After Rebirth, My Ex-Girlfriend Became Obsessive - Chapter 109

She didn’t know how many days she had been holed up at home. Apart from eating and sleeping, the only thing An Yu did was crouch by the head of her bed, watching the opposite wall shift from white to black.

Time seemed to have lost all meaning to her. The only thing An Yu could feel was the throbbing pain in her heart-until, at some point, she no longer knew whether it had faded into acceptance or simply numbed into nothingness.

These past few days, whenever her parents brought her food, they couldn’t help but scrutinize her condition. Seeing their daughter grow thinner and her mental state deteriorate day by day, their hearts ached too. They even began to doubt whether their decision had been the right one.

But what was done was done. An Yu and Lin Duxi had already broken up-that was an indisputable fact.

So, after discussing it with An Yu, they decided to move abroad earlier than originally planned.

An Yu had no objections. She didn’t care at all about leaving the country. It was as if only an empty shell remained in her chest, devoid of any interest in anything.

Every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was Lin Duxi’s face. An Yu could no longer feel herself. She knew this was withdrawal, but she hadn’t expected the pain to be so unbearable or the process to drag on for so long.

Tomorrow, she would leave this place. An Yu got up and began packing her things, only to stumble upon a box of paintings she had made for Lin Duxi in the past. She stared at them all afternoon, not snapping out of her daze until dusk, when she finally wiped her tears and continued packing.

The villa was dark, eerily silent, as if she were the only one there. An Yu called out for her parents a few times but got no response. Puzzled, she pushed open the door to their room.

Jiangcheng City People’s Hospital.  Despite the late hour, the hospital was unusually chaotic. Doctors and nurses rushed a stretcher into the emergency room, leaving a lone girl barred outside. Despairing, she slumped against the wall, trembling as she slid to the floor.

She didn’t know how much time had passed before the red light above the emergency room finally dimmed. The creak of the door opening made An Yu jerk her head up-her bloodshot eyes startled the doctor.

“They’re stable now and can be transferred to a ward. What your parents need most is rest. You should get some sleep too,” the doctor reassured her.

All the tension drained from An Yu’s body. She staggered to her feet, only for her legs to give out again. Fortunately, the butler caught her as she murmured a weak “Thank you.”

Once her parents were wheeled into the ward, the butler swiftly arranged for a caretaker. After ensuring everything was in order, he turned to take An Yu home-only to realize the girl who had just been standing by the window, staring at the hospital bed, had already vanished.

An Yu fled to a bathroom stall, where she finally let everything out, trembling uncontrollably.

For a moment, she had truly believed she was going to lose them.

After the overwhelming relief came an endless, gnawing fear. She couldn’t bear to revisit those moments in her mind.

But they were okay. That was all that mattered.

An Yu stayed in the bathroom for half an hour. By the time she cleaned herself up and stepped out, the hallway had returned to its usual quiet.

Her legs were numb from crouching for so long. Leaning against the wall for support, she made her way back to her parents’ ward.

On a bench along the corridor sat a haggard-looking woman, her head buried in her hands as she sighed deeply.

An Yu glanced at her as she passed, about to look away-when her gaze suddenly froze.

The deputy director of the orphanage sat in the hallway, sighing incessantly.  What’s going on lately? Why is our orphanage hit with one misfortune after another?

Her thoughts were a tangled mess, only growing more chaotic the more she tried to sort them out. She lifted her head-only to be met with an unexpected face.

“Xiao An, are you here to see Xiaoxi?” The deputy director had no idea about the breakup between An Yu and Lin Duxi. In her eyes, they were still the closest of friends.

An Yu’s heart lurched as if pierced by a needle. She instinctively wanted to deny it, but just as the words were about to leave her lips, a horrifying realization struck her.

“Lin Duxi? What’s wrong with her?” Her voice was hoarse, her lips trembling-even she was shocked by how broken she sounded.

The deputy director studied her. The girl’s thin short-sleeved shirt seemed inadequate against the chill of the long night, her lips pale and her eyes red-rimmed-clearly, she had been through something terrible too. With another heavy sigh, the woman stood and led An Yu into a nearby ward.

The moment the door opened, An Yu’s gaze locked onto the frail figure lying on the hospital bed-a girl in a patient’s gown, an IV drip in her arm, her skin deathly pale.

An Yu’s eyes widened in disbelief. She could hardly process what she was seeing.

“Xiaoxi had a high fever, but for some reason, she refused to tell anyone or take any medicine. She just locked herself in her room, letting herself waste away. The doctor said if they hadn’t found her in time, she might have really…” The deputy director’s voice cracked. She leaned against the wall, choking back sobs, unable to finish.

An Yu felt something stir in her long-numbed, battered heart-each rise and fall of the unconscious girl’s breath was like a knife twisting deeper, carving her open anew.

How? How could this happen?  Just days ago, Lin Duxi had been the one coldly ending things between them. How could she now look so fragile, like a sheet of paper on the verge of crumbling?

The relentless shocks of the past day left An Yu unable to think. Moving as if in a trance, she stepped closer to the bed. Her hand trembled as she reached out, hovering just above Lin Duxi’s face, tracing the lines of her cheeks and brows in the air.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she caught the glint of a bracelet-its violet rose pattern reflecting light so sharply it stung.

An Yu froze.

The deputy director noticed her reaction. Remembering the state An Yu had been in earlier-clearly, she too had suffered something traumatic-she gently said, “It’s late, Xiao An. You should get some rest. I’ll stay with Xiaoxi. She’ll be alright.”

An Yu withdrew her hand, her eyes lingering on Lin Duxi’s pallid face.

