Substitute Alpha Gets Confessed to by Her Ex’s Aunt on a Survival Variety Show – Chapter 175

Hongdu Lovers

Even a Fool Wants to See You Happy

Nan Lingxuan bore down on them with overwhelming force, and the two across from her both froze.

            

Liu Yinxi racked her brain, her CPU cranked up to maximum—no way, when had the original host ever called Nan Lingxuan “Mami”?!

Why did she have no memory of it?

Back when the original host was being kept by Luo Ling as her stand-in, hadn’t she been thoroughly disliked by Luo Ling’s two mothers?

            

Then how had the original host ever gotten the chance to meet Nan Lingxuan? And had the nerve to call her Mami?!

…Liu Yinxi did some soul-searching. Clearly she had still underestimated the original host’s audacity.

This eerie silence weighed heavily on Liu Yinxi.

            

In her head, she worked through Nan Lingxuan’s motives.

Nan Lingxuan controlled the bulk of the Nan Family’s resources. A big shot like her would never be bored enough to come pick a fight.

The only thing that could rouse the Nan Family’s First Heir was harm done to someone she cared about.

            

Who did Nan Lingxuan care about? Was she here to seek justice for her daughter, or worried her little sister had been deceived?

Probably both.

From a bystander’s angle: if her own daughter and little sister had been lured away, one after the other, by someone with a terrible public reputation, Liu Yinxi would be furious too.

            

Liu Yinxi had lived at Nan Huaixu’s side day and night, and long since picked up her techniques for handling verbal attacks.

Defending herself was useless. She had to understand what the other party actually wanted.

Liu Yinxi maintained a modest, courteous smile. “President Ling, I sincerely apologize for some of my past rudeness. Luo Ling misses you all the time. I pulled her out of that fire, and I heard the person she most wanted to see in the hospital was you. You care about her so much—you must have kept vigil at her bedside for a long while. I envy her, having such a loving mother.”

            

The moment Liu Yinxi finished, Nan Huaixu beside her couldn’t hold back a laugh. Liu Yinxi had walked in and, right off the bat, dismantled the counterfeit “maternal love” Nan Lingxuan had staged as grounds for her ambush.

Luo Ling did indeed keep saying she wanted to see Mami. But Nan Lingxuan had always loathed the Luo family mother and child, and under her lawful wife’s watch, where would she find the time to visit Luo Ling on Jinzhou Island?

Even after Luo Ling had been back in the country all these days, Nan Lingxuan hadn’t seen her once.

            

If Nan Lingxuan was displeased that Liu Yinxi had wronged Luo Ling—well, Liu Yinxi had risked her life to save Luo Ling. That debt was repaid in full.

If Nan Lingxuan meant to denounce Liu Yinxi in the name of maternal love—then going by her track record with Luo Ling, this cold-hearted Mami had no standing to condemn anyone.

Nan Lingxuan’s brow creased, as if she couldn’t be bothered to waste more words on Liu Yinxi.

            

She looked at Nan Huaixu, her tone reproachful. “What were you thinking? Couldn’t find an Alpha to play with?”

Nan Huaixu’s lips curved in a slight smile. “You think I’m you? I would never shut myself in a room alone with someone who threw herself at my door, get toyed with in the palm of her hand, and then be blackmailed for a lifetime with a child.”

Nan Lingxuan’s face went black on the spot, her voice several degrees more furious. “Is that any way to talk to your sister?”

            

Nan Huaixu didn’t yield either, her voice cold and sharp. “And how were you talking to Xixi?”

“‘Xixi,’ is it? So chummy?” Nan Lingxuan’s expression turned uglier still, and the glare she leveled at Liu Yinxi turned vicious. “So you’re playing for keeps. Never mind Mom’s side—you won’t get past me first!”

Nan Huaixu laughed coldly. “Past you? What do you mean, past you? What makes you a checkpoint?”

            

Nan Lingxuan strode up to her, features severe. “Mom and Aunt Zeng were busy with work. Growing up, which parent-teacher conference didn’t I attend? When you had performances, parties to go to—who prepared your gowns and gifts? When you moved into your university dorm, who took you there? An eldest sister is like a mother¹. Of course I have a say in how you live.”

Nan Huaixu raised her voice. “Did I ask you to? Manage me into another Luo Ling, is that it?! Aren’t two children of your own enough to manage, that you have to go picking fights to feed your pathetic sense of superiority.”

Nan Lingxuan’s face twisted with rage, and she raised a hand to teach her disobedient little sister a slap.

            

But a figure shot in front of her, shielding Nan Huaixu fast and tight.

