Substitute Alpha Gets Confessed to by Her Ex’s Aunt on a Survival Variety Show – Chapter 7

Shore Foraging, the First Proper Meal

Faced with Nan Huaixu’s incredulous expression, Liu Yinxi quickly showed her the scrapes on the webbing between her thumbs and forefingers. “It’s true, Nan-jiejie. Look at this one’s hands, they’re all red. It hurts so, so much.”

Chopping down so many trees—a feat of such competence—seemed OOC. She had to salvage it with some coquettishness, and fast.

Nan Huaixu’s lips moved. The second of hesitation was probably her trying to think of something comforting to say. “You’ve worked hard. Rest for a while. I’ll take it from here.”

Liu Yinxi cupped her face with her hands and batted her eyes, certain she must look fragile and cute right now. “Thank you, jiejie~”

Nan Huaixu handed the coconut to Liu Yinxi, who took two small sips before giving it back.

The two sat down by the stone stove, and Nan Huaixu laid out her plan. “It’s twelve noon now. First, let’s go to the beach and bring back coconuts to build up a freshwater reserve. It would be even better if we could catch some fish, shrimp, or crabs. We’ll eat something, then build the shelter.”

Nan Huaixu opened her backpack and took out a bunch of palm-sized horn bananas.¹ They were greenish, and each one had a few small holes and peck marks from birds.

She broke off two and handed them to Liu Yinxi. “I found these on the way. They’re not fully ripe and still a bit astringent. Be careful of bugs inside when you eat them.”

Liu Yinxi accepted them like a priceless treasure, nuzzling them against her cheek. “Thank you, Nan-jiejie! Even though I’m really scared of bugs, this banana can fill my tummy. I’ll try my best to overcome my fear to win the prize money.”

Then, this woman who claimed to be afraid of bugs thought to herself: Remove the head, and the protein is six times that of beef.

She peeled the horn banana, revealing the off-white flesh and its faint, fruity fragrance. Some of the damaged parts were brownish-yellow. She broke off a piece of the off-white flesh and ate it. It was slightly sweet and a little tart, but acceptable.

Nan Huaixu looked at the wood on the ground for a moment, then said, “Liu Yinxi, have you ever set up a tent before? A tent is a four-sided shelter with two slanted faces and two triangular faces. I plan to build the simplest kind, a three-sided shelter, also called a triangular shelter.”

Liu Yinxi raised her hand. “I know! Nan-jiejie, we can also build an off-the-ground bed frame attached to the triangular shelter and weave a straw mat to put on top. That way, we can avoid the bugs in the grass.”

A rare smile touched Nan Huaixu’s lips. “Yes, that’s much better than sleeping directly on the ground.”

Liu Yinxi pointed to a pile of slightly thinner logs. “I built a melon shed for night watches with my grandmother when I was little, just like this. See, jiejie? I’ve even cut the wood for the rib frame.”²

Nan Huaixu walked over and picked up a piece of wood to examine it. “The thickness is relatively uniform, but the bark needs to be shaved smoother.”

She looked at the other two piles of longer, thicker logs, then glanced around. “We’re still missing one important thing,” she said to Liu Yinxi.

A knowing smile filled Liu Yinxi’s eyes, but she played dumb. “Huh? Jiejie, what are we missing?”

“Rope.” Nan Huaixu’s gaze searched the forest.

Liu Yinxi took a bite of the horn banana, chewing with one cheek puffed out. “We don’t have any rope.”

Nan Huaixu picked up the stone axe leaning against the stove and held it up for her to see. “Then how did you think to use a vine to secure the stone blade?”

Liu Yinxi’s tone was matter-of-fact. “A carpenter in my village taught me when I was a kid.”

Nan Huaixu pointed at the vine. “We can use this to make rope to secure the shelter’s frame.”

Liu Yinxi excitedly held up her banana peel. “Wow! I chopped the wood, but I had no idea what to do without rope. You’re so smart, Nan-jiejie!”

Nan Huaixu didn’t look pleased at the compliment. An expression mixing confusion and helplessness crossed her face. She waited for Liu Yinxi to finish the banana, then picked up her wooden walking stick. “Let’s go. Time to move the coconuts.”

