Substitute Alpha Gets Confessed to by Her Ex’s Aunt on a Survival Variety Show – Chapter 99
by Little PandaThe Second Elimination
The competition rules dictated that when a contestant’s physical condition deteriorated past a certain point, the production team would dispatch a rescue crew to enforce a mandatory elimination.
Liu Yinxi looked down at the unconscious Yuan Fang inside the grass shelter, her gaze darkening. Regardless of whether Yuan Fang woke up soon, her journey in this competition had to end here.
Yuan Fang was in a terrible state. Even someone with no medical training could tell she was teetering on the edge of danger.
Nan Huaixu walked to the edge of the grass shelter and crouched down, gently patting her shoulder. “Yuan Fang? Yuan Fang?”
She wouldn’t wake up.
Nan Huaixu turned her head, shaking it worriedly at Liu Yinxi.
Liu Yinxi first checked Yuan Fang’s breathing; it was shallow and irregular, catching before dragging slow. She then peeled back Yuan Fang’s eyelids, finding her pupils slightly dilated. Combining this with Yuan Fang’s pale, cyanotic complexion and the white residue lingering at the corners of her mouth, Liu Yinxi made a preliminary judgment that she had ingested something toxic.
Once Liu Yinxi finished her examination, Nan Huaixu asked, “How is she?”
Liu Yinxi searched around the grass shelter. “It might be food poisoning. Miss Nan, let’s see if we can find any of her leftover food.”
“Alright.”
The supplies in Yuan Fang’s shelter were pitifully scarce. The grass shelter was crudely built, with gaping holes in the roof that let in the wind and rain. Her campfire was equally rudimentary—just a small pit dug into the ground, piled with twigs and dry leaves, the surrounding soil scorched black.
Liu Yinxi rummaged through the airdrop crate where Yuan Fang kept her gear, unearthing a jumble of plastic bags, empty bottles, and other clutter. The moment she opened the lid, a damp, musty odor wafted out. She flinched back, turning her head and holding her breath.
She searched two crates but found nothing of note. Then, Nan Huaixu called out to her from the other side. “Liu Yinxi, look at this. This must be what she ate.”
Liu Yinxi rushed over. Nan Huaixu was pointing at an overturned mess tin behind the grass shelter. Splayed across the grass from its open lid was a dried, yellowish-white puddle of mush.
Liu Yinxi squatted down and used a wooden stick to lift some up to examine it.
Nan Huaixu thought it looked familiar. “What is that?”
Liu Yinxi discarded the stick. “Cassava.”
“But that should be fine. We eat cassava all the time.”
“Wild cassava1 is toxic. You have to thoroughly extract the toxins and cook it completely before it’s safe to eat. Every piece of cassava we’ve had was meticulously processed by me beforehand.”
Nan Huaixu fell silent. She knew cassava was toxic and had seen Liu Yinxi process it—a tedious, labor-intensive chore. But survival on the island demanded so much of their attention, and with her own tasks to manage, she had simply eaten whatever Liu Yinxi offered without a second thought. She had never fully realized how many of these quiet, invisible acts of care Liu Yinxi performed day in and day out. It was because of those small efforts, saving her time and energy, that she could enjoy her current stability.
Nan Huaixu looked at the unconscious figure in the grass shelter, her lips bruised dark. It was difficult to reconcile this pitiful sight with the chatterbox who had been joking and bantering on the beach a month ago. Her brow furrowed in a quiet sigh. Any irritation she had once harbored toward Yuan Fang vanished; she only hoped the woman would recover quickly.
Letting go of her thoughts, Liu Yinxi walked back to the storage area, located Yuan Fang’s satellite phone, and switched it on.
Yuan Fang’s team had already exhausted their external assistance opportunities, meaning a single call to the rescue team would trigger an automatic withdrawal. Strictly speaking, Liu Yinxi had no right to decide whether another contestant should remain in the competition. However, if they left her like this, the production team would eventually step in and force her out anyway. Since elimination was inevitable, it was far better to get her medical attention as soon as possible.
Liu Yinxi exchanged a look with Nan Huaixu. Without a single word, Nan Huaixu understood her intention and nodded.
With Miss Nan’s agreement, Liu Yinxi felt much more at ease as she pressed the call button.
The call connected after a single ring. After a brief exchange of words, she hung up; the rescue team would arrive within the hour.
Liu Yinxi laid a few leaves over some stones near the grass shelter, and sat down with Nan Huaixu to wait for the rescue team.
Liu Yinxi looked around the campsite, a trace of bitterness in her expression. “These days are a real grind.”
For the sake of her mother’s and sister’s good intentions, Yuan Fang had truly pushed herself to the limit. It was impressive that a pampered, playboy heiress like her had managed to survive in the wilderness for this long.
