Transmigrated into the Villainous Scummy Alpha in a Talent Show Novel - Chapter 46

In an instant, the spacious classroom was suddenly packed with people, twenty-two individuals in total, all exchanging bewildered glances. An Zizi and Lin Qi locked eyes, silently asking each other, What’s going on?

“These are your seniors. I asked them to be your backup dancers.”

Lin Qi didn’t need An Zizi’s explanation to figure it out, there were exactly seven of them, matching their group. But they had all brought friends along, which complicated things…

Xia Lian casually flipped her hair. “Seems like we came at the wrong time? The little ones already found a solution, huh?”

Another problem arose. Lin Qi scanned the seven seniors standing at the door, all members of last season’s debut girl group, each exuding their own charm. But now, they had already practiced extensively with their friends.

“All contestants who aren’t part of The Last Waltz group, please head back and rest. Before returning to camp, I contacted the factory and provided the measurements of these seven seniors. So, my apologies.”

An Zizi bowed awkwardly to the seven contestants who had come to help but were now left speechless. She had only been venting to Xia Lian about the twists and turns of the second performance when, unexpectedly, Xia Lian had rushed over with her sisters to save the day.

Lin Qi also sighed. “Sorry for wasting your time. Since the seniors are here to help, you should all go back and rest. Prepare well for tomorrow’s performance.”

Soon, the classroom was down to fifteen people again.

The seniors seemed to have already chosen their partners. Watching Xia Lian stride toward her without hesitation, Lin Qi felt a sudden pang of nervousness. After all, this woman had been crushing on An Zizi even before joining the survival show. Years had passed, and she had finally become An Zizi’s close friend transcending alpha and omega dynamics only for Lin Qi to swoop in first.

Lin Qi was genuinely afraid Xia Lian might suddenly slap her across the face.

“You’re Xiao Lin, right?”

Lin Qi quickly nodded obediently. “Yes, Senior Xia.”

“No need to be so formal. Just call me Xia Xia.”

“N-no, I’d rather call you Senior Xia.”

After some back-and-forth, Lin Qi caught An Zizi’s slightly icy gaze. Hiss Was she jealous of Lin Qi or Xia Lian?

“Se-Senior Xia, let’s start practicing.”

Her stutter was just from nerves, but Xia Lian took a step forward, her bewitching fox-like eyes glinting with amusement. “Xia Xia Senior that sounds nice too. More intimate than just Senior Xia.”

Help!

Lin Qi had never encountered someone like this before. In her past life’s entertainment industry, there were those who played the seductive game, but none had ever targeted her!

“I was just stuttering, Senior Xia.”

How boring.

Xia Lian shook her head in disappointment and raised a hand. “Just teasing. Come on, let’s dance.”

As soon as Lin Qi stepped closer, a rich floral fragrance filled her nose. She barely managed to stop herself, keeping a safe distance as she raised her hand to clasp Xia Lian’s. Her other hand hovered lightly over Xia Lian’s slender waist without touching.

This was a stunning but ferocious flower.

Besides, Xia Lian already had someone she liked. Lin Qi had to maintain proper girl code!

“You’re afraid to touch me?”

Their eyes met Xia Lian’s fox-like, smiling gaze somewhat resembled Jiang Ming’s. But while Xia Lian was a millennia-old nine-tailed fox, Jiang Ming was a naive snow fox, pure and innocent, always flustered by Lin Qi’s teasing.

Nothing like Xia Lian, who left her speechless instead.

“It’s not that I don’t dare, we’re both idols, we have to maintain some distance!”

“Then why aren’t you keeping your distance with Jiang Ming?”

For a moment, Lin Qi fell silent, her movements pausing as her gaze flickered uncertainly. “Jiang Ming is different from you. She’s my roommate.”

Before Xia Lian could say something else that crossed the line, An Zizi suddenly turned on the speakers. “Both of you, stop. Lin Qi, come with me.”

Lin Qi’s throat tightened involuntarily, her head aching. Why was she being singled out? Probably because of Xia Lian.

They stepped into the dimly lit hallway. It was already past midnight, and Lin Qi, whose internal clock was precise, felt a wave of drowsiness. She stood obediently in front of An Zizi, waiting for the lecture.

“Xia Lian is an omega. You need to keep your distance.”

The cold words left Lin Qi momentarily confused about whose interests An Zizi was really considering.

Then, An Zizi spoke again, her voice laced with suppressed emotion. “Why did you help Xia Xia deal with that rigged situation? She’s not someone you can get involved with.”

Wow, could it be that Teacher An already has feelings for Senior Xia?

After a brief hesitation, Lin Qi ventured, “May I ask what position you’re speaking from?”

“Xia Xia is my best friend. Of course, I have to help her clear away the trash.”

Once again being called “trash,” Lin Qi could only nod helplessly. “Rest assured, Senior Xia’s best friend I’ll only ever like Jiang Ming in this lifetime.”

She emphasized the words “best friend” heavily. As she spoke, Lin Qi noticed the confusion on An Zizi’s face, reminding her of her own past self, who had once been unable to sort out her feelings for Jiang Ming. Seizing the initiative, she patted An Zizi’s shoulder, they were the same height and said, “Think it through. Don’t regret it later.”

She walked back to the classroom first. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw An Zizi still frozen in place, her expression unreadable in the darkness. But under the light spilling from the classroom, Lin Qi could see her clenched fists.

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep my distance from Senior Xia.”

