"The Little Things"

Epilogue

They returned to SiD headquarters in the evening and were greeted by most of its workers. Da Qing ran up to them, grinning, and checked them both for injuries. He had a couple of scratches on his face, and Shen Wei immediately raised his hand to heal him.

"Where is Zhu Hong?" asked Zhao, alarmed.

"She's in the hospital helping with antivenom. Some people got bitten by snakes or those modified beasts."

"Modified?" asked the Professor.

"Oh, yeah, those took us by surprise. Some of the beasts were more snake-like others had properties of birds. Like-"

"Like the Crow tribe," finished Shen Wei. "So, that's why he was kidnapping Yashou. He wanted their genes to change the DNA of the beasts. And he succeeded."

"You sound impressed," said Zhao reproachfully. "We both saw how he managed to mutate himself. I mean, that thing was just gross."

"Well, it is impressive," chimed in Lin Jing. "Without a lab and equipment he-"

"Would you stop praising the guy? Sheesh, seriously, you are both too nerdy for me right now." Yunlan came up to Da Qing and scratched his nape. "You all must be tired. I'll let you skip writing your reports for today. Go home and rest," he ordered loudly. "We'll catch up tomorrow."

"Old Zhao," Da Qing looked at his master nervously. "Your dad's in hospital."

"What?!" Zhao's hand froze on his deputy's neck. "How bad-"

"It's nothing major. He insisted on fighting in the front line and got tossed around a bit. I took care of him. He's fine. I promise."

"OK." Yunlan breathed out, trusting his deputy wouldn't hide anything important from him. He took a deep breath. "All right, everybody," Zhao looked around at the smiling faces of his people. Tomorrow we celebrate! Tonight we rest."

The amount of food and beverages delivered to No4 Guangming Road would have been enough to feed the whole army. The Leader of the Guardian Order arrived quite late, followed by Professor Shen. Everyone was already sitting around the large table, eating. Zhao Yunlan was grinning madly as he happily greeted his people and jumped onto his favourite spot on the sofa. Changcheng immediately handed him a beer bottle. The detective's grin faded a bit when he heard Shen Wei clear his throat. The sound was barely audible, and Professor smiled at him when he sat down next to Zhao, but it was the type of tight-lipped smile that made the great detective laugh nervously. Yunlan put the bottle onto the table and looked around.

"Let's eat something first!" He commanded and turned to his partner, mirroring his expression. He heard a snort and turned to Chu Shuzhi, lifting his eyebrows. "You wanna say something?"

"The reports are on your desk awaiting your signature," Old Chu said, his face expressionless.

"Fine, but today it's not about work, it's about celebrating! Come on, everybody, I see that you started without your boss again, so... carry on!" He laughed and chose one of the available snacks.

"Is this how work is done in SID nowadays?" came a loud voice from the entrance. Yunlan frowned and shifted to the side to confirm the identity of the unexpected visitor. Zhao Xinchi walked inside and folded his hands, scowling at the piles of food and beer bottles. All of Yunlan's subordinates jumped to their feet. Shen Wei looked from the Director to his son uneasily. The detective sighed and stood up, then walked to his father, frowning.

"I heard you were hurt, shouldn't you be resting?"

"I'm fine. Stop pretending that you care."

Yunlan clenched his fists. "I'm not. So? What's with the sudden inspection, huh?" he asked, already knowing the answer. They stared at each other for a moment, and Yunlan smirked and leaned in, relaxing his hands. "Or are you gonna pretend that you don't care?" His father stared at him, dumbfounded. Yunlan grinned and grabbed his father by the sleeve of his jackets. "We're all fine. But I appreciate you coming to check on us." He kept the plural form but squeezed his father's arm lightly. "Now come, sit, we've got a lot to celebrate."