Secondhand furniture

"Hugo, was that song you just played original?" After understanding the cause and effect, Alex couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, and his reverie for Hugo went even further.

In fact, Alex's ability to express such emotions was not just a coincidence. Alex himself was a daring person. Otherwise, he would not have given up his stable job at the bank and come to Los Angeles to pursue his acting dream. Even though his acting career had not taken off yet, Alex had not lost hope, because he knew that regret was of no help in changing the situation. Rather than sitting at home complaining and making countless assumptions about what might have happened if he hadn't quit his job, he would rather stick to his choice and work hard to avoid regret. Therefore, Alex naturally said that sentence.

The problem was that not everyone has the ability to turn such emotions into music notes. Just now, Joseph and Alex witnessed the creation of "Don't Look Back in Anger" and experienced Hugo's miraculous transformation process. This song was absolutely top-notch in terms of melody and lyrics.

When Hugo gently sang with his warm voice, the memories of the youth that remained in full bloom would appear in the mind - beautiful, sad, nostalgic, happy, painful, everything left an indelible mark on one's life. But Hugo's singing made these memories flow past the eyes and rush towards the distant past, leaving only a bright back view, and then leading the heart's impulse to rush towards the blurry light and shadow of the future.

He didn't know when, tears filled his eyes, but the crystal tears did not slide down. Instead, they bloomed with a warm light accompanied by a faint smile on the lips. This energy from music penetrated the layers of external barriers and easily reached the depths of the soul, disturbing it in the process.

Both Joseph and Alex were shocked by Hugo. This was the purest essence of music. Even though Hugo didn't use any instruments, even though he only sang without accompaniment, the tremors of the soul did not decrease at all. Not only Alex, but Joseph's eyes towards Hugo also had a touch of admiration.

Hugo felt a little uncomfortable being stared at by the two. Although he had always been accustomed to composing, over 70% of the songs in Glory or Death were written by him. But to create such excellent songs like "Second Chance" and "Don't Look Back in Anger" was only achieved after he crossed over.

Truly moving music must be created by the artist's personal experience. Only when the resonance from deep within is perfectly combined with melody can such an effect be achieved. Previously, Hugo had been unable to make a breakthrough, but now he had finally done it. Currently, his two new songs were like this, new level.

Hugo couldn't help but exclaim that this time travel not only created acting opportunities for him, but also made him pleasantly surprised with his progress in music. If he missed this opportunity, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself.

"Yes." Hugo showed a proud smile. His love for music had penetrated his bones and would never change.

Alex's exclamation followed closely, "Wow, why don't you try to become a singer? Your compositions are so excellent, and your live performance really moved me. I swear, I just cried a moment ago." Alex even touched his teary eyes to prove his words.

Hugo was amused by Alex's childish behavior and asked, "Alex, do you think I can just run out and tell a record company, 'Hey, I want to release an album', and someone will be willing to do it?"

"Why not?" Alex was full of unlimited confidence in Hugo and didn't understand his words.

Hugo was suddenly stumped by Alex's naivety.

A record company needs to calculate its profits and cannot simply invest money in all talented people. Talent does not necessarily mean there is a market, and even if there is a market, it does not mean that it will make money. For a company, profit is the most important thing.

And now, Hugo hadn't even sorted out his future as an actor yet. At least he had to wait for "Scent of a Woman" to be released before anything changes. Therefore, it was certain that no one would be willing to release an album for him now. Not all actors could become singers, and it was not the era where anyone could release an album like in the 21st century. Similarly, not everyone can become Barbra Streisand, the only artist to have won numerous authoritative awards such as the Oscar, Tony Award, Grammy Award, Emmy Award, and Golden Globe Award.

However, these complex situations were too troublesome to explain, so Hugo finally said, "Because my movies don't make money, record companies don't believe my albums can make money." This simplified all the problems at once.

Alex started to complain in a low voice, "These merchants are really only concerned with profit."

