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The Four Seasons Hotel was not a pleasant birthplace of memories for Hugo. Last year at this time, after going through the turmoil of the Golden Raspberry Awards, he came to the Four Seasons Hotel the next day for an audition for "A River Runs Through It", only to be eliminated directly. A year later, he didn't experience the torment of the Golden Raspberry Awards again; instead, he won dual nominations for the Golden Globe Awards. However, the situation seemed to have little change, and he was about to face another wave of turmoil. The cycle repeated.

With Joseph's company, Hugo arrived at the Four Seasons Hotel once again. At this moment, Anthony Stewart was holding a press conference inside, and Hugo came to confront him voluntarily.

Joseph looked at Hugo with concern and asked, "Are you sure there won't be any problems?" In such a situation, others would avoid it altogether. Even if they wanted to clarify, they wouldn't walk straight into the lion's den themselves. Most of the time, it would just be a media exchange of messages.

But today, Hugo was not following the conventional path. He took the initiative to approach the gathering place of journalists, intending to confront Anthony face to face. Joseph had known Hugo for a year, and he had always been gentle and friendly, always wearing a smile when interacting with others. Today's rebellious and daring behavior was completely unlike what Hugo would normally do. But Hugo did it anyway, leaving Joseph utterly surprised.

Hugo showed a calm and gentle smile to Joseph and said, "Why not? I'm ready. How about you?"

Joseph took a deep breath and nodded vigorously. Even if it meant walking into a dangerous situation, he was determined to give it a try. The two of them then began to walk towards the banquet hall where Anthony was holding the press conference.

When Hugo appeared, many employees inside the Four Seasons Hotel were shocked. The hottest topic in Los Angeles this morning had actually shown up, and he was heading towards the person responsible for the event. It was like seeing Harry Potter summoning up his courage to confront Voldemort, or Frodo stepping up to face the Dark Lord Sauron. A tense battle of the century was about to unfold right before their eyes. However, looking at the terrified expressions of the employees, it seemed more likely that Hugo was Sauron in this scenario.

As the undercurrents within the Four Seasons Hotel reached the banquet hall, the entire place erupted like boiling water reaching its boiling point.

With a clatter, the more than thirty journalists who were originally seated all stood up, even Anthony, who was on the podium, was taken aback and stood up directly. Clearly, no one could have predicted Hugo's appearance, including Anthony.

But immediately, everyone started to buzz with excitement, especially the journalists who loved chaos. Seeing Hugo's appearance, they immediately knew that it meant the perpetrator and the victim were going to confront each other face-to-face. Originally, the journalists planned to interview Hugo after the press conference, but now they could save that step and interview both parties on the spot. Moreover, they could witness Hugo and Anthony's showdown with their own eyes. It was truly exhilarating.

Therefore, after the journalists stood up, they lined up on both sides of the central aisle, just like soldiers welcoming a leader's inspection, but with the most lofty, or rather, the most gossip-hungry gazes welcoming Hugo's arrival.

Nicholas was standing in the front row, filled with excitement. He admired Hugo and was eager to see how Hugo would respond to this situation. From any perspective, Hugo didn't seem like the type to initiate violence. Even during his most absurd years of drug abuse and alcoholism, there were no reports of him getting involved in any fights. But now, all of Nicholas's predictions were overturned, yet he wasn't disappointed. Hugo's appearance disrupted all his conjectures and pushed the situation into an unpredictable territory. Suddenly, Nicholas's gaze towards Hugo changed again: this was truly fascinating!

Hugo remained unaffected by the attention of the reporters. His gaze had been fixed on Anthony, who was standing on the podium, motionless. This made Anthony gradually feel uneasy. However, he quickly realized that he was the victim and didn't need to pretend. The bruises on his body were the best evidence, while Hugo was the one who should feel guilty. With this in mind, Anthony straightened his back, his vulture-like eyes fixed firmly on Hugo, and he began to strategize.

However, this time Anthony couldn't calculate unconsciously, and he had very little time left. Hugo had already reached the podium.

Seeing Hugo step onto the podium, Anthony came up with a plan. Fearfully, he took a step back, as if frightened, and bent his waist as if he was about to kneel down. It was as if Hugo's fist could fall on him at any moment. "Hugo, what... what do you want... Please don't hit me... Don't... Hugo, I know I was wrong, I really know it. Please don't hit me again, don't hit me."

Anthony's words stunned both Hugo and Joseph. Hugo had become the one who attacked, not Joseph?

