After the show recording ended, Hugo and Jay left the studio, but before they could even walk out the door, the live audience swarmed forward, instantly blocking their path completely.Jay looked at those enthusiastic and excited faces, patted Hugo on the shoulder, and said with a chuckle, "This is your time." Then, he left first.Hugo remained where he was, watching the audience members gradually closing in on him. For a moment, he didn't react, but then the lady standing at the very front—the one holding the "Hug Here" sign—took out a marker and a "scent of a woman" poster. Hugo understood immediately, and combined with the lady's request, "Could you please give me an autograph?", his suspicion was confirmed.An autograph? This was truly unexpected for Hugo. In fact, this was one of the three major perks of meeting an artist and their fan; the other two were hugs and photos, which were also the best opportunities for fans to have close contact with their idols.It was just that Hugo had never signed an autograph for anyone before, neither before nor after his transmigration.At this very moment, Hugo truly felt the rise in popularity brought about by the release of "scent of a woman." You have to know, in the nine months prior to this, Hugo had walked the streets of Los Angeles countless times, yet no one had ever asked him for an autograph, to the point where Hugo had completely forgotten about it, focusing all his energy on studying acting and adapting to life in Los Angeles in the early nineties.But now, it wasn't just one person; there were at least forty or fifty people around waiting for Hugo's autograph. Whether they were just joining in the fun or genuinely liked Hugo, the bustling scene before him made Hugo truly feel the heat surging in from all directions. Each pair of shining eyes, each eager call, and each fervent touch allowed Hugo to substantively feel what it meant to be popular.Ever since recording "The Tonight Show," he had felt a floating sensation, and at this moment, it reached a new peak; Hugo felt as if he could fly away with the wind at any moment.But what did his predecessor's autograph look like? Hugo thought carefully, but couldn't find any answer in his mind.Previously, when Hugo was writing lyrics, he had worried that his handwriting might be different, but when he showed it to Joseph, there hadn't been any issues. So Hugo guessed that perhaps his body's instinct was still playing a role invisibly, much like the withdrawal symptoms that had dragged on for over four months."Of course." Hugo didn't hesitate anymore, flashing a brilliant smile as he took the poster from the lady standing at the front. "Who should I make it out to?"Hugo placed the poster on his palm, trying to start writing, but couldn't. He looked up, using his height advantage to scan the area, and walked toward the desk Jay used when hosting. The entire crowd surrounded Hugo, moving with him.Upon reaching the desk, Hugo finally signed his name on the poster. He wanted to sign "Chen Hugo," but that was impossible, so Hugo signed "Hugo Lancaster." The flowing English cursive was elegant and timeless, as if written by a great literary master with a quill on parchment, making people inevitably think of the origin of the name "Hugo.""Meredith Morris." The lady's words stunned Hugo. He couldn't help but look up at the lady before him; he was certain this was a middle-aged woman, not the young girl he had seen at the "scent of a woman" premiere.Hugo thought for a moment, then decided to ask, "Uh, I met a cute girl named Meredith Morris at this premiere..." In truth, Hugo had a great difficulty remembering names; he always found it hard to recall them, but the girl at the premiere had left such a deep impression on him that when the lady in front of him mentioned it, Hugo remembered immediately."She is my daughter," the lady said with a smile. "I am Catherine. This autograph is for my daughter; she has to go to school today." Hugo suddenly understood; coming to chase a star for one's daughter was quite rare. However, Catherine added, "I also watched your movie, and I like you very much too."The smile on Hugo's face was full of happiness and joy. He lowered his head and wrote at the top of the poster, "To dear Catherine and Meredith Morris, thank you for your support. It is my honor."Afterward, Hugo handed the poster back to Catherine and said again, "Your support is very important to me." Then he expressed his thanks with a smile.Looking at Hugo's warm, sunshine-like smile, Catherine's gaze toward him couldn't help but soften.The other audience members nearby also passed over the paper and pens in their hands. Hugo took them one by one, patiently signing for every audience member, even including the inscriptions they requested. It wasn't until Hugo had signed for over a dozen people that he realized he was inexperienced; he was foolishly switching pens for every single signature, which wasted a lot of time. It would have been much faster to just hold one pen from the start and sign on the papers as they were passed to him.Unfortunately, this was Hugo's first time signing autographs in his life, so naturally, he didn't have that kind of realization.As it turned out, by the time Hugo finished signing for these forty-one audience members, thirty-five minutes had already passed. This was quite a long time to spend.Joseph welcomed Hugo back to the backstage, hurriedly said goodbye to Jay, and without even having time for more chat, they had to rush