Blond hair debate

Regarding the planning of Ron and Tracey, it sounded like a daunting task, but in fact, as long as Hugo was willing to give up "The Firm" and "Schindler's List", there wouldn't be much threat because they couldn't find any leverage against Hugo. However, the problem was that this is not the core focus.

In fact, for Hugo, giving up "The Firm" was not a problem, and giving up "Schindler's List" was also not a problem. The real issue lay in whether Hugo wanted to continue developing in the film industry. Otherwise, even if it was not "The Firm" or "Schindler's List", there would be other works in the future that would put Hugo at odds with Ron and Tracey again.

Therefore, Hugo would not yield to Ron for the sake of "Schindler's List", and he would not easily give up "The Firm" out of fear of being subjected to unspoken rules. It should be known that Ron and Tracey were just two individuals with considerable achievements in the Hollywood circle. They were insignificant nodes within the vast network of people. Hugo had already broken through their blockade and appeared in "Scent of a Woman" and "A Few Good Men". So, he just needed to continue striving in this way for the future!

As for the internal struggles within ICM, they actually had a relatively small impact on Hugo. Even if he achieved good results this year, he still didn't possess the level of adding luster to the company's reputation. This could be seen from the attitude of the company's partners. They expressed friendliness towards Joseph, but there were no further actions. Therefore, Hugo didn't need to worry too much.

After leaving Rick's office, Hugo and Joseph rejoined the atmosphere of the lunch gathering. Unfortunately, Paul McCartney didn't stay for long, and Hugo regretfully missed the chance to interact with the legendary superstar. It dampened Hugo's spirits, to the point where he couldn't even get excited about the raffle.

After the lunch gathering ended, it was already nearly 3 o'clock when they returned home. In the evening, Alex organized a party with a group of friends, calling everyone together to celebrate the New Year. Naturally, Hugo and Joseph were also invited. New Year's parties always get better the more lively they are, so Joseph and Hugo both went home to prepare for the evening's party.

As Hugo opened the front door, he shouted, "Alex, we'll come over at 10 o'clock. Isn't it too early?" Most parties start after dinner, and it's even normal for them to gradually liven up around 10 or 11 o'clock.

"Alex is out," answered Charlize, her voice not far from the direction of the front door. It sounded like she was in the bathroom. "He said he won't order takeout tonight and will cook something at home, so he went to the supermarket."

Hugo followed the voice and found Charlize busy in the bathroom, just as he suspected. "Won't there be a lot of people at the supermarket today?" During Christmas, Hugo was scared by the crowded scene at the supermarket. He used to think that Los Angeles hardly had any people compared to major cities in his home country. But that time, Hugo truly experienced the madness of the holidays.

"Not many people go to the supermarket today. It closes at 4 pm," Charlize replied. She stood in front of the bathroom mirror, holding a jar in her left hand and a comb in her right. She kept stirring the pasty substance in the jar with the comb and then applied it to her hair, combing it strand by strand. At this point, Charlize's beautiful and silky long hair was mostly held in place by the pasty substance, making it look like a flat jelly that wasn't at all delicious.

Hugo leaned against the bathroom door and wrinkled his nose. The smell of the hair dye wasn't pleasant. "Dyeing your hair again?" he asked.

Charlize shrugged slightly, confirming his assumption. "I've been busy on the set lately and haven't had time to do it for a while."

As Charlize finished the first step of dyeing her hair, she skillfully organized her things, washed her hands, and took out a hairdryer from the cabinet. She blew it evenly over her hair.

Hugo watched Charlize busily and shook his head with a smile. "I don't understand why you insist on dyeing your hair gold." Charlize's beautiful golden hair was not natural; her original hair color was deep brown. Through persistent dyeing, she maintained the shining golden color.

Charlize couldn't hear clearly over the buzzing noise of the hairdryer, so she turned her head and shouted at Hugo, "What?"

Hugo pointed to his own hair and spoke loudly, "Why gold?"

Charlize stopped the hairdryer and said helplessly, "I thought we discussed this already." This was one of the characteristics of living together as roommates. It was easy for both parties to discover each other's private and unique habits. When Hugo first saw Charlize dyeing her hair there, he was curious, and they had a discussion about it.

Hugo shrugged. "I still don't quite understand. Your original hair color might be beautiful too. That chestnut brown color is also shiny."

In the past, when watching movies, Westerners always had a special plot for blondes. They either believed that blondes represented big-breasted bimbos, or they thought blondes symbolized sex appeal. Regardless of positive or negative views, blondes always had a special position. Hugo had never quite understood this and guessed that it might not have such a profound impact in Asian culture.

