Deep affection knows no origin; remember the polar bear's love for you.

Chapter 17 The Uninvited Guest in the Cave

It was getting late, so Guo Mi and the two little bears found a sheltered spot, dug a shallow pit, and decided to make do with it as a place to sleep.

Knowing she was cold, the two bear cubs obediently snuggled into her arms. The salmon rested its little head on one of Guo Mi's front paws and blinked at her twice.

Guo Mi's heart raced instantly. She forcibly suppressed the urge to rub against them frantically, hugged the two little bears tighter, closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

Caesar stood at a distance watching them, and couldn't help but twitch his lips as he watched the round-faced bear so unguardedly holding the two cubs in its arms, its soft belly and throat fully exposed to them.

Even though the bear cub is already weaned and has all its teeth, she's not afraid at all.

And those two bear cubs, so completely unguarded, snuggled up to a stranger they'd only known for a few days.

In some ways, these three bears do seem to be from the same family.

Caesar found a slightly secluded spot nearby, facing away from the wind, and used the howling cold wind to conceal his presence. He lay down on the spot and closed his eyes tightly.

……

The next day, Guo Mi got up very early and excitedly led the two little bears to explore the terrain.

It needs to be sheltered from the wind, concealed, and most importantly, close to the lake!
Although the two little bears didn't know what use this was, they were very excited to be by Guo Mi's side and keep watch. They followed Guo Mi all the way, chasing and playing around her feet, and would occasionally come over and rub against her.

Guo Mi was in a good mood, and her steps became much lighter. She led her two cubs through mountains and rivers, and searched the entire area within two miles of the lake. She was completely unaware that a male bear was following behind them, observing their every move with great interest.

After some twists and turns, Guo Mi finally found a satisfactory spot with the two little furballs. Then, at her command, the two little furballs took the lead and frantically attacked the spot she had indicated!
Guo Mi sat in the back and shouted:
"The salmon are dug up the fastest!"

A hint of defiance flashed in the fishbone's eyes, and it immediately sped up, its little claws almost leaving afterimages!
Guo Mi did not overlook his efforts, and said leisurely:
"It seems like fish bones are faster!"

Not to be outdone, the salmon bent over and dug with all its might. The two innocent little bears were toyed with by the cunning big bear, and in no time they dug through the snow layer, revealing the frozen soil underneath.

Guo Mi sat leisurely to the side, raised her bear paw and scratched her ears a couple of times, tidying up the fluffy and messy fur around her face, and shouted "Stop" before the two little bears hurt their paws.

In reality, the two little furballs couldn't dig up much soil, but Guo Mi still insisted on having them participate.

This is the "reward" she charged the two bear cubs!
She nudged the two bear cubs aside with her nose, then slowly extended her paws and placed them on the damp ground that the cubs had dug out. Then her eyes flashed with a sharp light—

Bathed in the adoring gazes of the two bear cubs, Guo Mi's chubby body swayed from side to side, her thick paws flying up and down, throwing dirt high into the air. The shallow mud pit was quickly dug out and deepened until it formed a deep hole!

Then, amidst the exclamations of the two bear cubs, it wiped its paws in the snow, casually removing the mud from its paws and fur, keeping its accomplishment hidden.

This also gave Caesar, who witnessed the whole thing from afar, a new impression of her—

The Arctic bear is the best at digging burrows.

Guo Mi crawled into the hole she had dug, took a deep breath, and the scent of soil mixed with the smell of snow and wind filled her nostrils.

The two bear cubs rolled around in the cave, their white fur quickly turning gray and dusty, turning the white steamed buns into multigrain rolls.

Guo Mi's eyes twitched at the sight. She grabbed the two bear cubs, crawled out of the cave, and threw them into the snow. The bear paws scooped up a handful of snow and frantically rubbed it all over the two cubs!

The little bear squealed loudly from being rubbed!

Guo Mi only stopped when the multigrain rolls turned back into white steamed buns. She then pressed her paw against the little bear and scanned it from head to toe before she was satisfied.

The soil here is too damp. It was originally frozen soil. When a bear sleeps inside, its body heat melts the ice that holds the soil in place, and the soil becomes muddy everywhere. The bear will soon be covered in mud and get very dirty.

