Josie’s sleep was anything but peaceful. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the mustached man lunging at her. She drifted in and out of sleep, not even sure how many times she’d woken up.

“No…” She jolted upright, before feeling a sharp sting on the back of her hand. She realized she was on an IV drip.

Sean walked over. “Nightmare?”

“Yeah.” Josie took a deep breath, steadying herself. “What time is it? Why haven’t you gone back yet?”

“How could I leave you like this?” Sean’s face darkened slightly. “Drink some water and go back to sleep.”

He handed her a glass of warm water, looking a bit grumpy.

Josie didn’t understand why he was suddenly upset. She took the glass and apologized in a small voice, “I’m sorry for causing you trouble.”

She was just like a scared little bunny. Sean felt that she’d shrink right back into her hole if he said anything harsh to her.

He thought, ‘Why couldn’t she think about what she should do right now except apologizing?’

Suddenly, Sean realized he was being a bit dramatic. He thought, ‘Why would I snap at her over just a few words? Josie is never the kind of person to trouble others. It makes sense that she would not take it for granted that I am staying by her side. It is totally normal for her to ask. I am the weird one for getting upset about it. I just want her to expect all kinds of kindness from me!’

Sean’s expression softened. He reached out and gently patted her shoulder. He said, “Didn’t you say you’re one of us? If you’re part of our crew, of course, it’s our job to look out for you. How could you ever be a bother? Besides, the competition’s tomorrow. You can’t have anything happen to you right now. Be good, get some sleep, and whatever comes up, you need to be in top shape first.”

‘So that’s what he meant,’ Josie thought, feeling a weight lift off her chest, making it much easier to accept Sean’s kindness. She thought, “That’s right, we are a team. Sean has my back, and I have his, too. From now on, I will treat them extra well, way better than I have ever treated Aiden and the others before.’ After all, back when she was on David’s team, she almost never bothered Aiden and the rest. Even if she ran into trouble, they would never help her or look after her unconditionally. She remembered in her previous life, there was this one time she got sick with a fever. There was an important research event the next day, and she didn’t want to miss it, so she forced herself to go even though she felt awful. On the way back, she just couldn’t hold on anymore and fainted on the street, which ended up messing up everyone’s dinner plans. After Aiden took her to the hospital, he actually scolded her in front of everyone. Aiden told her that if she couldn’t handle it, she shouldn’t have tried to act tough. In the end, not only did she mess up everyone’s dinner plans, but she also killed the mood for everyone. Right in front of everyone, he called her a troublemaker. So ever since then, she learned that if she could handle something herself, she shouldn’t drag others into it. She felt that people just didn’t like being bothered.

Sean saw her lying there with her eyes wide open, not sure what was going through her mind. Then, he reached over and switched off the main light, leaving only the small lamp by the bed. Sean said awkwardly, “Sorry about my tone earlier. It’s not that I think you’re a hassle. It’s just that you keep acting like you’re not really one of us.” He was never the warm and friendly type. He always kept his distance from everyone. But somehow, whenever he was around Josie, he always ended up acting differently. He said, “Josie, remember, we’re a team. Helping each other out and looking after one another is just what teammates do. Don’t ever think you’re being a bother. And from now on, if anything’s wrong, you have to tell me. I don’t want your personal stuff throwing off the whole team’s plans.”

He sounded so earnest that Josie couldn’t help but believe him. But she couldn’t help feeling deeply moved. Sean was just so different from Aiden. Even though they were both team leaders, the way they treated their teammates was quite different. She felt that maybe it wasn’t Aiden’s problem. Instead, she might just be someone people despised. She felt that Aiden only disliked her, which was why he always ignored her and nitpicked everything she did.