After Losing My Memory, I Was Targeted by the Obsessive Movie Queen [gl] - Chapter 30

Yan He stumbled to the bedside. Looking at the kind yet frail elder before her, tears fell uncontrollably; a visceral, physiological sadness washed over her.

Seeing her state, Li Yifang’s eyes also reddened. She reached out and grasped Yan He’s hand. The rough yet warm touch was enveloping and deeply comforting.

“I’ve truly troubled you and little Lu,” she said. Her voice was the same one from Yan He’s muddled memories—aged and gentle.

Lu Youqing walked to the bedside and tenderly wiped the tears from the corners of Yan He’s eyes. Her gaze toward Yan He was full of tenderness as she spoke on her behalf.

“Grandmother, these are things A-He and I ought to do. What you need to do now is focus on recovering. Leave everything else to us.” Her voice was exceptionally firm, like a net catching Yan He’s falling heart.

Yan He dried her tears and nodded. “I didn’t know about this before, so we were delayed a bit. For now, please rest well and focus on getting better.”

Having lost her memory, she didn’t know how to express herself. She was afraid that speaking carelessly might cause the elderly Li Yifang to worry about her amnesia, so she decided to say as little as possible about the past and focus only on the present.

Hearing such comforting words from the two children, Li Yifang’s eyes grew even more moist. She raised a hand to wipe her tears; her wrinkled hands bore witness to decades of hard work. Her voice was raspy.

“Look at me, crying at my age,” she chuckled at herself. “I’ve truly troubled you both with my illness.” Originally, she hadn’t wanted Taoyi to do this. For Li Taoyi to seek them out without telling her was a bit of an imposition. Yet, she truly hadn’t expected Yan He and Lu Youqing to help her out of old affection.

Li Yifang took Lu Youqing’s hand and placed it in Yan He’s palm, pressing their hands together and holding them tight, her face full of relief.

“I’m just an old bag of bones now. I’ve watched you two go from meeting to being together through so many years of ups and downs. You’ve finally truly settled down.” She couldn’t help but sigh. Recalling the emotional entanglements between the two over the years and seeing them now—talented, beautiful, and affectionate—she broke into a smile.

“Seeing you both come to visit me is enough to make me content.” Her smile was warm, and her eyes were kind; she was the sort of person whose very smile warmed the heart.

Watching her, Yan He and Lu Youqing couldn’t help but smile as well.

Just then, the ward door opened, and a voice interrupted their conversation.

“Grandmother, it’s time for your check-up.” Li Taoyi entered, pushing a wheelchair, followed by a doctor.

Seeing Yan He and Lu Youqing in the room, Li Taoyi froze for a second, then broke into a smile, her pace quickening.

“Miss Yan, Miss Lu, you’re here! Why didn’t you tell me before you came so I could meet you?” Her voice was chirpy, her complexion much rosier. She seemed much more upbeat and sunny than the despondent girl they had met at the villa.

“We just came to see Granny Li. There’s no need for a formal welcome,” Yan He said.

“How could that be?” Li Taoyi said, pushing the wheelchair to the bedside. “I must meet you.” She helped Granny Li out of bed and into the wheelchair with practiced movements.

Seeing Li Yifang was heading for a check-up, Yan He and Lu Youqing exchanged a glance and said in unison, “Then we won’t disturb you.”

“Are you leaving already?” Li Yifang asked, a blanket over her lap. She didn’t really want them to go, but she had no reason to ask them to stay.

Yan He looked at her and the doctor, then at Lu Youqing. Seeing the encouraging smile in Lu Youqing’s eyes, she happily took the handles of the wheelchair from Li Taoyi. “I happen to have nothing else to do. I’ll go with you for the check-up.”

“No need to go to such trouble. I can do it. The check-up takes a long time and will waste your day,” Li Taoyi said quickly. A second later, she felt a pat on her shoulder. She turned to see a smiling Lu Youqing.

“It’s alright, Student Li. You’ve worked hard taking care of Grandmother. Take a rest here. I actually wanted to ask you a few things about her hospitalization.” Lu Youqing’s lips were curved up, but her dark eyes were unreadable as she looked at her. Li Taoyi froze; she instinctively understood Lu Youqing’s intent. Without further protest, she turned to the other two.

“Then… I’ll trouble Miss Yan.”

Yan He waved her off and pushed Li Yifang out, chatting and laughing as they followed the doctor. The ward was soon left with only Lu Youqing and Li Taoyi.

Li Taoyi stood there awkwardly, listening to Lu Youqing’s footsteps as she paced the room before sitting on the sofa. “Sit, Student Li.”

Li Taoyi hurried to the sofa. For some reason, being alone with Lu Youqing always made her feel a bit cold.

“I’ve told Grandmother about Miss Yan’s condition, so she shouldn’t say anything out of turn,” she initiated.

Lu Youqing poured them both a glass of water, the glass swirling in her long fingers. “Thank you, Student Li.”

A faint smile appeared on her lips as she looked down at the glass.

Suddenly finding courage from nowhere, Li Taoyi spoke up: “May I ask you a question?”

“Go ahead.”

“Does Miss Yan… does she know about what happened between you and her before?”

Lu Youqing’s hand stopped. Water splashed from the glass, a few drops landing on her hand.

“She doesn’t need to know,” she said. Her voice was shrouded in a mist, impossible to read.

Li Taoyi froze. All her deductions over the past few days were confirmed by this one answer. Whatever else she wanted to say felt weighed down by a thousand-pound stone; the words wouldn’t come.

