Transmigrated into the Villainous Scummy Alpha in a Talent Show Novel - Chapter 50

Amidst the colorful streamers soaring into the sky on stage, the second performance came to a close. An Zizi, clutching the script, announced the final results.

Lin Qi sat in the lounge, her gaze clear as she shook her head at Tan Yi, who was still worried about her. As the one who had been sabotaged, she was actually quite excited. “Look, the Mulan group is up there!”

A vast expanse of deep red appeared on the big screen on stage. Only Jiang Ming, who had thought they wouldn’t win first place, had changed into a milky blue sleeveless dress, revealing her sharp shoulders, slender arms, and long legs. Shyly smiling, she covered her chest with one hand and bowed.

Instantly, the audience erupted into screams. Unsurprisingly, Jiang Ming’s close-up appeared on the screen again.

“Jiang Ming really is beautiful,” Jing Sha sighed beside her.

Lin Qi felt both proud, this was her girl and a little jealous. More and more people were discovering Jiang Ming’s charm. She should be happy, but she couldn’t help feeling afraid.

Then there was Song En’s words earlier, why had she said that if Lin Qi didn’t drop out, this survival show would be ruined?

Did she also know about the contents of the book?

It didn’t seem like it,

Lost in thought, Lin Qi noticed the mud stains on her white pants from the rain earlier. She was usually fastidious about cleanliness, and the discomfort made her subconsciously feel that today wouldn’t bring any good news.

Sure enough, after this ranking announcement, only thirty-five contestants would remain. The show’s host held the script with everyone’s scores already written in it. Staring at the name at the top of the pyramid, he frowned in distress.

Having participated in survival shows before, he could tell at a glance that the rankings were off. But with the script already handed out, could it still be changed?

Starting from 30th place, the names were announced one by one, all the way to 11th, with no major surprises. Lin Qi grew inexplicably nervous and glanced at Jiang Ming beside her. At this point, there were only two possibilities left either barely scraping by near elimination or making it into the debut lineup.

Based on the last ranking, where Jiang Ming had been outside the top 60, it was highly likely she would land between 31st and 35th. But Lin Qi couldn’t help hoping she would make it into the debut group.

After a pause, the host sighed. “Next, we’ll announce 7th place. She is an outstanding performer, a mature idol recognized by all the mentors. This time, she handled unexpected challenges flawlessly. She is…”

Their eyes met. Lin Qi saw the regret in his gaze before hearing, “She is, Lin Qi.”

No applause followed. Amidst the heavy silence, Lin Qi gave Jiang Ming a reassuring smile before stepping toward the opposite pyramid and taking her seat in 7th place.

All the contestants were stunned. In their minds, Lin Qi had always been the undisputed queen, dominating the C-position with skills and visuals that left everyone else in the dust. How could she be 7th?

The host, who valued talent deeply, darkened his expression. After composing himself, he continued, “6th place goes to a contestant who appears cute on the outside but holds immense energy within. Her name has three characters”

“That’s right. Congratulations to Wei Xuanyue! Welcome back to Class A.”

Not particularly happy, Wei Xuanyue walked over to Lin Qi’s side. The two hugged briefly, and Wei Xuanyue, looking at her calm expression, couldn’t hide her indignation. “How could you be 7th?”

“Shh.”

Raising a hand to signal not to say such things, Lin Qi smiled, “Don’t worry. Once this episode airs, I’d like to see how the production team explains it.”

“But by the time this episode airs, we’ll already be at the third ranking announcement. What if the production team rigs the votes to eliminate you?”

“I won’t let them succeed. If Song En wants me eliminated, she’ll have to see if she has the guts.”

This exchange was whispered, so the microphones didn’t pick it up. Meanwhile, the third to fifth places were announced, none of whom were particularly close to Lin Qi.

Next came the 31st to 35th places. Hearts were in throats, but fortunately, Jiang Ming wasn’t among them. Jing Sha ranked 32nd, and Yuan Li 35th both had made it through.

That meant Jiang Ming had to be among the top two, eighth, ninth, or tenth!

Pursing her lips tightly, Lin Qi and Wei Xuanyue grew visibly tense.

“First, let’s announce the eighth place. She shares the same surname as our CEO, though there’s only one contestant with that surname in this competition, right? Song Jin, eighth place. Congratulations.”

Scattered applause broke out as Song Jin shot Lin Qi a smug smile and took her place at the eighth spot. The sheer confidence in her eyes left Lin Qi momentarily stunned. What the hell? She ranked lower than me, what’s there to be proud of?

Wei Xuanyue snorted disdainfully and rolled her eyes. “Hmph, rigging votes so blatantly! What did you promise Song En in return?”

Ignoring Song Jin’s clownish antics, Lin Qi held her breath, focusing on the upcoming rankings.

The ninth-place contestant wasn’t someone she knew well, but the tenth was Tan Yi. Lin Qi grinned and ran down to hug her, patting her shoulder. “Keep it up! Next time, aim for Class A.”

It was Tan Yi’s first time ranking so high, even if it was just the borderline tenth place. Naturally optimistic, she believed she’d earn the pink training uniform next time. But as for their captain,

Her smile fading, Tan Yi frowned at Lin Qi, her big eyes filled with concern. “Captain, you won’t get rigged out next time, will you? What did CEO Song say today?”

