Arriving at the crew

Hugo didn't wait for Charlize's call back, so he called again the next day. This time, Tyra answered the phone and said that Charlize was out for dinner. However, Tyra conveyed Charlize's message, "She said she's fine, don't worry about her."

Hugo couldn't quite figure out the meaning of this sentence. It sounded like a response to his message, and Charlize seemed to understand his behavior of leaving without notice. However, there was something unusual in the words, but Hugo didn't know if this abnormality was real or just his own imagination. Nevertheless, Hugo was relieved to receive Charlize's forgiveness.

Hugo couldn't deny his fondness for Charlize. He believed that Charlize must have similar feelings towards him, otherwise, they wouldn't have had so many developments after that night. Therefore, Hugo didn't want to ruin everything because of an accident. Of course, the future development between them would depend on the progress of their relationship. Hugo originally planned to ask Charlize out again, but he had to prepare for his first film, which was about to start shooting due to the call from the "Scent of a Woman" crew.

Although Joseph had been a talent agent for less than eighteen months, he progressed rapidly with the support of the international innovation management company. He adapted quickly to both the industry and the people he worked with. After the audition results of "Scent of a Woman" came out, Joseph completed all the signing work within two days, making Hugo a member of the "Scent of a Woman" crew. The next day, the crew sent Hugo to New York for the start of the film.

This opportunity was hard-won for Hugo, and it was also the best opportunity for him to break through his current predicament. He naturally didn't want to mess it up, especially since he would be acting alongside Al Pacino. Such a rare opportunity doesn't come often, so Hugo must fully immerse himself in the pre-production preparation, not just with the fittings and photoshoots, but also the understanding of the character and acting skills. This made Hugo have no time to rest for almost three days, let alone call Charlize.

When all the work was ready, Hugo didn't seem to have come back to his senses yet. He and Joseph sat on the plane to New York, and Joseph saw Hugo's nervousness and thought he was worried about the article in "Los Angeles Times" today. So he comforted him, "Don't worry, once you're in the crew, you just need to focus on yourself. Those newspaper comments won't decide anything." Maintaining a good mentality for his actor was also one of the job requirements for a talent agent.

Hugo's gaze unconsciously wandered around as everything inside the airplane cabin seemed so unfamiliar to him. It wasn't that the airplane's structure had anything particularly special, but rather the deep blue patterned seat cushions, the silk white shirt paired with a red suit vest of the flight attendant's uniform, exuding a strong retro style from the 90s that was a bit overwhelming.

Upon hearing Joseph's words, Hugo couldn't help but pull his attention back and conceal his actions with a smile, "What's wrong? Did the newspaper say something again?" As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Hugo realized his mistake, "Oh, you mean "Los Angeles Times". I only read the headline this morning and haven't read the content yet. Is there anything wrong?"

"The front page headline of "Los Angeles Times" today was about Woody Allen's scandal with his adopted daughter. The latest development is on the front page, while the 23rd page reports the news of your official signing with the "Scent of a Woman" crew, with the headline "Wrong Choice", obviously disagreeing with the crew's final decision. And it's not just "Los Angeles Times", most of the authoritative media have a negative attitude towards your performance this time, apparently still affected by the aftermath of the Golden Raspberry Award on your acting career."

Joseph realized that Hugo was just distracted, not nervous, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, "Nothing, don't worry about it."

Hugo picked up "Los Angeles Times" on his knee, which he grabbed when boarding the plane, and continued, "Is the reporter who wrote this article the same as last time? Does he have any connection to our company? Why do we always see him in the news?"

"You mean Nicholas? If he had any connection, he wouldn't keep finding fault with you time and time again." Joseph knew more or less about the sources and reporters of these news, which was also part of his job. If there were serious negative news, he would also be responsible for contacting the reporters to minimize or even withdraw the negative impact of the news.

In fact, this aspect of the work is handled by the public relations manager after being further refined, as they are the professionals in this field. But for now, Hugo can only be considered a rookie and hasn't reached the level of being equipped with a public relations manager yet, so Joseph has to take full responsibility for the time being.

