Substitute Alpha Gets Confessed to by Her Ex’s Aunt on a Survival Variety Show – Chapter 95
by Little PandaThe Bamboo Forest Left Off the Treasure Map
For Liu Yinxi, trading supplies was a matter of principle.
The items used for trade had to be replaceable, renewable, and of little importance to their own side.
Things like ice, coconut eggs, and wild mangoes fell into this tradable category.
But this moth orchid was different. It was a rare flower found by chance—a flower that Nan Huaixu loved—and it could not be bartered away.
Liu Yinxi’s refusal to trade the orchid stood in stark contrast to her previous eagerness, leaving Huang Heshan looking quite perplexed.
Huang Heshan asked Liu Yinxi, “Don’t you want the bamboo sheets?”
Liu Yinxi clicked her tongue. “That’s completely different. The thing I wanted to trade you for the bamboo sheets was ice. I’ll trade the ice, but not the flower.”
Now, Huang Heshan’s interest was piqued. Her gaze remained fixed on the fluorescent moth orchid cradled in Nan Huaixu’s arms, and a rare softness, unseen by others, flickered in her eyes. “I want to trade for that flower. What do you want? We can negotiate.”
But this was different.
Only things that could be traded were up for discussion; if something was off-limits, there was absolutely no room for negotiation.
True to her principles, Liu Yinxi said, “Sorry, but this flower is off the table.”
Nan Huaixu interrupted their back-and-forth. “The flower is yours if you tell us where to find bamboo, and give us the bamboo sheets plus twenty feathered bamboo arrows.”
Huang Heshan: “?”
She collected herself, as if checking to make sure she hadn’t misheard. “You want how many?”
Liu Yinxi looked at Nan Huaixu. “Teacher Nan, we’ll never come across this flower again. Even if we were lucky enough to find one, we shouldn’t pick rare flowers, and we can’t bring it back to the shelter. It’s one of a kind. We can find bamboo ourselves. Let’s not trade the flower.”
Nan Huaixu gave Liu Yinxi a gentle, warm smile. “Thank you, I know you’re looking out for me. I do love this orchid very much, but I’ve rarely kept plants and don’t know how to care for them properly. I’d rather trade it to Yu Yan. Under her care, it will bloom much longer, and in return, we get useful supplies. It’s a win-win.”
Liu Yinxi was extremely reluctant. “But last time, when we had to choose the beef brisket rice, you already compromised…”
“Last time was about food, and back then, I hadn’t adapted to the rhythm of survival yet. Things are different now.”
“Mhm…”
Seeing that Nan Huaixu was calm and resolute, Liu Yinxi didn’t push any further.
Nan Huaixu turned to Huang Heshan with composed ease, lifting the makeshift water bottle holding the orchid slightly higher. “Those are my terms. Deal?”
Huang Heshan knit her brows. “The location of the bamboo and the bamboo sheets, or ten arrows. You can only choose one of those options.”
Nan Huaixu exhaled softly, lifted her eyes, and spoke with calm poise. “Even in the city, you’d have to go to a botanical garden just to see a flower like this. Our encounter with it was pure luck, and I only picked it up because it was already damaged. Forget about the jungle—even when we return to the city, finding one won’t be easy. To someone who loves flowers, it is priceless, and you clearly recognize its worth. You hunt every day and make a vast number of bamboo arrows anyway, so sparing a few for us is practically effortless. You need to show a level of sincerity worthy of this orchid.”
Huang Heshan went silent for half a second before saying, “The location, two bamboo sheets, and five bamboo arrows.”
Huang Heshan had made a concession. Liu Yinxi thought this was decent enough—as long as they could find the bamboo, the rest would be easy. “Where is—”
“The location, five bamboo sheets, and fifteen bamboo arrows,” Nan Huaixu interrupted, stepping in front of Liu Yinxi to continue bargaining with Huang Heshan.
“Three bamboo sheets, eight bamboo arrows.”
Nan Huaixu shielded the orchid and turned away slightly. “You’re cutting the price far too low. I only agreed to part with my beloved flower because I thought you had learned to appreciate them too. But since you look down on its value so much, I might as well keep this treasure for myself.”
Liu Yinxi chimed in, “Exactly, exactly!”
“…”
Huang Heshan irritably glared at the one chiming in. Liu Yinxi sheepishly retreated behind Nan Huaixu.
