New year party

Hugo and Charlize stopped their playful wrestling due to the sound at the door. Hugo pointed at the front gate and said, "Someone is knocking on the door."

Charlize gasped for breath and looked at Hugo. Slowly, he let go of her grip and said, "You go and open the door!" Hugo nodded and took a step towards the bathroom door. Sensing Charlizes' lowered guard, Hugo aimed the hairdryer at Charlize and gave her a quick sweep before running outside with the hairdryer. In his haste, he pulled out the plug of the hairdryer, causing several bottles nearby to topple over.

"Hugo!" Charlize angrily shouted and chased after him. Hugo was truly like a child, not at all like a 25-year-old man!

Hugo quickly reached the front gate, his mouth still filled with a string of joyful laughter. With his free left hand, he opened the door. As soon as Uma opened the door, she saw Hugo with a radiant smile on his face, followed closely by a disheveled Charlize. Uma's gaze shifted between Hugo and Charlize, finally settling on the hairdryer in Hugo's hand.

"Hey, you're here," Hugo greeted Uma, his smile becoming even more tender. He gave Uma a big hug and planted a kiss on her cheek.

Uma walked into the house, her face beaming with a smile. Her gaze swept back and forth between Hugo and Charlize twice before resting on Charlize. "Are you guys... playing a game?" Any woman who witnessed such a scene would naturally have doubts, and Uma was no exception. She earnestly looked at Charlize who was in disarray and then focused on her expression.

Charlize halted in the corridor, her angry gaze initially directed at Hugo. However, upon realizing someone had arrived, she reined in her anger. When she noticed it was Uma, she shifted her gaze back, politely nodded at her, and then glanced in annoyance at her own disheveled appearance. Finally, she cast a spiteful glare at Hugo.

Hugo burst into laughter and quickly explained, "No, Charlize is dyeing her hair, and the hairdryer couldn't reach the back, so I was helping. And then, there was a little accident, right?" He looked at Charlize, seeking confirmation.

Uma's gaze remained fixed on Charlize. After receiving confirmation from her and not noticing anything unusual between the two, she withdrew her gaze. She calmly took the hairdryer from Hugo's hand and said, "What can a grown man like you do when it comes to dyeing hair? You're just getting in the way. Let me give Charlize a hand."

Charlize naturally knew what Uma was thinking but didn't mind. She smiled and shook her head, saying, "No need, I'm almost done. I can handle it myself." She reached out and took the hairdryer from Uma's hand. "You go find Hugo. You two can chat for a while, and I'll be done soon."

After saying that, Charlize glared at Hugo once again. "Consider yourself lucky. Uma saved you!" Charlize returned to the bathroom, closed the door, and faintly heard the conversation between Uma and Hugo. "How about lunch today? Do we have any luck with the raffle?" Then Charlize plugged in the hairdryer again, turned it on, and continued with her hair dyeing.

Although Hugo expressed dissatisfaction with anniversaries on Oprah's talk show, this New Year's was the first one since Hugo met Uma. They decided to celebrate the New Year together, holding hands and counting down to welcome the new year. It may not be the most romantic, but it was the simplest form of happiness.

"Is tonight's party a waltz ball or a disco party?" Uma was agonizing over what to wear for the evening. If it was a formal dress, it would seem too grand, but a cocktail dress didn't seem impressive enough. As for T-shirt and jeans, they were simply out of the question.

Hugo chuckled, "Why don't we just wear jeans? It's not bad at all. Everyone else at the party will be dressed up like fools, and it'll be just the two of us in jeans. Isn't that nice?"

Uma was amused and exasperated by Hugo's whimsical idea. "It might be nice in your opinion, but probably not for anyone else. There are many occasions to stand out, but tonight is a New Year's Eve party. What's wrong with dressing up a bit more formally?"

Hugo pouted with a look of disappointment, which only made Uma laugh even more. "Last time we attended a premiere, we wore casual clothes. This time it's a formal party, wouldn't it be better to dress up a bit? Let's not have all our memories together be in jeans."

In truth, Hugo genuinely thought jeans were fine. After all, it was a New Year's Eve party, not a formal graduation dance or anything like that. The important thing was that friends gathered together to celebrate the new year. However, upon further reflection, Hugo agreed with Uma's reasoning. Besides, it was his first New Year's Eve since he traveled through time, so it would be better to make it more special. Although he felt a bit regretful, Hugo nodded and said, "Okay, I'll follow your lead. If you tell me to wear a tailcoat, I'll do it."