By the time dawn broke, the seven trainees and seven idols had practiced to perfection. True to their status as debuted seniors, Lin Qi could feel their polished professionalism, Xia Lian was even more skilled than Lin Qi had been in her past life after debuting.

After finishing their dance practice, the Last Waltz group bowed deeply to the seniors who had come to their rescue. Having experienced idols as backup dancers had undeniably elevated their stage presence.

An Zizi informed them that the wedding dresses would arrive before the performance and dismissed them to get some rest in their dorms.

Rubbing her stiff arms, Lin Qi realized how much harder it was dancing with an actual person compared to a mannequin. After a whole night of waltzing, her arms felt like they could be amputated.

She had changed out of her suit into training clothes, but after patting herself down, she couldn’t find her key. No way did I really forget it?!

Remembering the dim light outside, she guessed it was barely six in the morning. There was no way she could wake Jiang Ming up to open the door not when she had a performance tonight.

Sighing, Lin Qi simply sat down by the door, leaning against it as she closed her eyes, planning to catch a quick nap like this.

The moment she leaned back, footsteps approached. Suddenly, the support behind her vanished. Lin Qi caught herself on the cold floor, her gaze landing on a pair of slender, graceful legs.

“You’re back?”

“Wait you weren’t asleep?”

Dazed, Lin Qi stood up and stared at Jiang Ming, who seemed quite energetic and even a little cheerful. She was dumbfounded. “You didn’t stay up all night, did you?”

“I saw your keys in the bathroom while I was showering. I wanted to bring them to you, but I was afraid of interrupting your training, so I just waited for you to come back.”

Lin Qi took a deep look at Jiang Ming. Under those beautiful fox-like eyes were faint dark circles, yet she was smiling, wearing an expression that seemed to say, “Aren’t I amazing?”

How silly.

Tears welled up in her eyes. Apart from her parents, no one had ever cared for her like this. Lin Qi turned her head to hide her reddened eyes and hurried into the dorm. She wanted to speak but found her voice choked with emotion.

As she passed Jiang Ming, she suddenly heard a sniff. “What’s that smell?”

Then, a head leaned in close to her neck. Jiang Ming gripped the training uniform on Lin Qi’s shoulders and suspiciously sniffed around. Sure enough, the once-clean, gentle woody fragrance was almost entirely gone, replaced by an overwhelmingly strong floral scent.

It was bold and seductive, definitely not the kind of scent Lin Qi would like.

“What smell?”

Blinking a few times to hold back her tears, Lin Qi curiously tugged at her collar and sniffed. It was a familiar scent one she had smelled for so long that she’d nearly grown immune to it. But in this new space…

Good grief, wasn’t this Xia Lian’s perfume?

Though it smelled nice, it was far too overpowering for her taste, not her usual preference for minimalist, understated scents.

Lin Qi lowered her head and met Jiang Ming’s suddenly frosty gaze. For some reason, she felt inexplicably guilty. Why did she feel like some scoundrel caught red-handed by her long-suffering wife after fooling around outside?

“Wait, let me explain.”

The warm atmosphere had completely vanished. Jiang Ming sat in the chair by the desk, crossing her legs indignantly and folding her arms, waiting for Lin Qi’s excuses.

“I was practicing dancing, right? Xia Lian, Senior Xia is my backup dancer. This is her perfume.”

Jiang Ming nodded, but her eyes grew colder, her smiling face hardening. She lifted her gaze, her sharp stare piercing Lin Qi, who was biting her lip and looking uneasy. “Hmm.”

Just a “hmm”?

Lin Qi swallowed hard, her heart pounding nervously. She forced an awkward laugh. “I really didn’t touch her. When we were dancing, I didn’t even put my hands on her waist. But her scent is so strong, just holding hands was enough to leave this much.”

One sat while the other stood, the scene resembling an interrogation. All that was missing was a keyboard for Lin Qi to kneel on.

Jiang Ming actually smirked, raising an eyebrow. “Holding hands?”

Yikes.

Another landmine.

“Well, it was part of the choreography. It’s not like I wanted to hold someone else’s hand.”

Jiang Ming let out a cold laugh, flipping through a dictionary with a dismissive hum. “Seems to me you didn’t just want to hold hands but also wrap your arms around someone’s waist.”

“No, I really didn’t ”

Mid-sentence, Lin Qi suddenly felt dizzy, her legs wobbling. She barely managed to steady herself by grabbing the edge of the bed.

No amount of frustration could outweigh her concern for Lin Qi, who had just been discharged from the hospital. Jiang Ming immediately set the dictionary aside and rushed to her side, flustered. “What’s wrong? Is it because you didn’t sleep?”

It definitely wasn’t put on. In that moment, Lin Qi actually felt a pang in her heart. Pressing a hand to her chest, her face turned pale. “Maybe it’s from lack of sleep combined with intense exercise.”

“I’m sorry, I,I was just unhappy. I didn’t want you to hold someone else’s hand.”

Hearing this pitiful apology, Lin Qi looked down happily at the person pouting, who seemed somewhat aggrieved. “Are you jealous?”

“Jealous?”

With a helpless smile, Lin Qi remembered that Jiang Ming wasn’t familiar with such expressions. She stood up and went to the wardrobe to fetch her pajamas. “Being jealous means you like me so much that you can’t stand seeing me close to others.”

At these words, Jiang Ming reacted like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on, immediately unable to stay still. She quickly ran to her bed and dived under the covers in a second. “I’m sleepy! Goodnight!”