The great thing about living in Malibu is that it's really quiet and has plenty of privacy. Even if the paparazzi squatted in front of the villa for days, it would be difficult to take useful photos, and it would be better to squat in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, there may be more explosions. Moreover, in the recent period of "Los Angeles Confidential" publicity, Hugo's exposure has remained high, which also made the paparazzi relax a little. Relatively speaking, the number of paparazzi at the entrance of the villa has also dropped a lot.

Leaving the villa today, Hugo did not feel the heat wave of the paparazzi, nor did he feel strange, on the contrary, it was strange that there was only one person standing at the door, a lonely person, which seemed too unusual. Moreover, this man did not hide his tracks, but stood a little blankly at the door of the garage, wandering, not like a paparazzi, but like an ordinary resident waiting for someone—there are still many ordinary residents of Malibu.

So, Hugo didn't think much about it, and ran out in small steps. However, the image that flashed in his mind just now, Hugo always felt a little familiar, and a little strange - this is almost the norm for Hugo, who is face blind, but today it made Hugo feel a little worried, and before he realized it, he slowed down his pace, and only took a few steps forward, and stopped in place.

Hugo stood still, panting softly, but the blurry image in his mind became clearer little by little, and finally even the face that he could barely see clearly became clear. Hugo didn't actually start running at all, but he couldn't help but breathe heavily, because he knew that face, which was always hidden in the depths of his memory: Lena Franco.

Why did Lena appear in Malibu today, and still stand in front of his villa, to see James?

Hugo stood with his eyes turned away from the woman behind him, but he could feel the gaze on his shoulder, burning and heavy, making his muscles tremble slightly. Hugo didn't turn around, and the woman didn't speak, it seemed that it was extremely difficult to make even a little noise, so she could only stand in silence, quietly watching Hugo's back.

Hugo took two deep breaths, he thought that after he had completely let go, it would all be easy, but in fact it was not as simple as he imagined - but it was not as difficult as he imagined, and the corners of Hugo's mouth gently sketched a smile. He decided not to wait for her to take the initiative, but for him to take the initiative.

So, Hugo turned around like this.

Then Hugo saw Lena standing in front of him, wearing a light yellow spinning dress, and the delicate sky blue flowers on the skirt swayed gently in the sea breeze, swaying vividly outlining a touch of style. It is indeed not as difficult as imagined, the most difficult thing is that at the moment before turning around, once you turn around, all the shackles in your heart disappear, the corners of Hugo's mouth loosened, and a light smile was gently outlined, warm and indifferent.

Raising his head, Hugo saw Lina's eyes, Lena has a pair of sky-blue eyes, the curved peach blossom eyes are as quiet and intoxicating as a pool of spring water, even if the years have added many wrinkles to the corners of the eyes, but still can't hide the depth of those eyes, people can't help but want to explore the story in those eyes. Although Hugo's eyes are amber, they inherit Lena's temperament.

Lena bumped into Hugo's eyes, looked away in a little panic, and couldn't help but turn her body away, not wanting to make direct contact with Hugo at all, but as soon as her steps moved, her whole body stiffened in place. Then her body began to tremble, and the trembling fingers could not be calmed down at all, so she could only clench her fists in a hurry, and then put them behind her back to hide her nervousness.

After a pause, Lena forced herself to turn around again, raised her chin, pretended to look at Hugo calmly, opened her mouth slightly, her lips squirmed but she didn't say anything, just looked at Hugo quietly, as if she wanted to look at the man in front of her carefully with her eyes, see through the blank of 22 years, and carefully depict Hugo's growth trajectory. But Lena failed, because the man in front of her was completely different from the immature boy in her memory, and only the sunlight between her eyebrows reminded her that this was the little child.

This realization easily destroyed Lena, and she stood in a daze, unable to even burst into tears, as if her soul had begun to burn, and a heartbreaking scent of flowers wafted through the air.

At this moment, Lena really realized what she had missed, what she had done to Hugo in front of her, time was too powerful and too cruel, erasing all traces and rewriting a completely different time. She doesn't regret it, because as Hugo said, she doesn't deserve to regret it, she doesn't even have the right to regret it, and her regret will only make Hugo embarrassed, make the Franco family penniless, and make herself incomplete. Therefore, she has no right to regret it, no right to complain...... There is no qualification to be sad either.

