Unnerving news

Hugo didn't miss the flirtatious look Uma gave him before she left, a gentle coquetry that seemed natural rather than deliberate, as if a ripple from deep inside her had leaked out in the sunlight, revealing a hint of spring. Hugo couldn't help but smile. After the kiss at the previous premiere and Uma's hints during their conversation today, if Hugo still didn't understand what was happening, he'd be clueless.

Hugo could feel his heart beating slightly faster, a strong physiological desire that made him uncomfortable. His two encounters with Uma had been unusual: the unexpected kiss at their first meeting, and today's casual chat in such an awkward situation. How could he suddenly develop feelings for her?

Could it be because of his past relationship with Uma? Before Hugo crossed over, his past self was passionately pursuing Uma, and their relationship had yet to unfold when he arrived. Uma was also intrigued by his unusual behavior and seemed to have feelings for his past self. Otherwise, they wouldn't have had the unexpected first encounter and today she wouldn't have expressed her feelings so openly.

Hugo touched his heart. Could he still feel his past self's true emotions? That should be the only reasonable explanation. He shook his head unconsciously, trying to shake off the ticklish emotions in his head, took a few deep breaths, and calmed his restless heart.

"Hey, buddy, what are you thinking about?" A voice interrupted Hugo's thoughts from his left. He looked up and saw Karl's figure walking towards him, a suggestive smile on his face, clearly hinting at the ambiguous relationship between Hugo and Uma.

Hugo burst out laughing, "Friendship, just friendship."

"Are you sure?" Karl's smile widened. "I was watching your conversation with Uma just now, and it didn't seem like just friendship." Although Karl didn't say it outright, the meaning behind his words was clear. Standing by and observing their comfortable conversation and the faint harmony around them, it was easy to see that there were sparks between them.

Hugo chuckled and didn't respond to Karl's words. Then Karl asked uncertainly, "Since you're single now, there's nothing wrong with trying. You and Uma seem to get along well. Or do you already have someone? Joseph told me you don't..."

Karl's words made Hugo both laugh and cry. Although Hugo's heart seemed to beat unusually fast when he heard Karl's words, he firmly believed that it was the influence of his past life. So Hugo stood up directly with the phonograph in his arms and said, "We can't park here. Hurry up. If you don't want to get a ticket, we'd better leave now."

Karl didn't continue to joke around, after all, his relationship with Hugo was just ordinary, and they weren't familiar enough to joke around freely. Karl replayed in his mind the scene where Hugo and Uma were together just now, and couldn't help but laugh softly. He thought there must be something between these two people, but it hadn't been confirmed yet, which was why Hugo kept saying "just friends". Karl quickly walked to the roadside, lifted two table lamps, and walked towards the pickup truck parked not far away.

Hugo and Karl worked together to load all the furniture onto the pickup truck and drove it back home. From a distance, they could see Joseph and Alex arguing with an old man at the door. It was called an argument, but mainly the old man was complaining with a flushed face, while Joseph and Alex stood on the side in a decent manner, without much reaction.

When Hugo and Karl approached, the old man angrily walked into the building, "What's wrong?" Karl asked from the driver's seat.

"It's nothing. He said we blocked the corridor and affected entry and exit," Joseph said simply.

Alex, who was standing next to him, also looked helpless, "It's an old man who lives on the second floor, seems to be living alone, and always has a lot of opinions."

"You have to allow people to express their opinions, and we did block the corridor," Hugo said with a smile, not thinking too much. "I was wondering why you guys hadn't gone over for so long. Alright, let's go help together!"

After unloading the furniture from the truck, the four of them made another trip and filled the truck with miscellaneous items. By the time they had finished arranging all the furniture and doing a simple cleaning of the house, it was almost ten o'clock in the evening. The pizza delivery was fast, and in less than fifteen minutes, the four of them were sitting in the third-floor living room enjoying dinner.

The living room was no longer so empty at this time, with two shoe cabinets added at the entrance. Since there was only one sofa before, several additional sofa cushions were scattered around, filling up the living room space. A storage cabinet was added next to the low cabinet, where everything needed in the living room was stored, and the phonograph was placed on top of the storage cabinet. Three high stools were added next to the dining table, and the microwave oven, frying pan, and other items that were filled in the kitchen made the house feel more like home. Although the overall decoration was still very simple, with the passage of time, the decorations would become more and more numerous, and the taste of home would become stronger. After all, it was only the first day.

