After Rebirth, My Ex-Girlfriend Became Obsessive - Chapter 43
Lin Duxi had been walking slowly on the glass suspension bridge, the sound of restrained footsteps behind her filling her with quiet delight. She wasn’t afraid of heights, and An Yu knew that, so there was no need to pretend otherwise, she thought.
As she moved forward, reaching the latter half of the bridge, the two people ahead of her had already made it to the end, collapsing on the ground in relief, panting heavily. Seeing Lin Duxi alone on the latter half, Yu Fei opened his mouth to warn her but was stopped by Feng Zhinian beside him.
He looked up at Feng Zhinian’s mischievous expression and instantly understood his intention, falling silent.
After all, who wouldn’t want to see the usually aloof and indifferent person get startled for once?
Lin Duxi’s attention had been entirely focused on the footsteps behind her, so she didn’t notice the slightly different-colored glass ahead. As soon as she stepped on it, a faint crack sounded beneath her feet. She paused, then realized-some glass bridges had pressure-sensitive effects installed by the management to enhance the experience, simulating the sound and visuals of glass breaking.
Pretty realistic, Lin Duxi thought, unfazed as she continued walking.
Crack.
Lin Duxi instinctively looked down, but her gaze froze on the “cracked” effect. The lifelike image of shattered glass reflected in her eyes, and a bone-chilling coldness surged through her mind. The howling wind seemed to slice through her, freezing her to the marrow.
Suddenly, it felt like she was the only one left, wrapped in helplessness and terror. A long-buried memory, damp and dripping with filth, resurfaced, staining her scarred heart anew.
The broken glass in her vision slowly shifted colors, coalescing into a single drop of blood at the tip of a shard before falling onto the worn-out floor.
Bang.
A distorted face was slammed against the glass pane of a door, shattering it instantly. Shards cut the woman’s face, some sliding down the doorframe with streaks of red.
“Where’s the fucking money?! The money I need for drinks! Did you spend it all, you fucking bitch?! How did I end up married to a worthless slut like you?!”
The woman was pressed against the doorframe, enduring the man’s furious curses and blows in silence, her expression numb. But when her hollow eyes caught sight of the little girl clutching a stuffed toy behind the door, panic flashed across her face.
Lin Duxi felt her entire body turn cold. She gripped the hem of her clothes tightly, trying to shut her eyes and remind herself that it was just a memory, that it was over. But the scenes in her mind only grew more vivid, the wind battering her fragile defenses, making the past feel unbearably real.
Little Lin Duxi hugged the oversized cat plushie-a prize her mother had won for her at a fair on her birthday. She loved it dearly. But now, trembling uncontrollably, she could only stare wide-eyed at the woman being pressed against the broken glass, her face bleeding.
Summoning her courage, she took a step forward, but the woman struggled slightly, her beautiful eyes filled with silent refusal. Her resistance only provoked the man’s rage further.
“You dare fight back?! I’ll fucking kill you!”
“After all these years of me working hard to support this family, you have the nerve to defy me?! You and that damn daughter of yours should’ve died in the hospital back then!”
His voice grew louder, echoing through the quiet room like the roar of a demon.
The woman winced in pain but forced a smile. She looked at Lin Duxi, shaking her head gently, her lips pale but stained with blood as she mouthed a single phrase:
Hide and seek.
Lin Duxi jolted back to reality. Seeing the woman’s state, she instinctively wanted to rush over and help. Together, they could stand up to the cowardly man-she was sure of it.
But then she saw her own tiny hands and feet, and her body moved against her will, turning away as if forcing her to relive the same powerlessness and despair. A silent scream tore through her heart.
Obediently, she ran to the wardrobe, struggling to open the door before climbing inside and shutting it behind her. Covering her ears, she curled up as slivers of sunlight filtered through the blinds, casting segmented light over her small frame. Tears dripped onto the cat plushie in her arms.
She trembled violently, but the sounds of furniture being smashed and the man’s enraged curses still reached her ears, tormenting her fragile mind.
Go save her. You have to save her.
But she couldn’t. The last time she tried, the man had kicked her to the ground. Not only had she failed to protect her mother, but her interference had only made the beatings worse.
Her mother had called it a “game,” but even through the layers of concealer, Lin Duxi could see the bruises. She had long known the truth-that “hide and seek” meant the man was about to hurt her mother again.
