After Rebirth, My Ex-Girlfriend Became Obsessive - Chapter 60

An Yu’s pupils trembled as she stared fixedly at the coat for nearly two seconds before lowering her gaze, suppressing the surge of emotions in her heart.

She reached out, grabbed the coat, and walked to the closet under the moonlight, placing it inside. When she turned around, her eyes were calm and unreadable.

Lin Duxi watched An Yu silently, not stopping her or offering any explanation. Her eyes were still red from crying as she gazed at An Yu.

Naturally, An Yu didn’t want to hear her explanations either. Everything that had happened today was too surreal, far beyond anything she could have imagined. She was now in Lin Duxi’s home, wearing her clothes, and about to lie in her bed to sleep with her.

An Yu couldn’t help but bite the wound on her lip. The pain sharpened her senses, making her all the more aware of how absurd this was-both she and Lin Duxi were out of their minds tonight. Lin Duxi was insane, and she was even crazier for trying to reason with a drunk.

With this frustration simmering inside, An Yu lay down beside Lin Duxi. But Lin Duxi didn’t sleep. Instead, she lay on her side, staring at An Yu with burning intensity-so palpable that An Yu could feel it even with her eyes closed.

Unable to ignore it, An Yu opened her eyes and met her gaze. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”

Lin Duxi didn’t avert her eyes. “I’m afraid that if I fall asleep, you’ll leave.”

The distance between them was so close that An Yu could clearly see Lin Duxi’s reddened eyes and the deep affection and stubbornness lurking within.

An Yu, whose thoughts had been seen through, replied, “I won’t. I won’t leave. Just sleep.”

Lin Duxi didn’t believe her. Her reaction was sluggish as she lowered her eyelids. An Yu thought she was finally about to close her eyes and sleep, but the next second, she heard Lin Duxi murmur-

“My lips hurt.”

An Yu: “Mine hurt too. It won’t hurt once you’re asleep.”

But Lin Duxi still refused to sleep. Her exhausted body could no longer sustain conversation, and waves of pain throbbed in her head, making it impossible to stay fully conscious. Yet the scenes from her dreams had felt so real-she was terrified that when she woke up, she wouldn’t see An Yu smiling at her, but the nightmare instead. She would surely go mad.

With this thought, Lin Duxi stubbornly reached out a hand. She wanted to touch An Yu, to feel even the slightest warmth of her body.

But before her fingers could make contact, An Yu swatted her hand away.

“Lin Duxi, where are you getting all this energy? Are you going to sleep or not?”

An Yu could barely keep her own eyes open, yet Lin Duxi, after all their earlier struggles, still had strength left. She couldn’t help but admire that.

“Let’s just treat everything that happened today as part of the payment-count it in,” An Yu said, thinking Lin Duxi’s resistance stemmed from the earlier overstepping. “Can you sleep now?”

Lin Duxi lowered her head, her gaze lingering on An Yu’s hand resting beside her-slender, fair, and elegant. The corner of her lips curled slightly, carrying a hint of triumph.

“Okay.”

She remembered-they had kissed in the bathroom. And she had held An Yu’s hand…

Lin Duxi was too exhausted, her head aching fiercely. The moment she relaxed, she fell into a heavy sleep, her fingers still clutching the hem of An Yu’s pajamas, as if unwilling to let go.

An Yu suppressed a sigh, afraid of waking her. Finally, she could close her eyes and rest. She had originally planned to leave once Lin Duxi was asleep, but then she worried that if Lin Duxi-drunk out of her mind-woke up in the middle of the night and didn’t see her, she might spiral again. So she gave up on the idea.

An Yu shut her eyes, listening to the steady breathing beside her. Strangely, it brought her an unexpected sense of peace, and she nearly drifted off-until the next second, when she faintly caught Lin Duxi’s murmuring.

“It hurts… My head hurts… So painful…”

The sound pierced through her nerves, jolting An Yu awake. She sat up and saw Lin Duxi lying on her back, her previously serene expression now twisted in discomfort, her breathing uneven.

The last time they had met, when An Yu had picked Lin Duxi up from a gathering, Lin Duxi-drunk-had curled into her arms, complaining of a headache. And the time before that, she had also said her head hurt after drinking. An Yu’s fingers pressed against her chin, her expression shadowed, worry hidden in her eyes.

She leaned closer to Lin Duxi, half-kneeling on the bed. The mattress dipped under her weight, causing Lin Duxi’s head to tilt slightly toward her, though her face remained troubled.

