Chapter 2 - 002 Time and space dislocation

Hugo felt like his brain couldn't keep up. He didn't know if it was the dizziness that hadn't completely dissipated, or if the scorching lights and brilliant faces at the scene made everything blurry. His information processing capacity was clearly facing a severe challenge at this moment. He simply couldn't distinguish what was going on and could only passively follow the beautiful emcee's guidance as he walked off the stage.Golden halos, faces roaring with laughter, flashing camera lenses... they swarmed in from all directions, which made Hugo, by his basic instinct, sense something was wrong. He forcibly suppressed the chaotic thoughts in his mind, pushed open the heavy door with his right shoulder, and ran back toward the restroom along the same route he had come, stepping on the thick carpet in a panic, leaving everyone in the banquet hall with the sight of him fleeing in disarray.Watching Hugo's panicked departure, a burst of uproarious laughter exploded in the banquet hall, and discussions immediately broke out in every corner. "Did you see Hugo's tearful expression? He looked just like a little girl who had her Barbie doll snatched away," "He probably thought he was winning an Oscar," "This is definitely the most spectacular scene in the entertainment industry since Reagan stepped down; not even the plot of 'Dallas' could be this exquisite..."Hugo left all that laughter and mockery behind him. He didn't have time to carefully distinguish what those words meant; he had to first figure out what was going on. After entering the restroom, Hugo locked himself in a stall, trying to organize his chaotic thoughts into a clear roadmap.Hugo was certain that when he woke up this morning, it was May 4, 2014. After meeting up with his Band mates from Glory to Death, he arrived at the venue and performed the show. Compared to the countless Rock music festivals abroad, there hadn't been an outstanding original Rock music festival in the country until the birth of the Midi Music Festival. Although it couldn't compare to the global popularity of the Woodstock Music Festival or Rock Am Ring, it was undeniable that for domestic underground Rock Bands, the Midi Rock music festival was an annual carnival feast.Glory to Death had been a Band for ten years but had always remained obscure. Hugo had struggled on the poverty line for years, and even participating in countless gigs hadn't changed the Band's situation. Later, Hugo became an Actor because he was interested in acting, but unfortunately, his five years as an Actor didn't show much improvement either. It wasn't until 2014 that the Band finally got the opportunity to perform at the Midi Rock music festival. This was a turning point in Hugo's life, not to mention that Glory to Death had been nominated for Best Live Rock Band of the Year. Regardless of whether they won, this was the most important recognition for the Band and enough to become the motivation for them to continue striving.But just before getting on stage, Hugo felt a wave of dizziness, and then... then there were the lights, the stage, the audience, and then the trophy, the Golden Raspberry Awards. Hugo rubbed his cheeks hard. He had originally thought he was on the stage of the Midi Rock Awards ceremony receiving the award on behalf of the Band, which was why he was so excited, but now it seemed that wasn't the case at all. Why would the Midi Rock Awards ceremony turn into the Golden Raspberry Awards?If Hugo remembered correctly, there was only one Golden Raspberry Awards in the world, which was a satirical awards ceremony imitating the Oscar. It paid tribute to poor-quality works criticized by the media with awards like Worst Film, Worst Director, Worst Actor, and Worst Actress. The Golden Raspberry Awards were highly entertaining, and for the audience, it was watched with a sense of schadenfreude and criticism, but for the winners, it was a torment, or even a disgrace. Therefore, in the history of the Golden Raspberry Awards, almost no star was willing to attend the ceremony.The Golden Raspberry Awards seemed to have been established in the early 1980s. The reason Hugo had an impression was that the legendary action star Sylvester Stallone had won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor three times in a row for the "First Blood" series, and even became the winner of the Worst Actor award in the first decade summary. So, the 12th Golden Raspberry Awards should have been in the early 1990s, either 1992 or 1993.From 2014 to the early 1990s? What on earth was going on? Had he traveled through time? This, this was too absurd!But... Hugo raised his head in astonishment. He finally remembered what was wrong just now: the man he saw after waking up had a Western face. Not only that, everyone he saw after entering the banquet hall was Western. This was clearly not the Midi Rock music festival. Furthermore, everyone around him was speaking English, and even he himself was speaking English. He hadn't noticed it while he was excited, just blurting it out, but now that he thought about it, the gibberish ringing in his ears suddenly became clear. And most importantly, the Midi Rock music festival was held outdoors, not in a hotel. Let alone a banquet hall, there wasn't even a magnificent corridor!Hugo wanted to rub his cheeks to regain his sanity, but found himself somewhat weak. He vaguely felt his head starting to ache again."Bang, bang, bang." A forceful knocking on the door interrupted Hugo's