But she was too small. Too weak. Too powerless to protect the person she loved or fight the person she hated. Clenching her tiny fists, she prayed to grow up faster.
Yet by the time she was strong enough, everything was already gone. On a sunset afternoon when she was six, it had all vanished in a sea of flames, taking her fears and her only family with it, reduced to ashes.
“I’m sorry… I couldn’t protect you… I’m sorry…” Lin Duxi whispered, her voice broken as she drowned in the memories, her entire being exuding a suffocating despair.
An Yu had noticed something was wrong from afar. Frowning, she strode forward without hesitation, ignoring the crack of the glass effects beneath her feet.
“Lin Duxi. Lin Duxi, what’s wrong? Lin Duxi!” She gripped Lin Duxi’s shoulders, calling her name urgently. Lin Duxi’s entire body was ice-cold, her eyes drowning in anguish. An Yu’s heart ached, and she raised her voice.
Trapped in the suffocating darkness of her memories, Lin Duxi felt the scenes replaying like knives stabbing into her heart. Then, through the haze, she heard a firm, anxious voice calling her name, pulling her back to reality.
Blinking, she met An Yu’s gaze.
“Ah Yu…” she murmured, emotions surging in her eyes before she suddenly threw her arms around An Yu, holding on as if she were her only anchor in the storm.
An Yu let her cling tightly, feeling her trembling gradually subside. Slowly, she lifted her hands and wrapped them around Lin Duxi, one gently patting her back in reassurance. Her gaze was deep, unreadable.
“The wind is strong here. Let’s get off the bridge first, okay?” she asked softly, not pressing for answers, only offering warmth.
Nestled in An Yu’s embrace, Lin Duxi gradually regained her senses. Exhausted, she leaned against An Yu’s shoulder and nodded weakly.
Nearby, the cameraman-who had been startled by the special effects and fallen to his knees-had missed Lin Duxi’s breakdown. By the time he picked up the camera again, all he captured was the two of them embracing.
[Holy shit! What just happened?!]
[Camera guy, you missed the crucial seconds-describe it to us NOW!]
[Damn mountain wind, couldn’t hear anything.]
[All I caught were footsteps and An Yu calling Lin Duxi’s name. Need the analysts on this one.]
[Is Lin Duxi scared of heights? Or was it the glass effect?]
[An Yu: My delicate, helpless wife.]
[The way An Yu’s the top here is so obvious.]
Shi Yu watched the live stream on her phone, the two figures holding each other tightly as the wind whipped their hair and clothes into disarray, adding to the poignant atmosphere. She quickly screenshotted the moment before putting her phone away.
“Sister Shi Yu, can you teach us how to draw?” A little girl ran up to her, looking up with bright, expectant eyes.
Shi Yu smiled and ruffled her hair. “I’m not good at drawing, but I have a friend who’s amazing at it. Next time she visits, I’ll ask her to teach you, okay?”
The girl beamed and ran off to play. Shi Yu watched her go before pulling out her notebook.
She was currently at an orphanage in Jiang City, drafting a script for a charity video as requested by the organizers. As she scribbled notes, a dark figure flashed at the edge of her vision. She glanced up just in time to see a long-haired woman disappear around a corner.
She looked familiar.
“Xiao Yue,” she called the little girl back and pointed in the direction the woman had gone. “Do you know who that was? The one in dark clothes?”
The girl frowned in thought before lighting up. “Auntie Jiang!”
“Auntie Jiang?”
“Yeah!” The girl nodded enthusiastically. “Auntie Jiang is really nice! She visits us every week, and we all love her.”
Hearing their conversation, other children nearby chimed in.
“I love Auntie Jiang! She always brings us snacks!”
“Is Auntie Jiang here? I want to show her the toy car she taught me to make!”
“She’ll like my wooden sword more!”
“Sister Shi Yu, why are you asking about Auntie Jiang?” Xiao Yue blinked curiously.
Shi Yu chuckled. “You call her ‘Auntie Jiang’ but call me ‘Sister Shi Yu’?”
“Auntie Jiang told us to call her that! We used to call her ‘sister’ too,” a little boy explained.
Shi Yu nodded thoughtfully, her gaze lingering on the corner where the woman had vanished.
“Auntie Jiang,” she murmured under her breath, the name dissolving into the air.
Should I write some memories too?
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Zei_An
Lin Duxi had it rough…