After Rebirth, My Ex-Girlfriend Became Obsessive - Chapter 2

“Lin Duxi? Why me if it’s her?” An Yu asked without much emotion.

[What, does the host still have feelings for her?]  The system retorted irritably.

“Not at all,” An Yu replied. “It’s just that we haven’t been in contact for years. If you’re looking for a matchmaker, shouldn’t you find someone close to her-like a friend or her agent? Why me, an old classmate who hasn’t spoken to her in forever?”

[No need to worry about that. Since the host has already agreed, let’s get on with the mission. Being reborn isn’t an excuse to laze around in bed.]

An Yu got up and finally took a proper look around the room. It was clearly a hotel suite, but far more luxurious than average.

She pushed open the bedroom door and hopped out on one foot.

“Hello? My savior? Is anyone here?” She hopped around, checking every corner, but aside from herself, there was no one else. Then, she spotted a bowl of still-warm congee in the microwave.

It was her.

An Yu returned to the bedroom and caught sight of herself in the wardrobe mirror, dressed in hotel pajamas.  Did she change me into these? How considerate. I should thank her properly.

She opened the wardrobe and found her clothes from last night, still reeking of alcohol. She reached in and, sure enough, her phone was there.

I ran so fast last night, yet my phone didn’t even fly out of my pocket.

She turned it on and instinctively closed her eyes. In her past life, the next day, her phone had been flooded with scandalous headlines and endless waves of online abuse.

This time, even though she knew it wouldn’t happen, she still felt a pang of anxiety.

Sure enough, there were no scandal notifications-just 27 missed calls and 99+ WeChat messages from her assistant, Xia Song.

Puzzled, An Yu called back. Immediately, she heard the girl’s tearful voice.

“An-jie! You finally answered! I was about to call the police! Do you know how worried I was?!”

Listening to the miserable sobs, An Yu couldn’t help but laugh. Those cries confirmed it-she had truly gone back in time.  This is real!

“I’m telling you, Director Wan has been throwing a tantrum on set forever. Hurry up and get here! An-jie, is my crying  that  funny?” Xia Song grumbled.

An Yu covered her mouth, stifling laughter. “Alright, I’ll be there soon. Stop crying, hahaha.”

She grabbed a pen and paper, scribbled a thank-you note with her phone number, stuck it prominently on the table, and rushed out.

On the way to the set, An Yu briefly analyzed the events of last night.

She had been pushed off a rooftop by someone who revealed the truth about her parents’ deaths, only to wake up back in time-right before she was being forced to drink. Someone had saved her, ensuring she made it safely to the next day without incident.

Turning her head, she gazed out the window at the bright sky.  So this is what the sky looked like that day… it’s so blue.

“System, do you know who killed me?”

[No.]

“Do you know who helped me last night?”

[No.]

“What about my parents-”

[Host, I didn’t bring you back to life so you could ask irrelevant questions. You know exactly what you need to do. Besides, these matters aren’t under my jurisdiction-I have no authority to answer.]  The system cut her off sharply.

An Yu frowned slightly but said nothing more. The rest of the ride passed in silence.

Just as she stepped out of the taxi, the system suddenly spoke again.

[Host, are you    really    over the female lead?]

It took An Yu a few seconds to process who “the female lead” referred to. Then she shrugged. “Just a teenage girl’s hazy exploration of feelings. You can’t really call it love.”

An Yu genuinely believed there had never been any real emotion between her and Lin Duxi. If anything, it was just nostalgia for the bittersweet naivety of first love.

Isn’t it said that first loves are always hard to forget?

Maybe back then, they had loved each other with raw, unfiltered passion, bold and unafraid. But so what?

Those memories had long been abandoned in some forgotten corner, left to mold before being discarded.

Years had passed. The world had changed. The last traces of sentimentality for her first love had likely vanished on some dark, rainy night, scattered into the abyss of time-unnoticed and uncared for.

An Yu tried to recall the last time Lin Duxi’s name had surfaced in her memory. Ironically, it was today.

Back then, she was at the peak of the scandal. It seemed like every netizen knew about it and took the chance to spit on her. An Yu didn’t dare open her phone-the constant barrage of Weibo notifications made her head throb.

She turned on the TV, hoping the noise would drown out the vibrations. That was when she heard the excited voice of a female host:

“And the winner of this year’s Golden Rose Award for Best Actress is… Lin Duxi! Congratulations!”

