After Losing My Memory, I Was Targeted by the Obsessive Movie Queen [gl] - Chapter 44

“Ms. Yan.”

Yan He stared at the contact name on the screen, momentarily dazed. So far, the only person she knew through Lu Youqing with the surname “Yan” was herself. So, this person on the phone was…

Just then, Lu Youqing opened the bathroom door and walked out. When she saw the name on the phone, she froze for an instant just like Yan He. She immediately took the phone, cast a complex look at Yan He, and answered.

“Auntie.” Her voice was still raspy; she even startled herself when she spoke. Her face flushed slightly, but fortunately, her professional poise as an actress allowed her to adjust quickly. She continued, maintaining a composed expression. “Is something the matter?”

Listening to Lu Youqing speak, Yan He instinctively shuddered. This was her first real contact with her mother since losing her memory. Furthermore, hearing Lu Youqing’s voice so hoarse made the situation feel incredibly awkward. Even just listening to the other side of the conversation, she felt her heart rate climb, her ears straining to catch any sound.

Lu Youqing didn’t use the speakerphone. Yan He couldn’t hear her mother’s voice, so she could only watch Lu Youqing with trepidation.

Lu Youqing glanced at Yan He. “Yes, A-He is right beside me.”

Yan He’s heart leaped into her throat, leaving her at a loss. Just as she was bracing herself to take the phone and wondering what to say, Lu Youqing hung up. She looked at Yan He and let out a soft sigh.

Yan He’s heart was pounding. “Did my mom say something?” Having no memories, her impression of “Mother” was just a hollow word; she couldn’t conjure a face to match it. She worried about her mother’s reaction to their relationship, yet felt a biological urge to be close to this woman she had technically never met.

Lu Youqing walked over and lingeringly stroked the red marks around Yan He’s neck. “It looks like we’ll have to spend some time tomorrow covering these up.” She sighed again. It was a pity; she hadn’t finished admiring them yet.

“What?” Yan He’s neck felt ticklish, but she endured it without pulling away. “What did my mother say?”

Lu Youqing looked at her. “Mother said she’s returning to the country tomorrow. We are to go pick her up.”

Returning to the country?

Yan He asked instinctively, “Is she coming to see me?”

Lu Youqing suddenly smiled. “Although she said she’s coming back to see old friends, I think Mother is really coming for you.”

Yan He’s eyes brightened, and she couldn’t help but smile. For some reason, she felt a strange mix of emotions regarding her impending meeting with her mother—excitement mingled with intense nervousness.

Lu Youqing’s fair hand moved from her neck to her cheek, cupping her face and leaning in close. “It’s okay. I’m here. Nothing will happen,” she whispered, soothing Yan He’s tension.

For the rest of the day, they didn’t return to the film set. They stayed in the hotel, and Lu Youqing told Yan He much about her mother, Yan Suyi.

Ms. Yan was a director of a company in Wucheng. She had gone to work when Yan He was very young, so their relationship wasn’t close. In high school, because Yan He and Lu Youqing were best friends, Lu Youqing had spent a significant amount of time with Yan Suyi and understood her deeply.

Yan He’s relationship with her mother had always been strained, reaching a freezing point after the college entrance exams. Lu Youqing had spent years playing the mediator between mother and daughter.

“Fighting?” Yan He knit her brows. She was lying sideways with her head on Lu Youqing’s lap, half-awake and drifting on the soft sofa.

Lu Youqing sat looking down at her, her calm eyes full of smiles as the twilight cast shadows across her features. “Mm,” she replied, tucking a stray hair behind Yan He’s ear. “After the exams, you and Ms. Yan had a disagreement over your choice of university major. You parted on bad terms. Ms. Yan went abroad for ‘recuperation’ because of it.”

Lu Youqing spoke concisely, though the reality was far worse. Because her mother tried to control her into a major she hated, Yan He almost had nowhere to go to school. After a compromise was reached, Yan Suyi flew abroad and drastically reduced contact with her daughter.

Yan He, the protagonist of the story, opened her eyes and sat up. “Recuperation? Was my mom sick?”

A-He without her memory is truly adorable, Lu Youqing thought as she hugged her comfortingly. “No, she was just physically weak after years of overwork. And since your conflict at the time was irreconcilable, going abroad was the best way to avoid further clashing.”

“I see.” Yan He leaned against her shoulder, her voice muffled. “Then… what should I say when I see her?”

Lu Youqing: “You don’t need to say anything. Mother knows about your condition. She’s coming just to see you.”

