After Rebirth, My Ex-Girlfriend Became Obsessive - Chapter 57

After returning home, the two ran into an electrician waiting downstairs. They rode the elevator up together, the electrician carrying a ladder to inspect the wiring. An Yu and Lin Duxi stood nearby, watching him, their hands still unconsciously intertwined. Someone might have noticed, but no one pointed it out.

So they kept holding hands.

An Yu’s turbulent emotions gradually settled, and she began to think clearly about what had just happened. That thug harassing Lin Duxi was most likely a paparazzo or an anti-fan. But how had he gotten into the neighborhood and found an opportunity to approach Lin Duxi despite her bodyguards?

Bodyguards?

An Yu suddenly remembered-when she went looking for Lin Duxi earlier, she hadn’t seen any of her bodyguards around. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly as she tugged lightly on Lin Duxi’s hand, leaning in to whisper,

“Where are your bodyguards from the past few days?”

Her warm breath brushed against Lin Duxi’s fair, delicate earlobe, sending a shiver through her.

“I gave them the day off today. They didn’t come,” Lin Duxi replied, her heart fluttering at An Yu’s closeness.

“Any problems?” Lin Duxi asked instinctively, then froze at her own words.

That man had shown up precisely when Lin Duxi had given her bodyguards the day off-it couldn’t just be a coincidence.

An Yu’s frown deepened. A rival? Or a paparazzo?

“All done, ladies,” the electrician said, climbing down the ladder. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel hanging around his neck. An Yu handed him a bottle of water from the fridge.

The electrician unscrewed the cap. “Now we just need to install the lightbulb and turn the power back on.”

An Yu glanced at Lin Duxi. “No need. You can go ahead. I’ll handle the lightbulb.”

The electrician nodded, picked up his toolbox and folding ladder, and left. As he walked out, he noticed their still-joined hands and wondered to himself.

These two are really close. But they kinda look like those people from that variety show my daughter’s always watching.

After seeing the electrician off, An Yu and Lin Duxi stayed in Lin Duxi’s apartment to replace the lightbulb and turn the power back on.

Lin Duxi smiled softly at An Yu. Both tactfully avoided bringing up what had happened earlier.

Then, a phone rang-it was Ning Xuan calling. An Yu answered, finally releasing Lin Duxi’s hand.

The soft touch disappeared. Lin Duxi looked down at her empty palm, a pang of loneliness striking her heart.

An Yu didn’t step away to take the call, so Lin Duxi could hear her responses. Ning Xuan seemed to be calling about Director Tan Yi’s project, and from An Yu’s replies, it sounded urgent.

After hanging up, An Yu hesitated over how to explain it to Lin Duxi when she heard a soft voice beside her.

“Was that Sister Ning?”

An Yu sighed. “…Yeah.”

“Sounds important. You should go-work comes first,” Lin Duxi said, tilting her head to look at her. Her dark, beautiful eyes were filled with concern, reflecting only An Yu.

An Yu met her gaze. Though Lin Duxi’s tone was light, An Yu could sense her tension and unease. Had what happened earlier frightened her?

“Sister Ning just wanted to confirm the time and place for Director Tan’s meeting. She also wants a senior from the company to give me some acting advice,” An Yu admitted.

Acting advice.

Lin Duxi’s eyes darkened, like ink spilled into the night. An Yu thought she was recalling the earlier incident, and the emotions that had been simmering inside her resurfaced.

“I don’t want to go,” she said.

“If you don’t want to, then stay here with me. I’m an actress too-I can  advise  you.” Lin Duxi hooked her pinky around An Yu’s, swaying it gently. Her voice, laced with a teasing lilt, sent a shiver down An Yu’s spine.

After a long pause, An Yu whispered, “Okay.”

Afraid that Lin Duxi was still shaken, An Yu stayed with her until noon, even cooking lunch before finally leaving.

As she left, Lin Duxi smiled at her, her gaze as serene as water. Gone was the panic from the morning-now she seemed gentle and tranquil. Only then did An Yu feel reassured enough to go.

The door closed, and the living room fell into silence, like a deep, unfathomable pool. Lin Duxi tightened her grip on her phone, where several unread messages waited.

Ji Qi:   Xixi, are you okay? Did he threaten you? I should’ve assigned you more bodyguards.
How did that lowlife even find out where you live?
He was carrying a lot of stuff. He probably came because he’s desperate for money. Since he failed this time, I’m worried he’ll try again. I’ll arrange more bodyguards for you immediately.
Now that they know where you live, they won’t stop. I’ll find you a place with better security. We’ll move this afternoon-no, this evening.

A long string of messages, but Lin Duxi only replied to the last one.

[No need to move.]

Ji Qi:   If we don’t move, they’ll definitely come back. Have you forgotten how we suppressed the rumors last time?

Lin Duxi’s eyes darkened.  [No need to keep suppressing the news. I want her to know.]

The  “typing…”  indicator on the other side appeared and disappeared several times before Ji Qi finally replied.

[Fine, I can’t argue with you. I’ll assign more bodyguards. Be careful.]

