Following the solid lines of his physique downwards, one could see the wide shorts covering the man's private parts.Charlize seemed startled, her gaze quickly darting upwards, finally settling in a flustered manner on Hugo's taut neck, and then she saw Hugo's Adam's apple move slightly.Evidently, Hugo had just swallowed a mouthful of saliva—because he was parched.This thought immediately made Charlize's cheeks flush.She quickly released her hands, then stepped back half a pace, avoiding Hugo's gaze, but she didn't know where her eyes should land, because it seemed every corner revealed Hugo's even, tanned skin.She could only grit her teeth, feigning composure as she said, "Nice body, looks like you've been keeping in good shape recently."Hugo felt a small flame in his chest.After the close contact, Charlize had proven with her "actions" that she was a woman, and one with a charming allure that made hearts race.But the problem was, Hugo's current attire was not suitable for the wild thoughts in his mind, because the conditioned reflexes transmitted downwards from his brain were simply uncontrollable.So Hugo could only barely maintain his composure, turning around to find his sweatpants and putting them on."Naturally, there isn't much time left until the premiere."Once his pants were on, Hugo finally calmed down, though his slightly flushed cheeks still betrayed the shyness in his heart.Although Hugo and Charlize had seen each other naked before, that was just a one-night stand fueled by alcohol.Afterward, when they became roommates, they decided to be friends, so the current situation was indeed a bit awkward."Let's order takeout for dinner tonight, Chinese food, how about it?"Charlize tried to make her footsteps not sound too flustered as she turned and left Hugo's room, but her feet felt a bit weak, as if she were walking on cotton."Of course."Hugo, noticing Charlize's departure, also breathed a sigh of relief, quickly grabbed a T-shirt and put it on."You should call Karl and ask him to come back and celebrate with us."With Karl there, the atmosphere at home would likely lighten up, especially with Alex coming home for two days."Great idea!"Charlize immediately voted in favor.She stood outside Hugo's room, leaning against the wall, taking two more breaths to calm her mind before walking to the phone and calling Karl again.After the call ended, Hugo and Charlize sat in the living room, but seemed to have suddenly lost their rhythm of conversation, both showing a degree of awkwardness on their faces.Fortunately, Hugo was the first to think of a topic."Aren't you going to wash off your makeup?"Charlize then realized that since returning, she had been wearing this hobo outfit, her makeup still on, and it was in this state that she had hugged and made eye contact with Hugo.The heart-pounding scene from just now suddenly became comical.Charlize looked down at the grime on her body, then recalled Hugo's bare upper body, thinking that all the dirt from her body had rubbed off on him, and all the previous allure vanished instantly.Clearly, Hugo also realized this.In his earlier panic, he had completely forgotten, and when he made eye contact with Charlize, all his attention was drawn to her stunning eyes, almost completely ignoring the terrible makeup.But thinking back, Hugo was sure there was now a patch of dirt on his forehead, not to mention on his body.Connecting the scene in his mind with the intimacy made it seem quite ridiculous.Hugo and Charlize looked at each other.Charlize saw the gray smudge on Hugo's forehead and finally couldn't hold back, bursting into laughter.Hugo also found it absurd and couldn't help but chuckle, and once they started laughing, they couldn't stop, both doubled over with laughter.Amidst their hearty laughter, all awkwardness quietly disappeared.Both were laughing so hard they couldn't stand straight.After they finished laughing, they both stopped, looking steadily at each other, seeing a similar light in each other's eyes.Clearly, both were thinking the same thing: a shower!Almost simultaneously, Hugo and Charlize turned and rushed towards the bathroom, both ending up blocked at the bathroom door.Charlize grumbled, "Hey, ladies first, haven't you heard?""Aren't you advocating feminism!"Hugo wasn't to be outdone.He had once called for gender equality, only to be treated like an alien.Later, Hugo learned that it was an era of rising feminist consciousness, and the slogan of "gender equality" wouldn't truly emerge until 1995, let alone be widely accepted for a long time in the future.So, Hugo was also quietly integrating into the society of 1992."But my makeup is so dirty!"Charlize struggled to push her way into the bathroom, but Hugo's arm was firmly in front, refusing to yield."That's exactly why I should go in first, I'll be quick, five minutes is all I need."Hugo shouted loudly.He wanted to go in directly, but Charlize was blocking the door, so he could only get one thigh in."Hugo!"Charlize yelled fiercely, but saw