Substitute Alpha Gets Confessed to by Her Ex’s Aunt on a Survival Variety Show – Chapter 82
by Little PandaThere Are Winners and Losers Among Opponents
Water cascaded from above, the rapid current sweeping the two people in the river downstream.
In desperation, Nan Huaixu kicked a piece of wood from the bank into the river and shouted Liu Yinxi’s name: “Grab the driftwood!”
Liu Yinxi caught the log. Maintaining her swimming posture, she tied the vine rope around her waist and told the person beside her, “Keep your head tilted back, try your best to lift your legs, and don’t struggle too hard.”
The person nodded and followed her instructions.
Fortunately, this was a tributary of the Toa River. The channel was narrow and shallow, and the current slowed as it flowed downstream.
They clung to the driftwood and drifted for a few minutes. Spotting an opportunity, Liu Yinxi kicked out against a passing rock, temporarily stabilizing them. On the bank, Nan Huaixu tied the other end of the vine rope to a tree, planted herself in a horse stance, and pulled with all her might.
After a grueling struggle, Liu Yinxi successfully hauled the person ashore. Both of them coughed incessantly.
The thief hurriedly took off her shoes, elevating her left leg and pulling at her cramped toes. The straw clothing and the stretch suit underneath were completely soaked.
Nan Huaixu helped peel back the straw clothing. When she saw the person’s face clearly, she cried out in shock, “Xiao Lu?!”
The person who had been stealing their catches was actually Lu Yiqi.
Nan Huaixu had suspected Yuan Fang, Huang Heshan, and even Ying Luoling, but she had never once considered Lu Yiqi.
In her eyes, Lu Yiqi was just a recently graduated little sisterβa rule-abiding, introverted, and grounded person who would never resort to theft.
Liu Yinxi stripped off her jacket and pants, wringing out the water. “Yep, it’s this audacious rascal.”
Lu Yiqi coughed violently. Her lips were pale, though an unnatural flush crept across her face. Her breathing looked extremely labored. She lay on the ground, clutching her leg for a moment before dropping her hands weakly, letting out a pained groan.
Nan Huaixu quickly pried her mouth open to check her nasal and oral cavities. Confirming there were no obstructions, she supported Lu Yiqi’s upper body and patted her back.
“Cough, cough, coughβ”
Lu Yiqi forcefully coughed up murky water, and her breathing instantly smoothed out.
Nan Huaixu tucked her bag under Lu Yiqi’s head, helping her lie flat, and reached for the hem of her shirt. Liu Yinxi placed a hand over Nan Huaixu’s. “I’ll do it.”
Nan Huaixu stepped back. Lu Yiqi was an alpha; it would be better for Liu Yinxi to handle this.
Liu Yinxi spoke to Lu Yiqi. “I’m going to examine your injuries. I need to roll up your shirt and pants. Is that okay?”
Lu Yiqi was too exhausted to speak. Ashamed, she turned her face away and nodded.
“Alright, rolling up your shirt now,” Liu Yinxi said. “Tell me where it hurts.”
Lu Yiqi nodded again.
Liu Yinxi rolled her shirt up a bit and pulled her pants down slightly. There was some bruising on her waist and abdomen, but nothing serious.
Next, Liu Yinxi carefully rolled up her pant leg. As the skin around her right knee was exposed, revealing a massive, swollen expanse of dark purple, Lu Yiqi let out a muffled grunt of pain.
Standing to the side, Nan Huaixu felt a sympathetic pang of agony just looking at it and turned her back, unable to bear the sight.
Liu Yinxi gently probed the injured area. Lu Yiqi broke out in a cold sweat from the sheer pain.
“Where’s your backpack? Did you bring your emergency medical kit and satellite phone? Why isn’t your robot dog following you?” Liu Yinxi recalled that neither of them had dropped anything in the river. It was highly likely Lu Yiqi had hidden her bag somewhere before attempting to steal their catches.
Lu Yiqi gasped a few times before answering hoarsely. “They’re allβ¦ huffβ¦ across the river, caught between the buttress roots of the first banyan tree. The dogβ¦ the dog is there too.”
