Hong Kong variety show: The mastermind behind the scenes is emerging.

"In that case, I have a solution."

After saying that, Lu Chen waved to the back, and Ba Wanghua, who was standing not far away, immediately understood, walked over, and leaned in to listen.

Lu Chen lowered his voice and whispered something in her ear. The "Overlord Flower" nodded, turned, and quickly walked towards the side door of the banquet hall, disappearing at the end of the corridor.

Lu Chen then turned around, looked at Jin Xiuzhu and Song Mingxi, and said calmly, "Since you each have your own version of events, let's stick to the evidence."

Kim Soo-joo's expression changed slightly, but she quickly regained her composure and secretly gave a wink to her two lackeys behind her.

The two girls understood and immediately stepped forward, standing on either side of Jin Xiuzhu, and declared confidently, "We're our witnesses! We saw it with our own eyes! Xiuzhu only accidentally spilled wine on Song Mingxi and apologized, and then she started hitting her!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" another quickly chimed in, "We all saw it! It was Miss Song who bullied others by abusing her power!"

The two lackeys talked back and forth, speaking with great seriousness, as if Song Mingxi was about to pull out a knife at any moment.

Lu Chen didn't interrupt them, but waited quietly for them to finish speaking before slowly opening his mouth:

"I'm sorry, but considering your close relationship with Kim Soo-joo, your testimony might not be very reliable. Besides—" he paused, "I have better evidence."

Kim Soo-joo's heart skipped a beat.

"Please be patient," Lu Chen glanced around the room, "My secretary has already gone to retrieve it, and I believe we'll have results soon."

The crowd exchanged glances, feeling that Lu Chen was making a mountain out of a molehill—it was just a quarrel between rich young ladies, why make it sound like a case?

But no one dared to question it; after all, no matter how big the world was, Chairman Lu was the most powerful. He said to wait, so let's wait.

So the crowd dispersed a bit, some exchanging pleasantries, others eating snacks, but everyone's gaze kept drifting towards this side.

Song Mingxi stood there, her heart pounding with anxiety.

Her biggest worry was that Lu Chen would have a bad impression of her because of this incident—she had only known her for less than an hour and then saw her slap someone in public. Anyone would think she was a spoiled and willful shrew.

Just as she was feeling uneasy, she felt a gaze fall on her. Song Mingxi looked up and met Lu Chen's eyes.

Lu Chen smiled slightly at her, his eyes filled with a sense of certainty.

Song Mingxi paused for a moment, then suddenly understood the meaning behind that smile—

I believe you.

With just one look, all the grievances and fears that had been building up in her heart suddenly vanished.

She didn't care what others thought of her. As long as he believed in her, that was enough.

……

About five minutes later, the banquet hall door was pushed open again.

Ba Wanghua strode in, holding a cassette tape. She walked up to Lu Chen and handed it to him, saying, "Boss, I got it."

"Thank you for your hard work." Lu Chen took the cassette tape, twirled it in his hand, and then held it up to show it to everyone.

"Ladies and gentlemen," his voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for everyone in the room to hear, "first of all, please allow me to explain the situation."

"Actually, I have some shares in the InterContinental Hotels Group, so this hotel implemented the highest level of security measures for my banquet—not only were there surveillance cameras installed in every passageway, but even in more private places like the restrooms, there were recording devices installed to prevent anyone from having any malicious intentions."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the three women, including Kim Soo-joo: "Miss Song just said that you had a conflict in the restroom. If that's true, then the recording equipment should have captured the whole thing... and maybe even your discussions about how to deal with Miss Song."

Upon hearing this, Kim Soo-joo's previously composed face turned deathly pale. Her two lackeys behind her even began to tremble.

"This cassette tape was copied by my secretary from the security room, and my bodyguard has already gone to get the playback equipment," Lu Chen said calmly, placing the tape on the table. "Soon, the truth will come out."

The domineering woman stepped forward, glanced around, and finally fixed her gaze on Jin Xiuzhu and the other two women. Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable pressure: "I'll say it one last time—if you have anything to say, you'd better say it now. Chairman Lu's time is precious; you'd better not try any tricks."

The banquet hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Kim Soo-joo bit her lip, forcing herself not to speak, but her two little followers behind her couldn't hold back any longer.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!" The slightly chubby girl burst into tears and knelt down on the ground with a thud. "Xiuzhu made us do it! She told us to cooperate with her, to say that we didn't like Miss Song and wanted to teach her a lesson!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" another hurriedly chimed in, her voice trembling with tears, "It was Xiuzhu's idea to block the bathroom, and she also arranged for the wine to be thrown! We... we were just following her orders, Mr. Lu!"

The banquet hall erupted in uproar.

