Transmigrated into the Villainous Scummy Alpha in a Talent Show Novel - Chapter 84

After comforting Jiang Ming and seeing her mood visibly improve, Lin Qi also felt at ease. She headed to the dressing room to change into her black outfit black shirt, black pants, and a snapback cap. She didn’t dare wear the cap for too long, as it would flatten her deliberately curled and voluminous hair, so she carried it in her hand, planning to put it on only during her performance.

Quickly changing and returning, she arrived just as it was Jiang Ming’s turn to sing. Her fox-like eyes were still slightly red, but it suited the emotion of the song she was about to perform.

“Who can save me? It’s you, holding my hand tight.”

“It’s you who gave me light, wings to soar beyond the darkness.”

“Perhaps the best arrangement from fate is letting you and I fall in love.”

Choking back tears as she finished, the audience erupted in cheers. Jiang Ming glanced back toward the backstage area, hoping only that one person would understand.

She clearly did. Lin Qi’s heart tightened with warmth, and her lowered eyes stung slightly. Rubbing them, she suddenly realized how heavy Jiang Ming’s love was, the kind that saw her as a guiding light.

She had never considered herself capable of being anyone’s salvation, it sounded far too serious. But after listening to Jiang Ming’s solo, she felt an overwhelming sense of responsibility and purpose for the first time.

She had wanted to talk to her when they met, whether with flirtatious words or just an intimate hug. But as the vocal group performed on stage, the dance group had to prepare for their turn. The paths for exiting and entering the stage were different, so Lin Qi had no chance to see Jiang Ming.

Nor could she linger when the final contestant sang. Pushing her hair back, the dark gray snapback cast a shadow over her sharp, striking features, making her coldly controlled expression appear even more intense.

Though part of the dance group, they hadn’t performed this song before. Holding a microphone amid the audience’s frenzied screams, Lin Qi channeled her regret into sheer energy.

Her long limbs made every movement fluid and captivating, especially under the vibrant stage lights reflecting off her black outfit. The fierce choreography turned her into a dazzling spectacle both powerful and mesmerizing.

By the end, Lin Qi was slightly breathless. The large screen zoomed in on her refined yet fierce face, her chest rising and falling from exertion, exuding an alluring, sensual aura.

Next was the stage for the program’s host, Mentor An, and Senior Xia. The contestants could take a short break, but they still had to prepare for their group performance. Panting, Lin Qi returned backstage and removed her snapback. The intense dance moves had pulled the cap’s strap too tight, flattening the voluminous hair at her forehead. Combined with sweat, she looked rather disheveled.

Unable to fix it herself, she hurried to the next room, where the makeup artist was resting. “Um, my hair’s like this now. Can it still be fixed?”

“Ah, I told you not to pick this dance. Once you wear a snapback, any hairstyle is ruined.”

They were already familiar, this makeup artist had handled Lin Qi’s styling for the past three months, always crafting flawless looks. Hearing her complaints, Lin Qi just smiled sheepishly. “Well, it was a regret I had to fix. I’m not someone who likes leaving things unfinished if I want to do something, I do it right away.”

“Alright, alright, alright. It’s me who’s exhausted anyway. Come sit down.”

Obediently taking the seat where the makeup artist had been sitting, Lin Qi closed her eyes, letting her wipe away the sweat. After that, she began applying loose powder to the roots of her hair to ensure it stayed dry. Once done, she took out a curling iron, meticulously styling each strand to craft the perfect look for her high-maintenance artist.

All this fussing ate up time quickly. Unaware that Jiang Ming had once come to the “Glimmer” team’s dressing room with flushed cheeks looking for her, Lin Qi leaned back in the chair, inexplicably feeling drowsy. Whether it was her imagination or not, she also felt her body heating up, an extremely uncomfortable sensation.

What the hell?

Was she about to time-travel for the third time?

At the thought, she snapped her eyes open in alarm. Lin Qi noticed her cheeks were flushed, and as she gazed at the voluminous curls in the mirror, her throat felt dry and itchy, making it hard to utter words of thanks.

“Now, let’s welcome the members of the ‘Glimmer’ team to the stage.”

There was no time to recover. Shaking as she stood, her vision even darkened for a moment. Lin Qi pressed her index fingers against her throbbing temples and let the makeup artist support her to the door.

“Lin Qi, what’s wrong with you?!”

“I, I’m fine.”

Struggling to leave, she ran into her eight teammates from the neighboring dressing room. Wei Xuanyue and Tan Yi seemed to be bickering, their faces red with anger. The moment they saw her, they wanted her to mediate, only to find their usually composed and mature captain clutching the wall in pain, barely able to stand.

“Xiao Qi!”

Wei Xuanyue reacted first, rushing over to steady Lin Qi, her pretty brows furrowed. “What’s wrong with you?!”

Too weak to even say she was fine, Lin Qi felt her body burning up. Leaning heavily on Wei Xuanyue, she instinctively reached to unzip her black leather jacket but inside, she wore only a fitted undergarment.

Realizing cameras were rolling for the live-streamed finals, Tan Yi stepped up for once, stopping Lin Qi’s reflexive motion. She touched her forehead, shocked by the scorching heat, and quickly reached a conclusion.

“Either it’s differentiation fever, or she’s just sick. I’m leaning toward the former, our captain was perfectly fine earlier. For her to suddenly collapse like this, it must be an impending differentiation.”

For once, the two were in sync. Tan Yi, being stronger, took over supporting Lin Qi while Wei Xuanyue went to call for an ambulance. Soon, staff arrived with a stretcher, carrying the unconscious, feverish girl out the back door.

Meanwhile, Jiang Ming, who had just heard the news and rushed out, suddenly caught a faint whiff of lychee fragrance in the air, despite not having undergone differentiation yet. Then, an overwhelming heat erupted inside her, sapping her strength in an instant. She leaned against the wall, her head spinning.

Her knowledge of physiology told her one thing: she, too, seemed to be falling into differentiation fever. And this abrupt onset? It had been triggered by encountering a pheromone with a 100% compatibility match.

It was a tough situation for Wei Xuanyue and Tan Yi. They had just hurriedly watched Lin Qi get into the car heading to the hospital, only to return backstage and find Jiang Ming collapsed on the floor. The faint, cool freshness of post-rain air emanating from her suggested that she had likely presented as an omega.

Tan Yi couldn’t step forward to help, so Wei Xuanyue carried Jiang Ming on her back and once again boarded the program team’s car to the hospital.

The chief director was on the verge of tears. Why did the first and second-place contestants suddenly present on the very night of the finals?

And now Wei Xuanyue and Tan Yi, two top-ranking contestants, had also gone to the hospital. Was the final stage performance even going to continue?

Grabbing a microphone, the director addressed the restless audience, “Um, due to contestants Lin Qi and Jiang Ming suddenly experiencing presentation fever, we have no choice but to pause the final stage. However, the results will remain unchanged. We will now close the voting channels and proceed directly to announcing the final debut lineup.”

Originally, the announcements were supposed to start from sixth place, but when the program host glanced at the electronic screen displaying the voting results, two bold characters stood out: “Tan Yi.”

How were they supposed to magically produce her out of thin air?

And so, in the end, the only ones truly suffering were the chief director and the program host.