Dramatic changes in the movies and TV shows

Chapter 1290 Plan A Changed to Plan B
Shen Man rushed into the bathroom, locked the door behind her, and leaned against the cold door, her heart still pounding.

Undeterred, she dialed Jane's number again, but the busy signal made her heart sink.

"Damn it! It messed up at the crucial moment!" she cursed under her breath, a sense of foreboding creeping over her.

Jane's disappearance is not just a simple matter of not answering the phone; it is very likely that something unexpected happened on Lin Hao's side that she could not control.

Did he discover Jane's true identity? Or was he just playing along with them?
The thought sent chills down Shen Man's spine. She forced herself to stop this terrible speculation and knew that the most important thing now was to take action.

Time ticked by, and every second meant that Lin Hao was slipping further and further out of her control.

She quickly dialed Zheng Cheng's number and explained her predicament in a very fast-paced manner.

"Plan has changed! Stealing passports won't work anymore, execute Plan B!" He then urgently ordered into the phone:

"Immediately take men to the vicinity of the bar and stage a 'robbery'! The target is Lin Hao's passport, so be quick!"

Since stealth wasn't working, they had no choice but to rob them outright! This decision made Shen Man's heart race even faster.

Plan B is far riskier than Plan A, and a slight misstep could really get you into trouble.

But at this moment, she couldn't care less about anything else. She had to keep Lin Hao here and find out where Mu Zi was; these were the last things she could do as her best friend.

After hanging up the phone, Shen Man deliberately lingered in the bathroom for a while, needing to give Zheng Cheng and his team enough time to set up their surveillance.

Looking at her slightly pale face in the mirror, she tried to calm her disordered breathing.

She patted her cheeks, forcing a confident smile onto her face: "You're a top lawyer, nothing can stump you."

However, when she regained her composure and stepped out of the restroom, the pool table was already empty.

The man who should have been waiting there was nowhere to be seen, as if he had never been there at all.

"Where is he?" Shen Man's heart sank suddenly; her ominous premonition had come true.

She walked briskly to the bar, almost running, to the bartender Chris:
"Chris, where is he?"

"Mr. Lin has already left." Chris casually relayed Lin Hao's message while wiping his wine glass.

"He also asked me to tell you that the bet was just a joke, and that you shouldn't take it to heart."

"Are you kidding me?" Shen Man's face instantly turned ugly.

Although she was extremely reluctant to fulfill that absurd bet, she was even more afraid that Lin Hao would slip away and return to China!
She recalled Lin Hao's effortless skill on the pool table, and the mocking look in his eyes when he looked at her. This wasn't a joke at all; it felt more like he was toying with her!

But she didn't have time to be angry; she was extremely worried that Lin Hao might really be planning to run away and return to China. So Shen Man hurriedly asked:
How long has he been gone?

"I just left not long ago."

"I understand!" Before she finished speaking, Shen Man had already rushed out of the bar like a gust of wind.

Fortunately, it's not easy to get a taxi in this area at night, and soon I saw that familiar figure not far away.

Just then, Lin Hao flagged down a taxi and stepped one foot into the car.

"Hey! Wait a minute!" Shen Man shouted, then sprinted over at top speed.

Then, to Lin Hao's astonishment, she slammed the taxi door he had already opened shut.

He then pulled a banknote from his pocket, stuffed it into the driver's hand, and waved for the driver to leave without giving any room for argument.

"Attorney Chen, what are you doing?" Lin Hao frowned and asked, feigning displeasure.

Lin Hao controlled his expression perfectly, showing both his displeasure at being disturbed and a hint of confusion and bewilderment.

"What am I supposed to do?" Shen Man asked expressionlessly.

Her chest heaved slightly from running, and after calming her breathing, she said with obvious frustration:
"You don't think I went to the restroom just now to try and avoid paying, do you?"

"What kind of question is that? Aren't you the same?" Lin Hao thought to himself.