"Of course, the most important thing is that there is a TV in the living room,"

"Are you sure you want to turn on the TV?" Joseph looked at Hugo helplessly. Since Alex had not paid the cable TV fees, the TV service had been suspended, and nothing could be watched. Even if the TV was turned on, there was only static. But Hugo insisted on turning it on.

Hugo took a big bite of pizza, his mouth full of delicious bread, and showed a satisfied expression. "Of course. Don't you think there will be some sound in the room after the TV is turned on? If we all remain silent, the living room won't be so awkward. Don't believe me? Let's try not to talk now."

After Hugo's words fell, the four big men looked at each other, and the TV's boring static noise continued. Originally, the atmosphere wasn't awkward, but after Hugo deliberately emphasized it, a sense of incredulity suddenly emerged. As a result, Alex couldn't help it and burst into laughter first, followed by Hugo, then Karl, and finally Joseph had a wry smile on his face.

"If you have vinyl records at home, playing music is also a good idea." Alex saw that Hugo had brought back a phonograph and couldn't put it down. Listening to vinyl records occasionally was a kind of enjoyment that people yearned for.

"When you bring a woman back for a date next time, I'll prepare some romantic records for you." Hugo said with a smile on his face. In fact, this was just a joke. Before he traveled through time, Hugo had no firsthand knowledge of vinyl records, let alone phonographs. If he wanted to learn, he had to start from scratch.

But Alex immediately showed a satisfied smile and nodded repeatedly. "Then I'm looking forward to it."

"Did the "A Few Good Men" crew call you today?" Karl asked Joseph curiously.

Joseph shook his head. Karl frowned, "Could it be because we've been out all day that you missed the call?" They had been busy running around almost all day today, even at home, they were too busy to rest, so it was normal not to hear the phone ring.

"No, they wouldn't." Joseph was more calm, mainly because he had experienced a lot in the past two months. He also knew that he couldn't help if he was anxious here, so it was better to deal with it calmly. "Rob and the others know the office phone number. Even if they didn't contact me, they would leave a message at the office."

At present, with mobile phones not yet widely used, the reception desk phone in the office had become an important transfer station. Even if Joseph was not in the office all day, it would avoid missed calls. Of course, this was only the case for small employees like Joseph. If Ron was out on business, Gary as the assistant would record all the messages for his boss.

"Don't worry, the interview was just yesterday, and you won't hear back so soon," Hugo also wasn't too worried because he knew that the initiative for this matter was not in his or Rob's hands, but in Tom's instead. As long as Tom was willing to take on the script, the problem would be solved, and there would be no issue.

Karl looked at Hugo and then at Joseph, "Don't you guys know that Columbia Pictures is not planning to use Tom Cruise anymore?" This is why Karl was so anxious to bring up this matter earlier. Sure enough, this news immediately stunned Joseph and Hugo. Karl then realized that they hadn't received the news yet, "I went to the company this morning and heard that Tom refused to shave his head and also refused to lower his salary, which led Columbia Pictures to seek a replacement and put pressure on Tom."

Karl held the pizza in his hand and smelled its fragrance, but he dared not put it in his mouth because the three people in front of him were looking at him with expectant eyes. So he quickly said, "I received news this morning that Tom stubbornly refused to cut his hair short because it would affect his image, so negotiations broke down. I thought Rob would make a decision this afternoon. Didn't they say that the crew only has ten days left before shooting starts, and there isn't much time left."

The male protagonist Daniel in "A Few Good Men" was a navy officer, and although he was not a combat unit deployed at sea, cutting his hair short was still necessary. Tom was now at the peak of his career and he had the capital to challenge the producers. It remained to be seen if the producers could continue to be firm.

However, Hugo knew that in his memory, the producers compromised because Tom starred in "A Few Good Men" with his handsome hairstyle. But this time, it was unknown what changes would occur.

After finishing speaking in one breath, Karl took a big bite of pizza, and then showed a satisfied expression on his face. Hugo looked at Karl's expression and couldn't help but smile, but Joseph slightly frowned and looked at Hugo worriedly.

Hugo smiled and comforted him, "Don't worry too much, even if a decision needs to be made, it can't be that fast. Whether it's me or Brad, replacing Tom is a difficult decision."

"At least you are taller than Tom and Brad, and your presence is more prominent." Alex made a magic move at the side, so that Karl, who was enjoying the pizza, almost choked, coughing non-stop. Height, this was Tom's absolute weakness, and Brad wasn't too far off.