After a car accident, Joan realized that the pain began at the base of her tailbone, radiating up her spine and engulfing her entire body.
"Help... me... help me..." she whispered weakly, warm blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
A figure emerged from the vehicle and approached her side. With great effort, she looked up, catching only the cold, indifferent chin of the man.
The mans voice seemed to come from hell, icy to the bone: "Do you really want to die?"
"No..." Joans eyes filled with despair and fear.
Ignoring her plea, he spoke with words as sharp as daggers, piercing her heart mercilessly: "Since you want to die so badly, Ill oblige you!"
The man, indifferent, prepared to turn and leave.
"Ah!!!" More blood gushed out of Joan, staining the ground beneath her with a crimson hue. She stared wide-eyed, three years of love for this man culminating in such an end.
Her fingernails dug into the dirt, tears soaking her cheeks as she shouted in anger and sorrow: "Charles, I curse you... I curse you to never find peace in this life or the next!"
His ghostly voice lingered in her ear: "Then Ill wait for you in hell!"
The next moment, an explosion lit up the sky, the violent sound瀹ｅ憡ing a death steeped in the scent of blood.
"Ah!!!" Joan screamed, waking from the nightmare, her forehead damp with cold sweat, her face a mask of terror.
Why, even after a year, could she not forget that day? Why did the devilish man always appear in her dreams? Wasnt the torment he caused her enough?
Joan covered her face, unable to hold back her sobs. Was death the only way to truly be free?
Perhaps hearing the commotion inside, the door was knocked on. Rain asked from outside, "Mango, are you okay?"
Joan quickly wiped her tears and replied loudly, "Im... Im fine, Ill get up right away."
Hearing Rains voice, Joan realized she was no longer the Joan of old; she was now Mango, with a new family and a new life.
Taking a deep breath to calm her emotions, Joan got up, washed, and prepared for work. As she habitually tied her hair up, a grotesque red scar from her right jawline to her collarbone made her eyes suddenly hurt. The scar was a remnant from her past, making her a monster who could not look people in the eye.
Sighing, Joan let her hair down and styled it to the right, trying to keep the terrifying scar from showing.
When she got dressed and picked up her phone, Joan suddenly noticed there were twenty-six missed calls, all from June. She was instantly wide awake and quickly put on her hearing aid to call back. The phone barely rang once before it was answered, and Junes voice roared through the line: "Mango, are you reincarnated from Marshal Tian Peng, sleeping so soundly? Look at how many calls Ive made!"
Joan sheepishly chuckled, "I put my phone on silent last night, thats why I didnt hear it. Whats the rush, June?"
"The deal for your Ann might be off. I just heard from the director that the movie has a new producer, so all the cast members have to be reselected!"
"What!" Hearing this, Joan was immediately anxious. She was a star agent with only one artist under her, Ann. The company had said that if there were no results soon, Ann would be assigned to someone else. Joan had shamelessly asked June, who was assisting the director, to keep an eye out for a role for Ann in the upcoming Holiday Blockbuster.
She had smiled at the previous producer countless times and given many generous gifts, finally securing a female fourth lead for Ann. She had thought it was settled, but now with a new producer, was there anything reliable in this world?
"If you want to keep the role, bring your Ann here right away. Ill take you to re-audition. Hurry up."