However, he still put on a sincere expression and said:

"Of course I know you're not that kind of person, Attorney Chen. I specifically asked Chris to tell you before I left that the bet was just a joke, and no one needs to take it seriously!"

"Didn't he tell you?" Lin Hao asked with a puzzled look, his acting skills were impeccable.

"A joke?" Shen Man scoffed.

The way that bastard looked at her just now, as if he wanted to devour her alive, how could it be a joke?
She suspected that Lin Hao was probably scared when she went to the restroom because he remembered her previous threats, which is why he wanted to sneak back to China as soon as possible.

Shen Man vowed in her heart that she absolutely could not let him leave, and that she would find a way to keep him no matter what.

"I don't care whether you think the bet we just made was a joke or not!" Shen Man said firmly, with an air of unyielding authority.
“But I, Chen Mai, always keep my word and accept my losses! Come on, let's go home! After the bet is settled, you can go wherever you want, I won't stop you anymore!”

After saying that, she didn't give Lin Hao a chance to refuse. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him toward where she had parked her motorcycle.

Just kidding, if you let him walk on his own, who knows where he'd end up?
There were many people and police around the airport, so her men couldn't make a move!
"Hey, Attorney Chen, don't pull me! I'll go with you, okay?" Lin Hao was being dragged along unwillingly, and his reluctant appearance made Shen Man grit her teeth in anger.

Shen Man has both good looks and a great figure, and countless men are lining up to pursue her. Now that she's "paying" him a visit, this guy is actually putting on a helpless expression.

This is utterly outrageous! The psychological shame she felt was almost unbearable, but for the sake of the bigger picture, she had to suppress it.

At this moment, Shen Man had completely lost her usual composure and had fallen completely into Lin Hao's rhythm.

"Get on!" Soon, with Shen Man's half-pushing and half-accepting, the two arrived at her stylish motorcycle.

"Oh, okay!" Lin Hao obediently replied and climbed onto the back seat.

His movements looked somewhat clumsy, as if he wasn't used to riding a motorcycle.

"Vroom vroom vroom~~~!" With a piercing roar of the engine, Shen Man stepped on the gas, and the motorcycle shot off like an arrow.

She deliberately accelerated when starting, causing the motorcycle to surge forward, trying to intimidate Lin Hao.

"Attorney Chen, slow down, safety first!" Lin Hao called out nervously from behind.

However, his arms naturally wrapped tightly around Shen Man's slender waist.

Hmm, it feels nice to the touch, the waist is slim, and you can feel the smoothness of the skin even through the leather jacket.

His palm rested perfectly on her abdomen, his fingertips lightly tracing her skin.

"Hmph, what a hypocrite!" Driving against the wind, Shen Man's lips curled up slightly, revealing a smug sneer.

This bastard was just pretending to be joking, and he looked reluctant when he got in the car, but he's already shown his true colors in just a few minutes, hasn't he?
He really is a pervert!

Wait, what are his hands doing? Shen Man felt the improper movement at her waist and almost lost her temper.

But after thinking about it, I held back. I'll give him a little taste of sweetness for now. We'll be at the agreed meeting place with Zheng Cheng soon. Then I'll tell them to go all out and get their revenge!

The night wind whistled past my ears, and the streetlights stretched into long ribbons of light in my vision.

Shen Man's mind was racing as she considered each step to take.

Plan B may be crude, but it is the only feasible solution at present.

All she needed to do was make the scene realistic enough to convince Lin Hao that it was a real robbery and that the lost passport was just an accident.

Thinking of this, Shen Man deliberately slowed down the car, seemingly enjoying the night breeze, but actually looking for the best "location of the incident".

Her eyes scanned both sides of the street, searching for the designated corner.

It was dark enough and there were no surveillance cameras, making it the perfect place to carry out Plan B.

She could feel Lin Hao behind her, his breath gently brushing against the back of her neck. This overly intimate contact made her feel uncomfortable all over.

