Inopportune time

Hugo opened his eyes and sat up, rubbing his sore head. He had slept without properly drying his hair, causing a headache when he woke up. But looking at the beautiful figure to his right only made his headache worse. Everything from last night was still fresh in his mind, and Hugo couldn't distinguish whether it was the emotions of his past self or his true feelings that were causing this. Either way, it had happened.

When Uma woke up later, how should he face her? Should he put on a smile and say "good morning" as if nothing had happened? Or should he face this like the male protagonists in most American dramas, suave and unaffected, taking as if they were both single and it was just a one-night stand?

Hugo took a deep breath and looked at the bright sunshine outside before rubbing his hair vigorously and exhaling. Just then, he heard knocking on the door and Karl's clear voice saying, "Hugo, Alex, open up, it's me!" Hugo quickly got out of bed and went to the closet, grabbing a pair of jeans to put on.

Uma was also awakened by the noise, and as she sat up, her blanket slipped down, revealing her petite yet shapely curves. "Good morning," she said lazily and huskily, with a hint of allure.

"Good morning," Hugo smiled as he buttoned his jeans. "Sorry for waking you up."

Uma chuckled lightly and got out of bed, tiptoeing on the floor to find her scattered clothes. "It's okay, I slept well," she said casually, glancing at Hugo with a hint of teasing in her eyes, which made him grin.

Uma's nonchalant attitude eased Hugo's nerves a bit, and he took a deep breath. "I'll go answer the door," he said, then strode out of the room. In just a few steps, his long legs brought him to the front door, where he asked, "What's up so early? If I had known, I would have given Joseph a key..."

As he opened the door, Karl walked in, carrying two huge suitcases, and made Hugo feel confused. Karl lived upstairs with Joseph, so why did he move his luggage over here?

But soon, Hugo's words were stuck in his throat, as behind Karl stood a pretty figure - it was Charlize. "Oh, Charlize, uh..." Hugo turned to look at Karl and then at Charlize, feeling flustered. He obviously didn't expect to meet Charlize again at this point in time. "Long time no see."

Charlize looked at Hugo's panicked and slightly shy expression, and a smile bloomed on her face. Karl's voice came from inside the room, "Charlize, come in, don't just stand outside."

It was only then that Hugo realized Charlize was still standing at the door. He looked down and saw three large boxes at her feet. "Uh, do we need to move all these in?" Hugo asked as he turned to look at Karl, still unsure of the situation.

"Yes, Hugo, can you help us out?" Karl raised his voice and walked over, passing through Hugo and Charlize to pick up one of the boxes. "These need to be moved in."

Hugo hurriedly diverted his gaze from Charlize and walked over to the boxes, picking one up and walking it into the house. He placed it on the open space behind the sofa in the living room.

After Karl moved in the last box, Charlize finally walked into the room, looking a bit awkward as she looked at Hugo. They hadn't seen each other for a long time. Last month, she and Tyra went to New York to seek opportunities during New York Fashion Week. After the fashion week ended, she received a small photo shoot job and stayed in Miami for a week before returning to Los Angeles last week.

During this time, Charlize had seen Hugo's news in the newspaper a few times, but she hadn't heard from him. She thought that perhaps they had no future after that night. After all, Hugo had disappeared without a word and the phone call the next day was only an apology with no further information. Plus, he had disappeared for the past two months. Tyra had returned to Los Angeles after New York Fashion Week, but she said she hadn't received any calls or messages from Hugo.

So Charlize was quite sure that that night was just a meaningless dream, and she had even ridiculed herself for being foolish to think that Hugo had genuine feelings for her. In the end, she was just like any other woman who had fallen for a man's sweet words, despite persisting in the dance and modeling circles for so long.

Just when Charlize thought she had forgotten about Hugo, they unexpectedly met again today. Life's encounters and fate were truly mysterious, and Charlize was caught off guard.

As she watched Hugo and Karl busy themselves, Charlize felt her heart beating out of control. Her gaze couldn't move away from Hugo's body, even though he was only wearing jeans, without a shirt or shoes. He was so simple and primitive, but he still captivated her attention. His broad shoulders made her want to lean on them and feel the warmth.

Charlize secretly told herself, "I don't have feelings for Hugo, I just want to ask what happened that night that made him leave without a word. I just want an answer." But then, Charlize harshly scolded herself, saying "Stupid." because what answer could she possibly get from someone who left without a word? Even if she found out the answer, what good would it do? The past two months of silence were a lesson in and of itself.

Thinking this, Charlize took a deep breath and calmed her emotions. She looked at Hugo, who had reappeared in front of her, and spoke for the first time, "Long time no see." Charlize's face showed a smile that was elegant and tranquil, as if the blank space of the past two months never existed, and even as if the night between the two of them had never happened, which made Hugo feel a little confused.

Charlize also sensed the stiffness of Hugo's smile, and his gaze avoided her. Looking down, Charlize saw a plastic bag on the floor by the door and looked at it with suspicion.

Following Charlize's gaze, Hugo saw the plastic bag of fried chicken on the ground and immediately closed his eyes tightly. He had a bad feeling. He had been so surprised to see Charlize earlier that he had forgotten that Uma was still in the room. Now things were really complicated.

Hugo bent down to pick up the plastic bag, trying to say in a relaxed tone, "It's a good thing I didn't step on it, otherwise it would have been a disaster." But before Hugo could say anything more, footsteps could be heard in the room, the sound of high heels tapping was clear and unmistakable. Not only did Charlize hear it, but even Karl, who stood nearby, turned his gaze over. This saved Hugo the trouble of explaining.

Uma walked out of the room with her coat in hand, looking neat and tidy. As soon as she walked out, she saw Karl standing in the hallway, followed by Charlize at the door. Then she saw their luggage and suitcases everywhere. Her footsteps paused for a moment, then she smiled and said, "Good morning." She had greeted Karl and Charlize.

Then Uma continued walking, went to Hugo's side, and put her hand on his shoulder, kissing his cheek in a gesture of courtesy. She smiled and said, "I hope you have a good day." After she finished speaking, Uma didn't stop for a moment, and walked straight out of the room, disappearing from everyone's sight.

The hall suddenly became quiet, and no one spoke. Hugo couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. He didn't know what to say in this situation. Should he change the subject or address the scene that had just unfolded?

"Hugo, who is that?" Karl broke the silence in the hall, "Is it Uma? After you met yesterday, did anything happen?" Karl immediately recognized Uma, with whom Hugo had a pleasant conversation yesterday, and he became excited. Yesterday, Hugo said that there was nothing between them, but it seemed different today, which made Karl's tone somewhat mocking.

Hugo took a deep breath and said, "We...are friends." This was actually the most accurate definition. He and Uma were indeed friends, and everything happened too quickly last night, which didn't necessarily mean anything.

Charlize's gaze dimmed slightly. Although she didn't want to admit it, her true emotions leaked out from her pretty eyes. However, Charlize quickly regained her composure. The past two months had given her enough time to prepare.

People must meet at the right time and place with the right person. Perhaps they were at the right place, and perhaps they were the right people, but the timing of their meeting was not right. Of course, it was more likely that even the place and person were not right.

Charlize took a deep breath again and smiled faintly. "Karl, why didn't you tell me that my new house is shared with Hugo?" Especially when she thought that they would live under the same roof, Charlize warned herself fiercely: control your heart, otherwise you will only hurt yourself. Therefore, Charlize's expression became more carefree.

But when Hugo heard this, he showed a shocked expression, "Shared? Charlize? What!"