The group of young people in front of him cheerfully carried their instruments onto the bus, heading west of the city.Hugo couldn't help but feel a stir of excitement; he longed to return to that kind of life.After the initial trepidation of his transmigration, his life had gradually stabilized, and Hugo increasingly missed the days of performing on stage.However, Hugo was now alone, without a band to rely on.Even if he wanted to perform, he was powerless.Although countless solo singers existed, including Hugo himself when he performed the ending theme for "Top Gun" independently, Hugo still preferred bands.Not only because he was always more passionate about rock music, but also because of the unparalleled support his bandmates provided on stage."Hugo... Hugo!" a voice called from behind.Hugo turned to see Joseph beckoning him inside.Hugo quickly walked back, knowing it must be time to sign the insurance policy or something similar.Joseph saw the flyer in Hugo's hand, "Strip club?""In black and white?" Hugo countered, effectively denying it.No strip club would choose a black and white flyer.Hugo handed the flyer to Joseph, who briefly examined it."Music?" Joseph asked.Hugo nodded.Joseph casually inquired, "Are you going to participate?""Participate in what?" Alfonso walked up at that moment, not thinking much of it, just instinctively interjecting.Then he saw Joseph's gaze directed at Hugo.Alfonso realized he might have been meddling and quickly changed his words, "You just need to finish signing the rest of these forms."Hugo, however, didn't mind at all."No, it's a party, a rock party."Hugo sat down."Which forms do I need to sign?"Alfonso immediately walked over, flipping through the forms in front of Hugo, indicating where he needed to sign.After Hugo started signing, Alfonso stood up straight and then saw the flyer in Joseph's hand."Oh, it's Rock Night.They started planning this a month ago."Alfonso paused, carefully looking at the band names on the flyer."Wow, this scale is much bigger than I imagined.""You know about this party?" Hugo looked at Alfonso with some surprise.At this moment, Alfonso, in his suit and tie, looked even less like someone associated with rock music than Hugo, and Joseph had never mentioned it either."Of course." Alfonso nodded, rattling off a lengthy explanation."Al Bar holds such a large event every few months.In fact, it's usually where many underground rock bands hang out.The owner, Green Hill, is a rich man.There are rumors his family is in the arms business, but... who knows?Anyway, Al Bar is quite famous in this circle.Each Rock Night invites many underground bands from the scene to gather, perform, compete, and battle it out.It's incredibly lively."Hugo couldn't help but stop writing, looking at Alfonso with great interest.It seemed he knew quite a bit.Then he looked at Joseph with confusion.Alfonso was Joseph's close friend, yet he knew so much about underground rock, and Joseph had never mentioned it.This was truly unexpected.Joseph shrugged lightly."He used to be in a band, but he hasn't played for many years.Look at him..." Joseph pointed to Alfonso's crisp suit and slightly bulging belly.That was the most direct evidence.Hugo couldn't help but laugh.Alfonso also chuckled, "It's true.Work is far more important than music."Although Alfonso didn't say much more, this single sentence revealed that when faced with dreams and life, Alfonso chose life.However, Alfonso was doing quite well now.Not having dreams didn't necessarily mean life was without hope.As for Alfonso's inner state, whether it was regret or contentment, only he knew."Do you still go to Rock Night?" Hugo continued to ask.From Alfonso's tone just now, it was clear he hadn't been out of the loop for too long and still knew some of the latest news."I went once in February this year, and not since then," Alfonso said directly, then gave Hugo a helpless smile."Life, you know.But I still know a bit about the news in the scene, after all, I still have friends who are in bands."Alfonso paused, then looked at Hugo's eyes with sudden curiosity."It sounds like you're very interested in this too.What, are you also in a band?""Melody guitar." Hugo put down his pen and extended his right hand."Me too, melody guitar!" Alfonso also extended his right hand and shook Hugo's.Both men smiled."Wow, the 'Los Angeles Times' interview missed that point.It seems 'Next Time You See Me' wasn't a coincidence."Recently, with the popularity of "Top Gun," the topic of Hugo's "first" vocal performance had maintained extremely high heat.People were amazed that Hugo not only made a strong