After Being Reborn, My Ex-Girlfriend Became Obsessed - Chapter 33

An hour passed quickly, and each team returned on time to the base of the mountain designated by the production team.

An Yu and Xie An’an used the remaining money to buy two thermos flasks and had the staff fill them with hot water. By the time they returned to the meeting point, the production team had already packed up.

Qiao Qingzhou held a megaphone, glanced at the blazing midday sun, and announced to the six gathered members: “Everyone seems to have bought a lot in the past hour. Please take a short break, organize your belongings, and travel light. We will begin the climb in ten minutes.”

An Yu sat on a stone bench and opened her backpack to organize her things.

Xie An’an sat beside her, unpacking what they had just bought. Wiping sweat from her forehead, she looked at the sky and muttered, “It’s so hot down here… can we really wear down jackets on the mountain? Maybe I shouldn’t bring the thick clothes—they’re heavy and take up space.”

An Yu paused in her tidying. She looked up at Lin Duxi, who was sitting on a nearby stone bench, staring off into the distance. Lin Duxi’s backpack looked empty, as if it didn’t contain anything. An Yu concealed her gaze, opened her own backpack, picked a lightweight jacket, clutched it in her hands, and walked over.

Lin Duxi was sitting on the bench, lost in thought, when a fair, slender hand appeared in her line of sight. Something soft was placed in her hand. She looked up and met An Yu’s clear, mountain-stream-like eyes.

“An Yu,” she said, noticing the extra piece of clothing in her hand with a puzzled expression.

An Yu said, “It might be a bit cold at the top. Take this jacket for now.”

Lin Duxi smiled, her gentle eyes filled with affectionate warmth, her delicate fingers sinking into the fabric. “How did you know I didn’t have a jacket?”

An Yu thought for a moment and jokingly replied, “Maybe I have magic.”

Lin Duxi curved her lips, her eyes reflecting An Yu’s figure. The whole atmosphere around her softened. “Oh, you have magic, An Yu?”

[I have magic. My magic is making you fall in love with me! I’m loving this! ]
[Absence brings longing, and a glance sparks sparks. ]
[I ship them already! Just standing together, the whole screen is pink hearts! ]
[Someone write a blood oath for them to film a drama together—I’m here for it.]

Xie An’an watched the two start being clingy in a corner where she hadn’t noticed. She quickly shielded her own hair—she didn’t want to be the third wheel.

Ten minutes later, all six members had finished packing their backpacks and were standing at the foot of the mountain, looking up at the towering peak, genuinely awed.

[This mountain is so high! Climbing to the top must be exhausting.]
[Nope, my calves are already weak. I’m leaving the livestream for five seconds.]
[Such a tall mountain—climbing it would take half my life.]

Qiao Qingzhou raised the megaphone again: “Alright, everyone, form pairs. We’ll start climbing. The meeting point at the top is marked with this flag. As in the last episode, the first team to reach the top will receive a grand reward.”

Upon hearing the mention of a reward, everyone’s expressions froze. The last time Lin Duxi and An Yu reached first place, their prize was a free dinner prepared for them. Judging by the production team’s mischievous nature, the next reward probably wouldn’t be any better.

Sensing their hesitation, Qiao Qingzhou quickly added, “This reward will definitely be very favorable. Winning it will be worth it. Let’s get started.”

Not wanting to provoke further skepticism, he hurriedly signaled the start.

An Yu adjusted the zipper on her backpack and her clothing, preparing to climb. She called Xie An’an over to start.

Yu Fei and Feng Zhinian came over together. An Yu didn’t know them well, but Xie An’an had teamed up with Yu Fei last episode and was familiar with him.

Seeing the girls’ enthusiasm, Yu Fei and Feng Zhinian chuckled: “You two girls are making such a fuss. How about we give you a half-hour head start?”

An Yu paused mid-adjustment, then looked coldly at them. Xie An’an immediately bristled: “Who do you think you’re looking down on? First place is not guaranteed for you!”

An Yu reached out to stop her from moving forward, glanced Yu Fei and Feng Zhinian up and down, showing a mock-frown, which, though somewhat comical, was extremely cutting.

“Well… maybe we’ll still give you half an hour,” she said.

Yu Fei and Feng Zhinian’s faces instantly turned colorful—they looked like they’d hit a brick wall, and they shuffled off defeated.