But for the sake of the plan, she had no choice but to endure it.

Suddenly, without warning, an extremely blinding beam of light shot from around the corner ahead, instantly engulfing her vision. The light came so suddenly that even Shen Man, who was prepared, unconsciously squinted.

The intense light was much stronger than the intended signal, almost blinding her instantly.

"Screech—!" Shen Man slammed on the brakes in a panic, but due to the suddenness of the incident and obstructed vision, the motorcycle instantly lost its balance.

The tires screeched as they rubbed against the ground, and then the rider and the vehicle slammed off the road, sliding several meters across the ground.

Shen Man felt no abnormality in her upper body, but a sharp pain came from her knee, indicating that she had really fallen hard this time.

"Huh? Why am I still in Lin Hao's arms?" Coming to her senses, Shen Man realized that Lin Hao had protected her just now.

Then, a strange feeling arose in Shen Man's heart.

"This silly woman, it's just acting, why is she working so hard?" In the instant she fell, Lin Hao caught Shen Man firmly, otherwise she would have been seriously injured.

Actually, he knew the show was about to begin when Shen Man deliberately slowed down.

I just didn't expect that she would actually be willing to fall like that in order to make it realistic.

While protecting Shen Man, he skillfully adjusted his landing posture to ensure that he would not actually get injured.

"Attorney Chen! Are you alright?" Lin Hao quickly got up from the ground and rushed to Shen Man's side with a concerned expression.

While helping her up, he muttered and cursed, "These foreigners have no sense of public morality! Suddenly turning on a bright light, are they trying to rob and kill me?"

"It's unlikely to be murder for money, but you're definitely going to get a beating," Shen Man thought to herself.

However, he adopted an unprecedentedly serious expression and lowered his voice to warn:
"You're absolutely right. These people are probably here to rob and kill!"

"No, really?" Lin Hao feigned fear, his voice trembling slightly.

He gripped Shen Man's arm tightly, as if she were his only lifeline.

Shen Man chuckled inwardly, raised her chin to signal him to look to the side, and said helplessly at the same time:
"Look over there."

Lin Hao looked in the direction she pointed and saw seven or eight burly foreign men holding sticks and grinning menacingly emerging from the shadows.

They formed a tight encirclement, approaching them with ill intent, completely blocking all escape routes.

Their positioning was carefully planned, clearly rehearsed, ensuring they weren't too close together to hinder their movements while still coordinating with each other to prevent the target from escaping.

"What are these people doing?" Lin Hao asked in a low voice, while unconsciously moving closer to Shen Man, almost touching her.

Shen Man took a deep breath and said in the most solemn tone:
"They are the most notorious criminal gang in the area, specializing in targeting lone foreign tourists!"

"Remember the story I told you before? Nine times out of ten, these people are the kind of people who do that kind of shady business."

Just then, a burly foreign man with a face full of scars and tattoos on his neck weighed a baseball bat in his hand, arrogantly pointed it at Lin Hao's head, and roared in heavily accented English:
"Kid, hand over all your valuables!"

However, Lin Hao turned to Shen Man beside him with a blank expression and asked innocently:
"Attorney Chen, what is this guy saying?"

Lin Hao could naturally understand the other person's English, but the original owner of this body, He Fei, had never even attended university, so he could only continue to play the role of someone who couldn't understand.

His expression at that moment was spot-on; his pure confusion and bewilderment were so genuine that no one could detect any flaws.

"They want you to hand over all your valuables." Shen Man translated expressionlessly, not forgetting to kindly advise:

"I advise you to do as I say and not to struggle in vain. These desperate people are capable of anything."

There was a hint of smugness in her tone; the scene had finally returned to the track she was familiar with.

"Why should I?" Upon hearing Shen Man's translation, Lin Hao's face immediately filled with indignation, as if he had been greatly insulted.

"Just because they have more people and more power..." Shen Man answered subconsciously, then realized her mistake and quickly tried to salvage the situation:

"No, that's not what I meant."

