Chapter 20: Racing Against Time

“That way, the outside world will get to know you more—there will be gains and losses.”

Chen Hao didn’t say much else, but both Ruonan and Jiewen understood clearly. They knew exactly what he meant.

Becoming the spokespersons for the convenience store meant publicly tying themselves to Chen Hao. This would bring them more attention and support, but it could also attract hostility from certain people.

They had already anticipated this the moment they chose to follow Chen Hao.

Every decision comes with pros and cons. The key is knowing which weighs heavier.

And right now, the benefits clearly outweighed the risks, especially since Chen Hao had officially assigned them the promotional role for the convenience store.

Seeing that it was getting late and both girls were clearly worn out from giving massages—arms sore and aching—Chen Hao waved his hand to dismiss them.

“That’s it for today. Go get some rest. Tomorrow, come find me at the HR department of Jiashang Class.”

“When you leave, don’t forget to ask Ah Liang at the bar for some wine.”

This time, Jiewen didn’t protest. She simply apologized to Ruonan and left Chen Hao’s office.

Ruonan, on the other hand, was a bit disappointed—nothing had happened tonight to push their relationship beyond just “friends.” Even though Chen Hao had promised not to do anything against her will, she didn’t even get the chance to express how she truly felt.

Still, she reassured herself quietly: there will always be a chance—time will tell.

The two of them left the office together and found the bartender, Ah Liang, who started chatting with them about Chen Hao.

As the boss’s trusted employee, knowing the preferences of his superior was only natural. Especially when it came to key things like the convenience store—and the fact that Hung Hing members were now getting a 50% discount.

Upon hearing that, Ruonan and Jiewen were stunned into silence. Such generosity was rare—Chen Hao really seemed like someone with deep pockets.

Ruonan hugged Jiewen and said with concern, “The boss is being way too generous. We need to talk him out of it tomorrow!”

Jiewen agreed wholeheartedly.

Just then, Ah Liang respectfully handed them two bottles of Lafite red wine, packaged personally by Hao-ge, and addressed them both warmly as “Sister-in-law.”

Jiewen blushed a little at the title but didn’t object. She simply took the wine quietly.

Ruonan, on the other hand, chuckled and complimented Ah Liang:

“Smart kid—you’ve got good instincts.”

She laughed as she spoke, and Ah Liang bowed repeatedly, saying:

“Take care, Sister-in-laws!”

The other little brothers around echoed the term “Sister-in-law!” with enthusiasm.

Surrounded by the respectful chorus of that title, the two women felt like they were floating on air—light on their feet, like they were fairies flying freely in the wind.

As he watched them walk away with the bottles of Lafite, Ah Liang gave a satisfied smile.

To make this work—and to promote Chen Hao’s convenience store—he had deliberately spread the word about these two newcomers. As women close to the boss, it was only natural for brothers to call them “Sister-in-law.”

Letting the boss’s women manage him a bit—wasn’t that the best of both worlds? No one wanted to see the boss burn money so recklessly.

On the way out of the bar, Jiewen whispered nervously:

“Do you think this is okay? What if the boss gets mad?”

Ruonan rolled her eyes. “They were calling us sister-in-law, and you didn’t stop them!”

Of course Jiewen wanted to stop it—how could she not? But Ruonan understood what was in her heart. They both knew without saying it out loud.

Ruonan gave Jiewen’s firm backside a playful pat, which made Jiewen yelp in surprise.

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

Ruonan smiled, savoring the moment, thinking: My sister feels just as good as me, maybe even a match for me.

She then chuckled and said,
“Alright, I know you like the boss too, so quit pretending.”

“No matter how we fight, we’re still sisters. Better to keep the ‘fat water’ from flowing into outsiders’ fields.”
(A saying meaning: keep the benefits within the family.)
“Let’s just think about what to do tomorrow—how to get the boss to notice us!”

Jiewen’s smiling face immediately clouded over when she heard Ruonan’s words.

