Substitute Alpha Gets Confessed to by Her Ex’s Aunt on a Survival Variety Show – Chapter 173

Hongdu Lovers

Shock! Top-Tier Star’s Slum Rendezvous

Liu Yinxi caught Nan Huaixu as she threw herself into her arms, wrapping one arm around her to guide her inside.

            

Good heavens—this was not delivery. This was a gorgeous fairy dropping from the sky.

Nan Huaixu laughed and lifted off her hat. Liu Yinxi promptly clapped it back onto her head. “Hold on a second. This neighborhood is a mixed crowd. Aren’t you worried about getting photographed? You would be on the front page tomorrow.”

The conditions here were poor, the population complex and unsafe—which was exactly why Liu Yinxi had never invited her over.

            

Nan Huaixu was still wearing sunglasses, so Liu Yinxi could not see her eyes. She could only judge from her upturned lips that she was in a good mood.

Nan Huaixu said, “Sure. Send a wave of heaven-sent traffic my way.”

Liu Yinxi was struck by her composure and confidence. If Teacher Nan did not mind, then she certainly had no reason to be paranoid.

            

Liu Yinxi swept out an arm in a welcoming gesture. “A warm welcome to Teacher Nan, gracing my humble abode with her presence.”

She closed the door, waited until Nan Huaixu settled on the sofa, then went over and drew one side of the curtains closed.

Nan Huaixu looked around the tiny apartment. “Delighted to visit your retro little cottage.”

            

Liu Yinxi pulled a can of soda from the coffee table drawer. “All I have left is Sprite. If you are thirsty, you will have to make do.”

Nan Huaixu went “Oh!” and hurriedly pulled out her phone to make a call. “Xiao Zhu, bring everything up with Xiao Li.”

Liu Yinxi watched her put the phone down, big eyes blinking.

            

Nan Huaixu noticed and laughed. “What is that look for?”

Liu Yinxi marveled, “So there really is delivery. I thought you were a solo secret agent. Did not expect a whole advance guard.”

Nan Huaixu gave a proud little nod. “Yep~ I came with the main force and rations~”

            

Soon another knock came. Nan Huaixu moved to answer it, but Liu Yinxi gestured for her to stay seated and went herself.

As a highly recognizable public figure, Nan Huaixu should not personally handle things like opening the door to the outside. Better safe than sorry.

Liu Yinxi opened the door. It was Xiao Zhu and another beta she had not met before.

            

Each of them was pulling a small cart loaded with daily necessities—food, drinks, and household supplies.

Xiao Zhu brought both carts inside, then separately handed her hot braised snacks and beer, plus a large bag of takeout from a star-rated hotel. “This is the dinner President Nan hand-picked for you. The black cart has fruit, snacks, drinks, and mineral water. The brown cart has tissues, personal care items, and so on.”

“There are two large woven bags stashed underneath.” Xiao Zhu pushed aside the plastic bags to walk Liu Yinxi through the delivery.

            

Liu Yinxi hurriedly thanked her. “Thanks for all the trouble.”

Xiao Zhu grinned. “I am not overworked—I work and I get paid. Xiao Li and I will head downstairs now.”

She turned to Nan Huaixu. “President Nan, we will wait for you downstairs.”

            

Nan Huaixu smiled and waved. “Go ahead.”

Liu Yinxi pulled a bottle of mineral water from the cart and was about to pour some for Nan Huaixu when she caught their exchange. She asked nervously, “Manman, do you have to go busy yourself again?”

Nan Huaixu reached out, drew her down to sit beside her, and tilted her head onto Liu Yinxi’s shoulder. “Mm, I squeezed this in during my dinner break. At eight, I have a dinner to attend—meeting two investors and a producer.”

            

Liu Yinxi sighed inwardly. It seemed Nan Huaixu could not stay long.

But diving straight into business negotiations right after returning from the competition meant her new company was thriving. Liu Yinxi felt genuinely happy for her.

She opened the braised snacks and the hotel takeout, arranged the dishes, and set out a bowl and chopsticks for Nan Huaixu. “You must be hungry. Eat a little something to line your stomach first, or your stomach will be aching from hunger by eight.”

            

Nan Huaixu linked arms with her and smiled. “I am actually fine. But since I am with you, I should eat a little.”

