Guo Changcheng and Chu Shuzhi had just arrived at the Chief's apartment when they heard the scream from inside. Guo Changcheng stilled with the key mid-turn in the lock. Chu Shuzhi pushes Guo Changcheng behind him, seizes the knob, and rushes into the room. He immediately hesitates as he sees Zhao Xinci holding the Chief down while Zhu Hong forcibly injects something into his arm.

"Hong jie?!" Guo Changcheng called out from behind Chu Shuzhi. His voice was elevated and slightly panicked. The Chief was crying and struggling against their efforts. However, Zhu Hong held her hand up to silence him and to stop Chu Shuzhi from advancing. The Chief was quieting as Zhu Hong adjusted the duvet around his shoulders. The empty syringe fell to the floor. Zhu Hong paused on the side of the bed before she bent to retrieve it.

Zhu Hong returned the empty syringe to its case. Guo Changcheng and Chu Shuzhi exchanged both having seen the same thing. They had given the Chief an injection the day before. Da Qing and Zhu Hong had both given injections two and three days ago, respectively. However, when Zhu Hong opened the case, two additional dosages were missing. That meant two additional doses given as many days.

Before either could ask about it, Zhu Hong walks by on her way to the kitchen. Her expression made it clear that she was not ready to discuss anything. Guo Changcheng, who had been standing by worriedly wringing the thick scarf hanging from his neck, scrambles to pull it off and follow her.

At that same moment, Chu Shuzhi was stepping closer to him to exit Zhu Hong's path. He accidentally collides with Guo Changcheng almost knocking him off balance. Instinctually he reaches out, grabbing Guo Changcheng by the waist, and pulls him close. The contact sends a surge of electricity down Guo Changcheng's spine. His eyes grow huge and he immediately steps back. The hesitation in Chu Shuzhi's release was almost imperceptible.

While removing the scarf, Guo Changcheng chastises himself for being so clumsy. As he hands the scarf to Chu Shuzhi, a look of both horror and regret flashed across his face. A burning flush begins to colour his cheeks. Signing dejectedly, he hurries into the kitchen.

"Hong jie, shall I help with the vegetables?" Guo asks, not waiting for a response. He places the large bag he is carrying onto the table and heads towards the sink to wash his hands. Zhu Hong is already rinsing the broadleaf spinach. Turning off the tap, she shakes the dripping leaves and steps to the side. She sniffles quietly and begins to chop.

Guo Changcheng sneaks a glance her way. He pretends, for the moment, not to see the tearstains on her cheeks. He wants to comfort her but knows Zhu Hong's personality will not allow the typical soothing methods. She is better suited for others who can remain quietly by her side. Therefore, Guo Changcheng focuses on washing and peeling carrots for the next few minutes.

That completed, Guo Changcheng starts the potatoes. He had grabbed a clean bowl and was filling it with cold water when his skin began to prickle. Like the sensation that comes when someone is watching you. From the corner of his eye, he could see that Zhu Hong was standing completely still.

He takes a risk and looks up, Zhu Hong is standing still with a bowl of vegetables in her hands. She is staring at him. Her eyes, not as red as before, are shimmering with unspilt tears. For a moment, she looks extremely fragile, like her very person was ready to break apart. However, she is wearing a gentle smile on her face and her shoulders are low and relaxed.

Guo Changcheng returns the smile but says nothing. Zhu Hong sniffles, her smile broadening before disappearing. The thankful look quickly replaced by one of determination. She is not sure if it is the heat from the stove or not, but a feeling of warmth was creeping in and was removing the chill from her cold bones. She takes a deep breath and goes back to her task of completing dinner.

Aside from a few courtesies spoken briefly while reaching for this or that, they continue to work in mutually supportive silence. Guo Changcheng's heart was feeling a bit lighter knowing that his presence was bringing Zhu Hong comfort. He quickly finished prepping the rest of the vegetables before turning his attention to the bag he had placed on the table.

