Chapter 3: Down and Out

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

Chen Hao didn’t say much more, but both Ruonan and Jie Wen understood the situation clearly, like a mirror reflecting their thoughts.

Becoming the spokespersons for the convenience store meant publicly acknowledging their relationship with Chen Hao. This would bring them more attention and support—but also potentially provoke hostility from certain people.

Back when they chose to follow Chen Hao, they had already anticipated this outcome.

Every choice comes with pros and cons; what matters is weighing which side is more important.

For now, it was clear that the benefits outweighed the risks, especially since Chen Hao had expressed his intention for them to handle the advertising for the convenience store.

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

Chen Hao gave a slight wave, signaling the end of the session, and said:

“Let’s stop here for today. Go get some rest. Tomorrow, come find me at Jiashangban Human Resources Company.”

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

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

Ruonan, a little disappointed, thought to herself that nothing beyond a friendship had happened tonight. Although Chen Hao had promised never to do anything against her will, she hadn’t even gotten a chance to express her feelings.

Still, Ruonan thought quietly to herself—opportunities will come. Let’s just wait and see.

The two of them then walked out of the office together and found the bartender, A-Liang, at the bar. He started talking to them about Chen Hao.

As a thoughtful employee of the new boss, understanding the boss’s preferences was naturally part of his job—especially information related to the convenience store, including news that Hongxing members would enjoy a 50% discount.

Hearing this, Ruonan and Jie Wen were speechless in surprise. Such generosity was rare—Chen Hao really did seem to be someone with deep pockets.

Ruonan held onto Jie Wen worriedly and said,
“The boss is being way too extravagant. Let’s talk to him about it together tomorrow!”

Jie Wen agreed wholeheartedly.

Then, A-Liang respectfully handed them two bottles of Lafite red wine, already packed by Brother Hao, and affectionately addressed them both as “sister-in-law.”

Jie Wen blushed slightly upon hearing it but didn’t refute it and took the wine; Ruonan, on the other hand, laughed and praised A-Liang for being sharp-eyed.

“Such a clever kid,” she said with a smile.

A-Liang bowed and nodded, “Take care, sister-in-laws!”

The younger brothers around echoed loudly, calling them both “sister-in-law.”

Surrounded by this title, the two women felt like they were walking on air, as if they were light-footed spirits flying freely.

When A-Liang saw them leaving with the Lafite, he smiled in satisfaction.

To make this happen—and to spread the word about Chen Hao’s convenience store—he had intentionally let the news of the couple leak out. After all, it was only natural for the boss’s women to be addressed as “sister-in-law” by the brothers.

Having the boss’s women keep him in check? That was the best of both worlds. None of them wanted to see the boss’s money being wasted for no reason.

As they left the bar, Jie Wen whispered:

“Isn’t this a bit inappropriate? What if the boss gets angry?”

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

How could Jiewen not have wanted to stop it? Of course, Ruonan knew exactly what was on her mind—they both understood each other without needing to say it.

Ruonan gave Jiewen’s firm backside a playful smack, causing Jiewen to yelp in surprise:

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

Ruonan chuckled with amusement, savoring the moment. She thought to herself that her sister’s figure really wasn’t bad at all—almost on par with her own.

Still smiling, she continued,
“Alright, I know you like the boss too. No need to pretend anymore.”

“No matter how we compete as sisters, in the end, the ‘fat water’ won’t flow to outsiders. It’s still better than letting someone else have him.”

“Let’s just focus on what really matters—figuring out how to get the boss to notice us tomorrow!”

Hearing Ruonan’s words, the smile on Jiewen’s face quickly disappeared, replaced by a gloomy expression.

---

Late at night, as silence settled in, Chen Hao returned home, and a system notification suddenly chimed in his ears:

[Ding! Today’s income: 1,374,500 HKD, including a 10x critical hit reward. The full amount has been automatically deposited into your bank account.]

[Assets increased from 2,929,000 HKD to 16,674,000 HKD.]

Hearing the notification, Chen Hao froze.

He had expected today to be profitable—but this much? It was shocking.

After thinking it over, the numbers made sense.
Every time the convenience store restocked, it cost around 100,000 HKD.
Since the members of Hung Hing were receiving a 50% discount, each restocking translated to about 50,000 HKD in actual sales revenue.

