Chapter 2: The Bold Fear Nothing

“By doing this, the public’s awareness of you will grow. There will be gains, but also losses.”

Chen Hao didn’t elaborate any further, but both Ruonan and Jie Wen understood clearly, as if seeing through a mirror.

Becoming the spokespeople for the convenience store meant publicly acknowledging their association with Chen Hao. This would bring them increased attention and support, but might also provoke hostility from some people.

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

Every decision comes with pros and cons — the key is determining which side holds more weight.

So far, it was obvious that the benefits outweighed the risks, especially now that Chen Hao had made it clear they would be in charge of promoting the convenience store.

It was getting late, and both women’s arms were sore from massaging.

Chen Hao gave a small wave to signal the end of the conversation and said:

“That’s all for today. Go home and rest. Tomorrow, come find me at the Jiashang HR office.”

“Before you leave, remember to find A-Liang at the bar counter and get some wine.”

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

Ruonan felt a bit disappointed. Nothing had happened tonight to take their relationship beyond friendship. Even though Chen Hao had promised never to cross her boundaries, she hadn’t even gotten the chance to express her true feelings.

Still, Ruonan told herself that opportunities would come — it was only a matter of time.

They left the office together and went to the bar counter, where bartender A-Liang was waiting. He started telling them a few things about Chen Hao.

As a thoughtful employee of the new boss, it was A-Liang’s duty to understand his superior’s preferences — especially about matters related to the convenience store. One piece of news: members of Hongxing would enjoy a 50% discount.

Hearing this, both Ruonan and Jie Wen were stunned speechless. Such generosity was rare. Chen Hao really did seem like someone who spent freely.

Ruonan clutched Jie Wen’s arm and said with concern, “The boss is being too wasteful. Let’s talk to him about it tomorrow!”

Jie Wen wholeheartedly agreed.

Next, A-Liang respectfully handed them two bottles of Lafite red wine, already packed up by Hao Ge, and warmly addressed them as “sister-in-law.”

Jie Wen blushed slightly upon hearing it but didn’t protest, taking the wine in silence. Ruonan, on the other hand, laughed and praised A-Liang for his sharp eye.

“You’re really clever, kid.”

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

The other younger staff echoed the call.

Surrounded by the title of “sister-in-law,” the two women felt as if they were floating on clouds. Their steps became light and graceful, like free-spirited fairies.

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

To help solidify the connection and promote Chen Hao’s convenience store, he had deliberately spread news of the new couple. In their circle, it was natural to call the boss’s woman “sister-in-law.”

And if the boss’s woman could manage his spending for him, wasn’t that a win-win? No one wanted to see the boss’s money being thrown away.

As they left the bar, Jie Wen whispered anxiously:

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

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

As if Jie Wen didn’t want to stop them — of course she did. Ruonan knew exactly what was on her mind. The two were perfectly aware of each other’s thoughts without having to say them out loud.

Ruonan gave Jie Wen’s firm backside a light slap, causing her to yelp in surprise:

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

Ruonan laughed, enjoying the moment. She thought to herself, My sister here feels just as good — almost as good as me.

Still smiling, she added,
“Come on, I know you like the boss too, so stop pretending.”

“No matter how we compete as sisters, it’s still better to keep things in the family than to let an outsider swoop in.”

“Let’s focus on tomorrow instead — we need a plan to get the boss to notice us!”

Upon hearing Ruonan’s words, the smile on Jie Wen’s face instantly faded into a worried frown.

—

Later that night, with the streets quiet and still, Chen Hao returned home — only to hear a familiar ding from his system:

【Ding! Today’s income is HKD 1,374,500 (tenfold critical hit bonus on HKD 137,450), automatically deposited to your bank account.】

【Total assets increased from HKD 2,929,000 to HKD 16,674,000.】

Chen Hao froze on the spot.

He had expected a good income today — but not this kind of windfall.

