New roommate

Hugo's move was not difficult, even if all of his and Joseph's luggage was combined, it was all moved in one trip. However, the most troublesome thing was purchasing basic living necessities because the new house only had one mattress that belonged to Hugo, and not even a hanger to hang clothes on.

"I thought you would continue to live with me, isn't it more convenient for work?" Hugo originally thought that Joseph had found a three-bedroom apartment with him in mind, since Joseph's situation was even worse than Hugo's, and Hugo knew exactly how much Joseph was taking from him.

Unexpectedly, Joseph did not choose to live with Hugo but rented another room on the fourth floor of Hugo's house, which was also a three-bedroom apartment, making Hugo a little puzzled. "Or, are you planning to move in with your girlfriend?" Hugo suddenly thought of this possibility and asked directly.

Joseph was at a loss for words by Hugo's question. "It's not that complicated. Karl is in a bad situation now, as you know, no one in the company is willing to help him, and he can't afford next month's rent. I happen to be moving, so he's moving in with me. He can barely pay the rent for the first two months here. If it's still not enough, I'll cover it for now, and he can pay me back later."

The rent for the house was $1,500 per month because it had no furniture. Splitting it between the three of them was $500 per person. However, Hugo was only the second tenant on the third floor, so he had to pay $750 in rent until the third person moved in. On the other hand, Joseph's fourth-floor apartment could be fully occupied with three tenants, which eased Karl's burden.

Hugo remembered Karl El, who was idle at work last time he visited the company, so he couldn't help but sigh. Karl was not lazy. On the contrary, he was an excellent broker but just couldn't find the right opportunity. If he could, Karl wouldn't want to stay at the company and would prefer to seek opportunities outside.

Hugo suddenly thought of Charlize again. He hadn't called her in the last few days, and since he had made at least eight phone calls and couldn't reach her, maybe it was just not meant to be. After all, this was Hollywood. Although Hugo had a good impression of Charlize, it was only a fondness, not love because they hadn't had enough time to communicate and develop.

If Charlize could sign with Karl, it might be a good cooperation. Hugo thought purely from a friend's standpoint.

"Moreover, when the apartment was rented out, it was stated that the co-tenant must be an actor because the person who lived here was an actor. The landlord believed that it was easier to manage a group of colleagues living here, reducing some disputes." Joseph added, which was not surprising.

In Los Angeles, actors are the most abundant, but there are also people from various other industries. Due to the special nature of their profession, actors have unstable working hours and lifestyles. If they share a rental with someone from another industry, especially those who work 9 to 5, it can affect both parties. Therefore, if actors share a rental together, it can reduce a lot of troubles. For landlords, peaceful coexistence between tenants is naturally good news.

Joseph also didn't share a rental with Hugo for these reasons. He lived upstairs. Since they were so close, it wouldn't be too inconvenient for work.

Hugo looked at the first room on the left, the door was still wide open, and he still hadn't seen anyone. "It seems that he either has work or is going for an interview. Otherwise, why haven't I seen him twice?" Hugo still hasn't met his future roommate, but he himself moved in directly.

He didn't know what kind of person he was, and it was hard to judge just from the gorilla boxing shorts hanging in the room.

"Anyway, I'll meet him eventually..." Hugo held his suitcase and walked towards the room on the left. But after taking two steps, he felt dizzy and stood in place, his suitcase falling to the ground, and he started to vomit.

Joseph, who was standing behind with the luggage, heard the sound of the suitcase falling, turned around and saw Hugo bending over. He immediately walked over and helped Hugo sit on the sofa, looking at him with concern.

Joseph knew it was withdrawal symptoms at work. In fact, when filming "Scent of a Woman", Hugo had suffered the pain of withdrawal symptoms four times. Fortunately, three times were at night in the room, and only one time was on the set, which interrupted the filming. Fortunately, withdrawal symptoms gradually weaken over time away from drugs. Hugo's reaction at that time was not serious and did not affect the progress of the crew, and he soon overcame the difficulties.

The most important reason why Joseph looked at Hugo with new eyes was his firmness and perseverance in dealing with withdrawal symptoms. This showed Hugo's unwavering determination to fight against drugs. With his persistence, he had gradually moved away from drugs, and withdrawal symptoms had become weaker and weaker. It had been more than a week since Hugo last had any reaction, but who knew that it suddenly struck again today.