Otherwise, Yan Suyi wouldn’t have asked them to pick her up. After all these years, the anger over the past had long dissipated. Most of Yan Suyi’s calls to Lu Youqing were indirect inquiries about Yan He. And Yan He, over the last two years, would often wake up from nightmares crying for her mother while Lu Youqing held her. It was just that the initial fallout had been so massive that neither mother nor daughter was willing to be the first to bow their head.

Yan He and Yan Suyi were cut from the same cloth. If Yan He hadn’t lost her memory, their pride would have ensured that Yan Suyi still wouldn’t let Yan He pick her up.

Lu Youqing held Yan He, stroking her back. Her gaze was as deep as a dark lake. Her thoughts drifted back to a summer many years ago. It had been quiet and dim. Yan He had curled into her arms; in the vast world, the only person she could rely on was Lu Youqing. She only had her.

Lu Youqing didn’t tell Yan He that, back then, there were better ways to resolve the conflict besides going abroad. But she hadn’t said a word. She had simply held the trembling, sobbing Yan He in the dark of the night and told her: “It’s okay. You still have me.”

The next day at Chengdong Airport, Yan He and Lu Youqing arrived early at the arrivals gate. When a woman’s silhouette appeared in the distance, Yan He’s heart stopped. Without thinking, purely by instinct, she knew this was her mother.

She gripped Lu Youqing’s hand tightly, swallowing hard as nerves flooded her. Lu Youqing squeezed back, patting the back of her hand comfortingly, before stepping forward with a gentle smile.

“Mom,” she said politely, taking the woman’s suitcase.

“Little Lu, thank you for your trouble.” Yan Suyi took off her sunglasses and looked at the two of them. Her gaze lingered on Yan He. Yan He quickly followed suit.

“Mother,” she said obediently.

Yan Suyi froze for a second. Her lips twitched as she suppressed an instinctive smile. She handed her sunglasses to an assistant and said, “Let’s go.”

Lu Youqing drove, with the assistant in the passenger seat, leaving the mother and daughter alone in the back. Yan Suyi was exhausted from the journey and leaned against the window to rest. Yan He sat on the other side, stealing glances at her.

She had seen photos of Yan Suyi on Lu Youqing’s phone and thought her an ageless beauty, but seeing her in person, the sight of her wrinkles made Yan He’s heart ache. Her eyes grew red as she watched her.

She turned away and secretly wiped her tears. I must really love my mom, she thought. Even knowing they had fought, even forgetting the details, she still felt an overwhelming biological closeness to Yan Suyi.

“Stop crying.” A tissue appeared in front of her. Yan He looked up; Yan Suyi’s eyes were also a bit red.

“Your mother isn’t dead yet. What are you crying for?” Yan Suyi said.

Yan He took the tissue, but the more she wiped, the more her tears fell. She couldn’t control them, yet she still managed to whisper a protest: “Don’t say things like that.”

Sometimes emotions are strange like that. The awkwardness between mother and daughter vanished with those few words. Yan He slowly leaned in and rested her head on her mother’s shoulder, closing her eyes in peace.

They returned to Yan He’s childhood home. Lu Youqing had already hired someone to clean it, so it was ready for them. It was Yan He’s first time back in the house where she had lived for over a decade, and everything felt both familiar and alien.

Yan Suyi’s room was ready, and due to her exhaustion and weak health, she went up to rest early. Yan He and Lu Youqing took another tour of the house.

“Does it feel familiar?” Lu Youqing asked.

“Familiar yet strange. A very warm feeling.” They entered Yan He’s old bedroom. The layout had never changed. The bookshelves were still filled with high school texts; there were even open books and university application forms on the desk. Sunlight spilled through the window, coating everything in a faint gold.

It looked as if the owner had just stepped out for a meal and would be back any minute. But Yan He had been gone for seven years.

After Yan He left, Yan Suyi never touched a thing. she kept the room exactly as it was, only hiring someone to dust it occasionally, waiting for the day Yan He would return home. Even after seven years abroad, she never stopped monitoring the house’s security and power.

Looking at the room, Yan He felt her footsteps grow heavy. She moved inside step by step, and a sharp, stinging pain radiated from deep in her mind. she knit her brows in pain.

Lu Youqing quickly massaged her head and helped her sit on the bed. “Don’t think about it. Be good, look at me. Relax.” Her voice was full of worry, like the softest moonlight in the deep night. Yan He leaned into her, waiting for the pain to pass.