Hugo and Joseph had come to the Four Seasons Hotel in the morning, unaware of the morning news. But from the current situation, Anthony had shifted all the blame onto Hugo. Obviously, Anthony knew that if he only accused Joseph of the assault, the situation would be almost the same. After all, Joseph was Hugo's manager. But the effects would be significantly different. A manager hitting someone was one thing, but if it was the artist himself, it would cause immense damage to the artist's reputation and morality.

Moreover, Anthony's plan was to insinuate that Hugo pushed the blame onto his manager to settle the matter peacefully. This was no secret in the industry, and it would cause great damage to Hugo's character. In short, no matter what Anthony did, he would come out unscathed.

No wonder Anthony didn't call the police or directly sue Joseph. His target was never Joseph but Hugo. If the incident was reported to the police, it would be easy to find evidence that Joseph was the one who hit Anthony, not Hugo. Anthony's plan would fail.

Hugo and Joseph hadn't anticipated this situation. Joseph instinctively took a big step forward, intending to rebuke Anthony for talking nonsense. However, Hugo's rationality made him raise his hand to stop Joseph.

Hugo remained calm because he knew he was still too immature. Acting impulsively would only put him at a disadvantage, so he needed to keep his brain functioning normally. Hugo keenly noticed that Anthony had already indicated to the reporters that he was the one who hit him. If Joseph now stepped forward and claimed that he was the one who hit Anthony, it would appear to others that Hugo was evading responsibility and pushing his manager forward. The problem was that neither Hugo nor Joseph had any evidence, and it wasn't practical to find witnesses from last night at this moment. So, shifting the blame onto Joseph would only make the situation worse.

Moreover, even if Joseph successfully proves that he was the one who hit someone, it would be in vain because Anthony has already taken the initiative. No matter what, it would still be Hugo and Joseph's fault. Joseph is Hugo's manager, and under the influence of first impressions, this fact would be greatly magnified and even mislead people's thoughts into believing that Hugo instructed Joseph to hit someone. Thus, the blame would ultimately fall on Hugo.

Most importantly, Hugo knew that if Joseph hadn't intervened, he would have been the one who hit someone last night, there was no doubt about it.

Hugo's mind was unusually clear, quickly organizing his thoughts. He knew that if Joseph were to take responsibility at this moment, the situation would only get worse!

Therefore, Hugo stopped Joseph, feeling the burning anger emanating from him. Hugo himself was not feeling well either. He gave Joseph a look, as he had no more time left, only a single glance. He looked at Joseph intensely, telling him, "Leave it to me!" Hugo could only hope that he and Joseph had developed enough understanding during their year of collaboration for Joseph to understand his meaning.

Joseph understood, but he couldn't follow Hugo's instructions. It was already frustrating enough to think about apologizing to Anthony, but now he had to shift the blame onto Hugo. It was unbearable. Joseph only had a shred of reason left, still remembering the lessons from last night. As Hugo's manager, he couldn't keep acting impulsively. However, Joseph didn't know what had happened exactly, so he closed his eyes.

Hugo glanced at Joseph, with no time to consider whether Joseph truly understood. Time was running out, and he quickly averted his gaze. Following the rehearsed steps he and Joseph had planned, Hugo took two steps forward but didn't approach Anthony any further. He stopped his footsteps five paces away from Anthony, took a deep breath, and in the astonished gaze of everyone present, he bowed to Anthony. "I'm sorry!" His words resonated throughout the entire hall.

At this moment, Joseph opened his eyes again, and he immediately saw Hugo's bowed back. In an instant, his eyes couldn't help but moisten. Joseph's mind became unusually clear, and in that moment, he understood everything. Joseph was not stupid; on the contrary, he was intelligent. It was just a momentary accident that prevented him from realizing the truth. Now, the scene before him made everything crystal clear.

Joseph knew why Hugo went along with Anthony's plan and took responsibility. He also knew that Hugo's bow was equivalent to admitting his mistake. As a result, Hugo's shoulders would inevitably bear the burden of public criticism, while he, the one who actually hit someone, would walk away without any consequences.

With this in mind, Joseph closed his eyes again, afraid that tears would overflow from his eye sockets. Without hesitation, he also bent down and bowed. At the same time, Joseph tightly clenched his fists, hoping to suppress the frustration and anger in his heart through this gesture. He bit down hard on his teeth, making sure that his rationality firmly remembered this lesson: he was Hugo's manager and didn't have much room for making mistakes because ultimately, these mistakes would all be punishments for Hugo.

Joseph repeatedly recited the words Hugo said before they set off: "Since Anthony wants to act, let's play along with his show. Remember, I am a professional actor."

"Repay him in his own coin."