After Hugo finished his shopping, he had filled half a paper bag. Clutching it to his chest, he headed in the direction of his home. However, standing at the intersection, Hugo was forced to stop and look around. Although he had moved here several months ago, the winding alleys in the neighborhood were still dizzying. As someone with a poor sense of direction, Hugo felt immense pressure.Fortunately, Hugo had visited Charles's vegetable shop enough times that he had managed to imprint some memories into his directionally challenged brain. Following Joseph's directions, he looked at the bright yellow roof not far away and began to stride in that direction.Hugo walked with a light step up the small slope, humming a cheerful tune, "It just takes some time, little buddy, you're in the middle of the ride. Everything, everything will be alright; everything, everything will be on the right track."The brisk melody danced between Hugo's lips and teeth, making the sunlight seem to skip around him. The months of pressure from the Golden Raspberry Awards had finally cleared away like clouds parting. Everything was just part of the journey; there was no need to be overly anxious or discouraged—it just takes some time.Hugo hummed the lyrics repeatedly, finding them quite catchy, and couldn't help but try to perform the verse. Inspiration bloomed in his mind like fireworks. "Hey, don't give up on yourself. Being ignored or looked down upon is just all in your head. Just try to do your best, bring out all your energy, and don't worry about the gossip behind your back!"This verse was a perfect reflection of Hugo's state of mind over the past few months, especially vividly depicting his feelings during the filming of "a few good men." He then fit the verse together with the chorus: "It just takes some time, little buddy, you're in the middle of the ride. Everything, everything will be alright; everything, everything will be on the right track."A smooth and flowing song was born just like that—simple and clear. Hugo could even clearly hear the sparks created by the passionate drumbeats and cheerful guitar in his mind. The joyful and brisk rhythm infused the positive, sunny colors of the lyrics into every note, so beautiful that the smile on Hugo's lips soared freely in the sunlight."Hey, you know they're all the same. You know you're giving it your all, so don't pay attention to them—live in the moment! Yes, be yourself; whether you're enough for others doesn't matter at all. It just takes some time, little buddy, you're in the middle of the ride. Everything, everything will be alright; everything, everything will be on the right track."That inspiring emotion was woven into a simple melody using the simplest lyrics, erupting in the most passionate way, filling his heart to the brim.But what should this song be called? Hugo had originally wanted to use "The Beginning," but upon reflection, he was already twenty-five years old. Whether considering the previous owner of this body or himself, he was already on the journey, so this wasn't the start—he was already on the road. Therefore, Hugo finally decided to use "The Middle" as the song title. Perhaps it was a bit imprecise, but as long as the mood was right, that was enough.Indeed, life is the source of creative inspiration. After transmigrating, although Hugo couldn't say he had an explosion of inspiration, as he experienced more, his understanding of music was indeed deepening step by step. Now, when he created music, Hugo felt every musical note dancing in his mind, then automatically arranging itself into a melody according to his thoughts, just like that, humming it out. This feeling of blending emotions into music was impossibly wonderful.However, potatoes rolling down the ground interrupted Hugo's train of thought. He had intended to further refine the melody, but the sight of the potatoes tumbling down forced him to withdraw his attention. Otherwise, he might accidentally step on a potato and fall while walking up the slope, which would be disastrous.Hugo bent down to pick up the potato that had landed by his feet. He looked up and surveyed his surroundings. There were quite a few more on both sides; some had stopped, while others paused and then continued to roll down. Within his line of sight, he saw at least seven or eight potatoes.What was going on? Hugo looked up toward the top of the slope, wanting to investigate, but didn't see anyone. After a moment of hesitation, Hugo picked up the scattered potatoes as best he could and put them into his paper bag. Picking up potatoes as he walked up the hill, he soon collected over a dozen.Halfway up, after rounding a small bend, Hugo saw the situation ahead. The small curve had intercepted most of the potatoes, with one seemingly about to roll away again. Not far away, a gray-haired old man was sitting directly on a stone stool by the side of the road, wiping sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief. In his hand was a paper bag with a hole in the bottom.The situation was simple: the paper bag in the old man's hand had broken, so the potatoes had scattered. But since it was already strenuous for the old man to walk uphill, going back to chase the potatoes wasn't so easy.Hugo's appearance immediately caught the old man's attention. The old man paused his wiping, then let out a