Liu Yinxi took off her own backpack, opened her first aid kit, and handed it to Nan Huaixu. “Teacher Nan, please help her secure a triangular bandage. I’m going to find her bag and get the phone.”
Every survival team’s phone was numbered and linked to their specific rescue quota. If circumstances permitted, it was best to use the injured party’s own satellite phone to request outside assistance.
“Alright.” Nan Huaixu took out the triangular bandage to provide emergency treatment.
Summoning the last of her strength, Lu Yiqi grabbed Liu Yinxi’s ankle. “No, don’t call for outside assistance. I can still keep going.”
Liu Yinxi turned around and leaned over her. “Keep going? You fell from the small waterfall and smashed into a rock. Everything below your knee is likely suffering from a comminuted fracture. What exactly are you going to keep doing?”
Lu Yiqi gripped her tightly, biting her lower lip in silence.
Nan Huaixu placed her hand over Lu Yiqi’s, gently prying her fingers loose. “Xiao Lu, if it’s a fracture and you aren’t treated in time, it’ll leave lasting damage for the rest of your life. Absolutely do not gamble with your health. Xiao Lu, let her go. You have to be treated first.”
Forcing herself through the pain, Lu Yiqi shook her head, grabbing Liu Yinxi’s leg with her other hand. “Thank you, but I can’t leave yetβ¦ Yuan Fang and I are a team. Even if I request outside assistance, I have to let her know first.”
“Teacher Nan, Liu Yinxi, I’m begging you.”
Lu Yiqi’s voice trembled, tinged with a faint sob. Compassion swelled in Nan Huaixu’s heart, and she looked to Liu Yinxi to ask for her opinion.
Liu Yinxi glanced down at Lu Yiqi, who lay agonizing on the ground, and let out a quiet sigh.
Among those who participated in amateur survival competitions like γSurvivorγ, many claimed it was for a hobby, but very few were genuinely there to showcase their wilderness skills. Most fell into two categories: those doing it for fame, and those doing it for money.
Lu Yiqi was a top economics student with a bright future ahead of her. If she wanted to build a reputation, she shouldn’t be doing it in the wilderness, but at her auditing firm, illuminating her career with one successful project after another.
If not for fame, then for money.
Some contestants had inescapable reasons that forced them to desperately seek wealth.
Like Liu Yinxi, who needed the prize money to pay off the original host’s debts.
And perhaps, like Lu Yiqiβ¦
Softening her tone, Liu Yinxi comforted her, “We won’t make the call. I’ll bring your bag over first. You can take your time to think about the rest and make your own decision. No matter what, we’ll respect your wishes, alright?”
“Okay. Thank you. Whatever medical supplies you use to bandage me, take the equivalents out of my emergency medical kit.”
Lu Yiqi nodded, and Nan Huaixu finished tying the triangular bandage.
Liu Yinxi scrambled over the rocky shoal to the opposite bank. Under the banyan tree, she found Lu Yiqi’s bag. A robot dog was trapped in a dirt pit between the buttress roots. The pit had clearly been dug out by hand.
The production team tacitly allowed stealing. Getting caught on camera stealing catches wouldn’t result in penalties, but Lu Yiqi had been deeply averse to letting anyone know. It was evident she inwardly despised this kind of behaviorβ¦
Since the owner of this robot dog had made this choice, Liu Yinxi decided not to meddle. She ignored the trapped robot dog, slung the bag over her shoulder, and headed back across the river.
Dog 6 recorded all of this.