comeback as an actor but also possessed an excellent singing voice.This was indeed a huge highlight."Everyone needs a hobby, don't they?" Hugo dismissed it lightly, then looked at Alfonso and asked, "Are you going tonight?""Rock Night? Oh, no, I'm driving home this afternoon."Alfonso shook his head, then looked at Joseph."You know, I didn't go home for Christmas last year, and I've been nagged about it for the past year.What about you, are you going home?"After speaking, Alfonso subconsciously glanced at Hugo.He knew Joseph wasn't one to share family matters, and he had only asked casually.But unexpectedly, Joseph sighed and said, "I plan to go back for a visit.I still don't know what's happening with Peter.But Hugo still has some work to finish these two days, so I'll take a flight back the day after tomorrow."Christmas, which was also New Year's in America, usually had a three-day holiday, and most film crews and TV show crews would also be off, so almost everyone would go home.Not only Joseph, but Carl, Charlize, Alex, and others were also doing the same.Hugo had originally considered whether to go home to visit, but when he called his father, Adam, twice, the calls were directly hung up.It seemed Adam had no intention of letting Hugo return."The whole city will be empty then, and I'll be home alone.That's truly 'Home Alone,'" Hugo said with a self-deprecating laugh, causing Joseph to twitch his lips."I hope you don't break all the furniture."This was Joseph borrowing Hugo's joke, satirizing Hugo not to turn the house upside down like Kevin in "Home Alone" to deal with burglars."Maybe Hugo will find like-minded partners at Rock Night, then this Christmas won't be lonely," Alfonso said with a beaming smile, taking over the conversation.Alfonso hinted at meeting "female" partners, but Hugo didn't mind at all.Compared to a romantic encounter, the music was clearly the focus of such a rock party."By the way, I think I should go home and get ready.Do I need to prepare anything to attend such a party?"Alfonso sized Hugo up and down, then pursed his lips."Besides this shirt?"Hugo couldn't help but roll his eyes."Yes, yes, it seems I chose the wrong clothes today."This shirt had indeed been heavily criticized.But it was true; the casual style of this shirt wasn't very obvious, the cut was relatively formal, and it was white, so it indeed looked like a business person's attire."It seems the Beatles' classic isn't something everyone can pull off," Hugo added self-deprecatingly.This made Alfonso burst into laughter."If you choose three more companions, it would be much better."Hugo and Joseph quickly drove home, with Alfonso following behind in their new car.Once they arrived home, Joseph would then drive Alfonso back.Hugo excitedly ran upstairs, mentally planning what to wear tonight and envisioning the grandeur of the party.Suddenly, a strong man wearing a tight white T-shirt with large tattoos on his arms appeared.He had a leather studded bracelet wrapped around his right wrist and was holding a black leather jacket.He let out a deep voice, "Sorry,"then quickly walked down.Hugo couldn't help but step aside, watching the man descend the stairs quickly, the dull thud of his black military boots hitting the steps echoing in the stairwell, finally disappearing from Hugo's sight.Hugo had lived here for more than half a year but had never seen this man before.He wondered whose visitor this could be, but suddenly a thought popped into his mind: could it be the third resident of the fourth floor who had never shown up?Thinking of this, Hugo quickly walked to the stairwell window and looked out, but unfortunately, he only saw a disappearing back.This made Hugo curl his lips.Regardless of whether the man just now was the resident of the fourth floor, the fact that he had never seen the mysterious person was already very strange.He couldn't help but feel like someone like Voldemort was living upstairs."Creak," the door to the second-floor room opened, and Hugo saw the old man, Ernst, emerge with a bag of trash in his hand.Their eyes met, and Hugo politely offered a faint smile.Ernst grunted, then glared at Hugo fiercely, but didn't curse irritably again.He carried the trash downstairs.After watching the old man descend, Hugo walked briskly back upstairs, recalling what clothes in his wardrobe would be suitable for the party tonight.However, Hugo hadn't bought many clothes in the past year, and his predecessor's fashion sense was vastly different from his own.Hugo felt this was a very serious problem: at the very least, he couldn't attend the party wearing this shirt again.
