Kapitel 17: Chance meeting

"Coffee." Charlize tapped the coffee paper cup in front of Hugo with her slender fingers and had a bright smile on the corners of her mouth, "Is it possible to have a meal here?" Charlize's words embarrassed Hugo again, and the two's gazes met, and they couldn't help but laugh.

Hugo had forgotten that it was only 1992 now. Although Starbucks was founded in 1971, it was not until 1987 that it was acquired by Howard Schultz and started its global chain dynasty. Starbucks today was far from as large as it was in a dozen years into the future. It could only be considered a rapidly rising chain of coffee shops in the United States. So Charlize's lack of recognition of Starbucks was reasonable.

Although Hugo was repeatedly embarrassed just now, he quickly recovered and let all the embarrassment and awkwardness dissolve quietly in his shallow smile. He lightly bit his lower lip, "Of course, coffee." He nodded slightly, and Hugo raised his eyes and looked directly at Charlize, "I wonder if I can buy you a cup of coffee?"

Charlize looked at Hugo's clear eyes in front of her, like lake water, the smile on the corners of her mouth hesitated for a moment, and then bloomed more brilliantly, "Yes. Mandheling, no sugar, thank you."

"Mandheling? Excellent choice." Hugo stood up with a smile, nodding slightly at Charlize and walked towards the inside of the store. Mandheling was a coffee from Indonesia. It was fragrant and tasty, but strong and full-bodied, and Charlize didn't add sugar, revealing some of Charlize's personality.

After Hugo walked into the store, he first stood at the door and took a deep breath, calming himself down. Hugo realized that, whether he saw Brad at the audition last time or accidentally met Charlize who was still rolling in the modeling industry today, he was a little too impressed and seemed like a crazy fan.

Although Hugo knew it was inevitable, after all, he was rolling in the underground rock music scene in the country a few days ago, and today he saw people who could only be seen on the screen, which was really hard to adapt to. But Hugo was also aware that he must adapt, because he was now in this industry and would see more legendary figures in the future. If he was shocked every time he saw a big star, he might as well kill himself from embarassment.

Taking a step forward again, Hugo went to the counter, ordered a cup of Mandheling for Charlize, and then thought about it and stood by to wait, not walking out until the clerk brewed the coffee and put it in a paper cup. Hugo picked up the coffee and walked out.

Pushing open the teal glass door, Hugo immediately saw Charlize sitting next to the coffee table. At this moment, Charlize was supporting her chin with her right hand, her golden hair flowing smoothly down her shoulders. The neatly lined palm trees on the boulevard had lush ivies climb on them, and the sun shone through the dense branches, scattering golden speckles on Charlize's body like a golden veil. The Charlize in front of him was like a quiet elven girl in the forest, graceful and beautiful.

Hugo could even clearly see Charlize's slender eyelashes flutter like butterfly wings in the sun, and the shadows of her hair tips, eyelashes, and nose bridge made her features more three-dimensional. Suddenly, she seemed to sense something so she raised her eyes, turned her head and saw Hugo standing at the entrance of Starbucks. Her eyelashes rose, and with her sunny languor and barely discernable but captivating smile, no one who looked at her could hold steady.

Actually, Charlize was only 17 years old now, not the beautiful goddess in Hugo's memory. Now Charlize was still quite fresh, and her youthful temperament made her look more down-to-earth.

Still, Charlize's features had basically developed, and her eyebrows and eyes already had some charm, and she was indeed very beautiful in the reflection of the golden light.

No wonder Karl was determined to give his business card to Charlize! Hugo marveled again.

However, this time Hugo's wasn't as sloppy. Seeing Charlize's smile, he also showed a smile in response, then slightly raised the coffee in his hand, and walked towards his seat.

Charlize looked at Hugo in front of him, his tall posture, relaxed muscles, and handsome face were almost too dazzling to look at under the dazzling sunlight. Those amber-colored pupils seemed like two clear lakes reflecting the rays. When the smile at the corner of his mouth was outlined, the warm and brilliant radiance bloomed in her heart. Charlize was somewhat absent-minded.

"Hey, your coffee." Hugo looked at Charlize's stunned expression and placed the coffee in front of her, laughing and calling out to her, then sat down opposite Charlize.

Charlize's gaze followed Hugo and fell down, "Has anyone ever said that you're charming?"

"You're the first one today." Hugo's answer made Charlize laugh, just like a blooming lily.