Liu Yinxi was inexplicably reminded of an old adage: the sea of suffering is boundless, but turn back and the shore is at hand.2
Beside her, Nan Huaixu spoke up. “Her eyelids and lips are swollen from toxic mosquito bites.”
“Yeah,” Liu Yinxi agreed.
Nan Huaixu’s voice softened. “If you hadn’t made that insect repellent so early on, I’d probably look just like her. I might have even had a severe allergic reaction.”
“We’re just lucky there are plenty of pest-repelling plants in this rainforest.”
“Yuan Fang was always plagued by bugs. Even if she knew which herbs could repel them, she didn’t have the strength or ability to forage for them. She’s grown so thin, and she probably couldn’t find anything else to eat. Maybe she was so starved that she ate the cassava before its toxins were fully removed.”
Nan Huaixu murmured, “I feel like… because I teamed up with you, the difficulty of this competition dropped by several levels.”
Liu Yinxi’s eyes brightened. Smiling, she twirled a stem of wild grass in her fingers. “Thank you, Miss Nan. That’s a very high-level compliment.”
“I’m only stating facts. Otherwise, I’d definitely be starving and miserable right now. During my private training before the show, I thought wilderness survival would go smoothly. But these days have let me experience the terror of nature. But it’s also very magical.”
“Heheh, the more dangerous it is, the more beautiful it gets.”
“Yeah…”
The rescue team arrived some forty minutes later.
The two women described the state they had found Yuan Fang in, and the medical staff examined her and the campsite. They confirmed that her food poisoning was indeed caused by cassava that hadn’t been fully detoxified. Liu Yinxi’s judgment was consistent with the doctor’s; when it came to wilderness first aid, her accuracy was very high.
The doctor administered immediate emergency treatment. After a while, Yuan Fang slowly woke up. She blinked blearily at the figures gathered around her, looking a bit dazed.
The doctor helped her take a sip of electrolyte water. Yuan Fang took a shallow sip, coughed a few times, and stared at the doctor for two seconds. In a hoarse, raspy voice, she asked, “Does King Yama3 wear a white lab coat too?”
Beside them, a nurse laughed. “Sounds like she’s going to be just fine.”
The doctor smiled as well. “We do. And your good days are about to begin.”
Yuan Fang squinted, still dazed. “Huh? I’m not drinking Meng Po’s soup4… not drinking it…”
“…” The corners of Nan Huaixu’s mouth twitched. As long as she was out of danger, she could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Never one to pass up a chance to stir the pot, Liu Yinxi raised her voice playfully. “Hey, Yuan Fang! You’ve been eliminated!”
Yuan Fang knitted her brows and turned to look at Liu Yinxi. After staring in confusion to confirm her identity several times, she rasped, “Liu’er, did you kick the bucket too?”
“Phoo, phoo, phoo! We’re doing great. Yuan Fang, I’m the one who got you eliminated!”
This jolted Yuan Fang awake. The nurse helped support her upper body as she sat up.
Yuan Fang asked Liu Yinxi, “What the heck did you say? You did what to me?”
Liu Yinxi held up the Number 2 satellite phone. “You were unconscious. I called the rescue crew to save you. According to the rules, since your team has no external assistance chances left, you’re directly eliminated.”
Yuan Fang sat frozen for a long while. The doctor stepped in to explain the circumstances again—even if Liu Yinxi hadn’t made the call, the production team would have enforced a mandatory elimination once they saw she had been unresponsive for too long.
Yuan Fang nodded dumbly. After drifting in a daze for a few minutes, she lay flat back down and closed her eyes. “Going is good. It’s good to go… I’m heading back to my cozy little house to flirt with all the gorgeous alphas on my contact list.”
Liu Yinxi smiled. After offering a few warm words of farewell, she prepared to leave with Nan Huaixu.
Yuan Fang sat back up and called out to their retreating figures, “Hey, can I get a hug before you go?”
Liu Yinxi turned back, and Nan Huaixu followed suit. The two of them each gave Yuan Fang a hug.
Yuan Fang patted Liu Yinxi’s back. “You’d better win, my almost-wife.”
This was a callback to a joke they had shared while boiling sea salt. Yuan Fang had been boasting about hiring people, and Liu Yinxi had cheekily asked how much she would get paid to be her wife.
Liu Yinxi’s eyebrows scrunched into three tight folds. “Stop talking nonsense, or I’ll sue you for harassment.”
Yuan Fang let out a couple of weak chuckles, then her expression sobered. With a rare gravity, she looked at her and said, “Liu Yinxi, keep going.”
Liu Yinxi smiled and shook her hand.
“Just watch. I’m going to win this.”
Liu Yinxi strode forward to where Nan Huaixu was waiting for her.
With a final wave of her hand—farewell, Yuan Fang.
“Goodbye!”
