Chapter 4: A Taste of Luxury

“By doing this, the public will become more familiar with you. There will be gains, but also losses.”

Chen Hao said nothing further, but Ruonan and Jiewen both understood the situation clearly—like looking into a mirror.

Becoming the spokespersons for the convenience store meant openly acknowledging their relationship with Chen Hao. This would draw more attention and support to them, but might also stir up hostility from certain people.

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

Every choice carries its pros and cons—the key is weighing which side matters more.

As it stood, the benefits clearly outweighed the risks, especially since Chen Hao had already indicated he wanted them to handle the store’s advertising campaign.

It was getting late, and both girls’ arms were sore from giving massages.

Chen Hao gave a gentle wave to signal the end of the evening and said:

“That’s all for today. Go home and rest. Come see me tomorrow at Jiashangban Human Resources.”

“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, feeling a little disappointed, thought to herself how nothing beyond a platonic interaction had happened tonight. Although Chen Hao had promised never to do anything without her consent, she hadn’t even gotten the chance to express her feelings.

Still, Ruonan comforted herself quietly—opportunities always come. One step at a time.

They left the office together and found bartender A-Liang at the bar, who began sharing some things about Chen Hao.

As a thoughtful employee of the new boss, it was naturally his job to understand his superior’s preferences—especially key info about the convenience store, including the fact that Hung Hing members were getting a 50% discount.

Hearing this, Ruonan and Jiewen were stunned speechless. Such generosity was rare. Chen Hao really did seem like someone who spent lavishly.

Ruonan clutched Jiewen’s arm with worry and said,
“The boss is being way too extravagant. Let’s try to talk some sense into him tomorrow!”

Jiewen agreed completely.

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

Jiewen blushed slightly when she heard it but didn’t object as she accepted the wine.
Ruonan, on the other hand, smiled and praised A-Liang for being sharp.

“Smart kid, you really know how to read a room.”

She laughed as she spoke. A-Liang bowed deeply, replying,
“Take care, sister-in-laws.”

The younger men around them also joined in, loudly calling them “sister-in-law.”

Surrounded by the title, the two women felt like they were walking on clouds. Their steps were light, like sprites flying freely through the air.

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

He had deliberately leaked news about the “couple” to help promote Chen Hao’s convenience store.
After all, calling the boss’s women “sister-in-law” was only natural for the gang.

Letting the boss’s women help keep things in check was the best of both worlds.
No one wanted to see the boss’s money wasted for nothing.

As they were leaving the bar, Jiewen whispered:

“Do you think this might not be right? What if the boss gets angry?”

Ruonan rolled her eyes.
“They were calling us ‘sister-in-law’—why didn’t you stop them then?”

As if Jiewen hadn’t wanted to stop it.
Of course Ruonan knew exactly what she was thinking—they were sisters, after all, and they understood each other without a word.

Ruonan gave Jiewen’s firm backside a light smack, causing Jiewen to squeal in surprise:

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

Ruonan laughed, savoring the moment. She thought to herself that her sister’s figure wasn’t bad at all—nearly comparable to her own.

Still grinning, she teased:

“Alright, I know you’re into the boss too, so stop pretending.”

“No matter how we fight, we’re still sisters. Better to keep the ‘fat water’ from flowing into outsiders’ fields, right?”
(a saying meaning: it’s better to keep things within the family)
“Let’s just figure out what we’re going to do tomorrow—how to get the boss to really notice us!”

Hearing that, Jiewen’s smiling face immediately turned clouded with concern.

---

Late at night, when everything had quieted down, Chen Hao returned home, only to be greeted by a familiar system chime in his ear:

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

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

Chen Hao was stunned.

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

Thinking it through, the numbers made sense.
Each restock for the convenience store cost around 100,000 HKD.
And since Hung Hing members were getting a 50% discount, it was equivalent to 50,000 HKD in real sales volume per restock.

After four large restocks, the massive return wasn’t so surprising.

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

But today’s boost came from the half-price event—and ironically, from Leung Kwan and Ba Bi, who had originally planned to cause trouble, but ended up helping Chen Hao earn even more.

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 richer?

He could already picture their angry, dumbfounded expressions.

---

Sai Wan – early morning.

Bucky was still deep in sleep when he was suddenly awakened by urgent knocking and sobbing at the door.

Half-asleep, he opened it—and saw someone unexpected:
Cui Lian, his ex-lover, tears streaming down her face.

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

“He’s been badly beaten. He’s in the hospital, barely hanging on to life.”

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

Her voice choked with emotion. She could barely speak through her grief, just imagining her younger brother Fei Biao—limbs broken, body ruined—lying helpless in a hospital bed.

Hearing this, a wave of helpless frustration swept over Bucky.

He knew Fei Biao all too well—
The guy had been running wild across Sai Wan, abusing his connection to Cui Lian, and using Bucky’s name to do as he pleased—completely tarnishing the reputation of Hung Hing.

Although some people refrained from laying a hand on him out of respect for his connections, they still knew very well that this guy had almost cost them their lives multiple times.

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

This time, no one knows who finally rid the people of this scourge.

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

Back then, Cuilian was the white moonlight in his heart—the woman who made him truly become a man.

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

After the old man died, the two got back together—but that relationship didn’t last long either.

By then, the aging and fading Cuilian no longer held much appeal for him. Rekindling the past was just a way to make up for earlier regrets. But to his dismay, Cuilian clung to him like a shadow he couldn’t shake, and it drove him crazy.

Feeling frustrated, Bucky waved his hand impatiently:

“Fine. You go back for now. Let me figure out exactly what happened.”

Cuilian was reluctant:
“Brother Ji, that’s my own brother!”

“I know you’ve never liked him, but for the sake of what we had, can’t you help me this once—stand up for him?”

Upon hearing that, Bucky was furious. He roared:

“If Fei Biao wasn’t your brother, I would’ve already beaten the crap out of him!”

“He’s been using my name to act like a tyrant out there—he nearly turned me into a laughingstock!”

Seeing Bucky in a rage, Cuilian dared not say another word and quietly turned to leave.

She knew very well that Bucky had lost interest in her—this aging, no-longer-attractive woman.

Once, she married an old stubborn man, and after he died, his children tried to force her out with nothing.

Luckily, by then Bucky was already a top boss in the Hongxing triad. With his power, Cuilian managed to claim part of the inheritance.

From that moment, Cuilian realized: as a woman without power or influence, the only way to survive in the underworld of Hong Kong Island was to cling tightly to Bucky.

Even though Bucky was growing colder toward her by the day, she still refused to give up her connection with him easily.

After sending Cuilian away, Bucky returned to his territory feeling annoyed. As soon as he walked in, he saw Brother Qiang busy working.

He waved to him:

“Ah Qiang, come here for a second.”

Brother Qiang responded with a smile and walked over.

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

Bucky asked immediately.

But Qiang didn’t move right away, looking a bit troubled.

Seeing him hesitate, Bucky felt confused and asked:

“Why haven’t you moved?”

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

Bucky’s eyes lit up, and he asked urgently:
“Quick, tell me—who took care of him and rid the people of this menace?”