Substitute Alpha Gets Confessed to by Her Ex’s Aunt on a Survival Variety Show – Chapter 94

The Candy-Scented Fluorescent Moth Orchid

When Liu Yinxi heard Nan Huaixu’s question, a peculiar sensation washed over her, as though a small animal had just had its tail grabbed.

Liu Yinxi’s gaze swept around elsewhere, and she said, “Of course I care. You’re my teammate. If you say someone else is stronger than me, how could I not care?”

            

Nan Huaixu nodded in understanding.

“Anyone would hate being outshone by others,” Liu Yinxi added. “Who doesn’t want to be better?”

Nan Huaixu nodded once more.

            

“Teacher Nan, wouldn’t you say so?”

“Yes.”

Nan Huaixu gave her an affirmative answer.

            

Liu Yinxi’s state of mind calmed down a lot. She spun the trekking pole in her hand and said, “But still, Huang-jie has her strengths. Her physical conditioning is good, her stamina is long-lasting, and she has strong practical skills. We have to recognize where others excel.”

Nan Huaixu smiled and said, “You’re becoming more and more humble.”

Liu Yinxi tilted her head. “I don’t think I was ever arrogant, though.”

            

“Hmm… yes.”

Nan Huaixu paused, running through their experiences since the start of the competition. It was indeed true.

Initially, she had thought Liu Yinxi was brainless and arrogant, purely because she had been ignorant of Liu Yinxi’s true capabilities. Looking back now, Liu Yinxi had simply been stating the facts objectively.

            

It wasn’t that Liu Yinxi was arrogant; it was simply that everyone had underestimated her.

The next stretch of the path grew dense with ravines and steep slopes, so the two stopped chatting and focused entirely on their walking.

As they passed through their trap area, they found that two traps had caught two small lizards. Their fish trap had also captured a large fish, several smaller ones, some river shrimp, and crabs. They brought everything back to the shelter.

            

The fish were kept in the bucket, while they each had a roasted lizard for their meal, alongside some boiled shrimp and crabs.

Liu Yinxi ate rapidly. Once finished, she went down to the river to fetch water. After boiling it, she poured it directly into the large white fermentation barrel they used as a bathtub. She first let half a barrel of cold water sit to cool, and when it was time to bathe in the evening, she would boil more hot water to mix in.

In the afternoon, they washed and hung their newly acquired quick-drying clothes to dry. Then, they lined the first floor of the treehouse with large banana leaves and lay downstairs to rest in their dirty clothes.

            

The breeze blowing off the river was delightfully cool, brushing against their hot, damp skin.

Liu Yinxi fanned herself with a leaf, composing a doggerel poem:

“Got the airdrop and came back home,
Lying on the ground, enjoying the breeze.
With our bellies stuffed full,
We hope tomorrow brings more of the same.”

            

“Pfft.” A suppressed chuckle sounded beside her.

Liu Yinxi closed her eyes and curled her lips. “If you want to laugh, just laugh. Holding in a laugh is so uncomfortable.”

Nan Huaixu cleared her throat. “I’m not holding it in. I simply laugh softly by nature.”

            

Liu Yinxi replied, “Ah, I see. When I laugh, it’s always loud. I believe emotions should be released—laughing out loud when you’re happy, crying out loud when you’re sad, and flushing out everything inside your heart.”

Liu Yinxi felt a gaze glued to her. She turned her head and, caught guard, met Nan Huaixu’s eyes as she gazed at her.

Liu Yinxi’s breath caught slightly, and she fluttered her eyelashes. “Teacher Nan, your eyes are so beautiful.”

            

Nan Huaixu let out a soft hum through her nose. “Mhm.”

Liu Yinxi studied her face closely. “Like black and white crystals. And your eyebrows are so pretty, too—like a crescent moon shrouded in mist, perfectly shaped without even needing to be trimmed.”

“Yours aren’t bad either,” Nan Huaixu countered. “So thick and lush, without even needing to rub ginger on them.”

            

“…That is a compliment, right?”

Nan Huaixu’s eyes curved. “It is.”

Teacher Nan truly was different; even her way of praising people was so unique.

            

But does rubbing ginger really work?

Liu Yinxi didn’t quite believe it. When she was a child, she had actually rubbed ginger on her scalp; not to mention she hadn’t grown much hair, it even stung quite a bit.

Staring at Nan Huaixu from close range, Liu Yinxi felt an inexplicable flutter of joy in her heart, but more than that, she felt self-conscious.

            

As she searched for something else to praise, Nan Huaixu turned over to lie flat, gazing up at the blue sky.

Liu Yinxi’s heart suddenly felt empty.

Nan Huaixu parted her lips. “Since the start of the competition, I haven’t seen you shed a single tear.”

