Substitute Alpha Gets Confessed to by Her Ex’s Aunt on a Survival Variety Show – Chapter 105
by Little PandaYou’re So Well-Behaved, Then
A vibrant green banana leaf, carrying the scent of herbal medicine, fanned through the air to chase away the annoying mosquitoes and flies.
Liu Yinxi was using it to fan Nan Huaixu, having smeared some insect repellent onto the leaf’s surface.
With her sleeves rolled up, Nan Huaixu sat on a small wooden stool, taking inventory of the supplies inside the storage boxes and woven vine baskets. After seizing the airdrop, they’d returned to the treehouse to haul their luggage over in several trips. They’d moved most of their critical supplies to the waterfall campsite, leaving a few unimportant items behind.
Though those low-priority supplies could be retrieved later, Liu Yinxi felt they likely never would be; compared to trekking back over such a long distance, it’d be much easier to just make new ones on the spot.
Liu Yinxi sat off to the side, leaning against a coral tree with her arms crossed, chewing on a mint leaf. Her eyes were turned in Nan Huaixu’s direction, though her gaze was unfocused.
For the past two days, she’d constantly been like this—losing herself in thought the moment she had some downtime, her mind spinning with endless fantasies.
“Liu Yinxi, where’s the last tub of instant noodles? Did you see it?”
“Liu Yinxi? Where’re the noodles?”
“Classmate Xiao Liu, are you listening to me?”
Nan Huaixu walked over to the distracted alpha and tapped her on the head with a slender twig. “Liu. Yin. Xi.”
The sun shone from behind Nan Huaixu, casting a shadow that blocked the light in front of Liu Yinxi.
Liu Yinxi looked up. The omega’s beautiful face suddenly filled her vision. Liu Yinxi’s breath hitched, something skipping a beat in her chest.
—There it was again.
Lately, whenever she got close to Nan Huaixu, she’d get this strange feeling…
Liu Yinxi snapped out of it. “In-instant noodles? They’re in the bag of dried herbs.”
Having received an answer, Nan Huaixu turned to search through the supplies, murmuring, “Why’d you put them in there?”
“I was worried the noodle block would get crushed,” Liu Yinxi explained. “The dried herbs are fluffy, so they act as a protective cushion.”
Nan Huaixu opened the bag of dried herbs, dug out the blue tub of instant noodles, and transferred it into the small food crate. “It’s fine, really. The tubs don’t break easily.”
Liu Yinxi offered an absentminded, “Oh…”
Shadows moved back and forth across the grass.
Nan Huaixu busied herself organizing the supplies. Once everything was in order, she called Liu Yinxi over. “Everything’s packed. Come take a look and let’s go over it together to see what we’re missing, so we can go foraging tomorrow.”
“Oh, alright.” Liu Yinxi stood up. After a moment of hesitation, she walked over to the other side of the crates to inspect their inventory.
More than half a month had passed since their last inventory check. Along the way, things had been added and consumed, but overall, the bulk of their belongings remained roughly the same.
Food:
Bag of white rice and mixed beans x 1 (two-thirds full)
Small bottle of seven-color brown rice x 1 (three-quarters full)
Freeze-dried tomato beef rice x 1
Shrimp and fish cake noodles x 1
Tiny bottle of coarse sea salt x 1
Beef jerky (50g) x 2 bags
Protein energy bars (30g) x 4
Medicine:
Herbal salve in a shell container x 1
Small bottle of dried long pepper spikes1 x 1 (small amount remaining)
Emergency medical kits x 2 (gauze x 4 packs, ibuprofen capsule x 1)
Bottle of hydrogen peroxide/iodophor x 1 (two-thirds full)
Tube of mupirocin ointment x 1 (two-thirds full)
Sterile cotton swabs (3-pack) x 3 packs
Sterile gauze pads x 2 packs
Cephalosporin capsules (100mg) x 3
Oral rehydration salts2 (5g) x 3 packs
Daily Necessities:
Herbal coconut oil soap x 2 (small amount remaining)
Pandan moisturizing balm x 2 (small amount remaining)
Foil-packed water purification tablets x 1 (half full)
Bottle of wood ash x 1
Bottle of shell nail-filers x 1
Double mosquito net x 1
Outdoor raincoats x 2
Disposable underwear (4-pack) x 1
Tools:
Homemade stone axe/stone pickaxe/stone hammer/slingshot x 1
Homemade bamboo bow x 1
Homemade bamboo arrows (several)
Other miscellaneous items, such as vine ropes and plastic bottles, are not counted individually.
