#like cp

Zhao Zi has no expectations of what he’ll find the morning of his sixteenth birthday, the day that most people usually find a name written over their sternum. The name of their soulmate. 

Zhao Zi does not ponder Fang Liangdian’s gender. He also does not wonder if they will also like food. If they love computers. If they think his acrobatic tricks will be weird. Or if they will love his grandmother as much as he does. 

Instead Zhao Zi wonders if he’d be able to spot them on the street, if their first meeting will be as magical as movies and books make it out to seem. Zhao Zi wonders if he’ll be the one swept off his feet or the one sweeping someone off their feet. He also wonders if the name on his chest will burn, if his heart will flutter, if butterflies will suddenly tickle his stomach.

For the next several years, none of the above happen. 

And unlike many of his peers, Zhao Zi does not mind. Instead, Zhao Zi assures himself that he’ll just know one day. It is, as they say, the way things go.

In retrospect, Zhao Zi realizes that truth is often stranger than fiction.

Much, much, stranger.

------

It feels strange, Zhao Zi belatedly realizes, as Jack throws him over his shoulder and then onto a couch in a dark room in Tang Yi’s house. Because despite all the menace in the glint of Jack’s smile, Zhao Zi finds himself unable to be afraid. 

Some part of him, a part that Zhao Zi wonders if he should call an idiot or naive, instead feels safe being cornered by the red-haired mercenary.

Zhao Zi leans into it anyway, plays up the energy he feels bubbling up inside his chest, and somehow, Jack doesn’t resist. Zhao Zi begs, wheedles, complains, and jabs. Jack, despite his threats, seems to inevitably relent. And cooks all of Zhao Zi’s requests himself no less.

“Go on, eat,” Jack says with a confidence Zhao Zi has only seen from the famous chefs that he and Meng Shaofei have taken great pains to visit.

After the first bite, Zhao Zi isn’t sure if it’s his hunger or his palette that’s saying Jack deserves the confidence. After the next few bites, Zhao Zi is sure it’s his palette.

(But Zhao Zi hopes it’s just indigestion lurking just under his solar plexus after he gets released from his “captivity” and not anything more. Jack is, after all, a gangster.)

------

During their next meeting, Zhao Zi sneaks a not so subtle peak at Jack’s chest through his wet t-shirt after they fall into the pool. The chilling cold of the water seeping into his bones distracts him from the faint disappointment that Jack’s chest has no name written on it. The view of his impressive muscles helps as well.

For the third meeting, Zhao Zi hopes it’s indigestion again when Jack pokes his way around the small house Zhao Zi had shared with his grandmother. Even if it feels more like effervescent bubbles than gas or stomach rumbling.

In the fourth meeting, Zhao Zi tries not to think too hard about how easily Jack had predicted all the things he wanted to eat at the hospital. But the feeling is different again. It feels like warm hands cradling his heart. Like resting his head on grandma’s knee as she teases him while poking his nose. Like holding hands so neither person strays too far. 

The fifth meeting, after Jack kisses him after his cheesy pick up line, feels like a lightning strike to his soul and Zhao Zi flees for his life. And in his fear, Zhao Zi does not remember the sensation of the kiss, nor the horrid way Jack delivered his line. Instead, Zhao Zi remembers the rapid beating of his heart, so fast it could burst into a thousand pieces in his chest and each piece would still be beating in unison.

The sixth, with the lunch box, feels sad and Zhao Zi tastes something else in Jack’s carefully prepared lunch box other than his expert touch with seasoning. Zhao Zi tastes conflict and sorrow and just a touch of pride and greed, all under something as loving as Yu Qi says should exist. For it is a happy blessing, when someone washes their hands and goes into the kitchen to cook for you. And that is a taste that cannot be hidden through the sour poison of a conflicted soul.

Meeting number seven ends with Zhao Zi feeling paralyzed, his lungs frozen in his chest as Jack tells him he might be leaving. Zhao Zi puts his head between his legs and tries to breathe deep, long after Jack has already stopped standing in front of his door. The breaths never get any easier.

The eighth meeting starts out tasting of salt from tears and sour beer. The pain in Zhao Zi’s chest won’t leave. The pressure pressing down on his sternum, on the name he’s carried for years over his heart, refuses to let up no matter what he does. Is Fang Liangdian gone? 

“Has he left me too?” Zhao Zi asks himself as he looks up at the sky. “On top of everyone else…” Zhao Zi clenches a fist in his shirt over his sternum, “Are you gone now too?”

“Who’s left you, Shorty?” Zhao Zi doesn’t even startle as Jack sits down next to him. “Why are you out here at this hour?” Gentle thumbs wipe away the moisture under Zhao Zi’s eyes and Zhao Zi feels his eyelids flutter shut. “What’s got you so upset?”

It comes out in a rushing tumble, one that reminds Zhao Zi of the first time he’d tried to do a cartwheel down an incline and ended up as a flailing mass of limbs, sprawled out on foam mats. All the pain, all the sorrow, all the ways Zhao Zi feels he’s been abandoned by the people he’s looked up to, by the people he’s loved. Somehow, Zhao Zi’s words about being abandoned by someone he’s never even met fail to make it past his lips.

But the nausea sets in with Jack’s words.

“I’m leaving soon, Shorty.”

“Why?! Why are you leaving me too?” 

“Are you saying I should stay?” Jack puts his arm around Zhao Zi and warmth and comfort overwhelm him immediately. “Are you saying I should drop everything for you?”

Zhao Zi’s hands cling to Jack’s shirt like a lifeline. “Please.”

Jack pauses for a second before leaning in. “I’m going to ask you one last time. Are you sure you want me to stay?”

And this time, despite how Jack’s name is definitely not Fang Liangdian, despite how Zhao Li’an is not written on Jack’s chest, despite how strange his lips feel from beer and the cold, Zhao Zi kisses Jack anyway.

Somewhere, under pain and hurt and anxiety, it feels like his chest lightens up again. And for the first time all day, Zhao Zi feels as if his lungs have taken in a full breath despite how Jack sucks the air right out of them again.

------

It’s only after Jack moves himself into Zhao Zi’s house and the two begin preparing dinner together that Zhao Zi asks the appropriate question.

Or at least, Zhao Zi hopes it’s appropriate.

“Jack…” Zhao Zi starts. Jack only hums in reply and doesn’t look up from the cutting board. “Is… is my name on your chest?” Jack’s body stiffens. The chopping finally stops and Zhao Zi feels his own body locking up.

