Chapter 1: The Four Pillars of the Zhao Family

“With this, the public’s understanding of you will increase—there will be gains, but also losses.”

Chen Hao didn’t say much more, but Ruonan and Jie Wen both understood clearly, as if seeing things through a mirror.

Becoming the spokespersons for the convenience store meant going public with their connection to Chen Hao. This would bring them more attention and support, but could also stir up jealousy or hostility from some people.

They had already anticipated this when they first decided to follow Chen Hao.

Every choice comes with its pros and cons—the key is to weigh which side matters more.

For now, the benefits clearly outweighed the risks, since Chen Hao had already stated he wanted them to be the faces of the convenience store’s advertising campaign.

Seeing that it was getting late, and the girls’ arms were sore from giving massages,

Chen Hao lightly waved his hand and signaled the end of the meeting, saying:

“That’s all for today. Go get some rest and come find me at the Jiashang HR company tomorrow.”

“When you leave, remember to ask A-Liang at the bar for some wine.”

This time, Jie Wen didn’t object. She apologized to Ruonan and then left Chen Hao’s office.

Ruonan, a little disappointed, thought to herself that nothing had happened tonight to take their relationship beyond friendship. Even though Chen Hao had promised never to cross any lines without her consent, she didn’t even get the chance to express her feelings.

Still, Ruonan thought silently, opportunities will come. Let’s just take things as they go.

Afterward, they left the office together and found the bartender A-Liang, who told them a few things about Chen Hao.

As a thoughtful employee of the new boss, it was naturally his duty to understand his superior’s preferences—especially when it came to details about the convenience store, like the news that Hongxing members would get a 50% discount.

When they heard this, Ruonan and Jie Wen were speechless in shock. Such generosity was truly rare—it seemed Chen Hao really was someone who spent lavishly.

Ruonan held Jie Wen’s arm and said worriedly, “The boss is being too extravagant. Let’s try to talk him out of it tomorrow!”

Jie Wen wholeheartedly agreed.

Then, A-Liang respectfully handed them two bottles of Lafite red wine, which Hao-ge had personally packed, and affectionately referred to the two of them as saozi (sisters-in-law).

Jie Wen blushed slightly when she heard this, but didn’t protest and took the wine. On the other hand, Ruonan laughed and praised A-Liang for being sharp-eyed.

“You’re clever, this kid.”

She laughed in agreement, and A-Liang bowed, saying, “Take care, dear sisters-in-law.”

The other younger guys echoed his words.

Surrounded by the title of “sister-in-law,” the two women felt like they were floating on clouds, their steps light, like spirits freely soaring through the sky.

When A-Liang saw them leave with the Lafite wine, he gave a satisfied smile.

To help make this relationship public and promote Chen Hao’s convenience store, he had deliberately spread news of the couple—after all, for the brothers, calling the boss’s woman “sister-in-law” was only natural.

Letting the boss’s woman help manage things was a win-win situation. They didn’t want to see the boss’s money being wasted for no reason.

As they left the bar, Jie Wen whispered,

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

Ruonuo rolled her eyes: “When they called us ‘Sister-in-law’ earlier, why didn’t you stop them?”

How could Jiewen not want to stop it? But Ruonuo knew her thoughts all too well — they had a silent understanding.

Ruonuo lightly patted Jiewen’s shapely butt, causing Jiewen to cry out in surprise:

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

Ruonuo smiled, savoring the moment, thinking her sister’s figure wasn’t bad at all — almost comparable to her own.

She then laughed and said:

“Alright, I know you like the boss too. Stop pretending.”

“No matter how we compete, we’re still sisters — better that the ‘fat water doesn’t flow to outsiders’ fields,’ right?”

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

Hearing that, Jiewen’s previously cheerful expression quickly darkened with worry.

Later that night, in the quiet of his home, Chen Hao heard the system chime in his ear:

[Ding. Today’s earnings: HK$1,374,500 from a tenfold critical hit bonus on HK$137,450. Funds have been automatically deposited into your bank account.]

