Chapter 23: Word Spreads

“With this, the outside world will get to know you more. It has its pros and cons.”

Chen Hao didn’t say much more, but Ruonan and Jiewen both understood clearly in their hearts what he meant.

Becoming the spokespersons for the convenience store meant publicly associating themselves with Chen Hao. This would bring more attention and support, but also possibly provoke hostility from some people.

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

Every choice comes with gains and losses. The key is weighing which side matters more.

As things stood, the benefits clearly outweighed the risks—especially now that Chen Hao had officially invited them to take charge of the store’s promotional campaign.

Noticing it was getting late—and that both women’s arms were sore from all the massaging—Chen Hao waved his hand lightly, signaling the end of the day.

“That’s enough for today. You two go get some rest. Tomorrow, come find me at the Jiashang HR Company.”

“And don’t forget to grab the wine from A-Liang at the bar on your way out.”

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

Ruonan, feeling a little disappointed, thought to herself that nothing beyond the bounds of friendship had happened tonight.

Even though Chen Hao had promised not to do anything against their will, she hadn’t even gotten the chance to express her feelings.

Still, she reminded herself—the opportunity would come eventually. She’d just have to wait and see.

The two of them left the office together and found A-Liang, the bartender. He started chatting about Chen Hao, sharing bits of information.

As a thoughtful and attentive employee of the new boss, knowing his preferences and store policies was part of the job—especially things like how all Hung Hing members would get a 50% discount at the convenience store.

Hearing this, both Ruonan and Jiewen were stunned speechless. Such generosity was rare—Chen Hao really seemed like someone who didn’t care about spending money.

Ruonan, holding onto Jiewen’s arm with concern, said, “The boss is being way too extravagant. Tomorrow, let’s talk to him and try to convince him.”

Jiewen nodded in agreement.

Then, A-Liang respectfully handed them two bottles of Lafite red wine, carefully packed by Hao-ge, and casually referred to the two women as “sister-in-law.”

Jiewen blushed slightly at the title but didn’t deny it and accepted the wine.

Ruonan, on the other hand, laughed and praised A-Liang’s perceptiveness.

“So clever, this kid,” she said with a smile.

A-Liang bowed and grinned, “Take care, sister-in-laws.”

Other underlings chimed in and echoed the sentiment.

Surrounded by the title of “sister-in-law,” the two women felt like they were floating on clouds. Their steps became light, like elves flying free and unburdened.

As he watched them leave with the bottles of Lafite, A-Liang gave a satisfied smile.

He had intentionally spread the word about the new “couple” to help promote Chen Hao’s convenience store—after all, calling the boss’s woman “sister-in-law” was only natural in their circle.

Having the boss’s woman manage his spending was a win-win in their eyes. None of them wanted to see the boss’s money go to waste.

As they left the bar, Jiewen whispered:

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

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

Of course Jiewen had wanted to stop it—how could Ruonan not know what was really in her heart? The two of them understood each other without needing to say a word.

Ruonan gave Jiewen’s perky backside a light pat, causing her to squeal in surprise.

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

Ruonan smiled, savoring the moment, thinking to herself that her bestie’s figure really wasn’t bad—almost as good as her own.

She then grinned and said:

“Alright, I know you’ve got a thing for the boss too. 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: better to keep benefits within the family than let outsiders have them)

“Let’s focus on what to do tomorrow—how to make the boss really notice us!”

At those words, the smile on Jiewen’s face instantly vanished, replaced with a cloud of worry.

---

Late at night, when everything was quiet, Chen Hao returned home. Just as he walked in, a system notification rang in his ears:

[Ding! Today’s income: HKD 1,374,500 (includes 10x bonus on HKD 137,450), now automatically deposited into your bank account.]

[Total assets: increased from HKD 2,929,000 to HKD 16,674,000.]

Chen Hao was stunned.

He had expected to earn a decent amount today, but not this much.

Thinking back carefully, it actually made sense: each time he restocked the convenience store, it cost around HKD 100,000. But because the Hongxing gang was selling everything at half price, the actual cash flow from sales was about HKD 50,000 per batch.

After four big restocking rounds, the accumulated returns were bound to be massive.

In normal circumstances, a daily revenue of HKD 5,000 for a convenience store would already be considered good.

But today was different—sales were booming thanks to the half-price promotion. On top of that, both Liangkun and Babi had originally come to cause trouble but ended up helping him make even more money.

Chen Hao couldn’t help but imagine: if one day Liangkun and Babi realized they hadn’t caused him to go bankrupt, but had instead made him even richer—what kind of faces would they make?

He was already picturing their furious expressions in his head.

---

Sai Wan.

Early morning.

Bucky was still asleep when loud knocking and crying woke him up.

Drowsily, he opened the door—only to find his ex-lover, Cuilian, standing there with tears streaming down her face.

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

“He’s been seriously beaten. He’s in the hospital now—his life’s in danger!”

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

She choked on her words, barely able to speak as the image of her brother Fei Biao’s broken limbs flashed in her mind.

Bucky felt a wave of helplessness rise within him.

He knew Fei Biao far too well. That guy had always relied on his sister’s relationship with Bucky, using his name to cause trouble in Sai Wan, constantly damaging the Hongxing gang’s reputation.

Some people held back from teaching him a lesson only out of respect for Bucky, but everyone knew this guy had nearly gotten himself killed several times.

Fei Biao wasn’t entirely stupid either—he knew that Bucky’s reputation didn’t mean much outside of Sai Wan, so he only dared to run wild in his home turf.

Whoever cleaned him up this time might’ve been doing a public service.

Still, Fei Biao was Cuilian’s brother.

Back then, Cuilian had been Bucky’s one true love—the woman who made him feel like a real man for the first time.

Unfortunately, fate had other plans. Her father disapproved of Bucky’s poverty and married her off to a rich old man.

After the old man passed away, the two reunited—but it didn’t last long.

Cuilian was older now, her beauty fading, and Bucky no longer felt the same pull toward her. Their reunion was mostly an attempt to make up for lost time. But now she clung to him like a shadow, making him feel suffocated.

Bucky waved her off irritably.

“Fine. Go home first. Let me figure out what’s going on.”

Cuilian pleaded, “Brother Ji, he’s my real brother…”

“I know you’ve never liked him, but for the sake of what we used to have, can’t you help him just this once? Teach whoever did it a lesson?”

At her words, Bucky’s anger flared up and he shouted:

“If Fei Biao weren’t your brother, I would’ve taken care of him myself a long time ago!”

“He runs around using my name to act like a thug—he nearly turned me into a laughingstock!”

Seeing Bucky so furious, Cuilian didn’t dare say another word. She turned and left quietly.

Deep down, she knew—Bucky had lost interest in her a long time ago.

She had once married that stubborn old man, and after his death, his kids had tried to force her out with nothing.

Fortunately, by then, Bucky was already a big shot in Hongxing. With his influence, she managed to secure a share of the inheritance.

That was the moment she realized: as a powerless woman, her only chance to survive in the gritty underworld of Hong Kong Island was to cling to Bucky.

Even though he treated her more coldly with each passing day, she refused to let go of their relationship.

---

After seeing her off, Bucky returned to his headquarters, annoyed.

As soon as he entered, he saw Brother Qiang working busily.

He waved him over.

“Qiang, come here.”

Brother Qiang smiled and walked over.

“Qiang, check out what happened to Fei Biao last night,” Bucky said immediately.

But Qiang didn’t move, his expression hesitant.

Bucky frowned, confused. “Why aren’t you moving?”

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

Bucky’s eyes lit up. “Quick, tell me—who did the public a favor and took care of him?”