In the name of a friend

"Shared rent?" Hugo still couldn't believe it, and he looked at Charlize for confirmation. This whole thing was just too strange.

First, Hugo had a romantic night with Charlize, but because of his withdrawal symptoms, there was a misunderstanding. Even though he explained everything clearly, he couldn't contact Charlize afterwards no matter how many times he tried. And now, they met again, only to find out that Charlize wanted to move in and share an apartment with him? And after witnessing Uma leaving his room, this was just too abnormal, right?

Charlize looked at Hugo's puzzled eyes, and could faintly see some expectations in those clear amber eyes. She forced herself to sort out her mixed emotions and suppressed them, "Yes, is there anything inconvenient? Your apartment was already open to shared living, so it's perfectly normal for anyone to move in. Moreover, we're friends, it's better to live together than to have a stranger move in!"

"Friends..." Hugo heard Charlize's casual definition, and his expression froze.

"As a girl, I'm not even disgusted with sharing an apartment with two guys, do you have any objections?" Charlize had completely returned to normal and walked to the center of the living room, surveying the decoration and furnishings of the apartment. "Even if there's any protest, it should be me, right? Living under the same roof with two guys, the most inconvenienced should be me."

Charlize hit the nail on the head, leaving Hugo speechless. "But weren't you sharing an apartment with Tyra before?"

"You still remember Tyra?" Charlize was somewhat surprised. "She went to Paris, so I had to move."

Hugo stood still, watching Charlize look around the apartment freely, without saying a word. At this moment, Charlize was so relaxed and casual, without any nervousness, panic, unease, or awkwardness, as if nothing had happened before.

Hugo recalled the past two months. He first explained everything to Charlize through Tyra as openly as possible, but after that, Charlize cut off all contact. Hugo thought there might be a misunderstanding, that Charlize was angry and refused to answer the phone. But judging from Charlize's behavior today, she didn't care about that night at all. Hugo thought they had mutual feelings for each other, but now it seemed that it was just his wishful thinking.

Now, Charlize could treat herself as a friend, but what about himself? Hugo wondered. He couldn't refuse, maybe he couldn't make his feelings blossom, and now all his feelings were extinguished. But at least they could still be friends, their conversations before were always pleasant, whether it was the first embarrassing incident or the second dinner. So, perhaps a friendship relationship was the most appropriate.

Hugo took a deep breath and took over from Charlize, "You're going to Paris? What's going on? How did you end up with Karl again? Karl, you didn't tell me yesterday that you found a tenant for our other room so quickly."

As Hugo calmed down, he realized that he hadn't sorted out the confusion from this morning at all, there were just too many question marks. Seeing Charlize's conscious avoidance, Hugo suddenly realized that he still wasn't wearing a shirt, so he quickly went into the room and put on a T-shirt before coming back out to help Karl move Charlize's luggage to the room on the left side of the dining room.

So this was what happened.

Not long ago, after Tyra returned from New York Fashion Week empty-handed, she became disheartened. She realized that it wasn't easy to make a name for herself in the American modeling industry, regardless of her looks or skin color. But Tyra never gave up, firmly believing that she could become a top model. So after much consideration, she decided to go to Paris to pursue her dream.

As the global capital of fashion, Paris' modeling industry was more tolerant and advanced than New York and Los Angeles, and black models had far more opportunities there. Tyra might really be able to make a name for herself in Paris.

Tyra's experience also touched Charlize. After her recent experience at New York Fashion Week, she understood the hardships of the modeling industry far more deeply than before, and most models would never give up on the opportunity to transition to acting. This also made Charlize realize how precious Karl El's second invitation was.

After returning to Los Angeles, Charlize contacted Karl on her own initiative, expressing her willingness to sign with him. Karl was overjoyed and signed Charlize under his banner as quickly as possible, afraid that if he moved too slowly, Charlize would regret it.

After signing Charlize, Karl temporarily had no time to arrange for her to receive actor training, as he himself was at a crossroads. It wasn't until Karl got Joseph's help and moved in together that he learned that Charlize was also facing the problem of needing a new place to live.

