Substitute Alpha Gets Confessed to by Her Ex’s Aunt on a Survival Variety Show – Chapter 142
by Little PandaThe Fourth Elimination
Fire serpents swept through the surrounding vegetation, firelight flooding the air. Her smoke-blurred eyes couldn’t see a thing.
Ying Luoling stumbled blindly through the blaze, dodging the flames. The scorching smoke stimu.lated her throat into ceaseless coughing, and her whole body burned with pain.
In the chaos, just as she was about to lose consciousness, a gust of wind blew from nowhere. Then a thread of coolness brushed her cheek, gradually dispelling the heat surrounding her.
“Luoling, don’t faint, don’t fall.”
Ying Luoling heard a voice calling her name. Someone had charged into the fire, hauled her onto their back, and draped a wet garment over her.
The voice was familiar, the silhouette too. In her haze, Ying Luoling followed the figure, jostled through the sea of fire, thinking with her oxygen-starved brain: “You… you’re still the same, cough cough… always picking fights, saying every cruel thing there is, but in the end, cough—you still can’t bear to leave me behind.”
Barely managing to speak, Ying Luoling smiled weakly, her soot-blackened cheeks revealing white teeth.
“Guess if you die here, do you think I’ll still get the competition prize money?” Liu Yinxi said suddenly.
The roar of the fire was tremendous, but it couldn’t drown out Liu Yinxi’s clear voice.
It took Ying Luoling a long while to process those words. She chuckled dismissively: “True. If the show gets someone killed, cough, the competition can’t go on.”
A moment later, they’d put some distance behind them. The surrounding flames had weakened. Ying Luoling lifted her head and, over Liu Yinxi’s shoulder, saw tree branches ahead through the smoke.
Ying Luoling coughed violently, hacking up filth, and gasped in the fresh air.
Her breathing steadied a little. She turned to Liu Yinxi and said, “But you still risked your life to save me.”
Just mentioning it made Liu Yinxi angry.
If she’d known, she never would have read that trash heroine novel. Now she couldn’t have a moment’s peace even after transmigrating: “Right, you remember you owe me a life. And after the competition’s over, settle the money for all those fake bags you sent me—at full price.”
If all those designer bags were settled at full price, the original host’s debts would be more than half paid off.
Ying Luoling actually laughed through her coughs, lowered her head, and said in a soft, yielding voice: “Okay~”
Talking with Liu Yinxi had drained the last of Ying Luoling’s strength. Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, her whole body powerless, and she went limp without control.
Through the choking smoke, orange-red sparks drifted past them both.
As consciousness faded, Ying Luoling caught a scent—familiar yet strange.
She still recognized this pheromone scent she’d once despised.
Strange—she’d always found it unpleasant before.
But now, the dizzying smell of green tea dish soap was gone, replaced by a natural, delicate fragrance that gently soothed the heart.
Ying Luoling let her eyes fall shut, and in that instant felt completely at peace, as if cotton had drifted into clouds and white snow blanketed the earth.
She was dizzy: “You win, Liu Yinxi. I’ll keep my word. I’ll take care of you…”
“?” Liu Yinxi didn’t understand, but sensed it wasn’t anything good. “Oh, give it a rest. Just withdraw from the competition and go reunite with your Xue Yunshao.”
Ying Luoling smiled again against her back: “Little Vinegar Pot1.” Then she murmured to herself: “It really must have been my mistake…”
Yunshao was indeed wonderful, but wonderful to everyone. Liu Yinxi was awful to everyone, but at the moment of life and death, she was only good to her.
Even though Liu Yinxi used to be lazy, dramatic, and troublesome—that was because she’d come from nothing, never been taught right from wrong. If you looked closely, she was a pitiful younger sister… Now Liu Yinxi knew she’d been wrong, and she’d changed a great deal.
Ying Luoling thought it through clearly: if Xue Yunshao had faced today’s fire, she absolutely couldn’t have charged into the blaze to save her. So the saying “there will be someone who loves you more than they love their own life” was true. And this person had been by her side all along…
Liu Yinxi: “?”
What was Ying Luoling rambling about just now?
Ahead, a burning dead tree crashed down. Liu Yinxi snapped her attention to dodging the danger, breaking through the ring of flames.
A fierce wind swept past.
Rumble-rumble-rumble— A tremendous roar overhead. Liu Yinxi set the unconscious Ying Luoling down, wiped her soot-covered face, and looked up. Water mist poured down from the sky—several helicopters circled the fire zone, fighting the blaze.
One helicopter landed on the lake shore. Medical staff in white coats rushed over and carried Ying Luoling away on a stretcher.
“You alright?” A doctor came over, asking Liu Yinxi with concern.
Liu Yinxi shook her head. “I’m fine.” She raised her arm to check. “Some minor burns. No big deal.”
The doctor immediately treated her: “This treatment won’t count against your external aid quota. Thanks to your timely rescue, the damage was kept to a minimum—but it was far too dangerous! You are not to do anything this reckless again. Acts of bravery are admirable, but you must also cherish your own life and health.”
Liu Yinxi thanked the doctor helplessly and conceded: “You’re right. I understand.”
Liu Yinxi let out a long breath. It was over.
Thankfully, the fire was brought under control in time, the damage wasn’t too extensive, and the competition could continue.
As for what the production team and the culprit would have to pay in damages—that wasn’t Liu Yinxi’s concern.
The burned patch had been reduced to bare black, like a scorched hole in a green cloth.
Liu Yinxi gazed back for a long time and sighed with regret.
