After Rebirth, My Ex-Girlfriend Became Obsessive - Chapter 40

Lin Duxi and An Yu were the last to descend the mountain. By the time they emerged, the others at the foot of the hill had already packed up and were preparing to leave.

The crew was dismantling the recently activated live-streaming equipment. Spotting the two approaching from a distance, they aimed the camera at them, adjusting the settings as they did.

The streetlights lining the path illuminated the surroundings, casting swaying shadows of trees on the ground. Lin Duxi and An Yu strolled over leisurely, bathed in the pleasant evening breeze.

[So beautiful! Every frame could be a wallpaper!]

[Isn’t Lin Duxi Pei Lu’s partner? Why did she come down with An Yu?]

[Why did they take so long to return? What were they doing alone?]

[The couple isn’t even hiding it anymore, huh? If no one’s saying it, I will-they were having a secret rendezvous, right? Right?!]

The temperature at the base was much warmer than at the summit. Even wearing An Yu’s thick jacket, Lin Duxi felt a little hot. Yet, she couldn’t bring herself to unzip the jacket An Yu had carefully zipped up for her. A thought crossed her mind, and her lips curled into a faint smile.

Stopping under a streetlight, Lin Duxi suddenly spoke, “Ah Yu, there are so many stars tonight.”

An Yu looked up. The sky was a rare tapestry of glittering stars.

“This is the countryside. Nights like this are common here,” An Yu replied bluntly, turning to Lin Duxi-only to be momentarily stunned by the sight of her.

Under the warm glow of the streetlight, Lin Duxi’s fair skin made her look like an ethereal spirit wandering the mortal world. Her long hair cascaded loosely, a few stray strands clinging to her damp forehead, adding to her delicate charm. An Yu was struck by an inexplicable thought-  Lin Duxi belongs entirely to me  -yet she found nothing strange about the notion.

At that moment, Lin Duxi also turned to look at her. The faint starlight reflected in her eyes seemed even more mesmerizing to An Yu than the sky full of stars.

An Yu’s breath hitched. She stepped in front of Lin Duxi and reached out to unzip her jacket. Lin Duxi obediently let her, gazing at her tenderly.

An Yu leaned in to adjust her collar, their sudden proximity sending a jolt through both of them. A faint, intoxicating fragrance lingered between them, teasing An Yu’s senses.

Beside Lin Duxi’s collar was her pale neck, illuminated by the streetlight. An Yu could almost see the faint blue veins beneath her skin-so fragile that it seemed a single grasp could leave marks, marks that belonged to her. Then, Lin Duxi would let out a sound that would intoxicate her.

I want to kiss her.

The night deepened the intimate atmosphere between them. Lin Duxi’s eyes grew hazy, the corners tinged with red. An Yu’s gaze darkened with restrained desire as it dropped to Lin Duxi’s lips-soft, red, and so tempting that a single bite would leave them swollen.

She knew exactly how irresistible they were.

Unable to resist, An Yu leaned in. Lin Duxi instinctively closed her eyes, her long lashes trembling slightly. Her heart raced as An Yu’s warm breath brushed against her skin.

But in the end, An Yu only turned her head slightly and pressed a chaste kiss to a strand of Lin Duxi’s hair. When she opened her eyes again, they were clear.

“Let’s go,” she said hoarsely, stepping back. The cool night air rushed between them, dissipating the warmth.

Lin Duxi’s lashes fluttered open, her eyes filled with disappointment. The lingering redness at the corners of her eyes still burned in An Yu’s vision.

[What were they doing?! Getting so close-quick, zoom in! I need to see!]

[Did they kiss? They must have! Why else would they be that close?! I don’t care, they definitely kissed!]

[I’ve been KO’d by the sweetness of YuXi. Wake me up when they get married, thanks.]

By the time the group returned to the inn by car, it was already late. Exhausted and hungry from the day’s activities, everyone just wanted to collapse into bed. But the production team had other plans.

“Everyone must be tired after today’s activities, but we still haven’t had dinner. You can’t sleep on an empty stomach, so let’s get cooking,” the director said breezily, eliciting a chorus of groans.

“Director, skipping one meal won’t kill us. What we need right now is sleep,” Xie Anan protested weakly, making a sleeping gesture before her eyes involuntarily closed, sending the live chat into fits of laughter.

“After such a tiring day, we definitely need to eat. How about this-to be fair, we’ll draw lots. Whoever gets picked will cook,” Qiao Qingzhou suggested.

Everyone figured their odds were only fifty-fifty, so they agreed.

Lin Duxi, seated with her head resting on An Yu’s shoulder, drowsily mumbled her agreement and tugged at An Yu’s sleeve, asking her to draw for her before settling back against her.

Hearing her soft breathing, An Yu smiled helplessly but didn’t refuse.

The drawing began. When it was An Yu’s turn, she casually picked a stick-  rest  . Relieved, she reached for another on Lin Duxi’s behalf. But the moment she saw it, her expression darkened.

Hearing the rustling, Lin Duxi forced herself to lift her head. “What did you draw, Ah Yu?”

An Yu smiled at her. “You got  rest  . Go back to sleep.”

Lin Duxi wanted to ask what An Yu had drawn, but she was too drowsy to resist An Yu’s gentle coaxing and soon drifted off again.

An Yu clasped her hands together, quietly swapping the two sticks.

Upon returning to the inn, everyone dispersed to their rooms-assigned the same as last time. Naturally, Lin Duxi and An Yu were paired together again.

An Yu carried Lin Duxi’s backpack into their room and set it on the sofa. Turning to Lin Duxi, who stood watching her with a soft smile, she said, “You shower first and get some rest.”

