Substitute Alpha Gets Confessed to by Her Ex’s Aunt on a Survival Variety Show – Chapter 163
by Little PandaFavorability +1!
“Liu Yinxi? What are you looking at?”
Nan Huaixu’s voice pulled Liu Yinxi’s attention back.
She withdrew from the Transmigration Reading System and smiled at Nan Huaixu. “Hmm? I wasn’t looking at anything. I was just so excited about winning the championship that I spaced out.”
That was the aspect of the Transmigration System most prone to causing misunderstandings. It projected into the host’s field of vision, so whenever the host was viewing the system, to anyone else it looked like they were staring blankly into space.
Nan Huaixu touched her cheek. “Is that so? You were staring at my face just now—I thought a bug had landed on it.”
Liu Yinxi scratched the back of her head sheepishly. “No, I was just thinking that with the prize money, I can rent a nice place. Oh right, I need to remember to ask my landlord for my deposit back. That’s 5,000 yuan!”
Nan Huaixu couldn’t help but laugh. “Don’t worry, I will remind you to ask your landlord for your deposit back.”
“Mhm! Thank you, Teacher Nan. I will get started on the venison chops then.” Saying so, Liu Yinxi continued cutting the venison.
This time, the venison had been butchered with a knife after the hunt. Fresh, springy loin meat—more hygienic and tastier than what they had snatched from the golden cat’s jaws before.
The venison chops were roasted crisp outside and tender within, paired with spices and sweet banyan figs1. The exquisite flavors wrapped around the tongue, leaving a lingering aroma.
Nan Huaixu feasted heartily, a ring of glistening oil around her lips. “So delicious. I wonder if I will ever get to eat such fresh venison chops again.”
Liu Yinxi finished eating and began clearing the lunch boxes and chopsticks. “You should be able to eat fresh venison, but this species of deer is only found on Jinzhou Island. Once we leave here, you definitely won’t get to taste it anymore.”
Nan Huaixu looked at the nearly finished venison chops and sighed. “Some delicacies come but once in a lifetime.”
Liu Yinxi took the lunch boxes to wash. “Teacher Nan, you rest for a bit. I will go wash the dishes.”
Nan Huaixu, thoroughly satisfied, rubbed her stomach in a digestive exercise. “Alright, and fetch some water while you are at it.”
Only the lunch boxes and bamboo tubes needed washing—not much—so she didn’t stand on ceremony with Liu Yinxi.
Liu Yinxi carried the lunch boxes and water bucket to the stream. The warm light of the setting sun shone on the water’s surface and the back of her hand.
Liu Yinxi pondered. Currently, Nan Huaixu’s favorability toward her was 68%, the Mutual Sympathy phase. The confession success rate was only 90%—there was still a possibility of failure. She was 2% away from the Inseparable phase with its 100% success rate. To increase Nan Huaixu’s favorability, she needed to understand her preferences.
She had just completed a special quest and earned one chance to unlock character card information, allowing her to view unknown details on the character card.
She washed the lunch boxes with a sponge while pulling up the Transmigration Reading System to check.
「Good evening, User liuyinxi.」
「Nan Huaixu’s character profile card has been opened for you.」
「Character Name: Nan Huaixu」
「Attribute: Female, omega」
「Pheromone Scent: Locust Flower Fragrance」
「Age: 32」
「Family Background: ? (Unlockable)」
「Hobbies: ? (Unlockable)」
「Mate Preference: ? (Unlockable)」
「Dealbreakers: ? (Unlockable)」
「Wish: ? (Unlockable)」
「This character’s current favorability toward you: 68%, Mutual Sympathy.」
Liu Yinxi only had one unlock opportunity.
She fell into indecision.
Hmm… which one to unlock?
Family background? She more or less already knew this.
Hobbies? Through her time spent with Nan Huaixu, she already knew she liked sweets and art.
Mate preference? At first glance it seemed romance-related and practical, but thinking carefully, it was useless. Would Liu Yinxi not pursue Nan Huaixu just because she didn’t meet her mate preferences? Besides, changing yourself for your partner wasn’t the right approach. Love was about mutual attraction and mutual adaptation—unilateral change couldn’t solve the fundamental issue.
Dealbreakers? This could only help avoid what Nan Huaixu disliked, and wouldn’t achieve the effect of increasing favorability in a short time.
Liu Yinxi’s gaze fell on the last field.
Wish.