Charlize chuckled, "I simply like it." She looked back at the mirror and checked if the hair dye was evenly applied. "This was John Crosby's suggestion. Do you remember John Crosby?" Hugo nodded. He was Charlize's first agent, but she quickly fired him. "This may be the only correct advice John gave me. Initially, it was because blondes got more work, you know, the special preference Americans have for blondes." Charlize, being from South Africa, said this with a hint of sarcasm, seemingly teasing Hugo's uniqueness, which made him laugh and lower his head.

"But later on, I started to genuinely like the golden hair color and felt it suited me well." Charlize pouted and had a hint of resignation on her face. "Actually, for actors, blondes aren't that suitable. People tend to label blonde actresses as just eye candy. But I can't help it, I just like it. So, you can think of it as a little feminine whim." Charlize finished speaking, chuckled softly, and then turned on the hairdryer again to continue heating her hair.

Hugo looked up and glanced at the strands of hair that were faintly visible on his forehead. He still wasn't accustomed to this face, including the dark golden hair. It was too strange. In China, blonde hair was more associated with non-mainstream subculture, and Hugo missed his previous jet-black hair. He said, "I don't like it. If it weren't for the hassle of dyeing, I would have dyed it black a long time ago."

Having seen Charlize dye her hair, Hugo knew that maintaining an even color required dyeing it every one or two months, and sometimes even twice a month. Hugo couldn't keep up with that.

"What?" Charlize didn't hear again. She stopped the hairdryer and asked, her gaze fixed on the ends of her hair reflected in the mirror. Charlize needed to heat the hair dye on the back of her head and ensure an even distribution, which was not an easy task. Hugo raised his voice and said, "Do you need help?" He then took a step toward Charlize, who didn't turn around and handed him the hairdryer.

Hugo took the hairdryer, turned on the warm air, and blew it evenly on the back of Charlize's head. "I mean, I don't like my hair color. I would rather have black hair."

Charlize stopped her actions and looked at Hugo in the mirror. She chuckled and imagined how Hugo would look with black hair. She burst into laughter and said, "If you had black hair... I don't know, it would be quite strange." Hugo's overall demeanor was warm and sunny, and it must be admitted that the dark golden hair added a lot of points, making Hugo appear sunny without being too dazzling, radiant without being overly flashy. "Besides, your hair isn't that bright gold. It's dark golden. It only shines under sunlight. It looks great in normal lighting."

Hugo looked at himself in the mirror, with a slight disdainful curve at the corner of his mouth, feeling the gentle breeze from the hairdryer lifting his dark golden hair. In the dim light of the bathroom, it had a soft halo. As an outsider, Hugo would agree with Charlize's point of view. However, the person in the mirror was Hugo himself, and he still felt somewhat uncomfortable. Hugo mischievously thought to himself if his incomplete integration of memories was also a reason, as he still hadn't fully adapted to this physical appearance.

"Hey, you! It's too hot!" Charlize turned her head away and looked at Hugo angrily. Hugo had been distracted earlier, and the hairdryer blew on one spot continuously, causing Charlize's scalp to immediately become scorching hot. Charlize raised her hand and slapped Hugo's hand back with force. The loud "smack" echoed in the small space of the bathroom.

Hugo took the hairdryer away, his mouth wide open in surprise, staring at Charlize. He then wore a face of grievance and complained, "Didn't you hear the sound? Look, my hand is red, billions of cells are dead!"

Charlize, who had initially felt apologetic, clenched her teeth and said, "You have dead cells? My hand is in pain too! You know, I'm a woman. My hand is delicate and weak. I'm the one who's truly in pain."

Hugo was speechless for a moment, laughing and crying. "Where do you get this from? Clearly, you hit me, it's not like I forced you." Hugo gritted his teeth. "Hmph, you're the one who's not a woman, you're clearly a man, a man!"

"What did you say?" Charlize put her hands on her hips and switched to angry mode, but Hugo, still clueless, continued, "I said, you're a man!"

"Hugo Lancaster!" Charlize grabbed Hugo's left hand and started punishing him with one slap after another, accompanied by kicks. Hugo couldn't fight back, so he turned on the hairdryer and blew it continuously towards Charlize.

As a result, the two of them were like children, with Charlize dodging the airflow from the hairdryer and Hugo evading Charlize's hands. They played around in circles in the bathroom, screaming and laughing, their voices echoing even in the hallway.

"Hugo, are you home? Open the door." A familiar voice came from the front door, faintly resembling Uma.