Substitute Alpha Gets Confessed to by Her Ex’s Aunt on a Survival Variety Show – Chapter 125
by Little PandaMilk Powder
Hearing the call, Liu Yinxi quickly looked up. Across the pool, a small figure was waving at her.
Nan Huaixu called out to her from across the water. “It’s getting dark. Come back.”
Liu Yinxi smiled. Nan Huaixu’s voice was like magic, instantly dispelling the day’s frustrations.
“Teacher Nan,” Liu Yinxi shouted back. “I didn’t catch anything. What do I do?”
Nan Huaixu laughed. “Nothing to do. I picked a lot of fruit. I’ll share half with you.”
Liu Yinxi immediately relaxed. Teacher Nan wasn’t mad that she’d come back empty-handed. Thank goodness.
And she was even going to share her fruit.
Nan Huaixu walked along the bank, pointing south. “Hurry back. I’ll meet you over there.”
Liu Yinxi also moved along the shore, matching Nan Huaixu’s pace from across the pool. “Wait for me, okay? Don’t go the long way. Just go back to the shelter and rest.”
They were both talking at cross-purposes.
“Did you finish your water?” Nan Huaixu asked. “I’ll bring a bottle.”
“You go ahead and cook the fish first,” Liu Yinxi said.
After they said it, they both laughed.
The pool wasn’t large, but getting your voice from one side to the other meant shouting at the top of your lungs.
Both of them were yelling at full volume. Liu Yinxi, who hadn’t been thirsty before, felt her throat go a little dry. “Okay,” she called across to Nan Huaixu. “Bring me a bottle of water.”
From far away, Nan Huaixu gave her a thumbs-up. Her body language said: No problem.
A little further on, the thick forest blocked them from each other’s sight. Liu Yinxi slowed down. She’d have to go around the pool by land to meet Nan Huaixu.
The night was like a deep blue curtain unrolling. The tree branches sifted starlight into scattered dots.
The latecomer returned empty-handed. Her companion handed her a warm water bottle.
Liu Yinxi unscrewed the cap and drank her fill in big gulps. She wiped the water droplets from her lips. “Still warm.”
Nan Huaixu was holding her bow and arrows. “Mm. I just boiled it and let it cool down.”
She asked Liu Yinxi, “No trouble out there today?”
Liu Yinxi shook her head. “I chased a rabbit for a long time. Shot twice and missed both times. It got away in the end.”
Nan Huaixu comforted her. “It’s okay. You’ll definitely catch one next time.”
“I didn’t want to come back empty-handed. I wanted to catch a lizard, but I didn’t see any big ones on the way. Just little ones. Ugh.”
“Oh, I see. You let them live another day.”
“Did I? I didn’t bring anything back. It’s embarrassing.”
“What’s there to be embarrassed about? Hunting is always a probability game, and the odds are against you most of the time. In my book, optimism and persistence are really important qualities.”
“Haha, I hear you. Thanks for the encouragement, Teacher Nan.”
“You’re welcome. Tomorrow, you’d better catch me a rabbit to eat~”
Liu Yinxi hesitated for a while about whether to tell Nan Huaixu about running into Luo Ling during the day.
For one thing, Luo Ling had only annoyed her for a little while without causing any real trouble. It wasn’t worth mentioning.
For another, Nan Huaixu didn’t like anything related to Luo Ling. Liu Yinxi didn’t want to bring up a sore subject.
But while she was washing up, Liu Yinxi decided to tell Nan Huaixu anyway.
“Teacher Nan, I ran into Luo Ling this afternoon in the woods northwest of the lake. She followed me for a bit, but I shook her off,” Liu Yinxi said.
Nan Huaixu’s expression was flat. “Oh. How is she doing?”
Liu Yinxi hadn’t really paid much attention at the time. She thought about it. “Okay, I guess. Not as fragile as I thought she’d be.”
“You too, you know,” Nan Huaixu said. “You’re a lot stronger than I thought.”
