After Rebirth, My Ex-Girlfriend Became Obsessive - Chapter 16

An Yu met her tender gaze, and deep within her eyes, ripples of emotion slowly gathered. The flickering firelight danced between them, making it impossible for either to discern the true feelings hidden in the other’s eyes.

Then, almost imperceptibly, An Yu shifted her gaze away, calmly fixing it on the cup in front of her. The firelight cast shifting shadows across her face, blurring the reality of her expression.

Xie An’an glanced between the two, silently taking in the scene before raising her glass for a light sip. She understood.

They must have fought.

An Yu lifted her cup, downed the drink in one go, and then stood up. “The barbecue should be ready. I’ll go check.”

As she walked toward the grill, her eyes inadvertently landed on Lin Duxi, who sat on a chair staring into the bonfire. Though night had already fallen, she could still see the strands of Lin Duxi’s hair swaying in the breeze and her slightly lowered lashes.

The flames of the bonfire leaped in Lin Duxi’s eyes as she stared blankly at the fire. The sturdy armor she usually wore had been shed, revealing a fragile vulnerability beneath. A deep sorrow lingered in her gaze.

As if she had been abandoned and lost everything.

An Yu frowned, unsettled by her own thoughts. She walked past Lin Duxi and stopped by the grill, mechanically flipping the skewers while lost in thought.

Lin Duxi was distracted. She had been pondering An Yu’s unusual behavior all day but couldn’t find a solid reason. The feeling of taking one step forward only to be yanked back again, endlessly circling without reaching a resolution, filled her with frustration. Suddenly, memories of those suffocating, endless nights surged back. She took slow, deep breaths, suppressing the pain, but couldn’t stop herself from furrowing her brows.

She looked up, urgently searching for something. When her eyes landed on An Yu standing by the grill, focused on the barbecue, her expression softened.

At least A-Yu is still here with her. As long as they were together, she could find a way to make An Yu love her again, crave her again-just like before.

They would always be together, inseparable, loving each other forever. After the storm came the light-that’s what A-Yu had once told her, and she had always believed it.

A-Yu wouldn’t lie to her.

Lin Duxi’s eyes gradually darkened, as if sinking into an endless abyss where all her shadowed thoughts were swallowed by the depths, leaving only calm, undisturbed stillness on the surface.

A pair of slender, jade-white hands suddenly appeared in An Yu’s line of sight, pulling her from her thoughts. She looked up to see Lin Duxi smiling gently at her, extending her hand as if today’s earlier tension had never happened-either forgotten or deliberately buried.

“Teacher An, may I try your cooking?” Lin Duxi teased lightly.

Does she always regain her composure this quickly?  An Yu wondered. She picked out a perfectly cooked skewer and handed it to Lin Duxi.

Lin Duxi accepted it happily, standing beside her as she ate, watching An Yu’s deft movements with sparkling eyes.

Xie An’an, noticing An Yu’s skill, shamelessly asked for a skewer as well. Soon, An Yu went from grilling just for herself to preparing food for all six of them.

An Yu glanced at the filming crew and understood. Given her status in the industry, no matter how unwilling she was, she couldn’t refuse the others’ requests. But since she didn’t want to engage much with them anyway, having this quiet task suited her just fine.

By the bonfire, the others chattered away, sharing stories about their careers or their ideal types in relationships. The atmosphere was lively.

Pei Lu, emboldened by the mood and the alcohol, kept stealing glances at Lin Duxi as he spoke, dropping heavy hints that she was his ideal type. The barrage of shipping comments flooded the livestream, and the others present picked up on his meaning-though the subject of his admiration remained lost in thought.

Lin Duxi sat slightly apart from the bonfire, close enough to engage in occasional conversation but distant enough to avoid prolonged interaction. She turned her gaze toward An Yu at the grill. At first, it was just occasional glances, but soon she was staring openly, lost in thought.

“Teacher Lin, Teacher Lin.” Xie An’an called softly.

Lin Duxi snapped back to reality, offering a polite yet distant smile. “Yes?”

“We were just talking about our ideal types. What’s yours?” Xie An’an asked, hoping Lin Duxi would describe someone exactly like An Yu, discouraging Pei Lu’s advances.

Lin Duxi merely smiled without answering, then slowly stood up. Under everyone’s expectant gazes, she walked over to An Yu.

“Teacher An, let me help you.” Without waiting for a response, she took the tongs from An Yu’s hand. Their fingers brushed briefly, creating an intimate moment-fleeting but unmistakably captured by the cameras.

The simple action closed the distance between them. Though neither made any overtly inappropriate moves, their body language radiated undeniable chemistry to the audience and viewers.

Under the swaying trees, the silver moonlight cast their intertwined shadows, as if forming a natural barrier that isolated them in their own world.

[The silence speaks louder than words! I’m shipping it!]

[Did Lin Duxi say anything? No. Did she make it obvious? Not really. Some things are better left unsaid!]

[Who was shipping Pei Lu and Lin Duxi earlier? This is way better-the real deal is feeding us sugar directly!]

[You really think these two have nothing going on? Might as well believe I’ll finish my 10,000-word thesis overnight.]

The comments shifted rapidly, with fans of the pair sprouting up like bamboo after rain. This time, Lin Duxi herself had served the sweetness-who could resist?

The evening breeze was cool, rustling the leaves, but An Yu didn’t feel any relief. The air around her grew stifling as Lin Duxi’s presence pressed in, radiating warmth like a living furnace. An Yu’s movements grew sluggish, her skin sticky with sweat.

Lin Duxi, however, acted as if nothing were amiss, casually tending to the barbecue while chatting with An Yu in a voice too soft for the others to hear. Their microphones had conveniently been removed, ensuring their conversation remained private.

“A-Yu, you didn’t want me to go earlier, did you?” Her tone was questioning, but her certainty was absolute.

An Yu’s hand paused. “…No.”

Lin Duxi chuckled, the sound teasing in An Yu’s ears. “But I never said what I was referring to. A-Yu seems to know exactly what I mean.”

An Yu’s pupils dilated slightly. She pressed her lips together but didn’t respond. Lin Duxi continued.

“Earlier, they were talking about their ideal types. You must have heard, right? Do you know what mine is? You definitely do. A-Yu, don’t be angry anymore, okay?”

Even knowing the cameras were trained on them-that their lips could be read-she still spoke these words. She just wanted to trade her sincerity for a sliver of An Yu’s trust. Just a little would be enough.

An Yu stopped flipping the skewers. Then, with a faint smile, she murmured something so quietly it was almost lost in the crackling of the fire. Lin Duxi strained to hear, anxious, sensing that An Yu’s words might hold the key to bridging the gap between them. But An Yu gave no further reaction, simply handing her a freshly grilled skewer.

Lin Duxi reached out dazedly, fingers just about to close around it when-

BANG!

A violent crash shattered the backyard’s tranquility.

An Yu startled, looking up to see Yu Fei standing awkwardly by the glass door, waving apologetically at the group.

“Sorry, everyone! Didn’t mean to slam the door so hard.”

An Yu turned away, but out of the corner of her eye, she caught Lin Duxi’s trembling frame and dazed expression. By the time she looked back, Lin Duxi had already schooled her features back to normal.

She accepted the skewer from An Yu without further protest, murmuring a quiet thanks before walking away.

The charcoal continued to crackle. An Yu stared into the glowing embers, the flames reflected in her deep, unreadable eyes.