Substitute Alpha Gets Confessed to by Her Ex’s Aunt on a Survival Variety Show – Chapter 88
by Little PandaCoconut Mango Rice and Four Kinds of Meat Jerky
A touch as light as a dragonfly skimming the water left a lingering sensation on the corners of Nan Huaixu’s mouth.
Nan Huaixu took a half-step back and touched the corners of her lips. “Did I get fruit puree on my mouth? Is there any left?”
Liu Yinxi’s eyes were soft, harboring a hidden smile. “There was a little bit just now, but not anymore. It’s completely clean.”
“That’s good.”
Nan Huaixu scooped another spoonful of fruit puree and continued eating. “You haven’t answered me yet.”
Liu Yinxi recalled their previous conversation and replied, “As long as we have ingredients, I’ll make a lot of delicious food for you.”
Nan Huaixu smiled as she ate the fruit puree. “Then I’ll temporarily crown this fruit puree as number one.”
Liu Yinxi washed the rice, poured it into an empty coconut, and added fresh water before mixing in shredded coconut meat and mango chunks. She covered it with the coconut shell lid and placed it on the wooden rack to steam.
“Later, when the rice is done, you can taste it and see where it ranks.”
“Rice isn’t a dessert.”
“Rice can be made into a lot of desserts! Sweet rice cakes, jiangmi strips, eight-treasure rice1, and this thing I’m makingβCoconut Mango Rice.”
“A name you came up with?”
“Yes, isn’t it cute?”
“Mmβ¦ it sounds like the name of a milk tea.”
This adorable rice was brimming with the refreshing fragrance of coconut and mango. It was slightly sweet, and paired with the sea salt roasted fish, it carried a distinct island flair.
Nan Huaixu ate until she was very full. Massaging her stomach, she said, “That was really delicious. Let’s eat this for the next few days, alternating with the seafood mixed bean rice.”
Liu Yinxi let out a satisfied burp. “Okay.”
They helped each other wash the aluminum mess tins, tidied up the treehouse, and then washed up before climbing to the second floor to rest.
Liu Yinxi lay down first. Nan Huaixu climbed in after her and zipped up the mosquito net.
Liu Yinxi yawned. Ever since Nan Huaixu expressed a dislike for her falling asleep too quickly, Liu Yinxi had tried her best to fight off her drowsiness and chat with her a little longer.
Letting her hair down, Nan Huaixu lay down softly beside Liu Yinxi.
Her bracelet was still lit up.
Nan Huaixu asked in a low voice, “Shall I turn off the light?”
“Okay.”
The tiny dot of light extinguished, leaving only the starlight and moonlight filtering through the leaves of the shelter roof inside the treehouse.
Lying flat on her back, Nan Huaixu stared up at the ceiling, her chest rising and falling slightly with her breaths.
She asked, “If Luo Ling’s meat jerky is all stolen, she’ll probably be eliminated soon, right?”
Liu Yinxi’s voice was lazy and slightly hoarse. “It’s hard to say. Xue Yunshao’s abilities are quite strongβmore resilient than I expected.”
Liu Yinxi heard a faint sigh.
What did that sigh mean?
Did Nan Huaixu feel it was a pity that Luo Ling couldn’t be eliminated sooner?
Judging from how Nan Huaixu had verbally shot down Luo Ling that afternoon, her disgust for Luo Ling was much heavier than Liu Yinxi had realized.
Liu Yinxi thought for a moment, unable to suppress her curiosity. She probed, “Teacher Nan, do you want Luo Ling to be eliminated quickly?”
Nan Huaixu was very frank. “Yes.”
Liu Yinxi turned on her side. By the bright moonlight, she could faintly make out the elegant profile of Nan Huaixu’s face. Her eyes were open, her pupils shimmering with a translucent luster like crystal spheres.
“Can I ask why you don’t like this niece of yours, Luo Ling?”
Liu Yinxi had searched through the original book’s contents regarding the Nan family, but there was very little useful information. She only knew that Nan Huaixu wasn’t close to her family and was distant from her niece.
The moment the question left her mouth, Liu Yinxi regretted it.
Since when was she such a gossip?
Nan Huaixu definitely wouldn’t answer her.
She needed to think of a new topic, fastβ¦
To her surprise, after several minutes of silence, Nan Huaixu actually spoke. “The reasons are very complex, but I’ll briefly mention two points. Luo Ling is the child of my older sisterβan older sister with the same mama but a different mami. My relationship with my sister was never good to begin with, so I don’t have much to say to Luo Ling. Furthermore, Luo Ling’s mother is a very hypocritical and cunning person; she only got pregnant because she d.rugged my sister. Luo Ling grew up with her from a young age, and I don’t believe she could raise a good child. I noticed when Luo Ling was only five or six years old that she loved to lie. She would act one way to your face and another behind your back.”
