After Rebirth, My Ex-Girlfriend Became Obsessive - Chapter 35

An Yu’s encouragement was like a shot of adrenaline for Xie An’an. Bursting with energy, she slung her backpack over her shoulders and charged up the mountain trail without a word, head down, pushing forward relentlessly. By the time she finally felt a little tired and stopped to look back, An Yu and Lin Duxi had completely disappeared from sight.

Xie An’an panted slightly, standing on her tiptoes to peer down the path. Finally, she spotted a figure approaching, and her heart leaped with joy-until she saw who it was.

A drenched, sweat-soaked cameraman.

Xie An’an: “……Uh, hey… camera teacher.”

The staff member gasped for breath as she reached Xie An’an, bending over with her hands on her knees but still dutifully keeping the camera trained on her. Xie An’an unzipped her jacket a little and sat on a stone bench, sighing.

“Teacher Xie… you’re really… in great shape.”

[Xie An’an, LOL! You climbed so fast you left your cameraman behind! Hahaha!]

[Did anyone record the cameraman’s muttering when she couldn’t keep up? I need to see that!]

[Xie An’an is this strong? I’ve climbed Bimi Mountain before, and where she is now is almost at the summit. She’s only slightly out of breath after an hour of sprinting?!]

Feeling a little guilty, Xie An’an helped the cameraman up and gently wiped the sweat from her forehead with a tissue. “Sorry, why didn’t you call for me to stop earlier?”

The cameraman: “I did. You didn’t hear me. Earlier, Teacher Yu Fei and Teacher Feng Zhinian even greeted you, but you didn’t turn back.”

Xie An’an was about to feel even more apologetic, but then her ears perked up at the last part.

“What did you say?”

The cameraman took the water Xie An’an handed her and looked back at the empty trail. “A while ago-no, actually, it’s been quite some time-you passed Yu Fei and Feng Zhinian while climbing. They called out to you, but you didn’t hear them and just kept going.”

If Xie An’an had heard, she probably would’ve stopped-after all, the cameraman had practically screamed herself hoarse trying to get her attention.

But instead of remorse, Xie An’an suddenly grinned, her smile dazzling enough to stun both the viewers and the cameraman.

She stood up, wiping her sweat, and turned to look down the trail again. Seeing no sign of those two, she recalled their condescending words at the foot of the mountain and felt a surge of satisfaction.

She glanced at the cameraman, who had mostly recovered, then shouldered her backpack again.

“Let’s keep going. We’re overtaking Pei Lu!” Renewed determination fueled her as she set off.

As long as An Yu and Lin Duxi could surpass those two, they were set!

As the painkillers gradually took effect, Lin Duxi’s condition improved significantly. She turned her head slightly to look at An Yu, whose forehead was dotted with sweat from supporting most of her weight. A sweet warmth spread through her chest, but her delicate brows furrowed with concern.

No matter how much she longed for An Yu’s scent, her warmth, seeing her exhaust herself like this was unbearable.

Even if she wanted to indulge in this closeness, now was not the time.

“Ah Yu.” She pressed herself closer, greedily savoring the feeling of being in An Yu’s arms.

“I’m much better now. You can let go.” Her voice was muffled against An Yu’s windbreaker.

An Yu paused mid-step and glanced at Lin Duxi. The latter lifted her head, meeting her gaze with clear eyes, the earlier weakness gone from her expression.

She even smiled, her beautiful eyes shimmering faintly.

An Yu turned away. “I don’t believe you.”

“You’re an award-winning actress. Acting must come naturally to you. If you’re pretending, I wouldn’t be able to tell. Just to be safe, I’ll keep supporting you a while longer.”

As she spoke, she suppressed the part of herself that wanted to keep holding on, unaware that she was making excuses for her own desires.

“Ah Yu.” Lin Duxi suddenly laughed, as if amused by her stubbornness. With her free hand, she gently grasped An Yu’s wrist and guided it to her own forehead.

“See? No sweat. I really am better now. Let me go, and we can walk faster together.”

Her dark eyes were filled with transparent affection, softening An Yu’s resolve.

“Really?” An Yu said stubbornly.

Lin Duxi curved her lips, her gaze even more sincere. “I would never lie to you.” Her voice was firm, carrying an almost inhuman conviction.

An Yu’s ears turned pink under the intensity of her stare. She looked away and released Lin Duxi’s arm. “Fine, I’ll believe you for now.”

Lin Duxi couldn’t hold back another laugh, her eyes tender as she gazed at An Yu, waves of emotion rippling in their depths.

