Substitute Alpha Gets Confessed to by Her Ex’s Aunt on a Survival Variety Show – Chapter 106
by Little PandaThe Torrential Rainstorm Collapses the Camp Shelter
The small cave was cramped and quiet.
The two of them shared a momentary glance. Though they appeared completely calm on the surface, only they knew the shifts occurring in their respective hearts.
Liu Yinxi lowered her gaze, shuffling her heels back a fraction. She felt a twinge of frustration with herself. Nan Huaixu had told her not to overthink things and to focus on their work, yet she had gone ahead and pried into such inconsequential matters.
She shouldn’t have asked.
Liu Yinxi pressed her hands against the hem of her jacket, wiping the nervous sweat from her palms. “Uh, anyway… let’s put miscellaneous things like the bottles in the very back, and then…”
For once, Nan Huaixu didn’t wait for her to finish. Instead, she picked up on Liu Yinxi’s previous topic. “There really are a very few select loves that aren’t easily worn away. With a population this vast, even with a minuscule probability of one in a billion, there will always be those rare, incredibly stubborn1 souls. Once they lay eyes on someone, they commit to them for a lifetime.”
Liu Yinxi’s eyes gradually widened, her breath turning so shallow that it felt as if the words tumbling from Nan Huaixu’s lips were a fragile, magical sprite that might be frightened away by the slightest disturbance.
The small cave was tiny, the light dim. The sole shaft of sunlight filtering in happened to pool right over Nan Huaixu.
Liu Yinxi held her breath, listening to the rapid thumping of her own heart as her field of vision filled entirely with Nan Huaixu’s beautiful face.
She thought to herself that someone as beautiful, intelligent, and strong as Nan Huaixu, speaking of a “lifetime” with such quiet, unwavering certainty, was an image she herself would surely remember for a lifetime.
“Oh,” Liu Yinxi managed to respond. She honestly didn’t know what else to say.
Should she ask Nan Huaixu if she had ever been that stubborn for someone? That would be overstepping.
Should she ask if Nan Huaixu had ever met someone that stubborn? That was poking her nose where it didn’t belong.
Should she say she longed for that kind of eternal love herself? Too childish.
In the end, she didn’t amount to much in Nan Huaixu’s life. During the competition, they were close teammates who supported one another. But what about after the show? Nan Huaixu was kind-hearted; she had offered to help her find an apartment and introduce her to jobs. Pulling her up was a simple lift of a finger for someone with Nan Huaixu’s resources. Upon closer reflection, they might not even qualify as ordinary friends.
Liu Yinxi, be realistic.
Don’t. Overthink. It.
Liu Yinxi brushed the topic aside as casually as she could. “It’d be incredibly lucky to meet someone who loves like that.”
She quickly redirected her energy to moving their supplies. “I’ve finished the storage rack. We’ll put miscellaneous items in the very back, food on the upper shelves closest to the entrance, and medicinal herbs on the bottom.”
As she spoke, she lifted a crate and set it onto its designated shelf. The cave was very dark, so she fished around for the torch they had left behind previously, intending to light it for illumination.
Seeing her groping along the rocky wall, Nan Huaixu turned on her bracelet’s light to assist her.
With a ci la crackle, the torch flared to life, casting a bright glow across the cave.
Nan Huaixu looked around and sighed. “The last time we came, we were too busy opening the treasure chest to take a proper look. Now that it’s cleaned up, it’s actually quite spacious and doesn’t feel nearly as damp and cold.”
Liu Yinxi agreed, “Yeah, we can store a lot of things here.”
Nan Huaixu spaced out the crates on the storage rack to improve ventilation. “It’s a pity the light and ventilation are so poor in here, otherwise we could just live inside.”
Liu Yinxi laughed. “How could we have it so easy? This cave was meant for hiding airdrop treasures. The production team would never hand the contestants a perfectly livable cave on a silver platter.”
That would destroy the fairness of the competition. The organizing committee wouldn’t make such a rookie mistake, and the audience would never stand for it.
Since they couldn’t move all the supplies in one go, they made several trips back and forth, which took up the entire morning.
Once all their belongings were safely stored in the small cave, they braved the blazing sun to return to their shelter and discuss what to have for lunch.
Their new food supply pack included beef jerky, so they decided to finish the remaining jerky Yuan Fang had given them first. Only a little was left, and it wouldn’t keep as well as the newly sealed packs.
They had no idea how much longer they would have to survive out here, so it was always better to conserve. Liu Yinxi used the ridges on a plastic bottle to measure out their grain portions, limiting them to a maximum of one grain-based meal per day. If they caught wild game on a given day and had plenty of protein, they could skip the grains entirely and substitute banana cores or palm hearts for their carbohydrates while boosting their fiber intake.