An Yu didn’t go straight home. She stopped by the property management office to get the surveillance footage and contact information before hailing a cab and leaving the neighborhood.

In the car, she opened a video the property manager had sent-a surveillance clip.

The footage showed Lin Duxi leaving the building at 9:47 a.m. She wore a knit sweater under a black coat, with sunglasses and a mask for disguise. About ten seconds later, the yellow-haired man emerged from a nearby bush and followed her, soon disappearing from the camera’s view.

At 9:50 a.m., An Yu ran out of the building and met up with the arriving security guards. Then came the events that followed, up until the two of them returned.

An Yu closed the video, her brow furrowed.

[Is this all the footage? How did that person get in? How did he avoid the cameras and hide in the bushes?]

Property Management:   Apologies, ma’am. Our staff are currently reviewing surveillance from yesterday to today. But the neighborhood is large, and foot traffic is high, so it’s taking time. We’ve already increased security and added dozens of cameras in blind spots to better ensure residents’ safety.

After this incident, the property management was terrified. This high-end neighborhood had built its reputation on security, housing many celebrities precisely to prevent stalkers and paparazzi. If word got out that Lin Duxi had been followed, their losses would extend far beyond online backlash-their hard-earned reputation would collapse.

An Yu frowned and turned off her phone. Investigating suspicious individuals took time, but she was impatient. Whether in the past or now, Lin Duxi was like a valve controlling her thoughts. The moment anything involved Lin Duxi, the slightest hint of danger sent her into a frenzy of worry.

Right now, they didn’t know who that man was or what he wanted. He looked like a street thug, yet he’d managed to bypass security and pinpoint Lin Duxi’s address.

There were too many oddities. An Yu rubbed her temples wearily, only to realize they’d arrived at their destination. Wen Zhenhe stood by the roadside in a black formal suit, standing out among the crowd.

An Yu got out of the car and walked over.

“Uncle Wen, I told you to wait for me at home.”

Wen Zhenhe smiled warmly. “You only visit once a year-of course I had to come greet you.” He ushered An Yu into the car and drove toward the suburbs.

Wen Zhenhe had been the An family’s butler since before An Yu could remember. She’d long considered him family. After her parents’ deaths, Wen Zhenhe retired from his position, bought a house in the suburbs, and opened a bookstore, living a peaceful life tending to flowers and plants.

“Miss, I saw you on TV recently. You’ve grown even more beautiful, and your relationship with Miss Lin has improved,” Wen Zhenhe remarked.

An Yu smiled. Wen Zhenhe had been the first to discover her and Lin Duxi’s relationship back then. But instead of telling her parents, he’d kept their secret-though they’d been found out eventually.

Through the rearview mirror, Wen Zhenhe saw An Yu’s expression and chuckled softly. He’d witnessed everything back then. Though he hadn’t understood at first, he’d respected An Yu’s choices out of duty. After the master and mistress passed, his only wish was for her to find someone who truly loved her so she wouldn’t be alone. Seeing her and Lin Duxi reconcile on TV had filled him with relief.

“Uncle Wen, you said you found some old photos of my parents?” An Yu brought up the reason for her visit.

Wen Zhenhe nodded. “The master and mistress loved charity work. They sponsored many impoverished families. The photos I found were from their charity events. You were too young to remember.”

His voice grew sorrowful. The master and mistress had been so kind-why had things ended like this? Leaving their eighteen-year-old daughter to face a company in shambles.

He sighed heavily.

Wen Zhenhe’s house was in a suburban town known for tourism. An Yu enjoyed the scenic drive, her mood lightening.

Wen Zhenhe parked in front of the bookstore. An Yu stepped inside, where a few high school students lounged on the floor, reading novels or classics. She carefully made her way through the store to the backyard.

“The master and mistress’s things are in that room. I found them while organizing,” Wen Zhenhe pointed to a door. Just as he was about to follow An Yu inside, someone called from the store to buy a book.

An Yu told him to tend to the customers and opened the door herself. The room was cramped, filled with the musty scent of stagnant air and damp wood. Sunlight filtered through the gaps, illuminating dust motes floating in the air.

Though cluttered, Wen Zhenhe had organized everything neatly.

An Yu immediately spotted the photo album on the chair. She picked it up and sat down, flipping through it slowly.

It was filled with pictures of An Huaili and Yu Yingzhen doing charity work-some with children, others with school principals and teachers. Everyone in the photos was smiling, except for one commonality:

An Yu wasn’t in any of them.

She checked the dates-she’d been under ten years old then. It made sense her parents hadn’t brought her along. Looking at their youthful, elegant faces, a wave of grief washed over her. Tears pricked her eyes, and she wiped them away with a soft laugh.

Then, as she turned the page, her fingers froze.

The photo was ordinary, no different from the others. It showed An Huaili and Yu Yingzhen in front of an orphanage, posing with the director and staff. On the left side of the image was a vertical plaque that read:

Jiangcheng City Loving Heart Orphanage.

It was the orphanage where Lin Duxi had grown up.