"Hugo, try readjusting your breathing. Don't articulate too clearly, and you can drag the interval between words by about an eighth of a beat to make the melody flow." After twenty minutes of recording, Mark began to teach Hugo some simple singing techniques.Hugo was not a professional singer; his understanding and interpretation of songs relied entirely on his instinct. He had never systematically learned any singing or breathing techniques. Hearing Mark's explanation, Hugo didn't quite understand, but he didn't pretend to know either. He directly raised a question, "Mark, are you asking me to connect the notes slightly when I sing?"Mark nodded in affirmation. "But how do I connect them? Can you demonstrate it for me?"Facing Hugo's request, Mark was suddenly put in a difficult position. His face, which was always smiling, became conflicted. "I'm just a film composer, not a professional singer. Helping you as a recording engineer today is just a cameo; I can't demonstrate it."Mark's conflicted expression made Hugo laugh. "I can only tell you what method would be more suitable, and how to present a better result, but demonstrate..."Hugo's bright laughter came through the microphone. "Actually, I'm an amateur too. How about this: I'll try it and see. If the effect isn't good, we'll adjust it, how's that?"As long as he could really learn something, Hugo didn't mind putting more effort into studying and learning. Even a genius needs ninety-nine percent perspiration; Hugo had no reason not to work hard."Very good," Mark replied immediately and cheerfully.Joseph sat on the sofa and began to feel his butt hurting. Although the sofa was soft, sitting there motionless for a long time made him feel his muscles starting to stiffen.But this wasn't his own home, and he couldn't just lie on the sofa to relax. Moreover, Hugo was still working hard, and Joseph didn't want to be too relaxed, even though he couldn't tell the difference between Hugo's performances at all.Hugo was re-performing in the recording studio over and over again. Occasionally, Joseph could hear a difference, such as Hugo speeding up the tempo or adding vocal flourishes while singing; but most of the time, Joseph was bewildered, watching Hugo and Mark discussing enthusiastically, completely at a loss as to what these two were so fired up about—the versions were clearly all about the same!Actually, Hugo's voice blended into the melody with a very comfortable timbre, warm and bright, just like sunlight leaking through fingers, clear yet brilliant. Moreover, Hugo's singing style wasn't greasy; it was as pure as dew on grass at six in the morning. This refreshing feeling that hit you was refreshing.But precisely because of the lack of singing technique, Hugo kept discussing the details of the performance with Mark, carving out the way to perform the whole song bit by bit.This process was not interesting; on the contrary, it was very dull and even boring.But Joseph could see Hugo's dedication and focus. Joseph was not unfamiliar with this side of Hugo lately: when preparing for the scent of a woman audition, when reading the a few good men script, when discussing acting with Jack Nicholson—and now, Hugo was once again fully immersed in learning music.Joseph could feel that perhaps at the beginning, Hugo didn't understand many things, and perhaps Hugo was just a novice, but he didn't mind starting from scratch. And during this recording session, one could clearly feel Hugo's progress. He was like a dried-up lake, being irrigated with clear spring water at a speed visible to the naked eye, letting sunlight scatter in little spots on the calm lake surface.Although it was just recording one song, Hugo and Mark discussed it for a full forty-five minutes, singing it at least over thirty times from beginning to end. Not to mention the person singing, even the listener Joseph was about to throw up, feeling a bit of the horror of having his brain washed by demonic sounds.When the two of them finally finished the recording of "Next You See Me", both of them had expressions of satisfaction on their faces, while Joseph showed an expression of relief, as if saying, "the torture is finally over"."Hugo, you really should find a professional vocal teacher... No, you are a natural singer; relying on your own talent to slowly figure things out, you will soon shine brilliantly. But you really should find a professional recording engineer. You know, during the recording process, the help a professional can provide is definitely not just technical. I, this cameo recording engineer, am not at that level yet."Mark was a very honest person. He sincerely expressed his opinion of Hugo, with a face full of sincerity that made it hard to refuse.Looking at the smiling Hugo in front of him, Mark could see the raw shyness on that sunny face. Facing his praise, Hugo was still a bit unaccustomed to it.But Hugo did not refute or modestly decline, which showed that, although insignificant, Hugo had begun to possess a little bit of self-confidence. At least he hoped to believe in himself deep down. This was a good thing."I think Rob will be very happy," Hugo side-stepped the topic, still feeling a bit embarrassed after all. "At least it means the movie won't have to