            

Liu Yinxi recalled the original host’s personality—how she would wail and throw a tantrum over the slightest inconvenience—and quickly made excuses for herself. “Maybe I cried them all dry before the show.”

She failed to notice that Nan Huaixu’s eyes, still fixed on the sky, suddenly darkened.

Nan Huaixu remained silent for a few seconds before speaking. “That’s good too. Having survived those setbacks, you will only grow stronger.”

            

Liu Yinxi’s voice was firm. “Yes, thank you, Teacher Nan. I will work hard to rid myself of my past love-brain¹ tendencies and my habit of relying on others. I want to stand on my own two feet and strive unceasingly for self-improvement.”

Nan Huaixu’s lips moved, and she thought for a moment before saying, “Striving to be strong is correct, but it’s also perfectly fine to make use of outside help when appropriate. We live in a society, after all, and we must help one another.”

Liu Yinxi nodded repeatedly. “Mhm, I’ll keep that in mind.”

            

“It’s right that you want to rid yourself of your love-brain,” Nan Huaixu continued, “but you should still fall in love.”

Liu Yinxi blinked. “Eh?”

Was Teacher Nan… advising her to fall in love? Why? She had always felt that Teacher Nan would never concern herself with anyone else’s romantic life.

            

Nan Huaixu fluttered her eyelashes, shifting the subject. “Didn’t you say you wanted to experience what it feels like to have the person you like love you back?”

Liu Yinxi remembered. “Right, yes!”

“So you have to date. Otherwise, you will never get to experience it.”

            

“That’s true. Well, it’s just a nice thought anyway. I’ll just let nature take its course. Teacher Nan, I’m going to take a nap. If I’m not awake by five o’clock, please wake me up.”

“Alright, go ahead and sleep.”

Liu Yinxi draped her hardshell jacket over her stomach and closed her eyes.

            

Nan Huaixu looked at Liu Yinxi out of the corner of her eye. She picked up a large leaf and gently fanned her, chasing away the annoying mosquitoes.

For a split second, Nan Huaixu wished Liu Yinxi would revert to her old love-brained self for a few days—to laugh loudly and cry loudly for her, just as she used to do.

Only for her.

            

【Heavens, Manman is showing a whole new level of tenderness, actually fanning Liu Yinxi.】

【Liu Yinxi, oh Liu Yinxi, you must have accumulated several lifetimes’ worth of good fortune just to spend it all in this life.】

【I’m green with envy! If I sign up for the next season of 《Survivor》, will I have a chance to be treated so gently by my goddess?】

            

【You’d probably get eliminated on the first day (Doge)】

【There are still plenty of bad people in the world~】

【Manman is practically becoming Liu Yinxi’s love guru (sleepy)】

            

【With Manman’s guidance, Xixi definitely won’t be fooled by trashy women ever again.】

【Dating will only slow down Xixi’s survival speed.】

【I wonder if Luo Ling regrets it now.】

            

【Probably not. After all, the one Luo Ling has her eyes on is Xue Yunshao (cry-laugh)】

【What’s so great about Xue Yunshao? She’s just a skater. Judging by her performance on the survival livestream, Xixi is way more reliable and responsible. I just like Xixi.】

【Me too. I used to be a fan of Xue, but some of her actions on this show have really baffled me. My filter for her has cracked a bit.】

            

【Exactly. Whether they’re actors or sports stars, as long as they’re public figures, there’s always a gap between their public persona and their real self. Never get too close to them. It might be a pleasant surprise, or it might be a shock that feeds you a massive pile of crap.】

【Gazing at each other for more than five seconds means there’s mutual attraction. Manman and Xixi lay together and stared at each other for so long; I wonder what they were thinking (angel)】

【Thinking: “Little dummy, when are you going to fall in love with me? ^3^ Your jiejie will pamper you ^3^”】

            

【Wow~】

【Oh my, us CP fans are eating so well (heart eyes)】

【Speechless. Shippers, keep your delusions to your own circles. Don’t come to the public screen and be so KY. Fictional CPs shouldn’t be projected onto real people. Please follow the rules.】

            

【A bunch of forced shippers, so annoying. Don’t pollute the public screen.】

【Please respect the contestants, okay? Don’t speculate about their private lives. Be civilized viewers!】

That evening, Nan Huaixu bathed and changed into her new clothes, feeling clean and thoroughly refreshed. The next day, Liu Yinxi bathed and changed her clothes as well.

            

Every day, they carried out their routine tasks of checking the traps and gathering resources, while also searching for bamboo.

Once they were far from the trap area, Liu Yinxi would blow her survival whistle as they hiked, hoping to catch the attention of other contestants. If she ran into Huang Heshan, she wanted to negotiate a trade: their ice for some of Huang Heshan’s bamboo sheets.