“Hahaha, An Yu, you’re something else. Let’s go! I was planning to slack off, but now the first place is definitely ours!” Xie An’an stretched and readied herself.

An Yu nodded and turned her head. The spot where Lin Duxi had been was now empty. She suppressed the chaos in her emotions and focused on climbing.

The lower paths of Bai Mi Mountain were relatively gentle, but they became steeper the higher one climbed. An Yu kept her head down, working hard. Glancing at her watch, she realized nearly an hour had passed.

Their pace was steady, and the previously crowded footpaths had left them behind. The surroundings were quiet.

An Yu leaned on the railing to look down. The people below had shrunk into small black dots. She looked up toward the cloud-covered summit and estimated they had completed about a third of the climb.

They hadn’t rested much along the way. Seeing Xie An’an catching her breath, An Yu wiped the sweat from her forehead. “We’ll rest for a bit at the restroom ahead.”

The director and the pharmacy owner hadn’t been wrong: the temperature at the foot couldn’t reflect that on the mountain. Even halfway up, the air felt cooler. The sweat-dampened girls shivered in the wind.

Xie An’an sat on the bench in front of the restroom and drank water from her backpack.

An Yu set her backpack down beside Xie An’an. “I’ll go to the restroom first.”

Xie An’an waved, signaling it was fine.

The restroom was quiet, seemingly empty. An Yu turned on the faucet and washed the sticky sweat off her hands and face. The mountain water was especially cold. Splashing her face, her tangled thoughts gradually cleared.

She looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was damp, sticking to her cheeks, water dripping down in little streams—the only sound in the silent room.

Seeing her disheveled reflection, An Yu smiled wryly. Why was she worrying about Lin Duxi? The system had said the male lead was there; she had been overthinking.

“An Yu, you’re really crazy,” she muttered.

She filled her hands with water again, letting the sound mask any faint noises nearby.

After feeling a bit clearer, she was about to leave when suddenly the restroom made a loud “bang”—something hit a stall door. An Yu was startled and looked toward the sound.

“Hello? What happened?” she asked.

No one responded.

Frowning, she realized the noise was loud enough to indicate someone in trouble. In this isolated place, a delay could be serious.

She went into the stall area, anxiously calling, “Hello? Do you need help?” Pausing, she listened carefully. There was a faint sound from the farthest stall. She quickly walked over.

“Is everything okay? Need help?” she knocked again.

This time, the person seemed to hear her. The stall door rattled as if they were trying to push it open. An Yu stepped aside in time.

The stall clicked open, and a figure appeared. They seemed unable to stand and collapsed straight into An Yu’s arms. A faint fragrance wafted into her nose.

An Yu froze. “Lin Duxi! What are you doing here? What happened?”

Lin Duxi clung weakly to An Yu’s waist, her whole body trembling, her brow furrowed, sweat dotting her forehead. She closed her eyes and let out a fragile, faint voice.

“An Yu… it hurts… An Yu…”

Her voice was fragile, almost like a flower about to be broken by wind and rain. Her cold body pressed against An Yu through layers of clothing, making her heart ache.

“Where does it hurt? Let’s get out of here first, okay?” An Yu softened her voice, gently coaxing her. At the same time, she smelled a faint metallic scent—blood. Realization hit instantly.

She remembered how vulnerable Lin Duxi had been during her period in high school—so weak she would shiver in class. She hadn’t expected the pain to be even worse years later.

Clinging to An Yu, Lin Duxi tried to steady herself, finding comfort in her warmth and presence.

“Okay,” she murmured.

Xie An’an, having finished her water, looked out at the mountain view. Hearing noises from the restroom, she assumed something had happened to An Yu and quickly stood up to check.

“An Yu! What’s happening in there? Are you okay?”

Finding no response, she grabbed both backpacks to enter, only to see An Yu supporting someone out of the restroom in a close embrace.

[An Yu literally went to the restroom and brought back his wife?!]
[What’s wrong with Lin Duxi?]
[Ah, Lin Bao… are you okay?]

An Yu helped Lin Duxi sit on a bench, reaching for the backpack, only to be restrained by her tight embrace.

Lin Duxi was weak, holding on to An Yu for support. Her icy body pressed against An Yu’s, sending waves of bittersweet ache to her heart.

Xie An’an handed the backpack to An Yu and turned her head, acting like a responsible invisible observer.

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