After Being Reborn, My Ex-Girlfriend Became Obsessed - Chapter 58

An Yu froze in place, unable to help but carefully examine the photograph. Her parents had once supported the welfare home where Lin Duxi was.

It felt as if her heart was being struck repeatedly by tiny hammers. An Yu looked at the date on the photo: seventeen years ago, Lin Duxi was seven years old.

She flipped through the photo album further. Later, An Huaili and Yu Yingzhen also appeared in photos with other welfare homes and their directors in Jiangcheng. Only then did An Yu feel the tight knot in her chest slightly loosen.

It should be a coincidence. Her parents loved charity, and it wasn’t unusual for them to support the welfare home where Lin Duxi stayed, she reassured herself. But still, a doubt lingered in her heart:

Had Lin Duxi known her parents since she was a child?

She couldn’t help but look at the photograph a few more times. The picture only showed staff members; no children were in view. Whether it was her imagination or not, she noticed a middle-aged woman in a blue volunteer uniform in the bottom right corner, whose smile looked somewhat forced, strange even. She glanced at the name under the photo:

Zhao Sunan.

“These are all welfare homes that Master and Madam have sponsored. What you’re looking at now is one of them,” Wen Zhenhe said. He had come into the storage room at some point, standing behind her as she held the album, looking somewhat nostalgic.

“Back then, I still had a full head of hair,” he joked, running his hand through the thick hair he still had. For a man his age, he was lucky to have so much hair left.

“I remember, Master and Madam paid close attention to this welfare home, sponsoring its operations for over a decade. The last time they sponsored it was when the home fell into financial trouble. Only thanks to their help did the crisis get resolved. After that, Madam had no time to focus on charity anymore,” he sighed.

An Yu looked at the album, her knuckles brushing the old photographs, and asked, “Did my parents like doing charity work very much?”

Wen Zhenhe thought for a moment. “I’ve been the An family’s butler for decades. When your father was just a teenager, I started serving them. After Madam got married, I followed her. I remember they didn’t care much about charity at first. After the young lady was born, they gradually started paying attention to this cause.”

Wen Zhenhe was right. An Yu had just looked at all the photos in the album and noted the dates. The earliest photo was taken when she was seven, which was the group photo with Jiangcheng’s Loving Heart Welfare Home.

Jiangcheng Loving Heart Welfare Home, An Huaili, Yu Yingzhen, Lin Duxi, seven years old.

When An Yu pieced these words together in her mind, no memories surfaced. It seemed she had not attended charity events with An Huaili and Yu Yingzhen as a child.

An Yu closed the album, putting away her tangled emotions.

“Thank you, Uncle Wen. These photos are very precious. I’ll take good care of them,” she said.

Wen Zhenhe smiled kindly. “These were Madam’s to begin with. Now you have them—it’s simply returning them to their rightful owner.”

An Yu instinctively tightened her grip on the album.

She didn’t know much about Lin Duxi’s time at the welfare home. Lin Duxi had never told her anything about it during high school, so it was indeed difficult for An Yu to get the full picture now.

She put the album in her backpack and closed her eyes to rest, trying not to think about what had happened. She fell asleep on the car ride back without realizing it.

During the journey, she had a dream. The dream was hazy, as if she had glimpsed something important, but when she woke up, her mind was foggy, and she couldn’t remember anything. The car’s bumps made her body uncomfortable, and sweat drenched her. She forced herself to get out of the car and went to the office.

Ning Xuan had been waiting in the office for quite a while. Seeing her open the door with a lifeless expression, she frowned.

“What’s wrong? Such a good opportunity, yet you look so unwilling.”

An Yu was confused. “What good opportunity?” She sat on the sofa, massaging her aching temples, pouring herself a glass of water.

Ning Xuan glanced at her. “You’re really rude. Both the crews of Hello, Friend and Night Like Frost were invited to attend the evening gala. An Yu, you’re really lucky!”

An Yu asked, “Gala? When is it?”

“This weekend. Why do you look so unwilling? This jewelry gala has many influential people attending. Networking there can only help your career, not hurt it.” Though Ning Xuan didn’t explicitly say it, An Yu understood.

Networking at the gala could ensure she wasn’t targeted after terminating her contract with the company, preventing her from losing roles.

“Thank you, Ning Jie. I’ll do my best!”

