章 25: Chasing the dream

On the way back from Universal Studios, it was a silent journey. Neither Joseph nor Hugo spoke a word. Joseph was focused on driving while Hugo leaned against the car window, quietly watching the scenery outside.

Palm trees, billboards, and bushes reflected in his eyes, while the sunlight above pierced through the clear blue sky and spilled over the entire City of Angels, casting a golden veil over everything in sight. The dazzling colors made his vision blurred, but Hugo couldn't bear to close his eyes. He greedily looked at the scenery in front of him, trying to find a glimpse of the city he remembered from this unfamiliar world. In a trance, he sometimes had the illusion that he was still riding on Palm Avenue in San Diego, with the band captain driving them to a small performance, and someone snoring badly in the back seat amid the roar of the engine.

At the age of fourteen, Hugo saw a movie called "Cinema Paradiso" and was touched by the line, "Living here day by day, you think it's the center of the world." He realized that pursuing his own dream was the most important thing.

So Hugo put his music dream, inspired by The Beatles and Oasis, into practice since he was ten. He and a group of like-minded friends formed a band, which even had no proper name at the beginning, but it didn't affect their love for music. It was originally thought to be just a whim of children, but unexpectedly, they became self-taught and even came up with some tricks. They even started to learn how to compose in their naivety, although their initial works were unbearable, this kind of life was their happiest time.

When the band reached its one-year anniversary, Hugo came up with a name for the band: Death or Glory. The name was actually inspired by a Japanese manga and encapsulated their youthful dreams and aspirations. With a name in hand, the band wasn't content with just playing for fun anymore; they wanted to perform on real stages.

They succeeded in doing so, winning acclaim at their school's New Year's party. Although they didn't play their own songs, the accomplishment was still unforgettable for the five members. A stronger desire took root within them: they wanted to perform at various events and become a real band. This desire was so powerful that they were willing to defy their families to achieve it.

Hugo's personality wasn't particularly rebellious or attention-seeking. Prior to forming the band, he was a model student. This made it even more difficult for his parents to understand his dedication to the band. Forming a band was already unbelievable, so how could his parents allow him to abandon his studies and pursue music at the age of fifteen? That was impossible.

The story's ending was clear: all five members of Death or Glory left their families and became a part of China's massive underground rock scene. For Hugo, this departure lasted ten years. Despite the passage of time, it felt like only a moment. Later, Hugo ended up here.

If someone were to ask Hugo, "Do you regret it?" he might answer "No!" but he could not hide the bitterness in his smile.

Although pursuing his musical dreams was tough, it was all worth it. Even if it took ten years, it was worth it. While others were studying on campus, he had already found his goal and began to fight for his life's ambitions. Such a life is so wonderful, so beautiful, and so unforgettable. Therefore, Hugo has no regrets.

Just like in "How the Steel Was Tempered", the most precious thing for a person is life: it is given to us only once. A person's life should be spent in this way: when he looks back on his past, he does not regret wasting time, nor feels ashamed of being idle. This way, when he is about to die, he can say, "I have devoted my entire life and all my energy to the most magnificent cause in the world - the struggle for human liberation."

Of course, Hugo was not so great as to fight for all of humanity. He only devoted his entire life and energy to his own dream.

However, pursuing one's dream comes at a great cost. It's not about living in hardship or facing an uncertain future, but rather, it's about disappointing one's parents' hopes. Hugo went against his parents' earnest wishes by choosing the path of music. Although he tried hard to repair his relationship with them over the ten years, unfortunately, the results were not significant, especially with his father. He never understood, let alone accepted, Hugo's passion for music, which kept him wandering around. This bitterness could only be tasted in solitude in the deep of night.

Closing his eyes, Hugo could still vaguely see the grand scene of the Midi Rock Festival. He couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like if Glory or Death stood on the stage until death. Would they be closer to their dreams? And what about his bandmates and parents after he crossed over?

Hugo took a deep breath and tried to pull himself out of this feeling of loss. He had traveled to 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 great confidence. Although this was not a breakthrough in music, becoming an actor had always been Hugo's dream. Actors portray different lives on the big screen, bringing joy, sadness, nostalgia, pain, and happiness to people. The charm of movies was so wonderful and lasting, making people easily addicted.