After thinking it through, it made sense: each time the convenience store restocked, it was around HKD 100,000. Because the Hongxing members got a 50% discount, that meant HKD 50,000 of real turnover.

After four major restocking events in one day, this massive return wasn’t surprising.

Under normal conditions, a convenience store pulling in HKD 5,000 daily was already considered good.

But today was different. Sales exploded thanks to the 50% off promotion. What’s more, Liang Kun and Ba Bi — who had originally come to cause trouble — ended up helping Chen Hao make even more money.

Chen Hao couldn’t help but wonder: if one day Liang Kun and Ba Bi realized that not only had they failed to bankrupt him, but had actually made him richer every time they interfered — what would their faces look like?

In his mind, he could already imagine their frustrated, furious expressions.

—

Sai Wan, early morning.

Baji was still fast asleep when he was suddenly jolted awake by a loud, frantic knocking and crying outside his door.

Half-asleep, he opened the door to find none other than his ex-girlfriend, Cuilian, tears streaming down her face.

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

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

“If something happens to him… I don’t want to live anymore…”

Her voice trembled, choked with emotion. She could barely speak as she thought about her younger brother, Fei Biao, lying in the hospital with his limbs broken.

Hearing this, Baji couldn’t help but feel a wave of helpless frustration.

He knew Fei Biao all too well. That guy had been abusing his relationship with Cuilian — Baji’s ex — flaunting Baji’s name all over Sai Wan and causing trouble wherever he went, dragging down the reputation of the Hongxing group.

Although some people spared him out of respect for someone else, they still knew very well that this guy had nearly gotten himself killed multiple times.

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

This time, no one knew who had eliminated the menace on behalf of the people.

But regardless, Fei Biao was still Cuilian’s biological younger brother.

Back in the day, Cuilian was Baji’s “white moonlight” — the woman who marked his true coming of age.

Unfortunately, fate played tricks. Cuilian’s father looked down on Baji for being poor and married her off to a wealthy old man.

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

Cuilian, now aged and faded in beauty, no longer had much appeal to him. Their reunion was just a way to make up for past regrets. But who would have thought that Cuilian would become like a shadow he couldn’t shake off, constantly annoying him.

Feeling irritated, Baji waved his hand and said:

“Fine, go back first. Let me figure out what actually happened.”

Cuilian protested, unwilling to back down:
“Brother Ji, that’s my real brother!”

“I know you’ve always disliked him, but for the sake of what we once had, can’t you help me just this once — avenge him?”

Upon hearing this, Baji’s anger exploded. He shouted:

“If Fei Biao weren’t your brother, I would’ve beaten him up a long time ago!”

“He struts around using my name like a shield, acting like a tyrant — he almost made me a laughingstock!”

Seeing Baji so furious, Cuilian didn’t dare speak another word and quietly turned to leave.

She knew in her heart that Baji had long since lost interest in someone like her — an aging woman past her prime.

Once, she married a stubborn old man. After his death, the man’s children even tried to kick her out with nothing.

Luckily, Baji had already become a boss in the Hongxing Society by then. Thanks to his influence, Cuilian managed to get a portion of the inheritance.

From that moment, Cuilian realized: as a woman with no power, the only way to survive in Hong Kong’s underworld was to cling tightly to Baji.

Even though Baji now treated her more and more coldly, she still wasn’t willing to let go of their connection.

After sending Cuilian off, Baji returned to his own territory feeling restless. As soon as he stepped in, he saw Brother Qiang busy at work.

He gestured for him to come over:

“A-Qiang, come here for a second.”

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

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

Baji asked right away.

But Brother Qiang didn’t immediately act and looked a bit troubled.

Seeing that he hadn’t moved, Baji felt puzzled and pressed further:

“What’s the holdup?”

After hesitating for a moment, Brother Qiang replied, “Brother Ji, I already know what happened.”

Baji’s eyes lit up, and he asked urgently:
“Tell me quickly — who cleaned up the trash for the people?”