Charlize picked up the coffee, took a sip, and savored the bitter and sour taste of the Mandheling coffee. She couldn't help but close her eyes and taste it carefully, and she was indeed content. She looked back at the handsome man across from her. "So, you're an actor?" After asking the question, Charlize realized her mistake and quickly added, "I've been in Los Angeles for not very long, actually. I don't know much about these things. I just heard Karl mention your name, so..."

Although Hugo had limited knowledge of English, he could tell that Charlize's English and accent were slightly different from what he had recently heard. He thought carefully and realized that Charlize was South African and English was her second language, and that Dutch was her mother tongue, so Charlize's explanation was not surprising.

"It's okay, it's okay." Hugo showed a faint smile and his eyes shone with a gentle light that sparkled like stars. "Yes, I'm an actor, but my performance isn't very good. Even if you've been here longer, you probably wouldn't know me." This was the first time since Hugo had traveled here that no one had mentioned the Golden Raspberry Award to him in front of him. It couldn't have been better. "Oh, by the way, my name is Hugo Lancaster."

"Charlize Theron." The girl in front of him smiled softly as she looked at Hugo's warm smile. "I came to the US a year ago, originally to become a ballet dancer in New York, but unfortunately, I hurt my knee. My mother asked me to come to Los Angeles to try my luck. I'm now working as a model."

Although it was only a few words, Hugo was able to hear the hardship of Charlize's life in the US. This was the reallest feeling that Hugo has had since he crossed over. Don't look at the stars shining on the big screen, let alone the effort these actors have to put in to be under the limelight, just the fact that there were tens of thousands of actors struggling in the city of Los Angeles to be able to perform in a work, you would know how cruel this industry was. Models had it even more difficult than actors.

"Believe me, I'm not a bad person, you can tell me everything about you, believe me." Hugo's a joke made Charlize's heavy words disappear, and the two of them laughed softly.

"So, do you know the agent from earlier?" Charlize also realized that she had revealed too much information about herself to Hugo, who she had just met for less than ten minutes, so she immediately changed the topic.

"Oh, yes, I know him, his name is Karl El, he's an agent." Hugo pretended to say with great depth, and Charlize showed an expectant expression waiting for the next, but Hugo shrugged, "Is that not enough?" It turned out that he knew nothing about Karl either. Charlize understood that she had been teased by Hugo and was angry and amused. She bit her lower lip with an unwilling expression, making Hugo completely happy.

"It was just a joke," Hugo quickly said, as he took Karl's business card from his pocket and read it carefully. "Oh, he is an agent under ICM, that's great, I'm also with that company. If you need it, I can help you check and verify his identity."

Charlize also looked at Karl's business card in his hand and nodded, "Really? That's even better." Then she looked back at Hugo, "What I mean is, since I can't become a ballet dancer in real life, maybe I can achieve it on the big screen, right?"

Hugo pursed his lips, "I doubt it." This made Charlize stunned, with a look of surprise. Hugo then laughed, "Unless you're willing to use a stunt double, right? So I think it's better for you to work hard to become an outstanding actor, that's more practical."

Charlize immediately understood Hugo's meaning. Even if she was a ballet dancer on the big screen, her injured knee would still be a problem. Instead of having such an unrealistic dream, it was better to face reality and set new goals for her life, that was just being practical.

After understanding this, Charlize's gaze towards Hugo changed. She couldn't help but deeply examine the handsome man in front of her. Hugo felt a bit strange being stared at and lowered his head to look at his shirt, "Did I spill coffee on my shirt?"

Charlize laughed again, shaking her head, "No, you're fine." After laughing, Charlize continued, "You're just different from most men." Other men when discussing these issues would simply flatter and not really think about it, because their lower bodies occupy their heads. But Hugo was different, he was always serious in conversation, especially those gentle eyes.

"Is that a good thing?" Hugo deliberately showed a worried expression, "You know, I made a mistake when we first met, if the impression hasn't changed after the conversation, that would be a bummer."

This sentence made Charlize laugh again, she couldn't remember how many times she laughed during this conversation. "Who knows? I wouldn't dare to guarantee it."

Hugo showed a disappointed expression, but his next words were unrelated, "Well, that's that. Give me your phone number, I'll call you after I find out about Karl's situation."

Charlize looked at Hugo in front of her, and her smile became brighter and brighter by each passing second.