After a discussion, they left the things they didn’t need from their backpacks at the shelter site, like the mess tins and the satellite phone. They carried the two empty packs to the beach to bring back as many coconuts as possible. Not only could they drink the juice, but they could also use it for cooking, rinsing their mouths, and washing.

The sun was at its hottest at noon, and the sea temperature was at its highest, making it suitable for diving for fish. But they had to build the shelter in the afternoon and rush for the airdrop tomorrow morning. Liu Yinxi planned to conserve her energy and stay out of the sea for now. It would be enough to just pick up some seafood at low tide.

The beach was divided by the shipwreck. On one side was a dense grove of coconut trees, and on the other was a mangrove forest. Their landing point was closer to the coconut grove.

Most of the fresh coconuts were hanging very high up on the trees. The ones that had fallen were mostly old and dried out. Finding juicy green coconuts required a bit of luck.

Liu Yinxi pulled out several green coconuts from where she had hidden them in the grass. “I gathered all the coconuts I could find in this area right after I landed.”

Nan Huaixu helped her pack them. “If we’re frugal, this will be enough. It’s no problem to last three days. We’re bound to find a stream eventually.”

Liu Yinxi nodded. “Nan-jiejie, I’m going to see what kind of trash I can find.”

“Find trash?”

“Yeah, there’s a lot on the beach. I’ll see if there’s anything useful.”

“Alright. I’ll go to the reef cluster to see if I can catch any shrimp or crabs. The sun is too strong, so don’t be out for too long. Let’s meet back under this coconut tree in half an hour.”

When they landed at six-thirty in the morning, the tide was out. Liu Yinxi went to check her sand crab trap, hopeful.

A white plastic bucket was buried in the sand. Liu Yinxi had stuck a Y-shaped branch next to it, which had since been blown over by the sea breeze.

She looked inside the bucket. Six small sand crabs were crawling in circles at the bottom, bumping into each other and waving their pincers for a fight.

Liu Yinxi clicked her tongue in disdain. Not even enough to get stuck in your teeth.³

She found a Coke bottle, put them inside, and took it with her.

The beach refreshed its supply of trash daily, most of it drifting over from tourist spots along the ocean currents. No matter how many awareness campaigns Jinzhou’s environmental department ran, the spread of pollution was inevitable.

Liu Yinxi sighed and searched through the refuse on the shore. She picked up a few relatively clean and sturdy plastic bags, a turnover box with a small chip in its side, and a 2-liter plastic water jug with a handle.

She put the plastic bags, the jug, and the crab bottle into the turnover box and carried it back to the coconut tree.

Nan Huaixu had taken off her shoes and socks and was letting them dry on the sand. Next to the coconuts, an old toy bucket held a shallow layer of seafood: cat’s eye snails, oysters, and clams.

Seeing Liu Yinxi return, she patted the toy bucket and said, “No fishermen come to the forest park to forage, so the seabirds have picked this spot clean by now. There should be a lot during the morning and evening low tides.”

Liu Yinxi clapped her hands. “Nan-jiejie is amazing! We have seafood to eat!”

Nan Huaixu gazed at the azure horizon, the wind ruffling her eyelashes and stray hairs. “I’m not amazing. I want to win, and I want to be as comfortable as possible while doing it.”

Liu Yinxi dropped her playful act and showed her the crab bottle. “I only caught these little crabs.” Her eyebrows drooped, and her voice became small.

A fair hand rested on the grimy plastic bottle. Liu Yinxi lowered her gaze, her eyes falling on the small, broken-skinned scrapes on Nan Huaixu’s hand.

Nan Huaixu tapped the bottle with her finger, and the sand crabs inside scurried about uneasily.

“No matter how small, a crab is still meat. It can supplement protein and calcium.”

“Mhm! They’ll be super crunchy and fragrant when they’re roasted. So good it’ll make all the kids on the street cry with craving.”⁴

Nan Huaixu lifted her head, her neck forming a beautiful arc. Her bright eyes looked directly at Liu Yinxi, shimmering faintly. “I don’t know what unpleasantness happened between you and Luo—cough, between you and your ex-girlfriend, but you came to participate in this competition because of that. Our goal is to win. I can’t choose my teammate, but I can choose how to get along and cooperate with my teammate.”