After a long while, the icy tide in Yan He’s mind receded. she opened her eyes to meet Lu Youqing’s worried gaze, her heart overflowing with love.

“I’m fine,” she whispered through pale lips. she sat up and pulled the red-eyed, frightened Lu Youqing into her arms. They held each other in a close embrace.

Feeling the warmth of the woman before her, Lu Youqing’s panic over Yan He recovering her memory began to fade. she nuzzled into Yan He’s neck, breathing in her scent. The marks she had left on Yan He’s neck were still there, though hidden under foundation.

Suddenly, Yan He pulled back. Lu Youqing looked up in confusion to see Yan He’s eyes sparkling. “I remembered something!”

Lu Youqing’s heart stopped. “What?” she asked instinctively, her tone anything but pleasant.

Fortunately, Yan He was too excited to notice. she sat up and pulled open a desk drawer, rummaging through a thick workbook. “Found it!” she cried out, pulling a yellowed photo from between the pages and handing it to Lu Youqing like a treasure.

Lu Youqing froze as she took the photo. It was a picture of her and Yan He in their school uniforms, taken against the wall of this very room. The girl in the photo had two buttons of her uniform undone, exposing her fair skin; her lips were red, and her eyes were misty as she gazed at the girl beside her. Yan He was looking at the camera with a shy, happy smile, a trace of a romantic red mark on her lip. Even the aging of the photo couldn’t hide the pure affection between the two girls.

Despite the years, the memories of those youthful days rushed back to Lu Youqing like a tide.

“I remember! This was the ‘reward’ you gave me after I passed a mock exam for Qinghua University—a photo taken right after we kissed,” Yan He said with a laugh. “I used it as a bookmark in my math workbook to motivate me to study.”

She was laughing happily, delighted to have remembered such a loving memory. Seeing Lu Youqing’s dazed expression, she leaned in closer, her hair swaying.

“By the way, in my memory, the scenes of us studying are all here at home. And I’m never wearing a uniform. Did I not go to school? What happened then?” she asked curiously.

Lu Youqing finally pulled her gaze from the photo. she looked at Yan He with a deep, calculating stare. After a moment of thought, she spoke slowly.

“During the winter break, you got injured and were hospitalized for a long time. Your mother arranged for you to study at home.” Lu Youqing was carefully choosing her words to avoid triggering the “bad” memories, but Yan He’s focus was elsewhere.

“So, you came here after school to tutor me?”

Lu Youqing paused. “In a way, yes.” If living and eating at Yan He’s house and secretly sleeping in the same bed many nights counts as ‘after school’, then yes.

“Really? Then I guess that was a blessing in disguise,” Yan He said with a smile.

Lu Youqing was infected by her smile and reached out to tap her nose. “You… you really are something.”

She laughed along, but her mind uncontrollably slipped back to that winter—that bone-chilling afternoon.

She remembered that day vividly. Because she and Yan He had planned a trip for the next day, her backpack was full: Yan He’s favorite candies, her favorite snacks, her favorite water, and the music box Yan He had given her. She had fantasized about sitting with Yan He on a mountaintop at night, listening to the music box together.

But things didn’t go as planned. When the name “Zhao Lei” appeared in her head, she was momentarily confused about who he was, before realizing he was the person who had been expelled for spreading rumors that she had cheated.

She didn’t remember the specifics of what was said, but apparently, after being expelled, Zhao Lei had been rejected by several other schools. He later found out the Yan family had intervened. He was furious; he didn’t dare cross the Yans, but he could vent his rage on Lu Youqing, whose family had gone bankrupt.

During a scuffle, Lu Youqing’s bag was snatched and the zipper torn open. The small, exquisite music box fell out. For an instant, Lu Youqing’s world stopped. She didn’t remember the details, but when she came to, she was covered in blood. Not her own, but Yan He’s.

Yan He was in her arms, shivering uncontrollably. Blood was pouring from her head, quickly soaking Lu Youqing’s white dress. The smell of blood mingled with Yan He’s faint fragrance. Lu Youqing’s blood felt frozen; her mind was a total blank.

The metal pipe clattered to the ground, rolling to her feet. Her world turned black and white.

Later, Zhao Lei fled. Yan He was rushed to the emergency room and was unconscious for a whole week. The crack in the music box was irreparable; it would never play a melody again. That day became a day of despair that Lu Youqing never dared to recall.

