Substitute Alpha Gets Confessed to by Her Ex’s Aunt on a Survival Variety Show – Chapter 3

Bye-bye! You’ve Been Dumped

The restaurant’s music was light and cheerful.

Liu Yinxi held up her phone, the screen split into two windows. On the left was the photo she had just taken; on the right was the Lady Du encyclopedia entry:

Xue Yunshao, alpha, twenty-six years old.

Women’s singles figure skater, retired last December due to injury.

Comparing the woman in the photo to Xue Yunshao’s encyclopedia picture, it was a perfect match.

Liu Yinxi swiped away the photo album and browser, then tapped into WeChat.

CICI: Ling-bao, I’m gonna miss you so much, boohoohoo QAQ
CICI: [Tear][Aggrieved][Wilted]
Ling-bao: What are you on about now?
Ling-bao: I’m working.
CICI: [Photo of Luo Ling affectionately putting an earring on Xue Yunshao.]
CICI: Bye-bye!
CICI: You’ve been dumped.

Liu Yinxi stuffed her phone into her pocket and waved her hand.

A server approached. “Hello, ma’am.”

Liu Yinxi said, “I’d like to get this to go, please.”

Back to the hotel to feast!

In a private room just a corridor away, Luo Ling opened the new message, a flash of impatience in her eyes.

Suddenly, she froze, her expression turning to shock as she whipped her head toward the door.

“Ling’er, what’s wrong?” Xue Yunshao asked softly from across the table.

“It’s… nothing. A Yun, I’m just going to the restroom.”

“Okay, take your time. No rush.”

Luo Ling forced a smile, backing out of the room while facing Xue Yunshao. Then she turned and strode quickly toward the spot where the photo had been taken.

Beside a gauze curtain, a server was bent over, clearing a small table in the corner.

Luo Ling hurried over and asked, “Excuse me, what about the person who was sitting here just now?”

The server replied, “Are you referring to a tall, long-haired lady?”

“Yes.” Luo Ling pulled out a photo of Liu Yinxi to show him.

The server said, “That lady had her food packed to go. She’s already left.”

Luo Ling gazed out the floor-to-ceiling window. People milled about in the shopping mall, but the figure she was looking for was nowhere to be seen.

What a joke.

All these years, had she ever denied any of Liu Yinxi’s requests?

If she hadn’t been supporting her, where would Liu Yinxi have gotten the money to eat, drink, and be merry, to live a life of leisure where she didn’t have to lift a finger?

If she hadn’t been supporting her, Liu Yinxi would still be an ass-shaking, borderline alpha online!

Luo Ling had been planning to break up with Liu Yinxi.

But not now.

How could she be the one who was “dumped”?

The breakup could only be initiated by her.

A nameless fire ignited in Luo Ling’s heart. She frowned and typed furiously.

LL: You took a candid photo of me? What’s the meaning of this? I had to make a last-minute trip to Shen City to meet a client. The earrings were a gift for her, and it was inconvenient for her to put them on, so I helped. What are you making a fuss about? When will you stop chasing the wind and clutching at shadows,¹ being so petty?² Weren’t you supposed to be traveling in Sui City? How did you end up in Shen City? Why didn’t you tell me your itinerary?

[The other party has enabled friend verification. You are not their friend yet.]

Luo Ling stared at the system notification for a moment, her fair cheeks flushing red.

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In the hotel room.

Full of food and drink, Liu Yinxi leaned back on a soft sofa by the floor-to-ceiling window, basking in the sun.

She had switched all her social media to side accounts, unlinked everything related to Luo Ling, and had already changed the phone numbers tied to her financial accounts and various apps.

Her flight home was at four in the afternoon. Worried that Luo Ling might remotely control the smart lock, she had specifically brought the mechanical key with her before leaving. Once she got home, she would grab her already-packed luggage. A forty-minute subway ride would take her to the old, shabby, and small apartment³ she had rented last week.

Liu Yinxi opened her phone’s calendar. Today was the 24th, and Luo Ling was already meeting with Xue Yunshao.

The plot presented to the readers in the original book was this: two days before March, Luo Ling, eagerly anticipating her reunion with her white moonlight and growing ever more disgusted with the original owner’s demanding and dramatic behavior, couldn’t bear it anymore and broke up with her. The original owner refused to accept it, throwing a massive tantrum that ended with the police getting involved.

Liu Yinxi had assumed the “reunion” mentioned in the book was Luo Ling and Xue Yunshao’s first meeting after a long time. It seemed that wasn’t the case. The reunion referred to them moving in together as “best friends.” As for their first meeting, that had happened much earlier.

Who knew where Luo Ling was, and who she was with, when the original owner was sending her cutesy messages on WeChat?