worry about the theme song anymore. And also, I can have some extra income; it's really a good deal."Hugo's honest answer made Mark laugh heartily too. "That's without a doubt." Mark looked at Joseph, who had stood up, knowing they were preparing to leave, so he didn't politely ask them to stay. "Then you guys go ahead and leave; I'll continue my soundtrack work. This is a long journey."Mark's crisp and clean farewell felt a bit like he was shooing Hugo and Joseph away, but after the brief time spent together, Hugo knew this was Mark's personality, so he didn't waffle either. "Good luck!" After saying that, he and Joseph left the recording studio.Walking on the road, looking at the light-footed Hugo, Joseph couldn't help but ask curiously, "Will you become a singer in the future?" This wasn't the first time Hugo had displayed his talent for music, from "second chance" to "dont look back in anger". Although Joseph's understanding of music was very limited, this didn't prevent him from understanding Hugo's talent in this area.The first time he heard Hugo say he had created "second chance", Joseph had scoffed, thinking Hugo was just messing around, but now, Joseph had no way to continue thinking that way."Maybe," Hugo said lightly. If it were those first few days after transmigrating, he would have eagerly answered "Yes," but after a few months of settling in, and the Alej incident in the a few good men crew, Hugo knew that the Earth didn't revolve around him, even if he was a transmigrator. So, rather than being overly hasty, it was better to take it slow.Hugo looked at Joseph, expressing his thoughts for the first time. "Heh, actually I would prefer to form a Band.""Rock?" This was the first thought that popped into Joseph's mind."Yes," Hugo also answered crisply. "But I must correct you: not all Bands are Rock." Actually, the word "Band" nowadays generally refers to Rock Bands, and a Band covering vocals, guitar, keyboard, bass, drums, and other instruments is also the most complete form of expression for Rock music. But besides Rock, there are also jazz, pop, and other musical styles that choose Bands.However, as far as Hugo himself was concerned, Glory to Death was a Rock Band, this was beyond doubt. Of course, they had also tried other music styles during their ten-year career; this was an inevitable process on the road of musical exploration."That's not so easy," Joseph said. Most Bands are formed by a group of like-minded partners gathering together, but Hugo was an Actor now, and he didn't have any musical friends around him, so forming a Band wasn't such a simple matter.A Band is not like filming a movie, where you can just hire a group of Actors to gather together. A Band represents a style; it is a fusion and cohesion of all members' styles. Therefore, a Band is indeed not that simple, which made Hugo miss his Glory to Death bandmates even more.If he could form a Band in Los Angeles, a group of friends gathered together for the same musical dream, discussing music together, creating music together, touring together—how great would that be? Even if this Band, like Glory to Death, remained unknown and struggled in the underground Rock music scene, it wouldn't matter, because this journey that the bandmates took together for the sake of music was what mattered most."I know, so, creation cannot be rushed," Hugo teased with a smile. "I also don't think I have the strength to be a singer right now. So when Rob gave me this opportunity, I thought he was joking." Although he had accumulated some confidence, Hugo was currently still a bit unaccustomed to the position of lead singer. If he were to form a Band now, Hugo would naturally sit in the position of guitarist."Are there any more work arrangements for the next period of time?" Hugo and Joseph got into the car, and Hugo asked after fastening his seatbelt. Now that a few good men had finished filming, the expected vacation after scent of a woman should be arriving, right?Sure enough, Joseph shook his head. "Rest for a while first. I estimate that the movie release schedule will be out soon, and it will be busy after that, so there is no need to arrange any more schedules now." The reason why the premiere of the last analysis was arranged before was because Joseph didn't know when scent of a woman would be released, and Hugo needed continuous exposure, so he tried every possible way to arrange it. Unexpectedly, it accidentally brought Hugo the job for a few good men."Promotions?" Hugo let out a long breath. He didn't feel much after the movie finished filming, but when he learned that the movie was about to be released, that sense of anxiety suddenly hit him. "It really makes it hard to relax," Hugo sighed, and then suddenly he saw a black shadow in front of the car and shouted, "Joseph, eagle!"Joseph was immediately startled by Hugo and hurriedly stepped on the brakes. He didn't know what was going on because he didn't see anything, but after stopping, he saw a sparrow land lightly on the front of the car, looking left and right for a while, even giving Hugo and Joseph a look of disdain, and then it flapped its wings and flew away.Joseph just felt three black lines on his forehead. "Hugo, are you serious, an eagle? An eagle!"
