"You're not going?"
In his office, Chen Chao, who was in the middle of tidying up files, stopped abruptly. He turned his head and asked, puzzled.
He had planned to take Shen Xin with him on this trip to Nanqiao.
'It's for his training and development, after all.'
'I went to all the trouble to recruit him; I can't just let him rot in the records room.'
At Captain Chen's tone, Shen Xin's confidence evaporated. He asked cautiously, "Captain Chen, you're not angry, are you?"
Chen Chao gestured for Shen Xin to sit down. "Reason?"
'Might as well face the music.' Shen Xin steeled himself and explained the situation with Broo.
Chen Chao, who had resumed tidying up, stopped dead in his tracks again.
"A parrot?"
He blinked hard, then said, "Why didn't you say so earlier, kid?"
Shen Xin said, "Well, I haven't found anything yet. I was thinking I'd wait until I had a breakthrough before telling you, to save us from getting our hopes up for nothing."
