After Rebirth, My Ex-Girlfriend Became Obsessive - Chapter 97
An Yu was stunned for a moment, the corners of her eyes gradually moistening before Lin Duxi’s pale fingers gently wiped the tears away.
An Yu turned her head away, sniffing slightly, not wanting Lin Duxi to see her like this.
But Lin Duxi only smiled, her eyes overflowing with irrepressible tenderness and affection.
An Yu let out a breath, recalling the anomalies of the previous night.
“So… is the system gone now?”
There were no restrictions when she said the word “system” now, and from last night until this moment, the system hadn’t made a single peep-either it had already disappeared or was on the verge of vanishing.
Lin Duxi’s eyes flickered slightly, a trace of coldness flashing through them as she shook her head.
“It should still be here. I can feel a faint energy tugging at my nerves.”
Seeing An Yu’s face instantly twist into a worried frown, Lin Duxi smiled again and continued, “But A-Yu, you don’t need to worry. Its energy was already greatly depleted during the time you were reborn. After that, it survived entirely by drawing on my energy. Now that I’ve taken my energy back, it can’t sustain itself without a power source.”
An Yu’s brow relaxed slightly-only to furrow again the next second.
“Given the system’s personality, it’s not the type to admit defeat. I’m afraid it might try to steal energy from someone else.” At this, An Yu suddenly thought of someone, and Lin Duxi looked up at her at the same time. The two spoke in unison:
“Pei Lu.”
In the novel, the male and female leads possessed the richest energy reserves, followed by An Yu, who had been chosen by the system.
An Yu had already broken ties with it, and Lin Duxi had reclaimed her energy and regained her memories from her past life. The system could no longer take energy from either of them, but it wouldn’t give up so easily. It would inevitably seek out another energy source-and as the male lead, Pei Lu would be the best candidate.
He was embroiled in legal troubles, but in the system’s eyes, he was still the protagonist. There had to be residual energy within him. If the system wanted to recover its strength, it would definitely go to him.
Whether it was dangerous or not, this was its only path if it wanted a chance to turn things around. Staying in An Yu’s mind would only cause its energy to dissipate faster. It had no other choice.
An Yu’s frown deepened. “It’s going to go after Pei Lu.”
Lin Duxi’s expression wasn’t exactly pleasant either, but compared to the desperate circumstances they’d faced before, this didn’t feel so overwhelming.
Her gaze softened involuntarily.
“Pei Lu’s energy is determined by how much of the novel’s plot revolves around him and his importance in the story. Based on the current trajectory, his significance is probably even lower than Xie An’an’s. He shouldn’t have much energy left.” An Yu lowered her eyes and muttered under her breath.
“What plot?”
An Yu’s heart lurched as if facing a dire threat.
Oh no. She’d accidentally voiced her thoughts aloud. Lin Duxi still didn’t know that both of them were merely characters in a novel. Even if Lin Duxi could accept the existence of a “system,” it didn’t mean she’d be indifferent to the idea that she was a fictional construct. An Yu still didn’t know how to broach the subject with her.
Her mind blanked for a moment, unsure how to respond. She didn’t want to lie to Lin Duxi, but she also didn’t know how to explain.
Lin Duxi’s eyes narrowed slightly as she studied An Yu. Seeing her flustered reaction, understanding dawned in her gaze.
“This is a novel,” she stated flatly, her tone certain.
An Yu cautiously looked up at her but saw none of the shock she’d expected-only calm, as if this was something Lin Duxi had already anticipated.
Then it hit her. When Lin Duxi had devised this plan after her death, when she’d realized the presence of a higher consciousness, she must have already considered this possibility.
A faint smile tugged at An Yu’s lips, but her eyes couldn’t conceal the heartache welling up inside her.
Her Lin Duxi had endured so much pain in places she couldn’t see.
And she had known nothing about it.
Lin Duxi leaned down and hugged her, cutting off An Yu’s spiraling remorse.
“Right now, I’m very happy. And A-Yu is happy too, isn’t she?”
An Yu buried her face in the crook of Lin Duxi’s neck and let out a quiet “Mmm,” her voice muffled with suppressed tears, sounding utterly pitiful.
Lin Duxi: “A-Yu is so cute.”
An Yu: “…” She’d been about to say Lin Duxi was ruining the mood, but then the words struck her as oddly familiar. Her ears turned red-wasn’t this exactly what she’d said to coax Lin Duxi that morning?
Lin Duxi really was vindictive, An Yu thought indignantly-but the gloomy emotions had indeed faded.
“So, should we stop the system?” She sniffled, steering the conversation back on track.
Lin Duxi shook her head. “It has to leave A-Yu.”
Waiting for the system to disappear on its own might take too long, and Lin Duxi didn’t want such a vile thing lingering in An Yu’s mind. The system had to go.
“Am I an important character in the novel?” Lin Duxi suddenly asked.
An Yu paused, then nodded.
Lin Duxi was originally the female lead of the novel. Nearly all the current plot revolved around her-she was undeniably the protagonist.
But why was she asking this?
A smile curled at Lin Duxi’s lips. “The more important the character, the more energy they have.” She said nothing more, but An Yu understood her meaning.
Before An Yu could ponder further, however, her phone buzzed abruptly in her pocket.
Both of them were startled by the ringing sound. Anyu frowned and pulled out her phone-it was an alarm she had set.
