Besieged

Hugo had always believed that American movie fans were more rational. At least, the fans he had encountered were like that. Most of the time, they chose friendly hugs, polite greetings, and joyful photos. They rarely screamed, jumped, and went crazy. Even encountering enthusiastic fans at premieres, it was mostly just shouts expressing their excitement, nothing more.

Previously, when he saw news about the crazy fans of Justin Bieber or Robert Pattinson, it was mostly young girls chasing after their idols, almost reaching an irrational level of fanatism. Combining that with his own experiences—whether it was "Dead Poets Society" or "Scent of a Woman"—those were not the kind of works that established an idol standard or attracted fanatical fans from the entertainment industry. So Hugo thought that only idol fans would be this crazy.

However, today Hugo clearly witnessed another side of movie fans. Any actor would have crazy fans, and as Hollywood, the most mature film industry globally, the frenzy of professional movie fans would not be inferior to that of music fans or idol fans. Professional movie fans weren't not capable of going crazy; they just hadn't encountered a situation that made them lose their rationality. Recalling the scenes when iconic idols like Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt appeared at premieres, the enthusiasm of movie fans would surely make any crazy fan feel embarrassed.

However, faced with the screams of the girl fan in front of him, Hugo was clearly caught off guard and didn't know how to respond. All he could do was embrace the girl and gently pat her back, attempting to comfort her. But before the girl could calm down, Hugo quickly realized that something was wrong.

Due to the girl's screams, gazes from all directions were directed at them. Soon, the ordinary audience members who had entered the cinema to watch the movie noticed Hugo's presence. A group of girls swarmed towards them, and in less than thirty seconds, over twenty people had firmly surrounded Hugo and the other four.

"Hugo, you're really handsome!"

"Fantastic performance, Hugo, it was amazing!"

"Oh my God, it's really Hugo!"

The continuous voices surrounded Hugo and the others. Joseph and Karl immediately took on the responsibilities of managers, although Karl wasn't Hugo's manager. They positioned themselves on Hugo's left and right sides, trying to prevent the crowd from closing in. Charlize and Alex also noticed the lively scene before them. They cooperated with Joseph and Karl, standing on either side of Hugo and began moving towards the exit, intending to break free from this encirclement.

But clearly, it was already too late.

At first, they could still move a few steps, but soon it became increasingly difficult. They could no longer see the outside scenery through the crowd. Layers upon layers of onlookers endlessly stacked up this encirclement. Karl wanted to rely on his height to get a glimpse of the surroundings, but all he could see were heads upon heads. He couldn't see anything outside. Karl could faintly make out the ticket counter not far away, and based on the distance, he estimated that they were currently blocked by nearly a hundred people.

The scale of nearly a hundred people may not sound large, but imagine a circle formed by a hundred people, with every ten people forming a ring. This would be at least ten rings, more than enough to surround five people in the center effortlessly. Standing in the middle, Hugo had no time to explore how many people were around him because he felt voices calling out to him from all directions. Countless hands reached out to him, leaving Hugo feeling overwhelmed. He could only passively look towards the voices, smiling, shaking hands, and then turning his head, smiling, shaking hands.

"Thank you. Thank you." That was the only thing Hugo could say as he responded to each audience member's support with his brightest smile. In that moment, Hugo felt happy, not just because of the support from the audience around him or the seemingly remarkable premiere of "A Few Good Men", but also because the overwhelming support that came rushing in felt so genuine and passionate. It was more intense than any previous experience, and Hugo could vividly sense that this was popularity, this was success.

So, even with a large crowd around him, even in the midst of the crowded and noisy scene, Hugo showed no signs of impatience. He continued to display his brightest smile, responding to the calls of the crowd, expressing his gratitude with the most basic etiquette, regardless of whether the onlookers were just spectators. Melory Dickinson never expected to encounter Hugo Lancaster today. Although she had no profound impression of Hugo before this and hadn't watched any of his works, not even the Raspberry Award ones, which she had only heard about, she was just sixteen years old this year. However, the film "A Few Good Men" completely won her over.

Melory had no intention of watching this movie originally. Courtroom films were synonymous with boring, annoying, and drowsy in her opinion. But because it was her father's choice, and she needed an excuse to skip class, she had to follow her father into the movie theater.

