Scoring one

Martin Baum held a pen in his hand, his fingers lightly rubbing against the surface of the pen, his eyes staring absentmindedly at the documents on the desk until a knock on the door interrupted him. "Martin, Brad's here." he heard from outside, and then he snapped back to reality, calling out, "Come in."

Brad rushed in immediately. He was wearing a white T-shirt with a black leather jacket, and his rugged style was accentuated by his bulging chest. Brad was in his prime, exuding a sunny energy, but also appearing slightly restless and rough, his youthful recklessness on full display.

As Martin looked at Brad, he thought of Hugo. He had been thinking about Hugo all along, wondering why this young man could leave such an unforgettable impression on people. And when Martin saw Brad, he found his answer: it was because the warm sunshine on Hugo's body was not too intense, unlike Brad's, which was piercing. On the contrary, it would permeate the skin gently and silently. Hugo's smile was still vivid in Martin's mind.

In fact, Hugo was four years younger than Brad, and theoretically, Brad should have encountered more worldly experience and should have been more mature and sophisticated. But that was not the case. Martin could still vividly imagine the scene of the audition that night, where Hugo faced Brad's aggression calmly and confidently. His every gesture and movement exerted a powerful sense of oppression, like a drop of water wearing away a stone, yet fast and piercing like a gust of wind.

No wonder the crew of "A Few Good Men" chose Hugo Lancaster and not Brad Pitt or even Tom Cruise.

"Martin? Martin!" Brad looked at his agent, who was lost in thought, his eyes hollow and powerless. Brad had to call him out to make sure Martin had refocused his attention. "Why did you call me here?"

Brad did not ask why Martin was lost in thought because he knew Martin would not answer him. He just walked over to the couch and sat down, crossing his legs casually.

Martin collected his thoughts and shook his head, "You don't seem nervous at all. Do you think you have no problems and that you are already a rising star, that everyone will come to you for film roles? I've told you, you are nothing yet, just some works that have achieved slight success, it's not a big deal, don't be so conceited."

Brad was used to Martin's attitude, so he just continued to sit there, unconcerned. But facing Martin's fiery anger, at least he didn't lean on the back of the sofa chair anymore but sat upright. He straightened his body and leaned forward slightly to look at Martin, showing that he was listening carefully, not absent-minded.

"What's wrong? Have I done anything wrong these past few days?" Brad was puzzled, clearly not understanding why his agent was scolding him again.

"Do you remember "A Few Good Men"?" Martin got straight to the point, making Brad immediately alert.

"How did it go? Did I get the role?" Brad nervously and eagerly asked, putting down his raised right foot and stopping chewing his gum.

"No, you didn't get the role." Martin bluntly said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

"Damn Tom Cruise!" Brad slammed his knee hard, assuming that Tom had finally compromised and got the role, not even considering any other possibilities. He muttered angrily, "He must be trying to raise his salary. Why else would he keep pushing it back until the last moment to sign the contract? The film starts shooting next week. He's such a cunning guy!"

"No, it's Hugo Lancaster." Martin interrupted Brad's complaints and announced the result.

"What?" Brad didn't react for a moment, looking at Martin incredulously.

"I said Hugo got the role, and Rob chose him in the end." Martin had just received the news this morning. Rob rejected Brad and then couldn't reach an agreement with Tom. So, the result was straightforward, and Hugo made a comeback and snatched the role from Tom and Brad. Of course, Martin hadn't received the final confirmation yet. He had just left a message for Columbia Pictures, hoping to get a definite answer, but the possibility of any surprises was minimal.

"Shit!" Brad immediately stood up from the sofa with a look of anger and frustration on his face. "Hugo! Hugo! It's actually Hugo!" Brad obviously couldn't accept this result. Imagine the sense of superiority he felt facing Hugo during the audition for "A River Runs Through It" last time, and today, Hugo actually made a comeback and snatched the opportunity of "A Few Good Men" from him. Brad seemed to have forgotten that this opportunity originally belonged to Tom and he had never truly had it.

