After Losing My Memory, I Was Targeted by the Obsessive Movie Queen [gl] - Chapter 32

Yan He stood up and paced around the drawers a few times, her gaze locked onto the bottom drawer secured by a brand-new lock. Her eyes flickered between the faint gray mark on the corner of the wall and the drawer itself; a suspicion was beginning to take root in her mind.

She remembered that the drawer had been locked by Lu Youqing ever since she returned home. Lu Youqing had told her she “definitely wouldn’t want to know” what was inside.

At the time, Lu Youqing’s expression had been mysterious, her eyes hiding emotions Yan He couldn’t decipher. Yan He hadn’t thought much of it then, but recalling it now, her curiosity only intensified.

Lu Youqing had been home with her for nearly three weeks. During that time, she hadn’t opened the drawer once, nor had she ever let Yan He see the key. Yan He’s brows knit tightly together; her heart felt as if it were sinking to the bottom of the sea as several unpleasant theories surfaced.

Maybe what’s inside is exactly what I just guessed.

Thinking this, Yan He reached out and tugged on the lock. It was sturdy; it seemed only brute force would work.

But she didn’t want to use violence. Lu Youqing’s purpose in locking this drawer was clearly to prevent her from seeing the contents. If she forced it open and broke the lock, Lu Youqing would surely be heartbroken when she returned.

Compared to the thought of making Lu Youqing cry, her curiosity about the contents diminished significantly.

But what was in there? It had been so long, yet she still couldn’t see inside.

Nothing in the storage room had been strange except for that large mirror, but deep down, she felt something was off. Since she had searched every other corner of the house, her suspicions narrowed down to this locked drawer.

Yan He studied the drawer closely, her curiosity reaching a fever pitch. She remembered Lu Youqing saying that important items were kept in the study. She went downstairs, searched through the cabinets, and sure enough, she found a key that matched the lock.

Lu Youqing actually hadn’t taken the key with her.

Yan He wasn’t sure what to feel. Holding the small, cool key, her heart swelled with a complex, unnameable ache.

Gripping the key tightly, she hurried back to the second floor. When she stood before the drawer in the bedroom, she suddenly hesitated.

The fact that Lu Youqing hadn’t taken the key meant she trusted Yan He completely. Before leaving, she had even specifically told Yan He where the important things were; it was impossible that she didn’t know the key was there.

She truly trusted her.

The key suddenly felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. Looking at the drawer so close at hand, Yan He felt a wave of cowardice. If the drawer really contained dismantled surveillance equipment, how would she face Lu Youqing? How would she face her own heart?

She was caught in a dilemma, like standing on a tiny island in a deep ocean. She held the key to fate: to open it, or to continue living with Lu Youqing pretending she didn’t care?

Yan He clenched the key so hard her knuckles turned white, the pain in her palm grounding her. Finally, she took a deep, heavy breath, closed her eyes, and made her decision.

She crouched down and inserted the key. If she had to live with this doubt and unease, she would rather break the barrier now.

Click. The sound of the lock opening was jarringly loud in the quiet room. Yan He swallowed hard and removed the lock.

She reached out and pulled the drawer open. Her heart felt suspended over a cliff, buffeted by howling winds. It was as if a sword of Damocles hung over her head, waiting for the final judgment.

The sound of the wooden drawer sliding along the tracks was soft, beating against her heart. Gritting her teeth, she stared at the drawer, her breath hitching. But when she saw the contents, she froze for a moment, and then a deep crimson flush swept over her.

What… what were these?

Small, smooth objects of various shapes were neatly arranged in the drawer. Some even had cords attached to the ends. None of them were the surveillance cameras she had feared. These strange shapes made her face burn; even with her amnesia, she immediately understood what these items were for. She instinctively looked away, the flush rising from her neck to scorch her cheeks. Her very breath felt scalding.

In the corner of the drawer were two boxes. One was pristine and still in its plastic wrap; the other had been opened. Yan He saw that the packaging was quite pretty and thought it might be different from the other items, but when she picked it up, her fingertips went stiff. She hurriedly dropped it and covered her burning face with both hands.

The box was supposed to hold twelve items, but nearly half were gone. She—the version of her before the amnesia—had used these with Lu Youqing.

It felt as though she were being roasted in a furnace. Yan He didn’t dare look at the items again, yet her peripheral vision was caught by a silver glint reflecting from the drawer. Once her gaze settled, she saw the object in its entirety.

This… this, this, this, what on earth was this?

She turned her head to look at it, unable to resist touching the silver surface. The cold sensation hit her fingertip but felt like it landed on her heart, making her shiver. She scrambled to retract her hand, accidentally bumping into a leather collar nearby.

Yan He: “…”

She looked around guiltily like a thief. Once she was certain she was alone, she stealthily picked up the collar. It was leather, beautiful, sturdy, and looked very difficult to escape from. The buckle in the front was complex and hard to open, and there was a ring in the front that seemed to be for a longer leash, to better control a… “pet.” Yan He looked at it for two seconds before quickly putting it back.

She hurriedly slammed the drawer shut. She finally understood exactly what Lu Youqing’s words and that smile had meant. She collapsed onto the bed in regret, her entire body as red as a steamed crab.

Yan He covered her face, buried her head in the pillow, and silently scolded herself for her curiosity. Now she was trapped in her own web.

