Substitute Alpha Gets Confessed to by Her Ex’s Aunt on a Survival Variety Show – Chapter 135
by Little PandaThe Eleventh Airdrop
Her head wasn’t as dizzy, her throat wasn’t as sore, and her whole body felt much lighter.
Nan Huaixu slowly opened her eyes. Outside and on the roof, the patter of rain still sounded, and soft daylight filtered through the curtain.
It was daylight, but the rain hadn’t stopped.
Nan Huaixu blinked, trying to push herself up, gradually regaining her strength.
She sat up on the bed, glanced toward the window, and habitually raised her wrist to check her bracelet.
Today’s date: June 28.
Current time: 9:14 AM.
A hot-air balloon airdrop icon floated in the upper right corner of the 28th square on the calendar — it’s airdrop day today~
Nan Huaixu’s eyes flew open. Why hadn’t her alarm gone off…
She turned to look around and discovered that Liu Yinxi was actually sitting by the wooden window, weaving a cage.
Nan Huaixu opened her mouth, her dry vocal cords vibrating, and her voice came out a bit hoarse. “Liu Yinxi, has the airdrop already been grabbed?”
Now among their three groups of contestants, with Xue Yunshao eliminated, only Ying Luoling remained. If the differential drop only delivered two crates, Huang Heshan would grab one, and the other would certainly belong to Liu Yinxi.
Liu Yinxi looked up, sunlight spilling across her delighted smile. “Teacher Nan, you’re awake! How does your body feel? Still dizzy and nauseous? Has the cold gotten any better?”
Nan Huaixu touched her forehead. “Much better.”
She crawled out of the mosquito net and sat down in front of Liu Yinxi. “What about the airdrop? What was it this time?”
“Ahem.” Liu Yinxi set down the half-woven cage in her hands and turned to Nan Huaixu with crinkling, smiling eyes. “Teacher Nan, I need to tell you something.”
Nan Huaixu thought she was acting a bit strange and looked at her suspiciously. “Hmm? What is it?”
Liu Yinxi scratched her earlobe. “It’s just…”
Nan Huaixu grew anxious. “Just say it. Being this hesitant isn’t your style.”
Liu Yinxi’s brows lowered, as if she’d made up her mind about something, and she said bluntly, “I didn’t go for the airdrop.”
A silent pause.
Nan Huaixu stared blankly for a few seconds, then checked her bracelet, suspecting her fever-addled eyes had misread the date.
After confirming again and again that there was no mistake, Nan Huaixu demanded in her hoarse voice, “Why didn’t you go? You — why — didn’t you go?!”
Liu Yinxi sighed softly and said gently, “This airdrop was for food. We can provide for ourselves. Your fever still hadn’t broken in the morning, it was raining outside, and you also…”
Nan Huaixu looked her straight in the eye. “I also what?”
Liu Yinxi lowered her gaze and looked away. “Nothing.”
Some things were better left unsaid.
It didn’t matter.
Liu Yinxi brought Nan Huaixu a food container and a banana-leaf plate. Inside the container was warm fish slice porridge, and on the leaf plate were beef jerky, roasted sweet potato chunks, and a fruit platter.
Nan Huaixu took the food container, and Liu Yinxi handed her the medicine box and a bamboo tube filled with warm water. “Remember to take your medicine after you eat. You’ll feel better.”
Nan Huaixu set down the food container and took the box and water. Seeing Liu Yinxi about to go downstairs, she said, “Liu Yinxi, last night’s notice said today is the last food supply of this competition. There won’t be food in any future airdrops. Grabbing an airdrop would be like shooting fish in a barrel for you. You could’ve just gone and gotten it, couldn’t you? Did what I told you yesterday go in one ear and out the other? You could have just left me here.”
Liu Yinxi glanced back at her and lowered her head. “I’m sorry.”
Nan Huaixu fell silent. She actually hadn’t argued back.
Nan Huaixu’s heart drummed nervously. Had she gone too far this time? Liu Yinxi had been taking care of her all along; she couldn’t be so aggressive.
“The fire pit is lit downstairs. I’m going to boil water.” Liu Yinxi pushed open the door panel and made her way down the ladder. “Just leave everything when you’re done eating. I’ll come up and clean up later. Remember to take your medicine.”
