Thug and Idol: 10X Rewards Second Identity System

From the moment Tristan took her hand to lead in the waltz, Mary Jade couldn't stop looking at him.

Although she was stunned by his soulful singing at the stage, the force of his personality was ten times as strong from up close. She was absolutely magnetized.

Her mind of an artist already imagined all the costumes Tristan could wear for his next performance, while her mind of a woman imagined him without a costume.

Tristan knew perfectly well how to dance several variations of waltz and plenty of other common dances.

Mary Jade knew just enough to look stylish in her dress while twirling around and not step on anyone's toes.

But with his level of skill, Tristan led her around the dance floor with effortless grace, enchanting her even more.

Mary was half a head shorter than him, and her sky blue dress was a beautiful contrast to Tristan's black suit. It all just made him look more attractive, especially to the eyes of women who already looked at him with smitten eyes.

Now Tristan was especially desirable because he already had someone else, even if just for one dance.

His sheer presence was so distracting that half the time Tristan approached another pair of dancers to close, someone would trip or step on their partner's legs!

All the while, Tristan himself barely looked at Mary, instead subtly examining other dancers and people who gathered to just watch the dance.

And plenty of them, instead of looking at their partners or Tristan, were watching another person instead.

The last man whom Tristan expected to dance today—Angelo Omen.

The statue-like man, dressed in a plain white suit, was dancing without a partner at all. His eyes were half-closed, and his hands were raised as if he held someone's shoulders, but there was only empty air.

Despite this, he moved with the same perfectly measured elegance he had when playing music.

Whether or not it was his intention, Angelo's shocking display turned plenty of heads, stealing Tristan's spotlight.

And when people saw the way he mimed every motion, creating an almost visible illusion of a partner—to the point where someone could easily tell that the imaginary woman was a head shorter than him—they were drawn to keep watching.

If some just waited for Angelo to make a misstep, or outright snickered at this outlandish display.

The display was so strange that Tristan couldn't find in himself to be offended or annoyed that this man became his rival once again, even in this trivial matter.

Instead, Tristan was just trying to understand what was going in Angelo's head!

'This looks like a performance, but doesn't Angelo dislike those? As well as talking to people. I bet he's only here because he was pressured to come by his parents! But if they pressured him to dance, won't they bring a partner for that as well?'

Tristan was thinking so hard that he almost didn't notice when the song ended and the pairs split up.

[Ding!]

[You had impressed an audience of 24 people of moderate and high status or skill with your dance. Reward: your CP increased by 900.]

There were at least fifty people dancing and many more than that watching. It was a large gala. If not for Angelo, Tristan could've impressed more people.

He bowed slightly to Mary Jade with a roguish grin.

"Thank you for the dance, Ms. Jade. Now excuse me, I want to talk with an acquaintance."

"Of course. You've been a wonderful partner, Mr. Gemello. I hope we will be able to meet again in the future. I'd love to have you as my fashion model even if only for a night…" Mary said meaningfully.

Despite the flirting and the innuendos in her heart, Mary already knew she wasn't getting Tristan. Not after he spent most of the dance looking anywhere but at her.

With a slight sigh, Mary looked around for the second-most-handsome person around.

At the same time, Tristan was standing at the edge of the dance floor and looking like he was waiting for Tristan.

"Mr. Gemello," Angelo said at Tristan's approach. "I hoped to meet you again."

Tristan grinned.

Of course he would. Tristan still owed Angelo money—if only because he couldn't pay it discreetly until now.

"I thought so, Mr. Omen. Let's speak a bit more privately, then?"

Tristan nodded toward several small balconies, which were partially hidden from the people inside with half-transparent curtains.

"Let's," Angelo said.

On their way there, Tristan waved Nel in a gesture that translated from bro-code to "Have fun on your own, please!". Then Tristan and Angelo took an empty balcony, which was just big enough for a company of two or three people.

Several stories below them was a beautiful green garden of the luxurious hotel where this gala took place.

"I remember my promise, Mr. Omen. In fact… Here."

In a subtle gesture, which won't be seen from both the gala hall and from the garden, Tristan passed Angelo a thick leather wallet.

"Twenty thousand dollars. By the way, next time I suggest that you ask for at least a part of payment in advance, Mr. Omen."

Angelo hid the wallet in an inner pocket of his suit jacket. It bulged slightly, but not too much.

"Thank you for the advice."

"By the way… Were you dancing by yourself earlier because you like to dance, but would hate to actually dance with someone?"

Angelo blinked, which was probably the most shocked he could appear.

"Yes. I like waltz. The orchestra playing today were all good performers, even if the violinist wasn't putting his all into the act. But I don't like being touched."

Tristan grinned, happy that he guessed it right. Angelo tilted his head slightly.

"This is the first time I find a person who understands me so well after knowing me for such a short time. And you are an exceptionally talented musician. May we still stay in touch after today?"

Tristan tilted his head, too.

'Understand him? I'm just guessing blindly! This man has no tells! Was this an offering of friendship? Does Angelo consider me my friend? I really don't know!'