Jack keeps his head down as he replies, “Does that matter, Shorty?”

“I…” Zhao Zi bites his lip. Jack does not resume his chopping. Zhao Zi exhales and inhales again. “Your name isn’t on my chest. It… it doesn’t say Jack.”

Jack’s body loosens by a fraction. But only just. “I had the name on my chest removed a long time ago, Shorty.” The chopping resumes, but it is not the fluid motion that Zhao Zi has become accustomed to. It’s mechanical in it’s staccato, more reminiscent of a factory line than a home chef. “I’ve long forgotten what it was.” The rhythm of the chops slowly regains its fluid stride. “So if you were expecting that-”

“I’ve never had expectations,” Zhao Zi says in a rush, trying to ignore the disappointment welling up in his chest. Trying to remember that you don’t have to fall in love with your soulmate, that it’s fine to fall in love with someone else. That some people go lifetimes perhaps, without ever meeting their soulmate. “I think… I feel…” Zhao Zi presses a hand over his sternum. “I think they’re gone now anyway, the person with this name.”

“So?” Jack’s motions stop again, but this time, he turns to face Zhao Zi with a small smile on his face. “Shall we two foolish and broken souls build something else together?” 

Zhao Zi takes in the lightness of Jack’s tone and how the smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes. 

“Yeah, we’re our own family now anyway, right?” Zhao Zi walks over to nudge Jack with his hip. “So who cares if we’re not…”

“Whether we are or are not,” Jack says quietly, as if gently correcting. “Whether we are or are not soulmates, it feels right in here.” And Jack carefully pokes Zhao Zi’s chest with the handle of grandma’s chef knife. “And that’s what should matter.”

“Yeah…” And Zhao Zi, instead of poking Jack’s chest, cups his left pectoral instead and squeezes. “What we feel right here.”

“Shorty, you should at least have dinner with me first!” And suddenly the emotional haze is broken and Jack laughs, bright and clear. 

-----

Zhao Zi forgets about Fang Liangdian and whatever name Jack might have had on his chest for the next few months as he and Jack settle in, as Tang Yi’s court case moves forward, and as Meng Shaofei’s energy crests and wanes with every other hearing. But Zhao Zi knows in his heart Shaofei will be fine, knows that the pair of ridiculously lucky soulmates will make it through Tang Yi’s incarceration as strong as ever and meet on the other end with open arms.

(However, if Zhao Zi has anything else to say, it’s that it’s one fucked up courtship to drive each other mad through police investigations over the death of one’s mentor and the other’s apparent birth mother until the sexual tension builds up amid life-or-death crises.)

But the night that he and Jack have decided will be their first time, Zhao Zi cannot help but stare at the slightly off-color strip of skin over Jack’s sternum, the place where someone’s name was once written. At the same time, Zhao Zi presses a hand over his own, where Fang Liangdian’s name still lives, even if he perhaps does not.

And Zhao Zi means perhaps. There is no emptiness under his chest, slowly fading away with time, as many people who have lost their soulmate have described. There is only the feeling of a bright light seen through sunglasses. Or water trickling through a hole in a dam. 

Either way, Jack pulls the comforter over both of them as he slides into bed and even in the dim light, Zhao Zi’s hands find their way to Jack’s chest. Zhao Zi’s fingertips trace patterns that he’ll deny are his name into the strip of scar tissue and Jack says nothing but reaches for Zhao Zi’s shirt hems. Immediately after Zhao Zi’s shirt is cast aside outside of their cocoon away from the outside world, things continue for a total of thirty very pleasurable seconds, until Jack kisses his way down Zhao Zi’s neck to his chest. 

And finds the three characters written in black on Zhao Zi’s sternum.

“Jack?” Zhao Zi raises his head up from his pillow in concern. “Is something wrong?”

Calloused fingers gently trace soft skin. “The name here…”

“Fang Liangdian.” Zhao Zi reaches for one of Jack’s hands and grasps it. “You said… you said it doesn’t matter.”

“It shouldn’t, but…” A ghost of a smile is pressed against the first character. “I thought everyone had forgotten this name. I’m surprised to see it here.”

Zhao Zi sits up properly this time. “Jack? What are you-”

“It looks like, we’re a little more meant to be than I thought, Shorty.” Jack presses a hand over the characters as he kisses Zhao Zi’s forehead. Both touches feel like a brand somehow. “Fang Liangdian is not dead, Shorty.” Another kiss, pressed over each eyelid. “He’s someone who lost his way, gave up everything, and still ended up with a great treasure.” The final kiss to Fang Liangdian’s name feels like dynamite blowing up the dam in Zhao Zi’s chest. “He’s right here in front of you Zhao Li’an.” 

Zhao Zi feels his jaw drop in indignation despite happiness flowing through him. “You… You’re…”

“Fang Liangdian was my birth name.” Jack rolls off of Zhao Zi to lie beside him instead. “It’s been a long time since anyone called me that.” 

“But what about-”

“It feels right, when you write your name over my heart, Shorty.” Jack smiles up at Zhao Zi.”It feels like it should be there.”

“Should be doesn’t mean it was!”

“Well…” And this time Jack’s smile turns infuriatingly smug. “What if I told you I sent out a request for something from one of my very, very old overseas lockboxes? And what if I told you that what’s in that lockbox is something I got removed a long time ago.”

Jack is still smiling and laughing as Zhao Zi attempts to smother him with his pillow, yelling all manner of curses and names. But Zhao Zi can’t deny the feeling flowing through him now that the dam has been torn down. Now that he knows Jack’s birth name. Now that he knows maybe, just maybe, his name was once on Jack’s chest as well.

Because now he feels the radiance in his heart, in his soul, of loving his soulmate, of loving the person whose name he’d carried for years through highs and lows. 

And it feels as good as people described.

At exactly half an hour to noon, Jack saved all his work to several backups. At a quarter to noon, he pulled open a command prompt on his computer, tapped out a familiar string of commands to start a program he’d written himself, and hit enter.

A second passed.

Then another.

And suddenly Jack’s screen went on the fritz and changed to the dreaded blue screen of death.

“Oh no!” Jack exclaimed, much to the consternation of Li Zhide in the cubicle next to him. “My computer is fried again! I need IT stat!”

Li Zhide pounded on his desk. “Do you really have nothing better to do?!”