Hugo just spoke of the journalist, whose full name was Nicholas Allum, was a professional journalist for "Los Angeles Times". He previously wrote the follow-up report on the Golden Raspberry Awards, and his name also appeared on the report on the failed audition for "A River Runs Through It". It was easy to guess that he did not have a good impression of Hugo, and he always sarcastically mocked him in his reports. This time was no exception, as Nicholas clearly did not have high hopes for Hugo's prospects on the set of "Scent of a Woman", expressing concern for the entire film project.

"I thought I stole his girlfriend, that's why he keeps targeting me." Hugo joked with a smile, then looked at the newspaper in his hand. However, after flipping through it for a while, he couldn't find today's "Wrong Choice" report. Hugo felt that something was off with the newspaper and had to flip through it randomly.

Just as Hugo was pondering, Joseph next to him coldly said, "You're holding it upside down."

Hugo's movements suddenly froze in place. So that's why the bold text and pictures were so strangely positioned. He couldn't help but chuckle a couple of times to cover up his embarrassment, then pretended to be nonchalant and flipped the newspaper over, which immediately looked much better. This kind of absent-mindedness was a problem he couldn't seem to shake off, but fortunately, it only affected small things. In terms of the big picture, he was never careless, or else it would be troublesome.

As Hugo was reading the article "Wrong Choice", the plane was preparing to take off. Today, they were leaving Los Angeles to head to New York because most of the filming for "Scent of a Woman" would take place in New York, with some scenes being shot in nearby New Jersey and Boston. Feeling the plane start to taxi, Hugo shifted his gaze away from the newspaper and looked out the window.

Watching the City of Angels shrink in his field of vision, the colors outside gradually went from intense to pale, finally turning into a clear blue, like a drop of ink dripping into clear water, going from dark to light. The slightly blurred colors had a breathtaking beauty.

From Los Angeles to New York, the journey spanned the entire United States and took over five hours. They were able to experience vastly different regional characteristics while also enduring a long flight, long enough to feel the drastically different cityscapes of the same season. Although it was still January, the bright sunshine on the West Coast easily made people forget about the cold winter, but this time the East Coast welcomed Hugo with heavy rain, clearly telling him that although the East and West Coasts are part of the same country, their characteristics were vastly different.

When the plane landed at JFK International Airport, the cityscape beyond the sun visor was already obscured by the rain curtain, leaving only a hazy view. The ground temperature of 35 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) made Hugo start missing the sunny weather of 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius) in Los Angeles before he even left the plane.

Suddenly, Hugo became nervous without warning, and the cluttered state of his mind forced him to shift his focus to the continuous rain fog outside the window. The wintry air mixed in with the raindrops hit the ground with a bang, splashing a string of water droplets. In fact, compared to working with Al Pacino, Hugo was more nervous about the upcoming shoot.

He had always dreamed of standing in front of the camera and performing with confidence, but when the opportunity finally arrived, he was overwhelmed by nervousness. He was worried that he would mess up his performance, ruin this chance, and compromise the quality of "Scent of a Woman"...

"You can do it, you can do it, you can do it..." After leaving the airport and getting into a yellow taxi, Hugo did not have the energy to take a look at the world's largest city. His eyes were fixed on the rain curtain without any focus because he kept self-hypnotizing himself. He had to believe in his own ability and persistence in order to find a calm corner amidst the tense emotions and prepare for the upcoming shoot.

"We're here." Joseph's voice interrupted Hugo's scattered thoughts. Hugo turned his head to the left side of the taxi and saw a waiter in a knee-length coat holding an umbrella walking to the taxi door, opening the door, placing the umbrella on top of the door, and Hugo got out of the car. The whole person was wrapped in the umbrella, and the rain curtain around him kept New York out. Hugo curled up in the small world formed by the umbrella.

As he walked to the hotel entrance, the waiter collected the umbrella, the canopy above his head disappeared, and as he turned around, the tall buildings of New York immediately came into view. The dampness underfoot and the fierce wind coming from all directions made Hugo realize clearly that he had arrived at the "Scent of a Woman" crew.