Substitute Alpha Gets Confessed to by Her Ex’s Aunt on a Survival Variety Show – Chapter 143
by Little PandaTeacher Nan’s Care
The more Liu Yinxi listened to Nan Huaixu’s voice, the more wrong it sounded—her nose was stuffy and buzzing, like she was crying.
Since transmigrating, Liu Yinxi had only ever learned to fake-cry like the original host. She had always been the one shedding tears and wailing—when had she ever had to tend to someone else’s tears?
She helplessly raised her hand, letting it hover in midair, as Nan Huaixu held her and carefully went through each of her faults. Then she sincerely admitted her mistakes.
Nan Huaixu was, after all, a mature and steady person. Once she had delivered the criticism that needed delivering, she wiped her own eye corners clean, gathered her emotions, and said to Liu Yinxi in a serious tone: “The rescue team treated you?”
Liu Yinxi rolled up her sleeve, revealing the ice compress patch. “Yes. The doctor said this treatment doesn’t count as outside assistance.”
“She’d dare count it as outside assistance!” Nan Huaixu’s volume spiked suddenly—a thunderous authority that would make even a heavenly god tremble three times over.
Liu Yinxi murmured quietly, “They didn’t. The rescue team came very promptly and took good care of me…”
She said her piece, while Nan Huaixu went about her own business, gently parting Liu Yinxi’s loose hair to see the area near her cheek, close to her ear. Her eyes couldn’t help but waver.
“And you said you were fine.” Nan Huaixu softly blew on the burn wound, which was dusted with medicinal powder. “When you’re injured, don’t cover it up—leave it open to air.”
“Oh.” Like a child caught doing something wrong, Liu Yinxi guiltily averted her gaze.
“Don’t think you can hide it from me.” Nan Huaixu removed the braided cord from her wrist, gathered Liu Yinxi’s hair, and tied it up for her.
Liu Yinxi hadn’t meant to hide it—she just wanted to save face. She didn’t want Nan Huaixu to see her looking so wretched, especially when she’d barely held herself together and still rushed in to play hero.
On the wooden table sat food, long since gone cold.
Nan Huaixu told Liu Yinxi to sit down and eat, then went to the mini fridge and brought over ice for her. “Skin after a burn feels uncomfortably hot. Hold this ice pack a little distance from the wound—it should make things more bearable.”
Liu Yinxi set down her lunch box and took it with both hands. “Thank you, Teacher Nan.”
Food tasted especially good when you were hungry.
Back at the fire scene, the doctor had given her a bottle of glucose. She had drunk some and brought the rest back for Nan Huaixu.
“That’s the doctor’s energy supplement for you—what are you giving it to me for?” Nan Huaixu frowned.
“It’s sweet, so I want to give it to you.” Liu Yinxi figured replenishing her energy was enough—drinking more would be a waste.
Nan Huaixu stuffed the bottle back into her hands. “You’re always the one thinking of others. As if I’d covet a little bottle of sugar water. Drink it yourself.”
Liu Yinxi smiled, feeling she could be pretty silly sometimes. After finishing her meal, she drank the rest.
Nan Huaixu sat quietly watching her eat, then suddenly propped her chin on her hand and sighed. “Liu Yinxi, you really are full of double standards.”
Liu Yinxi, having finished her sugar water, moved on to soup. She turned to look at her, not understanding. “Why do you say that?”
Nan Huaixu asked her, “Do you remember by the Toa River, when I ran into that Thai crocodile pretending to be someone who’d fallen into the water? What did you tell me then?”
Liu Yinxi lowered her eyes.
Nan Huaixu recalled it for her: “You said, when you see someone in danger, you have to assess whether you can save them. You can’t throw yourself away to save someone else. You taught me that, but you don’t follow your own advice.”
Liu Yinxi admitted her mistake with proper attitude. “Mm, you’re right.”
Nan Huaixu fell silent. She turned to look at Liu Yinxi for a while, her gaze gradually softening. She handed her a woven grass fan. “Use this—it’s newly made and cool.”
Liu Yinxi took the fan woodenly, thinking Nan Huaixu was going to lecture her a bit more. She hadn’t expected it to end so simply.
