After Rebirth, My Ex-Girlfriend Became Obsessive - Chapter 80

Her voice suddenly turned sorrowful as she turned to look at An Yu, who stood frozen in place, at a loss. Tears welled in her eyes.

“Ah Yu, do you want to know why?” Her eyes held a fragile light.

An Yu kept her expression subdued as she watched Lin Duxi, whose emotions seemed on the verge of unraveling. She didn’t want to know.

There would be plenty of time to get the answer to that question-just not now, when Lin Duxi was clearly not in the right state.

The warmth of the sunlight gradually intensified, but for Lin Duxi, dressed so lightly, it still felt cold. She stood there, trembling slightly, making the turbulent emotions in her clear eyes even more pronounced.

An Yu released her hand and, under Lin Duxi’s slightly panicked gaze, took off her coat and draped it over Lin Duxi’s shoulders.

Then, she gently tucked the stray strands of hair behind Lin Duxi’s ear and gave her a soft smile before taking her hand again, feeling the slight chill in her fingertips.

“I’m a little cold,” she said earnestly, looking at Lin Duxi in her wool sweater, silently asking if she wanted to go back together.

Lin Duxi, distracted by her actions, felt the chaos in her heart gradually settle.

The faint fragrance of An Yu lingered at the tip of her nose, and the warmth of An Yu’s coat filled the emptiness inside her. Lin Duxi gave a slight nod, tilting her head to look at her, her eyes shimmering.

Lin Duxi’s manager soon sent a car to the designated location. Watching the black sedan approach in the distance, An Yu impulsively asked,

“Is your manager named Ji Qi?”

Lin Duxi paused as she opened the car door and turned back.

“Yes, why?”

An Yu raised an eyebrow. “Nothing, just remembered something.” She followed Lin Duxi into the back seat.

Ji Qi-An Yu had heard of the name before. In her past life, she’d often heard Ning Xuan mention this person at the company, a highly capable manager. It made sense that Lin Duxi was under her wing.

Having barely slept the night before, coupled with emotional exhaustion, drowsiness began to creep over them in the car.

The driver kept the ride smooth, likely at Lin Duxi’s request. The car was scented with a pleasant fragrance, one An Yu didn’t mind. In fact, it only deepened her sleepiness.

Suddenly, a weight pressed against her shoulder, startling her awake slightly. She glanced down to see a head of soft hair resting against her.

Feeling safe, Lin Duxi dozed lightly, leaning on her shoulder, their fingers still interlaced.

An Yu turned her head to look at her, lips curving into a smile, then closed her eyes and relaxed, allowing herself to drift off alongside her in the early autumn morning.

Over the past few days, An Yu had been so focused on Lin Duxi that she’d completely ignored online matters. With only two days left before the third recording of  Hello, Friend  , she finally remembered the group selection.

Pei Lu hadn’t withdrawn from the show, meaning his pairing with Lin Duxi was still an option.

Though the outcome was practically decided, An Yu still felt a flicker of nervousness when she checked the rankings.

Then, she was stunned.

The votes for her and Lin Duxi were indeed at the top-more than the combined total of all the other pairings.

The last time she’d checked, the numbers had been neck and neck. Now, their votes were nearly five times Pei Lu’s.

She couldn’t help but feel pleased, pressing her lips together to keep her smile from growing too obvious. She was genuinely curious-what had caused such a surge in their CP fanbase?

After scrolling through their CP fan community, she found the answer.

Some of the bigger fans, unable to bear the way the two were practically force-feeding them sweetness, declared they would uphold the dignity of CP fans by digging for even more sugar amidst the already overwhelming sweetness.

They meticulously combed through every moment of the first two live broadcasts, zooming in on subtle gestures and exchanged glances, and successfully produced a nearly two-hour-long video compilation.

[All the Times Your CP Secretly Flirted Behind the Scenes.]

Others edited clips from their past dramas, setting them to hauntingly poignant music, creating an emotionally devastating masterpiece that wrecked fans.

[While the OTP spoils us with sweetness, we CP fans are over here making heartbreaking edits, lol.]

[Too much sugar rots your teeth-gotta balance it with some angst (smug).]

[Is this the phenomenon where the sweeter the OTP, the more angsty the fans get?]

