After Being Reborn, My Ex-Girlfriend Became Obsessed - Chapter 75

A gentle, trembling voice fell softly into An Yu’s ears, stirring a turbulent wave in her heart. She turned and saw Lin Duxi across the street, her eyes slightly red as she looked at her.

Instantly, a mist filled An Yu’s eyes. She had just lifted her foot to run over when a slender figure rushed into her embrace.

Lin Duxi opened her arms and hugged her tightly. The school bag in her arms dropped to the ground with a thud, and her head rested on An Yu’s shoulder, rubbing her cheek against hers with a longing, greedy motion.

“Ah… Ah Yu…”

Her emotions overwhelmed her; the words she spoke were fragmented and broken. An Yu’s heart shattered at the sound, and she gently wrapped her arms around Lin Duxi, tenderly comforting her trembling body with love.

Lin Duxi had lost a lot of weight; a single touch made An Yu feel the sharpness of her bones. She didn’t know what Lin Duxi had been through, but the feeling alone made her suffocate with pain.

“I missed you so much… I thought I’d never see you again.” Lin Duxi lightly kissed her pale cheek and teased her softly, lightly tapping her shoulder. The gesture, meant as a tap, felt more like an affectionate caress.

The bruises on An Yu’s shoulders had not fully healed. She frowned slightly, then forced a smile.

“It won’t happen. You said we’d always be together.”

On the way here, An Yu had planned to pour out all the grievances she had endured these past few days, to let Lin Duxi care for her properly. But upon seeing her injured expression, she no longer wanted to speak.

She didn’t want Lin Duxi to worry, to be saddened by her.

The words she wanted to say got stuck in her throat and sank back down. She released her embrace.

Lin Duxi looked at her with confusion, water glistening in her eyes. She hadn’t hugged enough yet.

An Yu smiled faintly, about to say something, when a gentle kiss landed on her lips, sincere yet devoid of any ceremony. She closed her eyes and deepened the kiss.

A few dozen meters away, a black car quietly stopped at the entrance of the residential complex. The security guard inside the booth had just finished an argument with the driver and now watched him suspiciously as he made a phone call.

The phone rang twice before being answered.

“Sir, the young lady really did come to find her.”

The old neighborhood had no place to sit and rest, so Lin Duxi led An Yu to a small noodle shop she frequented.

It wasn’t yet mealtime, and the shop was almost empty. They found a seat and sat down. Only then did An Yu realize she hadn’t eaten all day. She followed Lin Duxi and ordered the same meal.

From here, she could see the neighborhood Lin Duxi had mentioned over the phone. She also noticed the textbooks beside her that were not typical for someone her age, feeling puzzled.

“Have you been tutoring here all along?”

Lin Duxi picked up the last piece of meat with her chopsticks. Her lowered eyes darkened slightly, then she placed the meat in An Yu’s bowl. When she looked up, her gaze had returned to normal.

“Yes,” she said confidently. “Because I want to be with you in the future, I thought I’d save more money.”

An Yu’s heart swelled with happiness at her answer, but she was quickly reminded of her own family’s situation, which made her mood sink. She didn’t notice Lin Duxi’s slight tremble as she picked up the meat.

The atmosphere froze, and the two silently finished their meal, each lost in their thoughts.

Afterward, Lin Duxi had to continue tutoring. An Yu wanted to wait there for her, but Lin Duxi refused outright. When An Yu persisted, Lin Duxi teased her angrily, pushed her into the back seat of the car, and planted a kiss on her.

An Yu obediently stayed put.

“Call me when your tutoring ends. I’ll come pick you up,” An Yu said, her eyes gleaming faintly.

Lin Duxi smiled softly and agreed.

After watching An Yu leave the corner, her suppressed emotions finally overwhelmed her. She collapsed to the ground, hugging her knees, quietly crying, her heart shattered, bleeding.

The voices of An Huaili and Yu Zhenzhen echoed in her mind, assaulting her fragile consciousness.

“Xiao Yu gave up going abroad for you. Can you watch her ruin her future like this?”

“Here’s the truth: the An family has gone bankrupt. Going abroad would benefit An Yu in every way, but… sigh.”

“Little Lin, we’ve watched you grow up. I’ve never asked you for anything. Just this once, please, let An Yu go.”

Each fragmented sentence struck her already broken heart like bullets.

She couldn’t do it. She truly couldn’t.

No matter how many words she had rehearsed, no matter how long she had prepared, the moment she saw An Yu, it all collapsed. She didn’t want to be separated from her.