Huang Heshan stood in place and pondered for a moment, then took two steps forward. “Four bamboo sheets, ten bamboo arrows. Felling bamboo, splitting it into sheets, shaving arrows, and fletching them takes time. Can a rootless flower even live that long? This is a primeval rainforest—don’t you want to hunt for meat?”
Liu Yinxi clicked her tongue. Meat, meat, meat. Day in and day out, all you think about is meat. What’s the point of a grumpy alpha who does nothing but eat meat all day? You even dare to talk back to our Teacher Nan. Hmph.
Nan Huaixu turned back with a smile. “We do.”
With great care, she handed the water bottle and the moth orchid over to Huang Heshan. “The location of the bamboo, four bamboo sheets, and ten bamboo arrows. It’s a deal. The flower is yours. When will you deliver the goods?”
Huang Heshan took the flower just as gently. “Let me think.”
Liu Yinxi whispered a warning to Nan Huaixu. “Teacher Nan, you’re giving her the flower now? Aren’t we supposed to exchange them hand-to-hand?”
Huang Heshan shot her a sharp, piercing glare. “You think I would cheat you?!”
Liu Yinxi puffed out her chest. “You’ve already robbed me before! How can you say you wouldn’t lie to me? A robber looking down on a thief? Talk about the crow laughing at the pig for being black1! You stole my chest during the very first airdrop! You—”
“Yinxi.” Nan Huaixu’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried a firm weight that instantly suppressed Liu Yinxi’s impulsive outburst.
Nan Huaixu stepped between them, separating the two, and spoke softly. “I know that growing moth orchids usually requires a proper potting medium like sphagnum moss or pine bark, and the roots have to be carefully managed. I’m not sure how to save a broken flower spike—whether to keep it submerged in water or do something else—but I’m certain Yu Yan will know. Flowers are living things. If not cared for properly, it might wither by tomorrow. The sooner it receives the right care, the better.”
She addressed Huang Heshan. “Decide on a time and place for the delivery.”
With Nan Huaixu acting as the mediator, both Liu Yinxi and Huang Heshan closed their combative mouths.
Huang Heshan thought it over for a couple of minutes before asking, “In the middle reaches between the great waterfall and the Great Rocky Shoal, there’s a stepped waterfall. Have you been there?”
Nan Huaixu and Liu Yinxi exchanged a brief look, then shook their heads.
Huang Heshan frowned. “Do you have your treasure map with you?”
Liu Yinxi shook her head again.
“I do,” Nan Huaixu said, pulling a folded piece of waterproof paper from the pocket of her hardshell jacket. She unfolded it, revealing their hand-drawn treasure map.
Since the treasure chests had already been opened, the general map was identical for everyone. At this point, there was no longer any need to worry about leaking secrets, so the three of them gathered around the map to take a look.
Huang Heshan traced a route with her index finger, stopped at a certain spot, and drew a circle. “Here. There’s a bamboo forest.”
Liu Yinxi’s eyes widened slightly. “I’ve passed by that area three or four times. How did I miss it?”
Huang Heshan tapped the map again. “It’s blocked by a small hill. You have to climb over it, but it isn’t very high.”
“No wonder it’s hidden so deep.” Liu Yinxi patted her on the shoulder. “Huang-jie, you really have boundless energy, climbing all over the place day in and day out, so full of life.”
Huang Heshan brushed her hand away in disgust.
At the same time, Huang Heshan’s robot dog nudged away Dog 6, which was circling around it.
