Substitute Alpha Gets Confessed to by Her Ex’s Aunt on a Survival Variety Show – Chapter 17
by Little PandaIt’s So Warm Huddled in the Shelter, Roasting by the Fire on a Rainy Day
Wearing a raincoat over a wide shell jacket was very bulky.
Nan Huaixu felt the rain was still light, and it wouldn’t take long to walk back to the shelter, so there was no need to put on a raincoat just yet. But then she remembered Liu Yinxi’s good intentions and that they still had to go to the reef cluster to catch fish, where they would be in the rain for a while. So, she didn’t say anything to spoil the mood.
“Alright, thank you, Xiao Liu.” Nan Huaixu looked into the open airdrop crate. “How many are there?”
Liu Yinxi took out the other raincoat from inside. “Two. Nan-jiejie, this navy blue one is a bit nicer. Do you want to switch to this one?”
“No,” Nan Huaixu said decisively. “We’re in a hurry, and you’re worried about looking pretty?”
“It won’t take much time to change raincoats.”
“No need. There are two more coconuts under that tree. Let’s grab them and go catch fish quickly.”
Every day after the morning and evening tides receded, fish and shrimp would be trapped in the tide pools of the reef cluster, serving as their main source of food. They had stockpiled some yesterday, keeping them alive in a utility crate filled with seawater. Liu Yinxi was worried the heavy rain would last a long time and they wouldn’t have enough food, so she decided to go with Nan Huaixu to catch some more to bring back to the shelter.
The two of them explored the reef cluster for over half an hour, catching three small fish, two sea crabs, and a pile of sea snails and clams. Seeing that the rain was threatening to get heavier, Nan Huaixu carried the small bucket onto the beach and called for Liu Yinxi to head back.
The vast rainforest was silent in the curtain of rain, so verdant it seemed about to drip, with misty smoke curling around the distant mountains.
Liu Yinxi casually caught a falling leaf, brought it to her lips, and tried to blow on it. It didn’t make much of a sound. She tossed the leaf away and noticed Nan Huaixu was looking at her. Liu Yinxi gave her a playful smile.
Back at the shelter, the dense, overlapping canopy blocked most of the rain. The bonfire in the stone stove flickered, looking very weak, as if it could go out at any moment.
Liu Yinxi removed her backpack from under her raincoat and placed it inside the shelter. She then bent down to move some firewood from under the bed frame.
Nan Huaixu unfastened her raincoat, shook off the water droplets, and hung it on a tree branch under the shelter’s roof. Seeing Liu Yinxi’s actions, she asked, “What are you doing?”
Liu Yinxi, busy with her task, replied without looking up, “Expanding the roof, extending it out a bit to cover the bonfire. Otherwise, we won’t be able to have a fire when the rain gets heavier.”
Nan Huaixu immediately put down her backpack and stood on her tiptoes to grab the vines hanging from a nearby tree. “Let’s do it together.”
The pitter-patter of the rain gradually grew louder. Bean-sized raindrops hit the banana leaves on the roof with a crackling sound, and the water gathered into streams, pouring down along the grooves of the palm leaves.
A few drops of rain flew into the small bucket, and the fish inside flicked their tail fins, sending ripples across the water’s surface, distorting the reflection of Liu Yinxi building the wooden frame.
Liu Yinxi used wooden sticks to extend the shelter’s support frame. She erected a wooden post on the left and right sides of the shelter’s entrance, tying them securely to the extended part of the roof. The bases of the posts were propped up with a few stones, and Nan Huaixu then laid freshly picked large banana leaves over the newly built flat roof section.
Sheltered by the extended roof, the weak bonfire flickered and grew stronger. Liu Yinxi took off her raincoat and draped it over the wooden frame to dry, adding two handfuls of palm fiber to the stone stove. The flames flared up with a fwoosh, their reddish glow illuminating their faces.
The fire crackled and popped, bringing an inexplicable sense of peace.
Nan Huaixu dragged the airdrop crate under the extended roof, leaving the utility crate and the small bucket with the fish and shrimp out in the rain.
She brushed the water droplets from her shell jacket, undid her braid, letting her hair fall over her shoulders, and sat down by the bed, holding her hands over the fire to warm them.
