Substitute Alpha Gets Confessed to by Her Ex’s Aunt on a Survival Variety Show – Chapter 127
by Little PandaIs the Mango Duck Liver Good?
Liu Yinxi brought back the milk powder Nan Huaixu wanted, but Nan Huaixu wasn’t as happy as she’d imagined.
And Nan Huaixu’s words were so strange. What did she mean, again going behind her back to see Ying Luoling?
Liu Yinxi didn’t understand. “You’re the one who said you wanted the milk powder. I ran into her while hunting. It’s not like I went looking for her on purpose.”
Nan Huaixu’s eyes darkened. “This whole lake area, primeval rainforest — what kind of hiking and tracking skills does Ying Luoling have? Two days in a row, she just happens to bump into you?”
Liu Yinxi: “?”
She quickened her pace to catch up with Nan Huaixu, who was walking ahead. “What do you mean? Are you saying I’m lying to you? That I went to see Ying Luoling on purpose?”
Nan Huaixu’s voice was cool and detached. “I didn’t say that.”
It felt like a stone had been pressed down on Liu Yinxi’s heart. She’d been busy all day — hunting wild ducks, sparring with Ying Luoling, getting the milk powder Nan Huaixu wanted — and what she came back to was a barrage of accusations.
Then what was all her hard work today for?
Liu Yinxi frowned. Exhaustion swept over her whole body, her brain going numb.
She just wanted to find somewhere cool to rest. She said to Nan Huaixu, “No matter what you think, I’m telling the truth. I didn’t lie, and I have nothing to be ashamed of. If you hadn’t said you wanted the milk powder, I wouldn’t have bothered.”
Usually when she returned to the shelter, Nan Huaixu would have water and fruit ready for her. But today Nan Huaixu went about her own business with a cold face, so Liu Yinxi had to find water herself.
Nan Huaixu set down the Sweet Root Grass and the cage holding the wild ducks, standing three or four meters away from Liu Yinxi. “What I said at the time was that it was a good thing we didn’t trade the chicken coop for milk powder. Didn’t I also say I didn’t want to trade with them?”
Liu Yinxi had just found water to quench her thirst and was beginning to feel a little better when Nan Huaixu picked up that unpleasant thread again.
“Yeah.” Liu Yinxi held the water bottle in one hand and turned to look at her. “But you did want it in the beginning, right? No matter who has the milk powder or who we’d trade with — let me ask you, are you interested in the milk powder itself or not? You didn’t want to trade, so I went to trade. Why is that a problem? I wanted to get you something you like. I wanted to make you happy. Am I wrong?”
The barrage of questions left Nan Huaixu stumped. She fell silent for a few seconds, avoiding Liu Yinxi’s bewildered gaze, her voice softening. “Thank you. I hope that from now on, whenever you want to make a trade, you’ll discuss it with me first… What supplies did you trade with Ying Luoling?”
Hearing Nan Huaixu’s tone soften, most of the anger in Liu Yinxi’s heart dissipated. “She wants a few fish. Tomorrow morning at nine, I’ll deliver them to the base of the hill on the west shore of the lake. I’ll hang the fish basket in a tree and leave — no face-to-face meeting.”
Nan Huaixu regained her composure. “A few fish is nothing. We can scoop some out of the fish pool for her.”
She asked Liu Yinxi, “Are we having duck for dinner? How do you want to cook it?”
Liu Yinxi let out a long breath, lay down on the grass mat, and closed her eyes. “Leave it there. Let me rest for a few minutes, then I’ll cook.”
Nan Huaixu looked at her quietly for two seconds, then bent down and placed a woven grass fan and two mangosteens beside Liu Yinxi before turning away to get the Sweet Root Grass and boil water for soup.
Presently, Liu Yinxi opened her eyes. A faint fruit fragrance drifted nearby, and she saw the fan and mangosteens Nan Huaixu had left.
From the look of it, Nan Huaixu’s mood had improved too.
Liu Yinxi picked up a mangosteen. Its thick rind was still beaded with moisture. She took out her knife and scored the shell, her gaze drifting.
Out of nowhere, why had Nan Huaixu suddenly lost her temper?