For her “uninitiated” self who had just recovered a fragment of memory, this was quite a shock. Yan He was still trembling, her mind replaying the images of what she had just seen. She should have known; she and Lu Youqing were engaged to be married. Naturally, they would do everything. Having these things to add a bit of “flair” between wives was perfectly normal.

And she had actually suspected Lu Youqing of spying…

Yan He peeked through her fingers at the white ceiling. Her heart suddenly sank, and she felt a wave of guilt toward Lu Youqing. Since Lu Youqing left her side, she had become insecure again. Ultimately, it was the unease and panic of her amnesia that led her to make wild accusations.

Yan He frustratedly tugged at her hair, her heart turning cold. She wanted to make it up to Lu Youqing, to see her and apologize. She desperately wanted to see her.

Recalling the items again, Yan He turned red all over. She covered her face but couldn’t help a stray thought:

So, Lu Youqing likes that sort of thing.

Yan He lay on the bed for a long time until her temperature finally dropped. The moment she got up, she hurriedly relocked the drawer, not daring to let herself open it again.

By the time she finished, she realized it was nearly early morning. She had been dazed for so long. She quickly grabbed her phone.

Usually, Lu Youqing would message her after work regardless of how late it was. Perhaps she wasn’t finished yet, as there were no new messages.

She frowned at the clock; the hands were approaching 1:00 AM.

Is she working overtime this late today?

She pushed down the rising unease and typed a few words to ask if Lu Youqing was off work, but her thoughts kept drifting back to the scenes she had just imagined. She caught herself just a second before hitting send and looked at what she had typed:

“Do we really not have a dog at home?”

Yan He: “…”

She coldly deleted the words and retyped a new message:

“Are you off work yet?”

She guessed Lu Youqing should be wrapping up by now and waited. But ten minutes passed, and Lu Youqing didn’t reply. She waited patiently for another twenty minutes. When the hour hand moved fully into the dead of night and there was still no reply, she was done waiting.

Yan He knit her brows tightly. Her growing unease was magnified by the silence of the night. She made a split-second decision and called Lu Youqing.

The ringing tone echoed through the room. But when the song ended and the call timed out, there was no answer. She tried several more times, but there was still no response. Her heart pounded like a drum against her ribs, but she forced herself to breathe and stay calm.

Maybe she’s just filming and hasn’t seen the messages. Nothing could have happened.

Yan He’s brow was deeply furrowed. For the first time, she truly felt the weight Lu Youqing held in her heart. It wasn’t about anything else; a single unanswered call and an unreplied message were enough to make her panic.

Unable to contain her fear any longer, she called Lin Le. She had saved Lin Le’s number back at the hospital; she hadn’t expected to need it so soon.

This time, the call was finally answered after several dozen seconds. Hearing Lin Le’s voice, Yan He finally felt a sense of stability.

“Xiao Lin, is Lu Youqing with you?” It was the exact same script as that time at the hospital, except this time, she wasn’t helpless and spinning like a fly.

“CEO Lu, she…” Lin Le sounded hesitant on the other end, unsure whether to speak.

“What happened to her? Don’t be afraid, just tell me.” She tried to make her voice sound steady.

Sure enough, Lin Le took a deep breath and said, “CEO Lu was injured slightly while filming just now. She’s at the hospital.”

Injured?

Yan He’s breath hitched. She blurted out a string of questions: “What happened to her? Does it hurt? Where is she hurt? Is it serious?” Several questions at once made it hard for Lin Le to keep up.

“Her arm accidentally brushed against a prop car during filming. There was some bleeding, and she’s getting it bandaged at the hospital now. It’s not serious, don’t worry.”

The comfort didn’t ease Yan He’s mind; it only made her more anxious. She stood rooted to the spot, her eyes dark and silent. Lin Le, thinking the line had gone dead, called her name a few times.

“Xiao Lin, don’t tell Lu Youqing I called you. She’s injured; she should rest properly,” Yan He said, her voice low.

Lin Le: “Okay, Miss Yan, I understand. I’ll go check on CEO Lu now. Goodbye, Miss Yan.”

After hanging up, Yan He stared deeply at the chat history with Lu Youqing. Her amber eyes were as gloomy as the night itself. She booked the earliest flight out and put down her phone to pack her things.

Last time at the hospital, she had been unable to do anything but wait. She didn’t want to feel that anxiety again. This time, she would find Lu Youqing herself.

Yan He quickly packed. Simultaneously, her phone buzzed. It was a reply from Lu Youqing.

Lu Youqing: 【Sorry A-He, I was so tired I fell asleep. I didn’t get to message you in time.】 Lu Youqing: 【Will A-He forgive me? (crying face)】

Yan He looked at the message. Lu Youqing hadn’t mentioned her injury. Her heart felt as if it had sunk to the bottom of a lake. She couldn’t help but think: if she had really gone to sleep early today, would she have never known Lu Youqing was hurt?

It felt like a giant hand was squeezing her heart, making it hard to breathe. Yan He gripped her phone, her resolve to find her firm.

Lu Youqing hadn’t told her about being hurt, and she wouldn’t tell Lu Youqing she was coming. They were even.

Dragging her suitcase to the door, Yan He looked up at the second floor of the villa shrouded in darkness. After a moment of hesitation, she finally turned back.

She went to the study for the key, returned to the second floor, and opened the locked drawer. Yan He took out the leather collar and the cold, silver object. She thought to herself: if Lu Youqing got hurt on set again, she would “shackle” her back home even if she had to do it by force.