Transmigrated into the Villainous Scummy Alpha in a Talent Show Novel - Chapter 56

The scene after the evening concert disbanded.

The suspended stage was surrounded by a ring of audience members. Backstage, Lin Qi listened to the synchronized cheers of the fans and felt a pang of nostalgia. She actually quite enjoyed holding concerts, being able to meet so many fans who adored her, seeing their support colors merge into a sea of stars.

She changed into the flowing white ancient-style costume she would wear for the performance. That afternoon, after waking up, she had already borrowed money from Xia Lian to buy a phone and even thoughtfully used Xia Lian’s ID to register a SIM card. Sitting in the waiting room, Lin Qi chatted with the other contestants on the surface, but inside, she was eagerly anticipating Jiang Ming’s reaction.

After all, stuck in the closed-off training camp, Lin Qi genuinely had no idea what Jiang Ming might lack. A phone seemed like the safest bet.

With a phone, Jiang Ming could easily contact her family it was probably the most useful thing for her right now.

Still exhausted, Lin Qi yawned tiredly, crossing her legs as she leaned back on the sofa, intending to take a quick nap.

By the time she woke up again, it was just before their performance of Drunk. Half-asleep, she was shaken awake by the “eternal second-place” contestant, her dazed peach-blossom eyes blinking as the Jiang Ming from her dream morphed into the reality before her.

Stretching as she stood up, Lin Qi asked, “What? Is it our turn soon?”

“Yeah, get ready.”

Standing on the darkened stage, Lin Qi initially planned to do as she had the day before, slip an arm around Xia Lian’s waist. But for some reason, she felt a gaze piercing into her, sharp as a feather firm and cutting at first glance, yet carrying an underlying softness.

What the hell?

Was it because of the rumors between her and Xia Lian? Did the fans want to murder her?

But that didn’t feel right either. How could the gaze of a solo stan be cold on the surface yet warm underneath?

The stage lights brightened. Xia Lian, having just danced for over an hour, was slightly out of breath as she looped an arm around Lin Qi’s neck, sensing something off. “What’s wrong?”

“Not sure. It just feels… weird.”

From the stage, the audience seats only revealed the occasional flicker of glow sticks, the lights obscuring every face. Lin Qi scanned the crowd one by one but ultimately chalked it up to her own overthinking.

It couldn’t be. There was no way Jiang Ming was here.

Despite reassuring herself, her throat tightened nervously. With a loose hold on Xia Lian’s waist, she began the performance of Drunk.

Nine pairs of seemingly perfect matches danced gracefully, their flowing white costumes painting an ethereal scene, the red veils clashing beautifully against the white, making them stand out even more.

The choreography wasn’t particularly intimate, just an embrace at the start, a moment where Lin Qi had to firmly grip Xia Lian’s waist to spin her mid-air, and finally, holding her as they descended to the floor.

Alarms blared incessantly in her mind. One part of her brain tried to rationalize that the dance was perfectly normal, nothing to worry about. Yet another part, as if split in two, warned her that even a simple embrace was something Jiang Ming shouldn’t see.

Before, she might have deliberately provoked Jiang Ming, wanting her to feel jealous and realize her own feelings. But now that everything was out in the open, Lin Qi saw no reason to hurt Jiang Ming with such things. The girl was timid and insecure, who knew what overstimulation might do? What if it backfired and drove her away?

By the end, as Xia Lian lay on the ground, Lin Qi still felt that gaze lingering on her, unwavering.

So strange…

With a gloomy expression, Lin Qi stepped off the stage. It wasn’t until the other trainees gathered around to ask what was wrong that she managed a faint smile and said, “I’m fine, just a little tired.”

However, the mystery was solved during the final farewell ceremony.

“Actually, besides our juniors, we have another very important guest here today. That would be our President Song.”

Xia Lian smiled as she cued the next part of the program, and the big screen displayed Song En in the audience gentle-eyed, tall, and poised, no wonder she was dubbed the “Diamond Bachelor” among CEOs.