"A tailcoat, hahaha..." Uma burst into laughter at Hugo's exaggerated idea. "If it were a wedding, then it might be worth considering."

The sound of unlocking the door on the third floor reached their ears, and after the door was pushed open, Joseph's imposing figure appeared before them. He immediately greeted Uma with a wave of his right hand, then looked at Hugo and said, "There might be a change in plans for tonight."

Hugo looked at Joseph in confusion, "What?" It made no sense for him to randomly say, "There might be a change in plans." Who knows what happened?

Joseph sat down on the nearby couch and glanced at Uma. After a moment's hesitation, he continued, "Do you remember what we discussed about Sydney today? I spent nearly three hours on the phone with Sidney and finally had a conversation with him." Hugo felt a vein popping on his forehead. It seemed that Joseph had been busy with this matter since they left Rick's office. And it was a miracle that Sidney's assistant hadn't hung up the phone or turned off his cell phone.

Joseph, however, didn't find anything wrong with it. In fact, managers often had to be persistent and shameless to create opportunities for their artists. Even someone like Lang or Rick was no exception. If they wanted to collaborate with Steven Spielberg, they had to be that way.

"Sydney invites you to attend his New Year's Eve party at his house tonight." Joseph didn't hesitate any further and revealed the so-called "change."

"Tonight?" Hugo was quite surprised. "But we already promised Alex." Hugo didn't want to break his word.

Joseph had anticipated Hugo's concerns, which was why he didn't react ecstatically to the news. "The party tonight is at Sydney's house, and I'm guessing it might be an audition. Even if it's not, we'll have the opportunity to talk to Sidney in person, which is a rare chance."

Uma, sitting beside them, heard about the party and was familiar with the backstory of "The Firm". She chimed in, "Moreover, going to Sydney's party will allow us to meet many other people, the top figures in the industry."

In the entertainment industry, networking is almost decisive. How do opportunities for fame come about? Through networking. For example, Kristen Stewart, the lead actress in "Twilight", was chosen because she got recommended by her friend Emile Hirsch, who co-starred with her in "Into the Wild", which gave her an overnight breakthrough.

So, Uma couldn't help but be tempted. It was Sydney Polack's New Year's party, and there might be top directors like Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg. It had a fatal attraction for any actor.

The same went for Hugo, but he couldn't easily agree because he had already accepted Alex's invitation, and that was a commitment. "How about this? Ask Alex about it," Uma suggested, sensing Hugo's hesitation and speaking with a hint of urgency.

Hugo shook his head. "If I tell Alex, he definitely won't have any objections." After living together for so long, Hugo knew Alex's personality very well.

"Then how about this? We'll go to Sydney's party first, sort things out as soon as possible, and then come back for Alex's party." This time it was Joseph who offered his opinion.

However, Hugo frowned. "But going to Sydney's party doesn't depend on us. The initiative is in Sydney's hands, right? We can't just go as we please." If it really was an audition, then it would be Sydney's call, and as the host of the party, he would undoubtedly be busy. It wasn't feasible to arrange their schedule according to Hugo's preferences.

"In that case, we can only do our best," Joseph also expressed his helplessness. He had thought things wouldn't happen until after New Year, but who knew Sydney would host a party tonight. In retrospect, Ron's promise that Hugo could have dinner with Sydney was meaningless because everyone would be at Sydney's house tonight.

After careful consideration, Hugo nodded. "Alright, let's do it this way." On one hand, there was work, on the other hand, there were friends. Hugo could only apologize to Alex; missing this opportunity might not come again. Regardless of whether the audition would be successful in the end, Hugo wanted to give it a try. Giving up without trying was not his style.

After Hugo made the decision, Joseph couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He was filled with doubts and helplessness about the audition in the "sweet trap," and now he could only do his best. Uma, sitting beside them, excitedly kissed Hugo on the cheek and asked, "So, tonight we should wear formal attire, right?" If that was the case, Uma's earlier worries would be quickly resolved.

"Yes, I think so. Formal attire will make it look more official," Hugo pondered for a moment and nodded. Then he raised his voice towards the direction of the bathroom and asked, "Charlize, did Alex take his mobile phone when he went out?" Regardless, Hugo still needed to apologize formally to Alex.

"I think he did. You can give it a try," Charlize's voice came from the bathroom.