Substitute Alpha Gets Confessed to by Her Ex’s Aunt on a Survival Variety Show – Chapter 48
by Little PandaHer Brought Item Is…
【Oh my god, Liu is truly confident (Surprised)】
【It’s a survival competition! Other people bring food or crucial survival tools, but Liu Yinxi brings a completely useless jade pendant?!!】
【I don’t understand (Baffled)】
【I acknowledge Xixi’s outdoor skills, but isn’t this being a bit too overconfident?】
【Same… Each guest can only bring one item. It’s so important. Even Yuan’s liquor and Luo’s oatmeal are hugely useful. What use is Xixi’s piece of jade? There are no pawnshops in the rainforest; she can’t trade jade for food.】
【I think this jade is just very important to Xixi. Think about it—don’t characters in movies always carry photos of their wives and kids before going to the battlefield?】
【What kind of flag1 are you recklessly setting up here (Speechless)】
【Could the jade have a secret mechanism? Maybe an emergency life-saving pill2 is hidden inside?】
【Makes sense!】
【Actually, it’s not a problem. From the perspective of a professional backpacker, I think the rainforest is rich in resources, and the standard kit provided by the production team is enough to meet basic survival needs. Many outdoor enthusiasts only hike for a dozen days at most, traveling with companions. They have no experience surviving alone in the wilderness for a long period, and they don’t realize that living in the wild presents an enormous psychological challenge on top of the material ones. If this piece of jade holds a special meaning for Liu Yinxi, then it serves as a spiritual pillar that can support her in overcoming many difficulties. A peak-level survival competition ultimately becomes a battle of willpower.】
【Forget wilderness survival. A few years ago during the winter flu pandemic, I was trapped alone in my family’s self-built house in my hometown. No internet. I ate rice with shredded pickled mustard tuber3 for twenty days straight. Pickled mustard tuber for every single meal. Now, just seeing the words ‘pickled mustard tuber’ makes me want to throw up. And that wasn’t even the scariest part. For those twenty days, I had zero entertainment and couldn’t go outside. I flipped through a few magazines until they fell apart, and every day I just sat by the window staring at the trees outside. I became completely useless. Later, when I could finally go out and see another person, I couldn’t even speak clearly TAT】
【So where did Liu Yinxi’s piece of jade come from? What’s its significance?】
Orange-red firelight spilled up from the Dakota fire hole, occasionally caught by the wind, dancing in swaying shadows across the earth.
Nan Huaixu watched Liu Yinxi hold up the jade pendant. Her gaze was soft and utterly immersed. Nan Huaixu’s heart skipped a beat.
When she had given her this jade pendant back then, hadn’t Liu Yinxi despised it?
Nan Huaixu admitted that choosing this birthday gift hadn’t been very thoughtful, but at the time, her relationship with Liu Yinxi hadn’t even counted as a passing acquaintance. As a nominal elder, she was only putting on a polite front by giving her niece’s girlfriend a gift.
Yet, given the sudden circumstances, it had been the most suitable gift she had on hand to give. For Liu Yinxi to openly despise the jade pendant as cheap in front of the guests had truly been hurtful.
Nan Huaixu suppressed her complex emotions and asked Liu Yinxi, “Is there something special about this jade of yours? Does it contain a secret mechanism hiding some emergency miracle cure?”
Liu Yinxi smiled, weighing the Wushi pendant in her palm. “There’s no secret mechanism. This jade of mine sustains my life.”
“How so?” A cheap trinket from an ordinary jewelry shop had become a life-sustaining treasure just by hanging around Liu Yinxi’s neck? Nan Huaixu didn’t believe it.
A look of devotion washed over Liu Yinxi’s brow. “This is a Wushi pendant. It protects one’s peace and safety. It’s incredibly effective. I almost got into a car crash once in Shen City, and it was this jade pendant that saved me.”
“Car crash?” Nan Huaixu’s words sped up. “What happened? Were you hurt? Are there any lingering effects now?”
Liu Yinxi shook her head. Pressing her hands together, she cupped the jade pendant in her palms, feeling its warm, smooth texture as she recounted the scene of the incident to her.
Nan Huaixu frowned as she listened, but let out a slight breath of relief.
“That’s what happened. So by bringing it to the competition, it can protect me.”
Liu Yinxi gripped the jade tightly, closed her eyes, and silently missed her two mothers: Mom, Mommy, you will protect me. I know it.
Please don’t worry. I will definitely live well in this world.
Finishing her prayer, Liu Yinxi tucked the jade pendant back under her collar.
She picked up her mess tin. “Teacher Nan, eat up. It’ll get cold soon. We have to properly savor such delicious food.”
“Mn…” Nan Huaixu lowered her head, stirring the mixed rice with her small wooden spoon, a myriad of emotions tumbling in her heart.
