After Being Reborn, My Ex-Girlfriend Became Obsessed - Chapter 76

The next day, the sky was bright. An Yu deliberately wore an outfit she knew Lin Duxi liked, her heart full of anticipation as she drove to the place where they had arranged to meet.

Not being able to contact Lin Duxi these past two days had worried her terribly. Her parents had dragged her to the hospital for a check-up, and she had stayed there for two days. During this time, Lin Duxi hadn’t reached out, leaving a heavy feeling in her heart.

Even at the hospital, she hadn’t forgotten her plan. Occasionally, she mentioned Lin Duxi’s virtues from the side, unsure if An Huaili or Yu Yingzhen had noticed, but whenever she spoke of Lin Duxi, they would look at her intently. She thought perhaps this would take time.

Now, arriving at the place where she and Lin Duxi had agreed to meet, she immediately spotted Lin Duxi sitting by the window.

Lin Duxi’s gaze was slightly lowered, her eyes devoid of any emotion, like a puppet dressed in a beautiful shell. A pang of unease rose in An Yu’s chest.

But this fleeting unease vanished the moment Lin Duxi greeted her with the same gentle, attentive smile as always.

An Yu returned the smile, thinking she had overthought things these past few days.

Lin Duxi’s eyes followed An Yu like water, her intense gaze fixed on her as she took her seat.

“You came earlier than me. There’s still plenty of time before our appointment,” An Yu said, reaching out to stroke her hair. Lin Duxi turned her head away, and An Yu’s hand froze before awkwardly retracting it.

A sense of unease returned to her heart.

Seated at the table, An Yu faced her favorite desserts and a cup of coffee. She reached for a fork, her hand trembling slightly.

Lin Duxi stared at her intently, watching her every move as if trying to etch An Yu’s figure into her heart. Her own hands under the table trembled, her nails dug in tightly, and her lips quivered.

“An Yu, let’s break up.”

The fork in An Yu’s hand froze mid-air. After a moment, she picked up the dessert she liked and swallowed it as if nothing had happened.

Surely she had misheard. How could Lin Duxi say such words? She must have been sleep-deprived these past few days, hallucinating.

An Yu kept trying to reassure herself, but when she looked up, she met Lin Duxi’s icy gaze.

Her heart stopped.

The wound on her fair hand reopened. The blood flowing wasn’t just from her hands—it felt like her already-broken heart was bleeding.

Pain gripped her violently. Her consciousness seemed to drift out of her body, her whole body burning.

She knew what she was doing, yet her mind had already been dragged into a dark abyss. Her face remained calm as she said faintly:

“Let’s break up. We’re no longer suitable to continue this relationship—it’s a heavy burden for both of us.”

Her voice was still as gentle as ever, but it pierced An Yu’s heart like needles. She looked into Lin Duxi’s eyes, hoping for a crack, but there was none.

Previously, Lin Duxi’s eyes had softened whenever she looked at An Yu. Now, they were emotionless, cold, as if observing a stranger.

“Why? A few days ago, you said we would always be together,” An Yu’s voice trembled. Her heart felt empty, her whole body numb, tears streaming down uncontrollably.

Lin Duxi turned to look out the window. An Yu could no longer hear her own voice clearly; her consciousness was muddled, trapped behind a blurry barrier. She couldn’t even see Lin Duxi properly, resigned to her final verdict.

To An Yu, Lin Duxi’s gesture looked like avoidance.

Emotions surged. The efforts and expectations of these past days reflected in Lin Duxi’s cold eyes, appearing naive, like a cruel joke.

An Yu laughed faintly, a coldness seeping into her bones. Her vision blurred as she brushed away her tears, her cheek brushing against something slightly cool.

“This… I’ll give it back to you.” Her hands trembling, she placed the bracelet on the table.

She took one last long look at Lin Duxi. Memories of the past flooded her mind, bringing nothing but pain. Her emotions were on the verge of collapse, but she forced herself to remain composed.

“I never want to see you again.”

She left, severing the only bond between them. The parasitic thread entwining them was finally cut, leaving both wounded.

Lin Duxi sat in the café all afternoon, motionless, staring at the bracelet reflecting light on the table. The purple rose engraved on it seemed to burn her eyes.

As closing time approached, staff came over.

“Miss, the store is closing. You’re burning up! Should I call an ambulance?”

Sensing someone nearby, Lin Duxi quickly pocketed the bracelet, zipped it up, and left.