"Well, you can't blame them for that, can you? Because we also need money to sustain our own lives." Hugo said with a light laugh.

In fact, when he came through the time travel, Hugo's first thought was not acting, but music, because it was a dream deeply ingrained in his bones. But compared to music, the opportunity to act came first, so Hugo seized it. Now, Hugo was also acutely aware of his situation. Before his acting career took off, it would be difficult to make a breakthrough in his music dream. So instead of getting stuck here, it was better to relax and follow the opportunities that come along. Perhaps everything would work out in the end.

"Let's go rest now. We still have to go to the second-hand furniture market today. We can't do without enough sleep," Hugo stood up and said with a cheerful mood. Music is really a magical thing. When Hugo turned all his emotions into musical notes, he felt relaxed and all negative emotions disappear.

"Yeah, let's sleep," Alex immediately raised his voice, but he still sat motionless on the sofa, obviously too lazy to move.

"You took my bed," Joseph said with a resentful tone, which immediately made Alex jump up and say "Sorry" with a smile on his face, then he grabbed a pillow and walked towards the room. However, as soon as he entered the room, Alex came out again and walked straight into the opposite bathroom. Faced with the surprised expressions of Hugo and Joseph, Alex chuckled and said, "I forgot to take care of my bodily needs. I was just woken up by it."

The next morning, Joseph, Alex, Hugo, and the just-arrived Karl went to the second-hand furniture market to buy furniture. Since they currently had nothing in their home, they needed to buy almost everything. But the four of them were all poor guys with empty pockets, so they could only buy what they needed first and gradually supplement other furniture in the future.

At this time, the four of them stood at the door of the second-hand electronics store, looking at the 29-inch color TV with a price tag of $600. This was already equivalent to their monthly rent. Actually, Joseph, Karl, and Alex all wanted to leave, but unfortunately, Hugo was always unwilling to leave, and their footsteps couldn't move away.

"Hugo, let's go. The TV is not essential. Even if we don't have it, it doesn't matter." Alex spoke up, trying to persuade Hugo. He couldn't help but feel a bit excited when talking to Hugo, but compared to yesterday, he had improved a lot. If he continued to treat Hugo as an idol to "worship," the days of sharing a room with him would probably be strange. Therefore, Alex was constantly adjusting his mentality.

Hugo looked at Joseph and Karl, "Do you guys think the same?" Karl hesitated for a moment, then nodded. Joseph actually wanted to nod too, but he didn't react immediately, just looked at Hugo. Hugo knew that everyone still wanted to buy a TV, but they really didn't have enough money at the moment. "Alex, do you still want to stare blankly at the empty cabinet?" Hugo was referring to yesterday when they returned home, and Alex was holding the remote control, staring blankly at the empty cabinet, looking very funny, reminiscent of the silent comedy era. They inquired and found out that there was originally a black and white TV in the house, but it broke down and couldn't be repaired, so Alex didn't buy a new one.

Now it was the 1990s, and TVs were basically universal. The price of black and white TVs was not high, but the price of color TVs was still high, even for second-hand ones. However, for people's lives, everyone had already become accustomed to the existence of TV. Life without a TV would indeed be very difficult.

In Hugo's opinion, he already had no phone or computer. If there was no TV, life would be even more boring. So he was very insistent.

After hearing Hugo's words, Alex suddenly felt embarrassed and laughed. Hugo looked at everyone's expressions and finally decided, "Money is meant to be spent. It won't increase by staying in our pockets. It's better to spend it on improving our lives. Let's buy two, and one will be given to you." Hugo's last sentence was directed at Joseph. "I can't give you extra bonuses yet, but a small reward is still possible."

Hugo was generous and bought two 29-inch color TVs, which was quite lavish, but he then broke his own image by joking, "How about it, do you suddenly feel that I've become much more handsome? Is my image more imposing?" Hugo's joke somewhat dampened their excitement. Joseph added, "Parvenu." making Karl burst into laughter because it was really accurate.