“Mm, what do you want? How about a scallion-braised sea cucumber bun?”

“Okay.”

            

Liu Yinxi picked up a small bun, split it in half with her chopsticks, blew on it to cool it down, and fed it into Nan Huaixu’s mouth.

Nan Huaixu chewed slowly and thoroughly, her face radiant with happiness. “Delicious.”

Liu Yinxi scooped up a spoonful of egg flower soup and fed it to her. “Eat slowly, careful—it is hot.”

            

“Mm-hm, you eat too. That braised dried tofu—I had Xiao Zhu go specifically to Hongji Spicy Braised Snacks to buy it.”

“Hongji! Wow—within ten streets, Hongji has the best dried tofu!”

“I knew you would love it.”

            

“Let me try some right now… slurp—so good.”

It was nearly seven. Nan Huaixu took a call and got ready to head downstairs. Liu Yinxi walked her out, reluctant to let go.

More than the joy of reunion, Liu Yinxi was worried about Nan Huaixu’s safety.

            

She saw Nan Huaixu into the car and sat in the back seat with her. “Manman, do not come over here next time. When you are free, just send me a message and I will come to you. The Old City District does not have strict management—if something happens, it will be trouble.”

Nan Huaixu tapped her chin with a fingertip. “Got~ it~. Xiao Li said there were few people around and it was relatively safe for now, so I came. When do you terminate your lease?”

Liu Yinxi tilted her head up into the touch. “The 25th. I will clean up over the next day or two, and after that, I am at your disposal.”

            

“Good. I should be done with work around the 26th. Before the 25th, I will have Xiao Zhu get your access-control registration set up at my place.”

After those words, the cramped car fell quiet for a few seconds.

Liu Yinxi and Nan Huaixu held each other’s gaze for a moment. Then, smiling, Liu Yinxi drew her into an embrace, gently kissing the hair at her temple, her voice soft and warm. “I miss you every day. It is time—go on to your dinner. The negotiations will go smoothly. Our Manman is the best.”

            

Nan Huaixu happily nuzzled into the crook of her neck, then sat up straight and kissed Liu Yinxi’s cheek. “I am off now. I will call you tonight. Bye.”

The black car drove away.

Liu Yinxi watched the car leave the old compound until it disappeared from sight, then slowly climbed the stairs back to her little rental.

            

She quietly finished the leftovers from their shared meal, cleaned up the takeout containers, and went to the bathroom to wash her hands—only to discover in the mirror that one cheek was imprinted with a lipstick mark.

Nan Huaixu’s lip print.

Liu Yinxi looked at the lip print in the mirror for a long while, then raised her hand and touched it.

            

She could not help but smile.

Love was such a simple thing.

A smear of lipstick was enough to make her happy all night.

            

Love was also such a complicated thing.

Two days apart and she could not sleep.

In the early hours of July 25, Liu Yinxi tossed and turned.

            

She checked the last goodnight message she had sent Nan Huaixu and decided not to bother her again.

She spent her days in the rental eating, sleeping, and scrolling on her phone—nothing tiring about that. But Nan Huaixu was run off her feet and needed to rest early.

Bored, Liu Yinxi opened a short-video app, hoping to find a sleep-aid channel. She scrolled through several videos in a row—none of them interesting.

            

When she refreshed the feed, her thumb slipped on a swipe, and the interface slid from “Following” to “Trending Recommendations.”

【Shock! Top-Tier Star’s Slum Rendezvous!!!】

【Scoop Queen @Quanjunchuji¹ breaks bombshell — heiress Film Empress Nan Huaixu caught in passionate embrace at rundown Old City District apartment building!】

            

【Paparazzi cameras keep getting sharper, netizens’ photo-analysis skills keep getting keener — confirmed: 《Survivor》 Huai-Liu CP² is real!】

【From niece to aunt? Edgy influencer Little A’s counterattack: Liu Yinxi’s sponging-off-a-beauty-O upgrade path!】

【Alphas across the net beg Liu Yinxi to teach a masterclass: How to win a rich beauty-O’s heart!】

            

【AO team-up survival has risks: Huai-Liu CP has hidden backstory — suspected marking they cannot hide, the rice is already cooked³!】

Online, there were not only paparazzi photos of Liu Yinxi and Nan Huaixu embracing at her rental door, but even video footage of them hugging, holding hands down the stairs, and getting into the car together.