As if struck by lightning, An Yu jerked her head up.

On the screen, the woman had deep chestnut curls cascading down her back. A wine-red, strapless evening gown accentuated her already porcelain skin. Holding her skirt, she ascended the steps gracefully, accepted the trophy, and gazed into the camera with eyes so tender it was as if she were looking at a lover. Then, with poised elegance, she delivered her acceptance speech.

An Yu couldn’t remember the exact words, but those breathtakingly beautiful eyes overlapped perfectly with the bright, smiling ones from her memories-

Then shattered.

Congratulations.  An Yu clapped softly, smiling sincerely.

“Cut!”

The director’s shout marked the end of an agonizing long take. An Yu, her legs numb, was half-carried by Xia Song to a folding chair.

“An-jie, I’m not exaggerating, but your performance today was amazing. Even though Director Wan was furious, he only yelled at you once,” Xia Song whispered. “If it weren’t for  The Regent  , you’d be off work by now.”

The Regent  was the male lead of the drama she was filming-and also the male lead of the novel in her mission, Pei Lu.

An Yu lowered her head, gently massaging her right leg, and smiled modestly.

After the scandal, her company blacklisted her, refusing to let her take on any roles. With her income cut off, she nearly ended up hospitalized for malnutrition. Later, she wised up and started taking background roles-unnoticed extras. Surprisingly, her acting skills improved. Playing these one-dimensional characters was still within her ability.

She lightly touched her right foot.  It hurts. The wound must have reopened from overexertion during the scene.

Xia Song noticed her sudden wince. “An-jie, did you twist something? Wait here-I’ll go find the crew medic!”

Before An Yu could stop her, she dashed off. An Yu sighed helplessly.

She flexed her right foot slightly. A hot, painful discomfort spread.  Not just reopened-it might be infected. I hope filming wraps up soon so I can change out of this costume.

She glanced toward the main set. The male lead, Pei Lu, was lounging in the director’s chair while the director stood beside him, bowing obsequiously.

An Yu sighed inwardly.  Looks like it’ll be a while.

Two crew members walked past her, carrying equipment and murmuring to each other.

“Is the assistant director still not back? Weird. Director’s been raging because of him, but he’s nowhere to be seen.”

“Who knows? Maybe he’s hungover. Isn’t the assistant director just here to slack off anyway? Whether he shows up or not doesn’t matter to us grunts.”

“True. Oh, by the way, when I went to fetch something from Sister Li earlier, guess what I heard? Lin Duxi! Lin Duxi is at our set!”

“Lin Duxi?! No way. Isn’t the Golden Rose Awards ceremony tonight? Why would she come to our little production?”

“No, Sister Li swears she saw her. I wanna see her too-she’s already stunning on TV. In person, she’d probably kill me with her looks…”

Their voices faded into the distance. An Yu, having heard every word, frowned.

The assistant director didn’t show up today. Was my judo throw too harsh? Serves him right. If I’d known it was real, I’d have punched him a few more times.  She gritted her teeth.

In her past life, it had taken her years to gather evidence of the assistant director’s orgies and personally send him to prison. An Yu smirked.  This time, he’ll get there even sooner.

But Lin Duxi-shouldn’t she be at the Golden Rose Awards right now? Why is she here?

“System, did you arrange for Lin Duxi to come here?”

One second. Two. Three.

No response.

An Yu decided not to press. Lin Duxi’s presence had nothing to do with her-she was probably here for the male lead.

Since the system stayed silent, An Yu quietly sat on her little stool, waiting for Xia Song to return with the medicine.

Despite it being spring, the sun was scorching. Even in the shade, An Yu was sweating. A crew member hurried over to inform her that filming was paused for lunch before darting off excitedly.

An Yu watched her skip away.  No need to guess where she’s headed.

Seizing the moment, An Yu stood and limped toward the makeup room to remove her costume.

“An-laoshi.” A gentle voice stopped her in her tracks. An Yu froze momentarily before turning to face the speaker.

“Lin-laoshi, hello,” she responded politely.

Lin Duxi smiled slightly, then glanced at her right leg. “An-laoshi, is your foot injured? I happen to have medicine in my car. Why don’t you come with me?”

An Yu understood the unspoken rules of such offers. “Thank you for your kindness, but my assistant has already gone to fetch medicine. I wouldn’t want to trouble you.”

