Mrs. Rugger had wanted to take Mimi away years ago, but Mimi refused to leave, insisting on staying in this empty villa. Its four limbs had been severely injured, and even though they had healed, it walked with a limp-a lifelong injury. The once beautiful ragdoll cat had been left with only one ear after the fire, and its fur had a patch missing. Hamish often found his gaze drawn to the photo of Elisa holding the cat, taken before the fire. It was hard to imagine that this was the same beautiful ragdoll cat in the photo. After Elisa’s death, Mimi became lonely, eating and sleeping alone, often frequenting the places Elisa used to be. Hamish attempted to approach Mimi, but each time he was met with scratches and bites. Eventually, Hamish let it be, ensuring to change the cat’s food every day, leaving the cleaning of the litter box to the daily cleaner.
After setting out food and water for the cat, Hamish went upstairs to take a shower, removing his clothes and revealing various scars on his skin-cut marks, burns, and near his heart was the word “Elisa,” a result of a drunken moment when he had seared it into his skin, a pain that felt like bone erosion, piercing to the core. He didn’t want to self-harm, but over the past three years, it had become his way of reminding himself that he was still alive. To “satisfy” Elisa’s revenge on him, he had to live in agony until old age.
After the cold shower, Hamish lay down on the bed, and the image of the elevator scene reappeared in his mind. He looked up at the wedding photo hanging above his bed and murmured, “If only it were really you…”
Elisa had a restless night, filled with nightmares from a previous life. She woke with a start, trembling and weak, her lips gasping for breath. It took a long time for her to calm her emotions, wiping the cold sweat from her face and drinking a glass of cold water. It was pitch black outside, and Elisa checked the time-it was already five o’clock. She didn’t have the habit of going back to sleep once awake; she got up and changed into sportswear from her wardrobe. Turning on her phone, she saw a new message showing a deposit of $200, 000. It wasn’t much, but it would be enough to tide her over for a while.
First, she bought some clothes suitable for herself, then she re-purchased the skincare products she used before her death. After finishing her shopping, she sighed deeply. Indeed, having money was the best. Afterward, Elisa immediately went outside for an hour-long run. Her body was too weak; she had learned a lesson from her previous life and was determined to exercise well this time, aiming to be able to defend herself, or at least run away if needed. Outside the community gate, a lady was selling breakfast from a cart at six-thirty. Elisa scanned the QR code with her phone and bought a serving of soy milk and fried dough sticks. The breakfast lady deftly packed the dough sticks into a plastic bag and handed Elisa a cup of soy milk, saying, “Young lady, why are you up so early?” “I’m going for a run,” Elisa replied. “Young people who take good care of their health like you are rare to come by these days…” After listening to the breakfast lady’s chatter, Elisa picked up her breakfast and left, returning to her small apartment. Placing the breakfast on the table, she washed her hands and began to eat. As she chewed on the dough sticks and browsed through Twitter, Elisa suddenly noticed that the number of hate messages directed at her had increased from a mere 100, 000 to nearly 500, 000. Were people these days always so idle? Elisa never quite understood the workings of the entertainment industry. Honestly, she felt she was more suited to working in a company, returning to being a career woman, but unfortunately, she didn’t have the money to invest. Once she earned a few million, she planned to start her own company and dabble in stocks.
Elisa’s mind wandered inadvertently; she clicked on the “Discover” tab and found her name trending. It wasn’t surprising; what was surprising was that not only was she trending, but the “Revenge and Love” production team was also trending. There were only 50 trending topics, and six of them were related to her. #Elisa#, #Revenge and Love cast#, #Asher’s casting decision#, #Filippa#, #boycott#, #Ariadne’s response#. Elisa first clicked on “Filippa” and instantly understood the reason for her sudden trend. It all started with a seemingly pointed tweet from FilippaFilippa had posted a cryptic tweet that caught the attention of the public. “Some people not only like to steal men, but also roles that don’t suit them at all.” Confused netizens followed the clues and discovered the truth. Filippa was originally cast as the second female lead in “Revenge and Love,” and had almost signed the contract. However, in the middle of the night, she was informed that someone else, the notorious and scandalous Elisa, had snatched the role from her. The character “Zhao Zixin” was a role Filippa had set her sights on and had put off all other work to focus on studying the script. During the audition, Asher had been satisfied with her performance and asked her to wait for further notice. Even his agent had inquired with the production team and assured her that she would likely get the role. Why would a cooked duck fly away on its own? She knew that Elisa had not yet signed with the production team. If she made a big fuss out of the situation and led her fans and Elisa’s haters to boycott the show, Asher would likely feel pressured to change his decision. However, she had underestimated Asher’s resilience. He directly responded with a short, eight-word tweet: “I choose who I want, don’t like it, tough!” This statement shocked netizens, as they had not expected things to unfold this way. Asher had indeed chosen Elisa for the role, and his fans found it hard to accept. Many of Asher’s fans were also fans of his shows, and his casting choices were highly regarded. Elisa’s sudden casting caused an uproar, especially since her glamorous image was a far cry from the strong and charismatic “Zhao Zixin” in “Revenge and Love.” When it came to acting, Zhao Zixin was a complex character, and Elisa had only appeared in a mediocre youth drama, displaying average acting skills at best. She was simply not fit for the role. As a result, Asher’s tweet was flooded with comments from fans. “Mr. Kentala, if you’re in trouble, just blink twice.” “Listen to me, don’t take dirty money, don’t sleep with bad people, it’ll make you sick.” “Tell us, how much did Elisa pay you? I’ll pay ten times that amount. If it’s over a hundred bucks, consider my offer null and void.” “Mr. Kentala, I’ve watched every single one of your shows. In this sea of mediocrity, you’ve been a breath of fresh air. Are you really going to tarnish your reputation? Elisa is not suitable. Open your eyes and choose Filippa. I’ve read the original ‘Revenge and Love’ novel, it’s a great script, don’t let a rotten apple spoil the whole bunch.” “If you insist on using Elisa, then we’ll have to boycott the show!”