Upon careful consideration, Joseph remembered that even if he completely stayed away from drugs, withdrawal symptoms would last at least three months, and severe symptoms could even last six months. It was clear that Hugo still had a long way to go to completely overcome drugs.

Hugo overcame the spasms in his stomach and cold sweats all over his body, and gradually recovered. At this point, the withdrawal symptoms were not as severe anymore. He just needed to sit down and rest for a while, and would only feel weak all over afterwards. Hugo leaned weakly against the back of the sofa, exhaling slowly. No matter how difficult it was, he would persevere. He would never touch drugs again!

Joseph looked at the glistening sweat on Hugo's forehead and quietly stood up to pour a glass of pure water. But after thinking for a moment, he felt that warm water would be more suitable at this time. He searched around the kitchen and finally found a kettle in the cupboard. He quickly washed it and filled it with water, placing it on the stove.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Joseph couldn't help but ask loudly from the kitchen.

Hugo sat in the hall, chuckled lightly, and his tired mouth drew a faint smile. He suddenly heard Joseph's voice echo, which felt strange, giving him a sense of reality in their new home. "I've made it this far, what else could happen?" After surviving the worst three times, everything else wasn't so difficult. Even during the filming of "Scent of a Woman", Hugo persisted throughout.

Hearing Hugo's weak but sunny voice, Joseph stood in the kitchen and looked at the flames licking the kettle, exhaling deeply.

"Hey, buddy, you made it!" A stranger's voice suddenly came from the hall. Although tired, it was full of vitality, and even had a slightly excited tone, "Oh my god, you're Hugo Lancaster! The landlord didn't tell me that you were the one renting the place!"

Joseph walked out of the kitchen and saw a young man jumping around next to the sofa, while Hugo still leaned weakly against it. Watching the young man, he couldn't help but feel like Hugo was watching a circus performance. The young man had a slender figure, not six feet tall, but at least five feet ten inches (1.78 meters). His features were very three-dimensional but slightly round, and coupled with his flowing curly hair, although not handsome, he had some of the chic French style.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god..." The young man couldn't contain his excitement, and his rapid breathing even made one wonder if he was going to faint at any moment. This behavior could only be explained as a fan meeting their idol, otherwise, it would be a rival meeting, "Jesus, my new roommate is Hugo Lancaster, this is really incredible, oh my god!"

"If I'm not mistaken, you must be Alexander, right?" Hugo felt that the situation seemed to be getting out of control, and couldn't help but frown and smile, loudly asking. Hugo learned from the landlord that his roommate's name was Alexander Lorraine, a twenty-year-old young man.

"Please call me Alex, please!" Alexander clasped his hands together, still looking excited and unsure. Hugo seemed to see the glistening tears in his eyes, which left him a bit confused: what was the problem?

At that moment, Joseph had already walked over quickly. "Hello, I'm Joseph, Hugo's agent."

Alexander nodded repeatedly, tears already rolling down his cheeks. "This is really great, too great." He looked at Hugo with tearful eyes full of excitement. "Dear Hugo, I really, really like you. I've watched all your works, "Diner", "Dead Poets Society", and "Hudson Hawk"... I really like your performances. I think you're a genius performer. You've contributed excellent acting to every movie, trust me, I'm serious. Even in "Hudson Hawk", you were still outstanding. If it wasn't for the terrible script and director, the movie would have been a huge success."

So that was it, Hugo had encountered a dedicated fan. It was quite surprising, first of all, because the fan was a boy, secondly because he was an actor, and thirdly because he was Hugo's new roommate. It was really intriguing.

"Including "Quicksilver"?" Joseph also seemed a little skeptical and asked.

"Yes, including "Quicksilver"! And "The Chocolate War"." Alexander replied without hesitation, which surprised Joseph.

Joseph looked at Hugo, pursed his lips, and nodded. It seemed to say: Yes, he's your true fan.

Hugo also felt it, because even he himself didn't know what movies his previous self had acted in, but Alexander could remember them all. This ability was not easy. Especially the fact that Alexander was so firm in his belief about "Hudson Hawk" showed his admiration.

"Um, what should I say? If you were a film critic, that would be great?" Hugo's slightly raised tone was full of uncertainty, but this slightly teasing tone made Joseph and Alexander laugh.

Alexander seemed to realize his own embarrassment and quickly shook his head. "Oh, Hugo, I like girls, you don't have to worry, that's true."

"Hahahaha..." This time Hugo was genuinely happy.