Xia Song, standing beside her, whispered, “I couldn’t find the medic. Everyone’s gone to see Lin-laoshi.”

An Yu: “…”

Lin Duxi chuckled. “Then it’s my fault. Come to my car for the medicine-consider it my way of making amends.” She feigned a pleading tone.

But An Yu was too busy staring awkwardly at the ground to notice the genuine longing hidden in her eyes.

“Alright then. Thank you, Lin-laoshi.” She had no choice but to agree.

Lin Duxi smiled again and led An Yu away, leaving the onlookers bewildered.

“Lin Duxi is  so  beautiful-especially her smile. It’s lethal! How can someone smile like that?”

“Right? Seeing her smile makes life worth living!”

“And she’s so kind! Helping a stranger like An Yu with medicine? I can’t-”

Meanwhile, An Yu, trailing behind Lin Duxi, was oblivious to the chatter. Her mind was racing.  Shouldn’t Lin Duxi be here for the male lead? Or at least the director? Why me?

Before she could dwell on it, she found herself inside Lin Duxi’s trailer. Lin Duxi bent over, rummaging through a drawer while An Yu instinctively took a few steps back, maintaining a safe distance-a habit she’d developed after the scandal.

“Found it.” Lin Duxi straightened and handed her the ointment. “I hope An-laoshi can forgive me.”

An Yu accepted it with a smile. “Thank you. I’ll have Xia Song buy a new tube to return to you.” She turned to leave.

“Ah Yu.”

An Yu’s steps faltered, but she kept walking, pretending not to hear. She hoped Lin Duxi would take the hint.

But the next second, a hand gripped her wrist.

“Ah Yu, if you don’t treat your wound soon, it’ll get infected. Please, just apply the medicine before you go. Okay?” Lin Duxi’s voice was thick with pleading.

An Yu stiffened, then turned, her tone laced with shock.

“It was you. You were the one who helped me last night.”

Lin Duxi closed the trailer door behind them and stepped closer, inhaling An Yu’s scent as if it were the only thing tethering her to sanity-the only way to suppress the maddening urge to pull her into an embrace.

“I had business nearby and happened to run into you. Does your wrist still hurt?” She lightly brushed An Yu’s right wrist, and when An Yu didn’t react, she boldly took it and began massaging.

An Yu didn’t notice the subtle gesture. Her mind was stuck on last night.  So it really was Lin Duxi.

At this realization, she said firmly, “Thank you for helping me. If there’s anything I can do in return, just name it.”

Repaying kindness was a principle her father had instilled in her.

But Lin Duxi shook her head, smiling. “Let’s not talk about that. Ah Yu, take off your shoe. Let me apply the medicine-we can’t let the wound get infected.”

An Yu: “…”

“I can do it myself,” she refused. Taking off her shoe for someone else to tend to her foot felt too intimate.

“Ah Yu.” Lin Duxi’s voice carried a hint of hurt, but she didn’t insist.

An Yu subtly retreated another step. She still wasn’t used to someone being this close. Lin Duxi paused briefly but quickly recovered.

“So, why are you here? To-”

“What if I said I came for Ah Yu’s injury? Would you believe me?” Lin Duxi met her gaze, eyes shimmering-only to see confusion and disbelief in An Yu’s.

“Just kidding. I’m here to visit an artist from my company-Zhuang Yu, the female lead of this drama. You know her.” She laughed it off.

An Yu nodded in understanding.

“Lin-laoshi, thank you for helping me last night,” she repeated. “And please, just call me An Yu.”

Lin Duxi’s smile froze momentarily, but An Yu acted as if she hadn’t noticed and turned to leave again.

“Ah Yu.”

An Yu stopped.

“Tonight, I’m attending the Golden Rose Awards. Will you cheer for me? Like you used to.”

An Yu turned back, her expression obscured by the shadows.

“You  will  win Best Actress at the Golden Rose Awards. I’m certain of it.”

It was an ordinary statement-one Lin Duxi had undoubtedly heard countless times. Yet, she smiled as if An Yu’s words alone had already secured her the trophy.

Watching An Yu’s retreating figure, the light in Lin Duxi’s eyes dimmed. She raised the hand that had held An Yu’s wrist-the scars on it still fresh-and pressed a kiss to her fingertips, her gaze darkening with primal obsession and possessiveness.

What she wanted was never just an award.