Liu Yinxi took a sip of cold brew tea. The fragrant taste lingered, leaving her feeling refreshed and clear-headed.

According to her original plan, she was going to wait a day and break up on the date of Xue Yunshao’s return in the book.

But since she’d run into them, there was no time like the present.⁴ Might as well break up today.

A little after seven in the evening, Liu Yinxi returned home and immediately arranged for a same-city delivery service to send most of her luggage to the rental apartment.

She left a note for Luo Ling on the entryway cabinet: Ling-bao, I really can’t accept this, boohoohoo! I told myself you love me, but I can’t lie to myself! You have another alpha! I’m leaving! You’ve lost me! Forever!!! ToT/~~

Before she left, Liu Yinxi messed up all the stuffed animals and the bed and smashed two cheap glass cups.

Finally, she placed the mechanical key in the most conspicuous spot.

Liu Yinxi walked out of the entryway and slowly closed the door. Under the light, her shadow stretched out, growing longer and larger, like a waking giant rising from the foothills to touch the clouds.

By ten that night, Liu Yinxi had moved all her luggage into the rental and set up her daily necessities.

She was exhausted, physically and mentally.

She took a hot shower and sank into her bed, feeling a sense of relieved freedom.

[You have one new email]

This was the new email address Liu Yinxi had registered to sign up for 《Survivor》. With a month still to go before the competition, this had to be the result of the guest selection.

Liu Yinxi gripped her phone with both hands, her heart pounding. She took a deep breath and solemnly tapped open the email.

[Hello, Liu Yinxi.]

[Congratulations on being selected as a challenger for 《Survivor 5》!]

[Please carefully read this competition’s rules, risk disclosure, and liability statement (see Appendix 1). If you agree and confirm your participation, please sign the agreement (see Appendix 2) and bring the required documents to the 《Survivor》 Competition Committee to complete your registration by March 5th (address link).]

—The 《Survivor》 Competition Committee

She was in!

Liu Yinxi pumped her fist against the bed.

She immediately logged into the official 《Survivor》 account on her laptop, downloaded the files, and after reading everything, sent the documents that needed printing to her transfer assistant.

Liu Yinxi remembered the book mentioning that Luo Ling and Xue Yunshao had a disagreement about participating in 《Survivor》 and only went to register on the very last day. So, as long as she didn’t register on March 4th, she could avoid them.

The Competition Committee’s office wasn’t far from her rental. The next morning, Liu Yinxi went for a run and then headed over to register as soon as they opened.

When Liu Yinxi arrived at the registration site, she realized she had been worrying for nothing.

The competition’s structure dictated that all information about the guests was to be kept strictly confidential before the start of the event. The registration area at the committee was also a strict single-person channel.

Liu Yinxi signed a heap of documents on the spot, including a risk agreement, a non-disclosure agreement, and so on.

Two days later, Liu Yinxi underwent a physical examination arranged by the Competition Committee.

After passing the fitness test, the committee gave her a lot of materials, including videos from past seasons of 《Survivor 5》, a basic survival handbook…

The most important among them was the 《Survivor 5 Pre-competition Notice》:

1. Please report to Hongdu Airport at 8:00 PM on April 7th.
2. This survival competition will take place in a tropical rainforest region. Please prepare accordingly in terms of physical fitness and survival knowledge.
3. Please prepare your own suitable outdoor clothing. There is no need to prepare other survival equipment; the Competition Committee will provide each guest with an identical standard survival pack.
4. In addition to outdoor clothing, each guest may bring one personal item (a non-essential survival item that does not compromise the fairness of the competition, subject to review by the Competition Committee). Please decide on your item and submit it to the committee by March 10th. If it does not pass review, you may replace it at any time before March 15th.
5. Please remember: each team has only one opportunity to request outside assistance. If any team member uses this one opportunity, any further request for assistance, or withdrawal from the competition for any reason including injury, will be considered a failure for that team member.
6. The elimination of one team member does not affect the other’s ability to continue the competition. The remaining teammate will have no opportunities for outside assistance and cannot form a new team. Please coordinate with your teammate on the timing of using your outside assistance.
7. There is an indigenous tribe within the competition area. They are friendly, but please do not approach them or disturb their lives.
8. As long as you are within the competition area, you may use any means, aside from official outside assistance, to utilize all of nature’s resources!
   …

Survivor, good luck!

Liu Yinxi printed out this pre-competition notice and taped it by her bed and desk, reading it repeatedly every day to reinforce her memory.

The committee had stated the competition area was a tropical rainforest, but tropical rainforests are found in several places around the globe. The ecosystems in Asia, Oceania, Africa, and South America all differ, even just in terms of species distribution. It was impossible for guests to prepare detailed and comprehensive knowledge in advance. Yet, this was crucial for the survival competition, as it determined a survivor’s menu and pharmacopoeia.

