Counterfeit Hero

Chapter 194: Volume 4 Chapter 2 Fatty Can Dance

The trick of a deceiver lies in his ability to embody the appropriate aura and behavior effortlessly, regardless of time and place. He can speak to humans with human language, to ghosts with ghost language; a cunning merchant in the market, a professor in the school, a general in the military, and a high monk in the temple! At a ball, naturally, he’s a gentleman, a noble.

Fatty undoubtedly exuded a noble demeanor now. Though that suit looked rather like a wobbling penguin on him, and he still retained his honest and simple appearance, standing there, he seemed to wear the finest attire of a king. The naturally graceful aura he exuded made Ann Lei and Christina’s eyes shine in amazement.

The music slipped into its final notes, and the nobles began to grab their dance partners, waiting for the music change. With Stephen’s lead, they would enter the next dance piece, marking the true beginning of the ball.

Bruce did not make a move to invite Ann Lei, given that she had already declined him earlier. Such an occasion did not permit any forceful acts. However, Bruce was convinced that the silly Fatty wouldn’t possess the dancing talent worthy of Ann Lei. He stood by with a smile, watching the overly confident Fatty gracefully take Ann Lei’s hand.

Ann Lei, having changed attire, seemed like a different person. Her hair was elegantly styled up, held in place by a silver, small crown-like clip that matched her sleek, black hair. She wore crystal-clear earrings, delicate strands dangling beside her ears, and her fair neck was swanlike in its beauty. Her off-shoulder white dress was not the grand gown typical of noble ladies but a light, convenient dance dress. Her graceful collarbones and subtle cleavage transformed Ann Lei from the pure, youthful girl on the tennis court in a short skirt into a wildly sexy, gracefully mature woman.

At the Gazalin nobles’ balls, modern dances from Ancient Earth were the most common. Apart from the Waltz, there were the Fox Trot, Tango, and Quickstep. Additionally, lively dances like the polka and the elegant Court Dance were also common. Latin dances like the Rumba, Samba, cha-cha, bullfighting dance, and Cowboy dance were usually reserved for performances during noble rest periods; their rhythms were too vibrant for ballroom gowns. Over millennia, these dances have evolved greatly among the common folk, but the nobles naturally wouldn’t stoop to dancing those which lower classes danced. The Gazalin nobles have always aimed for the more traditional, closer to Ancient Earth’s heritage, the more noble it was.

Ann Lei, even though she had stayed in Gazalin for less than a month in total, was acknowledged as the dance queen. Her specialty wasn’t these well-practiced modern dances but the much-celebrated yet challenging Ballet Court Dance of the past three centuries!

This dance merges the expressive form of narrative ballet and the social nature of modern dance. Strictly speaking, it should be considered a type of Court Dance, originating from classical Court Dance, incorporating elements of performance arts, demanding stringent and highly technical skill and form. It is neither purely narrative ballet nor wholly modern dance, nor the uniformly paced traditional court dance. It integrates ballet techniques and expressiveness, court dance’s elegance, polka’s liveliness, Fox Trot’s nimbleness, Quickstep’s agility, added with Samba’s passion. It’s a complex dual dance requiring high skill levels, with music often changing every thirty seconds, and dance steps immediately adapting. This dance, since its invention three hundred years ago by the Binart Empire’s court dance master and a musician, has become the most sought-after dance among nobles! These two geniuses seamlessly merged seemingly incompatible rhythms and steps into a beautiful whole, surpassing ordinary modern dance in elegance, Latin dance in expressiveness, and all Court Dances in its sophistication and challenge.

This dance isn’t for just everyone; even Bruce, having trained under court dance masters, could only keep up with Ann Lei’s steps during classical Ballet Court Dance. Even these simple accompaniments required deep understanding of music and dance and proficient skill in the rhythms and steps of Ballet Court Dance.

Music flowed like water through several escalations, the classic ’The Story of the Vienna Forest’ resounded, as Fatty led Ann Lei into the dance floor. Ann Lei could hardly believe her eyes. When did this guy learn to dance, and so well? Though the steps were simple, Fatty’s expression, rhythm, and movements naturally embodied a touch of grace, as if he lived in this magnificent music every day. Each glide was so precise, as if practiced thousands of times, and every hand lift, glance, and spin, was elegant and composed.

Was this the same Tian Xingjian who used to sneakily spy on people bathing through their windows?

Ann Lei didn’t know that after each of his silent departures over the past ten years, this boy would return to his empty house and dance with his imagination of her, smiling through lonely music, extending his hand to his fantasy princess, leading her, sliding his steps.