Under the moonlight, An Yu raised her hands and gently pressed her fingers against the pressure points on Lin Duxi’s temples, massaging carefully, afraid of waking her.

She had gotten the number of a massage therapist from Ning Xuan and called to ask for lessons. The therapist, thinking she was preparing for a role in a drama, had happily taught her techniques for relieving headaches. An Yu had tried them before-they really did help ease tension.

She didn’t dare use too much strength, afraid of worsening Lin Duxi’s pain. Moonlight streamed through the window, spilling a soft white glow over the bed.

Gradually, the furrow between Lin Duxi’s brows smoothed out, and her expression relaxed. An Yu let out a quiet breath-the massage seemed to be working. Still, she didn’t let up, even as a question rose in her mind.

Back in high school, when Lin Duxi had stayed at her place for so long, and even after they got together and grew closer, An Yu had never noticed any signs of her suffering from headaches.

Psychological disguises might be hard to see through, but physical pain-no matter how well-hidden-couldn’t have escaped An Yu’s notice entirely. As she thought this, she couldn’t help but glance down at Lin Duxi’s peaceful sleeping face.

So… this problem must have started after they broke up.

An Yu tried to recall that period in detail, but the memories were too chaotic, too overwhelming. The impending bankruptcy of her family had left her in constant anxiety, and on top of that, she had to endure her parents’ discovery of their relationship. Every day was spent in unease.

The rare moments when she could catch her breath and talk to Lin Duxi ended with the first words out of Lin Duxi’s mouth being a cold “Let’s break up.”

Thinking back, An Yu smiled bitterly. After the breakup, she had been in agony. The people she loved most had left her all at once, and it felt like everything around her was withering at breakneck speed.

Memories were like thorned vines, hiding the pain within. She had thought they could stay buried, but when she looked back, the thorns had already fused with her flesh-every movement brought piercing pain.

What had Lin Duxi experienced after their breakup? Where had she gone? An Yu didn’t know. She only remembered that when she first entered university, she had secretly lurked on the forum of the neighboring university’s campus, frantically scrolling through every post like a woman possessed.

She searched all night, until the sky lightened with dawn and her phone died from lack of charge. Only then did she finally understand-Lin Duxi hadn’t gone to the university they had promised to attend together.

After that, they never saw each other again.

The events of the past were far too complicated, and An Yu was utterly exhausted at the moment. She hadn’t delved too deeply into many things-perhaps it was her subconscious protecting itself. Watching Lin Duxi finally settle into quiet, An Yu shook her sore arms, closed her eyes, and collapsed beside Lin Duxi.

The faint fragrance lingering around Lin Duxi drifted into her nose. Though weary, An Yu felt an odd sense of peace. Whether it was because of Lin Duxi or not, she found herself dreaming of the past once again.

It had been over half a month since she last made a cake for Lin Duxi. It wasn’t that An Yu didn’t want to talk to her, nor was she trying to be some heartless flirt who disappeared after stirring up emotions.

The words she had spoken to Lin Duxi that day still burned vividly in her mind. The impulsive suggestion for Lin Duxi to move in with her now made her cheeks flush with heat just thinking about it. She was afraid her words had burdened Lin Duxi, even more afraid of hearing rejection. So, from the start, she hadn’t sought her out.

As time passed, the courage to approach Lin Duxi only dwindled further, and the matter was postponed again and again, evolving into the current situation-not quite a cold war, but something even more stifling.

An Yu was frustrated. If she didn’t initiate conversation, did that mean Lin Duxi wouldn’t either? What a blockhead. With that thought, she couldn’t help but glare fiercely at Lin Duxi’s slender back.

The “blockhead” Lin Duxi seemed to sense something and suddenly turned her head, locking eyes with An Yu.

An Yu: “!” She immediately flopped face-down onto the desk, pretending to be fast asleep.

Lin Duxi: “…” She couldn’t suppress the smile tugging at her lips, her eyes crinkling with amusement.  She’s so cute.

And so, the stalemate continued. The two hadn’t spoken in a long time. Another exam came and went, and An Yu’s grades and ranking had improved significantly. She had hoped to use the seat reshuffling as a chance to move closer to Lin Duxi and bridge the distance between them.

But then the homeroom teacher announced that due to the busy schedule of senior year, seat changes wouldn’t happen as frequently anymore. An Yu slumped back onto her desk in defeat.

