Seven steps

"Do we have a choice?" Hearing Hugo's confident words, Oprah looked at him with surprise.

Holding the guitar in his arms actually helped calm Hugo's nervousness. Although it wasn't his own guitar, it was the instrument he was most familiar with and always provided him with a sense of security. "Yes, I guess so," Hugo's face lit up with a smile, relaxing his mood. "Usually, I try some composition myself, and occasionally I attempt to adapt some classic old songs. "Next Time You See Me" is one such old song that unexpectedly caught the attention of the production team and became the ending theme of the movie."

"Composition?" Oprah clearly hadn't anticipated such a surprise. "Wow, that's even better. Can you create a song for us live?"

"Live?" Hugo paused for a moment, never having faced such a challenge before. However, recalling the live creation of "Kill Your Heroes" on Rock Night, Hugo smiled and said, "It seems you have raised the bar for me."

Originally, Hugo had only intended to perform his previous compositions, which was already a personal challenge. But unexpectedly, Hugo dug a hole for himself, and Oprah took the opportunity to suggest an on-the-spot creation. Since this possibility was brought up by himself, Hugo naturally had no reason to retreat or continue to be modest. With a smile on his face, Hugo said, "This is a demanding request. I don't know if I can do it, but I'm willing to give it a try." Although his words remained polite and humble, the confidence and determination in his smile revealed his true emotions at the moment.

Attempting to create a song on the spot in front of ten million TV viewers was a daunting challenge that not everyone could bear. Regardless of whether Hugo's attempt would ultimately be successful, having the courage to face such a challenge was a significant manifestation of Hugo's rising self-confidence. It could be felt that during this year after crossing over, Hugo had also grown.

"This is indeed very demanding. In fact, this is your first public performance on the show. If you feel too pressured, you can try it in your own way. You know, no matter what, we won't have any losses," Oprah's hosting style remained gentle, soothing the atmosphere in the studio.

Hugo looked at Oprah's smile and couldn't help but chuckle. "Don't worry about me. Maybe I'll create a song like "Jingle Bells", which is also a good choice." Hugo referred to a famous American nursery rhyme.

Oprah immediately applauded and laughed, "That would also be a very delightful outcome. You should know that creating a song like "Happy Birthday" is not that easy." In one sentence, she spoke the truth and made the audience laugh.

Hugo took a deep breath. With the passage of time, the grand ambitions from earlier gradually dissipated, and the urgency of creation crept closer. The pressure on his shoulders began to increase. It was already difficult enough to perform publicly for the first time, and he had chosen to do it on The Oprah Winfrey Show, which was the pinnacle of self-challenge. Yet Hugo still found it not enough. Now he wanted to spontaneously create a song. It was truly a paradigm of self-torture.

Although performing "Second Chance" or "Don't Look Back in Anger" wouldn't be a problem for Hugo, as no one would know if it was an on-the-spot creation, he still wanted to give it a try. If he always sought shortcuts to bypass difficulties, he would never succeed. Bravely facing challenges head-on, regardless of the outcome, he needed to strive and fight to know.

"So, give me a theme." Hugo held the guitar and looked at Oprah, calmly speaking.

Oprah nodded slightly, "Yes, every song needs a theme." Oprah didn't anticipate such a situation, as it was unpredictable before the recording of the show. However, it was bound to become a highlight for the show's ratings, even the production team was full of anticipation. "Originally, I wanted you to create a song for our show, but then I thought it might not be suitable. So, I came up with a theme."

Creating a song with the theme of The Oprah Winfrey Show would lose the element of spontaneity, and the audience might easily assume that Hugo had already composed the song before the show, making everything that happened on the show seem like acting, even if it was actually real. Therefore, Oprah voluntarily gave up this opportunity, as she had to prioritize the bigger picture.

"You know, it's already December now, and winters in Chicago are not easy." Oprah continued, "But today, before coming to record the show, I heard some unfortunate yet funny news. My good friend Maria actually got a sunburn at home, not in Miami, but in Chicago. It's a situation that is both laughable and pitiful. Maria fell asleep while sunbathing on her balcony, and when she woke up, she realized that her shoulder was sunburned. I laughed for a good fifteen minutes in the green room because of this."

Listening to Oprah's description, the audience burst into laughter, and even Hugo, who had been nervous all along, couldn't help but chuckle. Even in sunny Los Angeles, it's not that easy to get sunburned, but someone managed to get sunburned in Chicago, which was truly hilarious.