But it wasn’t Song En who caught Lin Qi’s attention. It was the girl sitting beside her, her face cold and expressionless. Those delicate features were all too familiar, especially those tightly pressed lips that Lin Qi had tasted a few times before…

Why was Jiang Ming here? And next to Song En, no less?

Possessiveness flared up once again. Lin Qi, already sensitive about Jiang Ming’s interactions with Song En, felt her face grow cold. On one hand, she worried about whether Jiang Ming had seen her entire performance with Xia Lian. On the other, she wondered if the female lead and her official love interest had been spending time together without her knowledge.

What if they’d developed feelings…?

“Lin Qi, what’s wrong? You look really pale.”

The trainees beside her expressed concern, but Lin Qi could only shake her head weakly, too drained to even say, “I’m fine.” Torn between guilt and fear, her heart ached faintly from the conflicting emotions.

There was something almost laughable about it, though. Xia Lian, who had been so confident in front of Lin Qi, also looked flustered when she saw Jiang Ming’s icy expression on the big screen. Her smile froze for a moment before she quickly had staff escort Song En onto the stage.

Lin Qi didn’t have the energy to mock Xia Lian now. She also recalled the surprised look on the salesperson’s face when they bought their phones together, had their little shopping trip added more fuel to the rumors?

Had Jiang Ming seen it?

That photo of her opening the hotel door for Xia Lian.

A dull pain throbbed at her temples. The audience must have recognized Jiang Ming despite her disguise, because the venue erupted into chaos. Worried about a potential stampede harming the delicate girl, Xia Lian personally stepped down to bring Jiang Ming onto the stage.

The screams grew louder. Lin Qi bit her lower lip, watching as Jiang Ming smiled faintly. She relaxed slightly, if Jiang Ming could still smile while being led by Xia Lian, she probably didn’t know about the “midnight dance practice” incident.

Talk about forgetting friends for a pretty face. It turned out the three masked people beside Jiang Ming were Wei Xuanyue, Tan Yi, and Yuan Li.

Lin Qi hadn’t recognized any of them.

“Huh? They came too?”

“Yeah, it’s such a shame about Jiang Ming. She was first place last time, but we ended up snagging this external gig instead.”

The trainees around her started chattering again, their conversation mostly centered on Jiang Ming. Lin Qi was glad the female lead’s charm was being recognized by so many, but she also felt a pang of loss.

Thinking about their words, what if Jiang Ming and Xia Lian performed Drunk together?

Just the thought made her teeth ache with jealousy. Lin Qi realized that despite her usual image of generosity, she was petty when it came to love. She couldn’t stand the idea of Jiang Ming being intimate with anyone else.

If she felt this way, shouldn’t Jiang Ming feel the same?

Feeling a pang of guilt, Lin Qi looked up at the smiling faces on stage. Song En was understandable standing next to the somewhat reserved Yuan Li, she rarely showed such unrestrained joy.

Jiang Ming stood between Wei Xuanyue and Song En, wearing only a faint smile. Lin Qi knew her well enough to recognize the strain in that smile. But was this displeasure directed at her?

After all, as someone who had read the book, Lin Qi firmly believed that Jiang Ming and Song En were the official pairing. Once that preconception took root, it was hard to shake, even though in their daily interactions, she could sense her own importance and uniqueness.

Even with Jiang Ming’s exclusivity and favor, Lin Qi still couldn’t be entirely certain. This was her first relationship, after all she didn’t know what love was supposed to feel like. She could only test the waters, oscillating between sincerity and pretense, until both of them were left uneasy and flustered.

Lost in thought, Lin Qi had no idea what was happening on stage. She pondered the odds of confessing first success would mean mutual happiness, failure would mean total loss.

Given Jiang Ming’s personality, if her feelings were merely a same-sex attachment or friendship, they wouldn’t even be able to remain friends.

But if they were secretly pining for each other, all this anxious speculation could end, and they could be together openly.

“Lin Qi, let’s go. Time to change.”

The perennial runner-up patted her shoulder, pulling Lin Qi out of the tug-of-war between reason and emotion. “Okay,” she replied.

As she picked up her white T-shirt, she suddenly noticed, how was there a lipstick mark on her shoulder? It looked like the imprint of a kiss.

