Substitute Alpha Gets Confessed to by Her Ex’s Aunt on a Survival Variety Show – Chapter 47
by Little PandaThe Second-Generation Shelter, a Little Treehouse by the River
The noon sun shone brightly.
As she sat on the high ground, the rushing sound of the river was endless. At first, it sounded a bit noisy, but once she grew accustomed to it, it actually calmed the mind. The effect was similar to how the white noise of a rainy day made it easier to fall asleep.
Nan Huaixu rested her back against a tree trunk, watching Liu Yinxi bustle about. She couldn’t help but wonder: was this person made of iron1? She had been busy from four in the morning until eleven at noon, yet she was still so energetic.
Nan Huaixu couldn’t do it. From the Toa River Estuary to this new shelter, even with Liu Yinxi’s support and a walk that had only taken forty minutes, she felt utterly drained of strength. Her back ached, her legs ached, and the soles of her feet throbbed. Affected by her heat period, her cervical gland and lower abdomen also ached.
She pressed a hand to her stomach. In her boredom, she caught sight of Liu Yinxi clearing the weeds. The alpha’s sleeves were rolled up high, her arms well-proportioned and strong, the muscle lines smooth and defined.
Was she this athletic before?
Oh, right. She had never observed Liu Yinxi’s body this closely and carefully before.
She had always avoided this fanatical, crazy fan like the plague.
When Liu Yinxi first got together with Ying Luoling, she was always finding various excuses to get close to Nan Huaixu, asking for autographs and photos. If she hadn’t reined it in later, she would have truly seemed like an obsessive fan2. During that time, Nan Huaixu even avoided Ying Luoling, terrified of catching something unclean.
Nan Huaixu followed Liu Yinxi’s grass-cutting movements with her gaze, watching the two prominent bone lines on the inside of her forearm bulge and vanish. Further down, long, slender fingers gripped the handle of the knife tightly, severing the weeds with stroke after stroke.
“…”
Nan Huaixu rested her chin in her hand. Could a person transform from weak and sickly to vigorous and athletic in such a short amount of time?
Could a mere two months of fitness really allow someone to completely shed her old self, from her brain to her physical.body3?
Or was Liu Yinxi’s previously pretentious and artificial personality deliberately faked? After all, when you couldn’t even get enough to eat in a wilderness survival situation, it was impossible to have the leisure to play the fool. Moreover, a calm mind and formidable strength couldn’t be faked at all.
Between shedding her old self in two months or faking stupidity in the past—which was the real Liu Yinxi?
Liu Yinxi suddenly looked up, her eyes colliding with the gaze that was mentally dissecting her into pieces.
The beast-like instinct Liu Yinxi had learned from nature made her feel a sense of panic under this look. “Teacher Nan, is something wrong?”
Nan Huaixu immediately curved her eyes, revealing an approachable smile. “Hmm… I feel a bit better. As the Captain, I can’t just rest by myself and only watch you work. But I don’t have much strength right now, so I can’t chop trees or gather firewood. What do you think I should do?”
“It’s fine, I prepared a lot of wood when I came here last time. We just need to add a bit more today.” Liu Yinxi put down the knife, raised a hand to scratch the tail of her eyebrow, and looked around before saying, “Do you have the strength to weed and gather sand from the riverbank?”
“I do. We need sand?”
“Yes. I’ve marked out the boundaries of the camp area, from those trees to the bushes over there. We’ll clear the weeds within this area, level the ground, and then lay down a layer of fine river sand. That way, we can keep it dry and sanitary. Later, when we have free time, we’ll burn some more plant ash to sprinkle into the sand. It can repel insects and sterilize the area, making our living environment cleaner.”
“Alright.” It sounded very nice.
Nan Huaixu took out her knife and took over Liu Yinxi’s weeding task.
She asked, “What are we eating for lunch?”
“I haven’t started the campfire yet. I was thinking we’d keep it simple for lunch—dried fish paired with banana stem core. How does that sound?”
