam.

“Fan fan?”

Her tentative answer had barely left her lips when Lin Qi, sitting behind her, was abruptly launched into the air. The advantage of being agile was that she could still turn her head mid-air to gauge how far she was from the shore, lest she be catapulted straight onto dry land.

Water rushed into her nose as Lin Qi resurfaced. She wiped her face with one hand and swept the wet hair clinging to her cheeks behind her ears.

Despite her disheveled state, Gu Nian’er couldn’t help but swoon. “Wow, Lin Qi, you should fall in again. You look really good like this.”

Lin Qi chuckled helplessly. “Thanks for that.”

Before any staff could approach, Jiang Ming was already by her side with a towel, gently drying Lin Qi’s dripping hair. What Gu Nian’er had said for the sake of the show turned out to be true.

Water had only enhanced Lin Qi’s features, her face looked fresher, her delicate features appearing even more radiant after the drenching. But the most striking detail was her eyelashes long, curled, and dotted with droplets, making her peach-blossom eyes seem even more tender and captivating.

The same went for her clothes once soaked, they clung to her body, making her shoulders appear slightly broader, her waist even slimmer, and her legs even longer. Jiang Ming helped wrap a towel around her, unwilling to let others see Lin Qi in such a seductive state.

“Sorry, I really couldn’t understand.”

“It’s fine. If the director threw a Japanese tongue twister at me, I wouldn’t get it either.”

Grabbing another towel to dry her hair, Lin Qi stood in the answer zone with her hair still wet. Her waterlogged brain worked surprisingly well, and not wanting Jiang Ming to get dunked, she set aside her undercover identity and answered the questions earnestly, becoming the last one left on the stage.

She also had Wei Xuanyue to thank for that. After the director had already asked her, “Xiao Wei, can you hear clearly?” Wei dramatically let out an exaggerated “Huh?” and single-handedly eliminated Tan Yi.

Climbing out of the pool in a disheveled state, Tan Yi gritted his teeth. “Having you is truly my blessing.”

“Congratulations to the trainee team for winning the ejection seat challenge! Please come forward one by one to collect your clue cards.”

After receiving the clue, Lin Qi frowned tightly. What the heck is this?

On the way to the final name-tag elimination location, Lin Qi and Jiang Ming sat in the car, the atmosphere momentarily silent.

Jiang Ming pursed her lips and asked, “Who do you suspect is the undercover in the MC team?”

“I really don’t know about this clue. Do you have any suspicions?”

Averting her.