A wish inherently contained elements of what one loved. It was the ultimate form of liking—a fusion of many things one cherished.
There was no information more suitable for increasing favorability than this.
「User liuyinxi, you have selected “Wish” for unlocking. Confirm?」
「Confirmed. Unlocking Nan Huaixu’s wish information now.」
「…Information unlocked successfully!」
「Nan Huaixu’s Wish: For Mommy to love me, for Dad to visit me often, for Sister not to misunderstand me. In this world… will there ever be a home that leaves a light on for me at night? I want to hang my paintings in every room, even though Mommy says they’re ugly. In my home, I could toss my Golden Statue Award trophy2 into the trash and put that family portrait I painted—the one Mommy threw away—in the most prominent spot.」
Liu Yinxi froze.
She read Nan Huaixu’s wish several times, memorizing it word for word. By the last reading, her eyes stung with tears.
How could a mother say her child’s paintings were ugly?
How could a mother spend a whole lifetime pretending not to know what her child truly liked or disliked?
How could a mother have the heart to throw her child’s family portrait into the trash?!
Liu Yinxi couldn’t help but squeeze the sponge in her hand.
What should she do? It seemed she was powerless to grant Nan Huaixu’s wish.
She could neither change the hearts of Nan Huaixu’s two mothers, nor resolve the conflicts and misunderstandings between Nan Huaixu and her sister caused by inheritance rights.
Liu Yinxi felt the only thing she could do was leave a light on, waiting for Nan Huaixu to come home—waiting and waiting.
And to personally frame Nan Huaixu’s paintings, displaying them in every visible spot.
But none of this could be done right now.
Liu Yinxi dispiritedly closed the Transmigration Reading System, dumped the dishwater, placed the utensils in the vine basket, and opened the bucket lid to draw water.
Clear stream water gurgled into the bucket. Liu Yinxi sat on a stone by the stream, elbows on her knees, chin propped in her hands.
Imperceptibly, she had also picked up Nan Huaixu’s habitual chin-propping gesture.
Although she couldn’t help Nan Huaixu fulfill her wish right now, she could chat more with her about family topics, see where the knots were, and maybe offer some help.
The bucket was full. Liu Yinxi carried the water bucket and vine basket back to the shelter.
Nan Huaixu lay at the edge of the first-floor wooden platform, watching the evening glow through gaps in the leaves.
Liu Yinxi set down the bucket and basket and sat beside her feet.
Nan Huaixu said, “They’ve all gone back. Now we’re the only two left in the competition zone.”
Liu Yinxi lifted her head, letting the evening breeze brush her cheeks and hair. “Mhm.”
“How I feel right now is like finishing the gaokao3 exam, checking over the answers, and waiting for the time to hand in the paper.”
Liu Yinxi imagined it and smiled. “It really does feel like that.”
Nan Huaixu’s eyes curved with laughter. “Right?”
Liu Yinxi took the opportunity to steer toward topics that could deepen her understanding of Nan Huaixu. “Were you nervous during your gaokao? When I went to find—”
Halfway through, Liu Yinxi hastily stopped herself, nearly slipping up.
The original owner had never taken the gaokao.
Nan Huaixu naturally showed a puzzled expression. “Have you taken the gaokao?”
Liu Yinxi shook her head and changed her story. “I went to cheer on a friend. She was so nervous that she left her admission ticket in her mommy’s car, but fortunately she found it.”
“That was close.” Nan Huaixu sighed, then recalled briefly and said, “I was a bit nervous before my gaokao, and before my art exams4 too. Back then, my sister taught me to chew gum. She said chewing sends a relaxation signal to your brain, so you can feel a little more at ease.”
Liu Yinxi listened attentively. From Nan Huaixu’s words, it seemed she and her sister Nan Lingxuan had a decent relationship when they were young.
That made sense. After all, when Nan Huaixu was young, she didn’t pose much of a threat to Nan Lingxuan’s inheritance rights.
Perhaps mending Nan Huaixu’s relationship with Nan Lingxuan would be easier than resolving her conflict with her mother.
Liu Yinxi ventured a question. “President Ling is more than ten years older than you, huh?”
Nan Huaixu did the math. “About sixteen years.”
She leaned close to Liu Yinxi’s ear and whispered, “My sister is only six years younger than my mommy.”
Liu Yinxi frowned. The ages of wealthy family members really ran the gamut, each with their own distinctive flair.