Xu Ting, watching her deskmate’s emotions rollercoaster throughout the day, couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong? The teacher even praised your progress in class.”

An Yu slowly shook her head without lifting it from the desk.

The classmate in front turned around and startled at the sight of her. “An Yu, are you okay? Are you feeling unwell?”

An Yu lifted her eyes, gave him a brief, indifferent glance, then quickly looked away. “No,” she said flatly before grabbing her water bottle and walking off to refill it.

Even though she and Lin Duxi were stuck in this strange tension, it didn’t mean she had forgiven Qi Yuankang. He was the one who had led those troublemakers to Lin Duxi back then. Even if he was just a messenger, when it came to Lin Duxi, An Yu couldn’t treat him the same as before.

The gang that had harassed Lin Duxi had later been thoroughly dealt with by her parents’ people and thrown into the police station. But since most of them were minors, they were back to their old tricks after just a few days.

Their new target, however, was no longer Lin Duxi. Sure, Lin Duxi was pretty, but she reeked of poverty-her pockets were emptier than theirs. An Yu, on the other hand, was both rich and beautiful. Plus, she’d kicked their leader, Liu, last time. That was a grudge they had to settle. And if they could teach her a lesson, wouldn’t she just hand over her money obediently?

A group of delinquents crowded into a dilapidated alley, two or three sharing a single cheap cigarette, snickering over their shared plan. Smoke curled up from the depths of the alley, its musty, damp stench wafting all the way to the entrance, forcing passersby to cover their noses and avoid the area.

But while they schemed to ambush An Yu, they didn’t account for the fact that she was picked up by her family’s driver every day after school. The black sedan arrived ten minutes early without fail, parked right at the school gate, ready for An Yu to slip into the moment she stepped out.

After staking out Jiangcheng No. 2 High School for days, burning through packs of cigarettes, all they ever saw was the same black car. Their leader, Liu, finally lost patience. Swinging a baton, he shook his greasy, yellowish-black hair and marched toward the car, ready to smash it up and beat An Yu senseless.

But when he got within ten meters, his steps faltered. Inside the car sat two men-the driver was an older man, but the passenger in the front seat was a burly guy in a black suit, his muscles straining against the fabric as if ready to burst through, a pair of dark sunglasses shielding his eyes as he stared ahead.

Liu gulped, his legs going weak as he scrambled back.

No An Yu meant no money, and no money meant no cigarettes. The gang, whose smoking habits probably outweighed their life expectancies, decided they needed someone to lure An Yu out.

Their class monitor was the perfect candidate-he even knew what she looked like.

At first, Qi Yuankang refused outright. But after the gang slung their arms around his shoulders, flattering and coaxing him, insisting they just wanted to “borrow” some money, his resolve wavered. He despised these lowlifes, yet he smiled and agreed-because he had his own agenda.

An Yu had grown increasingly distant toward him lately. For every ten words he spoke, she’d barely spare him a glance. It set off alarm bells in his mind. If he could lure her out, then swoop in to save her when the gang harassed her, wouldn’t she see him in a new light?

And besides-who wouldn’t want to see the proud, beautiful rich girl humiliated, dragged through the mud by the scum of the earth?

Autumn was in full swing, and Jiangcheng No. 2 High had implemented new measures for its senior students. The top thirty ranked students were allowed to stay after school for additional study sessions, with teachers supervising.

An Yu, now within the top fifty, missed the cutoff and continued her usual routine. The time she could spend talking to Lin Duxi dwindled even further.

During the break after the first afternoon class, most of the class was napping. An Yu, too, propped her head on her arm, drifting in and out of drowsiness.

Suddenly, the boy in front turned around and whispered, “An Yu, Lin Duxi wants you to wait for her in the alley next to the barbecue shop after school.”

An Yu jolted awake. She narrowed her eyes. “How do you know?”

“She told me when I was collecting homework.”

An Yu remained skeptical. “No way. If she wanted to talk to me, she’d come find me herself.” She glanced at Lin Duxi’s seat-empty.

“Lin Duxi’s swamped. She got called to the teacher’s office right after class and doesn’t have time. Anyway, I’m just passing the message. Up to you whether you go.” The monitor shrugged and turned back around.

An Yu stared blankly at the small doodle of a kitten she’d unconsciously drawn on her desk, then lifted her gaze to the vacant seat ahead. With a sigh, she buried her face in her arms and closed her eyes.