Nan Huaixu’s problem was with Ying Luoling. Why take it out on her?
Liu Yinxi couldn’t figure it out.
Or had she done something wrong…?
On the first floor of the shelter, flames burned brightly in the fire pit. The water in the mess kit bubbled and boiled, sending up wisps of white steam.
Nan Huaixu tied the washed and cut Sweet Root Grass into knots and dropped them into the boiling water.
She had never seen this wild grass before and hadn’t had the nerve to ask Liu Yinxi how to prepare it, so she brewed it the way one would brew an ordinary herbal decoction.
Nan Huaixu sat down to one side, resting her chin in both hands, and gazed out over the lake, awash in the glow of the sunset, lost in thought.
She had lost control of her emotions in front of Liu Yinxi.
She knew she shouldn’t have.
But the moment she saw Liu Yinxi take out the milk powder, her head had buzzed. A thin, vicious voice kept shrieking inside her:
Liu Yinxi went to see her ex-girlfriend.
Liu Yinxi goes off alone every day doing who knows what, and never tells you.
Liu Yinxi doesn’t include you.
Liu Yinxi makes decisions without consulting you.
Whoever Liu Yinxi wants to see, whoever she likes, it has nothing to do with you.
Liu Yinxi has nothing to do with you, Nan Huaixu.
—You’re nothing, Nan Huaixu.
Nan Huaixu’s stomach suddenly cramped. She curled into a ball, hugging herself, her eyes growing moist by degrees.
Nan Huaixu thought that if she were a dumpling right now, she’d be a bitter dumpling — not sweet at all, salt added, rough and astringent.
Nobody would want to eat it.
And as she thought about it, Nan Huaixu found herself ridiculous.
A woman in her thirties, unable to manage her emotions, taking her temper out on people for no reason.
Cowardly, and willful too — couldn’t even bring herself to say sorry to her face, couldn’t even peel a piece of fruit and hand it to Liu Yinxi directly.
And the most useless thing of all.
She couldn’t bring herself to say it plainly: I’m upset because I care about you, because I’m afraid you’ll fall back into old feelings and leave me behind…
Nan Huaixu sat alone in the sunset, sorting through her little bitter-dumpling emotions.
The Robot Dog lay obediently beside her, tilting its head.
【QAQ】
【Liu Yinxi made Manman cry (tears)】
【Liu Yinxi really deserves to die.】
【How is someone still this beautiful even when crying (tears)】
【Seriously, I could tell right away Manman did nothing wrong, she’s right (tears)】
【…】
【Is there no justice? What did our Xixi do wrong?】
【Xixi worked hard all day — climbing mountains, rolling in mud, catching ducks, cutting sweet grass, walking all that way with Ying Luoling to get the milk powder — and comes back to get yelled at by Nan Huaixu, then gets cyberbullying in the livestream chat too. So unfair (wronged)】
【Sorry, I genuinely don’t understand — why is Nan Huaixu giving Liu Yinxi attitude?】
【Yeah, Xixi didn’t even say anything harsh. What’s Nan Huaixu crying about?】
【Counting the days, they’re due for their cycle again — pheromone fluctuations, emotional swings.】
【Probably.】
【Since when is Nan Huaixu so short-sighted? This is wilderness survival. Regardless of whether you want to eat something or have issues with another contestant, you can’t waste an opportunity to acquire supplies. Now that we have a fishing net, catching fish is easy. Trading fish for high-protein milk powder is a guaranteed win — of course they should trade. Liu Yinxi’s approach is the correct, smart one.】
【Liu Yinxi really is something. Manman already said she didn’t want to trade with Xue Yunshao and Ying Luoling, but Liu Yinxi still went off with her ex-girlfriend to her shelter without a word.】
【Same here. Watching this made my thyroid nodules hurt.】
【What does that even have to do with it? Xixi just went to get supplies (speechless)】
【I think Liu Yinxi and Ying Luoling’s relationship is sensitive, so it’s understandable that a current teammate would have concerns. Plus, trading supplies is a team action — you have to discuss it with your teammate. If I had a teammate who made a decision without telling me and used our shared supplies, I’d be angry too.】
【A current teammate isn’t a current girlfriend. What’s there to be concerned about regarding meeting an ex?】
【Ooh, sister, you just hit the nail on the head (raising index finger)】
【Nan Huaixu was pretty mean to Yuan Fang before too!】
【Too scared to speak (putting an ear to the ground)】
【You know, sometimes the line between friendship and love is pretty blurry (silly)】
【The line between love and attachment is blurry too (doge face)】
【Relax. Based on my two months of watching this stream, Nan Huaixu’s mood will be fine after a couple of coaxing words from Liu Yinxi ^u^】
【Tsk tsk, Manman is so easy to coax.】
【Tsk tsk, Xixi is such a softie.】
Liu Yinxi pan-fried the duck liver.
