Hugo hesitated for a second where he stood. He was unwilling to give up; he had tried his absolute best, yet he still hadn't managed to make a breakthrough. He really wasn't willing to accept this.But then, looking at Martin and Bo before him, he noticed that the expressions on their faces were no longer as stern as when he had first walked in. He could see joy in their eyes and at the corners of their mouths. Hugo realized that, at the very least, his efforts had been effective.Although he hadn't received a definitive answer, Hugo knew that he still had hope; the results would only be known after the open auditions concluded today.In fact, this was a positive sign. Even if he didn't end up getting the role of Charlie, Hugo would still feel it was worth it, because he had gained confidence through today's audition. He knew that by relying on his own talent and sweat, he could carve out a path for himself. Even if he failed this time, he was willing to keep fighting.Besides, he hadn't failed yet; the expressions on Martin and Bo's faces were proof of that!Thinking of this, Hugo felt relieved. He smiled again, and without any hesitation, turned and left the conference room. Seeing Allen standing at the door preparing to call in the next interviewee, Hugo nodded slightly to acknowledge him, then held his head high and left with full confidence."Allen, we've already decided, haven't we?" Martin watched Hugo's retreating back. He could clearly feel the shift in Hugo's emotions from disappointment to renewed vigor, and this positive, optimistic Hugo made him like him even more.Allen laughed softly. "Martin, no rush. We still have three hundred backups to interview, no rush." Although he was also very satisfied with Hugo, today's open auditions had just begun, and there was no need to make a decision so quickly. This was Hollywood, a land that never lacked talent.Martin naturally knew this, so he didn't say anything more. Instead, he turned to look at Bo on his left. "Hugo seems like a good prospect. Although his acting isn't quite mature yet and there's still a lot of room for growth, his talent is truly outstanding. Tell me, what's the deal with this 'hudson hawk'?"To be precise, what Martin was puzzled about was what had happened with Hugo's previous three works; they had flopped one after another. Even if one were to fall from grace, it shouldn't happen at such a speed, especially after seeing Hugo's performance during the audition today, which made it even harder to understand.Bo shrugged. "Wrong script choices. You know, everyone makes mistakes, and after all, he's still young." A bad script could very well ruin an Actor. Often, the problem isn't the Actor's performance, but the script and the director, which leads to the entire work being terrible, making it hard for even an excellent Actor to turn things around.Martin sighed. He hadn't seen "fatal moment" or "hudson hawk", so he didn't know just how terrible those two films were. However, what was certain was that the Hugo who had appeared before them today was truly exceptionally outstanding.During this conversation, the next interviewee had already come in. Allen returned to his seat, and Martin and Bo's expressions returned to their stern state. After Allen made a brief introduction, he said, "Alright, you have thirty seconds to show us what you've prepared."Hugo left the conference room and walked with a composed stride toward the crowd waiting in the studio. To Hugo's surprise, the bustling studio, which had been noisy earlier, now had a strange, eerie quiet. It wasn't that it was completely silent, but everyone was whispering, or even just communicating with their eyes, which filled the scene with a low-level commotion.Hugo's first reaction was that some big shot had arrived, but after scanning the surroundings, he found nothing. Furthermore, he noticed that people's gazes seemed to be focusing on him, whether intentionally or not. Hugo was very familiar with this kind of gaze; he had experienced it not long ago during the audition for "a river runs through it". However, back then, most of the looks were teasing and mocking, but today's gazes were more about inquiry and curiosity.Hugo frowned slightly and looked down at himself: a sky-blue shirt, black suit pants, and a navy blue uniform jacket. There was nothing unusual, and even his pants zipper was fine. So, what did these looks from everyone represent?While thinking, Hugo continued his steps forward. Within the crowd, Hugo immediately noticed two hateful gazes. These gazes were so scorching that it was difficult for Hugo to ignore them. He followed the feeling and looked to his right, quickly locating George Wood and William Stone. The looks were indeed coming from the two of them.George pulled in his chin, squinted slightly, and stared fixedly at Hugo with eyes that could almost burn. This gaze was different from the previous provocations; it was more about jealousy, anger, and... unwillingness to accept defeat. George bit his lower lip hard, his bloodless lips looking as if they could be bitten through at any moment. His white teeth were stained with a faint red, clearly showing the turmoil in his heart. Not to mention the bulging veins on his neck and forehead, which made