“Liu Yinxi, let’s both work hard.”

The sea breeze blew gently, and the shadows of the trees swayed. Under the golden sunlight, Nan Huaixu’s lips curved into a slight smile. Liu Yinxi stood opposite her, her eyes filled with the other’s stunning face. Her beauty merged with the beautiful scenery like an arrow of forgetting sorrow, piercing one’s heart and making time pause for a second.

It was humanity’s love and yearning for beauty.

Liu Yinxi’s hand holding the crab bottle slowly tightened. She smiled back at Nan Huaixu. “We will win! Aww, Nan-jiejie, when we win the prize money, I’ll split it with you evenly! Two million for you, two million for me.”

“The winner’s prize is three million.” The smile gradually vanished from Nan Huaixu’s face. Where did this person get the confidence to be dividing the prize money?

Liu Yinxi shook the bottle excitedly, sending the little sand crabs tumbling. “There’s an extra million for surviving a hundred days!”

Nan Huaixu: “…”

Surviving for a hundred days was difficult even in a professional survival competition, let alone a show with amateurs. In the four seasons since 《Survivor》 began, only one team had managed to survive for a hundred days. The survival environment that season had been excellent, and the guests were incredibly strong and lucky. One could say they had the right time, the right place, and the right people.⁵

Her and Liu Yinxi?

Although she was trying to psych herself up to win, realistically, her goal was to not be the first one eliminated.

“Liu Yinxi, it’s getting late. Let’s go back and build the shelter.”

“Nan-jiejie~ Do you think your share is too small? Then you can have sixty percent and I’ll take forty. I’m really short on money, I can’t go any lower, wuwu.”

“That’s enough. Talk less, conserve your energy.”

“Mhm, mhm~”

They carried the two packs of coconuts, the small haul of seafood, and the usable scraps, and returned to the shelter site the way they came.

The shellfish and sand crabs had been washed at the beach and were now placed on a banana leaf, ready for roasting.

Liu Yinxi pulled out the fresh core of a banana tree and cut it into small pieces that could be chewed to eat and to clean one’s mouth.

Nan Huaixu stuffed the stone stove with dry branches and palm fiber. She used the magnesium fire starter to light some coconut coir, then tossed it into the stove. A small, orange-red flame instantly flared up. She then poured in the seafood and used a pair of long chopsticks whittled from thin sticks to turn and roast them.

A short while later, a sizzling sound came from the stone stove, accompanied by the aroma of roasted snails and crabs. Liu Yinxi and Nan Huaixu sat on either side, their eyes shining as they stared at the flames.

Once the seafood was cooked, Nan Huaixu carefully picked it out and served it on two banana leaves. Paired with the banana core, horn bananas, coconut water, and coconut meat, it wasn’t a filling meal, but it could be considered their first proper one.

After eating, they leaned against their backpacks for a while before starting on the shelter.

They used their knives to clear the grass where they planned to build, tied palm leaves together to make a broom to sweep away weeds and loose soil, and Nan Huaixu used a branch to draw the foundation lines for the shelter and select the wood for the frame.

Liu Yinxi went into the forest and cut many parasitic vines as thick as hemp rope. She pulled them down, chopped off the excess branches and leaves, and softened them by stepping on them on a rock, then handed them to Nan Huaixu to weave into vine rope.

“Nan-jiejie, you know how to weave this too?” Liu Yinxi asked as she worked the vines.

Nan Huaixu placed two long logs together, gripped the vine rope with both hands to tie them tightly, then used a large rock to prop up the third log.

“Have you seen 《The Last Green Peafowl》?” It was the movie she had won an award for.

Liu Yinxi was about to say no, but then she remembered that the original owner was a die-hard fan⁶ of Nan Huaixu and quickly nodded. “All your movies are good.”

Nan Huaixu tied the three support poles together and stamped her foot to secure them. “When I was filming that movie, I spent three months learning the craft of vine weaving from a local intangible cultural heritage teacher.⁷ I’ve woven one or two small decorative pieces every year since then. Thankfully, I haven’t forgotten the skill.”