Fragrant slices of duck liver, paired with mango slices and hand-rolled rice, became duck liver mango sushi, arranged neatly on a banana leaf plate.
Dinner also included lemon-roasted duck legs and wings.
Cooking took a while, so by the time they sat down to eat, it was already dark.
Nan Huaixu sat on the grass mat beside the fire pit and filled Liu Yinxi’s bamboo tube with the sweet soup brewed from Sweet Root Grass.
Liu Yinxi’s bamboo tube had a simple line drawing of a little dog that Nan Huaixu had carved with her knife. Nan Huaixu’s bamboo tube had a smiley face that Liu Yinxi had carved.
Nan Huaixu looked down. On the wooden floor were her shadow and Liu Yinxi’s.
Liu Yinxi reached over and handed her a necklace strung from colorful feathers and vine grass.
Nan Huaixu recognized the feathers — they were from the Small-Faced Duck. She had once remarked that the feathers were beautiful.
Liu Yinxi had made them into a necklace for her.
Nan Huaixu accepted the Feather Necklace. Liu Yinxi placed a piece of duck liver mango sushi in her bowl, then added a roasted duck leg.
Nan Huaixu looked at the food piling higher and higher in her bowl and couldn’t help the corners of her mouth lifting.
She quickly put the Feather Necklace on, then began adding food to Liu Yinxi’s bowl in return.
It was the quietest meal they’d had since the competition began. The duck liver and mango were a perfect match, the roasted duck leg was fresh, tender and juicy, delicious.
Though neither of them spoke, both looking at the food piled high in their bowls thought: She’s forgiven me, hasn’t she.
Liu Yinxi couldn’t figure out where she’d gone wrong, but one thing she was certain of — Nan Huaixu wouldn’t lose her temper for no reason.
Nobody gets angry without a cause. Either something happened, or they’re physically unwell.
What was the point of agonizing over right and wrong.
If there’s anger, then soothe it.
If there’s sadness, then smooth away the bad feelings.
No matter what, Liu Yinxi didn’t want Nan Huaixu to be unhappy. If Nan Huaixu was upset, she’d be upset too.
She wanted Nan Huaixu to be happy.
Did you know, when Teacher Nan smiles, she’s absolutely beautiful.
It wasn’t until she saw the smile on Nan Huaixu’s lips that the tightness in Liu Yinxi’s chest finally eased.
Nan Huaixu noticed the furtive glances from across the way, darting here and there, and couldn’t help laughing. “How come you’re not saying anything?”
Liu Yinxi poked at the food in her bowl with her chopsticks. “I’m thinking about what to say.”
“Mm. Figured it out yet?”
Liu Yinxi actually wanted to ask Nan Huaixu why she’d been angry, but the words circled once on her tongue and she swallowed them back. “Is the mango duck liver good?”
Nan Huaixu nodded. “It’s delicious. You made it really well.”
Liu Yinxi’s eyes curved into a smile.
Cluck-cluck-cluck-cluck!
From the dark small bamboo forest came the camellia chicken’s loud, shrill crowing.
Liu Yinxi and a startled Nan Huaixu exchanged a glance, set down their bowls and chopsticks, and ran toward the chicken coop.
Welp being in your 30’s is still young and you dont have relationship experience Manman, not to mention your experiences with others are pretty barebones and you’re a pretty guarded person, im actually eith her, going off and making deals without consulting her …. not the right way.
Of course mc did it for her and all but welp …