After Being Reborn, My Ex-Girlfriend Became Obsessed - Chapter 54

After returning home, An Yu stayed at home, immersed in studying the script that Ning Xuan had given her. Director Tan Yiyan was extremely strict when it came to selecting roles. An Yu was putting in twelve times the effort—she had to secure this role.

At present, the company’s attitude toward her was mixed. On one hand, because she had confronted the boss’s son, the higher-ups wanted to shelve her; on the other hand, they recognized the traffic value of her connection with Lin Duxi. Some people at the company even called her indirectly asking about her relationship with Lin Duxi.

An Yu just laughed it off, saying it was all for show. Yet in her heart, she became even more determined to leave the company. Currently, online, she was almost inseparable from Lin Duxi—everyone who mentioned her thought of Lin Duxi, but mentioning Lin Duxi did not bring her to mind.

The company had less than a year before it might collapse due to scandal. An Yu thought that no matter what, she couldn’t allow herself to be dragged into the mess and have any dirt splash onto Lin Duxi if the company went down.

She almost completely threw herself into the script. When she finally felt tired and stretched, rubbing her shoulders, she realized it was already dark. She got up, poured herself a glass of water, and slowly drank while checking her phone.

Three hours ago, Shi Yu had sent her a few messages:

[Do you have time recently? About what I mentioned before—going to the orphanage to visit the children—do you want to go now?]

[A few days ago, I went to the orphanage and saw the lady we saw at afternoon tea. It’s hard to explain in just a few sentences, I’ll tell you when we meet.]

[I’ve been following that variety show with you and Lin Duxi… hmm, keep it up. I saw you two.]

The last message came just half an hour after the previous two. An Yu wondered what Shi Yu had experienced in that half hour and replied:

[I have time these two days for the orphanage. Later I have work. You tell me when you are free.]

As soon as she sent the message, Shi Yu called her.

“Alright, then let’s go the day after tomorrow. I remember that Lin Duxi was also in that orphanage.” Shi Yu’s memories stirred, and she spoke sentence by sentence. “Many in our class didn’t know, only you who were closest to her did. I only learned when I handled Lin Duxi’s files as class monitor.”

An Yu smiled bitterly but didn’t reply. She did know that Lin Duxi had spent her childhood in the orphanage, but after that, she didn’t know much. Shi Yu said that in high school, she had been closest to Lin Duxi and had a brief, tender relationship. An Yu only knew Lin Duxi had lived there and had once taken her back to the orphanage, but she had never entered herself.

Looking back, she realized she had been too careless about love and knew very little about Lin Duxi. That had sown the seeds for their eventual separation.

“Isn’t she also from that orphanage? You could bring her along. She’s familiar with the place; you might even find things from Lin Duxi’s childhood. Aren’t you curious?” Shi Yu continued encouraging her.

An Yu’s resolve wavered a little. “I’ll ask her the next time I meet her… Hmm, so you and that lady finally met?” Her face flushed slightly as she thought of young Lin Duxi.

Admittedly, she wanted to know, wanted to see… what Lin Duxi was like as a child.

“Yeah… I saw her at the orphanage, then played with the kids with her, exchanged contacts, and arranged to go back next time. Nothing else.” Shi Yu grew visibly excited when talking about the lady, speaking quickly and hiding some things.

While thinking about Lin Duxi, An Yu didn’t notice Shi Yu’s evasiveness. After chatting a bit more, she hung up.

A lump of worry lodged in her heart. She kept recalling Lin Duxi’s odd behavior during past recordings, and the moment she heard a car door slam today flashed in her mind. A vague unease settled in.

She opened her phone and searched for information on Lin Duxi’s unusual behavior. After searching, her eyes stopped on one term:

PTSD. Perhaps it was the shadow of childhood experiences.

An Yu frowned. Lin Duxi grew up in an orphanage—how could she have childhood trauma? Her mouth said she didn’t believe it, but her body betrayed her as she clicked the articles. At first, she skimmed quickly, but the more she read, the heavier her chest felt. By the end, she was chilled to the bone.

The records described a person who had suffered domestic violence as a child. She wrote that hearing doors slam or glass shatter caused uncontrollable trembling, as if the next moment a fist or insult would strike her. These shadows followed her relentlessly, leaving her afraid of being alone, afraid of silent nights, afraid of sudden noises, afraid of any good intentions. Over time, she experienced a sense of suffocation—but eventually, with the intervention of a psychologist, she recovered well.

An Yu read this with knitted brows, occasionally gasping for breath, drinking water just to continue. When finished, she could not deny that most of the descriptions matched Lin Duxi’s behavior.