Nan Lingxuan’s palm came down—onto Liu Yinxi’s back and shoulder. She stared at Liu Yinxi in astonishment. She hadn’t imagined that this soft-rice Alpha, who once knew nothing but acting cute for money, had actually grown a spine.

Nan Huaixu anxiously pulled Liu Yinxi aside, gently stroking her back, heartache written all over her eyes. “Why did you have to block it with your body? You could have pushed me away, pulled her back—either one. Why did you choose to take a slap?”

            

Liu Yinxi smiled, perfectly at ease. “That slap of President Ling’s was so light. She couldn’t bear to hurt you, not really. Besides, she’s your own sister. She cares about you, and her anger is at me—so that anger should land on me. Once it burns off, you two will make up. She’ll pick out gowns for you again, pick out gifts, come to your parties, and be happy with you.”

As Nan Huaixu listened, the rims of her eyes slowly reddened, her voice catching faintly. “You don’t even know my sister. Fool.”

Liu Yinxi hugged her comfortingly. “Even a fool wants you happy.”

            

Nan Huaixu nodded, released her from the embrace, and marched toward Nan Lingxuan with wind at her heels, seizing her sleeve. “Come with us.”

Nan Lingxuan still hadn’t recovered from her earlier astonishment before she was being dragged off by Nan Huaixu for no reason she could name.

She looked at the friendly, smiling Liu Yinxi, then at her sister barreling ahead like a storm front, thought of her own overbearing behavior just now, and abruptly lost her nerve.

            

“What are you doing?” Nan Lingxuan tried to peel her sister’s hand off her sleeve.

Nan Huaixu called for Liu Yinxi to follow, turning her head to answer. “Taking you shopping. Aren’t you managing me?”

“I’ll manage—I… just wait—”

            

Before she could finish, her phone rang. With one arm hauled by Nan Huaixu, she fumbled her phone out with the other hand, and in the chaos of it all, hit speakerphone:

“Nan Lingxuan! I sent you out for one bottle of cooking wine—where the hell did you wander off to?! Planning to sleep on the floor again tonight?!”

All three of them stopped dead.

            

Pin-drop silence.

Liu Yinxi and Nan Huaixu gawked at the person who might be sleeping on the floor tonight.

Liu Yinxi hesitated a second, then said, “Uh, President Ling, you go take care of that.”

            

Nan Huaixu, for the first time in recorded history, wore the expression of someone digging for gossip. “Jiejie, that was your saozi? Every time I’ve seen her she’s been so soft-spoken. You always said saozi was extra gentle with you. You two… that was an act?”

“How dare you ask.” Nan Lingxuan made a gesture for them to wait, clamped her hand over the phone, and scurried into a corner to call her wife back.

Watching that flailing, flustered performance, Nan Huaixu burst out laughing with a pfft.

            

This bumbling Nan Lingxuan was the sister she remembered.

Not the later Nan Enterprise president with all her put-on airs.

Liu Yinxi leaned in close to Nan Huaixu’s ear. “Who’d have thought an overbearing CEO has to buy her own cooking wine.”

            

Nan Huaixu clicked her tongue. “Overbearing CEO? She’s nothing of the sort. I’d guess saozi wants her more involved in family life.”

“Looks like the two of them have a good marriage.”

“Good or not, I couldn’t say. But back when Nan Lingxuan proposed, saozi’s family gave her no end of grief over the child she’d had out of wedlock.”

            

Tagging along with Nan Huaixu, Liu Yinxi had scored front-row seats to prime gossip too. “Your saozi tolerates your jiejie having a child out of wedlock, gives her face in front of outsiders—even if it was a political-commercial marriage alliance, that has to be true love.”

While the two of them chatted, Nan Lingxuan finished her call and came back.

They looked up. Nan Lingxuan’s expression was grave. Once she’d planted her feet, she let out a long, helpless breath. “Where’s the cooking wine?”

            

Nan Huaixu blinked, then pointed at the mall’s directory sign. “The supermarket on basement level one.”

Nan Lingxuan turned and headed that way. “Manman, I sent you a shopping list. You… the two of you help me look. More hands make it faster. Once I’ve bought everything I’ll drop it off at home, then come back and keep you company shopping.”

Liu Yinxi and Nan Huaixu exchanged a smile and dutifully turned into model citizens.

            

Only then did it dawn on Liu Yinxi.

One reason Nan Huaixu didn’t live here might be that Nan Lingxuan lived here too—ever since the sisters had fallen out, they’d barely kept in touch.

Nan Huaixu helped Nan Lingxuan pick out groceries in the fresh food section, while Liu Yinxi headed to the baking aisle and loaded up on ingredients. She deliberately placed the nama chocolate² and cupcake molds on the very top of the cart, where Nan Lingxuan would spot them at a glance.

            

At the supermarket checkout.