“Then let’s hurry, Ah Yu. We can’t lose to them.” She boldly reached for An Yu’s hand this time, their fingers intertwining, warmth melting into warmth, love blooming silently between them.

An Yu let her hold on, watching as Lin Duxi walked ahead, her figure glowing in An Yu’s eyes, unknowingly softening her expression.

[Watching their backs like this, I suddenly feel like crying.]

[Are they really not dating?]

[When Lin Duxi said she’d never lie to An Yu-wasn’t that a confession?!]

[There’s definitely something between them. The way they look at each other is enough to melt anyone. I’m melting just watching!]

[This is PEAK romance! (Faints)]

After walking for a while, An Yu kept checking on Lin Duxi’s condition. Seeing that she truly was fine, her worries gradually eased.

Before long, they spotted two figures ahead-Yu Fei and Feng Zhinian.

The two men froze when they saw An Yu and Lin Duxi, then exclaimed in shock, “Why are you two together?!”

An Yu shrugged indifferently, not bothering to answer such a dumb question. Lin Duxi, however, gave An Yu a tender look, her eyes liquid with affection, before turning to the men with a completely different expression-cool and detached.

“I was slow, so Ah Yu helped me.”

Yu Fei and Feng Zhinian: “……Ah, Teacher An is really kind, haha.” (Your attitude shift is way too obvious.)

An Yu pretended to focus on the path ahead, but her ears were tuned to Lin Duxi’s conversation. Whether it was her existing dislike for these two or Lin Duxi’s tone, a flicker of irritation rose in her chest.

“Let’s go,” An Yu said abruptly, turning to Lin Duxi.

Lin Duxi’s response to the men dissolved into a gentle, “Okay, whatever Ah Yu says.”

An Yu’s lips curled, her irritation instantly soothed by nothing more than the mountain breeze.

The two quickly left Yu Fei and Feng Zhinian behind, the men staring dumbfounded at their retreating figures.

“Chase them! If they pass us, we’ll be last!”

“I-I can’t, I really can’t run anymore. Let’s rest. We’ll catch up later, don’t worry.”

An Yu and Lin Duxi pressed onward. Having overtaken Yu Fei and Feng Zhinian and still not seeing Xie An’an after all this time, An Yu grew increasingly confident about their current standing.

“Drink some water first. We’ll rest for a few minutes before continuing.” An Yu watched Lin Duxi, who was panting lightly, and wiped her own sweat.

Lin Duxi tried to pull the same trick again, urging An Yu to go ahead without her, but this time, An Yu dodged her hand and repeated firmly, “Rest.”

Lin Duxi lowered her head like a scolded kitten, reluctantly sitting on the bench and clutching An Yu’s sleeve.

An Yu took out the thermos from her backpack, blew on the hot water out of habit, and handed it to Lin Duxi, who sipped the ginger tea slowly.

While Lin Duxi drank, An Yu rummaged through her bag for any leftover heat patches. Just then, the thermos reappeared in her peripheral vision. Distracted, she took it and drank without thinking, the warm liquid soothing her dry throat before she screwed the lid back on and returned it to her bag-all without a second thought.

Lin Duxi watched her, lowering her gaze to hide a smile as the sweetness of the tea spread through her, warming her to the core.

An Yu finally found a heat patch, tore open the packaging, and waited for it to warm up. But then, out of the corner of her eye, she caught Lin Duxi’s slight frown.

Her heart lurched.

“Does it hurt again?”

Lin Duxi was startled, her expression faltering before she could control it.

An Yu pressed a hand to her forehead. Despite the exertion and the sun, Lin Duxi’s skin was still too cool. If she hadn’t noticed, would Lin Duxi have kept pretending just to keep going?

An Yu took a deep breath, suppressing the ache in her chest, and handed her the heat patch.

“Use this. We’re going to the hospital.” Her voice was tense.

But as soon as she stood, Lin Duxi grabbed her wrist. Her fingers were cool against An Yu’s skin, like a breeze.

“Ah Yu, we’re almost there. Let’s just finish this, okay?” She looked up at An Yu, her eyes pleading. Anyone would’ve softened at that gaze.

An Yu just stared at her, her emotions unreadable even to Lin Duxi. Worried, Lin Duxi gave her wrist a gentle shake.

But An Yu only smiled coldly. “Lin Duxi, why are you so desperate to climb this mountain? Don’t you know your own limits?” Her tone was stern, laced with real anger.

Lin Duxi’s head drooped further, like a kitten being scolded by its owner. After a long pause, she lifted her gaze, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, staring at An Yu as if she were her entire world.

“Because… I don’t want to disappoint you again, Ah Yu.”