Perhaps the day they hunted the wild rabbit had been a novice protection period2 for her newly crafted bamboo bow; Heavenly Mother3 had gifted them a rabbit, but they hadn’t seen so much as a pheasant feather since. They survived mainly on fish and shrimp for meat, occasionally catching a lizard or slicing off two small pieces of jerky to improve their meals.
Zi—
Weng—
In the leaves overhead, the cicadas and insects buzzed and droned deafeningly.
Nan Huaixu looked up at the dense canopy, wiping the sweat from her brow as she frowned. It was already boiling hot, and cooking over the fire only made it worse. The relentless racket from the insects only added to the frustration.
Liu Yinxi pursed her lips and whistled, mimicking the call of a forest eagle-owl. Instantly, the noisy trees fell silent; not only the insects but even the songbirds ceased their tunes.
Nan Huaixu let out a surprised laugh. “That actually worked?”
Liu Yinxi grinned. “It’s the call of a bird of prey—instinctive bloodline suppression. It doesn’t work every time, though. They’ll start back up in a bit.”
Nan Huaixu sighed. “A brief moment of quiet is plenty. This primeval rainforest is their home, and we’re merely intruders. We can’t let the guests outshine the hosts.”
Liu Yinxi’s lips curved upward. She was glad Nan Huaixu thought that way; Teacher Nan had truly accepted and adapted to nature.
“I feel like it’s been exceptionally hot these past two days. What do you think, Liu Yinxi?”
“Yeah, it’s definitely hotter. The temperature’s shot up.”
“How about we head down to the riverbank for a bit this evening? It’ll be cooler.”
“Sure…”
The sweltering heat combined with the humidity of the rainforest, wrapping them in what felt like a giant steamer and making them incredibly drowsy.
After lunch, Liu Yinxi let out a long, lazy yawn and lay down inside the shelter to take a nap.
Left with nothing to do, Nan Huaixu leaned against a tree and drifted off into a hazy sleep as well.
The air was muggy, the moisture hanging thick in the atmosphere, leaving a sticky, uncomfortable layer of sweat on their skin. Even their dreams were filled with a murky, overcast green—like a boundless emerald sea of trees trapped beneath dark, heavy storm clouds.
Pa-da, pa-da.
The sound of water droplets tapping against leaves drifted closer, seeping from reality into her dreams. Liu Yinxi frowned, her eyes still shut, as her nose filled with the scent of damp earth—the smell of actinomycete spores4 kicked up into the air by the rising humidity.
Rain!
Liu Yinxi bolted upright. The soil on the ground had turned a deep, dark brown, completely saturated. The rain had already been falling for some time.
Jinzhou Island was located near the equator, where convective rain5 was highly prevalent. These downpours typically clustered in the afternoon, behaving with even greater unpredictability in areas with complex, mountainous terrain.
Liu Yinxi looked up at the sky. A thick layer of rain clouds hovered overhead, and countless glittering threads of rain were slicing through the tree branches, cascading down.
The roof of their campsite shelter had just been refurbished, with overlapping layers of banana and palm leaves blocking the water and providing them with some protection. However, this was only a temporary campsite; the structure of the shelter was rudimentary, and the leaves weren’t secured with wooden pegs, but merely draped over the frame. With one section overhead lacking the canopy’s natural cover, the roof there was already showing signs of sagging under the weight of the water.
They had to reinforce it immediately.
Liu Yinxi woke Nan Huaixu. She immediately began digging a drainage ditch around the perimeter of the shelter, while Nan Huaixu pulled out spare wood and banana leaves stored under the bed frame to reinforce the roof.
The rain grew heavier, coming down with a wild fury unlike anything they had experienced before.
In less than half an hour, the sky was packed with dense, black clouds. The rain transitioned from a fine drizzle to heavy, bean-sized droplets, pouring down as if the heavens had ruptured, the deluge absolutely relentless.
The newly dug drainage ditch was utterly useless, submerged in an instant. The soil couldn’t absorb the torrential downpour fast enough, and the entire campsite was rapidly turning into a small marsh.
Boom! A clap of thunder rent the air as the storm lashed the roof, and the half of the shelter they had just reinforced collapsed in an instant.
With a massive hole torn open in the shelter, rain and icy wind whipped inside, thoroughly drenching both of them.
Nan Huaixu had been in the middle of driving a wooden peg into the roof. She used her hands to support the remaining half that hadn’t caved in, rainwater clinging to her eyelashes. “We don’t have enough banana leaves! How do we fix this now?”
Liu Yinxi wiped the rainwater from her face and raised an arm to shield Nan Huaixu’s head. “Get out of there! Be careful not to let the timber pin you down. We’re going to the cave to take shelter first!”
Nan Huaixu nodded hurriedly. Carefully letting go of her support on the roof, she crawled out of the ruined triangular shelter.
Liu Yinxi gradually shifted the weight pressing down on her hands, ducked half of her body out of the structure, and then scrambled out.
