"Sorry, what were your names again..." Hugo's expression was incredibly gentle, carrying the proper attitude of humble inquiry, yet this very humility only served to make the sarcasm in his words even more pronounced. It left the two people in front of him at a loss for how to retort, leaving them choking on their own breath. Hugo raised an eyebrow slightly, revealing an expression of sudden realization, "Never mind, we'll find out after 'a river runs through it' is released."The man with straight blonde hair was instantly enraged; one could even see his hair fluttering as steam seemed to rise from his forehead. It was a vivid and literal case of "bristling with anger." It made one wonder if his hair were any shorter, would it stand straight up like a lion's mane, or perhaps fan out like a peacock's tail."Listen well, my name is George Wood!" The blonde man was practically apoplectic. If not for the man with curly black hair beside him constantly holding him back, he likely would have charged forward like a bull from Spain. "Remember that name, because I will absolutely be the nightmare of your acting career!""Are you talking about the Scottish goalkeeper? Don't worry, I don't play soccer, so we won't have any direct conflict." Hugo's lighthearted retort was like a bucket of cold water poured directly over George's head. George's bristling hair instantly drooped down, returning to its original state. Seeing this, Hugo almost burst out laughing.Many people around were watching the commotion. In fact, not many people knew about the small conflict during the audition for 'a river runs through it,' because such competition and one-upmanship were ubiquitous in Hollywood. However, among the young people who came to the 'scent of a woman' interview today, some had witnessed the whole sequence of events that day, so everyone cast curious glances.But the problem was that almost no one understood Hugo's previous remark. Why did it suddenly involve soccer? In reality, Hugo was mocking the fact that the name 'George Wood' was extremely common among Westerners, much like the name 'Xiao Ming' in Chinese. There was an obscure Scottish goalkeeper in the 1970s named George Wood, who had played for teams like Blackpool, Arsenal F.C., and Everton Football Club.After about three seconds, someone finally reacted and burst into laughter, unable to stop. Immediately, others began to ask, and word spread quickly. Suddenly, the expressions of the onlookers became very subtle. For George, he didn't understand the meaning of the joke at all; it seemed to him that Hugo was mocking his low intelligence. The surrounding laughter was incredibly grating—an absolutely intolerable situation. He forcefully broke free from the restraint of the curly-haired man and lunged forward, standing directly in front of Hugo.However, George immediately realized something was wrong. Hugo was six feet tall and not physically weak, whereas George was only five feet nine inches (1.75 meters). This height difference immediately made George look less imposing. However, George's muscles were stronger than Hugo's; he was more of a muscle man in the style of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Realizing he lacked presence, George couldn't help but brandish his fist, which was the size of a rice bowl—almost two-thirds the size of Hugo's cheek."F*ck. Your mother, f*ck you, you damn idiot, f*ck you to that damn hell..." George's eyes were wide, bloodshot and red, as if they were about to explode at any moment. He radiated an overwhelming aura, as if he could swallow Hugo whole in the next second. And that was the truth; if Hugo had shown even the slightest sign of weakness, George would likely have crushed him.But Hugo didn't give him that chance. "Shut up!" The warm smile on Hugo's face froze at the corners of his mouth. His gentle eyes suddenly erupted with an imposing aura, not the least bit inferior to George's. He took a half-step forward; there had been a little distance between them, but with Hugo's stride, they collided instantly. The situation on the scene was explosive, ready to devolve into chaos at any moment.Forced back by Hugo's terrifying aura, George's footing actually wavered, and he nearly retreated, but he gritted his teeth and held his ground. Then he heard Hugo's crisp, decisive voice, "If you want to fight, just come at me. Don't just yap like a sissy." Hugo's fists were already clenched as well; facing a direct provocation, he wouldn't back down. Yet his face betrayed no nervousness; instead, he revealed a smile once more. "Or is it that you are..." Accompanying this sentence, Hugo's gaze looked downward, his focus clearly locked on George's lower body.This glance was more effective than any words, and immediately, the onlookers erupted into laughter. All of George's remaining sanity vanished. He only knew he had been insulted; he wanted to retaliate, so he raised his fist and swung it toward Hugo's face.Hugo had spent ten years in the underground Rock music scene, where low-level provocations like this happened almost every day. Although it was never in his nature to start trouble, he wasn't the type to be timid when someone came looking for it. Almost the