After Rebirth, My Ex-Girlfriend Became Obsessive - Chapter 75

A trembling, gentle voice fell softly into An Yu’s ears, stirring turbulent waves in her heart. She turned around and saw Lin Duxi standing across the street, her eyes slightly red as she gazed at her.

An Yu’s eyes instantly welled up with tears. She had just lifted her foot to run toward her when a slender figure crashed into her arms.

Lin Duxi spread her arms and hugged her tightly. The backpack in her arms fell to the ground with a thud as she buried her face into An Yu’s shoulder, nuzzling her cheek with longing.

“A-Yu… A-Yu…”

Her emotions were too overwhelming, her words broken and incoherent. Listening to her, An Yu felt her heart shatter into pieces. She wrapped her arms lightly around Lin Duxi, soothing her trembling body with tender affection.

Lin Duxi had lost a lot of weight-so much that An Yu could feel her bony frame with just a touch. An Yu didn’t know what she had been through, but even the thought of it made her suffocate with pain.

“I missed you so much. I thought I’d never see you again.” Lin Duxi kissed her pale cheek lightly, then gave her a half-hearted scolding, gently tapping her shoulder. Though it was supposed to be a hit, it felt more like a caress.

The bruise on An Yu’s shoulder hadn’t completely faded yet, and she winced slightly before forcing a smile.

“That won’t happen. You promised we’d always be together.”

Originally, on her way here, An Yu had planned to pour out all the grievances she had endured over the past few days to Lin Duxi, to make her pamper her properly. But the moment she saw her, seeing that wounded expression on her face, she no longer wanted to say anything.

She didn’t want Lin Duxi to worry about her. She didn’t want Lin Duxi to feel sad or distressed for her.

The words she had wanted to say churned in her throat before sinking back down. She loosened her embrace.

Lin Duxi looked at her in confusion, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. She hadn’t held her enough yet.

An Yu smiled faintly, just about to say something when a soft kiss landed on her lips-pure, devoid of any lust, filled only with reverence. An Yu closed her eyes and deepened the kiss.

Dozens of meters away, a black car sat quietly at the entrance of the neighborhood. The security guard inside the booth had just finished arguing with the driver and was now glaring at him as he made a phone call.

The call connected after two rings.

“Sir, the young lady has indeed come to see her.”

The old residential area had no places nearby for people to rest, so Lin Duxi led An Yu to a noodle shop she frequented.

It wasn’t mealtime yet, so the shop was nearly empty. The two found a seat and settled in. Only then did An Yu realize she hadn’t eaten all day, so she ordered the same dish as Lin Duxi.

From here, she could see the neighborhood Lin Duxi had mentioned on the phone. An Yu’s gaze then fell on the textbooks beside Lin Duxi-books that didn’t seem to belong to someone her age-and she felt puzzled.

“Have you been tutoring here all this time?”

Lin Duxi picked up the lone slice of meat left in her noodles with her chopsticks. Her lowered eyes darkened slightly before she placed the meat into An Yu’s bowl. When she looked up again, her expression had returned to normal.

“Yeah,” she replied casually. “Since I want to be with A-Yu in the future, I thought I should save up some money.”

Her answer made An Yu happy, but then she remembered her own family’s situation, and her mood instantly plummeted. She didn’t notice the slight tremble in Lin Duxi’s hand as she lifted her noodles.

The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy. Both of them finished their meal, each lost in their own thoughts.

After eating, Lin Duxi still had more tutoring to do. An Yu wanted to wait for her, but Lin Duxi firmly refused. When An Yu insisted, Lin Duxi playfully scolded her and pushed her into the back seat of the car, rewarding her with another kiss.

An Yu obediently relented.

“Call me when you’re done with tutoring. I’ll come pick you up.” An Yu’s eyes shimmered faintly.

Lin Duxi smiled softly and agreed.

Watching An Yu disappear around the corner, the emotions she had been suppressing could no longer be contained. She slumped weakly against the wall, hugging her knees as she crouched down, sobbing quietly. Her heart had been torn open, bleeding profusely.

The pleading words of An Huali and Yu Zhen kept echoing in her ears, battering her fragile consciousness.

“Xiao Yu refused to go abroad because of you. How can you bear to watch her ruin her future like this?”

“Let me be blunt-the An family has gone bankrupt. Going abroad would only benefit An Yu, but… sigh.”

“Xiao Lin, we’ve watched you grow up all these years. I’ve never asked you for anything, but just this once… please, let our An Yu go.”

Each word, each fragmented phrase, was like a bullet piercing her already battered heart.

She couldn’t do it. She truly couldn’t.

No matter how much she rehearsed the words in her heart, no matter how long she prepared herself, the moment she saw An Yu, all her defenses crumbled. She really didn’t want to be separated from her.