Liu Yinxi looked down, a little guilty. “Mm… you’ve always got to keep something in reserve.”
Nan Huaixu cupped water to wash her face. “As long as she’s okay. Surviving alone in the wild is hard. Luo Ling has been pampered her whole life. It’s pretty impressive that she’s lasted this long.”
As she spoke, she looked over at Liu Yinxi, who was brushing her teeth. Water droplets dripped along her jawline. “But this is our competition. No one can help her.”
The only teammate who could have helped Luo Ling had already been eliminated.
Liu Yinxi nodded. “I understand.”
Nan Huaixu smiled, then stretched. “Haaah… I’m sleepy. I’m going to bed first.”
“Mm. Good night.”
Liu Yinxi watched her climb up to the second floor of the shelter, a smile in her eyes.
Teacher Nan had been sleeping well lately.
That was good.
After Xue Yunshao was sent off, Luo Ling couldn’t sleep well all night.
At the slightest rustle in the night, Luo Ling would jolt awake, then lie there wide-eyed for a long time.
Another night without enough sleep.
In the morning, Luo Ling looked at her reflection in the water basin. Two dark circles made her already weather-beaten face look even more haggard.
Luo Ling frowned in frustration. Look at her now. Rough skin, brittle hair. Where was the Nan family heiress? Where was the president of Luo Enterprises?
Those society ladies she usually competed with were probably sitting in front of their TVs right now, laughing at her.
Hmph.
And Ah Yun, really. With all those variety shows to choose from—travel shows, singing shows, dance shows, even escape rooms—any of them could have gotten her traffic. Why did she have to pick this savage, ugly wilderness show and put herself through this? And drag her along to suffer too.
But no matter what, for Ah Yun’s dream, she had sacrificed herself.
And it was working.
Even if she couldn’t help much in the competition, she had willingly come along to accompany Ah Yun on this survival show. She had gone hungry and been bitten by bugs for her. Ah Yun was already very moved.
Ah Yun had always been a considerate person, so warm-hearted, so thoughtful. Seeing her sacrifice this much for her, how could she not be moved?
When they moved to the lakeside, Ah Yun had held her hand and said she would wait for her at the hotel after the competition…
Thinking about this, a smile appeared on Luo Ling’s gloomy face. Her mother’s advice had been very useful. Enduring one or two months of pain to win Ah Yun’s heart was a good deal—low cost, high return.
There were too many outstanding girls around Ah Yun. Only by putting in special effort could she stand out.
Only by lasting longer in the competition could she leave a deeper mark on Ah Yun’s heart.
Of course, the longer she stayed on Survivor, the more personal popularity she would gain, and the more buzz she could create for the Luo family company, expanding their visibility.
So her mother wanted her to hold on in the competition for as long as possible.
Luo Ling boiled herself a bowl of hot water and wiped off some fruit to eat. Ah Yun had left her some food. It would last a few more days.
She couldn’t be as picky as before. Whatever she could eat, she had to hold her nose and choke it down.
Luo Ling folded her space blanket and looked through the supplies stored in the airdrop crate. She thought for a moment, then took a stack of space blankets and stuffed them into her backpack.
Ah Yun had said that Huang Heshan was east of the lake, and Liu Yinxi was south of the lake.
Luo Ling planned to go to the south side of the lake to gather supplies.
She had followed Liu Yinxi for a while yesterday and had roughly figured out Liu Yinxi’s range of activity. Liu Yinxi definitely wouldn’t go back to the same place she’d been yesterday, but she had to be active on the south side of the lake. If she waited until she got to a high point on the south side to observe, the lakeshore was wide and flat, easy to survey.
Sure enough, after a morning of observation, Luo Ling found traces of human activity near the lake and a few of the surrounding pools.
There was no one else in this competition area except the contestants. Excluding Huang Heshan and Yu Yan on the east side of the lake, it was very likely Liu Yinxi.
Luo Ling’s lips curled slightly. She shouldered her backpack and headed toward the pool. From a distance, she recognized Liu Yinxi cutting grass on the lakeshore.
