After Rebirth, My Ex-Girlfriend Became Obsessive - Chapter 8

The staff member mustered up the courage to relay the request from the bullet comments, then wiped the sweat from their forehead with their sleeve.

An Yu had her back to the camera. Hearing this, her delicate brows furrowed slightly, and she was just about to refuse when Lin Duxi’s soft voice chimed in.

“Sorry, everyone,” Lin Duxi sighed. “I don’t know how to make a cake, but we can watch A Yu make one instead.”

An Yu turned her head to look at Lin Duxi, who was smiling warmly at her, her eyes brimming with tenderness. Then, Lin Duxi glanced at the staff member.

The staff member said regretfully, “In that case, we’ll have to trouble Teacher An to do it alone.”

An Yu smiled. “It’s fine. Making a cake was my idea in the first place.”

She walked over to the box, opened it, and took out the supplies inside.

Lin Duxi crouched beside her and helped her unpack the items. An Yu paused for a moment but didn’t refuse the assistance.

Together, they placed the machine in the kitchen. Afterward, Lin Duxi obediently stepped out to wait with the staff.

An Yu had made cakes before and was familiar with the process. She patiently followed the steps one by one: baking the cake base, whipping the cream, preparing the jam. Though she worked slowly, she was methodical. Wearing an apron, she looked especially domestic.

The onlookers couldn’t help but murmur in admiration.

[Her technique looks professional-I bet it’ll taste amazing.]
[I want some.]
[I’ll order a cake now. By the time it arrives, I’ll eat it while the streamer does = I’m eating the streamer’s cake.]

Once the cream was whipped, An Yu took out some fruit from the cabinet, cut it into pieces, then peeled a mango and diced the flesh to make jam, spreading it between the cake layers. She coated the outside with cream and decorated it with fruit pieces, completing a fruit-filled cake.

Throughout the process, Lin Duxi was unusually quiet, simply watching An Yu work with serene focus. She seemed calm, but if the camera had caught her expression, it would have revealed the undisguised intensity and affection in her eyes. That emotion grew even stronger when she noticed the fruit An Yu was holding. Her pupils trembled faintly, igniting with a fervent flame that lit up her dark irises.

An Yu carefully adjusted the cake, then took out some chocolate sauce and drew two little figures holding hands in the center. Finally, she wrote the words “Hello, friend” before declaring it done.

She brought the cake out and set it on the table. The staff member filmed it from every angle, marveling, “Teacher An, your cake-making skills are top-notch. This could rival something from a professional bakery.”

An Yu smiled. “I was curious about it before and learned from a master for a while. It’s been a long time since I last made one, so I’m a bit rusty.” As she chatted with the staff, she didn’t notice the meaningful look Lin Duxi gave her.

The staff took a few photos of the cake to use as promotional material later. Then, An Yu cut the cake and handed a slice to each staff member before offering one to Lin Duxi.

“Teacher Lin.”

Lin Duxi reached out to take it. Instead of the expected rough texture of the plate, her fingers brushed against the warmth of An Yu’s hand. She froze for a split second before accepting the cake as if nothing had happened. “Thank you, A Yu.”

Her grip tightened slightly, crumpling the edge of the plate. The spot where she had touched An Yu’s hand burned.

Noticing that An Yu hadn’t cut a slice for herself, the staff asked, “Teacher An, aren’t you having any?”

An Yu shook her head. “I’m allergic to mangoes.”

Everyone was stunned. “If you’re allergic to mangoes, why did you use them in the cake?”

Faced with their bewildered expressions, An Yu seemed puzzled. “Isn’t mango the standard filling for fruit cakes? Is there something wrong with that?”

[? Isn’t the filling for fruit cakes flexible? The way An Yu said it made me doubt myself.]
[The one I’m eating right now doesn’t have mango.]

Her answer left everyone momentarily confused. Only Lin Duxi stiffened upon hearing it. She lowered her head, mechanically eating her cake to hide the trembling in her eyes, which glistened with unshed tears. Her fingers clenched the plate so tightly her knuckles turned white.

