New year sunrise

"God, how much alcohol have you had?" Hugo felt as if Leonardo were a completely deflated sandbag, placing all the weight on Hugo's right shoulder. Even under normal circumstances, it would have felt heavy, let alone now when Hugo himself was weak. So Hugo half-carried, half-dragged Leonardo along the beach. Luckily, the lookout tower wasn't far, less than twenty yards away. Hugo stumbled his way to the destination.

Hugo forcefully slammed Leonardo onto the beach. He didn't have the strength to climb up the lookout tower, so he simply sat down on the sandy beach beneath it, which provided some protection from the sea breeze. Suddenly, he felt "comfortable" as he blocked a lot of the wind. However, Hugo quickly noticed the foul smell coming from his shirt.

"Ouch, that hurts!" Leonardo was thrown down, creating a pit on the beach. He groaned in pain, showing some signs of consciousness.

Hugo looked at the various vomit stains on his shirt and felt his stomach churning again. He decided to take off his shirt, rolled it up, and threw it aside. Then he put on his jacket directly, which provided some warmth. Thankfully, he had thrown his jacket into the low lilac bushes, avoiding contact with the vomit. Otherwise, being shirtless in the middle of winter would be unbearable.

Hugo fiddled with the sand with his hands while constantly scanning his surroundings. In his mind, he wondered, "Did I bring my cellphone with me when I came out?"

Leonardo, seeing that Hugo completely ignored him, finally stopped shouting and, with difficulty, opened his eyes. Lying on the beach, he looked around and asked, "Where are we?"

"I don't know." Hugo found himself quite heroic. On the first day of 1993, he sat by the seaside, enduring the freezing cold winter weather, wearing a pure wool jacket, playing with sand on the beach—it was truly a unique experience.

After lying there for a while, Leonardo also felt cold. He shivered a few times and crawled over to Hugo's side. He kicked a piece of the mess that was Hugo's shirt with his foot and said, "No wonder it smells so bad."

Hugo chuckled and said, "Take a look at yourself."

Leonardo lowered his head to look at himself and almost vomited again. His jacket was still on him, but the right side was completely soaked with vomit. He quickly took off his jacket and t-shirt, but immediately realized it was winter and getting undressed would be torture. Even though Los Angeles had a year-round mild climate, it was January 1st, and everything was pitch-black around them. They couldn't see anything, indicating it was the middle of the night. The sea breeze continued to blow relentlessly. So, lacking determination, Leonardo flipped his jacket to the other side and put it back on.

After all the fuss, Leonardo noticed Hugo's actions and realized it was a good way to keep warm. He sat down next to Hugo and followed suit, muttering, "Why don't we go back? It's freezing here."

"Do you have the energy to walk now?" Hugo's retort left Leonardo speechless. Hugo looked to his left, where it was pitch black, with only scattered lights visible. The noise that could be heard before had disappeared in the howling sea wind. "There's still a distance to the main road from here, and finding a sheltered place is not so easy. Let's rest for a while. If we regain our strength, we can go to a nearby bar, sit down, and then make a call for help."

Hugo and Leonardo were currently penniless and had no means of communication. Though not completely isolated from the world, they certainly needed to seek help. Leonardo understood Hugo's reasoning and remained silent, focusing on burying his legs in the sand.

"So, did you enjoy drinking this time?" Hugo teased. Leonardo had been clamoring for alcohol all along, and this time at the party, he truly indulged himself. "How much did you actually drink yesterday? A gallon, maybe?"

"Pfft, a gallon?" Leonardo scoffed, appearing disdainful. "I drank about a gallon before I lost consciousness. After that, I have no idea, but I'm sure it was more."

A gallon is approximately four liters, which is roughly equivalent to four kilograms. Hugo couldn't help but be astonished. But Leonardo's next words surprised him even more. "You must have had at least a gallon too, right? I've seen you drink like it's water. I didn't expect you to have such good tolerance."

Hugo's expression was undoubtedly one of surprise. "I don't remember drinking that much," he said. His alcohol tolerance was at most five bottles of beer. How could he have drunk a gallon? It wasn't drinking anymore; it was more like a buffalo's capacity!

Leonardo rolled his eyes, looking at Hugo with a contemptuous expression as if saying, "Are you trying to act cute?" Then he continued, "Yesterday, during the dart game, we made a bet. By the time you were quite drunk, you had probably consumed almost a gallon. You were still sober then. How come you don't remember?"

Hugo tilted his head, trying hard to recall. He remembered the dart game, but he genuinely had no memory of how many times he had lost. Leonardo looked at Hugo's bewildered face and gave him a sarcastic look. "Could it be that you were upset about "The Firm"? Or was it because of that Wonder Woman incident?"