An alarm for her afternoon filming session.
Lin Duxi’s gaze followed her to the phone screen, then back to her, her eyes shimmering.
“Work?” she said, her tone perfectly proper, even urging. “Then you should go, A’Yu.”
Her words sounded so reasonable, but the way she clutched Anyu’s clothes and the reluctance in her eyes betrayed her true feelings.
Anyu’s breath hitched. For a moment, she was almost tempted by beauty to blurt out that she wouldn’t go.
But Lin Duxi had just regained her memories and was surely afraid of being left alone. Anyu worried she’d feel unsettled after she left.
Noticing Anyu’s hesitation, Lin Duxi stopped teasing her. “Alright, it’s not like I don’t have legs. After you leave, I’ll just pretend to visit you on set, okay?”
Anyu looked at her, a smile blooming on her face. “Okay.”
The two lingered for a while longer, reluctant to part, before Anyu finally rushed downstairs at the last minute to head to the set.
Lin Duxi’s eyes followed her until the door closed. Then she pulled the blanket over herself-it still carried the faint, lingering scent of Anyu. She hugged it, breathing it in for a moment, before getting up to get ready and head to the set herself.
But when she stood in front of the vanity mirror, she froze.
Who was this woman in the mirror with eyes swollen like a sad frog?
She suddenly regretted stopping Anyu from fetching ice earlier. In this state, forget the set-she didn’t even want to leave the hotel room.
Sulking, Lin Duxi sat in a chair and opened her chat log with Anyu. She typed out a long message, ready to send it, but then remembered how Anyu had still looked at her with tender affection earlier, despite her puffy eyes. Her frustration melted away.
She grabbed some ice from the fridge and pressed it against her eyes for a while, but the effect wasn’t great.
There was no way she could show up on set like this openly. After some thought, Lin Duxi called her assistant.
Soon, there was a knock on the hotel room door. Lin Duxi opened it.
“Miss, here’s what you asked for.”
Lin Duxi took the items, closed the door, and examined them carefully before smiling to herself.
—
In the makeup room on set, Anyu’s phone buzzed. She picked it up-a message from Lin Duxi.
[ (Little cat sending hearts.jpg) ]
Anyu blinked, then couldn’t help but laugh. The sticker Lin Duxi had sent looked just like her-it was easy to imagine Lin Duxi herself making that heart gesture.
She immediately sent back a flying kiss sticker, completely unaware of the reason behind Lin Duxi’s choice.
Anyu: I’m getting makeup done on set.
Anyu: I miss you a little.
Lin Duxi: Really? (Smug cat.jpg)
Anyu laughed again, amused by how perfectly these stickers seemed to match Lin Duxi’s personality. Every expression felt like seeing Lin Duxi herself reacting.
Anyu: When are you coming? This scene might take a while to shoot, so I might not be able to come get you.
Lin Duxi smirked. That was exactly what she wanted.
Lin Duxi: Then I’ll wait until you’re done. I’ll just suffer a little longer in the hotel.
Anyu: I’ll try to finish quickly. (Crying)
Lin Duxi: (Cat patting head.jpg)
Once her makeup was done, Anyu put her phone away and left the makeup room.
—
The afternoon filming schedule was packed, and Director Tan Yiyan was notoriously meticulous. A single scene often took forever to shoot, leaving no room for distraction. Anyu threw herself into the work, completely focused-so she didn’t notice the figure in black quietly watching her from a corner of the set.
By the time filming wrapped up, it was already evening. The first thing Anyu did after stepping off set was grab her phone to message Lin Duxi. As she did, she brushed past a staff member dressed in black.
Anyu: Finally done!
Anyu: It’s so late now. I don’t have any night scenes, so I’ll come straight back to you after removing my makeup.
She sent several messages in a row, but Lin Duxi didn’t reply. Anyu assumed she was busy and decided to wait a few minutes. If there was still no response, she’d call.
She slumped into a chair near the set, still in costume, her attention fixed on her phone-so she didn’t notice the black-clad staff member lingering nearby.
Then her phone dinged.
Lin Duxi: Okay.
Anyu: “?” Why was Lin Duxi suddenly so cold?
She mentally reviewed everything she’d done that afternoon and scrolled through their chat history, but couldn’t find anything that might have upset her.
There was only one explanation.
Lin Duxi was tired of waiting.
At that thought, Anyu stood up to remove her makeup and change, planning to rush back immediately.
But as she glanced around the set, her eyes landed on a peculiar staff member.
The person was dressed in a black uniform with a black mask, but their striking presence was still unmistakable.
The aura alone wouldn’t have drawn Anyu’s attention-except it was already dusk, the light dim, and yet this person was wearing oversized sunglasses that covered half their face.
Plus, that black shadow had been hovering at the edge of her vision all afternoon. Combined with Lin Duxi’s sudden coldness, even an idiot could guess who it was.
Anyu internally panicked and quickly strode over.
The staff members ahead were chatting in a group and greeted her as she passed. Anyu smiled and nodded in response-then immediately felt a sharp, displeased gaze land on her.
Though it lasted only a second, Anyu could clearly sense the sourness in it. Her smile instantly faded.
The black-clad figure stood in the corner, turning away as if sulking.
Anyu immediately surrendered. “I was wrong.”
The staff member turned back at her words, the eyes behind the sunglasses silently studying her.
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Zei_An
LMFAO appease her, An Yu