"What are you standing there looking at?" Joseph walked up beside Hugo, the car had already been driven to the parking lot by the valet.
Hugo glanced at Joseph, then lifted his chin slightly, signaling in the direction of the lobby. "Brad Pitt."
Joseph followed Hugo's gaze and let out a soft sigh. "He's your biggest rival." That one sentence made Hugo pause in surprise, and he seemed to understand Brad's earlier greeting it was likely something like, 'Hey, rival, I know who you are'. Joseph opened his mouth as if to say something, then hesitated and finally said nothing. After a short pause, he continued, "He's on the rise now."
Brad Pitt wasn't yet the heartthrob adored by millions in the 21st century. After a decade of struggling on TV throughout the '80s, last year in director Ridley Scott's Thelma and Louise, he only appeared for fifteen minutes, but stole the spotlight, swiftly rising from an unknown handyman to one of Hollywood's hottest newcomers. Especially with the recent announcement of the 49th Golden Globe nominations, Thelma and Louise received nominations for Best Director, Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Original Screenplay, making it a top contender for the 64th Academy Awards and earning Brad Pitt even more attention.
In A River Runs Through It, Brad's temperament was a natural fit for the role of Paul. Combined with his current popularity, the odds of the production team choosing him were indeed very high. According to what Hugo knew from historical fact, Brad did get the role of Paul in A River Runs Through It, and used it to further boost his career.
However, now history had slightly changed—Hugo had traveled back from 2014. Could he change history and create his own miracle? Hugo knew that in 2014, there was no top star named Hugo Lancaster. If he wanted to carve out his own place in this world, he'd have to rely on his own efforts and change history step by step. So perhaps today would be the beginning he had to take the first step firmly.
For now, it seemed Brad saw him as a rival, which also meant Hugo had enough ability to be taken seriously—after all, he had played the male lead in several films. Until the audition for A River Runs Through It ended, anything was still possible! Hugo let out a long breath, calming his nerves.
"Let's go in. The audition room is in a third-floor conference room. Go wait in the reception room outside first I've got something to take care of and will be there soon." Joseph didn't follow Hugo toward the elevator but stopped in the hotel lobby, motioning for Hugo to go on ahead.
Hugo also stopped and looked at Joseph uneasily. He had only been in Los Angeles for less than twelve hours, and Joseph was the only person he knew in this strange world. Plus, he'd never attended a movie audition before casting for supporting roles and extras was a completely different process from lead roles. Not to mention he wasn't sure if he'd get so nervous that his English would fail and he'd have to fall back on Chinese—which would be a disaster. So he instinctively developed a bit of reliance.
Joseph had never seen Hugo wear that kind of expression before and widened his eyes. "It's not like you haven't auditioned before. Do you need me to take you up?" Hugo muttered inwardly: I really haven't, but on his face, he just looked innocently at Joseph, unsure how to respond.
Joseph hesitated. The reason he let Hugo go up alone was that he had something to deal with that he didn't want Hugo involved in. Thinking of that woman made Joseph feel powerless. Hugo's downfall wasn't unrelated to that woman, either.
Glancing around, Joseph pointed at the three people standing at the elevator. "See those folks? All of them are heading to the third floor they're all auditioning actors. Today's audition is for main roles, so there aren't that many people. Just follow them up. I've already submitted your résumé, just wait to be called. I'll come up as soon as I can."
Hugo realized his hesitation was very inappropriate. This wasn't the kind of emotion an actor who had played several male leads should have. He silently cheered himself up. "Got it. Don't worry about me, I can handle it myself." With that, he turned and headed toward the elevator.
Joseph watched Hugo's departing back and shook his head in puzzlement. Since fainting last night, Hugo had been completely different from before. Still, he preferred this version of Hugo at least today, Hugo's whole demeanor was upbeat and positive. That was definitely a good sign. As for the reason for the change, Joseph could only chalk it up to an epiphany after a brush with death.
Joseph quickly gathered his thoughts. Thinking of his upcoming meeting with Tracy Jacobs gave him a headache. He had to stay focused to deal with that woman otherwise, today's audition for A River Runs Through It might be a wasted trip.
Walking through the Renaissance-style lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel, Hugo felt like his every step was tapping on the shoulder of history. Walking all the way to the elevator was truly refreshing. But because he had been moving at a tourist's pace—like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden—the three people earlier had already taken the elevator up.