Hugo watched Lena fall apart before his eyes, but he couldn't bear it—as a stranger, he couldn't bear to see it. So, Hugo opened his mouth, "Good afternoon...... Hugo tried to come up with a title, but couldn't find a suitable name, so he said, "Lena, you're here for James, right?" "Ma'am, too rusty, too deliberate; Mother, too sarcastic, too mean; Mom, too intimate, too hypocritical...... Therefore, it is most appropriate to call him by name, "James has gone to the acting academy, he should be back soon, you better go in and wait for him." ”

As he spoke, Hugo walked back and beckoned Lena into the villa, as if she were a hospitable host. After all, James is now living in Hugo's house, and there is no need for him to be hypocritical.

Lena didn't keep up with Hugo's footsteps, just watched Hugo walk to the wooden fence, looking at the broad back, the voice in Lina's throat finally squeezed out, the sentence "I'm sorry ......", after an interval of twenty-two years, exhausted all of Lina's strength, she knew that she was not qualified to apologize, but, other than that, she didn't know what to say, "Hugo, I'm sorry." ”

Hugo stopped, stood in place and was stunned, then pursed his lips, a shallow smile was drawn on the corner of his mouth, and turned to look at Lena in front of him, "I accept your apology." This sentence made Lena completely stunned in place, this was a response she never expected, but the relief in the smile on the corner of Hugo's mouth was so real that it stinged Lina's eyes.

Hugo chose to forgive in order to let himself go; It was for Adam's sake that he chose to forgive. He had spent twenty-two years remembering the term "mother" and had forgotten that there was an even more important person in his life, his father. So, he chose forgiveness, officially saying goodbye to the past twenty-two years, and he chose to stand by his father's side and become the son of Adam instead of Lena. It's as if Lena is James' mother.

It's just a pity that Hugo took too much time to realize this, and his longing for Lena was not a disservice to Adam? Fortunately, Hugo finally figured it all out, so he could face Lena with a smile and calmness; So, he can calmly and calmly accept Lena's apology.

The shallow smile on the corner of Hugo's mouth completely bloomed, "Come in, stand outside and continue to wait, someone will reproach me for being inconsiderate." Hugo opened the wooden fence, "James has been doing very well here lately, and you can see that he is really interested in acting, if you want, let him show you the results later." ”

Lena looked at Hugo's relaxed expression, and finally took a step, but it was so difficult, one step, one step, and then passing by Hugo, she could even smell the fresh licorice fragrance of Hugo's body from the breeze, and as soon as her steps stopped slightly, she stepped on the wooden stairs and walked down step by step.

"Be careful, the staircase design here looks stylish, but I haven't received any fewer complaints, it's too troublesome." Hugo fell behind and introduced him in a friendly manner, as if it were just an ordinary friend, or more accurately, James's mother.

Hugo took Lena into the first floor of the villa, but Lena looked at the grass and trees in the house curiously, bit by bit, and her mind was sketching the appearance of Hugo and James living here, but her heart was mixed, and the complicated mood was difficult to describe.

In fact, Lena had no idea why she had come to Malibu, for James, for Hugo, or to save the family from a bad atmosphere. Lena just felt that her life had become a complete mess, that everything was not the same as it had been, but she didn't know when it had changed, or if it had been a mirage built on lies from the beginning.

Hugo looked at Lena's changing expression, and could vaguely guess the chaos of the Franco family, James occasionally revealed his words, but this had nothing to do with Hugo, he had already chosen to let go, so he refused to be involved - even though he knew that the chaos was largely related to him, he was not responsible for calming the chaos.

"So, can I give you something? Whitewater? Coke? Fruit juice? Or red wine? Hugo politely fulfilled the duties of a master, and Lena was stunned, "Bai Shui, thank you." Hugo nodded slightly, then went to the kitchen, poured a glass of warm water, and placed it in front of Lina.

Lena gently picked up the boiling water, the warm temperature warmed the palms of her hands, and looked down at the crystal clear boiled water, but her thoughts slowly precipitated. Suddenly, there was a commotion outside, interrupting Lena's train of thought, and she looked up at Hugo, who smiled politely, "It's James, they're back." ”