—Date: June 3
Time: 10:45 AM
Eliminations today: 1
Eliminated Contestant: Number 2, Yuan Fang
(All members of this team have been eliminated. Future airdrops will default to three portions to match the remaining three teams.)
(One crate from the eighth airdrop remains unclaimed. The remaining contestants may retrieve this supply on a first-come, first-served basis.)
(To the survivors still holding out: good luck!)
【Farewell, Yuan’er!】
【Safe travels, Boss Yuan!】
【(Sailboat)】
【(Flowers)】
【(Heart)(Bouquet)】
【Wait, is this a funeral procession or what?】
【Phoo, phoo, phoo! Hurry up and blame it on a slip of the tongue5!】
【It’s good that she left. Yuan Fang can finally eat a full meal now.】
【She’ll have to stay in the hospital for a few days first, get an IV drip, and stick to liquid foods. She’ll need at least half a month of bland eating to recover before she can even think about feasting.】
【Even a bland hospital diet will taste like a feast to her right now (Laugh-cry)】
【True that.】
【Yuan Fang: Finally, no more gnawing on wild banana stems for me, yay~ ^o^Y】
【Ah, look, someone’s waiting to pick up Yuan Fang at the hospital entrance.】
【Who was that beautiful woman with the long, straight black hair who just flashed across the screen?】
【She called Yuan Fang her sister, so she’s probably Yuan Fang’s younger sister. Hahaha, they actually look quite similar if you look closely, but their vibes are completely different at first glance.】
【Yuan Fang’s sister is like an elegant Clivia, while Yuan Fang is like a wild cactus flower (Facepalm)】
【Lu Yiqi is here to pick her up too! 0v0】
【Hasn’t Xiao Lu gone back home yet?】
【She went back for a few days but came right back. The chief planner’s Weibo said that eliminated contestants can choose to return home or remain on Jinzhou Island to watch the match and join the live-stream commentary. The production team is keeping their hotel rooms reserved until the competition ends.】
【Eliminated contestants hosting the live streams? Why hasn’t Lu Yiqi hosted any?】
【Because Xiao Lu’s personality just doesn’t suit that kind of thing. Just you wait, Yuan Fang will definitely show up on stream in a few days.】
【A few days? With her personality, she’ll probably start streaming from her hospital bed while still hooked up to an IV (Eating melon)】
【Ooh~ this season of 《Survivor》 has so many fun twists, I love it (Like)】
【Now the “Travel” treasure chest belongs to Manman and Xixi too!】
【Suddenly so rich! (Gold ingot)】
【So lucky!】
【Luck is only possible when backed by strength (Cool)】
【Hurry up and grab it! It’ll be too late if someone else finds it first.】
【Go, go, go!】
Upon receiving the notification of the new elimination, Liu Yinxi discussed it with Nan Huaixu, and they decided not to return to their shelter just yet. Instead, they would head straight for the small hill where the “Travel” treasure chest was hidden.
Huang Heshan and Yu Yan also frequented the bamboo forest and were familiar with the terrain around the small hill. Once they obtained their remaining treasure map pieces, they would undoubtedly move swiftly to seize the chest. Thus, Liu Yinxi resolved to strike first and secure the advantage.
After hiking for two to three hours, they arrived at the small hill situated near the river confluence.
Finding the narrow path they had cleared during their previous two ascents, Liu Yinxi used her trekking pole to beat back the overgrown grass and pack down the earth before calling for Nan Huaixu to follow her up the slope.
Turning around, Liu Yinxi caught Nan Huaixu wearing that hesitant, conflicted expression again. She had been like this ever since they saw off Yuan Fang.
Liu Yinxi was never one to keep things bottled up, so she asked Nan Huaixu directly, “Miss Nan, is there something you want to say?”
Nan Huaixu parted her lips slightly, the words hovering on her tongue before she swallowed them back down. “Never mind.”
“No ‘never mind’ allowed!” Liu Yinxi pressed eagerly. “Spit it out.”
Nan Huaixu paused, her brow furrowing slightly. “Why were you going to be her wife?”
Footnotes
- Raw or improperly prepared cassava contains cyanogenic glycosides, which can release lethal hydrogen cyanide if not soaked and cooked thoroughly.
- Kǔ hǎi wú biān, huí tóu shì àn (苦海无边，回头是岸). A Buddhist proverb meaning 'the sea of suffering has no bounds, but turn back and the shore is at hand.' It urges someone to abandon a hopeless path.
- Yanwang (阎王), the King of Hell or Yama in Chinese mythology and Buddhist belief, who presides over the underworld and judges the dead.
- Meng Po tang (孟婆汤), the Soup of Forgetfulness administered by the deity Meng Po in the underworld to erase a soul's memories before reincarnation.
- zuǐ piáo (嘴瓢), internet slang meaning to misspeak, have a slip of the tongue, or stumble over one's words.
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