Chapter 21: Raking in the Gold

“With this arrangement, the public will get to know you more—there will be gains, but also some losses.”

Chen Hao didn’t elaborate further, but both Ruonan and Jiewen understood clearly. Their hearts were like mirrors—reflecting the reality behind his words.

Becoming the spokespersons for the convenience store meant publicly acknowledging their association with Chen Hao. This would bring them more attention and support, but it could also invite jealousy or hostility from others.

When they first chose to follow Chen Hao, they had already anticipated this.

Every decision comes with its pros and cons; the key lies in weighing which matters more.

As things stood, the advantages clearly outweighed the risks—especially since Chen Hao had explicitly assigned them the role of promoting the convenience store.

Seeing that it was getting late—and with both girls’ arms sore from the massage—Chen Hao waved his hand and said:

“That’s it for today. Go back and rest. Come see me tomorrow at the Jiashang HR company.”

“When you leave, be sure to find A-Liang at the bar for some wine.”

This time, Jiewen didn’t argue. She apologized to Ruonan, then quietly left Chen Hao’s office.

Ruonan, on the other hand, felt a twinge of disappointment.

Nothing had happened tonight that went beyond the boundaries of friendship. Even though Chen Hao had promised not to do anything against their will, she hadn’t even had a chance to express how she truly felt.

Still, she comforted herself—The opportunity will come. Let’s just see how it goes.

The two of them left the office together and headed to the bar, where they met the bartender, A-Liang. He shared a few things about Chen Hao.

As a thoughtful employee of the new boss, it was part of his job to understand his superior’s preferences—especially when it came to the convenience store. He even mentioned that Hongxing members would be receiving a 50% discount.

Hearing that, Ruonan and Jiewen were stunned. Such generosity was rare. It truly seemed like Chen Hao was a man who spent lavishly.

Ruonan wrapped her arms around Jiewen and said worriedly,
“Boss is being way too extravagant. Tomorrow, let’s go try to talk some sense into him!”

Jiewen nodded in agreement.

Then, A-Liang respectfully handed them two bottles of Château Lafite wine, packaged personally by Brother Hao, and warmly addressed them as “Sister-in-law.”

Jiewen blushed slightly at the title but didn’t correct him as she accepted the wine. Ruonan, on the other hand, laughed and praised A-Liang for being perceptive.

“You’re quick-witted, kid.”

She chuckled, and A-Liang bowed and nodded.
“Take care, sister-in-laws.”

Other little brothers nearby chimed in as well, echoing the “Sister-in-law!” with enthusiasm.

Surrounded by that title, the two women felt like they were floating—light on their feet, like spirits soaring through the clouds.

As he watched them leave with the Lafite wine, A-Liang smiled with satisfaction.

To make all this happen and help spread the word about Chen Hao’s convenience store, he had deliberately leaked the story about the two new women. After all, calling the boss’s women “sister-in-law” was only natural for the brothers.

Letting the boss’s women help manage his spending—wasn’t that a win-win?

None of them wanted to see the boss’s money go to waste.

As they stepped out of the bar, Jiewen whispered,

“Is this really okay? What if the boss gets mad?”

Ruonan rolled her eyes. “They called us ‘sister-in-law’ back then, and you didn’t stop them, did you?”

Of course Jiewen had wanted to stop it—how could she not? But Ruonan knew her thoughts all too well. They both understood each other without needing to say it.

Ruonan gently patted Jiewen’s firm butt, causing her to yelp in surprise:

“Ah! What are you doing? Don’t joke around like that here!”

Ruonan smiled with a hint of satisfaction, thinking to herself that her sister’s figure wasn’t bad at all—nearly on par with her own.

She continued, still smiling:

“Alright, I know you’re into the boss too, so stop pretending.”

“No matter how we fight, we’re still sisters. Better to keep the ‘fat water’ from flowing into outsiders’ fields than to let it go to someone else.”
(meaning: it’s better for benefits to stay within the group/family)

“Let’s just focus on what to do tomorrow—how to get the boss to really notice us!”

Upon hearing this, Jiewen’s once cheerful face turned gloomy in an instant.

---

Late at night, Chen Hao returned home. As soon as he entered, a system notification chimed in his ear:

[Ding! Today’s income is 1.3745 million HKD, including a 10x critical bonus. A total of 13.745 million HKD has been automatically deposited into your bank account.]