Nan Huaixu watched Liu Yinxi’s figure slowly disappear through the doorway. She gazed out the window. The misty drizzle wove into a gauzy veil, and the plants, nourished by the rain, glowed with an even deeper green — lush as a painting.
Nan Huaixu looked at the breakfast on the wooden board — quite a spread — with the medicine box and bamboo tube set beside it.
She reached past the food container and bamboo tube to pick up the medicine box. The opened suppression pill1 lay quietly in its blister pocket.
“…” Nan Huaixu pinched the tiny pill between her fingers and knitted her pretty brows in distress. “You, you…”
She could probably guess what Liu Yinxi’s unfinished “also” was about.
From last night until this morning, she had been sleeping with her arms tightly wrapped around Liu Yinxi’s arm.
As for when she’d let go of Liu Yinxi and returned her personal freedom — probably after all the airdrops had been snatched up by Huang Heshan and Ying Luoling.
Ah…
Nan Huaixu slapped her forehead in shame.
And she’d even made the other person say sorry.
Who was actually sorry to whom?
Nan Huaixu crawled to the doorway and leaned over the edge of the wooden board, looking down. “Liu Yinxi.”
Liu Yinxi looked up. “What’s wrong? Do you need something? I can bring it up.”
Nan Huaixu shook her head.
Liu Yinxi tilted her head. “?”
Nan Huaixu paused, then lowered her lashes and said, “I know what you were going to say. And… I’m sorry about just now. Thank you.”
“Oh…” Liu Yinxi’s expression turned thoughtful, a bit confused.
Nan Huaixu didn’t care whether she understood or not. Smiling, she pulled herself back inside, sat down by the window, and picked up the food container, drinking half a bowl of fish slice porridge in one go.
The porridge was cooked until very soft and tender. The fish was delicate and savory — even without seasoning, the natural flavor of the ingredients was delicious.
Porridge felt soft going down. She’d heard the touch of a kiss was soft too.
Nan Huaixu had always only used camera angles when filming kiss scenes. The director told her to imagine a soft, sucking sensation, expressing tenderness through her lips, her expression, and the body language of her entire being.
She closed her eyes and slowly rolled the rice grains and fish slices into her mouth with the tip of her tongue, imagining a scene for two.
On the first floor, a water bucket lay on its side on the wooden boards.
Their stored fresh water was running low.
Liu Yinxi gazed at the curtain of rain outside and thought for a moment. She placed the bucket outside the shelter — the rainwater in the primeval rainforest was clean, so if they could collect more, she wouldn’t have to go out in the rain to fetch water.
Beside her, the two robot dogs’ screen faces both showed: 0^0
Liu Yinxi patted Dog 6’s head. “You’ve been hungry for two days. It’s tough, isn’t it.”
Dog 6: T-T
Dog 4: :(
Liu Yinxi pushed Dog 4 next to the fire pit and blew the flames higher. “The sun is a giant ball of fire. Look at this firelight — you can eat this too. Enjoy your meal.”
Dog 6 scrambled away on all fours and hid in the corner: =_=#!
【Will the robot dog get roasted?】
【Probably not, but she shouldn’t mess around like that （facepalm）】
【So can firelight be absorbed by solar panels?】
【The light spectra are completely different （laugh-cry）】
【Why hasn’t Nan Huaixu come downstairs?】
【Has Manman’s bad cold gotten any better? （worried）】
【Just heard Manman call Liu Yinxi — her voice is a bit hoarse, but she sounds like she’s in okay spirits. She must be a bit better （cute rabbit）】
【Ahhh, that’s good then （little person hugging）】
【Sigh, I don’t know what illness Yu Yan has. She’s been taking her medicine, but her condition gets worse by the day. She says it’s not salt deficiency or a cold — probably an immune system disorder. She’s visibly thinner.】
【This must break Huang-jie’s heart （frown）】
【That’s terrible. Yu Yan should withdraw from the competition and get properly checked at a hospital. Don’t let it be some parasite infection （scared）】
【Why didn’t Liu Yinxi go for the airdrop? Nan Huaixu is sick — is she sick too?】
【I can’t even — do you have pig brains? One person is sick, so the other goes for it!】
【Watch your language!】
【I saw Ying Luoling arrive at the lake beach past eight and discover there was still one airdrop crate left. She hugged it happily and carried it off. I’m so mad I could explode （going crazy）】
【I haven’t been watching the other contestants’ streams. What supplies were in this airdrop?】
【Huang Heshan got a box of self-heating hotpot, and Ying Luoling got a can of luncheon meat.】
【Ying Luoling got off easy （eye-roll）】
【How can she play it so safe? （speechless）】
【Must be ‘protagonist halo’ （doge）】
The silver can gleamed under the milky daylight.