She had assumed that after Liu Yinxi lost her source of income, she had suffered the torments of poverty and thus changed her view of the jade pendant. So the reason wasn’t simply that.
Liu Yinxi was treating the Wushi pendant she had given her as a spiritual pillar.
That was quite nice, too.
The rainforest had water and food to fill their bellies. Though crude, it could sustain their survival—not to mention Liu Yinxi’s own capabilities, which were enough to keep them going for a while.
If they wanted to last longer, they had to consider their ability to adapt to sudden disasters. That required not just hard skills, but tenacious willpower.
Liu Yinxi, possessing a spiritual pillar, had incredibly strong conviction. Perhaps it would add a mental buff4 during their moments of crisis.
It had been a long time since they had eaten industrial, artificial food. The rich seasonings provided their taste buds with immense enjoyment.
Liu Yinxi extinguished the star-shaped campfire, leaving only the fire hole. The flames burned underground, making it safer for the night.
She climbed the wooden ladder and lay down on the second-floor platform. Her back felt a bit uncomfortable against the hard wood, so she climbed back down and temporarily repurposed the banana leaves she had used for the suspended bed last time as a mattress. Some of the leaves were already wilted, but it was too dark to go out looking for banana trees right now, so they would just have to make do.
From four in the morning to eight at night, from the old shelter to the river estuary, and then to the new shelter—today had been a day of true physical and mental exhaustion.
Liu Yinxi bade Nan Huaixu goodnight and lay down inside the unfinished treehouse. Through the gaps in the wooden roof frame and the leaves, the stars in the sky were faintly visible.
She was too tired to have the energy to admire the starry night scenery. Smelling a faint, barely discernible floral scent, she fell into a deep sleep.
When a physically exhausted person falls asleep, their breathing becomes heavy.
Liu Yinxi’s was especially noticeable tonight.
Nan Huaixu sat by the fire hole, chewing on palm core to rinse her mouth. The alpha’s low, heavy breathing drifted into her ears, sound by sound. For some unknown reason, it sounded inexplicably sex.y to her.
“…”
After turning it over in her mind, Nan Huaixu took another inhibitor before going to sleep.
Bracelet date: May 1st.
The first day of the May Day holiday5. Some people were stuck in long lines of traffic on the highway; some were lying under their covers watching the 《Survivor 5》 livestream; and some were trekking through a rainforest.
Liu Yinxi and Nan Huaixu set off for the old shelter past six in the morning, arriving just before nine-thirty.
They planned to spend the day packing and moving their luggage.
The luggage was divided into two parts. One part consisted of basic necessities to take first, while the non-urgent items would be hidden away to be retrieved later when they had time.
Then, they would dig up all the cassava and kudzu root they could find, and stockpile a few banana stem cores and palm cores.
Liu Yinxi placed the supplies into the small airdrop crate, then placed the small crate inside the large one. She fastened the latches and flipped up the handle on top.
Her backpack was also full of supplies. When it was time to move, she and Nan Huaixu would each carry a backpack, and she would carry a crate.
Liu Yinxi had packed the smaller and lighter items for Nan Huaixu. However, Nan Huaixu had always been fiercely competitive. She proactively weighed Liu Yinxi’s backpack and then lifted Liu Yinxi’s crate, saying, “Yours are too heavy. Give some to me. Mine is light; I can still take more weight.”
Usually, Liu Yinxi would try her best to accommodate her feelings and requests. But during the trip to the river estuary to snatch the airdrop last time, Nan Huaixu had pushed herself far too hard. Liu Yinxi had to consider not only Nan Huaixu’s physical stamina but also their overall migration speed. She tactfully refused her: “I’m fine. Yours isn’t light either; once we walk for a bit, the weight will feel heavier. We can take our time. As long as we reach the Toa River before dark, it’s fine. If we get tired, we can rest anytime. Don’t worry too much.”
Liu Yinxi rarely phrased a rejection so comprehensively and with such grace. Nan Huaixu had abundant social experience; upon hearing this, she immediately understood the underlying subtext: Don’t push yourself.
Nan Huaixu felt a bit dejected, but thinking about her performance while snatching the airdrop, she instantly fell into deep self-blame. Liu Yinxi was right. She needed to look after herself and not cause trouble for the team.
Ah, Nan Huaixu, Nan Huaixu. Your Team 46 exists in name only now.
Liu Yinxi was the true leader.
64.
Thinking carefully about it, there was also a silver lining—after eating and sleeping alongside Nan Huaixu for a month, Liu Yinxi had been deeply influenced by Teacher Nan’s elegant charisma. Gone were the ying ying ying6 whines and the disrespectful remarks. She was gradually mastering tactful and gentle communication skills.
At least in front of Nan Huaixu, Liu Yinxi displayed such excellent improvement.