Once they had enough vine rope, Liu Yinxi put it in the turnover box, dragged it over to the frame, and helped Nan Huaixu move the logs, holding the wood steady as they built the bed frame and the rib frame together.

The two of them worked very quickly together. Nan Huaixu was nimble and efficient. Liu Yinxi deliberately slowed her movements, but she was still more efficient than an average person. By just after five in the afternoon, the triangular shelter was finished.

Nan Huaixu took a short break, then called Liu Yinxi over to help her pick large banana leaves and palm fronds. They layered the banana leaves on the roof of the shelter; their large surface area could keep out the rain. Then they added a layer of large palm fronds, whose ridges and grooves could channel rainwater away.

By the time the roof was done, the sun was already beginning to set. They simply laid a few layers of relatively soft, young banana leaves on the rib frame as a mattress, drank a few mouthfuls of coconut water, and then picked up the toy bucket and hurried back to the beach for more shore foraging.

At six in the evening, the tide hadn’t fully receded, but it would be dark soon, so they couldn’t wait too long. Liu Yinxi and Nan Huaixu took off their shoes and socks, rolled up their pant legs, and waded into the water to feel around for fish and shrimp.

“A big crab!”

“Jiejie, be careful! Its pincers are big, it’ll really hurt if it gets you.”

“Ahhh, it’s getting away, it’s getting away!”

Liu Yinxi crouched down, bent over, and reached her hand into a crevice in the reef. After fumbling for a moment, she pulled out a blue crab and threw it into the bucket.

Nan Huaixu urgently pointed ahead. “There are small fish over there!” She scrambled over, splashed around a few times, and caught a small mullet about ten centimeters long.

Liu Yinxi let out a whoop and gave her a thumbs-up.

“Shrimp! There are shrimp over there! Liu Yinxi, quick!”

“Coming!”

“You take the left, I’ll take the right! Let’s surround it!”

After a fierce battle of shore foraging, their small bucket was quite full. The sky grew darker and darker, and a vast expanse of red clouds spread across the sky over the sea, a breathtaking sight.

Liu Yinxi carried the bucket from the beach toward the rainforest, looking up at the magnificent sunset. She was reminded of a similar view she had once seen in her real world, and for a moment, she was in a daze.

Different worlds had the same nature.

The beauty of nature knew no borders, and no worlds.

She smiled radiantly at the clouds, not noticing that Nan Huaixu, walking beside her, was gazing at her.

When Liu Yinxi turned her head, Nan Huaixu hastily looked away.

“Liu Yinxi, the first airdrop is tomorrow morning. Have you set an alarm?”

“Set!”

“We’ll be able to see the airdrop location at ten tonight.”

“Tomorrow morning, the airdrop will be at the shipwreck on the beach.”

Nan Huaixu heard the absolute confidence in her tone and asked, “Why?”

Liu Yinxi was full of confidence and ambition.⁸ “Because it’s the most obvious landmark on the beach. Tomorrow morning, the airdrop will definitely belong to me!”

She glanced at the beautiful figure beside her and quickly added, “—us!”

Nan Huaixu smiled faintly. After a day of getting used to each other, she had grown accustomed to Liu Yinxi’s inexplicable confidence.

The image of a certain woman narcissistically admiring herself in a car window on a certain night flashed through Nan Huaixu’s mind.

Nan Huaixu suppressed the smile that was about to form on her lips.

They had been busy all day and were physically and mentally exhausted.

After finishing the grilled seafood, Liu Yinxi chewed on a piece of banana core to clean her teeth, gulped down a few mouthfuls of coconut water, and lay down in the shelter.

She lay on the right, and Nan Huaixu on the left. The bed frame was about 1.6 meters wide, and their backpacks were piled between them as a dividing line.

Nan Huaixu feigned sleep for a while, fighting off her drowsiness to look at her wristband. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. The airdrop information had been updated!

April 10th, First Airdrop
Time: 7:00 AM
Location: Beach shipwreck

Liu Yinxi was actually right!

Nan Huaixu’s eyelashes flew open, and she looked in astonishment at the alpha sleeping beside her.

Hooo… hooo…

With her eyes closed, Liu Yinxi’s breathing was even. She had already drifted off to dreamland.

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