But the whistle seemed to have the opposite effect.

            

Every contestant knew that only Liu Yinxi and Nan Huaixu possessed survival whistles. It was highly likely that the others found Liu Yinxi troublesome and simply fled far away the moment they heard the whistle blowing.

Nan Huaixu pointed this out to her.

Liu Yinxi silently lowered her whistle. “It seems everyone has a deep misunderstanding of me.”

            

“Perhaps they just don’t want to be followed by you,” Nan Huaixu teased.

Today, they had ventured quite far, taking a different route toward the waterfall. The terrain here was filled with numerous ravines, interspersed with pools of water of various sizes.

While gathering wild fruit, Nan Huaixu spotted a splash of pinkish-purple buried under the soil. She carefully climbed down into the depression, using her trekking pole to brush aside the mud and fallen leaves. “An orchid!” she exclaimed in surprise.

            

Liu Yinxi hopped down from a tree, holding wild mangoes, and leaned over to look. “Wow, a fluorescent moth orchid! It’s a species endemic to Jinzhou Island. How beautiful!”

This type of orchid had a very rich, fruity fragrance that smelled just like sweet candy. Its petals were a delicate, vibrant pinkish-purple, edged with an exquisite border of pale green and white. Beautiful to look at and wonderful to smell, it was highly favored by the locals.

Nan Huaixu gently cleared away the mud pressing down on the orchid. Cradling its snapped stem, she said with deep regret, “It’s broken.”

            

Perhaps a passing animal had trodden on the soil and caused a collapse, or maybe the nearby running water had washed away the surrounding earth and rocks, bringing this unexpected disaster upon the beautiful flower.

Nan Huaixu retrieved an empty water bottle from her backpack, filled it halfway with water from a nearby pool, and placed the broken orchid inside. “It would be such a pity to leave such a lovely flower broken here. Let’s take it back to the shelter and keep it in water. If we can prolong its beauty—even if only for a single day—it will be worth it.”

Liu Yinxi blew the dust off the orchid petals. “Mhm!”

            

Nan Huaixu held up the bottle, bringing the flower to her nose to delight in its scent. “It’s so sweet, just like a fruit candy.”

Liu Yinxi could tell that Nan Huaixu loved the flower.

Since it pleased Nan Huaixu, this moth orchid was today’s greatest harvest.

            

As luck would have it, blowing the whistle for two days to summon others had yielded absolutely nothing, yet the moment they stopped blowing it, they ran into someone.

This must be what they meant by the saying, carefully planting flowers may not yield blooms, but casually sticking a willow branch in the ground can grow into a shade-giving tree².

Liu Yinxi spotted Huang Heshan passing by the stream at a rapid pace. Overjoyed, she chased after her. “Huang-jie! Wait up! I was a bit loud last time, I’m sorry! We want to trade ice for some of your bamboo sheets! We’re good people, we don’t steal, we only trade! Honest business, fair to both young and old!”

            

“…” Caught up by her, Huang Heshan looked completely dumbfounded. She reluctantly came to a halt, her face full of resistance. “Meat.”

Liu Yinxi rubbed her hands together with a laugh. “Ah, sorry about that, we’re all out of jerky.” In reality, they were not.

Huang Heshan turned to bolt.

            

Liu Yinxi quickly stepped in front of her to block her path. “Huang-jie, Huang-jie, let’s talk. Look at how hot it is during the day, and you’re sweating so much. It must be miserable for both you and Yu Yan. We have ice, and we’ve even made chilled coconut eggs and chilled mango puree. Wouldn’t a cold dessert be perfect in this weather? Yu Yan will definitely love it.”

Huang Heshan replied impassively, “She doesn’t like sweets.”

Liu Yinxi: “…”

            

Despite all her calculations, she had never expected Yu Yan to dislike sweet foods.

Since the ice didn’t tempt Huang Heshan, it seemed this trade was dead in the water.

Forget it, finding bamboo on their own would be the same.

            

The original book mentioned that there was plenty of bamboo in the mountains; she would find it sooner or later.

Liu Yinxi turned to Nan Huaixu, who was just catching up. “Teacher Nan, let’s go.”

Nan Huaixu cradled the moth orchid in her arms. “Did you mention the desserts?”

            

“I did. Apparently, Yu Yan doesn’t eat sweets.”

“Ah.”

There was indeed nothing to be done about that.

            

Nan Huaixu followed Liu Yinxi, holding her water bottle. When Huang Heshan spotted the orchid in her arms, her eyes suddenly lit up. She stepped forward and pointed at the flower. “Wait.”

Liu Yinxi saw right through Huang Heshan’s intentions and put out a hand to shield the moth orchid. “Not this one. Teacher Nan likes it.”

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