Nel tensed.
Tristan clenched and rxed his fists.
He immediately understood the tactics of this bully. He was just trying to look better in front of Dominic and Reba by stepping on Nel''s head.
But what this man didn''t understand was that bullying Nel was like kicking a puppy. Sure, he was the easiest target—naivete was written on his forehead—but attacking him only made you look like the worst person to ever walk the Earth!
Instead of the agreeing smirks, the arrogant blogger was met with cold frowns.
"Hm? And who are you? It''s quite rude to just approach without even introducing yourself!" Reba said, staring him down.
The blogger stuttered.
"But—But you know me, Ms. Hale! Miles Stone, we''ve spoken at—"
Reba scoffed.
"I must''ve forgotten, because it wasn''t worth my attention."
Tristan snickered and patted Nelson''s shoulder. He whispered in his ear, but loud enough for Miles to hear.
"See? Now those are bad manners, Nel. Just don''t act the opposite of this guy, and everybody will consider you a paragon of elegance."
Tristan gave Miles a pointed death re, cold enough to freeze-burn.
Miles''s face changed colors from normal to red to white within seconds.
The finale of this brief scene came with the harsh scowl of Dominic.
"Didn''t you see we were talking? Don''t interrupt other people like that."
Then Dominic turned to Tristan and continued as if nothing happened, "So, what did you want to ask, Mr. Gemello?"
Tristan smiled, also pointedly ignoring Miles. "Oh, I was curious about the Californian Young Star contest. It''s not easy to organize a major thing like that… are you sponsoring it among your other projects, Mr. Morsworn?"
This ignoring told clearer than any worse that these people would never have business with Miles, possibly not in this lifetime.
[Ding!]
[You have (together with others) pped the face of a person of moderate status. Reward: your CP increased by 50.]
Even the Second Identity System considered his pathetic face not worth much pping.
Beaten off right after his approach, the blogger went for the champagne to soothe his wounded pride.
Continue reading at mvl
Without him, and with conversation being resumed, Nel was smiling andughing again in no time.
And soon enough, Tristan got what he wanted from Reba.
"In thest few years, the contest organizers became concerned with people who were buying songs and entire performances, or preparing them way beforehand. In the previous years we required the song to fit a theme, but it was still too easy to find a little-known song and adapt it. This year, they''ve removed the theme requirement, but want to try another thing.
The PR department hopes it will increase the general interest for the contest TV ratings as well."
Nel listened with obvious interest, while Tristan acted casually, while thinking how to pull the most information out of Reba. By now, her cheeks were flushed with champagne, but didn''t show any signs of drunkenness.
"I heard they want toe up with a more popr show style of things. There''s the hope that contestants won''t have to sing their songs while running through an obstacle course!"
Dominicughed.
"That would''ve been hrious to watch, definitely!"
Rebaughed too, but waved Tristan away.
"No, no! Of course not! In actuality, the main contest will go as usual, but then after it—" She caught herself and chidingly wagged her finger at Tristan. "Ah, Gemello, but I can''t tell you! It won''t be a secret otherwise."
"I was just saying my thoughts aloud," Tristan replied with pure innocence. "Sounds super intriguing, though."
Still not enough information to prepare, but something, at least.
Tristan smiled, feeling that at least a part of his current ns for Los Angeles goes well.
For the rest of the party, he and Nelson continued to socialize, charming many more people in the room, especially when ballroom dances were announced. All the while, Tristan''s Second Identity System continued to assault him with notifications.
[Ding!]
[You have gained the good will of a person of high status. Reward: your CP increased by 500!]
[Ding!]
[You have impressed a person of moderate status. Reward: your CP increased by 200!]
[Ding!]
[You have impressed a person of moderate status and skill. Reward: your CP increased by 600!]
[Ding!]
[Charisma attribute increased by 1. Reward: your CP increased by 100!]
…
By the end of the night, Tristan was 5400 Criminal Points richer than before.
***
Two dayster.
The release day of the "Under the Wrong Sky" movie was a great sess—more than its creators predicted. Almost all tickets were bought out, and inrge part it was thanks to its opening ceremony.
Not only did critics leave positive reviews for the movie, the journalists took many photographs of the film''s director.
Asher Ilom looked hriously terrible on camera. In half the shots, his face was blurred or obscured by his hair or hands or other people. In the other half of the shots, his face showed expressions of all stages of anxiety.
By the release date of the movie, Inte users made a dozen memes with Ilom''s expressions.
[Halloween lovers when Christmas decorations appear on shelves in November], and a picture of Ilom trying to get away from a microphone.
[Me when I see a wasp], and a picture of Ilom covering his eyes from a photo sh.
That was Ilom''s first public appearance even though this was his second movie (the first had an even lower budget and was less known). And it was probably going to be hisst, unless Ilom''s PR manager chained him to the stage next time.
Tristan was ready to bet on it.
He and Nelson got featured in celebrity magazines, too. Their fans already began worshiping all the photos in suits and drawing new fanarts. General public justmented on how good they looked and that they could''ve easily be actors themselves based on looks alone.
[Ding!]
[You had impressed an audience of 5 thousand people online with your looks and presence. Reward: your CP increased by 500!]
But before Tristan could fully enjoy looking at his points, he got a message from Kevin that dimmed his mood.