Transmigrated into the Villainous Scummy Alpha in a Talent Show Novel - Chapter 72.2

Placing a hand on Jiang Ming’s shoulder, Lin Qi turned the girl, who had been facing away, onto her back. She climbed on top, knees on either side of Jiang Ming’s thighs, hands planted beside her shoulders. When their eyes met, Lin Qi lowered her voice. “Like this, what comes next might be… that kind of thing.”

Jiang Ming was instantly lost in those peach-blossom eyes, deep as the starry sea. Her breathing grew slightly uneven, her hands unsure where to rest. After a long moment of hesitation, she finally wrapped her arms around Lin Qi’s neck, her body trembling faintly with nervousness.

Having read about it just last night, how could she not know what “that kind of thing” referred to? Though she wasn’t opposed to it now, Jiang Ming was still shy and afraid after all, it was such an intimate act, and she couldn’t help feeling uneasy.

She feared she might not look good enough right now. She feared being taken too soon might mean she wouldn’t be cherished. She worried whether the first time would hurt…

Noticing Jiang Ming’s thoughts drifting away, as if she truly believed Lin Qi would go through with it, Lin Qi chuckled and rolled off, lying down beside her. “Just teasing you. How could we do that kind of thing now? But if you want to read that stuff in the future, make sure to find some legitimate websites. This time, luckily my payment app locked itself, or I’d be broke by now.”

Her heartbeat still hadn’t settled. Jiang Ming lay there, breathing heavily, her gaze slightly vacant. She wasn’t sure what she was feeling, relief or disappointment?

Perhaps it was all of the above, but what had truly stung her the most were the words that followed, it felt as if she had been stripped bare. Nineteen years old, and the first time she mustered the curiosity to explore such topics, she got caught red-handed reading an erotic story.

She clutched a corner of the blanket tightly, her voice softening as if melting, “I wasn’t reading it.”

“Alright, alright, you weren’t reading it. Anyway, I told Mom it was me. Just consider it my erotic story, okay?”

Her heart settled slightly. Thankfully, Lin Qi’s mother didn’t know otherwise, would she think Jiang Ming was being indecent?

Hearing Lin Qi’s helpless yet doting tone, Jiang Ming couldn’t help but smile. “Goodnight, I’m going to sleep.”

Content, the two quickly drifted off to sleep. But in the middle of the night, Lin Qi was abruptly awakened by Jiang Ming’s panicked cries.

Their sleeping positions had long shifted from lying side by side to facing each other in an embrace. Lin Qi looked down at the girl in her arms—her delicate face pale, brows furrowed and felt the soft fabric of her pajamas damp with cold sweat. She quickly tightened her hold around the trembling girl, trying to steady her emotions.

“Lin Qi, Lin Qi…”

“I’m here, I’m right here! Jiang Ming, I’ve always been here.”

Her hand stroked the girl’s rigid, arched back, taut as a bowstring stretched to its limit. Jiang Ming seemed to be trapped in some terrifying ordeal, her entire body tense to the point of snapping.

“Lin Qi, don’t, don’t like her… don’t…”

Who do I like??

Completely clueless about what was happening in Jiang Ming’s dream, Lin Qi felt a wave of confusion. She didn’t know how to comfort someone who was so unsettled even in sleep. But since Jiang Ming was pleading not to like someone else, she decided to go along with it.

“Jiang Ming, Nuonuo, don’t be afraid. I like you, I’ve always liked you.”

The moment those words left her lips, the girl in her arms began thrashing violently, as if recoiling from an unfamiliar embrace. Discomfort radiated from her entire being as she muttered, “No, you’re not Lin Qi. Let me go! Let me go! You’re not Lin Qi! Song En! Don’t touch me!”

She must have mistaken Lin Qi for Song En. Lin Qi sighed helplessly, now able to guess what Jiang Ming was dreaming about, perhaps scenes from the original novel?

Reluctantly loosening her embrace, she softened her voice as much as possible. “Nuonuo, I really am Lin Qi. Let me hold you, okay?”

“No, Lin Qi… Lin Qi doesn’t like me… she wouldn’t hold me like this…”

What the hell??

She must be referring to the “Lin Qi” from the novel. The girl on the bed could only watch as Jiang Ming, her expression twisted in pain, seemed to sink deeper into her own sorrow. For the first time, she had bared her heart so nakedly before Lin Qi.

“Lin Qi, why don’t you like me? You praised me for being pretty, called me cute, You protected me, doted on me, helped me. All of that, it was so heartwarming”

Her words faltered, and Lin Qi felt a sudden warmth against her chest tears.

When Jiang Ming spoke again, her voice was choked with sobs.

