Animal Detective

Shen Xin asked, puzzled, "Why are we going to Songpu?"

Tian Kui wasn’t cooperating with Li Jiahui at all.

He rushed over and barked twice before immediately standing stock-still and obedient.

Li Jiahui said as she tended to the dog, "Her company is about to go under. Several of the streamers are planning to jump ship; they think it’s bad luck."

"Doniya doesn’t want to do it anymore, either. For one thing, she feels that being a female streamer isn’t a good path."

Shen Xin nodded in profound agreement.

Even before the incident, Shen Xin had already noticed that the clothes in Doniya’s videos were becoming more and more revealing.

What would come after that?

Teasing the line?

If she went any further, wouldn’t she end up just like Li Siyu?

Doniya might not have known the reason for what happened to Li Siyu, but she could see the result.

"Being a streamer really isn’t a great path. She’s actually a talented singer; she’d be better off starting her own channel."

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Short video platforms were getting more and more popular, with all sorts of amateur talents popping up, and many people were just sharing their daily lives.

Most importantly, you could get famous and make money.

Shen Xin thought of the thick gold chain Xu Erleng had bought for his wife.

Li Jiahui said, "That’s exactly what she was thinking. She joined the company in the first place just to get familiar with the industry before starting her own channel."

"And now with this whole mess, she decided to just quit. She’s planning to enroll in a correspondence course at Songpu Music College to properly study singing."

Shen Xin nodded in approval.

Doniya was completely self-taught. She had a background in dance, so finding a vocal coach was the right move.

Still, Songpu Music College probably wasn’t cheap.

But it was probably fine. Selling a few cattle or sheep back home would likely cover it.

Speaking of Doniya, Shen Xin decided he might as well invite Li Jiahui and ask Doniya to come out for some shopping.

He’d been so preoccupied with the case these past few days that he hadn’t paid much attention to her.

After going through an ordeal like that, she needed to take her mind off things and relax.

So they went to Yuexiao’s place.

It had not only a large theme park but also a huge shopping mall.

Celestial Skill couldn’t stand to be alone, so Shen Xin simply brought it with him.

He left Tian Kui behind to ’socialize’ with the more than one hundred police dogs-in-training.

When he saw Doniya again, Shen Xin didn’t see any lingering sadness on her face.

The girl was free-spirited and strong-willed; an incident like this probably wouldn’t affect her too deeply.

They went to the Oceanarium.

It had been a while since they’d seen Yuexiao, who had apparently moved on, getting hot and heavy with another female dolphin at the Oceanarium.

That evening, the four of them were having dinner at the mall. They had just ordered when Shen Xin’s phone rang. It was Qian Zidan.

The man was the chief of Investigation Division One, theoretically the same rank as Zhang Hancheng.

So it was a call he couldn’t ignore.

Unsurprisingly, he was calling to ask if Shen Xin was free and wanted to invite him to dinner.

After a few polite refusals, Shen Xin finally said, "Section Chief Qian, you really don’t have to be so formal. It’s just about the birds, right? Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you get yours."

Zhang Hancheng had previously instructed Shen Xin.

’Keep your distance.’

Police dogs, police birds—those were fine. But if Qian Zidan invited him to join National Security, he was absolutely not to believe his bullshit.

Shen Xin’s plan was to train police birds in large batches. Giving one or two to Qian Zidan was a trivial matter.

"That’s not what I meant," Qian Zidan said politely over the phone.

Compared to just getting a police bird, he was more interested in taking the whole pot.

But as things stood, that seemed hopeless.

After lazing around for another two days, Shen Xin got back into his work rhythm, traveling all over the country to find suitable targets.

The plan was to train 2,400 drug-sniffing dogs, doubling the nation’s total K-9 force. The shortage was massive.

That was why Shen Xin made a special trip to Yulin.

The K-9 base in Nanjiang was under the jurisdiction of the provincial department. It was a decent size, but it couldn’t possibly house so many police dogs at once.

He could only train them in batches, one group at a time.