---

Late at night, when everything was quiet, Chen Hao returned home. Just then, the system notification rang in his ears:

[Ding! Today’s earnings: HK$1.3745 million from a 10x critical hit on HK$137,450. Funds have been automatically deposited into your bank account.]

[Assets: Increased from HK$2.929 million to HK$16.674 million]

Hearing the system’s voice, Chen Hao froze.

He had expected a decent income today, but this was beyond imagination.

After thinking it through, the amount actually made sense. Each restock for the convenience store was about HK$100,000. Since Hongxing’s people were selling at half-price, that’s an effective turnover of HK$50,000 each time.

After four large restocks, the accumulated revenue wasn’t surprising.

Normally, a convenience store making HK$5,000 in daily turnover would already be doing well.

But today’s sales soared due to the half-price promotion—and ironically, Liang Kun and Babi, who originally came to mess things up, ended up helping Chen Hao earn even more.

Chen Hao couldn’t help but wonder: if one day Liang Kun and Babi realized they weren’t ruining him, but actually making him richer—what would their expressions look like?

In his mind, Chen Hao could already picture their furious faces.

---

In Western District.

Early morning.

Bucky was still fast asleep when a frantic knocking and sobbing woke him.

Groggy, he opened the door and was shocked to see his old flame—Cuilian—standing there in tears.

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

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

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

Her voice broke, full of sorrow as she thought of her brother, Fei Biao, whose limbs were reportedly crushed.

Bucky couldn’t help but sigh in frustration.

He knew Fei Biao all too well. That guy used his connection to Bucky through his sister, Cuilian, to throw his weight around under Bucky’s name—damaging the reputation of the Hongxing gang.

Many didn’t touch him only out of respect for Bucky, but even so, Fei Biao had come close to getting himself killed more than once.

Fei Biao wasn’t stupid though. He knew his name didn’t carry much weight outside the Western District, so he kept his troublemaking within his turf.

This time, Bucky thought, maybe someone finally did the community a favor.

Still, Fei Biao was Cuilian’s real brother.

Back then, Cuilian had been Bucky’s first love—the woman who helped him become a real man.

Unfortunately, fate played its tricks. Her father looked down on Bucky for being poor and forced her to marry a rich old man.

After that man died, she and Bucky got back together, though it didn’t last long.

Now older and faded in beauty, Cuilian no longer held the same allure for him. Rekindling their relationship was more about nostalgia than passion—but she clung to him like a shadow he couldn’t shake off.

Feeling irritated, Bucky waved his hand.

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

Cuilian, unwilling to give up, pleaded,
“Brother Ji, he’s my only brother!”

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

That made Bucky’s anger explode. He roared,

“If Fei Biao wasn’t your brother, I would’ve taught him a lesson long ago!”

“He struts around using my name, causing chaos everywhere, making me the laughingstock!”

Seeing Bucky lose his temper, Cuilian didn’t dare say more. She turned and left in silence.

She knew very well—Bucky had lost interest in her long ago.

Back when she married that rich old man, after his death, his children even tried to make her leave empty-handed.

Luckily, Bucky had already become a top figure in the Hongxing gang by then. With his influence, she managed to secure part of the inheritance.

That was when Cuilian realized: as a woman with no power, the only way to survive in Hong Kong’s underworld was to cling to someone like Bucky.

Even though Bucky had grown colder over time, she still refused to let go.

---

After seeing Cuilian off, Bucky, now agitated, returned to his territory.

Just as he stepped inside, he saw Brother Qiang, busy as usual.

He waved him over.

“A Qiang, come here.”

Brother Qiang responded with a smile and walked over.

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

Bucky asked directly.

But Qiang didn’t move right away. His expression turned awkward.

Seeing that, Bucky frowned and pressed him,
“What’s the holdup?”

After a brief hesitation, Qiang answered,
“Brother Ji, I already know what happened.”

Bucky’s eyes lit up. He asked urgently,
“Tell me—who took out the trash for the people?”