Before she could get close, Liu Yinxi turned around sharply. The moment she saw her, her face immediately twisted into a look of disgust.
“Yinxi.”
Liu Yinxi bent the reed-like grass, tied it up, and stuffed it into her backpack, then quickly left the area.
Luo Ling hurried after her. “Yinxi, what are you picking those reeds for? It can’t be for firewood, right?”
Liu Yinxi ignored her.
“Slow down a little.” Luo Ling started jogging. “I know you’re mad at me. And honestly, if I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t be able to wrap my head around it so quickly either. But you’re a good girl. Remember what I used to tell you? Never stop thinking, no matter what. You always have to plan for yourself.”
Liu Yinxi pushed her away impatiently.
Why was she so unlucky?
She hadn’t even gone north. Who would have thought Luo Ling would have the guts to wander around the wilderness all by herself?
Luo Ling jogged to keep up. “Huang Heshan is too strong. You can’t beat her. You won’t get the prize money. Have you thought about what you’ll do after the competition? You’ll still be broke. Now I’m reaching out to you. Your contract is still with my company. I’ll keep paying your salary and making sure you have a basic living. Yinxi, we were together for three years. Three years. People have feelings. As a friend, I’m not going to stand by and watch you struggle.”
Liu Yinxi found it laughable. “Who’s your friend?”
She really regretted that when she left Luo Ling’s house, she’d smashed the cheapest glass.
She should have smashed something expensive.
Luo Ling’s expression froze for a moment, then she put on a doting smile. “Little Idiot1, always throwing a tantrum.”
The robot dog gave Liu Yinxi a close-up shot.
【Little (↗) I (↘) diot (~)】
【I feel like Liu Yinxi is about to throw up.】
【Is this how they used to talk?】
【If Luo Ling hadn’t pulled this stunt, I would have almost forgotten XiXi’s original persona.】
【Our XiXi’s contestant intro video was a delicate little alpha, you know (吃瓜)】
【What exactly is Luo Ling trying to do?】
【Trying to use a honey trap + a sob story on Liu Yinxi to scam supplies.】
【Luo Ling isn’t even as pretty as Liu Yinxi (笑哭)】
【You don’t get it. A lot of alphas like this delicate, pure-looking omega type.】
【Stop, don’t speak for all alphas (无语)】
【I guess I know where Luo Ling’s fans come from now (汗)】
【But Luo Ling is so weak. It’s impressive that she managed to find Liu Yinxi in such a big lake area.】
【Luo Ling’s survival skills are terrible. She put all her skill points into underhanded tricks.】
【Different species have different talents. There are powerful predators, and there are parasites (狗头)】
【XiXi is still too nice to Luo Ling. She should have cursed her out like Manman did. That would have shut her up (呸)】
Luo Ling reached out and grabbed Liu Yinxi’s jacket. “Yinxi, like I was saying, you always have to plan for yourself. We’re in a competition. The more supplies, the better. I’ll trade you a space blanket for a few fish. That’s a pretty good deal, isn’t it?”
Luo Ling had already calculated it. Fish and shrimp could be kept alive in a water basin and would last for several more days.
Liu Yinxi slowed down.
Seeing that she had gotten through to her, Luo Ling eagerly opened her backpack. “I have the blanket right here—”
“I’ll trade for fish,” Liu Yinxi interrupted. “But I don’t want a space blanket. I want milk powder.”
Luo Ling stopped what she was doing and looked up in confusion. “Milk powder? You hate drinking milk powder.”
“It’s for Teacher Nan,” Liu Yinxi said.
When she mentioned Nan Huaixu, Liu Yinxi’s eyes and voice softened considerably.
Luo Ling caught the change in Liu Yinxi’s expression and tone. The smile on her face disappeared. They had lived together and been in love for three years, and she had never seen Liu Yinxi be this considerate for her.
Luo Ling snorted. “Well, look at you. Learning to care about people.”
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