Liu Yinxi lowered her hand after finishing the count, and Nan Huaixu asked, “Are we missing anything?”
Liu Yinxi muttered, “We didn’t bring the big white tub for bathing.”
“That’s too big to carry,” Nan Huaixu said. “We can get it next time. We also haven’t brought the ground net trap over yet, so we’ll get them both together then.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Liu Yinxi turned her head, only to run straight into Nan Huaixu’s direct gaze. Her heart skipped a beat. Had Nan Huaixu been looking at her like that this whole time?
It wasn’t just this once. Since the day before yesterday, Liu Yinxi had found herself observing Nan Huaixu—sometimes consciously, sometimes not—and noticed that Nan Huaixu often looked at her in this quiet way. The expression in her eyes varied, but it was always incredibly gentle, like a gardener patiently waiting for a seed to sprout.
It was strange, and it made her feel a little embarrassed, but she didn’t dislike the feeling at all.
Not knowing what to do with herself, Liu Yinxi ran a hand through her hair. She pinched a lock of her ends and held it up to the sunlight to inspect them. Some strands were dry, yellow, and straw-like, some were split like branches, and some… in short, it was a total mess.
She wanted to cut her hair.
It was as if cutting away this messy tangle of hair would somehow sever the tangled knot of thoughts in her mind.
“You’ve been much quieter these past few days. Is something on your mind?” Nan Huaixu suddenly spoke up. Her voice was soft, but in the quiet air, both of them heard it with absolute clarity.
Liu Yinxi’s heart skipped another beat. She couldn’t understand herself anymore. Why had she become so hyper-reactive, jumping at every little shadow?
She didn’t have anything on her mind; she was simply feeling inexplicably flustered and restless.
Just trying to stop herself from constantly stealing glances at Nan Huaixu was frustrating enough.
Seeing her conflicted expression, Nan Huaixu softened her voice even further. “Did you think of another one of those minor life dilemmas again? We’re done with chores once we move these supplies into the cave today anyway. We can chat while we work.”
Well…
The conflict in Liu Yinxi’s eyes deepened.
Was she supposed to consult Teacher Nan on “how to stop myself from staring at you”?
Talk about an incredibly inappropriate question.
How off-putting3 that would be.
Teacher Nan was being so gentle, considerate, and understanding, proactively asking about her mood. If she just gave a dry, flat “nothing,” wouldn’t that sound incredibly dismissive?
She really wanted to talk to Nan Huaixu too.
She wanted to talk to her more.
She wanted to speak, yet didn’t dare say too much; she wanted to get close, yet didn’t dare draw too near.
So. Awkward. And. Constrained.
Since the conversation had already reached this point, she had to come up with some topic to keep it going. They were all just little life questions she wanted advice on anyway, so she might as well ask.
And so, Liu Yinxi asked the question that had puzzled her most before transmigrating into this book.
It was about her former vice-captain, the one who had worked alongside her for years and then suddenly jumped ship to another team without so much as a word.
Liu Yinxi parted her lips, organizing her thoughts, and said, “I just remembered once when I was helping a friend spring-clean her place. Back then, she had a partner she’d worked with for many years.”
Nan Huaixu shut the lid of the box, popped out the handles, and handed her two crates. “That partner? Is she gone too?”
Liu Yinxi took the crates, hoisted the vine basket packed with supplies onto her back, and shook her head. “No, she’s alive. She cut off all ties with my friend, and I have even less contact with her. But that’s beside the point—my friend was always very confused about why this partner cut her off.”
Nan Huaixu shouldered her pack and set off toward the small cave. The shortcuts on the hillside had already been cleared and leveled by the two of them, making for an easy walk.
“Don’t tell me yet. Let me deduce it based on the clues. Hmm… your friend’s partner was an omega, right?”
“Yes! Teacher Nan, how’d you figure that out? Why didn’t you guess beta or alpha?” Surprised, Liu Yinxi asked as she slowly followed Nan Huaixu up the slope.
Nan Huaixu knit her brows slightly, a trace of pity and helplessness flickering in her eyes. “Your friend got along quite well with alphas and betas, didn’t she? But she didn’t have many omega friends, and the falling-out was very abrupt and strange.”
“Yes, exactly!” Liu Yinxi nodded repeatedly. Teacher Nan was completely right in her deductions. Teacher Nan was so smart.
Nan Huaixu wagged a finger. “Mmhmm. Tell me about what happened before they cut ties. What went down during their last meeting and conversation?”