Nan Huaixu, quick off the mark, shoved the cart Liu Yinxi had wheeled over right up to Nan Lingxuan. “Checkout.”

The cashier asked with a smile, “Together?”

            

Nan Huaixu: “Yes, together. She’s paying.” She pointed at Nan Lingxuan.

Nan Lingxuan arched a brow but raised no objection in the end, produced a card, and paid for everything.

The cashier scanned the nama chocolate, then the cupcake liners.

            

Nan Lingxuan’s gaze settled on the cupcake liners.

Liu Yinxi caught her look and spoke up. “President Ling, Teacher Nan came shopping this time for these baking ingredients. She wants to make the cupcakes you baked for her when she was little—her favorite dessert. She said she remembers you used to love nama chocolate, so she wanted to make them nama-chocolate flavored. But she kept hesitating, because she doesn’t know whether your tastes have changed. Doesn’t know whether you’re still… the same as you were back then.”

Nan Lingxuan’s frame went still. She turned slowly toward Nan Huaixu and gazed at her, eyes downcast and deep.

            

Nan Huaixu held her gaze for two seconds, then gave a light cough. “I know you’re busy, work’s stressful, and there’s plenty going on at home. I won’t get in your way—I have Xixi to keep me company. We’ll finish the cupcakes tomorrow and bring them to your place.”

Nan Lingxuan looked away, her eyes going vacant. “It’s been so long. I never imagined you still remembered. I learned from a video online. Put in too much sugar, burned the whole batch. You were the only one who said it was delicious.”

“Because it was my sister who made them. Made them for me.”

            

Nan Lingxuan lowered her eyes. Nan Huaixu studied her face quietly and found that the years had carved many traces into it.

Checkout done, Nan Huaixu handed Nan Lingxuan her things and arranged for the staff to deliver the baking supplies to her home later.

Nan Huaixu walked Nan Lingxuan to the parking garage. “Jiejie, do you still remember that family portrait?”

            

Nan Lingxuan answered without a second’s thought. “The one you drew.”

“Mm. While I was competing, Xixi told me that what you said back then was meant to encourage me to break free of the family’s shackles and live the life I wanted. That’s when I understood—it was your wish too, all along. You never hated me for taking your inheritance. You hated watching me repeat your disastrous mistakes, never living as myself. Isn’t that right?”

Nan Lingxuan paused a beat before replying. “You were always the Nan Family’s heir. Who told you I hated you?”

            

Nan Huaixu looked up at the ceiling lights. “Everyone says so.”

Nan Lingxuan sneered. “And who is ‘everyone’?”

Nan Huaixu took two steps forward, then whirled around abruptly and beamed at her. “So, Jiejie—do you still love me?”

            

The corner of Nan Lingxuan’s mouth curved, her voice going soft and slow. “You’ll always be my most adorable Little Sister.”

She lifted a finger and pointed at Liu Yinxi, who stood nearby gnawing on a mala spicy chicken drumstick. “But that has nothing to do with her. However you plead her case, I don’t accept it.”

Liu Yinxi, drumstick half-gripped: “Huh?”

            

Nan Lingxuan took the unopened drumstick from her hand. “I paid for this.”

Liu Yinxi was a little stunned.

The president of the Nan Enterprise Group was seriously this stingy?

            

Nan Huaixu couldn’t help laughing. Nan Lingxuan said to her, “Give me a heads-up before you make the cakes tomorrow. I’ll bring your saozi and Doudou over to help.”

Nan Huaixu smiled. “Wonderful. I haven’t seen Doudou in ages. How’s school going for her?”

“Don’t get me started. She won’t do her homework—says you’re her idol every single day, that she’s going to act in movies like you and win the Little Gold Man³…”

            

The elevator arrived. Nan Lingxuan said her goodbyes.

As she left, she pointed at Liu Yinxi. “The past, I’ll let lie—Luo Ling was never sincere to begin with. But my sister—she is always in earnest. Don’t think a couple of sweet words in front of Manman will get you accepted by me. You just wait.”

Liu Yinxi smiled and dipped slightly in polite acknowledgment. “Yes, President Ling.”

            

The elevator doors slid shut.

Liu Yinxi’s eyes went wide with wounded indignation. “Manman, your sister runs an entire company and she stole my drumstick.”

Nan Huaixu hugged her. “She’s stingy. Next time I’ll make her compensate you a hundred drumsticks.”

            

Liu Yinxi laughed it off and went shopping with Nan Huaixu in high spirits.

Ding.

「Congratulations on completing the special task: Red Leaves Gazing at Huai · True Heart.」

            

「Thank you for breaking the ice on a frozen bond between sisters, and fulfilling one small wish of the character Nan Huaixu.」

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