Chapter 26: Thick-Browed, Big-Eyed Li Erniu

“This way, the public will know more about you both. There are gains, but also risks.”

Chen Hao didn’t elaborate further, but Ruonan and Jiewen understood clearly, as if looking into a mirror.

Becoming the spokespersons for the convenience store meant making their relationship with Chen Hao public, which would bring them more attention and support — but also possibly attract some hostility.

Back when they chose to follow Chen Hao, they had already anticipated this.

Every choice comes with pros and cons; the key is weighing which matters more.

As it stood, the benefits clearly outweighed the risks — especially now that Chen Hao had said he wanted them to handle the store’s promotional campaign.

Seeing that it was getting late, and that both ladies’ arms were sore from giving massages, Chen Hao waved his hand and signaled the end:

“That’s it for today. Go home and get some rest. Tomorrow, meet me at Jiashang HR Company.”

“When you leave, don’t forget to get some wine from A-Liang at the bar.”

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

—

Ruonan felt a little disappointed — nothing had happened tonight that went beyond the bounds of friendship.

Even though Chen Hao had promised not to do anything against her will, she hadn’t even gotten a chance to express how she truly felt.

But Ruonan thought to herself — the opportunity would come eventually. She would just wait and see.

The two walked out of the office together and headed to the bar, where they found the bartender A-Liang, who started chatting with them about Chen Hao.

As the loyal employee of a new boss, it was his job to know his superior’s preferences — especially anything related to the convenience store.

He mentioned, for example, that all Hung Hing members would now enjoy a 50% discount there.

Hearing this, Ruonan and Jiewen were stunned speechless.

Such generosity was incredibly rare — it seemed Chen Hao was truly someone who didn’t mind spending money.

Ruonan hugged Jiewen with concern and said, “The boss is being way too generous. Tomorrow let’s go talk to him and try to convince him otherwise!”

Jiewen nodded in agreement.

Then, A-Liang respectfully handed them two bottles of Château Lafite red wine, already prepared by Hao-ge, and addressed both of them warmly as “Sister-in-law.”

Jiewen blushed slightly upon hearing the title, but didn’t refute it. She accepted the wine without a word.

Ruonan, on the other hand, laughed and praised A-Liang for being sharp-eyed:

“Smart kid, aren’t you.”

She chuckled in approval, while A-Liang bowed and said enthusiastically, “Take care, sisters-in-law!”

The other younger guys around echoed the call.

Surrounded by voices calling them “sister-in-law,” the two women felt as if they were walking on air, light on their feet like free-flying spirits.

Watching them leave with the bottles of Lafite, A-Liang smiled in satisfaction.

To help promote the convenience store and solidify the relationship between Chen Hao and the two ladies, he had intentionally spread news of their connection — after all, calling the boss’s women “sister-in-law” was only natural in their circles.

Letting the boss’s women help manage things was killing two birds with one stone — none of them wanted to see their boss’s money go to waste.

As they left the bar, Jiewen whispered:

“Do you think this isn’t good? What if the boss gets mad?”

Ruonan rolled her eyes. “When they called me ‘sister-in-law,’ why didn’t you stop them?”

How could Jiewen not have wanted to stop it? Of course Ruonan knew what she was thinking—they both understood without saying a word.

Ruonan lightly patted Jiewen’s firm buttocks, causing Jiewen to yelp in surprise.

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

Ruonan smiled with relish, thinking to herself that her sister really felt quite nice—almost comparable to herself.

She continued smiling and said:

“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, right?”
(a saying meaning: better to keep things within the family than let outsiders benefit)

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

Hearing this, the smile on Jiewen’s face quickly turned into a gloomy frown.

—

Late at night, when the city was quiet, Chen Hao returned home. A system notification chimed in his ears:

[Ding! Today’s income: 1.3745 million HKD (including a 10x critical bonus). Funds have been automatically deposited into your bank account.]

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

Hearing the notification, Chen Hao was momentarily stunned.