Jack ignored him as he punched in the extension he could dial with his eyes closed now. “Hello? IT? Yeah, it happened again. Could you send someone up? Boss Tang will be really upset if these reports I was working on are lost and you just know that means Boss Zuo will also be on our cases…”

At noon on the dot, there was (at least to Jack) the delightful patter of sneakers on carpet running up to Jack’s cubicle. Jack pointedly ignored Li Zhide’s groan and put his most charming smile on his face. “Jack! Why am I not surprised to see it’s you again! It’s like clockwork every week!” Zhao Zi said as he leaned against the cubicle walls.

Jack laughed. “Oh, I guess the universe has it out for me. Say, you haven’t taken your lunch break yet right?” Jack’s smile grew as he took in the pout on the IT tech’s face. “How about we have lunch together after you get this thing to stop acting up?”

Zhao Zi’s face lit up. “Did you bring-”

“I did bring extra lunch today! Perhaps it was meant to be after all!”

Zhao Zi jumped up and down in cheer. “I’m so excited! Come on! Let me get at this poor machine and then food!”

Jack stepped away as Zhao Zi all but fell into the vacated computer chair, and with astounding focus, began a furious clatter on the keyboard to resolve the issue.

------

It was two months ago that Jack had first run into an issue with his computer.

Jack was no slouch when it came to technology. You didn’t get far in his field of expertise without more than just the basics. However, there was very little coding predictive algorithms could do when it came to terminated software licenses and a (slightly illegal) quick fix that resulted in a hard disk failure.

“Please send someone up to fix this,” Jack said as calmly as he could muster to the IT secretary. “Boss Tang needs me to finish this by TONIGHT.”

“I’m really sorry, but all our technicians are already out… And-”

“Okay, but I’m not talking about any department head as Boss Tang. You know that right? I’m talking about CEO Tang Yi. You know, the one who signs EVERYONE’S paychecks in this building. That Boss Tang. So do something .”

A few minutes later, something was Zhao Li’an.

“But you can just call me Zhao Zi! Everyone does!” Zhao Zi had said with a bright and cheery smile.

Jack was stunned into silence by the force of such brightness and that quickly morphed into impressed awe when Zhao Zi had his computer back up and running after five minutes of key clacking. Another five minutes later, he’d even updated the activation license and fixed the weird spots on Jack’s screen resolution.

“All done!” Zhao Zi stood up with a stretch which was quickly followed by a loud rumbling sound. Zhao Zi’s cheeks turned just the faintest shade of pink. “Sorry. I still haven’t taken my lunch break yet.”

Zhao Zi’s face looked so pitiful that Jack found himself handing over his lunch box before he could register doing so. “Here. Have some.”

Zhao Zi blinked. “But that’s your lunch?”

“I-”

“Oh! Let’s share!” Zhao Zi grabbed Jack’s hand. “The lunch room on this floor isn’t far, right?”

Amidst sharing cold sesame noodles, pickled vegetables, breaded pork cutlets, and tea eggs, Jack’s eyes never left Zhao Zi’s smiling face. Jack had always been skeptical of love at first sight. He wasn’t a romantic, much to the consternation of his many previous partners.

But Jack was no stranger to intrigue and curiosity.

And thus began Jack’s weekly sabotage of his own computer in increasingly interesting ways.

------

“You’ve really done a doozy on it today,” Zhao Zi said after many more minutes than usual. “I didn’t even know someone could mess up the registry just doing what you do.”

“Yeah…” Jack said as he checked his watch. “Crazy isn’t it?”

“But…” Zhao Zi typed another series of characters and hit enter. The computer seemed to restart and suddenly Jack’s desktop wallpaper returned. “I fixed it!”

Jack clapped and could almost hear the grinding of Li Zhide’s teeth. “Well done! Truly well deserving of a good lunch now.”

“Really?! What did you bring today?”

“Braised pork belly with pickled garlic. Stir-fried lotus root and bamboo shoots with lots of chili peppers. And-”

“Taro rice?”

Jack smiled. “You guessed correctly, Shorty.”

“Wow! Everything I wanted to eat today! You have to be a mind reader!”

“Just coincidence, Shorty,” Jack said as he led Zhao Zi out. More accurately, Jack walked away from his cubicle holding his large lunch box and Zhao Zi followed as if Jack was the Pied Piper. “Come on, let’s enjoy lunch today and end the week well.”

“Mm…” Zhao Zi pulled a seat up to the lunch table, mouth already salivating. “Shame we just have lunch when your computer is on the fritz.”

Jack paused for just a moment as he pulled dishes out of his lunch box. “Oh?”

“Yeah. It’d be great if we had lunch every day! Then I’d eat such nice food all the time!” Zhao Zi snatched up the offered pair of chopsticks.

“Every day…” Jack said to himself as Zhao Zi dug in. “I could do every day.”

------

Monday: “For some reason it won’t print…” “...How is your computer the only one who isn’t able to identify the printer’s correct IP address??”

“No idea. But hey, you like xiaolongbao right?”

------

Tuesday: “Totally crazy isn’t it?”

“It really is! And you swear you haven’t opened up your computer here, ever?”

“Cross my heart!”

“But then how was your motherboard unplugged from everything?”

“No idea. But how do you feel about fish curry for lunch today?”

-------

Wednesday: “I swear! I’m totally innocent! I would never hurt a computer monitor like that!”

“But… The angle of the pencil…”

“...Li Zhide threw it at me.”

“YOU WOULD DESERVE IT IF I ACTUALLY DID.”

“Uh…”

“Don’t mind him. I brought kimchi stew with noodles if that’s incentive to get me a new monitor quickly?”

------

Thursday: “So you’re not gonna believe this…”

“Jack…”

“Okay, but before you sigh at me, remember, I brought beer braised crawfish with me today.”

“...Did you try turning it off and on again?”

“Twice.”

“Okay… I’ll take a look. But you better have-”

“Shrimp shumai? Spicy and sour glass noodles? Pickled bamboo shoots?”

“All of the above.”

“What a coincidence! I do!”

------

Friday: Jack dug around under his desk desperately. Zhao Zi was on his way up and it wouldn’t do if there wasn’t a problem for him to fix.

“Jack… What are you doing?” Jack jolted at the sound of Zhao Zi’s voice, several minutes ahead of schedule, and banged his head on the underside of his desk. “Ah! Are you okay?” Zhao Zi pulled Jack out to find him rubbing his head with one hand and clutching the surge protector power cord with the other. “What on earth?”

“Uh…” Jack suddenly found all his charismatic demeanor vanishing into thin air. Along with possibly any affection Zhao Zi had for him. “How about lunch first?”

