Hugo opened his eyes and sat up, rubbing his aching head. He had gone to sleep last night without drying his hair properly, so it was only natural that he had a headache upon waking up. However, looking at the graceful body beside his right hand, Hugo's head throbbed even more.Everything from last night was still vivid in his mind. Hugo couldn't quite figure out how it had happened—whether it was the lingering emotions of his predecessor acting up, or if his own true feelings were stirring. But regardless, it had happened.When Uma woke up in a moment, what attitude should he take to face her? Should he pretend everything was fine, offer a smile, and say, "Good morning"?Or should he, like the male leads in most American dramas, face this matter nonchalantly? After all, they were both single, and it was just a passionate night—there was no need to make a big fuss about it.Looking at the bright sunlight outside the window, Hugo rubbed his hair vigorously and let out a long sigh.Just then, there was a knock at the door, and he could hear Carl's clear voice: "Hugo, Alex, open up, it's me!"Hugo hurriedly threw off the covers, walked to the closet, pulled out a pair of jeans, and put them on.Uma had also been awakened by the noisy sounds. She lifted her upper body, and the quilt slid down, revealing her petite yet full curves. "Good morning," she said.Uma's voice carried a hint of languor and huskiness, which was quite charming."Good morning." Hugo buttoned his jeans and gave Uma a smile. "Sorry, I woke you up."Uma chuckled, threw off the covers, and stepped out of bed. Standing slightly on her tiptoes, she searched for her scattered clothing on the floor while saying, "It's fine, I slept very well."As she spoke, she glanced at Hugo, her eyes filled with a casual, relaxed look mixed with a hint of teasing, which made Hugo smile involuntarily.Uma's nonchalant attitude made Hugo relax a bit. He took a deep breath and said, "I'll go open the door."He then walked quickly out of the room, his long legs covering the distance to the door in just a few steps. As he opened the door, Hugo said, "What's up so early? If I'd known, I would have given Joseph a key..."As soon as the door opened, Carl walked in, wobbling under the weight of two huge pieces of luggage, leaving Hugo looking confused. "What is all this?"Carl clearly lived upstairs with Joseph; why was he moving his luggage over to his place?But soon, the rest of Hugo's words were stuck in his throat, because standing behind Carl was a pretty figure—none other than Charlize."Oh, Charlize, uh..." Hugo looked back at Carl, then turned to look at Charlize, feeling a bit flustered. He clearly hadn't expected to encounter Charlize again at this time, and his train of thought seemed to lag behind. "Long time no see."Watching the flustered and slightly shy expression on Hugo's face, a smile blossomed on Charlize's face.Carl's voice came from inside the room, "Charlize, come in, don't just stand outside."Only then did Hugo realize that Charlize was still standing at the door. He looked down and saw three large boxes at Charlize's feet. "Uh, do these all need to be moved in?" Hugo asked, looking back at Carl, still not quite understanding the situation.Carl called out, "Yes, Hugo, can you help me out?" He walked over again, passing Hugo and Charlize, and went to the boxes to pick one up. "These need to be moved in."Hugo hurriedly pulled his gaze away from Charlize, walked quickly to the boxes, picked one up, walked into the house, and set it down in the open space behind the sofa in the living room.After Carl brought in the last box, Charlize walked into the house, looking at Hugo with a slightly reserved expression.Charlize hadn't expected to meet Hugo again in such a scenario. It seemed like they hadn't been in contact for a very, very long time. For the past month, because of New York Fashion Week, she and Terra had both gone to New York to look for opportunities. After Fashion Week ended, she received a small photo shoot job and stayed in Miami for another week, only returning to Los Angeles last week.During this time, Charlize had seen news about Hugo in the newspapers a few times, but she hadn't received any contact from him. Originally, Charlize had thought that she and Hugo really had no future, especially since Hugo had left without saying goodbye after that night. The phone call the next day was actually just to apologize, and apart from the apology, there was no other information. Plus, the disappearance over the last two months—Terra had returned to Los Angeles after New York Fashion Week, but Terra said she hadn't received any calls or messages from Hugo. Therefore, Charlize was very certain that that night was just an illusory dream and had no meaning whatsoever.Charlize had even mocked herself for her stupidity, thinking that Hugo was genuinely interested in her, only to find out he was no different from other