After four large restocks in one day, the massive return didn’t seem so surprising anymore.

Under normal circumstances, a convenience store generating even 5,000 HKD in daily sales would be considered doing well.

But today’s massive sales surge was thanks to the half-off promotion—ironically fueled by Leung Kwan and Ba Bi, who had originally planned to stir up trouble but ended up helping Chen Hao make even more money instead.

Chen Hao couldn’t help but wonder: What would it be like if, one day, Leung Kwan and Ba Bi realized that instead of bankrupting him, they were making him even richer?

He could already imagine their furious faces.

---

Sai Wan, early morning.

Bucky was still sound asleep when a frantic knock at the door, accompanied by crying, startled him awake.

Half-asleep, he opened the door—and was surprised to find his ex-girlfriend, Cui Lian, standing there with tears streaming down her face.

“Brother Ji, you… you have to help my brother!”
She sobbed desperately.

“He was beaten badly and is in the hospital now, clinging to life.”
“If anything happens to him, I don’t want to live either…”

Her voice broke as she choked back tears, thinking of her younger brother, Fei Biao, with his limbs mangled and barely holding on to life.

After hearing her plea, a wave of helplessness surged through Bucky’s heart.

He knew Fei Biao all too well—
That guy had been using his connection to Cui Lian and flaunting Bucky’s name to do whatever he wanted in Sai Wan, tarnishing the reputation of Hung Hing in the process.

Although some people held back from taking action against Fei Biao out of respect for Bucky, they all knew deep down that this guy had nearly gotten them killed on multiple occasions.

At the same time, Fei Biao wasn’t completely foolish—he knew that his name didn’t carry much weight outside of Sai Wan, so he only dared to act recklessly within his own territory.

This time, someone had apparently taken justice into their own hands.

But regardless of what happened, Fei Biao was still Cui Lian’s biological younger brother.

Back in the day, Cui Lian was Bucky’s “white moonlight”—the woman who had truly marked his coming of age.

Unfortunately, fate was cruel. Her father had looked down on Bucky’s lack of money and married her off to a wealthy old man instead.

After that old man passed away, the two rekindled their relationship, but it didn’t last long.

Cui Lian, now aging and fading in beauty, no longer held the same allure. Their reunion was merely an attempt to make up for past regrets—but Cui Lian clung to him like a shadow he couldn’t shake, which deeply irritated Bucky.

Bucky waved his hand impatiently.
“Fine. Go back first. Let me figure out what really happened.”

Cui Lian protested unwillingly,
“Brother Ji, he’s my real brother!”
“I know you’ve never liked him, but for the sake of our past, can’t you help him this once—get back at whoever did this to him?”

At her words, Bucky exploded in anger and shouted:
“If Fei Biao weren’t your brother, I’d have taught him a lesson long ago!”
“He struts around using my name, acting like a tyrant, making me a laughingstock!”

Seeing Bucky in a fury, Cui Lian didn’t dare argue further. She turned and left silently.

She knew in her heart—Bucky had long lost interest in someone like her, now well past her prime.

Once, she married a stubborn old man, and after his death, his children even tried to force her to leave with nothing.

Thankfully, by then Bucky had already become a big boss in the Hung Hing society. Relying on his power, Cui Lian was able to claim a portion of the inheritance.

From that moment on, she realized—as a woman with no power or status, her only way to survive in the underworld of Hong Kong Island was to cling tightly to Bucky.

Even though Bucky had grown colder and more distant, she still wasn’t willing to give up their connection so easily.

---

After sending Cui Lian away, Bucky returned to his turf, deeply irritated. As soon as he walked in, he saw Brother Qiang busy at work.

He waved and called out:
“Ah Qiang, come here for a second.”

Brother Qiang responded with a grin and walked over.

“Ah Qiang, help me look into what happened with Fei Biao last night.”

Bucky got straight to the point.

But Qiang didn’t move right away—his expression turned hesitant.

Seeing this, Bucky frowned in confusion and pressed,
“Why are you standing still?”

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

Bucky’s eyes lit up and he quickly asked,
“Then tell me—who was it that did the world a favor and took him out?”