Chapter 22: Turning Point

“This way, the public’s awareness of you will increase—there will be gains, but also losses.”

Chen Hao didn’t elaborate further, but both Ruonan and Jiewen understood clearly. They were well aware of the situation.

Becoming the spokespersons for the convenience store meant publicly acknowledging their relationship with Chen Hao. It would bring them more attention and support, but also the risk of attracting hostility from some people.

They had already anticipated this when they chose to follow Chen Hao from the start.

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

At the moment, the benefits clearly outweighed the risks, especially since Chen Hao had already said they would take on the promotional role for the convenience store.

Noticing it was getting late and that both girls’ arms were sore from the massage work,
Chen Hao casually waved his hand and said,

“That’s all for today. Go get some rest, and come find me tomorrow at Jiashangban Human Resources Company.”

“And before you leave, remember to get some wine from A-Liang at the bar.”

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

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

Still, Ruonan consoled herself—opportunities always come. Time will tell.

The two left the office together and found A-Liang, the bartender. He shared some things about Chen Hao.

As a loyal employee to the new boss, it was naturally part of his job to understand the boss’s preferences—especially information regarding the convenience store, including a special promotion: Hongxing members would get a 50% discount.

Ruonan and Jiewen were stunned and speechless. Such generosity was rare—Chen Hao really was quite the big spender.

Hugging Jiewen with concern, Ruonan said,
“Boss is being way too extravagant. Let’s talk to him about it tomorrow!”

Jiewen wholeheartedly agreed.

Then, A-Liang respectfully handed them two bottles of Lafite red wine, pre-packed by Brother Hao himself, and affectionately addressed the two women as “Sister-in-law.”

Jiewen blushed slightly at the term but didn’t argue, simply accepting the wine. Ruonan, on the other hand, grinned and praised A-Liang’s perceptiveness.

“Smart kid, you’ve got a good eye.”

She laughed in response, and A-Liang bowed slightly, saying,
“Take care, ladies.”

Other underlings echoed the sentiment with loud calls of “Sister-in-law!”

Surrounded by these greetings, the two women felt as if they were walking on clouds—light and free, like fairies taking flight.

Watching them leave with the wine, A-Liang smiled with satisfaction.

To make this arrangement work and help spread word about Chen Hao’s convenience store, he had deliberately let news about this new couple leak. In the eyes of the brothers, it was only natural to call the boss’s women “sister-in-law.”

Having the boss’s women help manage things? That was a win-win. No one wanted to see their boss’s money wasted needlessly.

As they left the bar, Jiewen whispered:

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

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

How could Jiewen not want to stop them? Of course Ruonan knew her thoughts—an unspoken understanding passed between them.

Ruonan gave Jiewen’s firm butt a gentle slap, causing Jiewen to cry out in surprise.

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

Ruonan chuckled to herself, thinking how her sister’s figure really wasn’t bad—almost on par with her own.

She grinned and added, “Alright, I know you’ve got your eye on the boss too, so stop pretending.”

“No matter how we compete, we’re still sisters. Better to keep the goodies in the family than let outsiders take them.”

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

Hearing Ruonan’s words, Jiewen’s smile instantly vanished, replaced by a worried frown.

---

Late at night, Chen Hao returned home. As he stepped in, the system prompt rang in his ears:

[Ding! Today’s income is HK$1,374,500, including a 10x critical hit bonus. Amount has been automatically deposited into your bank account.]

[Total assets increased from HK$2,929,000 to HK$16,674,000]

Chen Hao froze in place, stunned.

He had expected a good income today—but not this much.

After thinking it over, the income made sense. Every time the convenience store restocked, it cost about HK$100,000. Since the Hung Hing guys were selling everything at half price, the actual turnover was equivalent to HK$50,000 per restock.

After four large restocks, the explosive sales added up fast.

Normally, a convenience store making even HK$5,000 a day in revenue would be considered excellent.

But today’s boom came from the half-price sale—and ironically, the chaos that Liang Kun and Bobby tried to cause only helped Chen Hao make even more money.

Chen Hao couldn’t help but wonder: if one day Liang Kun and Bobby found out that all their sabotage only made him richer, how would they react?

He could already picture their frustrated expressions in his head.

---

Western District.

In the early morning, Bucky was still asleep when he was jolted awake by a loud knock and crying at the door.

Groggily opening it, he was surprised to find his ex-lover, Cuilian, standing there with tears streaming down her face.

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

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

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

Her voice choked with sobs. Just thinking about her brother Fei Biu lying there, his limbs shattered, left her speechless with grief.

Bucky sighed in frustration.

He knew Fei Biu all too well. That punk had been throwing his weight around in the Western District, using Bucky’s name thanks to his connection with Cuilian, and ruining Hung Hing’s reputation.

Some only held back from retaliating because of Bucky. But even Bucky knew Fei Biu had nearly gotten himself killed multiple times.

Fei Biu wasn’t entirely stupid though—he knew that his so-called “influence” didn’t reach beyond the Western District, so he only dared to act tough within the local turf.

Whoever taught him a lesson this time might’ve done the neighborhood a favor.

Still, Fei Biu was Cuilian’s blood brother.

Back then, Cuilian had been Bucky’s “white moonlight”—the woman who marked his passage into manhood.

But fate was cruel. Her father had rejected Bucky for being poor and married her off to a rich old man instead.

After the old man passed away, they rekindled their relationship—but it didn’t last.

Cuilian, now older and less attractive, no longer held the same allure. Their renewed romance had just been a way to close an old chapter.

But Cuilian clung to him like a shadow he couldn’t shake, and it annoyed him to no end.

Irritated, Bucky waved his hand. “Fine, go back first. Let me figure out what’s going on.”

Cuilian, unwilling to leave, pleaded: “Bucky, he’s my brother…”

“I know you’ve always disliked him, but for the sake of our past, can’t you help him—get some justice?”

Bucky’s anger flared.

“If Fei Biu wasn’t your brother, I would’ve beaten him up myself already!”

“He goes around using my name to bully people, almost turned me into a laughingstock!”

Seeing Bucky explode, Cuilian dared not say more and silently turned to leave.

She knew deep down that Bucky had long lost interest in someone like her, already past her prime.

Back then, she had married that stingy old man, and after he died, his kids even tried to drive her out empty-handed.

Fortunately, Bucky had already become a Hung Hing bigshot by then. With his backing, Cuilian managed to claim a part of the inheritance.

That was when she realized: as a powerless woman, the only way to survive in Hong Kong’s underworld was to cling tightly to Bucky.

Even though he was colder to her now, she still wasn’t willing to give up on him.

After sending her off, Bucky returned to his turf, still annoyed. As he entered, he saw Brother Qiang hard at work.

He waved him over. “Qiang, come here.”

Brother Qiang smiled and walked over.

“Qiang, help me find out what happened to Fei Biu last night.”

Bucky asked directly.

Qiang hesitated, a troubled look on his face.

Seeing this, Bucky frowned. “What’s the hold-up?”

After a brief pause, Qiang finally said, “Boss, I already know what happened.”

Bucky’s eyes lit up. “Tell me—who gave that troublemaker a taste of justice?”