men. She had persisted in the dance and modeling circles for so long, only to be fooled in the end, conquered by a man's sweet talk.Just when Charlize thought she had forgotten Hugo, they met again today. Life's encounters and fate were truly mysterious, catching Charlize off guard.Watching Hugo and Carl bustling about, Charlize felt her heartbeat spinning out of control; she simply couldn't take her eyes off Hugo.Although Hugo was only wearing a pair of jeans, no shirt, and no shoes—such a simple, primitive look—he still made it impossible to look away. Those broad shoulders always made one want to lean on them and feel the warmth.Charlize secretly told herself, "I don't still have feelings for Hugo; I just want to ask what actually happened that night that caused him to just turn and leave the next day. I just want an answer." But immediately, Charlize harshly cursed herself as "stupid." What answer could there be for leaving without saying goodbye? And even if she knew the answer, so what? Wasn't the disappearance over the past two months a lesson enough?Thinking of this, Charlize took a deep breath, calmed her emotions, and looking at Hugo who had reappeared in front of her, she spoke for the first time, "Long time no see."A smile traced Charlize's face, appearing elegant and serene, as if the two-month void before hadn't existed at all, and as if that night between the two of them had never happened, which left Hugo somewhat at a loss.Charlize also sensed the stiffness in Hugo's smile, so she averted her gaze. Looking down, she saw a plastic bag on the floor by the door and couldn't help but show a puzzled expression.Hugo followed Charlize's gaze and saw the plastic bag of fried chicken on the floor. He immediately shut his eyes tightly, a bad premonition rising in his heart. Seeing Charlize had been so unexpected that Hugo had completely forgotten about Uma, who was still in the room. Now things were truly complicated.Hugo bent down to pick up the plastic bag, trying to say in a relaxed tone, "Good thing I didn't step on that just now, otherwise it would have been a disaster." But before Hugo could continue, footsteps came from the room—the click-clack of high heels was unmistakable. Not to mention Charlize, even Carl, who was standing in the dining room drinking water, heard it and couldn't help but cast his gaze over. Well, that was great, it saved Hugo the effort of explaining.Uma walked out, holding her coat, dressed neatly. As soon as she stepped out, she saw Carl standing in the living room, then saw Charlize standing at the door, and immediately after, her gaze fell upon the boxes and luggage scattered everywhere. Her footsteps paused slightly, then she smiled and said, "Good morning," greeting Carl and Charlize.Then Uma continued walking, went to Hugo's side, placed a hand on his shoulder, gave him a polite kiss on the cheek, and said with a smile, "Have a wonderful day." After saying this, Uma didn't linger at all, walked straight out of the room, and disappeared from everyone's sight.The living room fell silent instantly; no one spoke. Hugo couldn't help but let out a sigh. In this situation, he really didn't know what to say. Should he change the subject or address what just happened head-on?"Hugo, who was that?" Carl broke the silence in the living room. "That was Uma, right? After you met yesterday, did something else happen?" Carl immediately recognized that this was the Uma who had been chatting happily with Hugo yesterday and was suddenly excited. Yesterday Hugo said there was nothing between them, but today it seemed otherwise, which made Carl's tone carry a hint of teasing.Hugo let out a long sigh. "We... are friends." Actually, this was the most accurate definition. He and Uma were indeed friends. Everything that happened last night happened too quickly, and at the same time, it didn't mean anything.Charlize's gaze dimmed slightly. Although she didn't want to admit it, her true feelings leaked out through those beautiful eyes. However, Charlize quickly collected herself; the previous two months had given her enough time to prepare.Two people who are truly meant for each other must meet at the right time, in the right place, and be the right people. Perhaps they were in the right place; perhaps they were the right people; but the time they met was not right. Of course, it was even more likely that neither the place nor the people were right.Charlize took a deep breath again, pulled up a faint smile, and said, "Carl, why didn't you tell me that my new place is a shared rental with Hugo?" Especially thinking that they would be living under the same roof from now on, Charlize warned herself even more fiercely: Guard your heart, or you will be the one who gets hurt. Consequently, the expression on Charlize's face became increasingly indifferent.But when Hugo heard this, he showed an expression of astonishment. "Shared rental? Charlize? What!"