train of thought. "Hugo! Are you okay? You look terrible..." This voice sounded familiar. Hugo thought carefully and immediately identified it. It was the first voice he heard after he woke up. Those ice-blue eyes appeared in his mind again. "I told you not to attend tonight's awards ceremony, but you insisted on asking Ron's opinion..."Listening to the words from outside, more information only made him more confused. He decided to take the initiative to find out the truth of all this. "I, I'm fine." Hugo was still a bit uncomfortable. He had originally intended to speak Chinese, but his body's instinctive reaction caused English to blurt out, as if English were his native language. No wonder he didn't realize that others were speaking English while he was excited, and he had even given his acceptance speech in English. This was really..."I'm fine." Hugo repeated it again, not just to convince the man outside, but also to convince himself, to let him calm down from this series of absurd and bizarre events. "Who's there?" Hugo asked tentatively."Are you crazy? I'm Joseph, Joseph Gibbs." The man standing outside the door looked helpless. He strongly suspected that Hugo had been frightened by that humiliating scene just now. "Don't worry, I'm not some overly excited reporter; I'm your agent. You don't need to hide from me."agent? Hugo bit his lower lip. His gaze drifted down to see his own hands, which had become broad and slender, with a thin layer of fine hair clearly visible on them. These were not his own hands; they looked more like a Westerner's hands. Hugo touched his cheeks. He wanted to rush out and see his face, but hesitated and suppressed the impulse. He had to extract more information from this person outside called Joseph."What time is it now?" Hugo asked the first question. His heartbeat suddenly accelerated, and the date "May 4, 2014" kept flashing in his brain. "Ten..." Joseph said, looking at his watch, but Hugo rudely interrupted the "forty-five" he was about to say and asked directly, "I mean, what date?"Joseph lowered his right hand, which wore the watch. "Hugo, are you still high? I told you something was wrong with you just now. Not only did you faint in the restroom, but you actually burst into tears on stage. Today is January 14, 1992!" Joseph scratched his hair irritably, turning his originally neat hairstyle into a bird's nest.1992. Hugo couldn't help but close his eyes. He had really traveled through time. Should he be happy or depressed? Hugo found that all sorts of emotions were surging within him, and he couldn't find an accurate word to describe it. He used to read novels where people would be ecstatic after time traveling, then show off their power and display their talents. But after such a thing really happened, Hugo's first thought was "absurd." He just felt as if his feet were treading on clouds, unable to land accurately."At least Albert Einstein's time machine theory still has the possibility of being proven." Hugo mocked himself jokingly."I told you not to touch those Big Harrys anymore, but you just wouldn't listen..." Joseph's resentful voice was still complaining outside, but Hugo didn't understand at all. What was Big Harry? Something like Wahaha?"...Where are we now?" Hugo interrupted Joseph's words and asked again. He thought of the awards ceremony just now. Was that a dream or reality?Joseph sighed deeply, a bitter smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. "The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel." The venue of the first Oscar? Hugo couldn't help but look up to examine his surroundings, only to find that this was just a restroom and he couldn't see anything. He could only lower his head in depression. "You really are still high. I shouldn't have listened to Ron and let you attend tonight's awards ceremony. Originally, I wanted to shape your Quixotic spiritual image, but instead you... Sigh, tomorrow the reporters will definitely hype this up again. You are the first Actor to personally come to the awards ceremony to receive the award since the establishment of the Golden Raspberry Awards, and you also..."Listening to Joseph's words, Hugo also recalled his own blunder just now—bursting into tears while receiving the Golden Raspberry Award. This was truly an international joke, and it would indeed go down in history. Hugo patted his head. His time travel was really quite spectacular!Hugo took a deep breath. He wanted to try to calm himself down, but the fact that he had suddenly traveled through time made it very difficult for him to accept his surroundings with a calm mind. He could only temporarily try not to lose control. "Joseph," Hugo opened his mouth again, only to find his mouth dry. It was so difficult to accept reality. "You called me Hugo?""****, otherwise do you want me to call you Mr. Lancaster?" Joseph once again tortured his hair irritably, clearly also very frustrated with the current situation.Hugo Lancaster. Hugo finally remembered his current name, but he didn't know who this poor guy he had possessed was.Joseph pounded on the restroom stall door hard. The "bang, bang, bang" sound was urging Hugo to come out. Hugo knew he couldn't hide forever; he would have to go out eventually. Besides, he hadn't seen himself since traveling through time; who knew what he looked like now. But before Hugo could even open the stall door, he was stunned by Joseph's words and froze in place."Hurry up and come out! How long do you want to keep hiding in the women's restroom!"