Lin Duxi blinked. “What about Ah Yu?”

An Yu showed her the stick in her hand-  lucky  .

“I need to make dinner. Sleep for a bit, and you can eat when you wake up.”

Lin Duxi: “I’ll help you.”

An Yu chuckled and pressed her shoulders, guiding her to sit on the bed. “If you keep following me around like this, I might start thinking you have feelings for me.”

Lin Duxi froze, her entire body stiffening. An Yu immediately realized her teasing had backfired-she couldn’t risk the system noticing. Flustered, she stood and hastily bid goodbye before fleeing the room.

Left alone, Lin Duxi clutched An Yu’s jacket to her chest, her heart pounding wildly.

How could someone tease her like that and just run away?!  She smacked the jacket lightly in frustration before smoothing it out tenderly, her dark eyes filled with affection-and then sadness.

If being together were as simple as saying the words, she and An Yu wouldn’t be struggling like this. Between them stood more than just six years. An Yu was hiding too much from her.

Lin Duxi lowered her gaze, a shadow of something dark flickering beneath her usual gentleness.

After An Yu and the other “unlucky” participants finished cooking dinner, she went upstairs and knocked lightly on the door. When there was no response, she turned the handle and stepped inside.

The room was quiet. A small lump under the blankets shifted slightly-Lin Duxi, fast asleep, her peaceful face half-buried in the pillow. An Yu smiled softly and quietly closed the door behind her.

Better not wake her.

Just as she was about to head downstairs, a crackle of static echoed in her mind.

“Routine inspection. Proceed as usual,” the system said flatly.

An Yu continued downstairs but remained alert.

The faint static in her mind suggested the system was scanning the male and female leads’ interactions.

“Inspection complete.” The system’s voice darkened. “This doesn’t make sense. Why hasn’t it increased?”

An Yu didn’t know what it referred to, but if the system was unhappy, she was thrilled. She hid her smirk behind a sip of porridge.

“Host, did you complete today’s mission?” the system suddenly asked.

An Yu shrugged innocently. “I followed your instructions to the letter. No deviations-unless you’d like to electrocute me for no reason.”

The system knew that. Frustrated, it muttered, “Perhaps you should observe the male and female leads more closely. Maybe they don’t actually like each other-”

“Nonsense! They’re the novel’s protagonists-of course they like each other. Host, you’re worrying over nothing.”

An Yu: “…Your idioms are on point.” She stopped talking, leaving the system to pace in her mind.

“There must be something wrong with the process,” it concluded. Then it ordered, “I’ll be away for a while. Until I return, you must complete your mission-  every single day  , you will facilitate interactions between the male and female leads!”

An Yu “earnestly” replied, “Mission accepted!” Then she smirked.

This afternoon, she hadn’t deliberately stayed by Lin Duxi’s side. Judging by the system’s reaction, its plans weren’t going smoothly. From now on, even if she  did  try to play matchmaker, it wouldn’t work.

An Yu leaned back in her chair, arms behind her head-until the system’s next words froze her in place.

“However, given your previous lack of enthusiasm, I can’t let you slack off.” A faint  click  sounded in her mind.

An Yu stiffened. “What are you doing?”

“Just a little motivator. Every night, it will measure the protagonists’ interaction levels. There’s a daily quota. If you fail to meet it by midnight…” The system sneered. “You  really  don’t want to know.”

An Yu’s fists clenched. “I’ll complete it.”

The system sounded pleased. “Since you’re so cooperative, I’ll go easy on you. Interaction levels are based on their conversations, joint tasks-anything counts. Focus on that, and don’t waste time on irrelevant things.”

An Yu lowered her head, nails digging into her palms. Then she grabbed a sticky note and scrawled a few words with such force the paper nearly tore.

“Writing a note isn’t irrelevant, right?” she said through gritted teeth.

“Minor actions don’t require reporting.”

An Yu laughed coldly. “How  generous  of you.”

“We prioritize employee well-being.”

An Yu: “…” She glared at the note, crumpled it, and tossed it into the trash.

Thirsty.

Lin Duxi woke in the dark, her throat parched. Moving carefully to avoid disturbing An Yu, she slipped out of bed and tiptoed downstairs.

Her mouth felt like it was glued shut. She needed water-  now  .

Groping her way to the kitchen, she poured herself a glass and gulped it down. Only then did she feel somewhat relieved. Pouring another, she sat at the table and sipped slowly.

That was when she noticed something stuck to the table. Curious, she leaned closer-and recognized the familiar, elegant handwriting.

“There’s porridge warming in the kitchen.”

The words wrapped around her heart like a melody. She stood and looked around, suddenly realizing what had felt off earlier.

The entire living area was dotted with sticky notes-on the table, the fridge, the stair railings. Lin Duxi followed them upstairs, where they led all the way to their bedroom door. The last one waited patiently for her.

She plucked it off, adding it to the growing stack in her hand. The person who’d left them was now sound asleep on the other side of the door.

Lin Duxi stared at the thick pile of notes, her heart trembling.

If she hadn’t woken up tonight, would An Yu have quietly collected them in the morning? Would she ever have known about this?

Lin Duxi chuckled softly, then went downstairs to serve herself a bowl of porridge.

It was still perfectly warm, the bowl slightly hot to the touch. But Lin Duxi didn’t seem to mind as she carried it to the table and took a sip-fragrant, with just the right hint of sweetness.

She unfolded the sticky notes one by one, tracing the familiar handwriting before tucking them safely into her pocket.