She wanted to ask: even without her and her grandmother, if Yan He met anyone else from her past, how could Lu Youqing guarantee they wouldn’t tell her?

She suddenly gave a small laugh, realizing that even if she asked, Lu Youqing would likely answer that she could guarantee it.

Because Lu Youqing was that kind of person. One could see the darkness in her eyes—ruthless and obsessive. Within the deep night of her soul lay a paranoid and passionate love. All her emotions, all her fluctuations, were born because of Yan He, and hidden because of Yan He.

Involuntarily, Li Taoyi silently worried for Yan He.

A day after returning from the hospital, Lu Youqing had to leave for the Hengdian film set. Since the set was in another city, she wouldn’t be able to come home often. Worried that Yan He wouldn’t be able to care for herself with her amnesia, she insisted on hiring a nanny.

Yan He refused flatly. She was twenty-five—an adult despite her memory loss. Over the past few days, Lu Youqing had taught her some cooking; after a few tries, she was already capable of preparing her own meals.

Under Yan He’s fierce protest, Lu Youqing finally relented on the nanny. In exchange, Yan He had to agree to one condition.

“What condition?”

Lu Youqing smiled, the beauty mark at the corner of her eye becoming more prominent, like a cunning fox. She held up five fingers, counting them off one by one.

“A-He must say good morning to me every morning and goodnight every evening. You cannot go to unfamiliar places without my permission. You cannot go anywhere without telling me. And…”

Lu Youqing extended her final finger and tapped Yan He’s nose, her tone teasingly petulant. “You cannot chat with other people casually.”

Yan He laughed. “That’s several conditions already.”

Lu Youqing cupped her face and leaned in. Their breaths mingled, the crisp scent of their perfumes intertwining. She furrowed her beautiful brows, pouting at Yan He. “But I’ll really miss A-He. Just thinking about being away for so long without seeing you makes me lose all my energy. I want to finish filming right now just to be with you.”

Yan He grabbed the wrists that were wandering over her face and said playfully, “You can’t. Don’t we have video calls? we can video chat.”

Lu Youqing’s frown deepened. “It’s not the same.”

“How is it different?”

“I can’t touch A-He through a video.” She couldn’t feel A-He’s scent or the warmth of her skin. Those were the things she craved.

Yan He sighed and nodded helplessly. “Fine, I understand. I’ll remember them all and won’t break them.”

Only then did Lu Youqing feel at ease. She added a final instruction: “The valuables in the house are locked in the study. The code is your birthday.” After telling her everything she could, she reluctantly boarded the car for the airport.

Watching the car pull away, Yan He’s smiling eyes gradually darkened. She closed the gate and walked back into the house with slumped shoulders, flopping onto the bed.

Living without Lu Youqing had a significant impact on her. She thought she could be fine alone, but she thought of Lu Youqing while reading, while cooking, while studying, and even dreamed of her while sleeping. Despite her efforts to restrain herself, Yan He spent her days thinking of Lu Youqing.

She couldn’t stop checking her phone for messages, wanting to initiate conversation, and she began to look forward to their nightly video calls.

Yan He wondered if she was going crazy. She felt she was experiencing withdrawal. Since waking up, she had only been with Lu Youqing—in the hospital and at home. Her newly formed memories only contained Lu Youqing. Now that Lu Youqing was gone, her memories were everywhere in her daily life. Naturally, she couldn’t stop thinking of her.

She decided to find something else to distract herself.

While brushing her teeth before bed, she looked up and caught her reflection in the mirror. She suddenly remembered that oversized, almost absurd mirror in the corner of the storage room Lu Youqing had shown her. Her brows knit.

She recalled that when she saw that mirror, a sense of familiarity had washed over her. It was as if she had seen it somewhere before.

She suddenly wanted to see it again.

Checking the time, she saw it was still a while before her scheduled call with Lu Youqing. Yan He decided to investigate the storage room.

She grabbed the key from the study and practically ran to the storage room at the end of the second-floor hallway. As she inserted the key, she felt a slight flutter of nervous unease.

Turning the handle, Yan He pushed the door open. The scent of dust hit her nose, making her cough. The room was dim, so she reached out and flipped the switch. As light flooded the room, she saw it in its entirety.

It was exactly as it had been during her last visit. The items were arranged the same way, and the mirror in the corner reflected the light into her eyes. Yan He raised a hand to shield her gaze and then slowly walked toward the mirror.

The mirror was massive, showing her full body with room to spare. Yan He could clearly see herself—her dazed expression and her fluttering lashes. A deep tremor, like a drumbeat, vibrated through her whole body. She instinctively took a half-step back, as if the person in the mirror were some sort of monster that would swallow her if she got any closer.

She didn’t know why she felt this way; she simply had a bad impression of the mirror.

She couldn’t understand why such a large mirror was kept here. Looking closely, it had no frame; it was truly just a pane of glass without any decoration.

She moved, and her reflection followed. For some reason, Yan He felt a powerful repulsion toward this mirror, even a desire to break it. Yet, it looked like a perfectly normal mirror, just larger.

Yan He swallowed. Suppressing her confusion, she reached out a finger to touch the reflection of herself. She saw her other hand, clenched tightly at her side. The moment the cold touch hit her fingertip, her whole body shivered. She backed away, staring deeply at the mirror before turning to leave the room.

Back in the bedroom, Yan He sat on the bed with a deep frown, a lingering doubt hidden in her eyes.

Suddenly, her phone rang, startling her and pulling her out of her thoughts. She scrambled for the phone—it was a video call from Lu Youqing. She instinctively checked the time.

It was thirty minutes earlier than they had agreed.

What a coincidence.