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

Substitute Alpha Gets Confessed to by Her Ex’s Aunt on a Survival Variety Show – Chapter 150

by Little Panda

Ga-gu Ga-gu, the Little Shrew Steals Rabbit Scraps

What kind of talk was that.

Liu Yinxi moved a bit farther from Huang Heshan, inexplicably meeting her sour face. “What’s your problem? I’m checking on a friend, why are you getting mad at me?”

Huang Heshan shot her a cold glance, sheathed her knife, and turned away.

“?” Liu Yinxi took a couple steps forward. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Either lose or win. I don’t need your concern.” Huang Heshan left those final words and carried the wild rabbit into the woods below the slope.

Liu Yinxi’s face was full of puzzlement. What on earth was going through this woman’s head? She hadn’t provoked her—Heaven knew why she was being so hostile.

“Don’t you have any other omega to care about?” The same question was asked again, this time in a clear, pleasant voice.

Liu Yinxi turned around. Nan Huaixu approached leisurely, hands behind her back, tilting her head with a small smile.

“Teacher Nan.” Liu Yinxi’s frustration finally had an outlet. She pointed at Huang Heshan’s retreating figure. “You heard that too? I swear, I helped her catch a rabbit and she still wants to hit me.”

Nan Huaixu shrugged. “Who told you to bring up Yu Yan.”

Liu Yinxi: “?”

“Does that matter? The question she asked last time was obviously about Yu Yan’s health—what’s wrong with showing a little concern—” Halfway through, Liu Yinxi stopped abruptly and glanced cautiously at Nan Huaixu. “It’s just, I wanted to know if Yu Yan is about to be eliminated. Ahem.”

Nan Huaixu nodded seriously. “Oh, so that’s what it is.”

Nan Huaixu helped carry one of the rabbits, holding it by the ears. “Let’s head back. I’ve got the campfire and grass mat all set up.”

Liu Yinxi had been hungry for a while, itching to eat roast rabbit leg. “Okay.”

On the way back, Liu Yinxi puzzled over what was wrong with Huang Heshan.

First she told her to scram—that was understandable, since Huang Heshan didn’t want her following.

Then she threw a fist, definitely angry—because she mentioned Yu Yan?

Wasn’t that just a normal greeting between competitors? Why get angry? Back when she and Yuan Fang said they missed each other back and forth every day, their teammate Lu Yiqi never threw a temper.

But come to think of it, Teacher Nan had never liked her fooling around with Yuan Fang either.

Just like Huang Heshan didn’t like her talking to Yu Yan.

Hm…

What could the reason be…

So hard to figure out.

Liu Yinxi’s thoughts rounded a few bends before she shook her head, cleared her mind, and got to work.

First she built a roasting rack from sticks, then tied up firewood, butchered the rabbit, and started roasting.

The meadow was broad and cool, good for catching rabbits, but it had its downsides—fetching water wasn’t very convenient. The campsite Liu Yinxi had chosen was relatively close to a stream, about a dozen minutes’ round trip for water.

Ga-gu.

Along the way to fetch water, Nan Huaixu kept hearing this strange call, very close. She’d heard it often by the lake before too, but never this close up—now it sounded almost frightening.

Nan Huaixu hurried back to camp with the water bucket. The strange sound was gone. She looked back—nothing but the dark silhouettes of leaves, with the occasional firefly drifting up from the lakeside.

Liu Yinxi, who was skewering rabbit meat, looked up and saw Nan Huaixu’s hesitant expression. She called out softly, “Teacher Nan, what’s wrong?”

Nan Huaixu set down the bucket and sat gently beside Liu Yinxi. “Listen for it in a bit—there’s sometimes a strange ga-gu ga-gu sound coming from the stream. What is that?”

Liu Yinxi laughed. “That? It’s a spotted tree lizard. Pretty noisy.”

Nan Huaixu was relieved. “So it’s a tree lizard.”