The hand that held it slowly lowered. Ying Luoling walked into her grass shelter and smiled at the robot dog’s camera. “As long as you don’t give up, even a little white rabbit can snatch tasty treats from the big bad wolf.”
However, she’d noticed Huang Heshan heading back with an airdrop crate on her way there, which meant Liu Yinxi hadn’t gotten any supplies.
Liu Yinxi must have run into some trouble. It seemed pointless to rely on her from now on — she’d have to find a way to seek help from Huang Heshan.
Ying Luoling examined the luncheon meat in her hand, calculating carefully. “Once this is opened, it won’t keep well. I’ll store it as reserve rations. I don’t eat much anyway, so I won’t need a lot each day. If I don’t go out unless I’m short on something, I can conserve my energy as much as possible.”
Ying Luoling gave the camera a thumbs up. “Yunshao, don’t worry. Even though you’re not in the competition anymore, I’ll stick it out to the end!”
【《Survivor》Main Livestream Host: Yunshao, your teammate is full of energy. Do you have confidence in her?】
【Special Guest Host · Xue Yunshao: Mm, I have confidence in Lingling. She may look delicate on the outside, but she’s actually a girl with tremendous inner strength.】
【Ahhhhh! Yunshao! Yunshao!】
【So great, an eliminated contestant is finally guesting on the livestream （tears of joy）】
【Yunshao is so gentle!】
【Host: Yuan Fang, long time no see. Didn’t Xiao Lu come with you?】
【Special Guest Host · Yuan Fang: Oh, she got a new job and went back to the country. I’ll represent her~】
【Host: Alright, what do you think of this airdrop’s results?】
【Yuan Fang: Just remember one thing — Liu Yinxi doesn’t lose out. It’s just a can of luncheon meat. No big deal.】
【Host: Oh? You have that much confidence in Xiao Liu?】
【Yuan Fang: Of course. All my championship bets are on her. If that stinker loses, I’ll make her pay me back.】
【… （facepalm）】
【Boss Yuan’s energy is still as strong as ever.】
【Don’t worry, Yuan Fang. I bet on Xixi to win too. We’ll definitely clean up!】
Around 11 AM, the rain paused for a while. Liu Yinxi took advantage of the break to go to the stream to fetch water. She caught a lizard from the chicken coop and locked it in a woven vine cage, bringing it back to the shelter for lunch.
In the afternoon, the rain poured down again. It wasn’t until dark that the downpour finally eased slightly.
Liu Yinxi and Nan Huaixu sat on either side of the fire pit, warming themselves.
“Here, tonight’s.” Liu Yinxi handed Nan Huaixu a bowl of brown medicine.
Nan Huaixu sighed, pinched her nose, and drank it down. “This is just sheer ‘bitter torture.'”
“If you won’t take the bitter medicine, you’ll suffer the bitter cold.”
“I’ll take the bitter medicine then.” Nan Huaixu hurriedly stuffed banyan figs2 into her mouth. The bitterness of medicine could be masked by the sweetness of fruit; a cold would be miserable from head to toe.
Liu Yinxi washed the food container and boiled water with Sweet Root Grass.
Suddenly, she caught sight of a sneaky black shadow emerging from behind the canopy — like a small animal trying to steal something.
Liu Yinxi stood up, grabbed her bamboo spear, and pointed it at the shadow. “Shoo! Get out of here!”
The shadow didn’t flee. Instead, it crept forward a little.
Awoo! Woof-woof! A few excited barks rang out from the direction of the canopy, followed by the rustling sound of a plastic bag shaking.
Footnotes
- Suppression Medication: omega suppressor pills in the Omegaverse (ABO) genre, typically taken orally to suppress pheromone production and prevent heat periods.
- Banyan figs: small edible figs from the banyan tree, commonly found in tropical regions. Their mild sweetness makes them useful for masking bitter flavors.
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