What the hell? Did it happen when she hugged Xia Lian?

Guilt quickly turned to panic. Lin Qi headed to the dressing room. Fortunately, the stylist had extra stage outfits prepared. She grabbed a white dress shirt wearing long sleeves in mid-May might be a bit hot, but it was better than Jiang Ming seeing the lipstick mark.

She really wasn’t a heartbreaker!

Tying the matching black necktie and slipping into the sleek dress pants, Lin Qi pushed aside the curtain and stepped out. She had already checked her reflection in the full-length mirror, if she had glasses on, she’d look like the epitome of a refined scoundrel, a reckless playboy drowning in luxury, elegant yet dazzling.

Unaware that the lipstick mark had actually been left deliberately by Jiang Ming before she left and quite pleased with herself for eliminating a major hazard, Lin Qi cheerfully made her way to the gathering spot. Her first instinct was to go to Jiang Ming’s side, but the moment she lifted her foot, she met a pair of cold, detached eyes.

Her movements froze mid-step. Standing there dumbly, she opened her mouth, then closed it again. With so many people around, she didn’t know what to say neither an explanation nor small talk felt appropriate.

“Lin Qi, come here.”

It was Wei Xuanyue who called her over. Obediently, Lin Qi went, but then she realized Xuanyue wasn’t affectionately calling her “Qiqi” anymore?

Her throat tightened. With an awkward laugh, she asked, “Xuanyue, what’s up?”

There was no gap between Wei Xuanyue and Jiang Ming. Though her tone sounded a bit annoyed, she still shifted aside to make space for Lin Qi. Grateful, Lin Qi glanced at her only to see Wei Xuanyue mimic slitting her throat.

Then, a hushed question reached her ears, “Speak! What’s going on between you and Xia Lian? Why did she go to your room so late at night?”

It was Wei Xuanyue asking. That meant she must have already seen the trending topic. Lin Qi bit her lip and replied, “Senior Xia said there were some changes to the dance routine, so she came to tell me.”

“Bullshit! If there were changes, why would she only notify you? And why did she have to go into your room? Did you two do something shady?”

“No, I really didn’t! Can you trust me? Who I like can’t you tell?”

“I can tell, but I’m afraid your heart might be big enough to like more than one person.”

Her tone grew increasingly sarcastic. Lin Qi sighed and glanced guiltily at Jiang Ming beside her, whose expression remained indifferent, as if she didn’t care what Lin Qi and Wei Xuanyue were discussing.

It didn’t matter if Jiang Ming didn’t care, what mattered was that Lin Qi did.

Leaning closer to Wei Xuanyue, her nerves suddenly flaring, Lin Qi whispered, “Does Jiang Ming know about this?”

“She ”

Before Wei Xuanyue could say, “She already knows,” Jiang Ming cut in with a smile, “What are you two talking about? Know what?”

The girl’s lips curled into a faint smile. It was unclear whether she had overheard the entire conversation and chose to interrupt at this moment or if she genuinely had no idea and coincidentally intercepted the question Lin Qi most wanted answered.

Forcing an awkward laugh, Lin Qi felt Jiang Ming’s smiling eyes were chillingly cold, especially when they landed on her. The iciness in that gaze seemed sharp enough to pierce right through her. At that moment, Lin Qi finally confirmed that the intense stare she’d felt during the performance of Drunk must have been Jiang Ming’s.

“Nothing, I was just asking Xuanyue if she knew when the third ranking announcement would be.”

Her eyes filled with reluctance and grievance, Wei Xuanyue glanced worriedly at Jiang Ming before nodding faintly. “Yeah, we were talking about that.”

Wei Xuanyue didn’t even want to recall it the sight of Jiang Ming, her eyes red but refusing to shed a single tear after learning about the rumors between Lin Qi and Xia Lian. Just seeing the bloodshot eyes made Wei Xuanyue’s heart ache, but all she could do was play along with the girl pretending to be strong, saying, “This air conditioner is making my eyes so uncomfortable. Look, even yours are red from irritation.”