“That’s fine. It’ll save time so we can get more work done.”
Nan Huaixu cut a couple of handfuls of grass and said, “Should I set up the stone stove now?”
It wasn’t for the sake of eating; she was considering that building the treehouse later would require fire to process materials, such as burning holes into the wood.
“I’ll go down to the riverbank to gather sand and pick up some stones while I’m at it.”
Liu Yinxi had just picked up the stone axe, but hearing her words, she walked back and sat beside her.
“This time we’re going to make two campfires.”
“Two?”
Liu Yinxi casually picked up a branch and drew out two spots on the ground, one close to where the treehouse was being built, and one slightly further away.
“For this one near the first floor of the treehouse, we’ll make a Dakota fire hole; for the open-air campfire area, we’ll make a star-shaped campfire.”
Previously, they had been very casual at the old shelter. Every day, they were either busy foraging for food, fetching water, or boiling salt. They had only built a crude stone stove and tossed firewood in haphazardly without paying much attention to technique.
Now that they were upgrading their shelter, their simple fire setup also needed to be upgraded into campfires with different functions.
Nan Huaixu had learned how to make a star-shaped campfire from her private coach. It was one of the simple campfires beginners could master quickly. You only needed to arrange stones in a circle to form a windproof stove, lay the split firewood in a star pattern (*), and push one end toward the center of the stove. The advantage of this campfire was that it conserved wood and concentrated the heat, making it suitable for cooking.
Nan Huaixu said, “I know how to make a star pattern. How do you make a Dakota fire hole?”
Liu Yinxi brought over the stone pickaxe. “You’ll need to use this.”
“Digging into the ground?”
“Bingo, that’s right. First, dig two small pits in the ground, not too far apart—a gap of twenty to thirty centimeters is enough. Then dig, dig, dig at an angle to connect the two holes. The underground part will look like a ‘V’ shape. Keep one hole clear for air intake and smoke exhaust, and place the firewood inside the other hole. You can put a grill over it to keep warm and heat things up. The fire burns inside the hole, which is safer than an above-ground campfire. Being sheltered underground ensures the flames burn fully, while also reducing smoke.”
Nan Huaixu nodded. “I understand. I’ll try it first, and I’ll call you over to take a look when it’s done. If it’s wrong, I’ll fix it.”
“There’s actually no rush with the campfire. We walked too far today, you should rest more. Anyway, see how you feel. If you’re tired, just sit for a while. We don’t have time to rush back today, so we’ll have to stay here overnight. We’ll head back tomorrow and move our things the day after.”
“Then we have to get the treehouse built today and tomorrow.”
Liu Yinxi smiled and lifted the stone axe. “I’m going to chop trees now.”
“Hey.” Nan Huaixu tugged at the corner of her shirt.
Liu Yinxi turned back.
Nan Huaixu handed her the salted dried fish and banana stem core wrapped in a banana leaf.
Once Liu Yinxi took it, Nan Huaixu dug into her backpack again and pulled out a bright yellow mango.
Liu Yinxi looked surprised. “There’s still a mango?”
Nan Huaixu said, “The last one.”
“Didn’t we finish them?”
“I’m giving it to you, so just take it. Go chop your trees.”
“Oh.”
Nan Huaixu watched her back, the corners of her lips turning up slightly.
Liu Yinxi had exchanged for the tomato beef rice for her, so giving her the mango she had saved was only right.
And that was the most fragrant out of all the mangoes.
The sweetest.