Leonardo didn't have many reservations; he treated Hugo as a friend, so he spoke his mind directly. Friends should be open with each other. Hugo was surprised to hear this. He remembered mentioning the incident yesterday, but he didn't recall bringing up Uma's matter. He deeply felt that excessive drinking was not a good idea.

"You should believe in yourself," Leonardo said, looking at Hugo who remained silent. He continued, "I'm currently filming with Robert De Niro, you know, right? From him, I've learned one thing: even Robert can't always get the roles he wants. Sometimes, even the roles he's particularly eager to play might not come his way. So, we must maintain the right mindset."

Watching the serious eighteen-year-old Leonardo comforting himself, Hugo couldn't help but find it amusing. He chuckled and said, "So, can you do it then?"

"Of course not," Leonardo denied without hesitation, "If I had missed such an important role like in "The Firm", I would probably drink until I pass out just like you."

"Hahaha," Hugo couldn't help but burst into laughter and applauded, "So you're comforting me with that?"

"I thought you would understand, and besides, aren't these words used for comforting people?" Leonardo shrugged, "Although I always think it's bullshit, it does come in handy when comforting others." Leonardo glanced at Hugo, "What else do you expect me to say, buddy? I'm only eighteen, and you're already twenty-five, having been in this industry for ten years. How can I possibly understand things that you can't?"

Watching Leonardo pretending to be mature, Hugo genuinely laughed, not just because of their conversation, but also because he couldn't help but find it amusing to see the contrast between the roles Leonardo had played since entering the 21st century—roles that were full of bitterness and revenge—and the young man in front of him, full of rascally charm, youthful vigor, and a light-hearted temper.

Hugo's laughter made Leonardo somewhat shy. He didn't know if his words were right or not. In fact, Leonardo drank excessively yesterday partly because he wanted to join in the revelry, but mainly because he wanted to accompany his friend Hugo and revel together.

Hugo patted Leonardo's shoulder firmly. "You're absolutely right, spot on." Leonardo winced in pain from Hugo's pat, expressing his agony with every facial expression, but Hugo didn't stop. "Don't worry, I'm fine now. Even if something happens, I've already vomited everything out." Hugo glanced at his shirt and T-shirt nearby.

"Gross!" Leonardo immediately let out a cry of disgust, and Hugo didn't look much better. It was a complete mess, and both of them quickly looked away.

"Hey, look!" Leonardo saw the scene in front of him and interrupted their joking, patting Hugo's shoulder to make him look ahead.

At the junction of the sea and the horizon, a hint of orange light slowly emerged, dissipating the surrounding darkness. Clearly, it was sunrise.

The sun climbed gradually from the sea, resembling a climb up a slope. The strands of red light gradually transformed into gold, forcefully tearing apart the black curtain surrounding it, ripping a large hole in the endless blackness. Then, the light extended endlessly. The roaring sea breeze and the roaring waves became even more violent at this moment, as if unwilling to embrace the arrival of dawn, struggling against the appearance of the sun.

However, the sun continued to climb against the backdrop of the black sky. Its dazzling golden color tumbled like a fiery ball in view, and the surrounding black seemed to lose its strength, gradually fading away. With the sun at the center, shades of orange, bright yellow, deep blue, navy blue, blue-black, and black progressed across the entire sky, creating a magnificent canvas. The flames of sunlight began to ignite the distant horizon and waves, gradually coloring them.

Suddenly, the process that had been progressing gradually accelerated. The sun seemed to take a leap, breaking free from the constraints of the sea, leaping out and becoming a circular fireball. Then, its climbing speed increased, dyeing everything around it with a splendid golden hue.

The black night retreated like a tide, leaving behind a soft and elegant orange-red sky. Only a hint of indigo blue, reluctant to dissipate, hid behind the hills on the horizon. The shouts of the sea breeze and the waves were overshadowed by the golden sunlight, like a tamed lion, with only the sound of sobbing left, which further accentuated the tranquility of the world.

The magnificence of nature was fully displayed at this moment, leaving people speechless. No words or descriptions could capture even a fraction of the splendor of the sunrise before their eyes.

"Wow..." Apart from astonishment, there were no other words. Leonardo jumped up excitedly, wanting to express his joy with his whole body, but as soon as he rose, he fell back heavily to the ground. Only then did he realize that his feet were buried in the sand. But Leonardo didn't have time to soothe the pain in his buttocks; his eyes couldn't leave the splendid sun.

Hugo sat beside him, just staring blankly. His amber eyes were completely dyed gold. The first sunrise of 1993 welcomed the new year in the most magnificent way.