Halloween night

"I really don't know why I agreed to your request. I think I must be crazy," Charlize said, sitting in the passenger seat, looking at the costume she was wearing with a helpless expression.

Ever since Alex received the invitation to the "Growing Pains" drama group's Halloween party, everyone had been actively preparing for the event. Joseph initially didn't want to go, but under Hugo's persuasive efforts, he eventually agreed. As for Charlize, she had firmly refused from the beginning. However, Hugo and the others still bought Charlie's costume, which led Charlize to curse angrily, but in the end, she reluctantly joined them.

It was evident that despite Charlize's complaints, the excitement that she couldn't easily reveal in her eyes showed her anticipation. Regardless of whether she liked it or not, participating in a party she had never experienced before was something that filled her with a hidden sense of excitement. Hugo knew this, which was why he insisted on buying the costume despite Charlize's rejection.

"Hugo, say it again, this wasn't your idea," Charlize glared fiercely at Hugo, sitting in the middle of the backseat, almost grinding her teeth. "I want my Wonder Woman costume!"

Hugo shrugged, "To be precise, it was the store clerk's idea. You know, there weren't many costumes left in the shop, so it wasn't easy to find a suitable one." However, looking at Alex's ever-ready smile, it seemed that things weren't as simple as Hugo described.

Charlize was currently wearing an authentic nun costume, completely matching the theme of the popular movie released in May, "Sister Act". This loose-fitting outfit not only completely concealed Charlize's graceful figure but the hat was also too big, frequently sliding down to cover her eyes. Going to a party dressed like this would clearly make her the object of avoidance by everyone.

"Hey, don't be so disappointed. At least you have a pair of beautiful high-heeled shoes," Hugo leaned forward, placing his hands on the shoulders of the two front seats, pointing to Charlize's orange pointed high-heeled shoes. However, as soon as the words came out, he received a fierce glare from Charlize.

"Do you want to try them on?" Charlize said ominously. Those shoes were not some high-end product; they were extremely uncomfortable and made it difficult for Charlize, whose feet had endured countless trials, to walk.

Hugo quickly waved his hands, "No, no need. I'm very satisfied with my sneakers, very satisfied." Hugo hurriedly leaned back on the cushion of the rear seat, looking like he didn't dare to provoke Charlize's bad luck anymore, while Alex and Karl on either side struggled to suppress their laughter.

After searching for fifteen minutes and not finding a parking space, Joseph could only park the car in an aisle. But even this aisle was almost full, indicating that there were a lot of people arriving at the venue today. Hugo and the others then got out of the car, surveying the noisy and bustling scene before them, feeling a bit lost about where to start.

For tonight's party, Hugo and the other four had made a lot of preparations. Apart from Alex dressing up as Spider-Man and Charlize as a nun, Joseph as Batman and Karl as Iron Man looked quite authentic. Only Hugo's costume was incomprehensible to the other four. Hugo had actually chosen to dress up as Flash, a superhero who, despite being one of the longest-running characters in the comics industry after Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, didn't have as large a fanbase.

Look at Hugo's current attire, a crimson foam muscle suit paired with yellow shoe covers, and a red helmet on his head. The two yellow lightning bolts on the sides look more like shoddy angel wings. He looks really ridiculous compared to Alex's red tight-fitting costume. It's as if Hugo is wearing a cheap armor, clumsy and foolish. And he's even covering one-third of his face, making it impossible to recognize him. But it must be admitted that he's really funny, making you laugh every time you look at him.

Just then, the frustrated Charlie turned around and couldn't help but laugh again when she saw Hugo. "Hugo, are you sure those muscles are useful?" The foam "muscles" in Hugo's costume are no different from air. If you press them with your palm, your hand will sink in completely without any resistance.

Upon hearing Charlie's remark, Alex immediately raised his hand and reached out towards Hugo's chest, but before he could touch it, he pretended to slip and lose his balance, as if mocking the "muscles" of Hugo. Even the passersby burst into laughter at Alex's exaggerated gesture.

Hugo, however, didn't mind at all. He struck a running pose as the Flash and said seriously, "You can never catch me!" The Flash's greatest power is super speed. After saying that, Hugo ran ahead, heading towards the lively crowd.