γ(Shocked)γ
γIt’s actually Xiao Lu?γ
γI guessed every single other person, but I never guessed Lu Yiqi!γ
γSigh, I never thought Senior Sister Lu would steal catches either! But for survival, you just have to go all out QAQγ
γSo the lizard meat Lu and Boss Yuan ate a few days ago was stolen from Liu Yinxi’s traps. (Frowns)γ
γThe mystery is finally solved.γ
γAnd here I thought Lu Yiqi’s robot dog just had a bad signal and kept freezing. Turns out she deliberately stuck the doggo in a pitβ¦γ
γIsn’t Lu Yiqi trapping her robot dog considered a foul? She completely interfered with the filming.γ
γLu is so annoying. If you’re gonna steal, just steal. But hiding it because you’re too scared to let people know and playing dead1 is pathetic (yue2)γ
γPulling this kind of dishonest stunt in a competition? What firm is going to dare hire her as an auditor in the future?γ
γI think she considered that stealing catches would ruin her honest image and affect her job, so she avoided the cameras. She just ended up outsmarting herself.γ
γWhat’s wrong with stealing catches? The competition allows it. Lu Yiqi is genuinely injured. If you ask me, Liu Yinxi should take responsibility and pay compensation. If she hadn’t chased Lu Yiqi across the river, Lu Yiqi wouldn’t have fallen in. That can be considered intentional injury.γ
γGo look up the definition of intentional injury. Lu Yiqi climbed those rocks to escape on her own.γ
γRegardless, when Lu Yiqi was crossing the river in such a dangerous spot, Liu Yinxi shouldn’t have startled her.γ
γI hope when you get robbed, people say the same thing to you.γ
The sky grew increasingly dark. Nan Huaixu chopped some branches to start a fire, drying out their river-soaked clothes.
Liu Yinxi applied some basic medication to Lu Yiqi’s injuries. “How do you feel now?”
Lu Yiqi forced a smile. “Much better.”
Liu Yinxi and Nan Huaixu simultaneously looked at her increasingly swollen knee joint, but neither exposed her stubborn lie.
Liu Yinxi asked, “Where is Boss Yuan? I’ll go get her.”
The corners of Lu Yiqi’s mouth twitched weakly. “She went looking for food. I told her I’d be active around this stretch of the river this afternoon. When she sees I haven’t returned, she’ll come looking for me. Teacher Nan, Liu Yinxi, you two should go. I’ve alreadyβ¦ coughβ¦ I owe youβ¦ about the traps, I’m sorry.”
She lowered her head to them.
Liu Yinxi steadied Lu Yiqi’s shoulders. “Keep your head up. This is a competition. There are winners and losers among opponents, not debts.”
She pulled the satellite phone from Lu Yiqi’s bag and pressed it into her hands. “Think more about your health. For your own sake, and for your family’s.”
Hearing those last two words, Lu Yiqi’s eyes suddenly shimmered with tears before she squeezed them tightly shut. “Thankβ¦ you.”
Liu Yinxi turned to Nan Huaixu. “Teacher Nan, let’s take turns blowing the whistle. Yuan Fang will hear it when she gets close to the river. Sound good?”
Nan Huaixu picked up the survival whistle she wore and blew a loud, piercing blast before replying, “I’ll go first.”
The setting sun had almost entirely vanished; a small fire flickered faintly by the riverbank.
They waited for over half an hour before hurried footsteps echoed from the bushes. Liu Yinxi stood up and walked over. A figure came rushing toward them, calling out anxiously, “Lu Yiqi! Where the hell did you die off to?! Say something, Lu Yiqi!”
Liu Yinxi shouted loudly, “Yuan Fang! Over here!”
Yuan Fang’s footsteps paused before she broke into a run, shoving the branches aside with a rustle. “Liu Yinxi? Why are youβ”
Yuan Fang abruptly spotted Lu Yiqi wrapped in the triangular bandage, and her voice shot up an octave. “Holy crap, that’s gotta be a fracture! Hasn’t the outside assistance arrived yet?”
Lu Yiqi stared at her, slightly stunned.
Normally, she and Yuan Fang were either actively arguing or on the verge of one. They had hurled every ugly insult imaginable at each other.
Yuan Fang had once said that if either of them got hurt, they should voluntarily withdraw from the competition to avoid wasting the outside assistance opportunity and dragging the other person down.
Yuan Fang had also said: Even if you rot and die out there, jiejie won’t come looking for you.
And yet, upon seeing her injured, Yuan Fang’s very first reaction was to assume she had already called for outside assistance.
And that she had every right to do so.
With a complicated expression, Lu Yiqi thought to herself: That’s just how Yuan Fang is. Her words never match her actions; she’s completely inconsistent.
Facing Yuan Fang, Lu Yiqi said in a cold voice, “Don’t worry, I didn’t call for outside assistance.”
