Although he slowed his pace, the way home wasn't far; it only took about ten minutes to get back.Hugo walked up to the second floor and, watching Ernst's pace behind him, couldn't help but sigh: This really is a stubborn old man.They had been walking for a while now. Even though Hugo had slowed his pace, Ernst was unwilling to admit defeat. He maintained a steady speed, and climbing the stairs now must have made him breathless, yet Ernst refused to acknowledge it, forcing himself to walk up.Hugo could even clearly see the sweat breaking out on Ernst's forehead again.However, Hugo didn't say anything in particular, because he knew that with Ernst's personality, he didn't want others to provoke him. If Hugo showed concern, Ernst would likely get angry, thinking Hugo looked down on him.Besides, Hugo and Ernst weren't exactly familiar with each other; too much concern would only make Ernst push him away further.After walking up to the second floor, Ernst leaned slightly against the stair railing, panting, though he didn't let any fatigue show on his face. "Here." Ernst handed the potatoes in his hand to Hugo, his arms extended straight, and one could even see his arms trembling slightly.Hugo quickly took the paper bag and added, "Thank you."Ernst didn't even look at Hugo; he took out his keys from his pants pocket and said fiercely to Hugo, "Move."Hugo only then realized he was standing at the doorway, so he quickly stepped aside and stood against the wall.After Ernst stepped forward and opened his front door, he walked inside without looking back, with no intention of stopping. When Ernst began to close the door, Hugo finally reacted: Ernst had no intention of taking his potatoes; was this old man sulking?Hugo didn't have time to overthink it; he hurriedly stepped forward and propped the door open with his right foot. "Hey, Ernst, your potatoes." As he spoke, he held out the paper bag in his hand."These aren't mine." Ernst replied sullenly and tried to close the door, but his strength was naturally no match for the young Hugo. He couldn't help but look up and glare at Hugo, then kicked out at Hugo's lower leg. "What are you doing! Do not enter the boundaries of my home! Who allowed you to step your foot into my home's territory!"Hugo only then noticed that his foot had indeed stepped half a step into Ernst's home, but he still couldn't pull his foot back. "But your potatoes. Ernst, I was just helping out with a small favor earlier, I didn't mean anything else by it, don't take it so seriously."Looking through the crack in the door, Hugo couldn't see much; he could only see a worn-out ginger-yellow sofa that looked like it had a very, very long history. Around it, dense, layered stacks of paper documents and books were piled high, blocking almost a third of the window's light, making the room look slightly dim.The room was filled with the dry smell of bookworms. There didn't seem to be any signs of anyone else; one look told him it was a bachelor's home, and a rather elderly bachelor at that.But Ernst quickly interrupted Hugo's inspection. "I don't need them!" Then he kicked Hugo again, and it was quite heavy, landing hard on the calf of Hugo's leg. Hugo pulled his foot back in pain, and without further hesitation, Ernst slammed the door shut.With a "bang," the door panel slammed right into place, even kicking up a cloud of dust that made Hugo blink his eyes several times in succession.One could imagine that if Hugo hadn't pulled his foot back, it would likely be bruised by now.In that moment, Hugo finally felt the young, stubborn, and unyielding spirit within Ernst, and of course, Ernst's irritable, stubborn, and terrible bad temper.Hugo thought for a moment, then placed the paper bag with the potatoes at the doorway. He then took out the potatoes from his own paper bag, trying to put them all into one, but that was clearly impossible.With no other choice, Hugo could only place the potatoes that wouldn't fit around it, and then he picked up his own paper bag and walked up to the third floor.When he returned to the third floor, Hugo wanted to search his pockets for his keys, only to realize he still had three potatoes in his pocket. He quickly placed the paper bag on the floor and started walking back downstairs.But only halfway down, Hugo heard the sound of a door opening. He couldn't help but stop, lowering his head to look through the gaps in the staircase.He saw Ernst looking at the potatoes on the floor, then looking around. Fearing being seen, Hugo quickly pulled his head back. Immediately after, he heard Ernst grumbling and complaining. Although he couldn't hear clearly what exactly it was, the intermittent cursing could still be heard. Clearly, Ernst still had countless complaints about Hugo and completely disdained Hugo's meddling.Nevertheless, after Hugo peeked again, he still saw Ernst picking up the potatoes one by one, holding them in his arms as he walked into the room. This time, his action of closing the door was clearly much gentler, though one could still hear the crisp, decisive movement.Hugo looked at the empty doorway, smiled, walked back up to the third floor, took the potatoes out of his pants pocket, put them into his own paper bag, and only then took out his keys to open the door.Opening the door, Hugo first placed his keys into a brown glass bowl by the entrance, then walked straight to the kitchen, placed the paper bag on the dining table, and poured himself a glass of water.At