heavy huff, turned his gaze away, and pretended as if nothing had happened, looking elsewhere. At the same time, he didn't forget to crumple the paper bag in his hand and toss it aside, as if these potatoes had absolutely nothing to do with him.Watching the old man's stubborn actions, Hugo couldn't help but offer a wry smile, but he didn't say much. He just bent down to pick up all the potatoes and put them into his own paper bag. However, Hugo's paper bag was already filled with a bunch of things, and once the potatoes were stuffed in, it was quickly full, with half the potatoes still left on the ground.The old man before him lived downstairs from Hugo and was named Ernst Lehmann. He didn't know how old he was this year, but he was at least over seventy. With a head of white hair, his body was still quite sturdy, though his stamina naturally couldn't compare to his younger days. Ernst was a grumpy little old man. The second day after Hugo moved in, he had been scolded—the day he went to the second-hand furniture market to buy furniture. Joseph and Alex were standing at the main entrance, and Ernst had scolded them for blocking the walkway with their furniture. It was clear that the old man's style of doing things was very firm.Although Hugo had been filming "a few good men" afterward and had no direct contact with Ernst, after the movie wrapped, Hugo was scolded severely by Ernst face-to-face. Because when he casually threw a piece of trash into the trash can, he missed, and it landed outside. Before Hugo could walk over to pick up the trash and put it back in, he was scolded by Ernst, who had just finished throwing away his own trash and was about to leave. The reason was, "When you want to throw away trash, you can't use a throwing motion; you should stand next to it and place it in accurately." At the time, Hugo had been "juggling" from a distance of five steps away from the trash can.Hugo and Ernst had quite a lot of contact. Living in the same building, especially with young people living upstairs, it was easy to make noise, and they had been scolded by Ernst several times. However, every time, Hugo and his friends were in the wrong, and Ernst wasn't being unreasonable, so they could only humbly accept the instruction. But for Alex and the others, the old man's nagging and scolding were always hard to endure.Hugo didn't mind too much because he had never listened to his parents' nagging during his most rebellious period; he had completely wandered the world freely. Now that there was an old man willing to nag about things, although Hugo couldn't say he enjoyed it, at least he didn't reject it, but was willing to calm down and listen.Standing there and thinking for a moment, Hugo placed his paper bag on the side of the road, leaning it against something, and then walked over to Ernst's side and picked up the paper bag next to him. Ernst immediately turned his head sensitively and cursed fiercely, "What are you doing!"Hugo placed the paper bag in his palm and said innocently, "You can't just litter." This one sentence left Ernst speechless. He could only glare fiercely at Hugo; those sharp eyes pierced directly into Hugo's heart through his glasses. If someone with a slightly weaker aura had been there, they probably wouldn't have been able to withstand it. But Hugo was long used to it."This isn't yours, is it?" Hugo unfolded the paper bag unhurriedly and began to organize it in a leisurely manner. Ernst didn't know how to answer. If he answered "Yes," it meant he had littered; but if he answered "No," he couldn't justify it. So he could only let out a "Hmph" and didn't say anything.Hugo pursed his lips and smiled, folded the broken bottom of the paper bag up by a third, and then folded it twice more to seal the bottom. Only then did he walk over to the remaining potatoes and put them all in. However, because the space in the paper bag had been reduced, three potatoes couldn't fit. Thinking for a moment, Hugo simply stuffed the potatoes into his pants pockets, making the pockets of his jeans bulge out, looking quite comical.Hugo picked up the two paper bags again, but holding two bags wasn't easy, especially with the concern that the bottom of one might break again. So Hugo looked at Ernst, who was sitting on the side resting, "Sorry, could you please help me with this?"This sounded as if all the potatoes belonged to Hugo, and that Hugo had accidentally spilled them and was now seeking help.Ernst glared at Hugo but didn't know what to say. After hesitating repeatedly, he finally swallowed hard, braced his knees, and stood up, stuffing his handkerchief into his pocket. Hugo knew this was his signal that he was willing to help, so he quickly handed the paper bag with the hole to Ernst. Although this paper bag was riskier, it had fewer items inside and was lighter."Thank you, you don't know what a huge help this is." Hugo really acted as if he were the owner, offering thanks, which made the corner of Ernst's eye twitch violently.Hugo collected himself, picked up his own bag again, and began to walk forward once more. However, Hugo's pace was not fast; he deliberately slowed down, as if he were taking a stroll to enjoy the scenery, so that Ernst could keep up. But after walking only a few steps, Ernst's harsh voice came from behind, "Fool, you're going the wrong way."Uh...