He had expected a good income today, but this was beyond surprising.

Thinking it over carefully, it all made sense: each convenience store restocking was about 100,000 HKD, and since the Hung Hing guys were selling at half-price, that meant only 50,000 HKD in real sales flow.

After four major restocks, it wasn’t surprising to see such a massive return.

Under normal circumstances, a convenience store making 5,000 a day would already be doing well.

But today’s booming sales came from the half-price promotion—and ironically, the chaos that Liang Kun and Bobby tried to cause actually ended up helping Chen Hao earn even more.

Chen Hao couldn’t help but wonder:
What would happen the day Liang Kun and Bobby found out that instead of bankrupting him, their interference actually made him richer?

He could already imagine their furious expressions.

—

Sai Wan.

Early in the morning, Bucky was still fast asleep when he was awoken by urgent knocking and crying outside his door.

Drowsily, he opened the door to find his former lover, Cuilian, standing there in tears.

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

“He’s been severely beaten and is in the hospital, barely hanging on.”

“If he really dies… I don’t want to live anymore either…”

Choking on her sobs, she could barely form her words, thinking of her younger brother Fei Biao’s shattered limbs.

Bucky felt a wave of helplessness wash over him.

He knew Fei Biao all too well—that guy always relied on his sister Cuilian’s connection with Bucky, using his name to act like a tyrant around Sai Wan, tarnishing Hung Hing’s reputation.

While some people held back out of respect for Bucky, many knew this guy had nearly gotten himself killed several times.

Fei Biao wasn’t a complete idiot—he knew that outside Sai Wan, his name didn’t carry much weight, so he only dared to act recklessly on home turf.

This time, someone had apparently taken justice into their own hands.

Still, Fei Biao was Cuilian’s own brother.

Back in the day, Cuilian had been the “white moonlight” in Bucky’s heart—the woman who made him a man.

But fate was cruel. Her father had despised Bucky’s poverty and married her off to a rich old man.

When the old man passed away, Bucky and Cuilian got back together, but the relationship didn’t last long.

The now-aging Cuilian no longer held much appeal for him—rekindling their romance was more about fulfilling old regrets. But who knew Cuilian would cling to him like a shadow, becoming a major headache.

Irritated, Bucky waved his hand dismissively.

“Alright, go home for now. Let me first figure out what’s going on.”

Cuilian protested, unwilling to leave:
“Brother Ji, he’s my real brother!”

“I know you’ve never liked him, but for the sake of our past, can’t you help us out—get some revenge for him?”

Hearing this, Bucky flew into a rage.

“If Fei Biao wasn’t your brother, I’d have beaten him up a long time ago!”

“He’s out there swaggering around in my name, nearly making me a public joke!”

Seeing Bucky lose his temper, Cuilian didn’t dare say another word and turned to leave silently.

She knew deep down that Bucky had lost interest in her now that she was older and less attractive.

Back when she married that stubborn old man, after he died, his children had even tried to kick her out without a dime.

Fortunately, Bucky had already become a big shot in Hung Hing, and with his power, she managed to secure part of the inheritance.

From that moment, Cuilian understood: as a powerless woman, her only chance of surviving in Hong Kong’s underworld was to cling tightly to Bucky.

Even now, with Bucky growing colder, she wasn’t ready to give up on him.

—

After sending Cuilian off, Bucky returned to his turf, annoyed and restless.

As soon as he entered, he saw Brother Keung bustling around.

He waved him over.

“Ah Keung, come here a sec.”

Brother Keung smiled and walked over.

“Ah Keung, help me look into what happened to Fei Biao last night.”

Bucky asked directly.

Keung didn’t act right away and looked hesitant.

Noticing the delay, Bucky frowned in confusion.

“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you moving?”

After a moment of hesitation, Brother Keung replied:

“Brother Ji, I already know about it.”

Bucky’s eyes lit up. He quickly asked:

“Tell me—who was the one who delivered justice?”