“Please let me know when she wakes up. I’ll come see her tomorrow morning.” Her voice was hollow as she mechanically turned and walked away.

At the doorway, she paused, casting one last glance at the girl on the bed-as if searing her image into her mind, imprinting it onto her heart.

An Yu returned to her parents’ ward, spending the rest of the night slumped in the hallway, her mind a haze of exhaustion. The events of the past few days replayed over and over in her head, a tangled mess that only grew more convoluted the more she tried to make sense of it. She managed only two hours of fitful sleep before dawn.

When she woke, her parents were already conscious. The moment she saw them, tears welled up again. After questioning them, she learned the truth: overwhelmed by their company’s bankruptcy, they had momentarily lost hope and chosen a desperate way out.

Thankfully, they had been saved.

An Yu was furious to death and warned them not to entertain any more nonsensical ideas.

Later, the nursing staff arrived, and the doctor checked their conditions again to ensure they were fine-just in need of more rest. Satisfied, An Yu left.

She went downstairs to clear her mind when the aroma of food hit her. Only then did she realize she hadn’t eaten anything all day.

An Yu entered a restaurant and was about to order when her hand paused. In the end, she only asked for a portion of congee to take away.

Back at the hospital, An Yu’s grip on the congee tightened as she wrestled with her thoughts.  Why am I bringing food for Lin Duxi? We’ve already broken up. Isn’t this just asking for trouble?

An Yu felt like she was out of her mind-and so was Lin Duxi.  Didn’t we break up? Then why is she still holding onto that bracelet I threw back at her? Is she reminiscing about her ex?

I’m not even dead yet!

Along the way, An Yu cycled through confusion, anger, and finally-unwillingly-pity at the thought of Lin Duxi’s pale face. By the time she reached the hospital room door, her anger had completely dissipated.

An Yu tilted her body slightly and peered through the glass window of the room. Lin Duxi was already awake, sitting on the bed with her head lowered, doing something An Yu couldn’t quite see.

From her angle, An Yu couldn’t make out the exact action, but she clearly caught the faint glimmer in Lin Duxi’s dark eyes-like the last surviving blade of grass on parched land, one that was on the verge of withering. An Yu’s heart ached faintly.

Perhaps her gaze was too intense, because Lin Duxi, who had been looking down, suddenly raised her eyes. Their stares collided mid-air, and both froze.

An Yu stiffened, instinctively wanting to look away, but the scalding heat of the congee in her hand snapped her back to reality. She exhaled, inexplicably nervous, and forced a cold expression before pushing the door open.

Lin Duxi’s gaze had been fixed on An Yu since that moment, tracking her movements like a puppet controlled by her presence, watching dazedly as she drew closer.

An Yu’s face warmed. No matter how hard she tried to ignore it, Lin Duxi’s undisguised stare was impossible to overlook. She cursed herself inwardly for being so weak but maintained her icy facade.

“The deputy dean asked me to come,” An Yu said coldly.

With practiced indifference, she set the congee on the bedside table, opened the bag, and was about to lift the lid when her frosty expression nearly cracked at the sight of the bracelet in Lin Duxi’s hand.

So that’s what she was looking at.

An Yu grew even more puzzled, mixed with resentment and anger. But one glance at Lin Duxi’s frail state made her decide to hold off on questioning for now.

“The deputy dean bought this for you. Drink it.” She handed the congee over, expecting Lin Duxi to take it.

Lin Duxi didn’t move. In fact, she hadn’t moved a muscle since An Yu entered the room. Only her wide eyes remained locked onto her, filled with shock and disbelief.

It’s A-Yu… A-Yu came to see her.

The person she thought she’d never see again had suddenly appeared beside her. The surrealness of it left her dazed-so much so that she didn’t even register what An Yu had said.

An Yu stared at her dumbstruck expression, and all her anger melted into exasperation. She opened the congee, scooped a spoonful, and held it to Lin Duxi’s lips.

“Drink.” Her tone was stiff, the forced coldness barely holding.

Lin Duxi snapped back to reality. Her lips touched the scalding spoon, and she parted them to swallow the congee, her eyes never leaving An Yu’s face. Her pupils trembled slightly, her demeanor uncharacteristically docile.

Seeing her actually drink it, An Yu panicked slightly. She had deliberately served it hot, not bothering to check the temperature. Worried, she quickly scooped another spoonful and, without thinking, brought it to her own mouth-only to wince at the burn.

Lin Duxi watched her reaction and couldn’t help but smile, her exhaustion instantly softening into warmth.

An Yu swallowed the congee and exhaled sharply. “How could you drink something this hot?”

Lin Duxi only smiled in response, still too stunned by An Yu’s sudden appearance to fully process anything else.

An Yu, now cautious, went to scoop more congee when she suddenly realized something was off.

This spoon… Lin Duxi used it. Then I used it. Doesn’t that mean we… indirectly…?

But we’ve already broken up! Isn’t this inappropriate? But there’s only one spoon-what else am I supposed to use?

An Yu’s head throbbed with frustration.  I shouldn’t have taken that bite! Now I’m stuck!

She shot a glance at Lin Duxi, who was still gazing at her tenderly, her attention never straying to the spoon.  She probably didn’t notice,  An Yu thought. So, feigning nonchalance, she scooped another spoonful, blew on it, and brought it to Lin Duxi’s lips.

“The deputy dean said you have to finish it all. Drink up.”

Lin Duxi’s eyes curved as she obediently took another sip.

Author’s Note:

Since An Yu’s parents’ deaths were caused by system interference, in this alternate timeline, they don’t die. Little An and Little Lin get to focus on their relationship-because our motto is:  Fluff and sweetness!