this moment, Charlize walked out of her room, glanced at the kitchen, and after confirming that it was Hugo who had returned, asked, "How was the show recording today?"Ever since she signed with Carl, Charlize had been taking acting classes. For Charlize, this was a brand-new challenge.The modeling industry, although requiring training in body shaping, photography techniques, runway skills, and so on, is, to put it plainly, a profession that relies on physical appearance talent. While there is a technical aspect, it isn't very high, so Charlize, who trained in ballet from a young age, was able to master it easily.But acting is different. Although this profession also relies on talent, and anyone can "act" in front of the camera, not everyone can do it well. Some people even become unable to move or speak once they stand in front of the camera.And acting training courses, even at the beginner level, cover a wide range of topics including developing concentration, unleashing imagination, emotional memory, body language, character study, script analysis, developing camera presence, scene partner interaction, blocking, and hitting marks, not to mention basic vocal training, facial expression control, emotional expression, and more.Charlize's studies over the past few months had been busy and fulfilling, even busier than Hugo, who had become idle after wrapping up filming.Charlize and Hugo got along quite comfortably now. Although they hadn't been able to develop their relationship further, as friends and roommates, the time they spent together was always full of relaxation and ease.And with the addition of the funny guy Alex, the atmosphere on the third floor was always very lively; even Joseph and Carl from the fourth floor spent most of their time on the third floor.During this time, every day after Charlize finished class and returned, she would practice acting with Hugo or Alex. This demonstrated the advantage of Actors living together; a group of Actors discussing acting and practicing together clearly made life very enjoyable.Of course, because the three of them were too noisy, it also caused Ernst downstairs to lose his temper a few times."Very good, everything went very smoothly. I even... signed autographs for fans." Hugo originally wanted to say "for the first time," but thinking that this statement wouldn't make sense, he stopped himself abruptly. "And there was a group of fans blocking me at the radio station entrance." Hugo boasted happily to Charlize.As a result, Charlize just said, "Really? How many people?" which completely choked Hugo up. "...About thirty or so." Charlize rolled her eyes at him. "Listening to your tone, I thought it was three thousand." Hugo could only chuckle foolishly."What is this?" Charlize took out the potatoes and asked, looking puzzled, "You only bought three potatoes; are you planning to eat them raw one by one, like a lemon?"Hugo walked to the dining table and sat on a high stool. "No, this is a gift, a gift from Ernst.""What? Did I hear that right?" Alex's voice came from the doorway. He was holding a set of red costumes, walked in gleefully, and then headed straight to the kitchen. "You're saying it's a gift from Ernst?"Hugo raised an eyebrow. "Yes, that's right!" Then Hugo briefly explained the situation just now. "I'm just taking these three potatoes as a gift from him."As a result, Alex pursed his lips. "Who knows if he might come upstairs to ask for them back at some point." Alex had lived here a little longer and naturally understood Ernst a bit better.Hugo asked curiously, "Does Ernst really live alone?" The United States is a country that places great importance on family. Although it is said that children become independent after reaching adulthood, family values are the most important part of American consciousness, and many American welfare policies revolve around the family. Therefore, it is quite uncommon for someone of Ernst's age to live alone, with no children accompanying him and without having entered a nursing home."Yes." Alex nodded without hesitation. "To be precise, from the first day I arrived here, I have never seen anyone visit him; not to mention family, not even friends.""How do you know? You haven't been guarding his door every day." Although Charlize didn't have a very good impression of such an irritable, stubborn old man, she still spoke a fair word.Alex chuckled sheepishly twice. "Let's put it this way, whenever I've noticed, there's been no one. I think he's like Quasimodo, eccentric and very reclusive, losing his temper at the drop of a hat.""Are you sure you've read the original novel 'The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'?" Hugo said with a smile. Quasimodo is the hunchback in 'The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.' Actually, although Quasimodo was very ugly, he was kind-hearted and timid, and never actively harmed others; he was only ostracized because of his appearance. So Alex's description wasn't that accurate.Alex scratched his head embarrassedly. "You know what I mean." Actually, Alex just meant that Ernst was as unapproachable as Quasimodo."Then you should use Joseph from 'Wuthering Heights' to describe him; that would be more appropriate." Hugo said with a smile."Who is calling me?" Joseph's voice came from the doorway. The three people in the dining room looked at each other, and then Hugo hesitated for a moment, looked at Joseph as he walked over, and said, "Emily Bronte?"