Hugo would never tell them that the reason he chose the Flash is because he saw in the TV show "The Big Bang Theory" that all four male protagonists dressed up as the Flash for a costume party. Those four bright red Flashes standing together were hilarious. So when Hugo saw this costume, he made his decision without hesitation.

In Hugo's opinion, people who dress up as "princes" or "princesses" at costume parties are definitely narcissistic. Who attends a costume party thinking they are super handsome or beautiful, dressing up as royal princes and naturally becoming the kings and queens of the party? That's something you only see in fairy tale movies. If you're going to participate in a costume party, you have to go all out, otherwise, the purpose of dressing up is lost.

Therefore, Hugo was very satisfied with the Flash costume, especially with the laughter of his friends, which proved his success even more.

"Let me introduce you to Ashley Johnson," Alex excitedly introduced Hugo and the others. "It was her invitation that got me the chance to appear today. Phew, it's really a big family here. If you didn't come, you would have missed out on so much fun."

"Hey, do you mind if I call you Chrissy?" Hugo smiled, referring to Ashley's role as the grown-up daughter Chrissy in "Growing Pains" starting from 1990. Unexpectedly, the friend he met through the audition with Alex turned out to be a regular cast member in the series, not just a supporting role. Then Hugo extended his right hand, "If you don't mind."

"Of course not, getting a hug from Flash, I bet a lot of people would envy me." Ashley shook Hugo's hand and gave him a big hug. Since Hugo's face was mostly covered by the mask and his costume was so exaggerated, she didn't recognize him at all. In her eyes, he was just another popular character at the moment, and most people hardly recognized him either. "Compared to you guys, I've been so unprofessional today, it's really awful." Ashley pointed to her elf costume and frowned, "Isn't it a bit lazy?"

"Oh, I wouldn't describe it as lazy, it's truly terrifying," said Alex. Judging by his seriousness about Halloween, Ashley's performance was indeed disappointing.

Hugo burst into laughter beside them, saying, "If you want to achieve the same eye-catching effect as us, you definitely need to put in more effort." After speaking, Hugo turned to his companions and said, "You must have seen our colleagues dressed as Batman, Iron Man, and... Diana!" Hugo's introduction made Ashley shift her gaze, while Joseph and Karl seemed a bit awkward and restrained, not because of Ashley but because their uniforms made them feel restricted. They simply raised their hands in greeting, but Charlize, despite her previous complaints, was the most enthusiastic and in the zone now.

Charlize lifted her Wonder Woman robe and deliberately struck a provocative yet ridiculous "sexy" pose, lowering her voice and imitating the husky throat of Whoopi Goldberg. "Hey, young lady." She even added a slight teasing tone, putting on a show.

Her performance was outstanding, leaving everyone speechless.

"Hey, Wonder Woman, you're really... too 'sexy'," Ashley remarked, admiring Charlize's long and graceful legs.

Charlize calmly let down her Wonder Woman robe and winked at Ashley. "I did a lot of homework today." It was as if she was implying all the meticulous preparations. This quick response garnered applause.

"Leo, Jeremy, come here, let me introduce you to our new friends," Ashley called out as she noticed two young men passing by.

The two young men turned around with bright smiles. The one on the left was dressed as one of the Three Musketeers from the medieval era, while the one on the right wore knight armor. Ashley introduced them with a smile, "These are my newly acquainted friends, Jeremy Miller and Leonardo DiCaprio."

Jeremy played the role of Ben, the youngest son in the show, while Leonardo portrayed Luke, the adopted son. They were both regular cast members.

After exchanging greetings, Leonardo jovially exclaimed, "Superheroes, this is such a great idea! But why don't we have Wonder Woman and Spider-Man..."

"Hey, I'm right here," Alex raised his hand sadly. "I'm Peter Parker." Although he had a white spider-web detached from his hand, nobody recognized him as Spider-Man, which was quite frustrating.

"Are you serious? I thought you were something like Human Torch," Leonardo exclaimed in astonishment, and Jeremy burst into laughter.

At this moment, Hugo interjected, jokingly saying, "Then what are you, a Knight of the Round Table? I don't think a cardboard box on your body can be considered armor." This immediately caused everyone to burst into laughter, including Jeremy, who laughed so heartily that his Musketeer feather hat fell off, revealing its shoddy feathers that quickly fell apart.