After Rebirth, My Ex-Girlfriend Became Obsessive - Chapter 74

The director of the orphanage was finally brought out of the emergency room, but her condition remained critical. The deputy director explained that it was an old illness-one the director had long refused to spend money on treating, allowing it to worsen over time until it reached this state.

She patted Lin Duxi’s shoulder, hoping her words might ease even a fraction of the girl’s guilt. Over the past few days, watching Lin Duxi remain outside the ward without sleep or rest, her heart had ached unbearably. Yet she feared that breaking down in front of Lin Duxi-the only adult the girl could rely on-would only deepen her sorrow. So each time, she fled to the bathroom to stifle her sobs.

Lin Duxi was too sharp not to notice the deputy director’s swollen eyes every time she emerged. And each time, her heart was dragged back into the torment of hell’s judgment.

It was in that cold, oppressive hallway that Lin Duxi overheard the deputy director’s phone call from around the corner. Though the woman had tried to keep her voice low, the words seeped into the air like an inescapable tide, crashing against Lin Duxi’s ears with thunderous force.

The deputy director spoke of the orphanage’s dire financial state-how the director’s medical bills, coupled with the cost of repairing the damage left by Lin Yongfeng and his son, had pushed the institution to the brink of collapse.

Lin Duxi stood in the shadows, the harsh corridor light unable to reach her. The darkness swallowed her thin frame whole, leaving her like a lifeless doll.

When the deputy director turned after hanging up, she froze at the sight of Lin Duxi standing there, engulfed in blackness, her hollow eyes locking onto hers. The mask she had yet to reassemble shattered completely.

“X-Xiao Xi…”

Lin Duxi stared back, her entire being radiating despair. The deputy director’s voice dissolved into the air, unanswered. The suffocating night pressed down heavier than ever.

After a long silence, as if forcibly suppressing some overwhelming emotion, Lin Duxi’s chapped lips parted.

“I’ll raise the money.”

The words barely left her mouth before she turned and sprinted away. The deputy director’s calls chased after her, useless.

Lin Duxi bit her lip hard, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. The phone call’s contents were like barbed needles stabbing into her heart, twisting and shredding. She would raise the money-take on part-time jobs, tutor, do whatever it took.

An Yu had lost track of how many days she had been locked in her room. With no means of communication, she could only stand blankly on the balcony, staring down at the garden below.

The downside of having an ensuite bathroom became painfully clear now. Aside from the brief moments when the door opened for meals, An Yu was cut off from the outside world-completely in the dark about Lin Duxi’s situation.

At first, she had pounded on the door, begging her parents to let her out so they could talk properly. But eventually, she gave up.

Her pleas had only earned her hushed scolding from her father and the sound of her mother’s voice, hoarse from crying, each word a dagger to An Yu’s already battered heart.

That night, the lights in her room went out early. The blanket on the bed shifted slightly, and after what felt like an eternity, An Yu got up, slipped on her shoes, and stepped to the window. The summer night breeze played with her clothes and hair, but she paid it no mind, her gaze fixed on the guard patrolling the lawn below.

Her parents had stationed guards around the house to prevent her escape.

An Yu watched expressionlessly as the guard lit a cigarette, the tiny red ember glowing conspicuously in the dark. Her heart pounded wildly as she focused on that faint light.

She had no way to track time, but days of observation had taught her one thing: this guard always smoked a cigarette right before his shift ended. The moment the ember died out, she would have a ten-second window to escape.

Soon, the light vanished. An Yu felt the air around her still. Exhaling softly, she gathered her resolve and leaped from the second floor.

The  thud  of her landing was followed not by pain, but by sheer adrenaline. Half her body went numb, but she forced herself up and bolted for the gate. Her family’s habit was to leave the smaller side gate within the main iron gate unlocked for convenience.

But her parents had anticipated her. Just as she reached the gate, another guard intercepted her.

An Yu’s last thread of composure snapped. She fought with every ounce of strength she had-she  had  to find Lin Duxi. The money she had hidden away would be enough for the two of them to survive for a while.

Yet no matter how desperately she struggled, she couldn’t break free. Instead, her commotion woke her parents.

An Huaili, throwing on a coat, stormed downstairs to find his daughter sinking her teeth into the guard’s hand. The sight of his well-bred child acting so wildly enraged him. Without a word, he strode over and slapped An Yu across the face.

The sting burned her cheek, and An Yu went still.

Yu Yingzhen shoved An Huaili aside and pulled An Yu into her arms, sobbing as she caressed her daughter’s face. An Huaili, realizing what he’d done, stood frozen, lost.

The scene descended into chaos, yet An Yu, at the center of the crowd, remained unresponsive. It was as if the noise and arguments existed outside her consciousness. She only felt unbearably sleepy and exhausted.