The vice-captain’s departure had left a deep impression on Liu Yinxi, so she didn’t need any time to recall the details. She immediately said, “The last time they met, her partner gave my friend a gift. It was a really strange gift—a suppressor bracelet designed specifically for omegas. But my friend’s an alpha, so how was she supposed to use an omega’s? She even emphasized some remote-control function. You can’t even use the thing, so no matter how many fancy features it had, they were completely wasted.”
Nan Huaixu gazed at the forest ahead, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly.
The more Liu Yinxi spoke, the deeper her brow furrowed. “My friend was left totally speechless by her. She threw the gift back to her partner and told her that if she didn’t want to give it, she shouldn’t bother. The context is that they were extremely close friends who joked around all the time; they wouldn’t normally get angry over a few blunt words. But her partner just took the bracelet back, laughed a few times, and after that, she left without saying goodbye and deleted my friend… Teacher Nan, do I need to add any other details?”
Nan Huaixu didn’t answer immediately. She glanced down at the camera drone and murmured in a low voice, “Haven’t you and your ex ever played with toys?”
Liu Yinxi was utterly bewildered.
Toys?
The original host had loved luxury goods—jewelry, clothing, shoes, and bags. There were no toys. Did metaphysical trinkets and curios count? But the original host had played with those behind Ying Luoling’s back, so it didn’t count as playing together.
Liu Yinxi shook her head like a rattle.
Nan Huaixu glanced back at her, a subtle, barely perceptible trace of gratification curling at the corners of her eyes. “You’re so well-behaved, then.”
Liu Yinxi quickened her pace to walk alongside her. “What’s that even mean, Teacher Nan? I don’t understand.”
“Because the bracelet that partner gave your friend was meant for your friend to use on her,” Nan Huaixu explained, “not for your friend to use herself.”
“Huh???”
Why did she understand every single word individually, yet when they were strung together into a sentence, they made absolutely no sense?
Nan Huaixu turned her gaze forward, her expression growing serious. “Liu Yinxi, based on everything you’ve told me, my perspective is that your friend has no issues when it comes to major matters of right and wrong. She simply doesn’t understand flirting. It just so happens that the omegas who harbored secret crushes on her were on the subtler side. No one’s willing to waste their youth and energy forever; a firework that fizzles out before it can even explode is simply a dud.”
“Liu Yinxi, most love can be worn away. When it doesn’t get a response, when it’s repeatedly frozen out or even trampled on, the love will act to protect itself. It’ll slowly go dormant, until it’s completely worn away without a trace.”
The trees gradually thinned out, opening up the view to reveal a lush, green plateau not far ahead.
Another hundred meters or two would bring them to the small cave.
Nan Huaixu stepped forward, carrying the crates. “Alright, don’t overthink it. Let’s carry these inside. What order should we arrange them in for the best ventilation?”
Listening to what Nan Huaixu had just said felt like a sudden, heavy blow to Liu Yinxi’s head, leaving her feeling deeply unsettled.
Did Nan Huaixu mean that all those omegas who had cut ties with her before she transmigrated actually liked her?
How was that even possible?
Absolutely nothing had ever happened between her and those people; they had merely gone hiking together and occasionally attended gatherings.
Forget it. What was in the past was of no consequence now.
Right now, Liu Yinxi had a much bigger problem. A massive, faint dread was beginning to sprout in the depths of her heart.
She couldn’t tell where this fear originated; she only felt it lurking like a colossal beast deep within, casting a vast shadow that shut out all the joy and warmth of the outside world.
This terrifying chill was especially bone-chilling when Nan Huaixu had said “love can be completely worn away” in that emotionless voice.
Liu Yinxi panicked.
She was so panicked that she forgot to answer Nan Huaixu’s question.
She desperately wanted to hear an answer from Nan Huaixu’s mouth that would bring back that warmth. “Teacher Nan, you said most love can be worn away… but what about the rare exceptions?”
You know about that rare kind of love, don’t you?
You know about love that can never be extinguished, don’t you?
Then…
Who is it for?
Footnotes
- Bìbá is the Chinese name for long pepper (Piper longum). Its dried fruiting spikes are used in traditional medicine to warm the stomach and relieve pain.
- Kǒufú bǔyèyán (oral rehydration salts) are a balanced mixture of glucose and salts used to treat dehydration, particularly in survival or medical emergencies.
- Xiàtóu is popular Chinese internet slang that translates to off-putting or a buzzkill. It is the antonym of shàngtóu, which means getting hyped or swept up in romantic excitement.
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