Chapter 25 - 025 Chasing dreams

On the way back from Universal Studios, it was another silent journey. Neither of them spoke. Joseph focused on driving, while Hugo leaned against the car window, quietly watching the scenery outside.Palm trees, billboards, and bushes cast reflections in his eyes. The sunlight overhead pierced through the cloudless, azure sky, spilling over the entire City of Angels, draping every object in his line of sight with a layer of golden gauze. The dazzling color made his vision blurry and strained, but Hugo couldn't bear to close his eyes. He greedily watched the scenery before him, trying to find a trace of the city from his memories within this strange world. In a trance, he did indeed have the illusion that he was still driving down the palm-lined avenues of Sanya. The Band leader was driving, they were on their way to a small gig, and in the back seat, one could even hear someone's terrible snoring weaving through the roar of the engine.When he was fourteen, Hugo watched a movie called "Cinema Paradiso." He was moved by the line, "If you don't go out, you will think this is the whole world." He realized that chasing his own dreams was the most important thing.So, Hugo put the musical dreams he had developed since he started listening to The Beatles and Oasis at the age of ten into practice. He formed a Band with a group of like-minded friends. At the beginning, the Band didn't even have a proper name, but that didn't affect their love for music.Originally, it was thought to be just a whim of the children, but unexpectedly, they were self-taught and actually managed to make something of themselves. They even started learning to compose in their naive way. Although the initial works were truly unbearable, this kind of life was their happiest time.On the first anniversary of the Band's formation, Hugo gave the Band a name: Glory to Death. The source of this name was actually a Japanese manga, and it contained all their dreams and desires from their youth and recklessness.After having a name, the Band was no longer satisfied with just entertaining themselves. They hoped to go out and perform, hoping to get the Band on a real stage.In fact, they succeeded, winning thunderous applause at the school's New Year's party—although they didn't perform their own songs, this sense of achievement was still unforgettable for all five members of the Band.Thus, an even stronger desire was born: they wanted to go out, participate in various performances, and become a real Band. This desire was so strong that it even made them willing to fight against their families.Hugo's personality was actually neither flashy nor rebellious. Before forming the Band, he was a typical model student with good grades and character, which made his parents even more unable to understand his obsession with the Band.Forming a Band was already incredible enough, and at the age of fifteen, how could his parents possibly agree to them abandoning their studies to mess around with a Band? This was naturally impossible.The result of the story is clear. All five members of Glory to Death left home—including the well-behaved Hugo—and became part of the vast underground Rock music scene in the country. This departure lasted for ten years.The passage of time seemed like just a fleeting moment. Later on, Hugo arrived here.If someone asked Hugo, "Do you regret it?" Hugo might answer "No," but he could not hide the bitterness in his smile.Although the process of chasing his musical dreams was hard, it was all worth it, even the ten years of dedication. While others were studying on campus, he had already found his goal and started striving for his life's purpose. Such a life was so wonderful, so beautiful, and so unforgettable. Therefore, Hugo did not regret it.It was just like what was said in "How the Steel Was Tempered": Man's most precious possession is life: it is given to us only once. A man's life should be lived in such a way that when he looks back on the past, he does not regret it for wasted years, nor is he ashamed for having lived a mediocre life; so that when he is dying, he can say: I have devoted my entire life and all my energy to the most magnificent cause in the world—the struggle for the liberation of humanity.Of course, Hugo was not that great, striving for all of humanity; he had only devoted his entire life and all his energy to his own dreams.It's just that the price of chasing dreams was too high. It wasn't the hard life or the long, uncertain future, but the fact that he failed his parents' hopes. Hugo had gone against his parents' earnest wishes to pursue a musical path. Although he had been trying to repair his relationship with his parents for ten years, unfortunately, it had little effect, especially with his father, who could never understand, let alone accept it. This also kept Hugo drifting away from home for years. This bitterness could only be savored in the dead of night.Closing his eyes, he could still vaguely see the grand scene of the Midi Rock Festival in his mind. Hugo couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like if Glory to Death were standing on the stage, and whether they would be a little closer to their dreams; after he transmigrated, what happened to his bandmates, and what was the situation with his parents...Hugo took a deep breath, trying hard to pull himself out of this