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 41

by Little Panda

Coconut Oil Herbal Soap and Herbal Moisturizing Cream

Nan Huaixu’s eyes were so beautiful.

Her bright pupils were like crystal balls sprinkled with stars.

A voice in the depths of Liu Yinxi’s mind said: She wants to see. Show her.

At the moment, it was just fermented coconut cream with the oil separating, so it wasn’t obvious what it was for. Besides, the whole point of rendering coconut oil was to make skincare products for Nan Huaixu. It wouldn’t matter if she found out ahead of time.

Liu Yinxi gripped the edges of the banana leaf covering the bucket and said to the expectant Nan Huaixu, “Alright, I’ll show you.”

Nan Huaixu hadn’t expected Liu Yinxi, who had been so secretive yesterday, to agree so readily today. “Really?” she asked, surprised.

“Really!” Liu Yinxi lifted the leaf without hesitation. Nan Huaixu leaned closer to the small bucket, curious, and peered inside. The coconut cream, which had been sealed in the high heat for over twenty hours, released a slightly sour, fermented smell that shot straight up to the top of her head¹.

“Ugh—”

Nan Huaixu felt a stinging sensation in her nose and eyes, which were beginning to water. She straightened up like a bolt of lightning and ran to the side, gulping down fresh air.

A wave of comments flew across the livestream.

【My Manman, why are you always the one who gets hurt (crying)】

【Manman, how can you be so naive? You can’t just stick your head into any unidentified container Liu Yinxi makes!!! You can’t!!!²】

【That smell is probably just like the sour yogurt I forgot in the kitchen for a day and a night during the dog days of summer³…】

【Okay, you can stop talking now (pinching nose)】

【Oh god, is Nan Huaixu’s rhinitis going to flare up?】

【I’m just saying, after this competition is over, will the biochemical warfare unit recruit Liu Yinxi?】

【They should recruit Luoling too. That jackfruit and banana fish stew she made was one of a kind. Our Teacher Xue has had diarrhea for two days. If Luo and Liu join, they can rekindle their old flame and fight the enemy together (let me cry)⁴】

【Some of you need to learn how to read the room⁵, seriously. Xixi is fermenting coconut cream to extract coconut oil. If you don’t get it, stop barking.】

【If you’re watching the show, then just watch the show. Stop discussing the guests’ love lives.】

【Curious what new thing Xixi is making (question mark over head)】

Liu Yinxi cursed herself. She’d forgotten to warn Nan Huaixu that the fermented smell wasn’t pleasant. She glanced into the bucket. A layer of white fat floated on the surface of the water. The coconut oil had separated.

Filled with the joy of success, Liu Yinxi hurried over to check on Nan Huaixu. “Teacher Nan, how are you? Are you okay? Do you want some water to recover?”

Nan Huaixu shook her head, patting her chest and coughing. “Liu Yinxi, what kind of bioweapon are you making now? I’m asking you, next time you decide to make a stink bo.mb, can you please notify me first?”

Liu Yinxi’s head drooped. “I’m sorry, Teacher Nan. I’ll be sure to tell you first before I make anything. And this isn’t a bioweapon. It’s fermented coconut cream. It’s normal for it to have a bit of a smell.”

She hadn’t imagined someone would stick their nose right into the bucket…

Nan Huaixu took a few more deep breaths and felt a little better. Her curiosity quickly took over again. She walked back to the low wooden rack to look at the small bucket. The fibrous pulp from the coconut meat had settled at the very bottom, the coconut water was in the middle, and a layer of milky-white coconut oil floated on top.

Even if she didn’t know how to cook, anyone who had ever eaten bone broth knew that the fat would float on the surface. The same principle applied to this bucket of coconut cream. Nan Huaixu understood at a glance that Liu Yinxi was rendering coconut oil.

What was the oil for? There were only two possibilities: one, for eating; two, for skincare.

If it was for eating, she could just eat coconut meat to get fat. There was no need to go through the trouble of rendering oil. So, the most likely reason was to make skincare products.

And Liu Yinxi had been so secretive about it, saying she wanted to keep it under wraps in case she failed. But Nan Huaixu felt that making handmade skincare products wouldn’t be too difficult for someone with Liu Yinxi’s skills. Could it be that Liu Yinxi was doing this to give her a surprise?

A barely perceptible smile flashed in Nan Huaixu’s eyes. She quietly curved her lips. Hmm… if that’s the case, I’ll just pretend I don’t know for now.

But she couldn’t jump to conclusions too early. What if Liu Yinxi wasn’t making skincare products specifically for her at all? She’d be a laughingstock if anyone found out she was just flattering herself.

It wasn’t like she wanted Liu Yinxi to give her anything.

Nan Huaixu cleared her throat and stepped back a little to give Liu Yinxi space.

“What are you composting this for?” she asked.

Liu Yinxi lifted the bucket down. “It’s fermenting, fermenting, not composting. I’m collecting the separated coconut oil to make something.”