【Hahaha, Manman handed over the little mango she secretly hid (snickers)】
【Two bags of freeze-dried rice, look how touched our Manman is.】
【I’ve got a feeling Liu Yinxi is up to no good4. Just based on what she said to Huang Heshan when she went back to swap the airdrop crates, I guarantee she’s going to cause trouble.】
【What did Liu say to Huang?】
【@PuppyLickingAround, Liu’s exact words: “Lao Huang, eat slowly, save some rice for me.”】
【Pfft!】
【Pfft, why would Huang-jie save rice for her?】
【Liu will probably use supplies to trade with her (thinking)】
【That’s easy. Next time, she’ll secretly ask Yu Yan what she wants and prepare more of it to trade for rice. As long as it’s something Yuyu wants, Huang-jie will definitely get it for her.】
【Is Huang-jie really such a tender-hearted romantic? Considering how Liu and Huang had polar-opposite reactions to omega pheromones—one like ice, one like fire—Liu Yinxi only has a hope of trading for the rice if she uses a blister pack of alpha inhibitors.】
【Good lord, you didn’t let Huang-jie off the hook either.】
【And didn’t let Xixi off either (cracked)】
【Yay, it’s the new shelter~】
【Now all the guests will probably have to move.】
【Looking at every season of 《Survivor》, moving shelters is always a match point.】
【Who do you guys think will be eliminated first?】
Dusk by the great river was a bit cooler than in the forest.
The star-shaped campfire and the smokeless fire hole were both finished, warm firelight glowing from the two spots.
Nan Huaixu placed the mess tin in the center of the burning campfire and poured in clean water that had been treated with purification tablets, bringing it to a boil.
She looked up. The wooden platform suspended across the four trees blocked her view, casting down a rectangular shadow that covered her, bringing a strange sense of security.
“Come down and eat dinner.”
With the knife clamped in her mouth, Liu Yinxi supported herself on the overhead frame with one hand, gripped the vine rope with the other, and peered down.
Nan Huaixu looked up at her. The treehouse’s platform, side bracings, and sloped roof had already been erected. Tomorrow, once they added the ‘T’-shaped interior partition, covered the roof with palm and banana leaves, and finally added soft furnishings like a mattress, their second-generation shelter—the little treehouse—would be completely finished.
Right now, only the A-frame wooden structure of the roof was in place. Sleeping in the room tonight would be like having an open skylight. Luckily, it wasn’t raining, otherwise they would have been in trouble.
Liu Yinxi nimbly bound vine ropes around the wooden poles converging at the ends. She took the knife from her mouth, severed the vine, tied a knot, and stepped down the makeshift wooden ladder leading to the second floor.
“Coming.” She looked at her hands, which were covered in scrapes and stained pitch black. “I’m going to the river to wash my hands first.”
Nan Huaixu instructed her, “Turn on your bracelet light and walk slowly. Be careful not to fall into the water.”
“Oh!”
By the glow of the campfire, Nan Huaixu read the consumption instructions for the freeze-dried rice.
“Tear open the packaging bag, taking care not to damage the seal. Remove the oxygen absorber packet. Pour boiling water into the bag to rehydrate, wait 10 minutes, and it is ready to enjoy.”
It was even simpler than making instant noodles; there was no seasoning packet to tear open.
Nan Huaixu thought about it, prepared one bag of the freeze-dried rice, and then took a piece of cassava to roast on the wooden rack over the fire hole, before boiling a bowl of bracken fern soup.
Liu Yinxi returned with clean hands, took off her bracelet, and hung it on a tree branch. Using the firelight and the small light from the device, she began to pick out the wooden splinters from her palms.
Seeing her red and swollen hands, Nan Huaixu felt as if a wooden splinter had pricked her own heart.
To be honest, she had basically done nothing today. The treehouse had been built entirely by Liu Yinxi alone.
Nan Huaixu took the swelling reduction ointment and the moisturizing cream from her bag, placed them on a stone, and reminded Liu Yinxi to apply them to her hands later.
Once the freeze-dried rice was rehydrated, it gave off a rich, savory aroma. Liu Yinxi finished picking out the splinters and sniffed the air. “Smells so good!”
Airdrop supplies really were something else.
She sat next to the fire hole. Nan Huaixu opened the rice bag, poured half of the tomato beef rice into each of their two mess tins, and handed Liu Yinxi’s tin over to her.