The plants and animals in the meadow area were somewhat different from those by the lake. From the coast to the great river, then to the lakeside, and now to the meadow—the ecosystem had been shifting all along the way. Nan Huaixu found it novel; experiencing biodiversity change as you trekked from place to place was a remarkable feeling.

“Its call is quite unique, though—not like other lizards. Not great.” Nan Huaixu gave the ga-gu lizard’s call a rather low assessment.

Liu Yinxi treated all lizards equally and asked Nan Huaixu, “How so?”

Nan Huaixu said, “Many lizards go chirp-chirp and squawk-squawk, like birds. Only this one goes ga-gu ga-gu.”

“Hahaha, that’s so cute.”

“Cute? You think it sounds nice?”

Liu Yinxi laughed for a while before stopping, waving her hand. “No, no, Teacher Nan—I’m not saying the tree lizard is cute. I’m saying the way you imitate its call is cute.”

Nan Huaixu raised a hand to touch her cheek and looked down. “Am I?”

Being called cute by someone several years younger…

Liu Yinxi reached out a hand. “Teacher Nan, hand me the rabbit skewers, I’ll grill them together.”

Nan Huaixu turned and passed her the meat skewers. “Mm, I’ll get the seasonings ready.”

Liu Yinxi adjusted the wooden roasting rack. “Thank goodness for the spices Fei Tuoma left us. Otherwise it’d just be sea salt and pepper—too bland.”

“Yes, let’s hope everything goes well for her.” Nan Huaixu took out the containers of seasonings and lined them up neatly.

It had been a long time since she’d had roast rabbit leg. The craving made Liu Yinxi’s mouth water uncontrollably.

The rabbit roasted to a crisp, fragrant golden brown. Nan Huaixu sprinkled seasonings over it, and tempting aromas drifted everywhere in the air.

One bite through the crispy crust, teeth piercing into the tender rabbit meat, rich seasonings mingling with the juices and flooding her mouth—Liu Yinxi ate with a face full of satisfaction.

Nan Huaixu didn’t care for the tough tendons and skin. She picked them into a bag—collected, they could be used for chumming. A few tiny scraps of meat fell to the ground; she nudged them aside with her foot without paying attention.

The two of them shared one rabbit. There was still one injured rabbit locked in the cage—it had witnessed the entire process of its companion being skinned and roasted, and it looked in very poor shape, huddled in a corner staring blankly.

Liu Yinxi patted the cage affectionately. “Don’t worry, you’ll die deliciously.”

Slurp.

Nan Huaixu couldn’t watch anymore. She leaned forward and pulled her hand away. “Stop scaring it—ah!”

Liu Yinxi quickly looked over. “What happened?”

One of Nan Huaixu’s feet was planted on the ground; the other had its heel down and toes raised, and caught between them was a small animal that had been stealing rabbit scraps.

Nan Huaixu had nearly stepped down fully, but fortunately felt something soft and squishy underfoot—realized it wasn’t right—and stopped in time.

She turned on her bracelet’s flashlight and aimed it at the little creature. Dark, furry, shaped like an oval ball of fluff.

“Is this… a little mouse?” Nan Huaixu wasn’t sure.

It looked far cuter than a mouse, and its tail was short—nothing like a big rat’s long, hairless tail.

Liu Yinxi poked the little fellow’s long nose with a blade of grass. “Look, its eyes are tiny, hidden in the fur. This is a shrew. It likes to eat bugs—counts as a human-friendly little creature. It helps get rid of pests.”

Nan Huaixu stared at it with a slight frown. “Mm… it looks ugly-cute.”

Liu Yinxi tapped its backside with a small stick. Nan Huaixu lifted her foot, and the shrew darted away in a flash.

Liu Yinxi said, “Back in my hometown we call it a ‘ground drill.’ Farmers won’t step on it when they see it—they’ll even help it fight rats. But some dogs really can’t stand it. Cats ignore it, but dogs insist on chasing it and barking, and they’ll even get down on all fours to imitate the way it crawls.”

Nan Huaixu laughed. “What a fun name. That was close—I almost killed a ground drill today. Also, the dogs in your hometown are really mean.”