Nan Huaixu went along with her. “Right, fermenting.”

The sky grew darker as the setting sun withdrew its last ray of light.

Only the campfire illuminated the campsite in front of the shelter.

Liu Yinxi kept the small light on her bracelet on, aiming it into the bucket. She used a large, self-made wooden spoon to scoop out the floating coconut oil and place it in a mess tin, which she then set over the flames to heat.

The temperature for the second purification of coconut oil didn’t need to be too high; 40 to 50 degrees Celsius was enough. The goal was to remove any remaining water and fine impurities.

Nan Huaixu also turned on her bracelet light to help illuminate the work.

The flames licked the bottom of the mess tin, and the aluminum heated up quickly. The shallow layer of coconut oil inside gradually softened and began to bubble as some of the water evaporated.

Nan Huaixu watched Liu Yinxi work, fascinated. She had never imagined she would personally experience making coconut oil from scratch.

“So you just cook it like this?”

“Yes, just to evaporate the residual moisture. See? The bubbles are getting fewer.”

“And after the water is gone?”

“I need to prepare the herbal essence.”

Liu Yinxi repeatedly scraped the coconut oil with a wooden sliver to ensure it heated evenly and was purified more thoroughly.

The pure white coconut oil tumbled over the silver-grey metal like fine cream, or maybe a bit like ice cream, releasing the fresh fragrance of coconut milk.

Nan Huaixu watched, mesmerized, for a moment before turning to look at Liu Yinxi’s focused face. “How do you make the essence? Which herbs are you going to use?”

Liu Yinxi hesitated slightly. She had originally planned to make the herbal soap and moisturizing cream by herself. Was it now going to become a joint project with Nan Huaixu?

Nan Huaixu prompted her, “Which ones?”

Liu Yinxi thought for a moment. The ultimate goal was to make Nan Huaixu happy. Since she was taking the initiative to participate, of course she should be the focus. So she replied, “Lilac, yellow camphor leaves, aloe, and pandan.”

“I’ll get them.” Nan Huaixu walked over to the supply box to find the herbs.

Liu Yinxi reminded her in time, “Teacher Nan, you need to mash the herbs in two groups. Lilac and yellow camphor leaves in one, and aloe and pandan in the other.”

“Got it.”

Nan Huaixu followed Liu Yinxi’s instructions, soaking the herbs in clean water, chopping them with a knife, and then finding two clean coconut shells. She placed the two sets of ingredients into the shells separately, mixed the minced herbs, and then pounded them with a stone to collect the extracted liquid—a simple herbal essence.

The milky-white coconut oil sat in a banana leaf bowl, next to the lilac and yellow camphor essence and the aloe and pandan essence.

The three ingredients were laid out neatly, and seeing them filled Nan Huaixu with a warm sense of accomplishment.

“What’s next? What do we do now?” Nan Huaixu was eager to start the next step.

This felt just like the games of playing house⁶ that Mommy never allowed her to play with the other children in the park, using mud and flowers.

She had envied those girls who got to be the “mom” in the game, making a table full of “dishes” from things Zeng Mulin called trash, and hearing the other kids praise their exquisite cooking.

But after Zeng Mulin frowned and told the nanny to take her away from the park, lecturing her that “it’s dirty, you are not to have contact with them again,” Nan Huaixu never again held any extravagant hopes for children’s games.

There were always endless essays to write, endless calligraphy to practice, and endless piano pieces to play waiting for her.

—You are the second heir of the Nan family. You must be excellent, more excellent, and even more excellent, so that you can defeat Nan Lingxuan.

But no one had ever asked her if she wanted to defeat Nan Lingxuan.

No one had ever asked her what she truly cared about.

Other than Liu Yinxi, no one had even asked her if she liked her job as an actress.

At first, Nan Huaixu had found life in the wilderness competition bitter, boring, and exhausting. But now, she felt that her days in this rainforest were quite nice. There was unpolluted fresh air, all-natural, hormone-free food, the freedom to play when she wanted and sleep when she wanted without any constraints, and…

She lifted her eyes. Beside her was Liu Yinxi, concentrating on clarifying the herbal essence.

The light of the fire shone on them, like a thin veil of warm gauze.

Nan Huaixu’s lips curled up unconsciously. Suddenly, Liu Yinxi clapped her hands. “I almost forgot! I haven’t prepared the lye water yet.”

Nan Huaixu stood up, rummaged through a box, and handed her the bottle of plant ash. “Here.”

“Wow, how did you know I needed this? Teacher Nan, you’re too smart. It’s like you can predict the future⁷.”

“You don’t have to praise me so extravagantly for something like this. You told me before that plant ash is alkaline and can be used for sterilization, but that it should be used sparingly because it’s harsh on the skin.”

“So I can’t praise you for being smart? I can’t help it. I just like praising you. Forgive me.”