Liu Yinxi paused, seeming quite surprised, and then smilingly pushed the mess tin back toward her. “You eat it all. One bag is 125g, exactly enough for one person’s meal.”
She pointed at the cassava on the grill. “I’ll eat this, and there’s the dried fish and soup. I brought enough.”
Nan Huaixu grabbed her hand, peeled back her fingers, and pressed the mess tin firmly into her palm. “The cassava is yours too. Since you know 125g is a one-person portion, how are you going to get full on half a portion of rice after doing so much work today?”
“It’s fine…”
“Eat yours.”
“Oh.” Liu Yinxi obediently shut her mouth.
Nan Huaixu held her mess tin and leaned in to smell it. The warm steam, carrying the rich scent of tomato and beef, wafted against her nose.
It wasn’t artificial flavoring; it was the scent of dehydrated vegetables and dried beef, and the seasoning was very clean.
Nan Huaixu scooped up a clump of rice coated in tomato beef sauce with her small wooden spoon, blew on it gently, and fed it into her mouth. The delicious, savory taste instantly awakened her taste buds, sending a warm rush flowing through her entire body.
Incredibly delicious!
To be able to eat a piping hot meal of tomato beef rice after surviving for more than twenty days in a primeval rainforest… Nan Huaixu felt this rehydrated fast food was not the slightest bit inferior to the delicacies her grandmother stewed by hand.
Nan Huaixu sniffled her heat-sensitized nose, her eyes feeling a bit sour.
A slurping, scarfing sound came from beside her. Nan Huaixu turned her head to see Liu Yinxi devouring the food from her mess tin; half the rice was already gone.
Nan Huaixu let out a soft laugh. Liu Yinxi looked up blankly, a grain of rice stuck to the corner of her mouth. A section of a curved braided cord had slipped out from the collar of the undershirt beneath her neck.
She had sweated a lot while working that afternoon and hadn’t put her jacket back on yet. Because she was wearing only a close-fitting undershirt, that piece of lanyard resting against her neck was especially conspicuous.
Liu Yinxi swallowed her rice. “What’s wrong?”
Nan Huaixu pointed at her lanyard. “It fell out.”
Liu Yinxi looked down. “Oh.” She tucked the cord back into her collar.
Nan Huaixu had previously assumed it was part of a sports bra, but looking at it now, it seemed more like jewelry.
The competition rules were stated very clearly: contestants were not allowed to wear any decorative jewelry.
Then there was only one possibility…
“Liu Yinxi, I still haven’t seen your personal item.”
“Mhm, it’s this.”
Liu Yinxi pulled the necklace from her collar. A Qingshui Hetian jade pendant gleamed with a translucent luster in the campfire’s glow.
That gentle, pure, and clear jade light flickered into the depths of Nan Huaixu’s eyes.
Safe and sound, year after year without worry.
The emotion in Nan Huaixu’s eyes shifted.
In a survival competition where one’s life was constantly on the line, the only thing she had brought with her was the birthday blessing she had given her.
Footnotes
- A common Chinese colloquialism (tiě dǎ de) used to describe someone who seems tireless, indestructible, or exceptionally robust, as if 'forged from iron'.
- An internet slang term (sīshēng fàn), derived from Korean 'sasaeng'. It refers to an obsessive fan who stalks or severely invades the privacy of a celebrity.
- A Chinese idiom (tuōtāi huàngǔ), literally 'to shed the mortal body and exchange the bones'. It means to undergo a complete transformation or be thoroughly reborn.
- A northern Chinese slang phrase (méi biē hǎo pì), literally 'holding in a bad fart.' It means someone is secretly harboring bad intentions or plotting something devious.
- In traditional Chinese jade carving, a 'Wushi' (无事) pendant is left completely plain and uncarved. The name literally means 'no matters' or 'no troubles', symbolizing a life free from hardship and full of peace. 'Qingshui' refers to a highly translucent, pale green or blue-green tint in the jade.
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