Nan Huaixu picked up a bag of herbs, set up the ladder, and climbed to the second floor. “The insect-repellent herbs upstairs have run out. I’ll smoke the loft first. My period attracts bloodsucking insects, and you’re injured, so I’ve prepared extra to fumigate the shelter—we’ll sleep more comfortably tonight, and good rest means faster healing.”
“Oh, mm…” Liu Yinxi watched her bustling about, struck for the first time by the overwhelming feeling that she was being taken care of by Nan Huaixu.
Liu Yinxi patted her forehead and laughed in chagrin. What had she been worried about earlier? That she didn’t know how to take care of a crying Nan Huaixu?
She told herself: Liu Yinxi, get this straight—in Teacher Nan’s eyes, the one who needs to be taken care of is you.
Probably a silly, reckless little alpha at that.
In the small loft upstairs, Nan Huaixu lit a bundle of herbs, blew out the embers, and hung them upside down around the bed.
She lowered the curtains, letting the herbal smoke fill the room for a while before opening them.
Nan Huaixu sat by the window, lifting one corner of the curtain to gaze at the night sky outside.
Tonight, a few stars were very bright.
Twinkling, twinkling.
Nan Huaixu looked at them, her lips curving slowly.
Thank you, Heavenly Mother1, for hearing my prayer and delivering Liu Yinxi safely2 back.
Liu Yinxi might be inexperienced, her thinking simple—a reckless little alpha—but she was brave. She admitted her mistakes, was kind, and driven.
Heavenly Mother, please continue to watch over her.
If You could protect her for a lifetime, safe and sound—then I would give up all those prayers for romance, for intimate union.
Jinzhou Island, Mulang City.
Hospital recuperation area.
Beep-beep.
The digital clock on the nightstand displayed the hour.
July 1, 9:00 AM.
Pure white gauze curtains swayed gently. Outside the balcony, green trees surrounded the area. On the glass round table sat ceramic teacups and a plate of delicate biscuits.
“Mom. Mm. Mm. Yunshao? She said she declined.” Wearing a hospital gown, Luoling sat in a balcony chair, looking down at her neatly trimmed nails. “Why did she decline the provincial team coaching position? How should I know what she’s thinking? Mom, Yunshao never liked competition, even as a child. She has a gentle nature—she got into competitive skating because she loved the art of it. After retiring, she wants to rest a while before making plans. You know that.”
The voice on the other end said something else. Luoling turned her head away, looking somewhat exhausted.
She reached up to support her temple, speaking into the phone: “Mom, I nearly burned to death, and you haven’t asked me a single question about how I’m recovering or come to see me—you just keep hounding me about Yunshao’s job? Am I your daughter, or is Xue Yunshao your daughter?”
Luoling listened to the phone for a while, her expression growing more serious. She stood up, pacing on the balcony while still on the phone.
“If Yunshao doesn’t join the provincial team, do her endorsement resources drop that drastically in tier?”
“It’s not that I insist on clinging to her—Mom, let me think properly…”
“What? The Xue family’s old house isn’t being demolished? What about all that property and land? I know her family’s elders spent a lot on medical bills. Mm, mm… And if Aunt Xue’s business runs into problems too, where would they find working capital now?”
Luoling stood in place, her grip on the phone tightening.
“So that’s how it is. Mom, thank you for reminding me. No wonder she was willing to reach out and reconnect with me last year, even said she came back for my sake… Mom, did you lend money to Aunt Xue? Mm, even though it’s not much, it’s still our goodwill. Business isn’t easy for any of us—nobody’s money falls from the sky.”
Luoling poured a cup of black tea, ate a small biscuit, and tucked the phone between her ear and shoulder.
“Liu Yinxi? Yes, she’s the one who saved me.” Saying this, Luoling’s eyes and lips curved into a smile. “Her? The commercial agency contract is still with my company. I know she’s very popular right now—several outdoor and sports brands have already come asking me about partnerships.”
“Oh, Mom, you don’t need to worry about the things between Liu Yinxi and me. She charged into a sea of fire without regard for her own life to save me—can I not understand her feelings? The past two years, I was wrong. I didn’t take good care of her… Mom, don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”
Luoling picked up another cherry and ate it, her eyes curving into crescents. “Mm, mm, that’s it for now. I’m hanging up. Bye, Mom.”