For the first time in his life, Jack finally saw Zhao Zi frown. “Okay. Lunch first.”

------

In the lunchroom, Jack set down his lunch box and carefully pulled out today’s offering of dishes. Zhao Zi stared only at the table despite the many delicious scents. All of them dishes Jack knew Zhao Zi might like today.

And yet Zhao Zi would not look at the food or at him.

“Shorty…. I mean, Zhao Zi,” Jack started. “I should explain-”

“Have you really been faking emergencies just to see me?”

“Well-”

“Zhao Zi?” The pair turned to look at the interloper. Tang Yi’s boyfriend and captain of the local police department, Meng Shaofei. “What are you doing up here?”

“Ah Fei!” Zhao Zi immediately stood up. “I should ask you the same thing!”

“Ah Yi forgot some paperwork at home so I came to bring it for him.” Meng Shaofei frowned. “Shouldn’t you be down in the IT department? Didn’t you say you got a new promotion to department manager of the IT department?”

Zhao Zi turned pale and Jack blinked. “What?”

“You shouldn’t be running around fixing all these calls for IT support anymore. You’re supposed to be the one sending all the technicians,” Meng Shaofei said with his arms crossed.

Zhao Zi scrunched up his face, stomped over, and pushed Meng Shaofei in the direction of the elevator. “Stop interfering! Go back to work!”

“You go first!”

“I am at work!”

“Working someone’s heartstrings!”

“ Ah Fei !”

After another few minutes of roughhousing while Jack sorted his own thoughts, Meng Shaofei had finally left and Zhao Zi returned, face red. But whether it was from embarrassment or exertion, Jack wasn’t sure. Zhao Zi returned to his seat, hands clenched into fists in his lap. His eyes still did not look at the food Jack had laid out. Instead, he looked at a point exactly to the left of Jack’s left eye.

Jack licked his lips and earned a twitch from Zhao Zi. “So… Uh…” Jack tapped his chopsticks against the table. “Should we talk?”

Zhao Zi picked up the chopsticks Jack had placed next to him and shoved an entire spring roll into his mouth. Followed by several pieces of roast duck breast. Then the sauteed watercress and spinach. And finally an entire large piece of fried tofu before standing up to bolt.

“Hey!” Jack’s arm snapped out and he just managed to grab Zhao Zi’s wrist. “Shorty, can we-”

After a monumental effort to swallow all the remaining food in his mouth, Zhao Zi only whined. “Jaaaaack! It’s so embarrassing! Just let me go!”

“What? Why are you the embarrassed one?” Jack tugged Zhao Zi’s arm to pull him a half step closer. “Shouldn’t I be the embarrassed one here? You literally caught me messing up my computer just to get you to come here.”

Zhao Zi pouted. “Well…”

“Unless… Meng Shaofei was right? You’re actually the IT Department Manager?”

“I just got promoted a few months ago,” Zhao Zi said softly.

“So around the time we first met?” Zhao Zi nodded. “So why were you sent up?”

Zhao Zi flopped back into his seat and looked at the food forlornly. Jack noted that he was still apparently undeserving of Zhao Zi’s gaze. “You said it was a big deal, that CEO Tang Yi needed you to finish your work that night.” Zhao Zi shrugged. “All the other techs were out. And I’d be a bad manager if I didn’t do my best to also manage the workload when everyone else is working hard…”

Jack inched closer. “So why did you keep coming?”

Zhao Zi scratched his nose. “Well… the second time was another busy day… But then your problem was interesting again and you did have good food…”

Jack collapsed back into his seat. “That’s it? Just for my food?”

Zhao Zi finally rolled his eyes and faced Jack, putting his hand on top of Jack’s. “Your food is good, but it’s not the only reason why I’d keep responding to your self sabotage.”

Jack winced. “So you knew, huh?”

“You planned it like clockwork every week after that,” Zhao Zi said while raising an eyebrow. “How could I not know?”

“You know… You’re sharper than you look, Shorty…”

“Jack.”

“Okay, I admit it. I did it just so… You might keep coming up to see me.” Jack shook his head. “I’m sorry it… got out of control.”

“And…” Zhao Zi winced. “I admit I might… have used my position as a manager to… always be assigned to your tech support calls…”

“Shorty… Are you saying-”

“I’m saying, you don’t have to keep wrecking your computer to have lunch with me.” Zhao Zi’s cheeks turned pink again. “I’m perfectly willing to just… have lunch with you.”

“Just have lunch with me?” Jack’s lips spread into a sly grin. “Or maybe…”

“Wow this all looks great! Let’s just eat!” Zhao Zi resumed stuffing his face at lightning speed.

“Okay. Lunch dates then. We’ll just start with lunch dates,” Jack said as he rubbed Zhao Zi’s knuckles. The shade of pink on Zhao Zi’s face turned just a bit darker. “So what do you want for lunch tomorrow?”

Zhao Zi stopped stuffing his face to look at Jack in confusion. “But we don’t have work tomorrow? It’s Saturday?”

“Doesn’t mean we can’t have a lunch date anyway, Shorty,” Jack said as he wiped the sauce from Zhao Zi’s lips with his thumb. “What do you say?”

Zhao Zi bit his lip. “Only if there’s pork and mushroom zongzi.”

In the end, Zhao Zi had asked him to stay. In between tears, sobs, and the collapse of everything Zhao Zi known, how could Jack leave the man he loved so dearly?

And if Jack was entirely honest, he didn’t want to leave either.

The choice was obvious. So obvious. What was more money at this point? Jack could live comfortably on his savings, hidden across several overseas bank accounts and investments. The accumulated interest alone could pay for months of rent at Zhao Zi’s place.

There was no prestige that Jack would be leaving behind. He was good, maybe one of the best, but part of that was keeping a discrete profile. Nobody would know what some of his greatest jobs were.

Except maybe Tang Yi when everything came to light.

After thinking things through, canceling plans, making new ones, and packing his scant belongings, Jack left the small apartment he called home without a second glance. It was all so easy. Turning down Interpol and Chen Wen Hao was even easier. Both had been disappointed, but Chen Wen Hao had seemed thoughtful.

“It seems everyone is turning over a new leaf.” Chen Wen Hao fell silent. “Keep an eye on Tang Yi for me. I trust Officer Meng, but a father can never be too careful.”