instant the veins on George's neck popped out, Hugo raised his right hand, successfully blocking George's powerful left hook.But before Hugo could make his next move, he saw someone dart out from the side in the corner of his eye. That person placed both hands on George's chest and pushed hard, sending George sprawling. Only then did Hugo see clearly that it was actually Joseph!Joseph didn't give George any time to react. He shielded Hugo behind him and spoke viciously to George, "If you still want to keep your chance at a successful interview, be quiet. Causing trouble here, and you'll have your audition qualification revoked the next second!" Joseph's decisive and crisp words not only froze George's furious expression on his face, but also made the surrounding people involuntarily avert their gazes and quietly move their feet away.Joseph's words reminded everyone that this was the public audition venue set up by Universal Pictures for 'scent of a woman.' If one caused trouble here, it was equivalent to destroying one's own future with their own hands. No one wanted to accept such a result.Watching George sitting on the ground with a changing expression, William, the man with curly black hair, wasn't even willing to step forward to help him up, fearing he would be dragged into it. Only then did Joseph turn his head, his ice-blue eyes staring sharply at Hugo, "Behave yourself and stop looking for trouble!"Hugo had originally wanted to express his gratitude for Joseph's help, but before he could say a word, he was berated by Joseph. He wanted to explain, but hesitated, and swallowed his words. Although the fault for today's incident didn't lie with him, Joseph, as his agent, was warning him out of concern, so there was no need to argue. Besides, Hugo recalled, Joseph must be worried that Hugo Lancaster would revert to his old ways and keep causing trouble, which was why he was so anxious. Thus, there was even less need for Hugo to make excuses."I understand." Hugo's reply caught Joseph completely off guard. He had intended to continue scolding him, but then realized that Hugo had actually admitted his mistake just like that, which made Joseph somewhat uncomfortable. Hugo looked at Joseph's stunned expression and revealed a faint smile, "Joseph, I said I understand."However, that wasn't the end. After a pause, Hugo added, "But I must state that just now, the other party provoked me first. When someone swings a fist at my face, I don't have a masochistic tendency." The remark left Joseph between laughter and tears."Hugo Lancaster!" A low, angry roar from behind made Joseph turn around again, immediately seeing George standing back up. In fact, Joseph had only pushed George to widen the distance between them, so George wasn't in a pathetic state. But George believed he had suffered a tremendous insult, which made his whole face as black as the bottom of a pot.George took two steps forward, but seeing Joseph's large frame lean forward, his steps involuntarily braked on the spot. "Do you dare to bet with me on whether it will be you or me who wins this audition?"Hugo truly didn't understand George's mode of thinking. What kind of theory was this? Were they the only two people participating in the interview today? Was everyone else just air?"Who are you?" Hugo said directly, the subtext being "Who do you think you are?", which immediately made George clench his fists again. "And who do you think William Stone beside you is? Is he not a competitor? Oh, sorry, that's a stone." Hugo's nonchalant remark immediately caught William Stone, who was standing nearby, in the crossfire. However, Hugo didn't give them more opportunity to react, "Let's put it this way, do you think all these competitors behind you don't exist?"George didn't care about all that; he just continued recklessly, "I don't care, I just want to ask you, do you dare to bet with me?" At this moment, the sparse crowd of onlookers couldn't help but show expressions of disdain. Those willing to come for an interview today were surely people who hoped to stand out; how could they possibly agree with George's fundamentally invalid bet?"I refuse." Hugo's answer made George gasp, nearly choking on his own saliva. Logically speaking, since George had issued a challenge so directly, any man would accept the challenge, but Hugo had refused so crisply and decisively; it was simply too bizarre.However, Hugo's next words immediately changed the situation. "If a dog bites me, and I bite back, all I get is a mouthful of dog hair. So what if I win?" This sentence contained two meanings: one was the literal meaning, mocking George as unworthy of mention; the other was Hugo's confidence in winning today's interview.Once these words were spoken, the way Joseph looked at Hugo changed again. The current Hugo was indeed much more interesting. But to George's ears, this was almost equivalent to a bomb detonating right beside him, yet he couldn't refute it because Hugo hadn't named names. If he answered, it would mean he admitted he was a dog; George still had enough intelligence for that.Thus, George stood rooted to the spot like a stake ready to explode at any moment, watching as Hugo and Joseph turned and left.