"Martin, no, anyone can play this role, it definitely can't be Hugo." Brad went straight to Martin's desk in anger, placed his hands on the table and yelled with a red face, "He is not capable of this role. You go tell Rob, if I play it, I'll be a hundred times better than Hugo!"

Brad's confidence was severely shaken. He had thought that after the Raspberry Award, he would watch Hugo go downhill, but it looked unlikely now. "Scent of a Woman" was not just a stroke of luck, and now the opportunity of "A Few Good Men" had fallen into Hugo's hands again, especially after defeating the rising star Tom, this was a fierce blow.

Martin had actually guessed Brad's reaction. Although he was not sure, he had a vague idea of the role Tracey played in it. In addition, Hugo had won in a direct confrontation with Brad this time, which undoubtedly dealt a severe blow to Brad's confidence. But Martin did not intend to indulge Brad's arrogance.

"Don't forget, Hugo and you competed for the opportunity in front of Rob, it was you who lost this audition. In terms of excellence, in Rob's eyes, he has already chosen Hugo, you simply can't compare to him." Martin delivered another strong dose of medicine, instantly making Brad's face turn pale.

Then Martin stood up fiercely, and yelled at Brad's dejected face, "If you only have this level, don't even think about competing with Hugo. He is more than a hundred times better than you. If you really are a man, pick yourself up and stop playing around all day. You should be happy when you achieve something, but you seem to be lost. Opportunities will always come, even if they don't, I will create them for you. What you need to do is to strengthen yourself and seize these opportunities!"

Martin had called Brad over to shatter his confidence. Lately, Brad seemed to be complacent and lost, so Martin had to be cautious. But as his agent, he couldn't directly attack Brad, and the latter probably wouldn't listen to his advice anyway. Therefore, Martin could only seize this opportunity and hope to reignite Brad's fighting spirit.

Sure enough, Brad gritted his teeth and soon realized that he had only won one and lost one in his two rounds with Hugo. He hadn't really lost the game. So, he didn't need to be discouraged or upset. What he needed to do was to find a new direction and prepare for the next competition.

"Hugo Lancaster, our competition has just begun!" Brad clenched his right fist and smashed it hard on the desk, but he didn't feel any pain, only an endless fighting spirit!

On the other hand, after confirming the news, Joseph happily returned home from the company. Seeing the third-floor door wide open, he shouted, "Hugo! Hugo!" in the corridor, almost uncontrollably excited and joyful. This made the three people who were helping to pack Charlize's room walk out and look at Joseph, who had lost his usual calm, in surprise.

"Hugo!" Joseph seemed to be unaware of his loss of composure, still trembling with a voice that was two tones higher than usual. "You got the role of Daniel. You beat Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt for this role. You can star in "A Few Good Men", and work with Rob and Jack!"

Joseph said a lot in one go, but the information couldn't be clearer. Hugo got another role by relying on his own efforts! This immediately filled Hugo's chest with joy, which then exploded into beautiful fireworks at the corners of his eyebrows, eyes, and mouth.

"Really?" Hugo ran excitedly towards Joseph. "Is it true?" he kept asking. Joseph nodded and confirmed, and then saw Hugo jump up in place, fiercely punching out and completely releasing his inner joy.

The success of this audition was too important and too hard-won. No wonder Joseph lost his composure, and Hugo was even more excited.

In addition, Karl and Charlize standing next to them were also infected. Although Charlize was not sure about the situation and didn't know how important this audition was, the two of them also cheered together and joined Hugo and Joseph's celebration with the most direct action.

"Yay!" Alex, who had just walked into the room, saw the four of them celebrating and also cheered inexplicably. The excited expression on his face was not at all awkward or embarrassing. "Wow, that's great! It's so awesome!" Alex's voice was even more exaggerated than the other four combined.

After everyone had enough as they stood there panting and looking at each other with joy, Alex suddenly asked, "Wow, something good, what are we celebrating?"