Everything fell into place as Jack walked into Grandma Zhao’s house. It had felt like home the moment he had picked up one of her old cooking knives back when everything had begun. The grip had been so comfortable and the edge so sharp, Jack would have been jealous if he wasn’t so appreciative of the care Grandma Zhao had taken of everything.

“I promise, I’ll give him that peaceful and happy life,” Jack had said to her photo after Zhao Zi had gone to prepare for bed. “You can put your faith in me, Grandma Zhao. I’ll make sure nothing hurts him again. He’ll want for nothing.”

“Jack? Come to bed!”

“Coming!”

------

“You have a lot of nerve coming here.” Jack watched as Hong Ye’s foot kept bouncing, despite how she had artfully crossed her legs behind her desk. “After what you did to Tang Yi.”

Jack only smiled his knife-sharp smile and shrugged. “Mercenary is as mercenary does. Besides, I helped you clean house. Everyone on that file was dealing drugs. Xing Tian Meng is as clean as ever now.” Hong Ye frowned and Dao Yi eyed the both of them. “Plus Xiao Jie , you can’t say I didn’t keep Tang Yi as safe as possible.”

“And you expect to be rewarded?”

“A reward? No. I got that already.” Jack’s grin was a little softer, less like a knife and more like a rose with thorns. Hong Ye refused to let her cheeks heat. Even if she had Dao Yi now, she was only human. “I would like a chance to reform with the rest of Xing Tian Meng.”

Hong Ye leaned forward. “Excuse me?”

“Someone close to me has asked me to try and start over. I have a promise to fulfill.” Jack’s smile softened further, an orchid instead of a rose. “I have a business proposition for you and Tang Yi. If you’ll both hear it.”

A two hour telephone conference later, Jack walked away with the beginnings of a business plan for a brand new restaurant, a list of potential “employees,”  and the number of the lawyer in charge of their land titles.

------

Zhao Zi blinked as he read the restaurant name that Jack had scribbled on the paperwork. “Is it a dim sum restaurant? An Dian Xin. Peaceful Dim Sum?” Zhao Zi cocked his head to the side as if it would change the meaning of the characters.

“We could do dim sum. You like shumai, don’t you?” Jack replied waving his hand as he continued looking through cookbooks. “People like a good dim sum on the weekends for sure. Oh and here’s a good recipe for zhongzi…”

“Jack… You’re… You’re naming your restaurant with our future CP name?”

“Eh…” Jack scratched his head. “Technically I don’t have to change my name… I just have to go back to using my old documents...”

Zhao Zi slapped his hands over his ears. “Lalalala I can’t hear you!”

Jack rolled his eyes before climbing into Zhao Zi’s lap, gently prying away his hands. “You can also read the name as ‘Calm Your Heart.’ I thought it’d be fitting for a place where I’m starting over, don’t you?” Zhao Zi’s eyes softened as Jack held his hands in front of him. “A new start. A peaceful one. With someone I love.”

Zhao Zi pretended to retch and scrunched up his nose, but he did not let go of Jack’s hands. Jack could tell he was pleased by his smile. “So cheesy, you might as well open a fondue restaurant.”

“Can I fon-do you?”

Zhao Zi gave Jack his most deadpan stare. “That was your worst food related pickup line yet.”

Jack wiggled his eyebrows. “You didn’t say nooooooo….”

Zhao Zi rolled his eyes and kissed him anyway.

One kiss turned into two into three.

After a nice make-out session that made Jack’s toes curl and his boxers suspiciously tight, left Zhao Zi breathless, and left Jack’s cookbooks scattered across the table, Zhao Zi turned to look at him, smile soft and besotted despite the plush red of his lips. Their color and shine made Jack want to kiss him all over again.

“Are you open to suggestions on improving the name?”

“I’m always open for you.” Jack figured the slap to his chest was worth it.

------

Hong Ye eyed the freshly filled paperwork critically. “An Xin Dian?”

“Order At Ease,” Jack said smoothly.

“You couldn’t be more obvious? An Hearts Dian?” Dao Yi coughed and Hong Ye realized she was leaning into Jack’s space. “And I thought Tang Yi was bad naming his new sports club FiFi.”

Jack smiled. “We’ve both got our lucky charms. We should name our new businesses after them.”

Dao Yi coughed again, but this time Hong Ye stayed quietly thoughtful.

------

The lead up to the grand opening was filled with so much activity that the actual opening was surprisingly dull in comparison.

Jack had settled on a menu of tasty dishes that were easily prepared by the “chefs” he was encouraged to hire and train. At the very least, they were people interested in cooking, which was more than Jack was expecting. It was easy enough to teach them how to dice and chop. One of them was a little too good at preparing the meat station, but Jack waved off Zhao Zi’s concerns. Suppliers for ingredients were settled. The lot and building Jack had chosen was swiftly brought up to code and redesigned with Jack’s ideas, a little inspiration from Zhao Zi, and Hong Ye’s final say.

Hiring waitstaff had been a minor challenge based off the list provided. The gang life didn’t lead to a very good customer service disposition. Fortunately, Jack found several younger, newer initiates who hadn’t quite gotten their hands dirty yet. They would do just fine for now. And it was better early than late to get them out of the gang and into legal employment.

Good management would also be key. Although Jack was technically listed as owner and a head chef, Jack hired, with Tang Yi’s help, several other managers and one or two other head chefs. And now Jack was free to be as flexible as he wanted with his schedule. Provided the restaurant turned a profit anyway.

The last step had been to change his name. But that was easy enough. Jack the mercenary lived off the grid. His overseas accounts were all in various other names and identities. Fang Liang Dian was technically living a clean life in Taipei the last time anyone in the world knew of him, but he was still a legal and registered citizen. It was strange to slip back into his old identity, but Zhao Zi teasingly called him “Dian Dian,” and Jack felt like everything fell into place.

Before long, opening day came with a bang and ended with a groan. Outside of the grand opening fanfare, Jack found himself beyond busy in the kitchen fulfilling orders and barking out orders of his own. Everything ran as smoothly as expected, which was not as smooth as Jack would have liked. At least thirty plates were broken. The meat station guy (Jack mentally rolled his eyes when he found out he wrote his name with the character for knife) nearly fed one of Jack’s chefs his own arm. One chef decided Jack’s recipe needed twice the salt. Another had started fighting with his ex and burned nearly all the food he cooked. And at least one waiter nearly shanked a customer.

It was still a successful day that left Jack drained as he slouched into Zhao Zi’s couch.

The kiss Zhao Zi pressed to his forehead did wonders though.