Nan Huaixu didn’t answer. She handed her a bottle of cooled boiled water and sat back down beside her without a word, propping her chin on her hand. “Alright, now you have the lye water too.”

Liu Yinxi’s attention immediately returned to the materials. She found the simple molds she had carved from wood beforehand—similar to mooncake molds, some rectangular, some circular. She lined the hollows with thin pandan leaves. Later, she would pour the prepared soap mixture in, let it sit for a while, and it would solidify.

She had also carefully selected a pair of large, beautiful, and intact mother-of-pearl shells⁸ to store the moisturizing cream.

The moisturizing cream wasn’t hard to make. Coconut oil itself had a long shelf life; she just needed to add the aloe and pandan essence to it.

The handmade soap, however, required making a soap base, which depended on the ratio of lye to oil.

The embarrassing thing was, Liu Yinxi had forgotten the lye-to-oil ratio.

She held the lye water in one hand and the coconut oil in the other, hesitating for a while, at a complete loss.

What should I do? Just guess?

But these materials were hard to come by. It would be such a waste if she guessed wrong.

Nan Huaixu had been observing her for several minutes. She asked tentatively, “Are you trying to make handmade soap?”

Liu Yinxi looked at her, astonished. “Yes, you could tell?”

Nan Huaixu smiled faintly. She had guessed it long ago.

“I once filmed an urban drama. Because of my character’s profession, I came into contact with the cosmetics industry a little. I remember the lye-to-oil ratio for essential oil soap is generally between 2:8 and 3:7.”

There happened to be a plot point that involved it, and she had even memorized the lines. But the drama was never released due to certain unspeakable reasons.

“Alright! Teacher Nan, you’re amazing! You even remember that. You must have been born under the star of Wenchang⁹, right?” Liu Yinxi said cheerfully, immediately mixing the soap solution according to her instructions.

Making soap also required adding fresh water and herbal essence. Liu Yinxi made a rough adjustment, mixing in 12% plant ash water, 60% coconut oil, 25% plain boiled water, and 3% lilac and yellow camphor essence.

She added the ingredients to a plastic bowl one by one and stirred with a wooden stick. It gradually formed a thick, matcha-milk-green paste, emitting a light, mixed fragrance of coconut milk and herbs.

Liu Yinxi was very satisfied with the consistency and moisturizing quality. The ratio was a success.

Excited, Liu Yinxi brought over the molds and handed them to Nan Huaixu. “Teacher Nan, pick a mold.”

Nan Huaixu touched the wooden molds, pressing down a pandan leaf that had puffed up so it lay flat against the hollow. “When did you carve these? You have this skill too.”

Liu Yinxi had specifically found wood that had been softened in the creek and then dried it before carving. “I just fiddled with them these past two days when I had nothing to do during breaks.”

Nan Huaixu estimated that the soap mixture they made could fill two molds at most—one square and one round, one bar of soap for each of them.

She chose the smaller, circular mold and pointed. “This one.”

“Okay~” Liu Yinxi placed the mold flat on the supply box, picked up the small bowl full of soap mixture, and handed it to her.

“Teacher Nan, you first.”

Nan Huaixu smiled, took the small bowl, and carefully poured the soap mixture into the mold with a wooden spoon.

As the pale green paste slowly fell into the wooden hollow, Nan Huaixu’s face was radiant, as if what she held in her hands wasn’t coconut oil, but the lost beauty of her childhood years.

Thankfully, there was still someone in this world who could help her find it.

Footnotes

The tiānlínggài (天灵盖) refers to the crown of the skull or the bregma. In colloquial Chinese, saying a smell or sensation 'shoots to the tiānlínggài' is a vivid way of describing something extremely potent and overwhelming.
Dǎ miē (打咩) is Chinese internet slang derived from the Japanese word 'dame' (だめ), which means 'no good,' 'not allowed,' or 'stop it.'
The sānfútiān (三伏天) are the 'dog days of summer,' traditionally the hottest and most oppressive period of the year in the Chinese calendar.
Yǔn bēi (允悲) is the name of a popular emoji on the Weibo social media platform, literally meaning 'allow me to be sad.' It's used to express a kind of resigned, humorous sadness.
KY is internet slang from the Japanese phrase 'kūki yomenai' (空気読めない), which means 'unable to read the air' or 'unable to read the room.' It's used to call out someone for making an inappropriate or clueless comment.
Guòjiājiā (过家家) is the common Chinese term for 'playing house,' a children's game where they imitate adults and household activities.
Wèibǔxiānzhī (未卜先知) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) that means 'to know something before it is divined,' or to be prophetic.
Bèimǔ (贝母) literally means 'shell mother' and can refer to mother-of-pearl or, more generally, large and beautiful shells like those from a giant clam, suitable for use as decorative containers.
Wénchāng Xīng (文昌星) is the Star of Wenchang, a Daoist deity of culture and literature. To say someone is 'of Wenchang' is a high compliment to their intelligence, scholarly aptitude, and memory.

Footnotes

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