Perhaps there was still a way. Perhaps she could tell An Yu the truth: if the adults insisted that she go abroad, she would encourage An Yu to go. After she started earning money through part-time jobs in college, they could meet again.

Her sobs gradually ceased. An Yu wiped her reddened eyes and put her fragile heart into her school bag—the best solution she could think of for now.

She bent her head to adjust her clothes, put on her glasses to hide her red eyes, and froze the next second when she looked up.

A young man stood several meters in front of her, smoking a cigarette and sizing her up.

It was Lin Ze. How did he come out so quickly?

Lin Duxi turned and ran. Her legs were numb and heavy like lead. After a few steps, the man caught up.

“Lin Duxi, why the hell are you running?” Lin Ze yanked her, pinning her against the wall. Her back was in pain, numb.

“You and your dad threw me into the station and now you run? I won’t spare you!” He grabbed Lin Duxi’s arm, leaving a trail of blood on her fair skin.

Startled, Lin Ze quickly let go. “Don’t fake it—I didn’t hit you.” He then glanced at her clothing. “Long sleeves in the summer? Are you out of your mind?”

Lin Duxi ignored the new wound, knowing it could reopen. She didn’t attempt to stop the bleeding, keeping her gaze fixed on him.

Lin Ze grabbed her neck. “You’ve got quite a temper. Looks like I have no choice but to hit you!” Just as he moved, he suddenly seemed to remember something and let go.

“Forget it. I just came for the money. If I hurt you, I’d get in trouble.”

He grabbed Lin Duxi’s bag and emptied its contents. There were self-defense knives inside, but he found less than a hundred yuan.

Lin Ze picked up a knife and twirled it in his hand. “Damn, you’re this poor? Aren’t you a high-achieving tutor? How can you have so little money?”

Lin Duxi held her neck, gasping, her eyes burning with hatred. She looked at him without any hesitation, like a coiled venomous snake, ready to strike.

“That woman just now… looks familiar.” Lin Ze rolled up the money and put it in his pocket. He saw Lin Duxi suddenly freeze and sneered.

“Did she save you last time? You two seem pretty close.” He spoke maliciously. “Her car… it’s expensive, right? Should I go to her?”

“How dare you!” Lin Duxi trembled, reaching to choke him, but he dodged.

“Why not? If I have no money, you have no money. If I have no money, of course I’ll go to her!” He laughed, but suddenly groaned, clutching his waist in pain.

Lin Duxi seized the opportunity and ran past him. Infuriated, Lin Ze yelled, “You dare hit me? Even my dad doesn’t dare, and you actually hit me? You don’t want to live?”

“What are you doing!” A security guard rushed out of the booth, holding a baton.

Lin Ze was startled. “You’ve got guts, Lin Duxi! Just wait—your dear friend won’t escape unscathed either!” With that, he ran away like a madman.

Lin Duxi collapsed by the roadside, the contents of her bag scattered and covered in dust, mirroring her lost inner direction.

She stared blankly at a certain spot on the ground. Only when the guard called her did she snap out of it. She gathered her belongings, threw them into her bag without caring whether they were clean, and left.

Why? Why does this always happen to me?

Why can’t I have all the good things? Why must the ones I love suffer these baseless misfortunes—all because of me?

It turns out… it’s all because of me.

The events of these past days had repeatedly shattered her heart. No matter how hard she tried to mend it, it was futile. In the end, the ones she cherished most still had to suffer because of her—because of her alone.

Perhaps misfortunes always come together. Lin Duxi hadn’t even reached the bus stop when rain began to fall. She didn’t avoid it and let it soak her clothes.

Standing in the street, she nervously looked up at the sky. Rain fell into her eyes, blurring her vision. She suddenly felt a sense of emptiness.

Maybe it was a sickness long planted within her, finally ignited on this day. She had been destined to die in that fire at six years old.

So boring.

Hmph. Really boring.

After a one-hour bus ride, she returned to the orphanage. In a corner of the yard, a pile of broken junk lay scattered. In the past, she would avert her gaze when passing by. This time, in the pouring rain, she stared at it, feeling nothing.

She didn’t shower or change clothes, wrapping herself in a blanket and sleeping for two days and nights. She woke once again to the ringing of her phone. The dim room was utterly silent, except for the loud ringtone.

She reached for her phone. The screen glowed with a series of missed calls, the red light reflecting in her dark eyes, swallowed by the darkness.

She answered the call.

“An Yu, let’s meet.”

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