Nan Huaixu’s palms grew toasty. She turned them over, palms up, and gazed at the misty rainforest outside the shelter. “How long do you think this rain will last?”
Liu Yinxi, who was cleaning the burnt ash from the stone stove with a stick, looked up. “Hard to say. The rain in a tropical rainforest is like my mood when I’m on my period.”
Nan Huaixu fell silent. After a moment, she said, “What, is your temper very bad during your period?”
Liu Yinxi said, “Mhm, it only gets better if I’m coaxed.”
Nan Huaixu let out a soft “heh” and crossed her arms. “Unfortunately for you, there’s no one in this primeval rainforest to coax you. There’s only me, your teammate who doesn’t know how to coax people.”
Liu Yinxi put down the stick, dusted off her hands, and smiled. “It’s okay, I can coax Nan-jiejie.”
Nan Huaixu said, “Thanks, but I don’t need it.”
She curled up her legs, hugged her knees, and watched the rain for a while, her gaze gradually zoning out.
When they first arrived in the rainforest, every day was busyβbusy building the shelter, busy gathering food, busy finding fresh waterβ¦ Now that they had stopped, unable to go anywhere and with no entertainment whatsoever, it felt particularly boring.
Liu Yinxi looked around and waved at the robot dog hiding in the bushes. “Come here.”
A small heart emoji appeared on the robot dog’s electronic screen as it walked under the shelter. Liu Yinxi patted its head.
“Do you have any games?”
The robot dog rotated the camera on its head, lifted a front leg, and then put it down again.
Liu Yinxi shook its “hand.” “Do you have any other functions besides filming?”
A frowning emoji appeared on the robot dog’s screen.
Liu Yinxi picked it up and placed it outside the shelter. “Off you go, useless camera.”
The robot dog stood in the rain for two minutes before retreating forlornly back into the bushes.
Sitting inside the shelter, Nan Huaixu let out a pfft of laughter. “You even bully the robot dog.”
Liu Yinxi plucked a leaf from a nearby bush, wiping off the water and dirt. “I’m not. I’m interacting with it amicably.”
She waved the leaf over the bonfire to dry it, then placed it on the airdrop crate, flattened it, and took out her knife to gently carve into its surface.
Nan Huaixu lay down, leaning against her backpack and gazing at the flames. “Listening to the rain is so relaxing.”
Liu Yinxi was hunched over, carving the leaf. “Yeah, it’s natural white noise. Perfect for sleeping.”
A breeze blew past the shelter. The leaves rustled in the rain, and the bonfire burned with a subtle crackling, like freshly made popcorn.
Liu Yinxi finished carving a simple pattern, lifted the leaf, and blew off the residue. She held it up to the fire, and light shone through the hollowed-out parts.
Nan Huaixu’s gaze shifted to the design on the leaf. “A little pig?”
Liu Yinxi’s face fell as if she’d been struck. “It’s a puppy.”
Nan Huaixu’s lips curved into a smile, her words clearly a perfunctory attempt at consolation. “It’s quite cute.”
Liu Yinxi wedged her carved leaf into the edge of the bed frame and looked around, searching for other ways to pass the time.
She gathered the burnt ash together and started drawing in it with a small stick.
As Nan Huaixu watched her draw, she suddenly asked, “Where’s your double? I haven’t seen it for the past two days.”
Liu Yinxi turned her head in surprise. “You actually care about it.”
“I saw you playing with the ash and remembered the eyebrows and eyes you drew on its face.”
“Oh, didn’t you dislike it? I piled it into the stone stove.”
Nan Huaixu’s expression shifted slightly. She paused, then said, “I didn’t dislike it. It was digging into my back, so I put it on the ground.”
This cleared up a small mystery for Liu Yinxi. So that’s what happened. Nan Huaixu didn’t hate Stone Xi. Next time, she would find her something pretty that wasn’t so poky.
Liu Yinxi found another small stick. “Nan-jiejie, you draw.”
Nan Huaixu hesitated for a moment, then sat up, lowered her feet, and took the stick from her hand.
Liu Yinxi said, “Let me think. Just drawing is boring. Let’s play ‘I draw, you guess.'” She looked at Nan Huaixu. “What do you think, jiejie?”