D.rugged her to get pregnant?
How did this suddenly turn into a wealthy family scandal?
Liu Yinxi was utterly bewildered. Her drowsy brain instantly scrambled into a pool of mush, leaving her dizzy.
But one thing suddenly made sense to Liu Yinxi: the reason why Nan Huaixu always believed her over Luo Ling whenever Luo Ling tried to sow discord.
It turned out that Luo Ling had been two-faced since childhood, and Nan Huaixu had known it all along.
Liu Yinxi said with a sigh, “Alas, she really is like that. When we were dating, she always gifted me fake bags.”
Her tone carried a hint of grievance at the end. “And she’s an appraiser for luxury goods, too.”
If those designer bags were real, they could have been sold for a very high price. If she sold them all and pooled the money, the debt could have been paid off.
Nan Huaixu immediately thought back to the early days of the competition when Liu Yinxi mentioned selling second-hand goods to make ends meet, yet didn’t say a single word about her large collection of bags. At the time, Nan Huaixu had suspected that the bags Liu Yinxi received were fake, and now her guess had been confirmed.
Luo Ling’s romantic feelings for Liu Yinxi were fake, the gifts she gave Liu Yinxi were fake, the complaints she made to Nan Huaixu about Liu Yinxi’s crazy personality were fake, the reason she told Nan Huaixu for their breakup was fakeβ¦ In the past, Nan Huaixu only felt that her niece Luo Ling lacked a mami’s love, grew up in a bad environment, and was petty, but not inherently evil at her core. Now, however, Nan Huaixu had changed her mind. Luo Ling was snobbish and hypocritical to her very bones, highly calculating, and if one wasn’t careful when dealing with her, they would be used as a pawn.
The more Nan Huaixu thought about Luo Ling, the more disgusted she felt, unable to stop her brows from furrowing.
Not wanting to ruin her mood right before sleep, she shifted her attention. Thinking of the poor little Liu Yinxi who had been scammed out of three years of feelings, her heart instantly softened.
They were just some bags. What limited edition could she, Nan Huaixu, not get her hands on?
“Liu Yinxi,” Nan Huaixu called her softly. “Which bag is your favorite?”
Hearing her name, Xiao Liu woke up halfway. “What bag?”
“The bags you love collecting, of course.”
“Oh, oh.” Those were the original host’s hobbies.
Liu Yinxi searched through the vague memories transmitted to her by the original host. She found the name that left the clearest impression, seemingly one the original host had mentioned to Luo Ling multiple times but never received: “Cream White Mosaic Doll.”
Nan Huaixu understood.
The KELLY DOLL series.
This series came in many colors, and she had an entire closet full of colorful ones. The only one she lacked was the Cream White Mosaic Doll that Liu Yinxi mentioned.
That was easy. She would just have her assistant handle it later.
It seemed Liu Yinxi liked a cute style. She would pair it with a few other cute bags and small accessories to give to her.
Nan Huaixu replied to Liu Yinxi, “Very cute.”
Liu Yinxi smiled. “I think so too.”
Liu Yinxi then said, “Teacher Nan, don’t worry. I will be completely tight-lipped about the secret you told me.”
Nan Huaixu found it strange. “What secret?”
“About your sister being, you know⦔
“Oh, that hardly counts as a secret, though it’s best if you don’t spread it. My sister and Luo Ling’s mother had an ambiguous relationship. Even though the media never dared to report it, quite a few people in our circles know about it.”
Liu Yinxi was surprised. “Having an ambiguous relationship means she liked her, right? Why would she d.rug her?”
Nan Huaixu turned her head to cast a glance at her, as if she hadn’t expected anyone to ask such a question. “Liking someone a little doesn’t mean accepting intimate contact. Even in marriage, you can’t force a partner to bear children. The Luo family did that because they wanted to lock down my sister’s resources.”
Liu Yinxi hurriedly said, “I understand that principle. What I don’t get is, if you like someone, why would you force them and hurt them? That just shows she didn’t really like her at all.”
Nan Huaixu was silent for two seconds, then sighed. “Perhaps what you’re talking about is love. The degree of ‘liking’ is too light; if they can’t get it, they don’t mind destroying it. Some people just purely ‘want’ and ‘want to possess.’ It doesn’t even count as likingβthey just want to get their hands on it first. But love means only considering her well-being, unable to bear seeing her suffer even the slightest grievance.”
