Chapter 225: The Special Dancer
She spoke aloud, but Kieu Ly couldn’t hear her over the noise, so she typed it into their chat app.
Kieu Ly read the message and pinched Huong Tra’s thigh in response before typing back:
“Stop calling him a rascal. He’s not a kid anymore.”
Reading that, Huong Tra burst into uncontrollable laughter. After a moment, she managed to reply:
“Well, you might know he’s not a kid. But how would anyone else?”
Kieu Ly gave her a side-eye glare, while Huong Tra quickly turned her attention back to the stage, swaying again to the beat of the music.
They didn’t have to wait long. As soon as the birthday song ended, that special dancer stepped off the stage and walked down into the VIP area, stopping right in front of Kieu Ly. She looked at him in confusion for a moment, then slowly reached up to remove his mask.
But before she could touch it, he held out a purple rose for her. Meanwhile, on stage, Minh Nhat was wishing her a happy birthday in both English and Vietnamese. For some reason, the cheers from the crowd grew louder and louder, especially from the people sitting farther away.
Kieu Ly glanced back toward the stage and suddenly realized the big screen was now showing her. At some point, the cameraman had abandoned the stage and zoomed in on the moment when a dancer was giving a rose to someone in the audience.
Seeing the purple rose right in front of her, Kieu Ly had no more doubts. She took the flower, gazing at him with sparkling, emotional eyes. After handing her the rose, he turned and quickly returned to the stage to back Minh Nhat for a few more songs.
Kieu Ly held the rose delicately, staring at the stage like she was in a trance. For the first time, she was seeing Toan Phuong perform on stage—and he looked as if he was glowing. As far as she knew, this was his first public performance, and on such a big stage no less. Yet he performed with such confidence, as if he weren’t under any pressure at all. He truly seemed born for the spotlight.
And this was just him in the role of a dancer. If he sang next, the whole stage might just explode with energy. Given its scale, this stage was the perfect place for him to unleash his talent. If he really took off that mask and debuted as a singer, she would go up there and give him a kiss. Just the thought made her heart race and her body tremble with excitement. She didn’t even know if she would dare to go through with it. If she did, she might not even be able to stand properly—might stammer and embarrass him.
But even as she waited anxiously, there was still no sign of him showcasing more of his talent.
Once the medley ended, Minh Nhat and the dancers exited backstage, making way for the MC to come out and introduce the next performance.
Backstage, Toan Phuong hurriedly took off his performance costume and changed back into his own clothes. Meanwhile, Minh Nhat sat down for a makeup artist to touch up his makeup, which had started to melt from sweat.
Once changed, Toan Phuong casually sat next to Minh Nhat, enjoying the breeze to cool off. With nothing else to do, he watched the makeup artist at work, silently judging. The artist’s hands moved swiftly, dipping into a light powder and applying a thick layer to Minh Nhat’s face that made Toan Phuong shudder. Even Kieu Ly didn’t wear that much makeup. In fact, she hadn’t worn much at all lately—just a bit of lipstick now and then. The more he looked, the less he could understand current beauty trends. It just didn’t make sense to him.
When he first came backstage, Minh Nhat had invited him to get some makeup done too, but he flatly refused:
“I’m not putting on makeup. I think men should look like men. Wearing too much looks ridiculous.”
That comment earned him several disapproving glances from the surrounding idols. Differing views really made it hard to get along.
After cooling down for a bit, Toan Phuong asked:
“How many more performances left?”
“One. Wait for me another hour, then you guys can head to the restaurant first.”
“Got it.”
After a moment of silence, Toan Phuong decided to give his friend some advice:
“You should tone down the makeup. A man should look like a man.”