Thug and Idol: 10X Rewards Second Identity System

"Oh, you have a pianist working in your establishment? How old-school, Mr. Clavon." The plump man, Garstean, let out a friendly laughter.

He looked at Tristan, who was seated with his side turned toward the entrance. From there, Tristan could see the condescension in Garstean's eyes clear as day.

"Well, let him play what he knows for now while we have our appetizers. I have to say, I'm impressed that you brought me here… it's a mark of pride for the owner to not be ashamed to eat in his own place."

Leon raised his chin.

"I'm ashamed of nothing, Mr. Garstean. You will see."

Following Garstean's cue, Tristan began playing one of the melodies he memorized for the bar. It was one of the many classic jazzy tunes in his repertoire by now, and Tristan could perform it with his eyes closed after all the repetitions, especially with the boost in skill he got recently.

As he played, Tristan watched the movement in the bar with a corner of his eye.

The guests and their girls sat at the table, and were almost immediately brought the appetizers. Clearly, Pierce arranged them to be prepared beforehand.

The appetizers also weren't from the usual bar menu, although Tristan wasn't sure if the cook was told to make something new, or if they were brought from elsewhere.

"Hm, this isn't so bad," Garstean said, between munching on his salad. "Your pianist, I mean. Did he fail to find any work after finishing music school, despite having some skill? No wonder, no wonder. In the modern music industry, boys like him should play bass, or guitar, or sing. He has a face of a born guitarist."

Leon looked up at Pierce, who was waiting at them at the side. At the silent question, Pierce approached.

Next to Leon, Pierce acted not like a sadist or a boss, but like any paper-pushing middle manager. His face and voice were dry, but respectful when he spoke.

"Mr. Gemello is actually self-taught. However, the audience of this bar likes him."

Leon nodded. "That's right. You always had a good eye for recruits, Pierce."

Piece nodded and stepped back from the table again.

"Self-taught? Well, this explains why no one told him to study a different instrument," Garstean said, shaking his head.

The conversation between Leon, Garstean and their girls continued after that. Besides Garstean's comments, the guests were happy with the service so far.

Over the conversation of mundane things like food, Super Bowl and such, the dinner reached the dessert. Wine was poured for both guests, and that's when the conversation became interesting again.

"My talent agency is on the rise, Mr. Clavon, and dealing with us will be extremely beneficial. The return on investments will be incredible," Garstean boasted. "In fact, you can see how good my agency is right now. Just look at Ms. Faegal!"

He gestured at his girlfriend.

The gorgeous young woman in a red cocktail dress, she looked like she stepped out of pages of a fashion magazine. Now she smiled charmingly at Leon.

"Mr. Garstean is right. An agency on the rise needs its rising stars, and I'm such a star." She laughed melodically, turning the arrogant statement into a charming joke. "Otherwise, I wouldn't be here, with Mr. Garstean."

"Perhaps, Faegal should perform here, so you could see for yourself how good our agency stars are. She sings, and your pianist could provide an accompaniment."

Leon nodded.

"What an excellent idea. That's right, nothing shows better than practice. My musical taste will be good enough to decide if your agency is worth your boasting, Mr. Garstean. Pianist!"

Tristan finished his current melody with a sharp chord and walked over to the guests' table.

"What song Ms. Faegal is going to perform?" Leon asked Garstean.

Garstean turned to Tristan. "There are plenty of famous songs Faegal can sing. Perhaps someone should print you note sheets for one of them?"

"This could be arranged easily, Mr. Garstean," Pierce said, appearing nearby suddenly.

"My last hit isn't arranged for piano… So I can sing a cover of someone else's song instead," Faegal said. She tilted her head at Tristan and smiled. "If that's not a problem, of course."

She was definitely being condescending.

Tristan hid his annoyance and nodded. As long as he somewhat remembered the melody and had a note sheet, it was going to be easy.

Pierce stepped back.

"I will bring the note sheets. Which song will you perform?"

Faegal named a famous song, and Tristan nodded, recognizing it.

Garstean nodded too and turned to Faegal, while Leon stayed focused on Tristan with a sharp look of a gangster boss.

Leon tilted his head sharply, commanding Tristan to move aside. When they did, Leon leaned toward Tristan and whispered,

"Listen… I don't care how, but if you can make that woman's performance look worse than it actually is, I will give you five thousand dollars. BUT if you make anyone suspicious, or if you make me look like a fool, I will have your head."

Leon marched back to his table without another word. Tristan, after standing in quiet shock for a moment, went back to the piano.

$5000... An enormous sum for a single evening of work.

But the task wasn't easy, either.

'This much cash… Could it be that Leon tries to humble Garstean to make a better deal with him? Deals like these could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and more. For Leon, $5000 is probably pocket change… Damn, I miss being rich!'

Tristan wanted to be that rich again, even richer. Wanted that power of dirty money Leon wielded.

But $5000 would be a good start.

And for that, to shame the lady singer, the best way he could think up so quickly was… Perform his own part so well, that it would completely overshadow Faegal's!

Tristan cracked his fingers, then opened his status window and subtly tapped on some buttons.

[Ding!]

[Playing piano skill increased from 346 to 676.]

He smiled when Faegal stood next to the piano. A short while later, Pierce brought printed note sheets.

"You can begin!"

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