Liu Yinxi opened her chat with Nan Huaixu, typed a few words, thought better of it, and deleted them one by one.

            

With things blowing up online like this, Nan Huaixu had surely known already. Given her status and savvy in the entertainment industry, handling gossip like this was effortless.

Although some articles were written in deliberately vulgar tones to grab eyeballs, the majority of commenters were supportive of Liu Yinxi and Nan Huaixu.

Nan Huaixu was right. Even with some negative buzz, the leak had brought enormous traffic. #Huai-LiuShabbyWalkUpHug# had already rocketed to No. 2 on the Hot Search⁴.

            

Rather than worry and hesitation—which would solve nothing—Liu Yinxi believed that what Nan Huaixu needed more was her steadfastness and devotion.

Steadfast in moving in with Nan Huaixu.

Devoted in caring for Nan Huaixu, attending earnestly to every little detail.

            

Liu Yinxi kept scrolling.

A content-farm account had edited the paparazzi video together with 《Survivor》 Huai-Liu CP footage.

Set to romantic music.

            

A few-second clip of Liu Yinxi carrying Nan Huaixu off a life raft was flooded with bullet comments⁵, everyone saying: kswl⁶!

“Oh my god, Nan Huaixu and Liu Yinxi are so sweet! Please let me be shipping a real couple!”

Under the bright lights of an office tower, a white-collar worker in thick glasses was scrolling her phone on mute, unable to contain her excitement.

            

A colleague at the next desk nudged her arm. She held up her phone to share the joy of shipping. “Did you see today’s Hot Search? Nan—”

The white-collar worker noticed her colleague staring grimly at a work document on the computer. Her corporate beast-of-burden⁷ instincts immediately sensed danger.

She turned her head with trepidation and saw, standing behind her, an alpha in a Hermès-orange suit with dragon-brow, phoenix-eye features. Her suspended heart finally died.

            

The white-collar worker shot to her feet, head bowed in terror. “President Ling, I am sorry, I was wrong. I will pull an all-nighter to finish the proposal, I swear.”

Nan Lingxuan’s face darkened. “My Little Sister’s Hot Search?”

The white-collar worker hastily offered up her phone. “Yes, President Ling, look—”

            

—Heiress Nan Huaixu stoops to love in a cramped old flat!

Blame the jungle heat: kept Alpha forcefully marks goddess-O!

Liu Yinxi cooked the rice—soon to be a Nan family wife!

            

Thirty years an untouchable flower⁸, one look at Little A and she tumbles to earth~

“President Ling? Are you alright, President Ling!”

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That morning, Liu Yinxi contacted her landlord to terminate the lease.

            

The landlord brought along someone claiming to be a professional inspector, who tapped around with a stick, inspected this and that, and pointed out a pile of flaws. In the end, after Liu Yinxi argued her case, she still only got 4,000 kuai of her 5,000-kuai deposit back—1,000 deducted.

As luck would have it, the 《Survivor》 prize money also came through. After completing the move-out paperwork, Liu Yinxi paid off the original owner’s debts one by one.

With those headaches cleared, Liu Yinxi tilted her head back and let out a long sigh of relief.

            

Ah, peace at last.

The taste of freedom!

Liu Yinxi settled back into the car. Xiao Zhu, in the passenger seat, asked, “Yinxi, is everything sorted?”

            

Liu Yinxi looked up. “Mm.”

“Then we will take you to President Nan’s place now. She has already stocked up on all the daily necessities. Is there anything else you want to buy?”

Liu Yinxi thought for two seconds. “Can we go to a mall? I want to pick up some ingredients.”

            

Xiao Zhu replied, “Sure. The Villa District has a residents’ members-only mall. I will take you shopping there and show you around the community while we are at it.”

The thought of moving in with Nan Huaixu soon filled Liu Yinxi with joy.

She opened her phone’s notes app and wrote a shopping list based on the dishes Nan Huaixu had requested.

            

Oh—remember to buy a box of nama chocolate⁹. During the competition, Manman had said she wanted to make a nama-chocolate-flavored cupcake as a gift for jiejie.

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