"Then what do you mean?" Lin Hao persisted, determined to get an answer.

"What I mean is, why are there two of us, but they only robbed me?" Lin Hao retorted righteously, as if he had been treated extremely unfairly.

Shen Man: "???"

Listen to this! Is this even human language? So you're angry not because you were robbed, but because I was left out of the robbery list?

"Muzi, Muzi, how could such a kind girl like you have fallen for such a selfish and self-serving man?" Shen Man thought to herself.

"I have some prestige in the area, so they wouldn't dare do anything to me," Shen Manqiang explained, suppressing her anger and keeping a cold face.

If she hadn't been trying to get Li Muzi's whereabouts out of him, she would have jumped up and given him a good beating right now.

What the hell!
"Since Attorney Chen is so prestigious, why don't you put in a good word for me and ask them to let me go too?" Lin Hao seized the opportunity and looked at Shen Man expectantly.

You wish! Shen Man rolled her eyes so hard they almost reached the sky.

Even if she hadn't orchestrated the robbery, based on what Lin Hao just said, she would never have helped him.

Despite cursing inwardly, Shen Man maintained a calm demeanor and said:
"Alright, I'll try to talk to them for you. But I can't guarantee they'll agree."

After saying that, she turned around and pretended to talk to the burly man in the lead named Hpakant.

Hpakant is not a real robber, but a stage actor who has worked with Shen Man for a long time. At this moment, he is acting like a real street thug according to the script.

"That guy is awful!" Shen Man complained directly to Hpakant, certain that Lin Hao couldn't understand the local language.

"When you make your move, remember to go all out and beat them hard! Just don't kill them."

She was so angry she wanted to bite the bullet; if it weren't for her status, she would have loved to step in herself.

Lin Hao's nonchalant attitude completely enraged her, and now she just wanted to teach him a lesson.

"Was that too heavy-handed... not a good idea?" Hpakant frowned and looked troubled.
"We're just acting, after all. It's fine to scare him a little, but what if we really go too far and he calls the police?"

Despite his burly appearance, Hpakant is actually quite shrewd. He only got involved because Shen Man spoke up; otherwise, he would never have gotten involved in this mess.

Regardless of the outcome, these actors will not fare well in this situation.

"Don't worry," Shen Man said, waving her hand dismissively.
"This guy is a coward. We can just scare him a bit and he won't dare to call the police."

"Besides, don't we still have Zheng Cheng, this 'policeman,' to back us up?" Her tone was clearly impatient; all she wanted now was to move the plan forward as quickly as possible.

“But…” Pagan wanted to say something, but Shen Man interrupted him directly.

"No buts, do as I say!" Shen Man's tone left no room for argument.

“…Alright.” Pagan nodded helplessly, his eyes still filled with worry.

He glanced at Lin Hao, who was standing not far away with a look of "fear," and sighed inwardly.

Lin Hao stood to the side, taking in the expressions of the two men. Although they were quite far apart, his keen senses allowed him to hear them discussing how to "deal with" him.

Lin Hao sneered inwardly; this charade was getting more and more interesting.

Shen Man's barely suppressed anger and Pagan's hesitant expression were exactly what he had expected.

A moment later, the "negotiations" between the two sides were over. Shen Man turned around and began to coax and intimidate Lin Hao, saying:
"I've made a deal with them. Out of respect for me, they might spare your life. But you should understand the principle that 'a thief never leaves empty-handed'!"

She paused, then held up two fingers: "They want two hundred thousand yuan to buy their lives!"

Inviting such a large group of actors to perform, even though everyone is helping out as a friend, still costs money for airfare, food, and accommodation.

In addition to bribing hotel staff, bookstore cashiers, bartender Chris, and diving equipment shop owner, Shen Man almost emptied all her savings from the past few years.

With her funds running out, she couldn't help but think: since this guy's money didn't come from legitimate sources anyway, why not take this opportunity to recoup some of his losses?