【Tsk tsk, Liu Yinxi was brushed off by Huang-jie.】
【Hahaha, Liu Yinxi’s doggy was brushed off by Huang-jie’s doggy too (Heartache)】
【After spending a long time with different people, even the AIs pick up their personalities (Eating melons)】
【As we all know, ‘alive and kicking’ is rarely used to describe someone who is currently healthy and active… or even alive.】
【Why’s that?】
【@Took_a_Hit_in_the_Cornfield: The usual phrasing goes: ‘How did she suddenly pass away? She was still alive and kicking yesterday!’ (Crying)】
【Hahahahaha, no wonder Huang-jie got mad when she heard that (Laughing-crying)】
【I remember that stepped waterfall. Huang-jie once carried Yuyu over there to go swimming.】
【Details on the swimming, please! (Chewing)】
【Just like this and that, and then that and this (Gossiping)】
【Oh, oh, oh, hehehe.】
【??? What are you guys talking about?】
【Just teasing you! (Awkward laugh)】
【Tricked another one~】
【A bunch of drama queens =.=】
【The swimming is real, though—it cools them down. The area near the bamboo forest looks really refreshing. Yu Yan often goes there to enjoy the shade, help Huang Heshan make bamboo arrows, and weave bamboo baskets.】
【Wow, I’m going to find the playback and watch it.】
【Our Xixi hasn’t taken Manman swimming yet! (Jealous)】
【The river isn’t clean. Better not.】
【The running water near the stepped waterfall should be fine, right?】
【I don’t even want to say what some people actually want to see here.】
【I want to see the temptation of wet hair, and wet clothes clinging to skin showing off great figures! So what? Don’t you like looking at beautiful women? Don’t you like looking at two beautiful women playing in the water?】
【I don’t, unless it’s me and Manman. Thanks.】
【Me neither, unless it’s me and Xixi.】
【Keep dreaming, you guys (Smile)】
【We have bamboo now! They’re finally going to make bows and arrows. Can Xixi’s roasted rabbit be far behind? (Drooling)】
【Bows aren’t easy to make. Especially since Liu and her partner don’t have animal sinew—without the right material for the bowstring, it’s hard to make a good one. The arrows might not even fly, and shock absorption is also an issue.】
【First of all, it doesn’t need to be that powerful. Don’t overthink it, as long as it works.】
【Let’s find the bamboo forest first.】
【Ooh! I want to make a new #Huai-Liu# quicksand acrylic block2! It’ll have a background called ‘Whispers of Green Bamboo,’ using green and gold glitter to symbolize the bamboo forest and sunlight (Excited)】
【I want to pre-order one!】
【Make it with a slot to swap photos, pretty please! I have a screenshot of Xixi and Manman hugging that I want to put inside!】
【Mhm, of course! Don’t worry, we also have the #Huai-Liu# Coconut Dream series and Mist’s Breath series merch3. If any of you sweethearts are interested, click on my profile to check out my homepage! (Heart)】
【Wow, wow, wow, I love you, deity-tier creator! It’s so beautiful!】
【So amazing! Creator, having you is such a blessing for us Huai-Liu CP fans! (Cheering)】
Once Liu Yinxi and Nan Huaixu confirmed the location of the bamboo forest with Huang Heshan, they settled on the location and time for delivery.
“I’ll make the arrows tomorrow, and you can pick them up the morning after tomorrow, right at the bamboo forest,” Huang Heshan said. “There’s a very conspicuous banyan tree right next to the stepped waterfall. I’ll leave the bamboo strips and arrows on a rock beneath the tree for you to collect yourselves.”
A contactless drop-off like this was the safest option for both parties. With a precedent of stolen and plundered meat jerky already set, none of the contestants dared to fully trust their opponents, leaving absolutely no opportunity for anyone to track them.
Liu Yinxi responded, “Alright, it’s a deal.”
Even if Huang Heshan broke her word and failed to provide the bamboo strips and arrows, simply finding the bamboo forest meant they wouldn’t return empty-handed—unless, of course, Huang Heshan had lied about the location entirely.
But Liu Yinxi felt that a straightforward person like Huang Heshan wouldn’t go to the trouble of fabricating a lie. If she hadn’t wanted to trade, she could have simply refused to tell them the location in the first place.
Once the delivery time and place were settled, Huang Heshan gave a brief nod of farewell, slung her bow over her shoulder, and strode into the depths of the forest.
The sky gradually darkened.
Having accomplished a major task, Nan Huaixu said happily, “Let’s head back. Who knows? In two days, you might be eating roasted rabbit legs.”
Liu Yinxi’s heart skipped a beat. With sudden realization, she asked, “Teacher Nan… was the reason you were willing to part with the orchid in exchange for bamboo arrows… because I wanted to eat roasted rabbit?”
Nan Huaixu smiled softly, but remained silent.
She certainly hadn’t said so.
Footnotes
- wūyā xiào zhū hēi (乌鸦笑猪黑): Literally, 'a crow laughing at a pig for being black.' This is a colloquial Chinese idiom equivalent to 'the pot calling the kettle black,' used to describe someone pointing out another's flaws when they share the same shortcomings.
- liúmá (流麻): Internet slang for 'quicksand mahjong' or 'quicksand acrylic blocks,' a popular type of fan-made character merchandise featuring character art set against a hollow acrylic frame filled with liquid and drifting glitter.
- gǔzi (谷子): Derived from the Japanese word 'goods' (gūzu), this is a common Chinese slang term used by anime, gaming, and idol fandoms to refer to character merchandise like badges, acrylic stands, and keychains.
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