------

The days went on. Jack still came home exhausted, but the little things were beginning to work themselves out. The managers and other chefs had finally started to listen. The waiters had managed to auto-regulate themselves and stop each other from shanking customers.

Tang Yi was even permitted out of house arrest to sit at his reserved VIP table with Shao Fei and enjoy several dishes.

Zhao Zi had taken to drawing a bath for Jack before making dinner on the days that Jack came home late. Sleep came easy with a warm body to lay next to and good night kisses sweet with ice cream.

Mornings were still a little rough, but Jack knew it was just a matter of time before he and Zhao Zi adjusted properly.

Slowly, Jack built up his reputation. People were calling him Mr. Fang, Chef Fang, Fang-ge… Zhao Zi sometimes brought his team in for lunch or dinner. They always refused the free meal and politely called Jack by his new name.

An Xin Dian was performing better than expected by the end of the first three months.

Smooth sailing seemed to be on the horizon. A successful and peaceful transition.

And then it all went to shit.

-------

The waiter fidgeted as Jack pulled a fish out of the fridge. “Jack-ge-”

“When we’re here, it’s Chef Fang or Boss, Xi Gua,” Jack said as he gutted the fish. “What’s wrong.”

“Uh… Chef Fang. We’ve got a customer asking for you. He’s… insistent.”

“Insistent to pay me a compliment or insistent.”

“The latter, Boss.” Xi Gua leaned in. “Refuses to take his jacket off. Keeps glancing at the exits. Says he’s here from Singapore.”

Jack’s smile disappeared. “Tell him I’ll be right out.”

“You don’t have to go, Boss. The other boys and I can handle him if you want.”

Jack threw a mass of fish guts into the garbage. “No, this is an old friend of mine. Just give me a minute to prepare him something special.”

“Of course, Boss.”

------

Jack set a grilled salmon head garnished with flowers made from cut vegetables in front of the man from Singapore before sitting down across from him. “That’s still how you like your fish heads, isn’t it Gao Bi?”

Gao Bi gave Jack a strained smile. “Jack-ge. I did not expect such a kind welcome.”

“I didn’t expect you. So we’re even.” Jack motioned to the fish head. “Please, no need to stand on formalities.”

Gao Bi picked up his chopsticks and pulled out the salmon eye with little trouble. “It’s not exactly a social call, Jack-ge.” He popped the eyeball into his mouth and licked his lips. “Mmm… not bad at all. You are still good at this.”

Jack looked around at the half empty tables around them. “It’s Fang Liang Dian now actually.”

“Is it? Pardon me then, Fang-ge.” Gao Bi flipped the head over and pulled out the other eye. “So it is true. You’ve gone on the straight and narrow?”

“As straight as one can get these days.”

“Too right, Fang-ge.” Gao Bi moved on to picking meat away from the cheeks and gills. “Anyway, I heard a rumor.”

“Rumors get people killed, Gao Bi. If you’re here, I want facts.”

Gao Bi paused as he picked at the meat at the top of the skull. “The fact is, you never were very good at cleaning up everything.”

Jack’s eyes narrowed, but his grin stayed in place. “Meaning?”

“Meaning word’s going around that you’ve gone soft.”

“People always say that.” Jack leaned back in his seat, casual and effortless. “But they find out soon enough.”

“But this time people can see it.” Gao Bi gestured at the walls around them with his chopsticks. “You’re well set-up this time, Fang-ge. People know where to find you.”

“Of course. I’d love to get new customers. Why chase them away so soon?”

“You think you can still chase these guys away?”

“I’ll deal with it when the time comes.”

“Cocky.”

“Capable.”

Gao Bi sucked on the end of his chopsticks. “Well I did my job then.” Gao Bi set down his chopsticks and looked at Jack expectantly. “Can I get the check?”

“On the house this time. Don’t visit again so soon. And call ahead while you’re at it.” Jack’s smile turned sharper. “I’ll grill you some eel heads next time.”

Gao Bi fluttered his eyelashes. “You’ll spoil me!”

------

It had not been long, but Jack was familiar with the sounds of Grandma Zhao’s house now. He could tell what was the sound of Zhao Zi showering upstairs. He could tell which windows were creaking because of the wind, which floorboards were still settling, and which wind chimes were ringing.

He could also tell that someone was trying to sneak in from a back window.

Jack continued chopping scallions for scallion pancakes as if nothing was wrong. He nudged the paring knife closer to his work station anyway.

The position of any of his knives didn’t matter as Jack whipped around and knocked his would-be assailant out cold with his least favorite frying pan. The man went down without a fight and before Jack could interrogate him, he heard the tell tale sound of Zhao Zi coming down the stairs.

Jack quickly shoved him behind the kitchen island and resumed chopping.

“Did something happen? I heard a bang,” Zhao Zi said as he came down the last few steps.

“Oh nothing. Just dropped a frying pan.” Jack smiled. “Baby, could you check if I left my phone in the bedroom? I’m expecting a call.”

“Okay!”

Zhao Zi ran back upstairs and Jack hauled the unconscious man outside. But not before grabbing the duct tape.

------

Shao Fei rubbed the sleep from his eyes as Jack dragged a garbage can in front of him later that night. Zhao Zi was in bed and Shao Fei sorely wished he was too. Bed was where Tang Yi was.

Shao Fei really wanted to be where Tang Yi was. The bed was only of slight consequence.

“I thought you said you had a man to arrest.”

Jack lifted the lid, revealing the man he’d knocked out earlier, only now beginning to stir. “Just keep it quiet from Zhao Zi for now. See what you can get out of him and then I’ll work on dealing with it.”

“Don’t you think you should tell Zhao Zi that something is happening?” Shao Fei worked with Jack to pull the assailant out of the can, eyes glancing everywhere. “If people are coming after you, it’s dangerous!”

“Oh I can make it stop easy enough. I just need to know who thinks they can mess with me. You might get it out of him if you’re lucky.” Jack shoved the man into Shao Fei’s car.

“It’s dangerous for Zhao Zi too,” Shao Fei said, putting a hand on Jack’s arm. “Him not knowing is more dangerous than if he knows people are coming after you.”

“Nothing is going to happen to Zhao Zi. Not if I can help it.” Jack glared down at the man who was beginning to tremble before slamming the door shut. “And I hope you’ll help me with this, Officer Meng. It’ll make clean up so much easier.”

Shao Fei glanced up at Zhao Zi’s bedroom window, but nodded anyway.

------

The next day, six men came into An Xin Dian and caused a ruckus, demanding to see Jack.