Pulling herself back to the present, she saw Yan He still talking non-stop about her memories—how Lu Youqing wouldn’t let her kiss her if she didn’t do her math right, how the air felt like pink bubbles when they studied together.

Lu Youqing looked at her, and unable to resist her pounding heart and surging love, she sealed Yan He’s lips with a kiss.

Yan He froze, seeing a tear fall from the corner of Lu Youqing’s eye. It felt as if a hole had opened in her chest. She closed her eyes and immersed herself in the kiss.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Yan Suyi’s voice drifted through. “The nanny has finished dinner. Let’s eat together.”

The two broke apart, their foreheads pressed together, their breaths mingling.

Hearing her mother, Yan He cleared her throat. “We’re coming, Mother.” Her voice was raspy; fortunately, Yan Suyi didn’t suspect anything and walked away.

Looking at Lu Youqing again, Yan He realized their positions had shifted. Lu Youqing was now straddling her, her misty eyes full of moisture and her lips reddened, looking as if she had been teased to the point of tears.

Yan He couldn’t help but reach up to wipe the moisture from Lu Youqing’s lip. Pressing her forehead against the other woman’s, she smiled. “Mother is calling us to eat.”

Lu Youqing pursed her lips, her soft tongue brushing against Yan He’s fingertip. A jolt of electricity seemed to spark between them, and both froze.

Afraid they would start kissing again, they quickly got up, adjusted their clothes, and walked out. Downstairs, Yan Suyi was already at the table.

“You’re here.” She scanned the two of them with a faint smile. “Come and eat. The food is getting cold. I have no idea what you two were doing in that room.”

Yan He’s footsteps faltered, and she guiltily touched her neck.

They sat down and ate in silence. Yan Suyi watched the strange atmosphere between them and couldn’t help but smile. Yan He was already feeling guilty, and that smile caused her to choke on her water. She set the glass down and coughed.

Lu Youqing immediately dropped her chopsticks to pat her back, her voice full of worry. “Are you okay? Did you choke? Take a breath.” It was an instinctive physical reaction without a hint of acting.

Yan Suyi’s hand, which she had started to reach out, slowly dropped. she looked at Lu Youqing, her eyes (which were quite similar to Yan He’s) crinkling in a smile of relief.

Yan He and Lu Youqing had been together for six years; she had always known about their relationship. Over the years, she had seen how well Lu Youqing treated Yan He. Thinking about it, she suddenly recalled the first time she had ever seen Lu Youqing. That meeting was anything but pleasant.

She remembered she had been abroad for a business meeting. When she got the call from the hospital, it was late at night. Despite booking the first flight home, by the time she reached the hospital, it had been over ten hours since Yan He was admitted. She met Lu Youqing in the hallway outside the ER.

On such a cold day, Lu Youqing was wearing a thin white dress stained with dried blood. She was sitting on the floor, curled up with her knees to her chest. Her disheveled hair partially hid a face that was as white as paper. Her eyes were vacant, and she was shivering uncontrollably, like a lily in a bitter wind about to wither.

She had sat there alone for over ten hours. The temperature in the hallway was below freezing, yet she wore only that thin dress and hadn’t closed her eyes for a second.

Yan Suyi had learned on the plane that Yan He had been hit with a metal pipe while trying to save this girl. But seeing Lu Youqing, the anger she had felt for the last ten hours suddenly had nowhere to go.

Lu Youqing noticed her, looked up briefly, then buried her head back in her knees, staring fixedly at the red light above the ER door.

Eventually, the light went out. When the doctor walked out, Yan Suyi saw Lu Youqing struggle to stand by leaning against the wall. Like a straight pine tree, her lips trembled as she tried to speak, but she couldn’t form a sentence. She just stared at the doctor.

When the doctor announced Yan He was out of danger, the “pine tree” snapped. Lu Youqing lost all her strength and collapsed directly onto the floor, completely unconscious.

Later, when Lu Youqing was placed in a bed, Yan Suyi saw that she also had various injuries. The wound on her arm was so deep she could see the bone, yet she had endured it for those ten hours until the bleeding stopped on its own.

After that, Yan He was unconscious for a week. Yan Suyi had to return to work, so she hired a nanny to care for her daughter, only for the nanny to tell her that all her work had been “stolen” by a young girl.

From the moment Lu Youqing woke up, she ignored the doctor’s orders to rest. She stayed in Yan He’s room, sitting on a chair like a statue, watching Yan He and waiting for her to wake. Except for eating and changing her dressings, she was by Yan He’s side every single moment—from day to night, and night to day.