Hugo had to press the button again and wait. Once the elevator came down, he stepped in alone, pressed the floor number, and then lowered his head to look at the script in his hand. He didn't know whether today's audition had a set scene, or if it was free performance, or maybe just a conversation. And what would be different about a Hollywood audition?
The elevator quickly reached the floor. With a "ding," the doors opened, and Hugo bit his lower lip and stepped out. As the elevator doors closed, sealing the bright light behind him, Hugo looked up and glanced around—only to find an empty corridor quietly stretching out before him. He stood frozen on the spot, dumbfounded.
Wasn't today supposed to be the audition for "A River Runs Through It"? Why was the hallway completely empty? Brad and the other three actors had just come up; it shouldn't look so deserted. Hugo frowned and thought for a moment. Joseph had said there was a reception room outside—could it be that a separate reception room was set up today and all the actors waiting for their auditions were inside?
Hugo had no understanding of how things worked in Hollywood, so he clumsily took a step forward, relying on instinct to head toward the left. But all he saw were hotel guest rooms—there were no signs for conference rooms, let alone labels for auditions, interviews, or reception areas. This immediately left Hugo feeling confused.
At that moment, the sound of a door opening came from the far right end of the hallway behind him. Hugo turned around reflexively, and then he saw a man and a woman appear in his line of sight. The man was tall and handsome, with smooth blond hair that stood out under the warm yellow hallway light. The woman was dressed in a professional off-shoulder skirt suit, her curvy figure perfectly accentuated. Her intelligent and sharp aura was laced with a trace of sultry charm. The two of them gazed into each other's eyes deeply—there was no physical contact, but the tacit understanding in their eyes, mixed with an ambiguous laugh, was strikingly obvious.
Was that... Brad Pitt?
Hugo's first reaction upon recognizing the man's face was delight. He thought perhaps that room was the reception lounge for the actors before the audition. But his smile quickly froze. The two had noticed someone else was in the hallway and looked up to see Hugo standing on the other end. Though the distance between them was no more than a palm's width, the mutual understanding and smiles between their brows vanished without a sound in the dim lighting. The scene could not have illustrated the word "fishy" more clearly.
Could this be one of Hollywood's infamous unspoken rules?
Brad and the woman didn't stop for long. They walked straight toward the central elevator. As the woman's face became clearer, Hugo stared at her, a strange sense of familiarity creeping into his mind. Had they worked together before? That kind of nagging feeling was awful—Hugo even suspected that if he met this body's parents now, he might not recognize them, or worse, mistake a former girlfriend for a stranger. That would be truly awkward.
Brad's gaze didn't shy away from Hugo. He simply flashed his signature dazzling smile. Brad was only twenty-nine at the time, in his prime. His unruly and sexy image had captured the hearts of countless young girls. Hugo could easily see boundless confidence in Brad's smile, as well as an intense fighting spirit.
It seemed Brad really did see Hugo as his strongest competitor. But why? Hugo's situation in Hollywood wasn't good at all—nominated for the Razzies three times in two years, his acting career was in a tight spot. Meanwhile, Brad was a rising star. There was no comparison. Or could it be that there was some other entanglement between them that Hugo couldn't remember?
Damn this transmigration.
At that moment, Hugo finally understood the meaning behind what Brad had said earlier at the entrance—"Dreams come true." That line was a reference to Hugo's acceptance speech at the Razzies, but it wasn't meant as mockery or ridicule—it was a challenge. Clearly, Brad intended to go head-to-head with Hugo for the role of Paul in "A River Runs Through It."
This instantly ignited Hugo's fighting spirit. No matter what had happened before, and no matter why they were rivals now, if Hugo wanted to land the role of Paul in the film, he had to beat Brad. That meant the two were destined to be competitors.
The woman and Brad reached the elevator. When it opened, they didn't rush in. The woman stood there and gave Hugo another glance—her expression was strange. It seemed to be filled with both anticipation and rejection. The complexity in her gaze left Hugo utterly baffled.
After a while, the woman didn't get any response from Hugo, so she followed Brad into the elevator, and the two of them went down together. Only then did Hugo realize, a beat too late: wasn't the audition supposed to be here? Why were they taking the elevator?