Yuan Fang squatted down to inspect the injury. “Did you hit your head and turn stupid?”
Lu Yiqi turned her face away. “It’s just a minor injury. A few days of rest and I’ll be fine.”
“You call this a minor injury?”
“Either way, I didn’t use up your outside assistance opportunity.”
Yuan Fang crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at her. “You stubborn wretched girl.”
She pulled out her own satellite phone and dialed the emergency rescue line.
Lu Yiqi barked at her in shock, “What are you doing?”
Yuan Fang signaled for her to shut up. Stepping aside, she paced as she explained the situation to the rescue team. After hanging up, she sat back down beside Lu Yiqi.
“Your jiejie is incredible, you know. Even without an outside assistance opportunity, I can fight to the bitter end.”
Seeing that Yuan Fang had called for outside assistance and that Lu Yiqi had someone watching over her, Liu Yinxi felt at ease.
Liu Yinxi took back the medical supplies equivalent to what they’d used to bandage Lu Yiqi and cleared her throat. “It’s almost completely dark. You two wait here for the outside assistance; we’ll head back now.”
Yuan Fang saw them off. “You two hurry back. Be careful on the road.”
Yuan Fang watched Liu Yinxi and Nan Huaixu walk away into the distance. She clicked her tongue and asked Lu Yiqi, “You’ve been so elusive these past few days. What exactly have you been doing behind my back?”
Lu Yiqi’s voice was exhausted. “Just worry about yourself.”
Yuan Fang furrowed her brows, thinking for a moment. “How did you even run into Liu Yinxi? Where did that lizard from before actually come from? You didn’t really catch it, did you?”
“Mind your own business. With your skin and bones3, could you have held on without eating meat? You would have just held me back4 again.”
Yuan Fang scoffed and sat down by the fire. “When the outside assistance gets here, you’re withdrawing from the competition and going to the hospital.”
Lu Yiqi’s tone was resolute. “I am not withdrawing from the competition.”
“And what if the doctors tell you to withdraw? If you don’t stay in the hospital for treatment, your leg will be crippled for the rest of your life.”
“I’ll hold on as long as I canβ¦ How will I know if I don’t try?”
Yuan Fang remained silent for a moment before looking away from Lu Yiqi’s face. “You’re too hard to please. Do whatever you want5.”
A bright moon rose high into the sky.
Carrying her newly caught lizard in one hand, Liu Yinxi turned on her bracelet light and walked ahead to clear the path, occasionally turning back to pull Nan Huaixu along.
As they navigated the tropical rainforest, the moonlight shone down on them.
Liu Yinxi asked, “Teacher Nan, how should we punish the thief?”
Nan Huaixu’s anger had long since dissipated. “Xiao Lu injured her leg. Bone and joint damage will stay with her for a lifetime. With it being this serious, why would I still want to punish her?”
“Being eliminated is a pity, but being hurt like that, why is she so insistent? No matter how tempting the prize money is, it’s not more important than her body.” Nan Huaixu paused for a moment. Seeing that Liu Yinxi was waiting for her, she quickened her pace to catch up.
Thinking of the content regarding Lu Yiqi in the original novel, Liu Yinxi sighed. “The prize money isn’t more important than your health, but sometimes, money can save lives. She definitely has a reason that makes her want to persevere no matter how hard it gets. I understand her, because I also have a reason I must persist for. Do you have one, Teacher Nan?”
A brilliant moon illuminated the vast distance, lighting the path ahead for the two of them.
“I do.”
Nan Huaixu gazed at Liu Yinxi, her smile deepening.
You are.
Footnotes
- An internet slang term, literally 'playing dead.' It means ignoring criticism, staying silent, or pretending not to notice an ongoing issue in hopes it will blow over.
- Internet slang mimicking the sound of retching or vomiting, used to express extreme disgust.
- An idiom describing someone extremely thin or emaciated, literally 'skin wrapping bones.'
- An internet slang term meaning to hold someone back or be a burden to the team, literally 'drag the hind legs.'
- A Northern Chinese dialect phrase expressing exasperation, meaning 'do whatever you want, I don't care anymore.'
0 Comments