Unfortunately, Jack hadn’t reached the restaurant yet. Zhao Zi had been extra cuddly that morning. And how could Jack say no to that?

Fortunately, the chefs and staff had taken it upon themselves to settle it since Jack wasn’t there.

Unfortunately, they were less than gentle.

“No less than ten -- TEN! -- broken tables, three smashed chairs, one window pane, and you threw the good knives at them?” Jack rounded on the meat prep chef. “Da Dao, I respect you. No one cuts up a cow half like you do. But you do not get to throw my good knives at people! Even if they are scaring away the customers!”

Da Dao rolled his eyes. “Then what am I supposed to throw?”

Jack opened a drawer. “The shitty American steel ones.”

“Ugh, the weight is all wrong on them!”

“That’s why they’re the shitty ones!”

Jack’s second favorite sous chef, who called himself Cha Zi, stepped in. “Boss, at least we didn’t use the guns.”

Jack sighed. “At least you didn’t use the guns.”

“Jack-g - I mean Chef Fang.” The head waiter, Ji Dan, peeked into the kitchen. “The police are here to take statements.”

Jack dusted off his shirt. “Right then.”

“Uh… Officer Zhao is with them.”

Jack’s face turned cold. “And what are we going to tell the kind Officer Zhao if he questions us?”

“A group of customers got too rowdy and the situation escalated,” everyone recited together.

“Good.”

------

“I’m not at your beck and call, Jack,” Shao Fei groused as he stepped out of his car in front of Zhao Zi’s house again. “This is the third time already! You can call emergency services and have them send police here.”

“But Officer Meng, I thought we were becoming good friends! We’re at least bonding over protecting Zhao Zi, aren’t we?” Jack manhandled a bundle of three men up to the car. He smacked one about the head. “Stop struggling. At least I’m handing you to the police and not putting a bullet in your head.”

“About that…” Shao Fei looked at the front door. “It looks like someone isn’t asleep yet.”

“Jack?”

Jack whipped around, placating smile on his face. He shifted his body as if he could hide everything that way. “An An! You should be in bed!”

“So should you!” Zhao Zi stormed up and Shao Fei only shrugged at him as he shoved the bound men into his car. “What is going on?! Is this why I found a bullet casing in my cereal yesterday?”

“Shit, I missed one.”

“Jack!”

“It’s nothing serious.” Jack put his hands on Zhao Zi’s shoulders. “Just some unfinished business.”

Zhao Zi shoved Jack’s hands away. “Unfinished business? You mean the kind you gave up? What happened to a peaceful starting over?”

“Of course I’m trying to start over!” Jack gestured at the men. “They’re the ones clinging to the past! Not me!”

“What happened to not lying?!”

“What? How am I lying?! You saw! You’ve been to the restaurant! I did start over!”

“I’m just going to go now…” Shao Fei said as he got into his car. Jack and Zhao Zi continued arguing without noticing. “You just... let me know if the police are needed again…”

------

In the end, neither Jack or Zhao Zi went to bed happy. Jack slept on the couch willingly. Zhao Zi tossed and turned in bed alone. Not even all his plush toys could fill space the same way Jack did in his bed.

In the morning, Team 3 watched with wide eyes as Zhao Zi marched into the office and headed straight for the holding cells.

“Zhao Zi! What are you doing!” Jun Wei grabbed Zhao Zi’s arm and nearly recoiled at his glare, amplified by the dark circles under his eyes. “You can’t go in there! Shao Fei is already interrogating them.”

“Well I’m kicking him out! I want answers, and if no one will give them to me, then I’m going to get them myself.” Zhao Zi pulled Jun Wei’s hand off and marched into the interrogation room. A flustered and surprised Shao Fei was unceremoniously shoved out shortly after.

“What does Zhao Zi think he’s doing?” Shao Fei asked as he peered in through the one-way glass of the observation room.

------

Jack did not fare any better that morning. Ji Dan took one look at Jack’s murderous expression and quietly ushered him to his under-used office in the back. All the accounting and numbers were run by another trusted former Xing Tian Meng hire. Ji Dan returned moments later with a pot of tea. When Jack glared at him, Ji Dan sighed, turned around, and returned with a bottle of baijiu. Jack smiled.

“I knew you were my favorite for a reason.” Jack reached for the bottle and Ji Dan pulled away, but only slightly.

“It’s a little early, Boss.”

“Early my ass. It’s 5PM somewhere.”

Ji Dan put the bottle into Jack’s hands. He nudged a few sheets of paper on Jack’s desk forward. “While you drink away your misery, here’s what Da Dao managed to find on the guys who came in here to start trouble a while back.” Then Ji Dan nudged a folder towards Jack. “These are Cha Zi’s suggestions for a special tasting menu.”

Jack glanced back and forth between the two sets before pinching the bridge of his nose. “Why is the thing that’s supposed to be kept secret out in the open and vice versa?”

“The worst kept secret is that you never use this damn office, Boss. And everyone’s too afraid to come here normally anyway.”

Jack pulled the folder closer. “Keep it that way and I’ll give you a raise.”

Ji Dan only smiled in reply.

------

“-and that’s how grandma and I-”

“OKAY I’LL TALK!” The man wept and bowed his head to the table. “Just stop! Stop! Stop with these stories!” Tears fell to the table. “My grandmother must be rolling in her grave! I’ve been such an awful grandson.”

“I knew you’d come around, Ren Ren!” Zhao Zi pat him on the shoulder. “You can still do good and tell your grandmother to rest easy.”

“Can I really? Can I ever really repent?” Ren Ren’s eyes were already red and puffy.

“Of course! The first step is to admit you’ve done wrong. The second is to take action and make amends.” Zhao Zi pushed a pad of paper and a pen forward. “So why don’t you explain to me why you came looking for Jack?”

Ren Ren picked up the pen and started writing.

Behind the one-way glass, everyone in the observation room collapsed to the floor.

“Did… did Zhao Zi just guilt the perp into being a better person by talking about filial piety and the love of family members?” Jun Wei pulled his phone out of his pocket. “And why do I suddenly want to call my grandmother?”

Shao Fei shook his head. “Can we all agree to never let Zhao Zi do this again? Unless the situation is dire?” Yu Qi only nodded in agreement. They both turned to look at Jun Wei.

“Yes grandma, I’ll come by for dinner tomorrow,” Jun Wei sobbed into his phone. “I promise I’ll bring that tea you like so much.”