Liu Yinxi’s expression turned serious. “Right. Dogs are mean.”

“So are you.”

“Right, I’m mean too—huh? No wait, what did I do, Teacher Nan?”

Nan Huaixu lowered her gaze. “Don’t ask Huang Heshan about Yu Yan anymore. I can see she’s very guarded against us. The more she cares, the less optimistic Yu Yan’s situation is. Haven’t you noticed that when Yu Yan was doing fine, Huang Heshan’s mood was stable? Now she’s so irritable and quick-tempered—I think she’s going to lose.”

Liu Yinxi followed her reasoning. “Yeah, I think so too.”

Nan Huaixu propped herself back on her hands and tilted her head up toward the stars and moon. “Liu Yinxi, start thinking about how you want to celebrate.”

“Celebrate, huh…” Liu Yinxi lay back on the grass mat, the moon reflected in her eyes, a smile curving her lips. “I’m going to demolish a giant pork knuckle, a pot of crispy-coated tofu, a plate of skewers, and a pitcher of beer.”

“Beer?” Nan Huaixu recalled her confusion when she’d run into Liu Yinxi eating late-night snacks in the Old Town. “Didn’t you used to say you couldn’t drink beer—that it was bitter—and that you preferred Sauternes?”

Liu Yinxi went “uh” for a moment, thought about it, and said, “That… after I moved out, I didn’t have money, so I could only afford beer. At first I couldn’t get used to it, but slowly I found I could accept it, and just kept drinking it.”

Nan Huaixu nodded. “That’s fine. Drink whatever you want—it’s my treat.”

A flicker of heartache showed in her eyes. Liu Yinxi had truly been through a lot during the days after leaving Ying Luoling—completely transformed.

If it was Sauternes, Liu Yinxi could drink as much as she wanted.

Liu Yinxi rested her head on her arm, turned to ask Nan Huaixu, “Teacher Nan, how do you want to celebrate after the competition?”

Nan Huaixu met her gaze. One second, two seconds… many seconds.

After a long while, Liu Yinxi blinked her lashes uneasily. Nan Huaixu gave a soft smile.

【Celebrating with you, silly.】

【Hahahahaha!】

【Loving gaze—the first one to look away loses (doge)】

【I’m reading a lot in Manman’s eyes, and it’s all about Liu Yinxi.】

【Nooo—Manman stares at Liu Yinxi for long stretches now, not even trying to hide it. Could she really be interested in her?】

【Our Xixi is so cute, why couldn’t she be?】

【If—and I’m just saying if—Nan Huaixu and Liu Yinxi actually had a chance, what would that be? Nan Huaixu is Ying Luoling’s aunt, dating her niece’s ex-girlfriend?】

【That’s a lonely¹ question (adjusting glasses)】

【What’s there to think about? They’re all adults. A breakup means you’re free. Who dates who is their business.】

【Hahaha, even after a breakup they’re still family. I’ll be joining this household in a different capacity—so cool!】

Suddenly, an account with a Special Guest badge commented in the livestream.

【Luoling Lingling: Everyone, please stop speculating, and don’t spread rumors. My aunt and Liu Yinxi have a purely professional teammateship. Xixi and I also have some unresolved misunderstandings. After the competition ends, I’ll sit down and have a proper talk with Xixi. I hope we can reconcile, and I’ll explain everything to everyone then.】

The bullet screen instantly flooded.

【Are you really Ying Luoling?】

【Ying Luoling, you mean you want to get back together with Liu Yinxi?】

【Give it up, Liu Yinxi doesn’t like you!】

【Have a heart, let Xixi go!】

【What about Xue Yunshao?】

【Even though you never officially announced it with Yunshao, yesterday Yunshao posted on Weibo saying she likes girls with your vibe. You… how could you do this to her?】

【So much to unpack, I don’t even know where to begin…】

Ga-gu.

“How to celebrate?”

The moonlight bathed everything in silver. In the gentle breeze, Nan Huaixu reached out and lightly tapped Liu Yinxi’s brow.

“I want to get a good night’s sleep.”