Liu Yinxi looked thoughtful. “Oh⦔
Nan Huaixu closed her eyes. “Go to sleep. Didn’t you think these issues were complicated? It doesn’t matter if you can’t figure it out. A simple, ordinary life is quite nice.”
Liu Yinxi yawned. “Good night.” A minute later, she suddenly spoke again. “Actually, I do want to figure it out.”
Nan Huaixu opened her eyes. The faint night light flowed gently over their skin.
With physiological tears from yawning still hanging in the corners of her eyes, Liu Yinxi’s voice was warm and soft. “I want to experience what you described. You said that as long as I fall in love, I’ll know.”
“Teacher Nan, wouldn’t it be such a warm feeling if, by coincidence, the person I love also loves me back?”
Nan Huaixu’s lips curled up slightly. She turned around to put her back to Liu Yinxi, her voice like gently drifting petals. “You fall in love first.”
She should fall in love first.
Then she would let her have a good taste of it.
Bracelet date: May 23.
In the morning, after checking the traps, Liu Yinxi and Nan Huaixu lingered by the agreed-upon rocky shoal for half an hour as usual. They had previously arranged with Yuan Fang that if she succeeded, she should come to this spot to hand over the goods around eleven o’clock noon.
They had come yesterday but saw no sign of Yuan Fang. They hadn’t really expected her to show up today either, so after gathering some bracken ferns and fruits in the forest, they were ready to head back to the shelter.
As the two walked downstream along the riverbank, they suddenly heard rapid footsteps from behind. Liu Yinxi turned her head and, to her surprise, spotted a figure appearing on the opposite bank of the river.
Pleasantly surprised, Liu Yinxi tugged on Nan Huaixu’s sleeve. “Teacher Nan, it’s Yuan Fang.”
Nan Huaixu also had a look of astonishment on her face. “She actually managed to steal it?”
Yuan Fang carefully climbed over the rocks to cross the river, quickening her pace to catch up with them. “You’re here! I figured I’d drop by on my way. If no one was here, I was going to try again tomorrow.”
After not seeing her for two days, Yuan Fang looked even more grimy and disheveled. Her clothes and pants were completely covered in dirt, and there was a newly added swollen bump on her forehead.
The protection-money collector, Liu Yinxi, expressed concern for her payer: “What happened to your face?”
Yuan Fang moved nimbly to take off her bag and retrieve the goods. “Yo, you even learned how to dote on people. This was from getting bumped by a blind tree trunk. Come look, there’s only this little bit of meat jerky, just take it.”
She stuffed a small bundle wrapped in banana leaves into Liu Yinxi’s hands. “Good sister, the protection money has been given to you. Keep your word, and don’t make trouble for jiejie anymore.”
Liu Yinxi took it and opened the leaves to look. There were four pieces of meat jerky, each a different color, indicating different types of meat.
She re-wrapped the meat jerky and handed it to Nan Huaixu for safekeeping, then smiled at Yuan Fang. “Impressive.”
As she spoke, Liu Yinxi pointed a finger at the swollen bump on Yuan Fang’s forehead. “You got chased by Xue Yunshao after stealing the stuff, and accidentally bumped into a tree while running away, right?”
Yuan Fang smiled and let down a strand of hair to cover the disfigured spot. “Little heartless thing. If there’s nothing else, I’m heading out. I won’t be coming to this side anymore. See you never~”
Liu Yinxi waved at her. “Even though I’d like to say the same, we’ll probably see each other again very soon.”
Yuan Fang climbed up onto a giant boulder in the river, feeling helpless. “That really is a shame. We’ll always end up meeting at the airdrops.”
Liu Yinxi reminded her, “As a good strategic partner, I’ll give you a little advice. Before the next airdrop, do some scouting toward the upstream Toa River.”
Yuan Fang waved her hand. “I know without you telling me. But thanks anyway.”
Liu Yinxi turned back around, happily saying to Nan Huaixu, “One piece of each of the four kinds of meat jerky. We have the mini fridge, so we can store it for a bit longer. We can cut it into small cubes and use it as a supplement when we’re short on meat.”
Nan Huaixu’s smile was bright and radiant. “Okay.”
A deep human voice sounded from within the dense forest: “If you have any advice, share some with me too.”
Liu Yinxi turned her head. Huang Heshan walked out from the trees with a bow slung over her back. She stretched out a hand wearing a tactical glove, palm facing up. “Meat.”
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