Kim Soo-joo's face was deathly pale.

She opened her mouth, wanting to refute, but found that her two "allies" had already sold her out completely, and whatever she said would seem pale and ridiculous.

"Ms. Jin," Lu Chen looked at her, his tone still calm, "your friends have all given their accounts, what about you?"

Kim Soo-joo's lips trembled a few times, and finally she lowered her head, her voice barely audible: "...I made them do it."

Lu Chen nodded and smiled slightly: "It's good that you admitted it, otherwise, I really wouldn't know what to do."

Everyone was taken aback upon hearing this.

Lu Chen picked up the cassette tape from the table and casually handed it to Ba Wanghua, saying in a nonchalant tone, "Actually, it's just a music cassette tape."

"What?!"

"With a brand as big as InterContinental Hotels," Lu Chen glanced at Jin Xiuzhu and the other two women, "how could they really put recording devices in the bathroom? If that got out, who would dare stay there again?"

Upon hearing this, even Kim Soo-joo could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground.

They were scammed by an empty cassette tape?!

Suppressed laughter and whispers filled the banquet hall, while Kim Soo-joo's father, Kim Man, blushed deeply, wishing he could disappear into the ground on the spot.

He didn't actually care about Kim Soo-joo's mischief; after all, he'd done his fair share of unethical things to build such a large business. But you can't let someone find fault with you! Being exposed and publicly humiliated—that's truly both stupid and wicked.

"Mr. Lu!" Jin Man bowed repeatedly, his waist almost touching the ground. "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! It's my fault for not disciplining my daughter properly. I will definitely teach her a lesson later! Miss Song, I'm so sorry for making you suffer!"

After saying that, he grabbed Kim Soo-joo's arm and, pushing and pulling her, slunk away from the banquet hall.

The two lackeys also lowered their heads and shrank their necks, fleeing in panic amidst the mocking gazes of the crowd, not daring to linger for even a moment longer.

……

Song Mingxi stood by the window, watching the Jin family father and daughter leave in a disheveled state, and breathed a long sigh of relief.

She turned around and bowed deeply to Lu Chen: "Mr. Lu, thank you. If it weren't for you today, I would be in deep trouble no matter what."

"It's nothing." Lu Chen waved his hand.

"However—" Song Mingxi straightened up, hesitated for a moment, and finally asked the question that had been on her mind, "Mr. Lu, aren't you afraid that I might be lying?"

After all, the psychological warfare he just used was based on the premise that Song Mingxi wasn't lying. What if she really was a spoiled, willful girl who would hit people? Wouldn't he have made a fool of himself in public?

Lu Chen looked at her for a while, then smiled and nodded.

"I believe you," he said, gazing into the girl's sparkling eyes, his voice gentle yet firm. "Although we haven't known each other long, I believe you're not that kind of person."

Thump, thump, thump—

In that instant, Song Mingxi clearly heard her heart pounding uncontrollably, so fast that it almost suffocated her.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found that her mind was completely blank.

In her line of sight, the afternoon sun slanted in through the tall French windows, enveloping the man standing before her in a dazzling golden light, making him appear like a god.

She doesn't remember much about what happened after that.

She didn't know what she talked about with Lu Chen afterward, nor did she remember when the banquet ended.

All she knew was that all afternoon, the phrase kept echoing in her mind: "I believe you're not that kind of person."

……

Evening, at the Song family's villa.

Since returning home, Song Mingxi has been in a dazed and absent-minded state, sitting blankly on the living room sofa, and even when her mother called her for dinner, she was slow to respond.

Even at the dinner table, Song Jianming was still immersed in the euphoria of lunch, excitedly discussing the lunch with his wife.

"I bet," Song Jianming picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks, his eyebrows dancing with excitement, "that Mr. Lu's attitude towards our Mingxi is completely different from how he treats others! I think this has a chance—"

"Dad," Song Mingxi suddenly said.

"Huh?" Song Jianming was taken aback and looked at his daughter.

Song Mingxi put down his chopsticks, took a deep breath, and then slammed his hand on the table.

"boom!"

The bowl and chopsticks jolted.

"I've made up my mind!" Song Mingxi stood up, her eyes shining brightly. "I'm going to Hong Kong Island to pursue my postgraduate studies!"

Song Jianming and his mother exchanged a glance and were both stunned.

Outside the window, the night in Seoul was gradually falling. The lights on both banks of the Han River lit up one after another, like a flowing ribbon of light.

Song Mingxi stood in front of the dining table, clenching her fists, her heart pounding.

She didn't know why she suddenly made this decision.

All she knew was that this afternoon, when that man said "I believe you," her heart seemed to have flown far, far away, following the direction in which those words were spoken.