Chapter 11: Can We Bargain?

“With this, the public will know more about you—there are gains, but also losses.”

Chen Hao didn’t say much more, but both Ruonan and Jiewen understood clearly, as if seeing into a mirror.

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

They had already anticipated this possibility when they chose to follow Chen Hao.

Every choice comes with pros and cons. The key lies in weighing which side matters more.

As of now, the benefits clearly outweighed the risks—especially since Chen Hao had officially said he wanted them to take charge of the store’s advertising.

Seeing that it was getting late and the two girls were already sore from massaging him,

Chen Hao waved a hand to signal the end of the session and said:

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

“Before 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 and then left Chen Hao’s office.

??

Ruonan felt a bit disappointed that nothing happened tonight beyond friendship.

Although Chen Hao had promised not to do anything against her will, she hadn’t even gotten a chance to express her feelings.

Still, she thought to herself—there will always be opportunities. One step at a time.

They left the office together and went to the bar, where they found the bartender A-Liang. He started chatting about Chen Hao.

As a loyal employee of the new boss, it was only natural for him to know his preferences—especially details about the convenience store, like how members of Hongxing would get a 50% discount.

Upon hearing that, Ruonan and Jiewen were so surprised they could barely speak. Such generosity was rare. It really seemed Chen Hao was someone who spent big.

Ruonan hugged Jiewen in concern and said, “Boss is being way too wasteful. Let’s try to talk him out of it tomorrow!”

Jiewen strongly agreed.

Then A-Liang respectfully handed them two bottles of Château Lafite red wine, pre-packed by Brother Hao, and warmly called them “sister-in-law.”

Jiewen blushed slightly but didn’t refute it, taking the wine quietly.

Ruonan, on the other hand, praised A-Liang for his perceptiveness.

“Smart kid, you’ve got a good eye.”

She smiled, and A-Liang bowed and replied, “Take care, sister-in-laws.”

The younger guys echoed him, calling out “sister-in-law” as well.

Surrounded by this title, the two women felt like they were walking on clouds—their steps light, as if they were fairies flying freely.

When A-Liang saw them leave with the wine, he smiled with satisfaction.

To make this happen and spread the word about Chen Hao’s convenience store, he had deliberately leaked the news of the couple.

Calling the boss’s women “sister-in-law” was perfectly natural in the brotherhood.

And having the boss’s women manage things? That was the best of both worlds.

None of them wanted to see the boss’s money being spent in vain.

As they left the bar, Jiewen whispered:

“Isn’t this kind of bad? What if the boss gets mad?”

Ruonan rolled her eyes. “They called us sister-in-law at the time, and you didn’t stop them!”

Of course Jiewen had wanted to stop them—how could Ruonan not know what she was thinking? The two of them understood each other without needing to say it aloud.

Ruonan gave Jiewen’s perky bottom a playful slap, making Jiewen squeal in surprise.

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

Ruonan grinned, secretly thinking how her sister’s figure really wasn’t bad—almost comparable to her own.

She continued teasingly, “Alright, I know you’ve got a thing for 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.”
(a saying meaning: it’s better to keep things within the family)

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

Hearing that, Jiewen’s cheerful smile instantly faded into a look of worry.

---

In the quiet of the night, Chen Hao returned home, when a system notification rang in his ears:

Ding!
Today’s income: HKD 1.3745 million.
You received a 10x bonus, total: HKD 13.745 million, automatically deposited into your bank account.

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

Chen Hao was stunned.

He had expected a decent income today, but this amount far exceeded his expectations.

Thinking it through, it actually made sense: every time the convenience store restocked, it cost around HKD 100,000. But since the Hongxing members were getting a 50% discount, that meant about HKD 50,000 of actual turnover per restock.

After four major restocks, this massive return wasn’t so surprising.

Normally, if a convenience store made HKD 5,000 in daily sales, that was already considered pretty good.

But today, with the half-off promotion and the chaos stirred up by Liangkun and Babi—which ironically ended up helping—sales were booming.

Chen Hao couldn’t help but wonder: if one day Liangkun and Babi realized that instead of ruining him, their interference only made him richer, what would their faces look like?

He already pictured them fuming in frustration.

---

Western District.

Early morning.

Baki was still fast asleep when he was woken by frantic knocking and crying outside his door.

Groggy, he opened the door to see his old flame Cuilian standing there, tears streaming down her face.

“Brother Ji… You have to help my brother!”

She sobbed.

“He was beaten badly. He’s in the hospital now, critically injured.”

“If something happens to him, I won’t want to live either…”

She choked on her words, unable to speak clearly as she pictured her younger brother Fei Biao lying in bed, his limbs mangled.

Hearing all this, Baki felt a wave of helpless frustration.

He knew Fei Biao far too well. The guy relied on Baki’s former relationship with his sister Cuilian and threw Baki’s name around to do as he pleased in the Western District, ruining Hongxing’s reputation in the process.

Some only held back from attacking Fei Biao out of respect for Baki, but deep down, they all knew Fei Biao had nearly gotten himself killed many times.

Fei Biao wasn’t entirely dumb—he knew that outside of the Western District, his reputation carried no weight, so he only acted recklessly in familiar territory.

This time, someone had clearly done the public a favor.

But even so… Fei Biao was still Cuilian’s biological brother.

Back in the day, Cuilian was Baki’s “white moonlight”—the first woman who made him feel like a real man.

Unfortunately, fate got in the way. Her father disapproved of Baki for being poor and forced her to marry a rich old man instead.

After the old man passed away, Cuilian and Baki rekindled their relationship, but it didn’t last long.

By then, Cuilian had aged and lost her charm. Their reunion was more about settling old regrets. But Cuilian clung to him like a shadow, and Baki found her more and more annoying.

Annoyed, Baki waved his hand and said:

“Fine. Go home for now. Let me figure out what actually happened.”

Cuilian was unwilling. “Brother Ji, that’s my real brother!”

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

At that, Baki’s temper flared and he shouted:

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

“He’s always throwing my name around and acting like a thug, almost made me a laughingstock!”

Seeing Baki this angry, Cuilian didn’t dare say more and quietly turned away.

She knew clearly—Baki had long lost interest in an aging woman like her.

She had once married a grumpy old man, and when he died, his children even wanted her to leave with nothing.

Luckily, by then Baki had already become a top boss in Hongxing. Relying on his power, Cuilian managed to secure part of the inheritance.

It was then that she realized: as a woman without power, the only way to survive in the world of Hong Kong’s underworld was to cling tightly to Baki.

Even if his attitude was getting colder, she refused to give up her connection with him.

---

After sending Cuilian off, Baki returned to his territory, annoyed and restless. As he walked in, he saw Brother Qiang busy working.

He waved him over.

“A-Qiang, come here for a second.”

Brother Qiang smiled and walked up to him.

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

Baki asked right away.

But Brother Qiang didn’t move, looking conflicted.

Seeing his hesitation, Baki frowned. “What’s the holdup?”

After a brief pause, Brother Qiang replied, “Brother Ji, I already know what happened.”

Baki’s eyes lit up. “Then tell me—who got rid of that troublemaker?”