Both videos had nearly a million views, drawing countless new fans into the fandom. The CP community’s numbers skyrocketed, updating with every refresh.

An Yu was stunned. The outside world had gotten  this  lively?

Her main account was mostly managed by her company, so she wasn’t worried about her side account being exposed. Like now, her inbox was flooded with starving CP fans.

[Author, it’s been so long since you posted new art-hungry!]

[Author, hungry (mouth wide open) staring eagerly.]

[Everyone, stop pressuring her! The author might just be busy IRL. Let’s wait patiently-maybe the next update will be a whole nine-grid set!]

An Yu: “…”

Then there was her online friend,  Sleeps 24 Hours a Day  , whose messages stood out among the sea of notifications.

An Yu clicked in and saw the previous messages:

[Author, are you still there?]

[I’ve been troubled lately. I’m a girl who likes another girl, but she keeps avoiding my feelings… What should I do?]

An Yu’s eyebrow rose. She hadn’t expected to meet another girl who liked girls. Eager to help, she replied:

[Do you think she likes you back?]

The other person responded almost instantly.

[Yes.]

No hesitation, absolute certainty.

An Yu found this interesting. If the feelings were mutual, why the avoidance?

Since this was just an online exchange, she didn’t overthink it and typed freely.

Meanwhile, Lin Duxi sat on the sofa, leisurely scrolling through her chat with An Yu. She had sent those messages a long time ago, back when An Yu kept dodging her feelings. She had wanted to understand An Yu’s thoughts.

But now, their misunderstandings were resolved, and she no longer needed advice. She began typing to explain their current relationship-

Then, a new message popped up.

[Then go for it! If you know she likes you, there’s nothing to worry about. Take the initiative, show her how you feel through actions. Make her understand you need her. And if she really likes you, she won’t refuse anything you ask, right?]

The typing sounds ceased. The air seemed to freeze.

Lin Duxi stared blankly at the screen, her cheeks flushing scarlet, the heat spreading to her neck and ears. Her fingertips tingled slightly where they touched the screen.

When the other side didn’t respond for a while, An Yu worried she’d been too forward.

[This is just my opinion-take it with a grain of salt. Don’t overthink it!]

[No, author, your advice is perfect. I’ve decided-I’m doing it!]

An Yu nodded approvingly. A quick learner.

After the chat, pleased with her good deed, her mood was abruptly shattered by her system’s sudden intrusion.

“Host, how can you still smile at a time like this?”  Its tone was irritable, as if exhausted. An Yu marveled that she could sense fatigue in a robotic voice.

“What’s wrong?”  Her good mood vanished.

“You know recent events have caused some disruptions, but they’ve been fixed. We need to speed up the mission-delays are risky.”  Impatience laced its words.

An Yu hummed indifferently and fell silent.

The system bristled at her nonchalance. The image of her smiling earlier flashed before it, fueling its agitation.

“Host, the interaction metrics between the female lead and male lead are critically low. This isn’t acceptable. Have you been slacking?”

“I’ve done my part. I complete every task you assign, but the outcome depends on logical progression.”

Wasn’t this chaos ideal? The messier, the better.

The system faltered. Technically, An Yu  had  completed every task, success or not. Its pride wounded, its voice turned icy.

“Host, I’m doing this for your own good. Remember the suffering from your last punishment? That was the system’s highest-level penalty. You wouldn’t want a repeat, would you?”

An Yu frowned.  “Of course not. Just tell me what to do.”

Pleased by her submission, the system relented.

“Just pick up the pace. The voting results weren’t ideal, but you two still have one day together. Use the remaining two days efficiently. Stick to the mission.”

After lengthy instructions, the system muttered about wasted time.

“I’ll be monitoring you closely during the mission.”  With that final threat, it vanished.

The oppressive presence in her mind faded. An Yu sighed softly.

At least the system didn’t know about her past actions. But recent developments had clearly unsettled it.

These past two days with Lin Duxi had felt like a dream. But she couldn’t indulge-she had to face reality.

Sighing again, she opened her phone, still on the chat with  Sleeps 24 Hours  .

Exiting the screen, she accidentally clicked on the top fan-made video-a dramatic, angst-filled edit of her and Lin Duxi’s “love and hate.”

Inspired by the comments, she booted up her computer and drawing tablet.