Substitute Alpha Gets Confessed to by Her Ex’s Aunt on a Survival Variety Show – Chapter 15

A Sudden Encounter with Flying Ants, and Preparations for Rain

Nan Huaixu felt that Liu Yinxi always had to act up​¹ just when her opinion of her was starting to improve slightly.

Nan Huaixu mulled over this feeling. Compared to Liu Yinxi’s previously affected and artificial behavior, she felt that the current Liu Yinxi was more aptly described as “wantonly provocative.”

            

Perhaps it was the hardship of being broke after her breakup with Luoling that had changed her. Or maybe Liu Yinxi had always been this way, and Nan Huaixu simply hadn’t known her well enough due to their limited contact in the past.

Although Nan Huaixu couldn’t stand either affectation or wantonness, if she had to choose one to deal with, she would choose wantonness—it was easy to discipline.

Nan Huaixu picked up the thread of conversation. “I wouldn’t know if I was asleep, but I’ve never heard you snore, and you’ve never rolled out of bed in the middle of the night. Your sleeping posture is passably decent.”

            

Liu Yinxi nodded. “Yep, yep. I don’t even kick off the covers when I sleep at home. I just fall asleep and don’t wake up until morning.”

She blew on the roasted cassava, trying to cool it down faster. Suddenly, she said, “Nan-jiejie, you talk in your sleep. You scared me awake the night we landed.”

Nan Huaixu was taken aback. “?”

            

“I… what did I say in my sleep?”

“I couldn’t hear clearly. A nightmare, probably. It sounded like you weren’t sleeping very well, so I didn’t wake you on the morning of the airdrop. I wanted you to sleep in a little longer. Hooo—hooo—” After speaking, Liu Yinxi puffed out her cheeks and blew on the cassava.

Nan Huaixu tucked a strand of long hair behind her ear, her gaze distant as she stared at the mountain forests in the distance, lost in thought.

            

Tired of blowing, Liu Yinxi switched to fanning the cassava with a leaf, testing the temperature with her hand from time to time.

“It’s not hot anymore. Nan-jiejie, we can eat.”

She handed the small plastic fork from the instant noodles to Nan Huaixu. The cassava had already been cut into small, bite-sized pieces.

            

Liu Yinxi speared a piece of cassava with her chopsticks. It was roasted to a crystalline, tender white. It melted in her mouth with a gentle press, soft and fluffy with a slight fibrous texture. A faint, sweet aftertaste bloomed on her taste buds. It was much more delicious than the banana pith or the horn plantains.

Nan Huaixu ate very slowly, chewing each mouthful many times. This was a dietary habit she had developed for fitness and body sculpting, and it also allowed her to savor the flavor a little longer.

Liu Yinxi opened the airdrop crate and took stock of the supplies inside: one pack of Braised Beef Noodles, one pack of Fresh Shrimp and Fish Cake Noodles, half a bag of instant noodle seasoning, eight pieces of cassava, five salak fruits, and a large bunch of bracken and banana pith.

            

Next, she checked the turnover box: two buckets of water, four plastic bottles filled with water, three young coconuts, a toy bucket for foraging on the beach, a stack of plastic bags, a bundle of vines, and a pile of coconut shells.

They had plenty of fresh water. For starch, they had cassava. For vitamins and fiber, they had salak fruit, bracken, and banana pith. For protein, they had seafood from the beach. And for a quick energy boost, they had the instant noodles.

Liu Yinxi used a clean, small stone chip to press the opening of the seasoning packet closed to prevent it from getting damp. Their only salt supply was this small half-packet and the seasoning in the two unopened packs of instant noodles. They had to avoid opening the noodle packs for as long as possible. In the rainforest’s humidity, an opened noodle cake would easily grow moldy or attract small insects.

            

By this calculation, their salt reserves were far from sufficient. At most, the small half-packet of seasoning would be gone in another five days.

Liu Yinxi pondered this. It was imperative that they boil enough crude salt as soon as possible, while their shelter was still by the sea.

Every morning and evening, she would check the book transmigration reading system, looking to see if the original book’s plot had been deleted or altered, if there were any changes to the information on the other contestants, and repeatedly confirming the location of the next airdrop.

            

The second airdrop would still be at the shipwreck on the beach. But starting from the third, the drop locations would gradually move away from the sea and deeper into the rainforest. By then, foraging on the beach and boiling salt would become extremely difficult.