“Okay,” Nan Huaixu agreed. It wasn’t like there was anything else to do anyway.
“Nan-jiejie goes first.”
“Mm, let me think⦔
Nan Huaixu thought for a moment, then stirred the ash with the stick. A short while later, she lifted her hand. “Alright, you guess.”
Liu Yinxi stroked her chin. “A bone. Nan-jiejie, that’s too easy.”
“There’s not enough ash to draw anything too difficult.”
“But it can’t be that easy. Watch me.”
Liu Yinxi made a few quick strokes and finished her drawing. “Jiejie, your turn to guess.”
Nan Huaixu rested her chin on her hand, studying the drawing on the ground. “A hot dog?” she asked uncertainly.
“!” Liu Yinxi clapped her hands excitedly. “My drawing is so abstract, how did you figure it out?”
Nan Huaixu pointed to a series of “z’s” between two ovals. “Isn’t this the salad dressing?”
A smile spread across Liu Yinxi’s face, her eyes shining. “Nan-jiejie, you get me.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Oh, don’t be so modest. The last person who could tell it was a hot dog and salad dressing at a glance wasβ”
Liu Yinxi’s words stopped abruptly, and her expression slowly fell. Mom will never see my drawings again.
Nan Huaixu’s gaze moved away from her face. “Was?”
Liu Yinxi smiled and scattered the ash drawing. “It’s better not to say. Your turn.”
“Your ex-girlfriend?”
“No.” Liu Yinxi smoothed over the ash. “I’m already over her.”
As Nan Huaixu thought of a new drawing, she asked in a level tone, “What did you like about her?”
Liu Yinxi thought to herself: How would I know what the original owner liked about Ying Luoling?
That she wouldn’t kiss her? That she gave her fake bags?
Liu Yinxi made something up. “Iβ¦ I liked thatβ¦ her smile was so sweet, that she gave me bags, that she gave me a home.”
When Nan Huaixu heard her say “home,” her eyes darkened as if she understood something. Her tone softened. “A house to live in and a home are two different things. Since things have come to this, after the competition ends, you should find a steady job, work hard, and save up to give yourself a place to settle down.”
“No matter how hard I work, I’ll never be able to afford a house.”
“That’s a given at the beginning. You’re still young, and the future holds infinite possibilities. Start by renting. If you furnish it with care, you can still have a warm little nest.”
Why did these words sound to Liu Yinxi like Nan Huaixu was just drawing a pie?1 Nan Huaixu came from a wealthy family and probably owned countless luxury homes. Had she ever experienced the bitterness of being a corporate slave?2 Talk of buying or renting a house sounded so light and effortless coming from her lips.
Nan Huaixu continued, “If you’re willing, I can help you find a job and a place to rent when the time comes. Don’t be fooled by a few words from Yuan Fang into becoming a streamer. When you asked her about the salary, she just changed the subject. She’s not serious about recruiting you at all.”
Liu Yinxi slowly turned her head, her eyes fixed on Nan Huaixu without blinking. The firelight flickered in her gazeβNan Huaixu wasn’t drawing a pie; she was genuinely offering to help her with concrete actions!
Nan Huaixu grew uncomfortable under her intense stare and touched her cheek. “What is it?”
Liu Yinxi moved closer, pressing a fist to her chest. “Jiejie! I’m willing!!!”
Nan Huaixu’s eyelashes fluttered. She leaned back slightly and said seriously, “If you’re willing, then you must dare to think and dare to act. You can’t be like you were before, always wanting to rely on others. You have to learn to be responsible for yourself.”
“Mhm, mhm, I’ll remember. Thank you, jiejie.”
Liu Yinxi looked down. Nan Huaixu had already finished her drawing.
On the ground was a drawing of a small house.
Liu Yinxi froze for a second, then her face broke into a radiant smile. “A home.”
Footnotes
- βDrawing a pieβ (huΓ bΗng) is a popular Chinese slang term for making an empty promise or describing an unrealistic goal to motivate someone, much like the English idiom βpie in the sky.β
- βShΓ¨chΓΉβ is a popular term borrowed from Japanese, literally meaning βcorporate livestock.β It refers to an overworked employee who has given up their personal life for their company.
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