"So, sunburn, can you use that as a theme to create a song?" Oprah turned her gaze to Hugo, looking at him inquiringly. "Of course, a theme like Winter Sunshine would also be a good choice." Oprah actively provided Hugo with more possibilities, mainly because she had no idea about his singing and songwriting abilities.

Can Hugo sing? This was only discovered after the release of "A Few Good Men". As for Hugo's singing and songwriting skills, no one knew, and a single song like "Next Time You See Me" was not worth mentioning.

Oprah's palms were slightly sweaty now. She had placed all her bets on this gimmick for this episode, and success or failure rested on this one move. If Hugo failed completely, then she would have to think about how to salvage the situation, as The Oprah Winfrey Show was never a program that relied on artists' embarrassment for ratings. So, even though Oprah had experienced many storms and challenges, at this moment, it was hard for her to avoid feeling tense. One could clearly sense the muscles in her back tensing up.

"Sunburn?" Hugo raised an eyebrow and repeated, Oprah had indeed given him a challenge.

Hugo sat on the sofa, carefully thinking, and began tuning the guitar. The audience couldn't help but quiet down, and this silence allowed Hugo's thoughts to start gathering. However, at that moment, his mind didn't have a clear direction. Hugo had never experienced such a situation before, sitting still just to come up with creative inspiration. His thoughts seemed to freeze, and Hugo knew he had to get active and make his mind start working, otherwise, he would have no harvest at all.

So, Hugo looked at Oprah, gesturing if he could stand up and take a little walk. Oprah naturally agreed. Perhaps taking a short walk could help with his thinking. As for being a recorded program, whether such behavior was appropriate or not was not within Hugo's consideration.

The director of the show looked at Oprah, asking for her opinion. Oprah nodded slightly and then gestured with her eyes, indicating the cameras to focus on Hugo: witnessing Hugo's creative process, regardless of the final outcome, would be a memorable scene for the show.

Under the gaze of the cameras and all the audience, Hugo stood up with the guitar and took a step to his left.

The first step, what is a sunburn? Simply put, it is the skin pain caused by excessive exposure to the sun.

So, what are the symptoms of sunburn? This is the second step, redness of the skin, peeling, and a burning sensation. In fact, sunburn may not appear severe on the surface, but the needle-like stinging sensation penetrates beneath the skin, causing pain from the flesh to the soul. It may even leave sunspots.

In the third step, in other words, sunburn inflicts harm. It may not be obvious on the surface, at least not as terrifying as cuts or stabs, with no gushing blood. However, the real harm is only known to oneself. Skin darkening and the appearance of sunspots are not immediately noticeable, only revealing themselves after the passage of time.

With these thoughts in mind, Hugo's footsteps came to a halt. The first inspiration for the theme "sunburn" burst forth in his mind. Everyone present held their breath and their breathing became lighter, fearing even the slightest noise would disturb Hugo's creation. Their inner expectations rolled alongside Hugo's footsteps, step by concise step, stirring the hearts of all.

Not to mention the audience, even Oprah and Joseph couldn't help but hold their breath, anticipating Hugo's creation, whether it would be a surprising success or a great disappointment.

Hugo turned around and walked back towards the sofa. The first step, what does sunburn resemble? The most frequently used element in creation is love. In fact, sunburn is like love. Many times, there may be no visible wounds on the surface, but the heart is already riddled with holes. The passage of time can smooth over the wounds, but they ultimately leave behind traces, just like sunspots.

Another step, what kind of situation does this represent in love? The first thing that came to Hugo's mind was what Oprah had just mentioned about Maria's situation: sunburn in winter, scorching in the midst of coldness.

Then, with a small step, this kind of love is not about not loving the other person but deeply loving them and hurting them due to one's inner struggles. Both parties experience pain.

The final step, Hugo returned to the front of the sofa. He thought he no longer loved, but after hurting the other person and seeing them turn away, he realized that he still loved them deeply. It was just that the way of love was different. So, he pleaded for the other person not to leave him, begged them not to give up on him, just needing a little lesson and then to return to his side. Like a sunburn, the pain penetrated deep into the bone marrow, leaving an imprint, but love would not be severed.

Seven steps, Hugo's mind was filled with numerous chaotic thoughts, intertwined by musical notes, and the melody flowed out from his fingertips.