At seven o'clock in the evening, Lin Chen, dressed in a black suit provided by the company—a well-fitting yet suffocating suit—appeared in the banquet hall. He didn't walk the glittering main red carpet, but instead entered silently through a side door. His appearance attracted some whispers and strange looks, but he was oblivious, or rather, had no time to care.
His target was clear—Lu Tianyu, or his inseparable assistant.
Inside the banquet hall, crystal chandeliers shimmered, and a band played soothing jazz. Lu Tianyu was undoubtedly the center of attention, surrounded by a group of people, chatting and laughing, his refined gold-rimmed glasses revealing an air of complete control. His assistant, that sharp-looking man, stood not far away like a shadow, carrying a bulging black clutch, heavier than an ordinary men's handbag.
An encrypted hard drive? Or other important documents? Lin Chen's heart began to pound uncontrollably.
He suppressed the urge to act immediately, observing carefully like a wolf lurking in the shadows. He noticed the assistant was extremely vigilant, his hand almost never leaving the clutch bag, and he frequently glanced around. A direct approach and robbery would have virtually no chance of success and would immediately expose him.
He needed to create chaos, to lure the assistant away.
Time ticked by, and the banquet proceeded as planned. Awards, performances, speeches… Lu Tianyu, as the closing guest, delivered a passionate speech, the content nothing more than high-sounding words about charity, dreams, and industry responsibility.
Lin Chen stood on the outskirts of the crowd, his palms sweating. His plan was simple and brutal: at the moment Lu Tianyu finished his speech, when the crowd's attention was most scattered, and the assistant might relax his guard slightly, he would find a way to approach, create an accident—for example, knocking over a waiter's drink, soiling the assistant's clothes or clutch bag—and seize the opportunity to strike while the assistant was cleaning up or distracted.
This required precise timing and a great deal of luck.
Finally, Lu Tianyu's speech ended amidst enthusiastic applause. He smiled and stepped off the stage, once again surrounded by the surging crowd. His assistant followed closely behind, dutifully separating the overly enthusiastic people.
Now!
Lin Chen took a deep breath, picked up a glass of champagne from the waiter's tray, and, head down, walked quickly towards his assistant, seemingly unintentionally. His plan was to "accidentally" slip just before they passed each other, spilling the champagne on his assistant and his handbag…
However, at the very last moment before he acted, an unexpected event occurred!
A bald, drunken man, presumably the owner of some small company, appeared out of nowhere, staggering towards Lu Tianyu with a glass of wine, mumbling, "Mr. Lu! A toast to you!"
The assistant reacted swiftly, immediately stepping aside to shield Lu Tianyu, using his arm to push the drunkard away. But the drunkard's glass slipped from his hand, spilling crimson liquor, most of it landing on the assistant's suit sleeve and black clutch!
Opportunity! A godsend!
Lin Chen's heart nearly leaped out of his chest! He immediately changed direction, pretending to offer concern, clutching a small tissue soaked in cleaning fluid (which he'd smuggled from the hotel bathroom), and urgently said to the assistant, "Sir, your bag! Quickly wipe it clean, or the documents will get wet!"
His movements were swift, his tone perfectly balanced between panic and goodwill. The assistant's attention was momentarily diverted by the drunkard and the soiled sleeve; seeing the tissue Lin Chen offered, he instinctively released his grip on the bag, reaching for the tissue to clean his sleeve—