[Assets: increased from 2.929 million to 16.674 million HKD.]

Chen Hao froze at the notification.

He had expected a decent income today, but not something this astonishing.

After thinking it over, he realized it made sense: each restock of the convenience store costs about 100,000 HKD, and since the Hongxing guys sold at 50% off, that meant an effective turnover of 50,000 HKD per restock.

With four major restocks today, the accumulated return wasn’t all that surprising.

Normally, if a convenience store pulled in 5,000 HKD a day, that would already be considered good.

But today’s explosive sales came from the storewide half-price promotion, and ironically, Liang Kun and Babi—who originally came to stir up trouble—ended up helping him make more money.

This made Chen Hao curious—what would it be like when Liang Kun and Babi one day realized they hadn’t bankrupted him, but instead made him even richer?

He could already imagine the furious looks on their faces.

---

Sai Wan, Early Morning.

Bucky was still fast asleep when a sudden, frantic knock and sobbing woke him up.

He groggily opened the door and saw his former lover, Cuilian, standing there, crying her eyes out.

“Brother Ji, you… you have to help my brother!” she sobbed.

“He was badly beaten and is now in the hospital, in critical condition.”

“If anything happens to him, I won’t be able to go on living…”

She choked on her words, recalling the image of her brother Fei Biao lying in the hospital with broken limbs. Her sentences were barely coherent.

Bucky let out a sigh of helplessness.

He knew Fei Biao all too well. That guy had been abusing Bucky’s name and his sister Cuilian’s relationship with him, doing whatever he pleased in Sai Wan and ruining Hongxing’s reputation.

Some people may have held back out of respect for Bucky, but deep down, they all knew this guy had nearly gotten himself killed multiple times.

Fei Biao, cunning in his own way, also knew that his so-called “reputation” didn’t carry much weight outside Sai Wan, so he never dared act up beyond that territory.

This time, it seemed someone had finally rid the world of a menace.

But regardless, Fei Biao was Cuilian’s blood brother.

Back then, Cuilian had been Bucky’s “white moonlight”—the woman who had truly made him feel like a man.

Sadly, fate was cruel. Her father despised Bucky for being poor and forced her to marry a rich old man.

After the old man died, she and Bucky reunited, but even that relationship didn’t last long.

Cuilian had aged, and her appeal to Bucky had long faded. Rekindling their relationship was just a way to make up for past regrets—but she ended up clinging to him like a shadow he couldn’t shake.

Annoyed, Bucky waved his hand:

“Fine. You go back for now. Let me find out exactly what happened.”

Cuilian protested, unwilling to give up. “Brother Ji, he’s my real brother!”

“I know you’ve never liked him, but for the sake of what we had—can’t you help him, just this once?”

Bucky’s anger flared, and he roared:

“If he weren’t your brother, I would’ve taught him a lesson ages ago!”

“He’s been throwing my name around, acting like a tyrant out there, making me a laughingstock!”

Seeing Bucky lose his temper, Cuilian dared not say more. She turned and left silently.

She knew deep down that Bucky had lost interest in her long ago.

Once, she had married that old stubborn rich man. After his death, his children tried to kick her out with nothing.

Luckily, Bucky had already risen to become one of Hongxing’s top leaders, and thanks to his influence, she managed to secure a share of the inheritance.

From that moment on, Cuilian realized: as a woman without power, the only way to survive in Hong Kong’s underworld was to cling to Bucky.

Even though Bucky was growing colder toward her, she still refused to let go of the relationship.

---

After sending Cuilian away, Bucky returned to his turf, irritated.

As soon as he entered, he saw Brother Qiang busy with something.

He waved him over.

“A Qiang, come here.”

Brother Qiang smiled and walked over.

“A Qiang, help me check what happened to Fei Biao last night.”

Bucky asked directly.

Brother Qiang didn’t move right away and looked a bit troubled.

Bucky noticed his hesitation and pressed further:

“What’s the hold-up?”

After a moment of hesitation, Brother Qiang replied, “Brother Ji, I already know about it.”

Bucky’s eyes lit up, and he quickly asked, “Tell me—who did the world a favor and took care of that scum?”