The weather had been unseasonably chilly this last week. This had inspired the additional ingredients Guo Changcheng had brought to supplement the menu. He wanted to give everyone a warm and filling meal to chase away the cold. So he decided that upgrading Zhu Hong's soup to hotpot would be the best way to do it.

Her cooking style and the flavours she regularly chose were not specific to any region's cuisine. So, whatever she prepared could easily be transformed into something more without any of her efforts being wasting.

Grabbing serving plates and bowls from nearby cabinets, Guo Changcheng starts matching them to several prepared thermal containers he had brought from home. Each held a variety of seasoned meats and fish and each was a favorite of one or more of his team members.

The amounts were modest but there was a good variety. However, Guo Changcheng did ensure that there were double portions of the beef and the cow stomach. This was from experience since Chu Shuzhi and Zhu Hong often fought over the last bites. He also prepared several seasoning bases. Arranging them from sweet to spicy, he labeled them with colour-coded spoons.

Amused, Zhu Hong watches him prepare the table from the corner of her eye. She is stirring a large simmering pot of stock. She had placed it on the stove before the others arrived specifically for Guo. As she suspected, Guo Changcheng's predictability never fails. She trades the slight smirk that had crept onto her face for a look of annoyance.

"Guo Changcheng. Come here" she says in a firm voice. Guo Changcheng immediately puts down the plate he is holding and walks towards her. His posture conveying that he was bracing for a good scolding.

"Y-yes, Hong jie?" asks Guo, stuttering.

"What is that you brought? Is my cooking not good enough for you?" Zhu Hong snaps. She pulls a spoon from the pot and turns to look up at him, scowling.

"No Hong jie!... I mean, yes, Hong jie! Uh... I mean, your cooking is fine, Hong jie. I only brought some meat because of Chu ge..."

"Here... taste!" she cuts him off, by shoving the spoon into his face. The aroma is definitely nice. He blows on the broth to cool it. He moves forward to take a small taste and hesitates. She wouldn't poison them, but he still approaches like the snake will bite.

Zhu Hong, no longer feigning annoyance thumps him on the top of the head with her free hand. "Do you think I would poison the food I eat, as well?" She shoves the spoon into his mouth and leaves it there. Her snake eyes flash as she crosses her arms.

Guo Changcheng, surprised by the sudden invasion of his mouth, instinctually drops his jaw to prevent impact into his teeth. He scrunches his face in anticipating pain. However, Zhu Hong did not use much force and the broth had already cooled slightly, so it didn't burn.

As soon as the broth hit Guo Changcheng's tongue, his eyes grew big and his face light up. The broth is rich and flavorful. Not like Zhu Hong's normal soup bases, which are usually clear and medicinal. It was not salty, but well seasoned. Guo Changcheng can tell it is made from scratch and not from an instant packet. The broth was balanced enough to go with beef or chicken, yet neutral enough as to not overpower a mild fish.

"Hong jie!" he exclaims over the spoon before thinking to take it out. "This is so good! You were planning to make hotpot all along?"

"I thought that because it was chilly, it would be best to have something to warms us up..." Zhu Hong pauses, her face softening. "Xiao Guo?"

"Yes, Hong jie?" Guo asks gently, noticing her change in tone.

"Thank you," she says, simply then turns and leaves the kitchen. Guo Changcheng is secretly relieved because he did not want to make it any more awkward than it already felt.

Zhu Hong and Da Qing have had to make the hardest adjustments this past year. They were the closest to the Chief before. And now, they have to pretend to like the Chief as he is now the same way they did then. Guo Changcheng knows how painfully confusing it is to the heart.

Thinking about his own experience begins to trigger his anxiety. He reminds himself that he is in a safe space, but feels his chest tightening. He begins to feel lightheaded as his panic rises. His eyes dart around the faces in the next room. Just as he feels the sweat beginning to form on his spine, a set of toffee coloured eyes locks onto his. Immediately, the wave of panic starts to recede.