The staff member said, “The filling can be whatever you want, right? Teacher An, who told you it had to be mango?”

An Yu nodded. “Oh, I see. Maybe I remembered wrong.”

After finishing the cake, the livestream came to an end. An Yu smiled genuinely at the barrage of reluctant farewells in the bullet comments, her expression like a gentle breeze rippling across a lake.

[My heart is racing! She smiled at me! Is it going to leap out of my chest?!]
[I’m dying from her beauty-I need her face to revive me!]
[So gorgeous! Congrats, you’ve gained a new fan!]

An Yu chuckled and waved goodbye.

The staff ended the stream, then bid farewell to the two at the door. The number of viewers this time had surpassed the combined total of the previous two days-a resounding success.

After seeing them off, An Yu closed the door and sighed in relief. At least nothing had gone wrong.

Then she turned to Lin Duxi, who was still sitting in her chair, lost in thought. She had seemed off ever since earlier.

An Yu walked over and called her name. “Lin Duxi.”

Lin Duxi flinched, startled, and looked up. An Yu was taken aback by her slightly reddened, tear-filled eyes.

“What’s wrong? Is something the matter?” she asked.

Lin Duxi gazed at her, her eyes reflecting a fragile light. “A Yu… why did you use mango in the cake?”

“Mango? Didn’t I already explain? I thought all fruit cakes used mango filling. What, are you allergic too?” An Yu raised a brow in question.

In the pauses between her words, Lin Duxi stared intently at her expression, hoping to detect any hint of pretense or panic in her speech.

But there was none. An Yu was telling the truth-or at least, what she believed to be the truth. Meeting An Yu’s clear gaze, the sturdy defenses Lin Duxi had painstakingly built within herself crumbled in an instant. The light in her eyes extinguished completely, revealing a despairing obsession.

Why doesn’t she remember? How could she forget something so important? Don’t look at me like that-please, don’t!

Lin Duxi parted her lips, her thin mouth trembling slightly. An Yu noticed her strange state and quickly leaned closer, only to catch her flustered farewell.

“It’s getting late. I won’t disturb you any longer, A-Yu. I should go.” With that, she stood up and left-for the first time, walking away despite An Yu’s attempt to approach her.

Watching her retreating figure, An Yu felt utterly bewildered.

What was that about?

Perhaps because of Lin Duxi’s odd behavior during the day, An Yu carefully revisited the events in her mind but found no clues. The unanswered questions lingered as she drifted into sleep, gradually sinking deep into her subconscious. Somehow, she ended up dreaming of high school.

The first day of sophomore year was usually when class assignments were announced, but An Yu arrived late. Fortunately, the homeroom teacher hadn’t arrived yet.

Before she could even catch her breath, Shi Yu, sitting behind her, delivered bad news.

“You’re in trouble. Old Du already came by and assigned seats.” She gestured toward a desk in the middle of the room. “That one’s yours.”

An Yu followed her gaze and sighed, resigning herself to the empty seat. Her deskmate hadn’t arrived either, and for a moment, An Yu felt a kinship with this fellow latecomer.

She pulled books from her bag and neatly arranged them in the desk compartment, then took out the snacks from her pocket and stuffed them into her backpack. In her haste, one packet slipped from her pocket and fell to the floor.

As she reached for it, a shadow fell over her, followed by a slender, pale hand picking up the snack.

An Yu looked up and saw the same girl she had just parted with moments ago, now standing before her.

The girl examined the packet. “Mango flavor.”

She reached into her own pocket, pulled out a bag of candy, and handed it to An Yu. “Here, let’s trade, okay?”

An Yu numbly accepted the candy, only to hear the girl add, “Excuse me, I need to get in.”

It dawned on her-this girl was her yet-to-be-met deskmate.

Before she could say anything, the homeroom teacher walked in. Spotting An Yu, she gave a wry smile.

“An Yu, you’ve got some nerve, being late on the first day.”