As for whether Liu Yinxi was being deceptive or wicked in front of the other competing guests, Nan Huaixu had no idea.
At noon, they finished packing all the luggage they intended to move. In the afternoon, Nan Huaixu went to dig up cassava and kudzu root, while Liu Yinxi headed to the seaside to try her luck and see if she could scavenge any tools. She also wanted to fill two plastic bottles with coconut water to make it easier to transport.
Liu Yinxi strolled along the coastline. In her hand, she stroked a mango pit7 she had been carefully cultivating for its first day. She wore a banana leaf hat on her head, her eyes sweeping the beach for garbage—ah, no, recyclables—hoping to find a relatively sturdy, large basin she could use for bathing.
Unfortunately, after searching for over half an hour, she found nothing satisfactory.
Forget it, better head back early. Sleep early tonight; tomorrow would be another day of long-distance trekking. And trekking with heavy loads at that.
Liu Yinxi walked back toward the reef cluster, pondering whether to catch some fish and shrimp for dinner, when she suddenly heard an excited shout: “Liu’er! My good sister!”
Oh~!
Liu Yinxi’s lips curled up. She turned around and waved. “Boss Yuan!”
【This smile from Liu Yinxi… It’s exactly the same as when she told Huang Heshan to save some rice for her. Feels like she’s up to no good.】
【The salt is practically done boiling. What does Yuan Fang want now?】
【Trading for other supplies, I bet. Feels like Yuan wants to cling to Liu’s thigh and never let go (Frown)】
【Is Xixi’s thigh something just anyone can cling to? I see Yuan Fang doesn’t have any high-value items left to trade; she can only sell her physical labor now.】
【Fortunately, ‘a certain Yuan’ is strong and sturdy fcnt content=”A reference to the ‘dog head’ (gǒutóu) or Doge emoji, widely used on the Chinese internet at the end of a sentence to indicate sarcasm, joking, or to protect the speaker from being taken too seriously.”[/fcnt]】
Yuan Fang ran over and asked, “Liu’er, where have you been these past two days?”
Liu Yinxi smiled innocently. “Snatching the airdrop.”
“What about this morning?”
“Oh, Teacher Nan and I moved to the river.”
Yuan Fang’s eyes lit up. “Sigh! I was just about to ask you about that! Judging from the routes of the previous airdrops, future airdrops should land further and further away from the coast. I want to move to the river too, but I’m not familiar with that area. I’m afraid of picking a bad spot to build a shelter.”
Liu Yinxi was ever so helpful. “I wandered around the river for a long time yesterday and found a pretty good spot. We’re moving tomorrow. Do you want to come along with us? I can show you around.”
The corners of Yuan Fang’s eyes crinkled with her smile. “That’s too kind of you.”
“We’re practically family, don’t stand on ceremony. Make sure you eat plenty tomorrow morning; the distance is far. Don’t bring anything with you—just go check out the location first and see if you like it. We’ll talk after that.”
“Great, great, great! I’ll head back and pack up right now.”
“I’m coming!”
“Boss Yuan is here! Perfect timing. You can just carry this one.”
The early morning sunlight was warm and bright.
Liu Yinxi’s expression was as gentle as water as she took the heavy object from Nan Huaixu’s hands, smiling as she passed the crate over to Yuan Fang.
Yuan Fang stared at the heavy airdrop crate. “Hold on?”
She should have known! Why would the penny-pinching, calculating Liu Yinxi suddenly be so generous as to help her pick a campsite?
“.”
Yuan Fang lost all expression.
So it turned out Liu Yinxi telling her to eat plenty the day before wasn’t out of sympathy for her hard journey.
Liu Yinxi had been afraid she wouldn’t have enough strength to help her Teacher Nan carry the luggage!
Footnotes
- An internet slang term derived from the English word 'flag,' meaning to jinx something or set up a cliché foreshadowing of doom (like a soldier looking at a photo of his family right before dying).
- Bǎoxiǎn zǐ, referring to the famous 'insurance pill' or emergency life-saving pill traditionally included in a packet of Yunnan Baiyao (a well-known Chinese medicine) to treat severe trauma.
- Zhàcài, a popular and inexpensive pickled mustard tuber often eaten as a basic side dish or condiment in China.
- A gaming term (buff) widely adopted into internet slang, referring to a status effect that enhances or strengthens a person's abilities.
- The May Day (Wǔ Yī) holiday, a major national public holiday in China spanning several days around May 1st, heavily associated with domestic travel and tourism.
- Yīng yīng yīng, an internet slang onomatopoeia used to mimic the sound of exaggerated, pitiful, or cutesy crying.
- A humorous reference to a peculiar Chinese internet trend where people wash, blow-dry, and brush the fibrous, furry pits of eaten mangoes, 'raising' them as if they were small pets.
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