She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. The words she had just read jumped around in her mind, hitting her nerves. She told herself that Lin Duxi lived in the orphanage and could not have such trauma, but a small voice in her head argued:

How do you know there weren’t bad children there? How do you know Lin Duxi didn’t have a family before she went there? Could her family have…

The more An Yu thought, the colder her whole body felt. No matter how many cups of water she drank, it did nothing to ease her unease.

At 24, she still trembled uncontrollably at such things. What had Lin Duxi’s childhood been like?

An Yu sat on the sofa, casually tossing her phone aside. The indicator light blinked twice, unnoticed. She bowed her head, covering her forehead with her hands, sighing repeatedly.

Why hadn’t she noticed Lin Duxi’s abnormalities in high school? During all the time they were together, Lin Duxi’s sharp edges had been softened, like she had been wrapped in a protective shell, yet An Yu hadn’t paid attention. They could have never separated.

She sighed again.

She sat on the sofa until late at night before getting up to make a simple meal. She had little appetite, so she just boiled some noodles. After putting the noodles in water, there was a sudden knock at the door.

An Yu checked the living room clock.

23:30

Why would Lin Duxi come here so late? Thinking of what she had seen in the afternoon, An Yu hurried to open the door.

Lin Duxi was still in formal clothes, a black suit over a V-neck shirt, highlighting her fair skin. She had probably just returned home, her makeup intact, and the red lips made her complexion appear even paler.

At this moment, Lin Duxi had put on the black suit again to come find her.

“An Yu, do you have a flashlight?” Lin Duxi asked.

“I think so. Come in, I’ll look for it.” An Yu stepped aside to let her in and closed the door against the cool corridor wind. Early autumn nights were still slightly cold.

Lin Duxi sat on the sofa while An Yu searched the cabinet. She found a flashlight and handed it to Lin Duxi.

“What are you doing with this?” she asked.

Lin Duxi squeezed the flashlight, switched it on, and the living room was immediately lit by a bright beam. Then she turned it off and said:

“The power went out at home, and I couldn’t find a flashlight.”

“Power outage? Could it be a short circuit?” An Yu asked, puzzled.

Lin Duxi shook her head. She didn’t know either. Holding the flashlight tightly, she was about to leave, but An Yu stopped her.

“I’ll go with you and check.”

Indeed, Lin Duxi’s house was pitch dark. She turned on the flashlight to illuminate the rooms and pulled back the curtains to let in moonlight. An Yu frowned at her movements.

In her previous life, when the company tried to shelve her, she had no money and had to learn a slew of survival skills—things she never imagined before turning 18.

An Yu went through the house with Lin Duxi, finally discovering that a burnt wire connecting the lightbulb had caused a short circuit. She wanted to call an electrician, but the phone showed the hour.

It was late.

The light from the phone was especially bright in the dim room. Lin Duxi noticed the time as well. She walked up to An Yu, gently touching her hair in comfort.

“It’s okay. It’s already late. I’ll just sleep and have the electrician come tomorrow.” She smiled gently, seeming considerate and understanding.

This kind of person—if she didn’t tell anyone—no one would ever guess she might have PTSD.

An Yu felt the warmth of her soft hand on her head, squinting her eyes, yet couldn’t help but recall the words she had read earlier:

Afraid to be alone, afraid of the silent night.

She thought of why Lin Duxi would hold her at night during past recordings—perhaps it was because of this.

An Yu slightly parted her lips, about to speak, but the words stuck in her throat. Lin Duxi had never told her, and she wanted to wait until Lin Duxi spoke herself. Until then, she would silently watch over her.

“Lin Duxi, you should sleep at my place.” An Yu looked at the moonlit floor and said softly, almost like a whisper.

Lin Duxi blinked, a little incredulous.

“Hmm?”

“Your makeup isn’t removed yet. You probably have work tomorrow. You should take it off.” An Yu explained. She hadn’t gotten answers to everything she wanted today, but selfishly, she didn’t want Lin Duxi to be alone in this cold, quiet house.

Lin Duxi held the flashlight tightly. Out of joy, she clenched the edge of her suit with the other hand. Then, gathering courage, she stepped forward and hugged An Yu tightly.

Startled by her sudden move, An Yu returned the hug. In the next moment, she felt the cool softness of Lin Duxi’s neck against her own, sending little sparks of electricity through her entire body.

“Don’t move. This is the payment you owe me—let me hug you a bit.”

If I don’t hug you, I might do something more extreme, so please hold me tightly

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