"Hmm, this might just be me, but I feel like it's not unreasonable if, from their perspective, he seems like a quiet person who doesn't really like to talk about things. Maybe they're respecting his privacy, and they think that if he had anything he wanted to share, he would? I mean, I doubt anyone at the SID asks about the rest of his life particularly, either, right?"

Oh, I didn't mean that his family is in the wrong! :) Quite the opposite even - I think he could use a lot of autonomy to figure out his life and be less helpless, and I'm glad he gets it (and uses it very reasonably). But at the same time it may be the first time (after his grandma at least) that people are suddenly very interested in his activities, even if it's mostly just work activities, and that may be new and exciting for him and feel like an instant bond. :)

"I feel like CC's low self-esteem could have made him insistent that no one bother themselves about him, and just say that he's fine, because he doesn't want to be any trouble, you know?"

Yeah, I see it this way too. (And SID people are not having it either, and instead help him and grumble about him and give him things. :))

"Which is so wrong-headed, especially given that Kunlun immediately glommed onto him when they met, knowing exactly who and what he was..."

Yes, this, exactly!

"Though, maybe at this point SW hasn't actually interacted that much with the rest of the SID, yet? He's still ZYL's plus one?"

Yeah, I guess that's what this version is going for? The scene with SW and GCC where GCC is all frozen in front of the hospital was removed too. But I just like it better when SW is really important to him and makes him feel safe, it's one of my favorite things about the novel even if most of what I love about it is not 'canon' anymore. :D