Genuinely happy for Tan Yi and for Jiang Ming, who was now guaranteed to be in the top two, Lin Qi’s peach-blossom eyes crinkled with joy. She slung an arm around Tan Yi’s shoulders and guided her toward the tenth-place spot. “Don’t worry, I’m debuting with you. I’ll still be your captain!”

“Promise me, if you’re not the captain, I won’t accept anyone else!”

Finally, it was time to announce the first and second places. Only Jiang Ming and the other contestant Lin Qi had defeated in the name-tag challenge remained. It was almost tragic, the latter had been second last time, only to be overtaken by Lin Qi. This time, Lin Qi still hoped she’d remain second.

After all, who wouldn’t want the girl they liked to take first place?

Clasping her hands in prayer, Lin Qi’s hearing seemed to dull. Did the host just say, “Next, we’ll announce first place. She participated in this week’s episode but had her name tag torn off by contestant Lin Qi, “?

Torn off by me? That would be the second-place contestant.

Wait no! Jiang Ming also had her tag torn off by me in the end!

Chuckling wryly, Lin Qi faced the camera trained on her. “They both got torn off by me, okay?”

The host laughed too, dropping the suspense. “Our first-place contestant couldn’t even speak Chinese when she first arrived here, ”

“Then, congratulations to Jiang Ming for defying fate and turning the tables. Not only have you survived the auditing student competition, but you’ve also claimed the top spot. Congratulations!”

The sudden burst of confetti startled Jiang Ming. Dazed, she stood up and saw the show’s host gesturing for her to step up to the microphone and say a few words. Gripping the mic tightly, she glanced across the “mountain” at Lin Qi, who was grinning carelessly, seemingly overjoyed for her.

That only strengthened her resolve to speak her mind.

“First, I want to thank all the fans who voted for me. Thank you for helping me reach this position. But there’s one more thing, I don’t think Lin Qi deserves to be in seventh place. My Chinese, dancing, and singing were all taught by her. She stayed up countless nights practicing with me, and I truly believe her skill and dedication make her worthy of first place.”

Pursing her lips, Jiang Ming continued, “I hope the next top spot will be hers. Thank you.”

After a long, deep bow, Jiang Ming walked toward the pyramid stage. The first thing she saw was Lin Qi standing in the middle, arms wide open to welcome her. A sudden lump formed in her throat, her nose tingled with sourness, and even her eyes began to sting.

Throwing herself into Lin Qi’s embrace, Jiang Ming sobbed uncontrollably, her voice trembling with hope. “Will my dad see this? Will he see me take first place?”

Understanding that she wasn’t really seeking an answer but reassurance, Lin Qi gently stroked her slender, bony back, her voice soft yet firm. “He will. Your dad will definitely be proud of you.”

From then on,

As soon as she stepped inside, the incessant buzzing of her phone caught Lin Qi’s attention. When she checked, damn nearly a hundred missed calls, all from her mom.

She quickly called back, and her mom picked up instantly. A furious voice exploded through the receiver. “Qiqi, I’m so sorry you had to go through this! How dare that bastard Song En rig the votes against you? I was in the audience smashing the voting button for you, I saw everyone around me voting for you too. How could she dare place you fourth?”

“You came to watch my performance? How was it? Did you like it?”

“It was great! My daughter looks good in anything tall, long legs wait! Don’t change the subject! Qiqi, what did Song En say to you today?”

Her diversion tactic had failed. Lin Qi sighed. She really didn’t want everyone around her worrying about her. Even on the way back, Jiang Ming, who had just won first place, wasn’t happy, she spent the entire time cursing Song En and the show’s production team, using every negative Chinese word she’d ever learned.

Thank goodness she hadn’t taught the female lead any of the “national treasures” of profanity, or the sweet, soft-spoken girl might have been spewing curses today.

“Mom, Song En apologized to me. She said she didn’t want to rig the votes either but had no choice she had to eliminate me.”

She decided to be honest with her mom. No point crying about her grievances to her too. Lin Qi felt helpless. She could handle this herself after all, she already had a good guess about what that “no choice” entailed.

“What kind of ‘no choice’ could that bastard have? She just wanted to eliminate you! Our Lin family and the Song family have always been business rivals. What ‘no choice’ does she need to kick you out? The moment she got control, she went after you? Disgusting!”

“Mom, calm down. I’m really fine. Don’t think of me as so weak. If Song En wants to eliminate me, she’d need the capability first. Go check the public opinion now, it must be exploding. Even if they said the audience at the performance couldn’t leak anything, with so many people, how could they possibly keep everyone quiet?”

“I just feel wronged on your behalf! You practiced dancing for so long, only to get rigged out here. Mom’s heart aches for you.”

Hearing the near-tears tone on the other end, Lin Qi couldn’t help but find it somewhat amusing. Who was the one really feeling wronged here?

“Alright, alright, I’m fine. Don’t worry. Why don’t we celebrate Jiang Ming’s happiness instead? She got first place today!”

“Ah, I know your ‘wife’ is amazing.”

Quickly covering the receiver, Lin Qi pretended the signal was bad and hung up. She glanced at the clueless Jiang Ming and sighed in relief, genuinely afraid her mom’s loud voice might expose her hidden feelings.

But since Song En was so despicable, why couldn’t she just take her place?