However, the result overturned all of Melory's expectations. It turned out that a courtroom film could be so thrilling, that a serious movie could be so passionate, and that the profession of a lawyer could be so cool and compelling. The actor who portrayed the male lead, Daniel Kaffee, played by Hugo Lancaster, captured her attention effortlessly. She realized that a man's charm could be so strong and forceful, leaving her almost defenseless as she fell for him.

What was even more magical was that when Melory walked out of the theater, she saw the male lead Hugo in person. It made her almost believe her eyes were playing tricks on her, unable to believe the reality before her. So, she lost control and screamed like a six-year-old child in frenzy.

After other audience members crowded around, they not only surrounded Hugo and the other four people in the center but also trapped Melory in the middle. She continuously adjusted her pace amidst the crowd's surging, but her eyes couldn't move away from Hugo's face.

Hugo was dressed casually today, wearing a white t-shirt paired with jeans, resembling an ordinary college student. He even wore a blue baseball cap backward. But this version of Hugo completely captivated Melory. His bright forehead, the chiseled masterpiece of marble-like features, soft dark blond long hair combed back due to the baseball cap, revealing an elegant and youthful hairline. His brow ridge resembling mountain ranges, a straight and sharp nose, eyes impossible to ignore even in the shadows, rolling waves of sea-colored irises, the blurry ink-blue color of the horizon, and the sensually soft lips forming a smile that one couldn't directly gaze upon.

With just one glance, her heartbeat momentarily stopped. Melerin knew she was conquered, not by Daniel Kaffee in "A Few Good Men", but by the real-life Hugo Lancaster. There was no resistance, and she didn't want to resist. She surrendered to that smile before her.

More importantly, Hugo never became impatient, even though the surrounding crowd continued to surge one after another. He maintained his smile, that sunshine-like smile, always refreshing and devoid of any trace of impatience. Time passed by, yet the brightness in his smile remained on his lips, causing all the surrounding chaos to lose its color.

Melory had never known that someone's smile could be so beautiful.

Suddenly, Melory began to regret. She regretted impulsively causing Hugo to be caught up in this series of troubles. She knew Hugo was tired, but he couldn't leave. She started to feel annoyed by the constant influx of people, hoping they would disperse and give Hugo some peace. Melory didn't want to see the weariness taint his handsome features.

Reluctantly, Melory turned and walked away. She slowly made her way out of the crowd and looked back from a distance at the cotton candy-like enclosure. She couldn't convince others to leave, but at least she could leave, giving Hugo a little relief.

Melory stood in the same spot for a long time, waiting until her father found her, waiting until the enclosure gradually diminished. Only then did a smile return to Melory's lips.

Hugo felt like he was evaporating. He felt as if he had been pulled out of a swimming pool, where his sweat had dried and then became drenched again. He could even feel beads of sweat sliding down his back. It was already December, but he had no solution to the situation.

Not only Hugo, but the other four people didn't fare any better. They experienced firsthand what it meant to have overwhelming popularity.

After nearly twenty minutes of shuffling through the screams and cheers, Hugo and his group finally arrived at the entrance of Universal Cinema at a snail's pace. The crowd gradually dispersed, and finally, at the entrance of the parking lot, they could catch their breath in peace. Five people stood there, drenched in sweat, disheveled.

Although they didn't know what it was like to be surrounded as a top-tier superstar, today's terrifying ordeal was enough to leave Hugo and the others with lingering fear. The distorted faces filled with excitement remained vivid in their minds. Hugo tugged at his jeans and sighed in frustration, "Ruined a pair of underwear."

As soon as he said that, the other four froze. Hugo looked up and faced their puzzled gazes and helplessly said, "I don't know who it was, but someone kept pulling on my underwear..."

"I think you should be worried about more than just your underwear, but..." Alex spoke, only to cut off midway and glanced at Hugo's crotch, immediately causing the other three to stifle their laughter, including Charlize and Joseph.

Hugo gritted his teeth and glared at Alex, "Don't worry, if there's a test, it won't be your turn." This remark triggered Karl's laughter, echoing through the empty parking lot.

Who would have thought that what was originally intended as a movie outing would end in such a disheveled manner? But for the premiere of "A Few Good Men", it was a good start.