Nan Huaixu brought over their raincoats, opening one up to hand to Liu Yinxi. The two of them pulled them on and, leaning on each other for support, began making their way toward the cave. The filming drones had already ceased flying, but the two robot dogs braved the storm, trailing closely behind them.
【Ahhh, the house collapsed!】
【What do we do?! What do we do?! What do we do?!】
【Don’t panic, they have a cave to shelter in.】
【The weather forecast says Jinzhou Island is going to have heavy rain for several consecutive days (going crazy)】
【This is so brutal QAQ】
【Thank goodness they moved their supplies to the cave ahead of time, otherwise everything would be soaked right now, and it’d be a nightmare to move.】
【If they were still in the treehouse, it wouldn’t be this bad, right?】
【How could they have predicted this? It’s not like they could stay huddled in the treehouse forever without migrating.】
【Usually light to moderate rain is fine, but this storm is just too powerful.】
【Oh god, I’m so worried Manman will catch a cold.】
【They have medicine. Even though it’s raining, it’s still a tropical rainforest, so it shouldn’t get too cold.】
【Rainforests can get damp and freezing too (laugh-cry). Especially on windy, rainy nights. Once the sun goes down, it’s cold everywhere.】
【Xixi has to hold on!】
“It’s so strange. The sun was beating down so hard all morning and through noon, and now it’s suddenly pouring like this.”
“That’s just the climate of Jinzhou Island. Convective rains. It often pours after midday.”
“If only I’d built a sturdier shelter from the start.”
“I’m sorry. I got complacent.”
“No, don’t blame yourself for this—ah!”
Nan Huaixu suddenly stumbled, falling into a muddy pool. One of her calves sank deep into the soft, slimy muck. Fortunately, she had her arm looped through Liu Yinxi’s, and Liu Yinxi caught her in time, preventing her from sinking entirely into the mire.
Trouble truly loved to pile on when things were already in utter chaos.
Liu Yinxi quickly warned, “Teacher Nan, don’t move! The more you struggle, the faster you’ll sink.”
Nan Huaixu held perfectly still. “Okay.”
Liu Yinxi: “Listen to me, slowly adjust your position as I say. First, hand me your backpack… lean your upper body back, spread your arms, and see if you can lie flat. Yes, like that.”
Nan Huaixu did as told, and immediately felt the sinking of her calf slow down significantly.
“Teacher Nan, hold on a second.” Liu Yinxi quickly pulled a vine rope out of her backpack, tied it securely around a tree, and tossed the other end to her. “Catch! I’ll pull you up.”
The torrential rain pelted their bodies. Through the misty shroud of water, the rainforest, usually brimming with life, had turned treacherous and terrifying.
Nan Huaixu gripped the vine rope tightly. Drawing on Liu Yinxi’s strength, she gradually freed herself. Stepping onto solid ground with her other foot, she hauled her buried calf out of the deep mud. But when she pulled her foot free, her sock was hanging halfway off her toes, and her hiking shoe remained trapped deep in the mire.
Liu Yinxi took her hand and pulled her close. “Don’t worry, I’ll fish the shoe out with a trekking pole.”
Nan Huaixu balanced on one foot, pulling up her half-slipped sock. “Be careful.”
Liu Yinxi crouched low, gripping a rock with one hand while reaching out with a wooden stick to hook Nan Huaixu’s shoe.
Nan Huaixu brushed aside her mud-slicked hair and put her other foot down. Suddenly, a sharp, stabbing pain shot up from her sole. Not wanting to distract Liu Yinxi, she hurriedly covered her mouth, swallowing a muffled groan back down her throat.
Liu Yinxi hooked the shoe out, emptied the mud from inside, and set it down by Nan Huaixu’s feet. “It’s a bit dirty, but put it on for now. We can wash it once the rain stops—”
Her voice cut off abruptly. She squatted down and cradled Nan Huaixu’s ankle. The white sock was torn, and a bright red patch of blood was rapidly blooming across the fabric.
Liu Yinxi felt a sharp, agonizing twist in her heart, as if it had been cut open.
Footnotes
- The slang term zhou (轴) comes from northern Chinese dialect, referring to someone who is incredibly stubborn, single-minded, or inflexible in their pursuits.
- A gaming term referring to a grace period where new players receive safety buffs or boosted luck; by extension, used to describe temporary beginner's luck.
- A modern, humorous feminist variation of Lao Tian Ye (Old Father Heaven/Heavenly Father), substituting the masculine Ye with the feminine Nai (Grandmother/Mother) to refer to a maternal Heaven or fate.
- Actinomycetes are soil bacteria that release spores when rain falls, producing geosmin, the organic compound responsible for the distinct, earthy scent of rain (petrichor).
- Convective rain is a type of precipitation caused by warm air rising, cooling, and condensing into clouds, leading to sudden, heavy, and localized afternoon downpours.
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