Still, the fact that Old Chairman Nan’s eldest child was younger than his second wife had already beaten out many tycoons.
Nan Huaixu continued whispering to Liu Yinxi. “Nan Lingxuan and I actually used to get along pretty well. When I was little, she would buy me oil pastels and markers, and she even made me cupcakes. During my art exams for the gaokao, Mommy didn’t have time to accompany me, and Dad definitely didn’t have time either. It was always Nan Lingxuan who drove me there.”
Nan Huaixu seemed to remember something. She paused, then said with bright eyes, “When I came out after my last exam, she picked me up wearing a qipao5. Her assistant had told her that victory unfurls the banner6—wishing me good results.”
Liu Yinxi nodded as she listened. Remembering clothing details this clearly meant this was something that had deeply moved Nan Huaixu.
Nan Huaixu lay back in her original spot. “After I entered the entertainment industry, we grew more and more distant.”
After being drugged by an omega and bearing a child, Nan Lingxuan had become a laughingstock in Hongdu’s high society, severely damaging the Nan family’s reputation. Meanwhile, Nan Huaixu’s dual talents had made her famous in the entertainment industry—various endorsements and public appearances, connections with top-tier domestic and international networks—greatly maintaining the Nan family’s influence. The sisters’ conflict over inheritance rights had grown increasingly overt, and their bond had faded accordingly.
“Anyway.” Nan Huaixu blinked, her expression turning desolate. “I don’t want to snatch what’s hers.”
She didn’t want to fight with Nan Lingxuan.
She was also, step by step, stepping out of the Nan family, building her own enterprise, and realizing her own ambitions.
Liu Yinxi pondered for a moment, then said, “Teacher Nan, I think President Ling must really miss the times when you two were close as sisters.”
Nan Huaixu paused slightly, then laughed without confidence. “She wouldn’t. She just tells me not to dress so exposed when walking the red carpet because it embarrasses the Nan family. She tells me not to get full of myself just because I have won a lot of awards—no matter how famous I am, I am still just an actor. A person must have real business.”
Liu Yinxi saw things from a different angle than Nan Huaixu. She said, “Because your sister doesn’t like seeing her younger sister become the focus of impolite gazes. And she is also worried that the entertainment industry might hurt you. She hopes you can live freely according to your own wishes.”
Nan Huaixu furrowed her brow and tilted her head. “Is that so? I have never thought about it from that angle…”
Liu Yinxi said, “Maybe she also grew up being constrained, and then watching you be constrained too, so she wants you to be free.”
Nan Huaixu didn’t reply. She gazed at the sky. The afterglow of the setting sun faded, and stars emerged.
She remembered something from long ago.
When she was in elementary school, she had painted a family portrait. Dad said she had painted herself too chubby, and Mommy later threw that painting away.
Little Nan Huaixu had cried for a long time after discovering this. Her sister had helped wipe away her tears and sat with her to paint another one.
—Done. Sister will help you put it in a frame. Manman, from now on, live the life you love with the people you love.
The life she loved… wasn’t that freedom?
Nan Huaixu’s eyes suddenly welled with tears.
It was very likely that Liu Yinxi was right.
Her sister still loved her.
Nan Huaixu sniffed, turned to Liu Yinxi, and smiled softly. “Maybe fate arranged for me to come here just so I could see freedom through you.”
Liu Yinxi smiled with her, a gentle breeze sweeping through her heart.
Ding.
「Favorability Function Reminder: Nan Huaixu’s favorability toward you +1%!」
Footnotes
- 榕果 | rong guo | Fruit of the banyan tree (Ficus), a common wild food source on Jinzhou Island.
- 金像奖杯 | Jin Xiang Jiang Bei | Golden Statue Award trophy, a prestigious Chinese film award analogous to the Oscars; here referring to Nan Huaixu's Best Actress prize.
- 高考 | gaokao | China's national college entrance examination, the most consequential academic test in a student's life.
- 艺考 | yi kao | Art entrance examinations for Chinese universities' fine arts and performing arts programs, taken alongside the gaokao.
- 旗袍 | qipao | Form-fitting Chinese one-piece dress with high collar and side slits, traditionally worn for formal occasions.
- 旗开得胜 | qi kai de sheng | Idiom meaning 'victory upon unfurling the banner'; puns on 旗/banner, the same character in 旗袍/qipao, to wish exam success.
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