one suspect he could become a human bomb at any moment and explode right there on the scene.Hugo didn't understand George's emotions. If it were sarcasm, mockery, or envy and jealousy, it could still be explained as the aftereffects of the Golden Raspberry Awards. But this inexplicable anger and unwillingness to accept defeat—what was that about?William, standing nearby, clearly didn't look much better. The contradiction of disdain colliding with unwillingness to accept defeat swirled in his eyes, and traces of anxiety and hesitation could be clearly seen in his facial expressions. But this was of no help to Hugo in understanding the situation; he still couldn't figure out what had happened.However, what was certain was that neither George nor William came up to bother Hugo again. Although Hugo didn't worry about their provocations at all, being annoyed like this repeatedly was still unpleasant, like a persistent greenbottle fly. Hugo thought this situation was fine. Even if, in their eyes, he had probably already been ground to dust, Hugo didn't care at all. So, he had no intention of further investigating the stone and the wood. His gaze only paused on the two of them for a moment before moving away, and he began to look for Joseph's location.Clearly, Joseph had been paying attention to the situation in the conference room from the very beginning, keeping an eye on the progress of the auditions. So, as soon as Hugo came out, Joseph went to meet him immediately. Cutting through the dense crowd before him, Joseph waved at Hugo with a full smile, drawing Hugo's attention."How was the audition process? Did everything go smoothly?" Joseph asked impatiently when he was still three steps away from Hugo. But as soon as the words left his mouth, without waiting for Hugo's answer, he looked around and added, "Let's go outside and talk; there are too many people here."Hugo followed Joseph's gaze and looked around. Everyone was guiltily averting their eyes, then stretching their ears to listen to the conversation between him and Joseph, which made Hugo smile involuntarily. Presumably, everyone wanted to know the progress of the audition inside, so that they could better prepare themselves. Unfortunately, Joseph directly extinguished this hope, and Hugo could even see expressions of disappointment on many people's faces.The two left the studio and walked towards the parking lot. Before Joseph could speak, Hugo asked first, "Joseph, what was wrong with everyone just now? Why was no one talking, and why were they all looking at me with such curiosity? Did something unexpected happen outside while I was auditioning?"A small arc formed at the corners of Joseph's mouth, and a smile welled up in his eyes. Hugo noticed that Joseph rarely smiled, and even when he did, it was only a small arc; it was clear that he wasn't a person good at expressing himself. But at this moment, Joseph's eyes betrayed his inner excitement. "That's only natural." Joseph even needed to take a deep breath to adjust his speaking rhythm. "Do you know? You stayed in there for a full fifteen minutes. Everyone waiting outside for the audition was stunned. Everyone was guessing whether you had already secured the role of Charlie, and that their auditions were declared over before they had even begun.""Fifteen minutes?" Hugo couldn't help but raise his eyebrows to show his surprise. "I really didn't realize it. I think when people are nervous, they really don't notice the changes in time and space." In fact, Hugo thought he had only stayed in there for five minutes at most, which was one of the reasons he had regained his confidence. Now it seemed the situation was much better than he had imagined. No wonder George and William's faces looked so ugly, and they hadn't come up to provoke him again, which made Hugo smile."So, tell me, how was your audition? Did everything go smoothly? Have you gotten the role?" Joseph tried hard to maintain his composure, but the slightly rapid pace of his speech still let Hugo feel his anticipation.Hugo shrugged. "I did my best. They told me to go back and wait for news." This immediately caused the excitement in Joseph's eyes to fade rapidly: this was not good news. But Hugo continued, "However, I saw that the interviewers were quite satisfied with me. They said my performance was outstanding, and I discussed several profound questions with them. I think this should be a positive sign."Joseph didn't speak. He slowed his pace, lowered his head to think carefully, and then nodded. "Yes, this is a good start." Joseph also understood now that today's open auditions had just begun, and the production team definitely wanted to finish the auditions before making a final decision. And from the current situation, not only had Hugo stayed in there for fifteen minutes—longer than all the previous auditionees combined—but the entire audition process, judging by Hugo's account, had also gone smoothly. So, this was indeed a positive sign."Phew, then all we need to do is go back and wait for news." Joseph let out a long sigh of relief, but one could still hear the tension in his vocal cords. Before the audition results came out, anything was possible, and the process of waiting was precisely the most agonizing part.