Ning Xuan continued, “Don’t celebrate too early. The gala is hosted by Du Qianshu of Yaoyue. This invitation letter was personally delivered to me by one of her assistants. Do you know her?”

“Ah, Aunt Du.” An Yu knew her. She was her mother’s college friend, who had often visited her after her parents passed away. During the family business disputes, Aunt Du helped her keep the house. An Yu was grateful, though they rarely kept in touch afterward, only seeing each other about once a year.

“She used to be my mother’s friend. Now we haven’t contacted much,” An Yu replied.

“Even if you haven’t contacted much, there’s still a connection. The fact that she had someone personally deliver the invitation shows she cares about you,” Ning Xuan said.

Ning Xuan then looked at An Yu’s relationship with Lin Duxi. “I saw on the variety show that you two seem close. Were you already friends, or is this a calculated CP hype?”

An Yu froze, holding the cup. Given how popular their CP was now, she decided it was better to be truthful to avoid being scolded by Ning Xuan later. “Lin Duxi and I were high school classmates. We were very close.”

Ning Xuan squinted at her. “How close?”

An Yu hesitated. “Just… very close.”

Ning Xuan said nothing further. She just thought that now that their CP was popular, she would try to promote it. Recently, after the show ended, there had been an online CP vote where they ranked first.

Ning Xuan didn’t realize that An Yu kept her own small account on Weibo and only checked her comments and backend before logging off quickly.

Ning Xuan assumed she didn’t follow online trends and started browsing the voting page. An Yu peeked and saw that her CP with Lin Duxi was ranked second, while the first was Lin Duxi and Pei Lu.

An Yu’s smile froze.

Ning Xuan put away her phone and looked at her, silently saying, “An Yu, you’re not doing well.”

An Yu thought to herself: judging by the vote count, Pei Lu and Lin Duxi had about one-third more votes than her and Lin Duxi. Both teams had millions of votes. Since Ning Xuan said they were previously first, a sudden surge like this was impossible. Then she remembered someone:

The system. Only the system could alter the world’s rules or fix mistakes in the novel.

So that’s what it had done this time.

Ning Xuan cleared her throat. “Anyway, your CP with Lin Duxi is doing well now. Many people like you both. I’ll check with her team to see if they agree, and if so, we’ll continue promoting your CP.”

An Yu thought that Lin Duxi’s team probably wouldn’t agree. Since the system could manipulate the vote count, it might not be able to change the heroine’s mind, which was why it used her, the ex-girlfriend and rival female lead, to handle the task.

Still, she nodded, partly to avoid disappointing Ning Xuan, partly out of hope.

After a long day, An Yu returned home. The adjacent unit was silent; she guessed Lin Duxi had already gone to bed.

Security had clearly increased in the community. She saw several guards patrolling with flashlights. She glanced at Lin Duxi’s door before heading inside her own apartment.

Exhausted, she showered and washed up. The day’s emotional rollercoaster left her drained. Even in the bathtub, she almost fell asleep. After a quick wash, she changed clothes and lay on the bed, ready to sleep.

Lin Duxi’s lingering scent from the previous night still faintly hovered, calming her frayed nerves. An Yu tossed and turned, imagining Lin Duxi beside her.

Just as she was about to drift off, a sudden “thud”—like something had fallen—snapped her out of her daze. Groggy, she sat up, straining to listen.

The world outside was quiet, with only the rustle of leaves in the wind. An Yu thought she misheard, turned over, and tried to sleep again.

Then she heard the noise again, and remembered the sound of the door closing. The sound was light but sounded like thunder to her ears.

An Yu opened her eyes and sat up. The sound had come from outside her room.

Lin Duxi!

Her heart tightened, the last vestiges of sleep shattered. She rushed to the door.

The corridor was empty; nothing seemed amiss. Yet she distinctly smelled a faint hint of alcohol. She approached Lin Duxi’s door and pressed the doorbell.

No response.

She pressed again and tried the doorknob—it wasn’t locked. An Yu frowned.

She turned the handle and stepped inside. The alcohol scent mingled with Lin Duxi’s usual fragrance. Passing through the foyer, she saw the woman collapsed on the sofa.

The curtains were open, allowing moonlight to spill softly onto Lin Duxi, covering her in a pale glow. She lay on the sofa, brow furrowed, lips trembling, and a faint voice echoed through the living room:

“…Don’t go… don’t… leave me…”

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