feeling of loss. He had already arrived in 1992, and he couldn't go back. Focusing on the present was the most important thing.The audition for "scent of a woman" gave Hugo a lot of confidence. Although this was not a breakthrough in music, becoming an Actor had always been Hugo's dream. Actors portray different people's lives on the big screen, bringing joy, sadness, nostalgia, pain, and happiness to people. The charm of movies is so wonderful and timeless that it's easy to get lost in them.Before transmigrating, Hugo had made some progress in music, and receiving an invitation to the Midi Rock Festival was a huge opportunity. However, in terms of movies, Hugo didn't have many opportunities. He could only learn acting through movies, observing the filming on set and imagining how he would perform if he were in the protagonist's position.But now, Hugo had participated in auditions for two movies. Although "a river runs through it" ended in failure, the progress of "scent of a woman" was very encouraging. Even though Hugo hadn't secured the role of Charlie yet, it still made him believe that he had a talent for acting and that his efforts over the years were not in vain. This was the best news since he had transmigrated.Watching the scenery constantly receding outside the window, Hugo clearly realized that this was Los Angeles, this was Hollywood, and this was the center of world cinema. Here, stories of overnight success were constantly playing out, and plots of sudden fame were endless. Hugo didn't ask to become an overnight sensation; he only hoped to have more opportunities to realize his dreams. That would be enough, because for the rest of the road, he would rely on his own strength to reach the end!"My vision is infinitely broad, I enjoy every day walking on the path forward, appreciating the world outside the window, which means saying goodbye to the past, starting the journey from today." Hugo hummed softly, conveying his inner emotions through music, which was also Hugo's most proficient way.Music is a wonderful thing. It is said that music has no borders because it is composed of musical notes, conveying emotions through lyrics, and finally fermented by the singer's performance. Therefore, this also makes music one of the most direct ways for human emotional communication. After every seemingly ordinary musical note is pieced together according to the rhythm of emotion, it becomes a resonance deep in the heart. This feeling is just too wonderful.After Glory to Death was formed, Hugo and his teammates had been studying music and self-learning composition. Of course, for the first few years, they could only be considered amateur level. It wasn't until they entered the underground Rock music scene that they truly started systematic learning. Hugo's musical talent was more manifested in composition; conversely, his talent for instruments was very average. So far, he had only learned the guitar, and he couldn't play it very well, but in terms of music composition, he progressed very quickly.Unfortunately, Hugo's time learning composition was still too short, which meant that the quality of the music self-composed by Glory to Death was never high, which kept delaying the time for them to make a name for themselves. Today was the first time since Hugo transmigrated that he felt inspiration in his mind. This inspiration was different from before; it seemed to have a bit more sparkling spirituality. He didn't know if it was because of the long-term accumulation leading to a qualitative change or if the transmigration through time and space had renewed his thoughts, so Hugo just hummed it out directly.Listening to the music escaping from Hugo's mouth, Joseph finally reacted. He couldn't help but turn his head to look at Hugo. "What song is this?" Joseph couldn't hear the lyrics of this song clearly because Hugo was humming vaguely, but the moving melody immediately caught his ears and aroused his curiosity.Hugo turned his head to look over and revealed a big smile. "I just wrote it myself."Joseph's first reaction was to look at Hugo in surprise. This look made Hugo realize that something was a bit off: could his predecessor have been tone-deaf? No way...Just as Hugo was considering how to smooth things over, he saw the road conditions ahead out of the corner of his eye. "Watch out! You're driving!" A roar immediately made Joseph turn his head to look at the road conditions ahead. There was a truck driving right in front of them. Fortunately, Hugo shouted quickly; otherwise, if it were any closer, it would have been trouble. Joseph hurriedly pressed the brake slightly to control the car's speed.In that split second, Hugo finally came back to his senses and explained, "I was just bored and writing for fun. What, do you think it's good?"Joseph didn't turn his head this time, still looking at the road ahead. "Yes, very good. It's just that I didn't know you had this talent before, so I'm a bit surprised."Hugo couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. It was good that he wasn't tone-deaf, otherwise, it would be troublesome to explain. He chuckled and joked, pretending to be relaxed, "Well, if I can't get any acting jobs, maybe I can sing to earn some income. Maybe someday I can release an album and become a singer!""Tch. You think you're John Lennon now?" Joseph poured cold water on Hugo with disdain.