Beep. She hung up, picked up her tablet to watch the 《Survivor》 livestream, and scrolled through related trending news on her phone, humming a song involuntarily.
The hospital room door knocked a few times. A nurse came in to change dressings.
Xue Yunshao happened to visit at the same time, bringing fruit and flowers, which she set on the small side table by the wall.
Luoling smiled and greeted Xue Yunshao, then suddenly frowned and hissed, scolding the nurse: “That hurts—do you know what you’re doing? If you can’t manage, get the head nurse.”
The nurse quickly bowed and apologized. “I’m sorry, Miss Luo. I’ll be more careful.”
Luoling sighed and said impatiently, “Be gentler. I’m easy-tempered and easy to talk to, but if you ran into one of those unreasonable patients, you’d be in trouble. You need more practice.”
“Yes, yes.” The nurse hurried to change the dressing on another wound.
Xue Yunshao couldn’t help saying, “Lingling, dressing changes hurt by nature. The nurse is already being careful—don’t make things difficult for her.”
Luoling looked at her oddly. “Yunshao, I’m the one who’s injured. You don’t care about me, and you’re taking a stranger’s side?”
Xue Yunshao’s brow furrowed. “Lingling, I’m just being objective. I came because I care about you—look, I bought all your favorite foods, and those flowers are the ones you like too.”
Luoling looked at the fruit baskets and bouquets, her expression softening.
After the dressing change, Xue Yunshao said she would go to the nurse’s station for a fruit knife.
She and the nurse went out together, leaving the door half-closed. Luoling sat by the side table and heard them talking outside.
Nurse: “Teacher Xue, thank you just now.”
Xue Yunshao, as gentle as ever: “Don’t mention it. You weren’t in the wrong. Luoling’s injured and in a bad mood—please bear with her and take good care of her. Don’t take it personally.”
“No, no. Teacher Xue, I love watching your competitions and performances—could I take a photo with you?”
“Of course—where should we take it?”
“Really? That’s wonderful! Um, could you wait while I change into a dress? This nurse uniform is too ugly.”
“Nonsense—you’re clearly beautiful, like a white crane. This uniform is proof that you’re an angel in white…”
Luoling leaned against the white wall, listening quietly.
She curled the corner of her mouth.
Just like when they were teenagers—her gentle, warmhearted Ah Yun-jiejie, who was just as gentle and warmhearted to everyone else.
Xue Yunshao truly had been warming people’s hearts, unchanged, for over a decade.
Luoling pushed the fruit basket on the table aside, set down her tablet, and enlarged the 《Survivor》 livestream screen.
The livestream played on. The view switched from scenery to people, and Luoling’s eyes suddenly widened. She picked up the tablet and studied it closely, her fingers tightening around it slowly.
This person, by her side for three years, had never been this intimate with her…
On screen, the two sat by the lake, dangling their feet in the water.
“Come here, let me comb your hair.” Nan Huaixu held up a wooden comb and told the person beside her to sit closer.
“We’re in the wild anyway—just a savage. Who cares about a hairstyle?” Liu Yinxi casually grabbed a handful of her hair.
Nan Huaixu laughed. “I’m styling your hair—looking good is secondary. The main goal is to expose the wound on your face. Don’t keep it covered—it’ll heal slowly.”
Liu Yinxi obediently shuffled closer, turned her back, and let Nan Huaixu comb through her long hair.
Sunlight fell on the lake, shimmering.
Nan Huaixu used the wooden comb to carefully comb through Liu Yinxi’s hair.
The comb teeth passed through dark strands.
Liu Yinxi felt a tickle and ducked down, laughing softly. “It’s just a surface wound. I can do it myself. Don’t treat me like a little kid.”
“You can’t even tie your own hair—what are you if not a little kid?” Nan Huaixu caught her shoulders, looked into her eyes, and raised her eyebrows. “Tell me?”
Footnotes
- Modern Chinese internet slang that playfully replaces the traditional 'Lao Tian Ye' (Heavenly Father/God) with 'nai' (grandma/mother), creating a female-centric or humorous address to divine fate.
- Literally 'free shipping'—an e-commerce term used humorously here to mean ensuring someone's safe return, as if requesting guaranteed delivery.
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