to the radio station recording. This time, "scent of a woman" had achieved unexpected success, making the entire promotional schedule tight. Originally, Universal Pictures had not planned so much promotion, but after the movie's success in the first week, the rescheduled promotion became immediately intense.Sitting in the car, Hugo immediately saw the dozen or so fans gathered at the studio entrance. He asked in surprise, "Have they been waiting here the whole time?" Hugo vaguely saw a few familiar faces, faces he had seen when he arrived earlier.Joseph, however, didn't make a fuss this time, keeping his attention on the road conditions ahead. "This is nothing. You haven't seen those fans who wait all night just to catch a glimpse of their idol; they are the most loyal." The subtext was that merely waiting for a ninety-minute show recording was nothing at all.Although that was what was said, Hugo still leaned against the window, watching the fans jogging along with his car without taking his eyes off them. The smile on his face was filled with curiosity and satisfaction, and he kept waving to the fans."scent of a woman" was not a film that could easily pull in fans, so being able to receive such an enthusiastic response after beginning promotion truly made Hugo overjoyed.The dark cloud of the Golden Raspberry Awards that had hung over his head seemed to have finally dispersed, and he could see the moon after parting the clouds.Hugo's excitement didn't last long, as a bigger surprise was waiting for him at the radio station entrance. Here, it wasn't just a dozen fans; a full thirty or more people were gathered at the entrance. As soon as they saw Hugo's car appear, they all swarmed forward, to the point where Hugo couldn't even open the car door.Hugo had never witnessed such a scene before. Alongside his joy, he was also a bit dumbfounded. "How am I supposed to open the door and get out like this?" In the past, when he read news reports saying certain stars were surrounded by enthusiastic fans in their cars or houses and couldn't move, Hugo hadn't really understood what "unable to move" meant; he thought it was definitely an exaggeration.But today, Hugo experienced firsthand what it meant to be "surrounded."Hugo tried to open the car door, but the fans outside kept pushing forward, pressing tightly against the door, making it impossible to push open. How could the strength of one person resist the force of a large group of people? There was simply no way. And Hugo didn't have a bodyguard right now—he hadn't anticipated such a situation at all, nor had he reached the level to hire a bodyguard, so now Hugo was truly trapped.The fans didn't just block the car door; they kept tapping on the windows and shoving the car body, making Hugo feel like he wasn't sitting in a car, but on a small boat, and the waves outside were quite large.This level of enthusiasm was more than two levels higher than what he had experienced at "The Tonight Show" just moments ago.Joseph also pushed the car door in annoyance, but it was equally futile. "We were already going to be late for the radio station, and they are still..." Joseph was more concerned at this moment about whether they could arrive at the radio station on time; being late was not a good thing.Getting held back by fans for autographs at "The Tonight Show" had been an unexpected situation, and now, being surrounded at the radio station entrance, Joseph realized that in the future, he must depart earlier because unexpected situations like fans and paparazzi must be factored into their plans.Fortunately, at this moment, the security guards at the radio station entrance overcame all difficulties and reached the driver's side of the car, clearing a path. Fortunately, there were only thirty-some people on the scene, which wasn't many, so the security guard was able to successfully open the car door and let Joseph get out first.Joseph stood at the car door, holding back the fans behind him, and shouted inside, "Hugo, hurry, hurry!"Hugo scrambled over from the passenger seat. His feet had barely touched the ground, and before he could even stand up straight, he could feel several hands reaching toward him. This enthusiasm was a bit overwhelming for Hugo.Joseph quickly shielded Hugo, and under the protection of four security guards, they walked briskly toward the radio station building. But all the fans were like cotton candy wrapped around a lollipop; he couldn't shake them off. They followed along, accompanied by buzzing, bee-like shouts, making every movement Hugo made extremely difficult.Hugo felt like he was suffocating. The surrounding heat, shouting, and touching tightly enveloped him. There were clearly only thirty people, but Hugo felt in a daze as if there were three hundred, making him feel as though he had fallen into a quagmire, where every move was filled with countless resistance.This sweet trouble had come so swiftly, catching him so off guard.When Hugo finally managed to walk into the building and block the fans outside, he had the time to turn around and look at the scene behind him. The thirty fans were still continuously waving their hands at Hugo, their faces full of joy and happiness. That scene, which filled his entire field of vision, caused the corners of Hugo's mouth to curl up. He let out a long breath, "This is a beautiful sight.""We're late!" But Joseph didn't intend to wait for Hugo to continue marveling; he pulled Hugo and ran toward the interior of the building.