Yu Yingzhen’s scream reached her ears. In her final moment of awareness, An Yu saw the blood staining one of her mother’s hands and the dark red stains on her own white dress.

When she woke again, the glaring brightness of the ceiling greeted her. An Yu felt nothing, wanting only to close her eyes and escape everything here. At least in her dreams, Lin Duxi was there with her.

Seeing her awake, Yu Yingzhen crouched down and hugged her tightly, suppressing her sobs.

“Mom is begging you, stop pushing us like this, okay?”

An Yu opened her eyes, looking at the top of her mother’s head resting against her hand. She felt as if she were being slowly carved apart. Her voice trembled, hoarse as she spoke.

“Mom, can  you  stop pushing  me  ?”

All she wanted was to see Lin Duxi one more time. She couldn’t just disappear without a word.

Her gaze drifted indifferently around the room. She was still in her own bedroom, but the balcony had been reinforced with a heavy glass door. She numbly shifted her focus back to the white ceiling, her eyes brimming with tears.

“Mom, I just want to see her again. I can’t leave without saying goodbye.”

Another wave of crying reached her ears. An Yu closed her eyes, the gathered tears slipping from the corners and dampening the sheets.

An Huaili sighed deeply and spoke.

“An Yu, do you know why your mother and I wanted you to go abroad?”

An Yu didn’t respond. The outcome was already clear-what did it matter whether she knew the reason or not?

When she remained silent, An Huaili sighed again, gritted his teeth, and revealed the truth.

“Our family is bankrupt. I won’t restrict your movements anymore. Go see her if you want. Whether you leave the country or not is up to you.” Yu Yingzhen tugged at his sleeve, but he pressed on.

An Yu’s eyes flew open, shock flooding her gaze. “How?” Fragments of the past surfaced in her mind-there had been signs all along, but she had deliberately ignored them.

“You’re still injured. Once you’ve recovered, you can do whatever you want.” An Huaili led the weakened Yu Yingzhen out, leaving the room in silence, broken only by An Yu’s heavy breathing.

Her family was bankrupt. The mighty An Corporation had collapsed just like that, without her even realizing. An Yu’s head throbbed. Instinctively, she reached up to rub her temples, only to wince at a sharp pain in her hand. She looked down-a long wound, bandaged, likely from scraping against a rock when she had jumped.

The news of the bankruptcy was overwhelming. Even with the earlier hints, An Yu needed time to process it. Her parents had wanted to send her abroad to protect her. Her thoughts grew increasingly muddled, but amidst the confusion, one idea crystallized with clarity.

She wouldn’t leave the country. Going abroad was the wrong choice-for her, for her parents, and for Lin Duxi. It would be running away.

Naïve and untested by hardship, An Yu believed that as long as her family stuck together, they could overcome anything. She and Lin Duxi could stay together, too. If they persevered, her parents would eventually accept them.

And if they never did? Then she simply wouldn’t let Lin Duxi interact with them much.

Holding onto this resolve, An Yu’s injuries gradually healed. Finally, she was allowed her phone again.

The first thing she did was look for Lin Duxi’s contact. Unsurprisingly, during her disappearance, Lin Duxi had sent countless messages. An Yu patiently replied to each one. The later the time, the fewer messages Lin Duxi had sent. Anxiety coiled in An Yu’s chest as she curled up in her room and called her.

After a few rings, the speaker transmitted restrained, shaky breathing, followed by a trembling voice:

“Ah Yu.”

It was so soft, as if Lin Duxi feared that speaking too loudly would shatter the illusion of this call.

Just hearing her voice made An Yu’s eyes mist over. She opened her mouth, only to realize how hoarse she sounded.

“Yeah, it’s me. I’m sorry you couldn’t reach me for so long.”

Lin Duxi’s voice came through the speaker, muffled and rough. Her breath hitched, words laced with tears.

“Ah Yu, Ah Yu, Ah Yu.”

Each utterance grew quieter, more fractured, carrying emotions An Yu couldn’t decipher but that struck her heart like relentless blows.

“Yeah, I’m here, I’m here. Where are you? I’ll come to you.”

Between sobs, Lin Duxi gave an address. An Yu heard someone calling for her on the other end.

Lin Duxi apologized. “Ah Yu, I’ll wait for you.”

Knowing she had things to attend to, An Yu reluctantly hung up. She stared blankly at the phone screen for a long moment before snapping back to reality. She sprang up, hurried to the mirror, and used concealer to cover the lingering bruises still visible on her skin.

In the car, An Yu searched for the address Lin Duxi had given her. Seeing it led to a residential area, she frowned briefly before relaying it to the driver.

The car sped away from the villa, sticking to the speed limit, yet it still took an hour to reach the destination.

The neighborhood security wouldn’t let strangers in. An Yu got out outside the gates while the driver gestured animatedly at the guard. An Yu’s impatience grew-until she heard a soft, familiar call from behind.

“Ah Yu.”