Before time-traveling, Hugo had made some progress in music. Receiving an invitation to the Midi Rock Music Festival was a huge opportunity. However, in terms of movies, Hugo didn't have many opportunities. He could only learn acting through movies, watching and imagining himself standing in the position of the lead actor, observing the filming process.

Now, Hugo had auditioned for two movies. Although "A River Runs Through It" ended in failure, the progress of "Scent of a Woman" was very satisfactory. Even though Hugo had not yet landed the role of Charlie, it still made him believe that he had talent in acting. His years of hard work had not been in vain. This was the biggest good news since he traveled back in time.

Looking at the scenery that was constantly receding outside the window, Hugo realized clearly that this was Los Angeles, this was Hollywood, the furiously beating heart of the cinema world. Here, stories of overnight success and rags-to-riches abound. Hugo did not hope to become famous overnight. He only hoped to have more opportunities to realize his dreams, which would be enough, because, for the remaining journey, he would rely on his own strength to reach the end.

[...

My eyes are open wide

By the way, I made it through the day

I watched the world outside

By the way, I'm leaving out today

...]

Hugo hummed softly, conveying his emotions in the form of music, which was also his best way.

Music is a wonderful thing. It is said that music knows no borders because it is made up of musical notes, conveys emotions through lyrics, and is brought to life by the performer's interpretation. This makes music one of the most direct ways for humans to communicate emotions. Each seemingly ordinary musical note, when put together according to the rhythm of emotions, can resonate deeply with one's innermost self. This feeling is truly amazing.

Since the establishment of Glory or Death, Hugo and his teammates have been learning music and self-teaching composition. Of course, in the first few years, they could only be considered at the level of playing house. It wasn't until they entered the underground rock music scene that they truly began to learn systematically. Hugo's musical talent was more evident in his composition, while his talent for instruments was quite average. To this day, he had only learned how to play the guitar, and even then, he wasn't particularly good at it. However, in terms of music composition, he had made rapid progress.

Unfortunately, Hugo's time learning composition was still too short, and this resulted in the self-composed music of Glory or Death never being of particularly high quality. This repeatedly delayed their rise to fame. Today, after Hugo crossed over, inspiration struck for the first time in his mind. This inspiration was different from before, seemingly possessing a sparkling spiritual quality. He wasn't sure if this was due to long-term precipitation causing a qualitative change, or if time travel had brought about a fresh perspective. Hugo hummed the melody out loud.

Listening to the music flowing out of Hugo's mouth, Joseph finally reacted. He couldn't help but turn his head and ask, "What song is this?" Joseph couldn't make out the lyrics of the song because Hugo's humming was quite unclear, but the melody was so enchanting that it immediately piqued his curiosity.

Hugo turned his head and revealed a big smile. "I just wrote it myself." he said.

Joseph's first reaction was to look at Hugo in astonishment, which made Hugo realize that something was not right. Could it be that his predecessor was tone-deaf? That couldn't be right...

Just as Hugo was considering how to explain, he caught sight of the road ahead in the periphery of his eye. "Watch out! You're driving!" he shouted. Joseph immediately turned his attention to the road ahead, where a truck was driving. Fortunately, Hugo had shouted in time. If they had been any closer, it would have been trouble. Joseph quickly tapped the brakes to slow down the car.

In that instance, Hugo finally came to his senses. "I was just writing for fun," he explained. "What do you think? Do you like it?"

This time Joseph didn't turn his head but kept his eyes on the road ahead. "Yes, it's very good. I just didn't know you had this talent before, so it's a bit surprising."

Hugo breathed a sigh of relief. At least he wasn't tone-deaf, otherwise, it would have been difficult to explain. He chuckled and joked, "If I can't get any acting jobs, maybe I can sing a little and make some money. Who knows, maybe one day I'll release an album and become a singer!"

"Hmph, you think you're John Lennon or something?" Joseph scoffed at Hugo.