“Right, the whole world dislikes me, even bullies and harasses me, but I don’t care about any of that. It doesn’t matter who doesn’t like me. But why don’t you like me? If you don’t like me, I’ll be so sad I could die. Didn’t you say you came into this world to protect me? Then why, can’t you like me? Why did you change back again? Give me back my Lin Qi, give her back to me.”

As if exhausted from speaking, the girl buried her face into Lin Qi’s shoulder, her tear-streaked cheeks rubbing against the fabric of her clothes. The tears were hot, searing through her chest, burning into her skin, reaching the depths of her heart, where a scorching pain throbbed.

“How could I not like you?”

Lin Qi gently stroked the hair of the girl in her arms, guilt and remorse slowly drowning her like sinking into an unfathomable ocean. She couldn’t breathe, teetering on the edge of despair.

Though she wasn’t even sure what she was feeling guilty about after all, she couldn’t control Jiang Ming’s dreams. She could only regret not coming sooner, grieve that she couldn’t stop this false dream.

But false?

What was real, and what was fake?

Was everything that had happened since she arrived in this world truly real? Were the things Jiang Ming dreamed of, the plotlines she had read in the book, all lies?

And why had Jiang Ming suddenly dreamed of these things?

Countless questions made Lin Qi’s head ache. She shook Jiang Ming’s shoulders gently. Fortunately, the girl trapped in the nightmare wasn’t deeply asleep and soon opened her damp eyes. For a moment, her gaze remained dazed and sorrowful, as if she hadn’t fully emerged from the dream.

“Nuo Nuo, look at me. I’m Lin Qi. I’m the Lin Qi who came to protect you. What did you dream about?”

After a long silence, Jiang Ming seemed to struggle to find her voice. She clutched the fabric of Lin Qi’s shoulder but didn’t throw herself into her embrace. Instead, she stared at the familiar face before her the familiar brows, the familiar expression with lingering fear.

This was her Lin Qi.

Finally reassured, she clung to Lin Qi with complete reliance, thinking she wouldn’t be noticed as she buried her nose against her, inhaling deeply the comforting woody scent that made her feel safe.

“Nuo Nuo, what happened? Tell me, okay?”

Resting her head on Lin Qi’s shoulder, Jiang Ming’s voice was weary but still trembling with tears. “I, I dreamed that you fell in love with someone else, that you turned back into that horrible person from before. She bullied me, hit me, and forced herself on me. I, I was so scared. Under the influence of the pheromones, I was almost about to give in”

Her voice trailed off. Lin Qi’s heart ached as she soothingly stroked the trembling girl in her arms, her voice gentle. “And then? It was just a dream. Don’t be afraid.”

“And then… I cut out my own gland. In the hospital, I met Song En. Strangely, I ended up falling in love with her, but I could always tell I didn’t really love her. Every time she touched me, I felt so disgusted.”

That was it the original plot of the book.

Lin Qi’s eyes darkened. She didn’t understand why Jiang Ming had suddenly dreamed of these things. Pressing her lips together, she kept her voice soft, though it was laced with suppressed pain. “Don’t worry. Those were just dreams. I’ll always be by your side. I’ll always love you.”

Raising her head, Jiang Ming tightened her grip on the clothes in her hands, her voice trembling yet resolute. “It wasn’t a dream, was it? If you hadn’t come, I would have gone through all that, right?”

Her breathing slowed, unsure of how to respond. It was indeed as Jiang Ming had said, but Lin Qi found the harsh truth too cruel to voice.

“Don’t lie to me.”

Her fingertips turned white from the force of her grip, her eyes moist and the corners red, her voice breaking with emotion.

With a sigh and no other choice, Lin Qi averted her gaze and whispered, “Yes, that was the life you were meant to live. But I came, didn’t I? Those things were only meant to happen, they didn’t actually occur, right?”

“It wasn’t that they didn’t happen. That dream felt so real, as if I had truly lived through it.”

Her own eyes reddening with sorrow, Lin Qi tightened her arm around Jiang Ming’s waist. Many conjectures swirled in her mind, all based on one possibility: Jiang Ming had actually been reborn, only she hadn’t remembered her past life until now.

“Nuo Nuo, let’s not think about it for now, okay? Whether you experienced those things or not, at least right now, you and I are both safe. I’m here with you, and we’re in love. That’s enough.”

Her chest felt heavy her heart ached, sapping her of all energy. Though nestled in a warm embrace, a chilling coldness seeped into her, making the muscles in her calves contract involuntarily. A deep sorrow seemed to amplify the sensation, making even breathing difficult.

Remembering the Lin Qi from her dream who had cast her aside like trash, even now, surrounded by the familiar woody scent of the person she loved, Jiang Ming felt an alienating suffocation.

“Lin Qi, let’s do that, okay?”

The abrupt shift in topic and the nature of the request, left Lin Qi momentarily stunned. Her hand, which had been soothing Jiang Ming’s back, froze. “Do what?”