During the ten-day novice period, airdrops occurred every three days. Afterward, the drops would leave the coast, and the intervals between them would grow longer. By her estimation, they had about ten more days to boil salt.

Boiling salt required a large amount of seawater. Considering they might lack meat later on when they went deeper into the rainforest, they would also need extra salt to cure dried fish, which further increased the amount of seawater they needed.

            

It was impossible for them to carry seawater back and forth to the shelter every day. So, Liu Yinxi planned to build a stone stove in the coconut grove by the sea specifically for boiling salt. For the next two days, they would focus on preparations and gathering fuel.

“Liu Yinxi, what are you spacing out for?”

“Huh?”

            

Nan Huaixu pushed two pieces of cassava toward her with the plastic fork. “I asked if you’re full. There’s still more.”

Liu Yinxi pushed the banana leaf plate holding the cassava back toward her. “I’m full. You eat.”

Nan Huaixu forked a piece of cassava and chewed it slowly. “What were you thinking about so intently?”

            

Liu Yinxi picked up a small stick and started drawing in the ashes of the fire. “Weren’t we talking about trying to boil salt a couple of days ago?”

“Yes.” Nan Huaixu sat down beside her, looking at the simple map and stove design she was drawing in the ash.

Liu Yinxi continued, “The cassava is enough to last us a few days. For now, we just need to forage on the beach. I was thinking we should get the salt boiled sooner rather than later. Otherwise, once we finish that small packet of seasoning, we’ll have no salt.”

            

“Mm…”

Liu Yinxi drew a circle on the map where the bay met the coconut grove. “I plan to build the stove here. The only suitable thing we have for boiling salt is the mess tin. It has a small capacity, so the yield will be low each time. That’s why we need to prepare enough fuel in advance.”

Nan Huaixu asked, “Should we look for a suitable container on the beach?”

            

Liu Yinxi replied, “I think the probability of finding a pot is zero.”

“What about an iron barrel or something?”

“No good. We don’t know what was stored in it before. There could be chemical residue. When the crude salt crystallizes on the barrel walls, scraping it off could mix in toxins.”

            

Nan Huaixu sighed in resignation. “Right now, the mess tin really is our best option.”

Liu Yinxi nodded. “For now, let’s just use coconut shells to eat from.”

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The next day, Liu Yinxi built the stone stove in the coconut grove while Nan Huaixu gathered firewood and palm fiber, hauling it all to the seaside.

            

During the day, they piled stones and chopped branches. In the evening, they foraged on the beach. At night, they applied insect repellent and rested.

After a few days at the shelter, both Liu Yinxi and Nan Huaixu had gradually adapted to the rainforest environment and were sleeping more soundly.

Occasionally, a strange cry would echo from the deep forest. Nan Huaixu asked Liu Yinxi, “Listen, that gu gu, jiu jiu sound, what’s making it?”

            

Liu Yinxi said, “Sounds like a ground-cuckoo.”

“What about that shashasha sound?”

“Could be the wind rustling the plants, or it could be insects, or the sound of a small animal like a forest rat passing through the grass.”

            

Nan Huaixu’s shoulders hunched. “Rats? Are there rats here?”

“Of course. There are tons of rats in tropical regions.”

Goosebumps rose on Nan Huaixu’s skin. “You know a lot of animals. Is your hometown in the Nan’ou region?”

            

Nan’ou is the southernmost part of the country’s mainland, with a climate very similar to Southeast Asia.

Coincidentally, the original owner was from Nan’ou, and Liu Yinxi was also a southerner in her real life, so she answered with confidence. “Yes, many of the plants and animals in my hometown are similar to the ones here.”

Nan Huaixu sighed softly. “We’re both very lucky. This is an environment you’re familiar with, and I can borrow your understanding of it.”

            

Liu Yinxi raised her arms high, full of fighting spirit. “We will be victorious!”

“Nan-jiejie, let’s give our team a name!”

Startled by her sudden shout, Nan Huaixu took a step back. “What do you want to name it?”

            

Liu Yinxi’s expression was serious. “My name has Liu (willow), and yours has Huai (pagoda tree). We’re the Green Leaf Squad.”

Nan Huaixu said, “That’s terrible.”

“Oh.”

            

Liu Yinxi thought as she walked. “Light of Jinzhou!”

“Rejected.”

“Rainforest Heroines!”

            

“…”

“Alright, stop with all this nonsense. The competition doesn’t require a team name.”