Liu Yinxi was methodical and confident.

She spent her days studying a vast amount of biogeographical knowledge about Southeast Asia’s Greater Sunda Islands.

Not only that, but she even knew where every airdrop point would be after the competition started and what tasks the committee had planned… provided that the original book’s plot hadn’t changed after she transmigrated, and that her memory of it would last until the competition ended.

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Phone calendar: March 29th.

After a great deal of effort, Liu Yinxi finally sold off the last batch of clothes, miscellaneous items, and high-quality replicas.

She got a membership at a gym and did physical training every day, accumulating a moderate amount of body fat. With the money she earned from selling her things, she decided to treat herself to a few good meals.

Once the competition started, it would be impossible to eat flavorful, high-carb, high-protein food.

In the last two days before the competition, Liu Yinxi completely let herself go, indulging in good food and wine. The fat she gained now would be capital for staving off hunger during the competition.

During late-night snack time, Liu Yinxi sat at an open-air food stall,⁵ shamelessly binging on large gluten skewers, roasted pig’s trotters, and stir-fried rice noodles.

A simple stove was set up at the front of the stall. The owner, sleeves rolled up, was tossing a wok. A pair of headlights flashed at the end of the alley, and a short while later, a woman in a hat and mask walked over.

“Boss, one order of shrimp skin shengjianbao⁶ to go,” the person said, clearly a regular.

The owner smiled apologetically. “Sorry, the last order of shrimp skin shengjianbao for today has already been sold.”

“Aren’t there still some in your pan?”

“That order belongs to the young lady sitting over there.”

Liu Yinxi looked up and saw the owner pointing at her.

The hatted woman’s voice was disappointed. “Ah, alright then. I love your shrimp skin shengjianbao the most. Can you save me an order for tomorrow?”

The night market was noisy. Liu Yinxi raised her voice. “Boss! Give her the shengjianbao! I’ve got plenty of food here, this is enough for me. Give them to her!”

The woman’s voice brightened. “Thank you! I’ll pay you for them!”

Liu Yinxi waved her hand. “No need! Don’t be a stranger!” She raised her beer glass. “I love the shengjianbao here too! A toast to our superior taste!”

The woman and the owner both laughed.

Liu Yinxi also laughed heartily, mixed her stir-fried rice noodles, and took a deep, satisfying whiff of the steaming aroma.

The stall’s lights illuminated the roadside, bustling with customers.

The hatted woman walked back to the car parked at the alley’s entrance, carrying the steaming pan-fried buns.

She tapped lightly on the rear passenger window, then walked to the front and got into the driver’s seat.

“President Nan, here are the shrimp skin shengjianbao you wanted.” The woman happily passed the food bag to the back seat. “It was the last order, I almost didn’t get it. A young lady had ordered it first, but luckily she offered it to me. She was super nice!”

The figure in the back seat was facing the window. In the hazy light, her eyes were deep, her gaze fixed on the open-air food stall by the road.

“President Nan?”

Nan Huaixu reached out and took the food bag from her assistant. “I saw.”

She placed the shengjianbao on the small table. The phone screen next to it displayed a chat interface.

Big Niece: Gugu, Liu Yinxi is throwing a petty tantrum at me again. She hasn’t come to bother you, has she?
Big Niece: If you see her, please tell her to come home quickly. She doesn’t have a job or any friends. It’s dangerous for a girl to be out there alone.

Nan Huaixu looked up for a moment at the alpha sitting on the curb, feasting. Liu Yinxi’s sleeves were rolled up high, revealing smoothly toned arms. Two empty beer bottles lay by her feet.

Nan Huaixu’s expression was puzzled. She had witnessed just how much of a drama queen Luo Ling’s girlfriend was—complaining that the qingshui jade plaque she’d gifted was too low-class, saying she preferred imperial green jadeite, demanding only the finest in food, clothing, and accommodation. But now, why was Liu Yinxi sitting on the side of the road eating from a food stall, drinking cheap beer, and looking so happy?

Nan Huaixu glanced at the last order of shengjianbao that Liu Yinxi had given her, then picked up her phone to reply to the WeChat message.

April: No.
April: Understood.
Big Niece: Thank you, gugu!
Big Niece: I’m glad she hasn’t bothered you. Rest early, gugu, don’t work too hard. Good nighty-night~ [Big Cute Eyes]

Suddenly, a shadow outside the car window blocked the light.

Nan Huaixu looked up. A flushed face was pressed against the glass!

“?”

Startled, Nan Huaixu recoiled toward the other side of the seat.

Under the streetlight, a tipsy Liu Yinxi was using the dark, mirror-like car window to touch up her makeup. She puckered her red lips. “Beau, tiful—this sister’s irresistible charm.”

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