Such a beautiful lakeside, scarred by an intruder’s recklessness.
Who knew how long it would take for shoots to sprout from the scorched earth and green to cover it once more?
Damp wind blew in from the lake. Liu Yinxi spread her arms and let the wind flow past her cheeks and sides.
Another narrow escape survived.
She walked a few steps along the water’s edge, and an information panel from the Transmigration Reading System popped into her field of vision.
「Good evening, user liuyinxi.」
「Congratulations on completing the mandatory task · Rescue the Protagonist.」
「Through your efforts, you successfully rescued the protagonist and saved this world from the flames!」
「Now calculating your task rewards…」
「…」
「…Loading 98%」
「Calculation successful!」
「User liuyinxi, you may select from the following three characters with the highest favorability toward you （names listed by character importance in the original text）.」
「Protagonist · Ying Luoling.」
「Supporting Character · Yuan Fang.」
「Bit Part · Nan Huaixu.」
There were actually rewards?
Teacher Nan was a bit part…
Two complaints sprang to Liu Yinxi’s mind at once, and for a moment she didn’t know what to say.
Nan Huaixu’s favorability toward her actually ranked in the top three! Liu Yinxi hadn’t expected that. It must be from spending every day together—she’d behaved decently enough lately, salvaging a bit of her image in Teacher Nan’s eyes.
Ying Luoling’s favorability had risen because she’d just saved her life—that was obvious.
Those were understandable, but Yuan Fang? What the hell?
Didn’t matter. Whatever.
Liu Yinxi selected Nan Huaixu’s name.
「User liuyinxi, you have selected Nan Huaixu for profile viewing. Confirm?」
「Confirmed. Now opening Nan Huaixu’s character profile card.」
「…Profile card loaded successfully!」
「Character Name: Nan Huaixu」
「Attributes: Female, omega」
「Pheromone Scent: Floral, locust flower」
「Age: 32」
「Height: 167cm」
「Weight: （How rude）」
「Measurements: （Please have some decency）」
「Marital Status: Single」
「Family Background: ? （Available to unlock）」
「Hobbies: ? （Available to unlock）」
「Romantic Preferences: ? （Available to unlock）」
「Dealbreakers: ? （Available to unlock）」
「Wishes: ? （Available to unlock）」
「…Extended Information…」
「This character’s current favorability toward you: ? （Available to unlock）」
Thump-thump. Liu Yinxi’s breathing suddenly quickened, a nameless nervousness gripping her.
She could check Teacher Nan’s favorability toward her!
Liu Yinxi opened the last entry, and a value popped up in the dialog box.
「Nan Huaixu’s current favorability toward you: 65% （Tap to view details）」
「Loading favorability details for Nan Huaixu…」
「Error!」
「Friendly reminder: Sorry, you do not have enough points to view the favorability explanation at this time.」
Liu Yinxi grabbed at her hair in frustration.
What kind of trash system was this?
It had tasks but never announced them—only forcing her to do them when the transmigrated world was on the verge of collapse.
And what was this “reshape the main storyline” task? What would happen when she completed the main storyline?
What were points, anyway?
Why didn’t it give her any explanation!
「This reward （Nan Huaixu’s character profile card） has been saved to the system mailbox. You may view it at any time. Character information updates in real time.」
「Please continue your exploration.」
「This system uses a highly free open-world mode. Users may reshape the original book’s main storyline as they wish, generating a new world.」
「User points increase with main storyline task completion （current completion: 70%）. They may also be obtained through a small number of special task rewards （all tasks in this system are passively triggered）.」
「User liuyinxi, wishing you success in rebooting your wonderful new life.」
“…”
Liu Yinxi closed the reading system and gazed at the emerald lake, its surface calm.
Regardless—Nan Huaixu had a 65% favorability toward her.
That definitely counted as a real friend, right?
She was so happy.
The sun set, and night fell quietly, draping the earth in a layer of black.
The fire pillar at the shelter was lit. A figure paced back and forth across the field, her shadow roaming over the grass.
Suddenly, she spotted something and ran toward the trees. “Liu Yinxi!”
Nan Huaixu gripped her arm, examining her anxiously. “How are you?”
Liu Yinxi hadn’t tied her hair back as usual. Instead, it hung loose, covering her cheeks and ears, falling past her shoulders.
She laughed brightly. “Teacher Nan, I’m fine.”
Nan Huaixu’s face showed she didn’t believe it. She let go and asked softly, “Did you see Ying Luoling’s elimination notice?”
Liu Yinxi nodded slowly. “Mm.”
Nan Huaixu’s expression grew heavy. “Along with the elimination notice, there was also a fire alert, and a commendation for your act of bravery.”
Liu Yinxi moved her lips, then nodded again.
She looked at Nan Huaixu, and Nan Huaixu looked at her. Silence held.
Liu Yinxi understood. Nan Huaixu must be upset. She probably thought Liu Yinxi had broken her word again, gone behind her back to see Ying Luoling. She probably blamed her for being clueless2, for rushing to help Ying Luoling in a tangle she couldn’t cut loose from…
“I’m sorry.”
“I won’t forgive you.”
Liu Yinxi’s pupils contracted sharply. Before her heart could even tense, a warm embrace rushed to meet her.
Liu Yinxi’s chest felt Nan Huaixu’s heartbeat. Crystal tears welled at the corners of Nan Huaixu’s eyes. “I won’t forgive you for doing something so dangerous.”
“I wanted to go to you, but I knew I couldn’t help with anything. I couldn’t go and add to the chaos. Liu Yinxi, you have no idea how terrified I was.”
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