Perhaps… there was still room for negotiation. Maybe if she told An Yu the truth-Uncle and Auntie had said that as long as An Yu went abroad, it would be enough. Then she could persuade An Yu to go. Once she started working part-time in college, they could save up money and see each other again.

The sound of sobbing gradually subsided. An Yu wiped her reddened eyes, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and tucked her shattered heart inside-it was the best solution she could think of for now.

She lowered her head to straighten her clothes, then put on her glasses to hide her swollen eyes. But the moment she looked up, she froze.

A young man stood a dozen meters ahead of her, cigarette dangling from his lips as he eyed her up and down.

It was Lin Ze. How had he gotten out so soon?

Lin Duxi turned and ran, her legs stiff and heavy as lead. She barely made it a few steps before the man caught up to her.

“Lin Duxi, what the hell are you running for?!” Lin Ze yanked her back, slamming her against the wall. The impact sent a numb pain shooting through her back.

“You threw me and my dad in jail, and now you dare run? I’ll fucking kill you!” He raised his hand to strike her, his grip tightening around her arm. Lin Duxi winced as a thin trail of blood snaked down her pale skin.

Startled, Lin Ze let go. “Don’t try to frame me-I didn’t hit you.” Then he took in her outfit. “Wearing long sleeves in the middle of summer? Are you out of your damn mind?”

Lin Duxi ignored the blood on her arm, as if she already knew the wound would split open. She didn’t even bother to stop the bleeding, her gaze locked onto him with eerie intensity.

Lin Ze grabbed her throat. “You’ve got some nerve, huh? Guess I’ll have to teach you a lesson!” Just as he was about to strike, he suddenly hesitated and let go.

“Whatever. I’m just here for money. Beating you up would just land me back in jail.”

He snatched her backpack and rifled through it, shaking its contents onto the ground. Among the scattered items was a small pocket knife-clearly for self-defense-but he only managed to scrounge up less than a hundred yuan.

Lin Ze picked up the knife, twirling it in his hand. “You’re this fucking broke? Aren’t you some top student with a tutoring gig? Where’s the rest?”

Lin Duxi clutched her throat, gasping for air. Her eyes burned with hatred, devoid of any restraint, like a venomous snake coiled and ready to strike the moment its enemy let down their guard.

“That girl earlier… she looked familiar.” Lin Ze stuffed the money into his pocket and smirked when he saw Lin Duxi’s rage suddenly freeze over.

“Wasn’t she the one who saved you last time? You two must be real close.” His voice dripped with malice. “That car of hers looked expensive. Maybe I should pay her a visit instead?”

“Don’t you dare!” Lin Duxi trembled violently, lunging for his throat, but he dodged.

“Why wouldn’t I? If you’ve got no money, then I’ve got none. And if I’ve got none, of course I’ll go to her. Hahaha!” Mid-laugh, he suddenly grunted, doubling over in pain as a sharp ache shot through his side.

Seizing the chance, Lin Duxi darted past him. Furious, Lin Ze roared, “You fucking hit me? Even my dad never laid a hand on me, and you think you can? You’re dead!”

“What’s going on here?!” A security guard from the neighborhood post rushed out, baton in hand, shouting at the two.

Lin Ze faltered. “Fine. You win, Lin Duxi. Just you wait-you and your precious little friend are both gonna pay!” With that, he bolted.

Lin Duxi slumped weakly by the roadside, her belongings scattered around her, now dust-covered-just like the murky confusion in her heart.

She stared blankly at the ground, only snapping back to reality when the guard called out to her. Mechanically, she gathered her things and stuffed them back into her bag, not caring whether they were clean, then trudged away.

Why? Why did it always have to be like this?

Why was she never allowed to hold onto anything good? Why did everyone she loved have to suffer because of her?

It was all her fault.

Every recent ordeal had chipped away at her heart, and no matter how hard she tried to mend it, the damage only grew. And now, the person she cherished most was being harassed because of her.

Because of her.

As if misfortune loved company, rain began to pour before she even reached the bus stop. She didn’t bother to take shelter, letting the downpour soak through her clothes.

Standing in the middle of the road, she tilted her head up at the sky, raindrops stinging her eyes until her vision blurred. A sudden wave of apathy washed over her.

Maybe the sickness had been festering inside her all along, only now fully ignited. She should’ve died long ago-in that fire when she was six.

How pointless.

Hah. So damn pointless.

An hour-long bus ride brought her back to the orphanage. In one corner of the yard lay a pile of discarded junk-something she’d always averted her eyes from before. But now, under the relentless rain, she stared at the heap, her heart eerily still.

She didn’t shower. Didn’t change. Lin Duxi crawled under her blanket and slept for two full days, only waking when her phone rang. The dim room was dead silent except for the shrill ringtone.

She reached for the phone, its screen casting a faint red glow from the barrage of missed calls-light swallowed by the darkness in her pitch-black eyes.

She answered.

“An Yu, let’s meet.”