[Assets: Increased from HK$2,929,000 to HK$16,674,000]

Chen Hao froze in place upon hearing the notification.

He had expected a decent profit today, but not this much.

After thinking it through, it made sense: each time the convenience store restocked, it cost about HK$100,000. Since the Hongxing gang received a 50% discount, actual turnover was HK$50,000 per batch.

With four large restocks, it wasn’t surprising that such massive returns had accumulated.

Normally, if a convenience store had daily revenue of HK$5,000, that would already be impressive.

But today was exceptional due to the store-wide half-off sale — plus, what was meant as sabotage by Liang Kun and Bapi actually ended up making Chen Hao even more money.

Chen Hao couldn’t help but wonder: if one day Liang Kun and Bapi realized that instead of ruining him, they were making him richer, what would their faces look like?

He could already imagine their frustration.

In Sai Wan…

Early morning. Baji was still sleeping when he was suddenly awoken by urgent knocking and crying.

Half-asleep, he opened the door and found his former lover, Cuilian, standing there in tears.

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

“He was beaten badly… he’s in the hospital, in critical condition.”

“If anything happens to him, I don’t want to live either…”

Choked with emotion, she struggled to speak, haunted by the sight of her younger brother Fei Biao lying broken in the hospital.

Baji couldn’t help but sigh helplessly.

He knew Fei Biao all too well — the guy had been flaunting Baji’s name around Sai Wan, relying on his connection with his sister Cuilian to wreak havoc and damage the reputation of the Hongxing gang.

Although some people held back from attacking Fei Biao out of respect for Baji, Baji still knew full well that this guy had nearly gotten him killed more than once.

At the same time, Fei Biao was somewhat cunning — he knew that his so-called reputation didn’t carry much weight outside of Sai Wan, so he only dared to act recklessly within his own turf.

This time, who knows which hero rid the people of a scourge.

Still, Fei Biao was Cuilian’s biological younger brother.

Back then, Cuilian had been Baji’s white moonlight — the woman who made him feel like a real man for the first time.

Unfortunately, fate played its hand. Cuilian’s father disapproved of Baji for being poor and forced her to marry a wealthy old man.

After the old man died, she and Baji got back together, but the relationship didn’t last long.

By then, Cuilian had aged and lost her charm. Getting back together was more about trying to make up for past regrets. But who would’ve thought she’d become like a shadow he couldn’t shake, endlessly bothering him?

Feeling annoyed, Baji waved his hand:

“Alright, go back for now. Let me first find out what really happened.”

Cuilian was unwilling: “Brother Ji, that’s my own little brother!”

“I know you’ve always looked down on him, but for the sake of what we once had, can’t you just do this one favor? Get revenge for him?”

Hearing this, Baji flared up with rage and roared:

“If he weren’t your brother, I would’ve beaten him up long ago!”

“He’s been running wild under my name, making me almost a laughingstock!”

Seeing Baji furious, Cuilian dared not say another word and silently turned to leave.

In her heart, she knew Baji had long lost interest in a woman like her, who had lost her youth and charm.

Once, she had married that old stiff, and after he died, his children even tried to kick her out empty-handed.

Thankfully, by then, Baji was already a big boss in Hongxing. With his influence, Cuilian managed to claim a portion of the inheritance.

From that moment on, Cuilian realized: as a woman without power or influence, the only way to survive in the underworld of Hong Kong was to cling tightly to Baji.

Even though Baji had grown increasingly cold toward her, she still refused to let go of the connection.

After seeing Cuilian off, Baji returned to his territory, frustrated. As soon as he entered, he saw Brother Qiang busy with something.

He gestured:

“Ah Qiang, come here for a sec.”

Brother Qiang responded with a smile and walked over to Baji.

“Ah Qiang, help me look into what happened with Fei Biao last night.”

Baji asked right away.

But Brother Qiang didn’t move, his expression hesitant.

Seeing Qiang standing still, Baji looked puzzled and asked again:

“Why aren’t you moving?”

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

Baji’s eyes lit up, and he asked urgently, “Quick, tell me — who was the one who rid us of this pest?”