An Yu bowed her head in shame. “Sorry, teacher. I overslept.”

Du Ying was amused by her honesty. “Fine. Since you’re so sincere, I’ll let you off without a written reflection.” Then she turned to the girl standing in the aisle and nodded. “Lin Duxi, go ahead and take your seat.”

Lin Duxi nodded and moved past An Yu to her seat. But An Yu couldn’t calm down anymore.

Lin Duxi.  She mouthed the name silently.

In the end, An Yu didn’t have a peaceful dream. The illusory scenes twisted and turned, tearing a hole in her memories as fragments rushed out chaotically, colliding violently in her mind.

When she finally woke, the sky was tinged with the pale light of dawn, but her head felt heavy and muddled. Sitting up, the first image that surfaced was the memory of Lin Duxi holding out mango candy to trade with her.

The girl had worn her uniform neatly, the zipper pulled up to her neck, her long hair tied into a proper low ponytail. She had smiled, eyes curved like crescent moons, her dark lashes fluttering slightly.

An Yu rubbed her temples and frowned.

Lin Duxi likes mangoes-why don’t I remember that at all?

She got up and poured herself a glass of water, trying to ease the tension in her nerves. Over the years, she hadn’t even paid much attention to herself-forgetting Lin Duxi’s preferences wasn’t that strange.

An Yu told herself this, unwilling to dwell on the question any further.

She sat on the balcony until daybreak, still feeling unsettled. Deciding to go for a run, she changed her shoes and stepped out, her gaze unconsciously drifting toward the neighboring door before she deliberately looked away.

When she first moved in, An Yu had already scouted the area around the neighborhood. She jogged a few laps around the nearby park, then stopped by a breakfast shop on her way back.

The shop was crowded at this hour, so An Yu found a seat outside to wait.

As she idly checked her phone, her sharp eyes caught someone watching her from the right. She subtly turned away, pulling her cap lower.

Just then, her order arrived. She quickly lowered her head and ate, planning to leave as soon as possible.

Who is that? A fan? Or someone else? Better finish fast and go.

She finished the congee in a few gulps and stood to leave, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw the person stand up as well. Alarm bells rang-her instincts from her past life kicked in, and she turned to leave, only to run straight into Lin Duxi.

“A-Yu, so this is where you were.” Lin Duxi pulled off her earphones and walked toward her, pausing her morning run. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead, and she was slightly out of breath-nothing like the broken state she’d been in the day before.

As she approached, she reached into her pocket. Still half-lost in the remnants of her dream, An Yu half-expected her to pull out a bag of candy. Her guard lowered momentarily.

Lin Duxi stepped close, took out a pair of glasses from her pocket, unfolded them, and gently placed them on An Yu’s face with careful precision. The distance between them shrank to mere inches.

Looking at An Yu like this, Lin Duxi couldn’t help but smile, her eyes warm and tender. Unable to resist, she reached out and lightly pinched An Yu’s cheek, her touch brimming with affection.

An Yu’s heart lurched. Suddenly snapping back to reality, her pupils dilated as she stumbled back two steps. Lin Duxi’s hand froze mid-air, but she smoothly continued, “Your glasses were lying in the hallway. I found them during my morning run.” She met An Yu’s gaze. “They looked so lonely, just lying there. Now they’re returned to you.”

An Yu nodded. “Thanks.” Her eyes held a trace of scrutiny as they locked with Lin Duxi’s.

Lin Duxi ignored her look, her lips curving slightly. “Well, I’ll be going then. See you later, A-Yu.” With that, she put her earphones back on and resumed her run, leaving like a breeze that had stirred something intangible in her wake.

An Yu watched her retreating figure, then took off the glasses and wiped the sweat from her brow. Her gaze darkened as she studied the frames.  Why has Lin Duxi changed so much? It’s like yesterday never happened.

Then she turned her head-two girls stood a few meters away, frozen in place. They had only wanted an autograph but had instead witnessed such an intimate moment.

An Yu sighed, pulled her cap lower, and jogged home.