Held in place by the same stare that pushed back the attack, he forgets to breathe. He also forgets the teacup he is holding. So it slips from his hand and clatters loudly onto the table. The rest of the eyes in the room briefly turn his way. Guo Changcheng's his face darken through several shades of crimson. Luckily, the cup was pretty sturdy and did not fall a great distance. With shaky hands, he picks it up and then busies himself with preparing the rest of dinner.

Da Qing smirks from his swing. He saw the heated look thrown from the opposite corner of the room at the unsuspecting klutz. He also saw the way the thrower's lips curved slightly as the cup fell. Things could not be more obvious between the two, like the incident earlier. Yet both of these idiots seemed oblivious to what was happening. Watching them was becoming painfully unbearable. Thankfully, Guo Changcheng's phone rang ending the saccharin scene and preventing Da Qing from clawing out his own eyes.

"Hello?..." Before Guo Changcheng can get another word in edgewise, the excited chatter begins on the other end of the line. He is only able to interject a few affirmations during the next few moments of the call but not much else. The caller is barely using his share of oxygen as he rambles through.

"...A fingerprint?" Guo Changcheng asked into the phone, his expression more confused than usual. "Lin ge, what does a fingerprint have to do with ..." Guo Changcheng paused, "Yes, Lin ge, dinner is ready... Hong jie made hotpot... There will be plenty when you get here. But Ling ge how can..." Guo Changcheng pulls the phone from his ear as the line goes dead.

"Why does it matter who is cooking as long as it's not him?" Zhu Hong snaps, startling Guo Changcheng as she reached over him for a couple of extra bowls. He had turned toward the sink and had not heard her come back in. "Last time it was his turn to cook, he gave everyone heartburn and indigestion. Besides, isn't he bringing the doctor with him? If he gets sick then he can go see her. Otherwise, he doesn't have to eat!"

Guo Changcheng smiled as Zhu Hong berated Lin Jing's cooking skills and overall character. Their bickering was exactly what one would expect in close sibling relationships. When Zhu Hong had a bad day, Lin Jing's antics could quickly lift her mood. Conversely, those same antics could just as easily cause her to cuff the back of his head.

Guo Changcheng sometimes envied when they would joke around in the office. They were so comfortable with each other, often speaking their minds freely. Guo Changcheng admired that and hoped that he could find that for himself one day. But being able to talk with someone about how he was feeling recently, seemed to be in the far distant future.

"Xiao Guo?" Zhu Hong asked, pulling his attention back. "I asked 'what else he wanted?'"

"Ah, Lin ge said that everyone should stay until they arrive because Cheng yisheng wants to discuss the Chief's treatment." That is not all Lin Jing had said but Guo Changcheng hadn't really understood the rest.

When Lin Jing gets excited, he tends to speak in incomplete sentences and jumps from one-step to another often skipping several in-between. The Chief says it is because he thinks faster than his mouth can move, which explains why Lin Jing wants telepathy as his superpower. Chu Shuzi says that the ability to form complete sentences requires intelligence and "Lin Jing needs an actual brain for that." At the time, even Guo Changcheng could not help but laugh.

That was at one of the first times the group had gathered for dinner at the Chief's apartment where there was genuine laughter. For a brief moment, they had become a family again. Since then, Changcheng enjoyed the occasions when everyone came for a meal together the most. The Chief may not realize this but, he is the primary reason their odd family has been able to make it through this past year.

It was hard to accept him in the beginning. Not because they didn't want to...

"No, that's not right," Guo Changcheng thinks, chastising himself and refusing to lie. "We did not want to accept the Chief in the beginning. Admittedly, we did so because we had to. But our distance, our anger, our resentment wasn't because the Chief was here. It was because it meant, definitively, that our Chief, was gone."

Guo Changcheng looks around the room again and allows his gaze to stop in the direction of the bed."We are all getting better at it, Chief, accepting the new you. Don't give up on us yet and give us a bit more time, okay?"