Shen Xin was already very familiar with the process of training police dogs, so he just had to follow the established procedure.

In between, Shen Xin also made a trip to the grasslands.

One reason was to capture Ravens; they could be found in the alpine meadows and forest edges of the grasslands.

The second was for Teddy.

The Hunting Falcon’s breeding season had passed. Shen Xin, naturally, couldn’t lay an egg and give Teddy the offspring he wanted.

Shen Xin had been mulling it over and had discussed it with Chen Wanbin many times. He was considering releasing him back into the wild.

Hunting Falcons are monogamous. Teddy was still young and had never experienced the blissful bird-life of having a wife and chicks.

Shen Xin couldn’t deprive him of his freedom for his own personal needs.

Returning to nature was the best fate for him.

On the grasslands in late September, the temperature difference between day and night was significant, but the climate was still relatively mild.

Still, you could faintly feel a chill in the air.

They were at Chen Wanbin’s observation station.

Teddy had been fitted with a bird band and a tracking device. From now on, his life would be monitored long-term by Chen Wanbin’s team.

Back on the grasslands, Teddy seemed very excited.

He flapped his wings and soared high, becoming a black speck in the sky.

"Are you sad to see him go?" Ding Yuwei asked, holding Shen Xin’s arm as she gazed up at the sky.

Shen Xin squinted, his eyes also on the sky. He thought for a moment and said, "I actually am a little sad. It has been a long time, after all."

They had been together for several months.

"It’s all my dad’s fault for being too poor to open a zoo. Otherwise, I’d set up an aviary for him. Just keeping him there would’ve been great," Shen Xin joked.

The words had barely left his mouth when Teddy dove down from above.

Like a sharp sword from the sky, an unlucky rabbit that had left home without checking its horoscope fell in a pool of blood.

Teddy clutched the rabbit’s carcass and dropped it in front of Shen Xin.

He had long forgotten this habit back in Nanjiang, but now, returning to the grasslands, he seemed to have remembered it.

’Eat.’

’Don’t be polite.’

Shen Xin vaguely sensed from Teddy’s thoughts that his attitude toward him had changed.

Before, he might have truly seen him as a mate.

But as they spent more time together, Shen Xin felt that Teddy might have come to understand that they weren’t the same species, and therefore, Shen Xin was not his mate.

It was more like he saw him as a close companion.

Just like now—his thoughts even included polite phrases.

That wasn’t how mates spoke to each other.

Shen Xin beckoned to him, and he landed lightly on his shoulder.

"Forget it. You went to a lot of trouble to catch this; you should keep it and eat it yourself."

Shen Xin stroked the feathers on his head and said, "Teddy, it’s time for you to go."

Time to return to nature, to enjoy your own bird-life, to breed, and to soar freely in the high sky.

Their eyes met, and everything was conveyed in that gaze.

Teddy stopped moving.

He must have understood. He watched Shen Xin quietly, a real change of emotion visible in his dark eyes.

Shen Xin wasn’t one to drag things out. He grabbed Teddy and tossed him into the air.

He flapped his wings but didn’t take flight, landing a few steps away from Shen Xin and turning his head to look back at him.

A cool breeze blew past.

Teddy’s feathers ruffled. He quickly turned his head toward the direction of the wind.

He paused, turned his head again for a final look at Shen Xin, and then took flight.

’He’s really gone.’

In that instant, a wave of reluctance washed over Shen Xin.

With this departure, the sky was his to roam free. Who knew when they would ever meet again?

Teddy circled in the air, letting out a cry that also seemed full of reluctance.

He kept looking down at Shen Xin below.

He could see everything clearly. He could see Shen Xin waving at him, gesturing for him to go.

He raised his head and gazed out at the vast, distant Earth.

On one side, freedom; on the other, a companion.

The next moment, Teddy suddenly dove, landing precisely on Shen Xin’s shoulder once again.

He turned his head to look at Shen Xin.

’Not going.’

Shen Xin froze. ’Is he latching onto me for good?’