“I think having a team name can increase team cohesion.”

            

Nan Huaixu wondered what kind of cohesion there was to talk about with just two people. She said, “How about 46?”

Liu Yinxi clapped her hands. “Yay! You’re Number 4, and I’m Number 6.”

“Nan-jiejie, I think the number four really suits you.”

            

“…Why?”

“Because Huaixu means the fourth month, April.”​²

Nan Huaixu disliked this name. She felt it was too casual, given to her by her mother simply because she was born in April. Compared to Liu Yinxi’s name, which came from the phrase “Great sound is faint; a great image has no form,”​³ hers felt exceptionally childish.

            

Liu Yinxi’s parents gave her such a beautiful name. They must have loved her very much, at least before they divorced…

What a pity.

Nan Huaixu looked away and walked toward a palm tree. She used her knife to cut some palm fiber from it. This last bundle of fuel would be enough. It was almost sunset, perfect for catching fish and shrimp by the sea.

            

A buzzing sound started up in the bushes ahead. Nan Huaixu assumed it was mosquitoes or flies and didn’t pay it much mind. But the sound grew louder and closer. A swarm of large, gray flying insects burst out from the leaves, whooshing straight for her face. Nan Huaixu’s scalp tingled, and she let out a terrified scream.

Quick of eye and deft of hand, Liu Yinxi shook out her jacket and covered Nan Huaixu’s head, grabbing her wrist through the sleeve. She led her quickly out of the woods and onto the beach.

Nan Huaixu leaned against a coconut tree, panting. “Hah… what were those insects? Why were there so many?”

            

Liu Yinxi answered her, but her eyes were on the sky. “Termites.”

Nan Huaixu touched her cheek. The memory of the swarm of insects flying at her face gave her a fresh wave of goosebumps. “So disgusting.”

“Nan Huaixu, we might not be able to boil salt after all.” Liu Yinxi looked at the sky over the sea for a moment, then turned her gaze to the mountain range in the east.

            

The stone stove had just been built, and they had gathered plenty of fuel. All the preparations were done according to plan. This sudden, uncontrollable change made Nan Huaixu a little anxious. “Why?”

“A heavy rain is coming.”

“Rain?” Nan Huaixu looked up at the blue sky, where cotton-candy-like white clouds drifted high above. “But isn’t the sun still out?”

            

“Jinzhou Island has a maritime climate, which is different from the continental climate we’re used to. It’s also affected by the mountains and ocean currents, so the weather is volatile. Often, we don’t have time to judge the weather by looking at the sky. Termites like to fly out of their nests to mate when the air humidity increases. This phenomenon is called a ‘nuptial flight,’​⁴ and it usually happens right before or after a big storm.”

As Liu Yinxi explained, she gathered a large number of banana leaves. She wrapped up the firewood and palm fiber, tied the bundles with vines, and secured them to the branches of a tree with a dense canopy to keep them from getting wet.

“April is the relatively dry season on Jinzhou Island, so the rain probably won’t last for too long. We’ll wait until after the storm to boil the salt. Let’s prepare more food and reinforce the shelter.”

            

“Okay, I understand,” Nan Huaixu replied, helping Liu Yinxi cover the stone stove with large banana leaves and rocks.

That evening, they spent extra time catching fish on the beach. It was almost eight o’clock and completely dark by the time they turned on their wristband flashlights and returned to the shelter.

With Nan Huaixu providing light, Liu Yinxi dug a drainage ditch around the perimeter of the shelter. Then she replaced all the withered leaves on the roof, added two thick layers of fresh banana leaves, and tied them down securely with vines. She also used rocks to build a raised platform, stacked the turnover box and airdrop crate on top, and covered them with banana leaves for waterproofing.

            

The two of them worked until the early hours of the morning, finally collapsing into the shelter, exhausted.

Liu Yinxi fought off her drowsiness to check the calendar on her wristband, confirming that the next morning’s airdrop was indeed at the shipwreck on the beach. Only then did she close her eyes in peace.

“Liu Yinxi,” Nan Huaixu called softly from the other side. “For the airdrop tomorrow morning, I’ve set an alarm for six. If you wake up first, you have to wake me. Let’s not split up.”

            

“Mm,” Liu Yinxi mumbled, half of her mind already in dreamland.

She vaguely heard a gentle voice lingering by her ear. “Let’s not split up…”

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