An Yu ultimately agreed to go abroad with her parents. Upon hearing the news, An Huaili and Yu Yingzhen showed little reaction, as if expecting it. An Yu didn’t notice their indifference.

Afterward, she stayed in her bedroom for three days and nights. Even when her parents pulled her out, she remained unresponsive. Yu Yingzhen, worried, decided to advance their trip abroad by a few days. The three of them would leave the day after tomorrow to a new place, hoping An Yu could relax.

An Yu paid no attention. She had all the time in the world, and her heart felt empty, impossible to fill.

The day before departure, An Yu and the driver went out to buy items for the trip. Returning home, the house was quiet.

Assuming her parents had gone out, she waited patiently.

But by midnight, they hadn’t returned. The oppressive darkness made it hard for her to breathe, and unease crept in. She called her parents, but the ringing seemed distant through several walls. She opened her bedroom door to look for the source.

The sound led her to her parents’ room. Opening the door, everything was pitch black. Something blocked her view. She switched on the light.

Two pairs of feet dangled in front of her.

On the same night, staff at the orphanage broke into Lin Duxi’s locked room, rescuing her as she lay unconscious with a high fever, tightly clutching a silver bracelet. No one noticed an old mobile phone in the corner, powered off.

The next night, heavy rain fell in Jiang City, washing away the dirt and noise. The insects’ chirping gradually ceased. Autumn was approaching.

“An Yu! An Yu!” Shi Yu shook her shoulder frantically. She had fallen asleep in the passenger seat, crying.

An Yu awoke from a murky dream, wrapped as if by threads, and gasped.

“What happened?” Her mouth was dry, and her mind ached as all the suppressed memories rushed back.

Shi Yu handed her a bottle of water. “You were crying and muttering in your sleep. I feared you’d pass out.”

An Yu twisted the cap, drinking greedily, using the brief moment to gather herself.

“The director’s wine was strong, and she told me about the orphanage’s past. I had a nightmare,” An Yu explained.

Shi Yu frowned. “Really? You didn’t look like you were having a nightmare… more like… someone you liked ran away.”

An Yu almost spat out water. Shi Yu’s words were surprisingly accurate.

“Fine, if you say it’s nothing, then it’s nothing. It’s late; go upstairs. I’ll park the car,” Shi Yu said, letting it drop.

An Yu thanked him and went upstairs, feeling half her body numb, her consciousness foggy.

The memories she had long suppressed now returned with this dream, vividly etched in her mind.

She felt the pain of breaking up with Lin Duxi, still lingering. She dared not recall it fully.

Riding the elevator up, An Yu glanced at Lin Duxi’s tightly shut door on the same floor, heart racing, full of questions.

She eventually unlocked her own door. She hadn’t yet processed these memories, feeling her mind a tangle of threads.

Back then, in her anger and disbelief, she didn’t think much. Coupled with her parents’ sudden deaths, she had no mental energy to reflect.

Later, her brain’s defense mechanism deliberately blurred these details, allowing her to continue living.

This sudden dream had unwittingly returned the erased memories, like spring buds growing from dead branches.

Even now, she still avoided recalling the breakup scene with Lin Duxi, though some suspicious details emerged.

Lin Duxi’s sudden change was extreme, her new attitude both piercing and indicative of something unusual.

The orphanage child Xiaoxiao said that after Lin Duxi graduated, her relatives caused a scene there. The orphanage suffered financial shortages, and the old director was hospitalized, the biggest blow to Lin Duxi.

Was this the reason?

Furthermore, from Lin Duxi’s childhood notebooks, it seemed she knew An Yu’s parents.

Why didn’t Lin Duxi tell her?

An Yu’s mind felt like mush. She knew too little to even begin thinking. Thoughts scattered with no anchor.

She decided she must ask Lin Duxi, though she feared forcing her to relive painful memories.

Tomorrow was the gala. As guests and as a couple, they would certainly interact, but An Yu didn’t know how to face her.

The long-buried memories now surged, leaving her unable to process them, letting the chaotic recollections storm her mind.

As dawn approached, An Yu finally found some drowsiness and curled up in a corner to sleep.

But another resident on the same floor remained sleepless.

Lin Duxi clutched her powered-off phone, staring at the dim sky outside. Sleep eluded her further as time passed.

She checked the phone. Two messages appeared on the lock screen:

One from Dr. Jiang with precautions; the other from the orphanage director:

“Miss Lin, today a lady named An inquired about the orphanage’s past. Since you know each other, I told her some of the previous events.”

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