Yu Qi leaned closer to Shao Fei and whispered, “Doesn’t Jun Wei’s grandmother live all the way on the southern tip of Taiwan?”

------

After finally signing off on several documents that had been waiting, approving Cha Zi’s tasting menu, buying Da Dao his own set of fine knives that he could throw as he pleased, consolidating some of his overseas accounts into something more local, and sending Hong Ye a flurry of unprompted emails, Jack could no longer evade the unassuming pages Da Dao had left for him on his desk.

Before Jack could read the first character on the top of the page, A hand, Zhao Zi’s hand, slammed a messily scribbled page of notes on top. Jack watched out of the corner of his eye as Ji Dan slipped out of sight.

“This is all because you stiffed another merc 50 RBM over drinks one night?!”

“Oh, so it was Xiao Lu, huh?” Jack looked over Zhao Zi’s notes. “This guy’s handwriting is awful. And are these tear marks?”

“Never mind that!” Zhao Zi tapped a name on the page. “ALL THIS FOR 50 RBM? ARE YOU THAT CHEAP?!”

“To be honest, it wasn’t just the 50 RBM…”

Zhao Zi crossed his arms and Jack took in the furious expression on his boyfriend’s face. If they weren’t having an argument, Jack would have been sorely tempted to kiss him senseless.

“TALK.”

Jack opened his mouth and was interrupted by the sound of smashed glass. “Shit.”

“The customers!” Zhao Zi ran ahead and Jack lept over his desk to follow.

When Jack managed to get to the dining room, the customers were hiding under their tables and Zhao Zi was being held at gunpoint.

“Xiao Lu, I really wish I could say this was a pleasure.”

“Jack, Jack, Jack… I never thought I’d see the day where someone could get the drop on you.” Lu pulled back the hammer on his pistol. Zhao Zi’s eyes darted everywhere but the gun, mouth moving and forming words Jack couldn’t decipher. “Now I’m going to get what I’m owed.”

“If this is about the drinks that one time in Hong Kong-”

“You know it’s not about the drinks in Hong Kong anymore!”

“To be fair, I told you that it was my map to begin with.”

Lu rolled his eyes. “It was my fucking boat!”

“And 50% of the take wasn’t enough for you?” Jack watched as Zhao Zi quietly pointed to one of the decorative metal plates installed on the wall. “Don’t be greedy.”

“You couldn’t even decipher the fucking map!” Lu did not notice Zhao Zi making a finger gun and pointing it at the metal plate before writing the characters for bull and eye with his finger.

Jack shook his head and Zhao Zi rolled his eyes. “I did decipher the fucking map. In case you didn’t notice, I got to the target before you.”

“Jack, trust me,” Zhao Zi said.

“You be quiet!” Lu pressed the gun firmly against Zhao Zi’s temple.

“Zhao Zi-”

“I know what I’m doing. Trust me.”

And Jack wanted to laugh because of course he trusted Zhao Zi. “Okay.” Zhao Zi smiled.

In the span of Zhao Zi blinking, Jack whipped out his gun and fired at the plate Zhao Zi had indicated. The bullet hit dead center, ricocheted off, and hit the back of Lu’s gun hand. Screaming in pain, Lu dropped his gun and Zhao Zi knocked him off his feet and pulled Lu’s hands behind his back.

“Wang Lu, you’re under arrest for attempted assassination, assaulting civilians, disturbing the peace, and making me fight with my boyfriend!”

------

“You’ll never make that last charge stick, you know,” Jack said as he watched Team 3 haul Wang Lu away.

“Yeah, well, I know a good prosecutor,” Zhao Zi huffed as he stuck his tongue out at Wang Lu. “And if you’re lucky, I won’t send her after you for lying to a cop!”

Jack winced. “Okay. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you this was happening until it was too late.”

Zhao Zi hugged Jack and it felt like the world was righting itself. “Apology accepted. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I watched you hand over the first guy to Ah Fei the other night.”

“Wait, you saw that?!”

“Of course I did!” Zhao Zi punched Jack in the arm. It was more painful than Jack expected. “You think you’re so sneaky but I heard you dragging the trash can over!”

“So why didn’t you say anything?!”

“I was waiting for you to fess up that we were in danger!”

“We were never going to be in any real danger.” Zhao Zi pointed at the metal plate now sporting a lovely dent in the shape of Jack’s bullet. “Okay maybe some danger could have been avoided.”

“You don’t have to tell me all your secrets and confess all your sins, Jack.” Zhao Zi resumed hugging Jack. “I never expected that you or your life could change overnight. Even if you dropped everything to move in with me.” Zhao Zi looked up at Jack’s face. “But if it’s relevant to helping you start over, you should say something. I want to help you.”

Jack kissed the tip of Zhao Zi’s nose. “I promise I’ll ask for your help properly next time.”

“You damn well better!”

------

Epilogue:

On the one year anniversary of An Xin Dian’s opening, Zhao Zi found another set of paperwork on the dining table.

“You seriously want to name your new ‘family style’ restaurant Li Zi Fan ? Chestnut rice?” Zhao Zi asked. “What kind of name is that?”

“I thought it was a good idea. Chestnut rice is one of your favorites, isn’t it?” Jack called over his shoulder as he prepared breakfast.

“Lots of food are my favorites.”

“ And it’ll be lucky. Auspicious.”

Zhao Zi furrowed his brows. “How so?”

“Chestnuts are lucky!” Jack protested. “They’re good for lots of things, well known, easy to get, tasty… Didn’t you say Grandma Zhao liked chestnuts?”

“Jack…”

“Maybe I want to specialize in making food with chestnuts! You like chestnuts, don’t you?” Zhao Zi opened and then shut his mouth to think about it. Jack smiled. “And parts of it sound like your name,” Jack said softly. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me and I’m lucky to have you. But I couldn’t very well name my restaurant Li An.” Jack scratched his cheek. “That’s way too obvious.”

Zhao Zi mimed being sick. “You need to stop being so sentimental when naming your restaurants! This is the third time you’ve named one after me! You’re lucky you get so many customers despite how cheesy you are!”

“Well you are my lucky charm, Officer Zhao.” Jack set a plate of eggs, sausages, and toast in front of Zhao Zi. “You are the reason I started over. You are the reason I decided to live this peaceful life. I like reminding people of that. The customers seem to like it too.”

“If you like it so much then you should-”

Jack put an open ring box in front of Zhao Zi. The silver glinted in the sunlight. “Put a ring on it?”