Hugo was still unrelenting.So her eyes darted, and a plan came to mind.Charlize gritted her teeth, quickly released her strength, causing Hugo to lose his balance unexpectedly, almost falling over.Charlize then stomped hard on the top of Hugo's left foot, watching him hop on one leg, howling in pain.Charlize seized the opportunity to dart inside, quickly closed the bathroom door, and stood inside with her hands on her hips, laughing loudly and freely.Outside the door, Hugo put his foot down, continuing his strange cries, then deliberately cursed at the door, "You cheated!Next time, I definitely won't let you!"This provoked Charlize to shout from inside, "When have you ever let me, hmph!Anyway, I won, oh yeah!"The smile on Hugo's lips spread.His loss of balance just now was intentional; letting Charlize wash up first wasn't a big deal.But, after this noisy squabble, the awkwardness between them had clearly vanished, returning to their old mode of friendship, which was the most important thing.Afterward, Hugo turned and went back to the living room, sinking heavily into the sofa with a long sigh of relief.After yelling, Charlize, standing in the bathroom, also smiled and breathed a sigh of relief.Although Hugo was a good actor, they had been together for more than half a year, and this kind of fight over the bathroom was not a one-time occurrence.How could Charlize not know whether Hugo was genuinely fooled or intentionally pretended to lose?However, this was good; at least the intimacy and flirtation from before were no longer important.Taking a deep breath, Charlize walked to the sink, turned on the faucet, and the gushing water sound thus isolated the world inside and outside the bathroom door.Charlize's makeup today covered her entire body, so it took her a long time to wash it off, and she didn't come out even after Karl returned.It was a really long time, and she didn't know if it really took that long, or if part of the reason was waiting for Karl to return to alleviate the awkwardness of her and Hugo being alone.Hugo and Karl discussed ordering takeout, and only then did Hugo have time to carefully ask Karl about the whole story."I met a producer at the last Halloween party, he's one of the producers of 'Beverly Hills, 90210,' and I introduced Charlize to him.""Later, the series happened to need a guest role, and he thought of Charlize, so he called me.We had a brief discussion, and things were finalized."Karl simplified the complex process as much as possible, explaining it once.Hugo's eyebrows raised slightly, quite surprised."Halloween?"Charlize had worn a nun's costume that day, and she was actually noticed by a producer."It couldn't be that Charlize is going to play a nun, could it?"Karl was clearly in a good mood and was immediately amused by Hugo."No, it's a normal role."Hugo nodded, then immediately thought of a key point: "Beverly Hills, 90210" was a soap opera, with handsome men and beautiful women as its highlights.If Charlize appeared in it, she would be a mere eye-candy role, which wouldn't be a good choice for Charlize's future career trajectory.However, Hugo opened his mouth but still didn't voice his thoughts; it wasn't that he didn't dare, but that today wasn't the day to say it.Today was a good day.Karl was indeed very excited at this moment; his almost uncontrollable excitement filled the entire third floor with a strong sense of joy.Compared to Charlize, this was Karl's first job in a full twelve months, which also meant he at least wouldn't need to rely on Joseph's charity anymore.As an agent, they only had a livelihood if their artists had work, otherwise, it was a disaster.However, the reason Karl had been out of work for so long was actually due to his stubbornness regarding work; even long periods of difficulty hadn't made him back down.He saw the hesitation and worry in Hugo's brows and immediately understood, "Hugo, I know, 'Beverly Hills, 90210' is a soap opera, and Charlize is already easily judged by her looks, so such a platform is even more disadvantageous."Even as excited as Karl was, he still maintained a clear head."So I agreed to three guest episodes, hoping to get Charlize some exposure and thus more possibilities.As for this soap opera, even if the producer invites Charlize to continue acting, I won't agree."Hugo's gaze towards Karl immediately changed.As an agent, being able to maintain such a calm mind was not easy, especially since Karl had been struggling financially for a year, not to mention that the agent industry was a circle where profit was paramount."I'm done, it's your turn."Charlize finally opened the door and came out, showing a brilliant smile when she saw Karl."Hey, my agent, thank you for bringing me good news."Charlize immediately walked over and gave Karl a big hug, and her expression towards Hugo also became much more relaxed.Thanks to Karl, the interaction between Hugo and Charlize no longer felt abnormal, and the upcoming Thanksgiving further dissolved any remaining awkwardness.
