It seemed the more Cho talked, the more things settled down. Michael was pretty sure now that he'd just been self-conscious, and that's why things had seemed so weird at the beginning. Granted, it was Cho, someone Michael now considered just a friend, but still, she used to think he was pretty great. . . and he still wanted her to think that. He needed her to approve.
Luckily for Michael, Cho appeared to do just that. Michael was more comfortable now, so the conversation had become more natural. "Thank you," he answered with a sincere smile. "It's work, but it's rewarding."
Of course, the moment Cho mentioned she had been in China with family, Michael was intrigued. He'd never been to China, though it was a place he wanted to visit. The magic there was so different in that culture, and here Cho was able to experience it first hand! Brilliant! "Wow, Cho, that's fantastic!" he exclaimed. "Tell me, how long were you there? And what was the best part?" Michael was hoping Cho had some great stories from her trip.
Michael couldn't know that Cho's time in China had been miserable. Nor did he know why she had gone in the first place. What he thought she had done there was to merely visit relatives, and that sounded like a wonderful opportunity to Michael.