Apart from Alex and Hugo on the third floor, there was an empty room that provided convenience for Karl. Whether it was for proximity or sharing rent, including finding roommates, Karl couldn't find a better option, so he discussed it with the landlord and quickly decided on it.

This matter was confirmed the day before yesterday, but Karl kept forgetting to tell Hugo, and even the signing of the contract with Charlize was not told to Joseph due to being too busy, until now. This is what caused today's misunderstanding.

After understanding the situation, Hugo couldn't help but sigh. The first meeting and today's encounter between him and Charlize were full of surprises, catching them off guard.

"Charlize, sorry, I forgot to tell you that Hugo lives here. Do you mind?" Although Karl had mentioned Charlize to Hugo twice before, the information he had suggested that Hugo and Charlize were only acquaintances and not really friends, so Karl had not remembered to tell Charlize about it and naturally didn't tell Hugo.

Charlize glanced at Hugo, their eyes met, but both of them felt awkward and looked away. "It's okay. You told me that both roommates are men when we agreed to share the apartment, so I was mentally prepared for it." Although they shared the apartment, she still had her own independent space, and they only shared the bathroom. This type of living situation was very common in Los Angeles and was not a problem for Charlize. As for Hugo, there should be no special meaning.

Hugo then remembered, "Where are Alex and Joseph?" He hadn't seen them since he woke up this morning.

"Joseph went to the company. I don't know if his audition had a result," Karl knew about this, "As for Alex, I don't know. I went to help Charlize move early in the morning."

"You had an audition?" Since they had decided to be friends and would be living under the same roof, Charlize didn't want to continue feeling awkward, so she asked, "Did you participate in an audition again?"

"Yes." Hugo looked up at Charlize and seeing her clear and open expression, he no longer felt the need to avoid the topic and smiled, "But the competitor is Tom Cruise, so it's not that easy."

"Who?" Charlize's question made Hugo and Karl look at each other and burst into laughter. The famous Tom Cruise was also someone who was lost on Charlize's limited interest in movies. Charlize realized that she may have made a mistake and looked at Hugo's bright and beautiful smile, and couldn't help but laugh as well. "Even if he's famous, it doesn't mean that everyone on this planet has to know him."

"That's right, that's right," Karl repeated, his mood appearing very cheerful. His recent career struggles were finally turning around, and he was naturally in high spirits. "Charlize, if you had to choose, who would you like to cast in this movie?"

"You mean the movie I invested in?" Charlize knew nothing about the so-called audition and was naturally unfamiliar with the situation. "If it were me, of course, I would choose Hugo." Her straightforward response caused Hugo's smile to bloom even more. "Hugo is standing right in front of me. If I don't choose him, wouldn't that be awkward?"

Hugo's smile suddenly froze upon hearing Charlize's words, feeling like he was being played by her. Karl, on the other hand, was gloating and taunting Hugo. "If Tom were here, I bet she wouldn't choose you." With that, Karl walked out of the room with a light step to move the final box.

Hugo glanced at Karl's departing figure, then turned to Charlize. The two remained silent for a moment, appearing somewhat reserved. It was the first time the two had been alone together all day. Finally, Hugo mustered up the courage and extended his right hand. "Welcome to share the burden of our rent. Please bear with us, two men living together will likely create some pressure."

Charlize looked at Hugo's slender fingers, the powerful joints emitting a suffocating beauty in the sunlight. She withdrew her gaze, took hold of Hugo's hand, and showed a hearty smile. "Don't underestimate a woman's ability. Who knows, maybe it'll be you guys who feel the pressure in the end. Besides, I'm half a man, you didn't know that?"

Charlize's jest made Hugo burst out laughing. "I hope I never have to learn about that part of you, otherwise, I'll be worried about my safety."

In the face of Hugo's words, Charlize didn't say anything, but walked over with a smile and directly picked up the large box in front of him. Could one imagine this scene? The slender and well-proportioned Charlize suddenly exerted tremendous strength and effortlessly lifted a huge box. This surprised Hugo: indeed, she was half a man.

"Do you know?" Hugo said incredulously, "You look a lot like King Kong who discovered gym."

..."Hugo Lancaster!"