Guo Mi made a quick decision and took the two little bears to find withered branches and leaves.

According to the principles of independent education in human society, the bear cub should be encouraged to complete the task on its own at this point.

However, Guo Mi did not forget that this was a dangerous snowfield, and sending out two little furballs was equivalent to pouring two buckets of reserve food for the other bears.

So she personally brought two little furballs to find soft, dry leaves to re-line the bottom of the hole, which would keep them warm and prevent them from getting dirty—a win-win situation.

Guo Mi rolled around in the cave a couple of times, giving it the highest score for comfort, before reluctantly climbing out and heading towards the lake with the little bear.

There was no other way; half a day had already passed in the blink of an eye, and they still needed to find a way to fill their stomachs before the temperature plummeted.

...Caesar watched as the round, fluffy ball, accompanied by two smaller fluffy balls, wobbled out of his sight before standing up and walking towards the spot where they had just dug the hole.

The hole was dug at the bottom of a snow slope. The terrain here is very good. When the wind blows, it goes up the snow slope, and very little cold air gets into the hole.

The entrance to the cave is almost straight, which makes the cave very deep and warmer.

All polar bear cubs spend a period of time living in caves during their early years.

After a pregnant female bear has done her best to store up fat, she will dig a hole in the snow and enter the hole to begin hibernation.

Polar bear cubs are often born while they are asleep, relying on their mother's thick fur to keep them warm, and then seeking sweet milk in their mother's arms.

The mother bear will only wake up when the earth recovers the following year, dig open the burrow, and crawl out with her newborn cubs to greet the world.

After that, most polar bears will choose to sleep on the spot most of the time, and may go to some sheltered places when the temperature drops sharply.

Even when the temperature is extremely cold, they often only dig a shallow pit and sleep in it to avoid the winter blizzards.

In Caesar's distant memory, he vaguely recalled that when he was very young, he seemed to have spent a very short time in a deep pit under the snow.

But that was a long time ago.

Against the backdrop of those distant memories, the hole that Guo Mi dug seemed to exude a mysterious aura, arousing Caesar's intense curiosity.

He stood at the entrance of the cave and peered inside.

The cave is much more spacious inside than at the entrance. The cave is narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, with a thick layer of withered grass and leaves covering the bottom.

A small ray of light shone from the cave entrance, landing on the withered leaves at the bottom of the cave and casting a beam of light in the dark cave, creating a tranquil atmosphere that was neither abrupt nor oppressive.

Especially those soft, withered leaves piled together, accompanied by the fresh scent of earth, certainly looked like a good place to sleep.

Caesar poked his head in again, tentatively extending a paw and stepping inside.

The furry bear paws swung twice in the air, then stretched downwards with effort.

...There's no way to reach the bottom.

Caesar withdrew his paws without changing his expression, recalling how the round-faced bear had crawled into the hole, then turned around, preparing to go in with his hind legs first.

The entrance was dug by Guo Mi according to her own body size, which was a bit too small for a behemoth like Caesar.

He braced one hind leg against the cave wall, but halfway down he felt himself stuck. Just as he was about to climb out, both of his hind legs slipped, causing his center of gravity to drop, and the entire bear "slid" into the cave!
Fortunately, the soft, dry leaves in the cave reduced the impact of the fall, and Caesar landed on them without any problems, even finding it quite comfortable.

He suddenly heard some faint noises above his head. Just as he was about to look up, something hit him on the head twice!
It raised its paws to pull the thing off its head, and when it opened its paws, it saw that it was a few pieces of broken dirt.

Looking at the clods of earth between his claws, Caesar fell silent for a moment. He looked up and saw that the once meticulously crafted and perfectly regular opening had now collapsed halfway due to the "overburden."

For the first time in its life, this male polar bear felt a strange sense of unease.

Caesar raised his paws and stood up straight, taking advantage of his height, which was much taller than Guo Mi, and tried to cover the dirt back up.

Unaware of its own strength, the claws barely touched the edge of the hole when, with a "crash," the already precarious hole collapsed in half!
"..."

Now Caesar was completely obedient. He gathered up the fallen soil and hid it under the dead leaves as if to conceal it. Then, he raised his paw, recalled what the hole used to look like, and dug around a couple more times, scraping the uneven hole back into its original neat shape.

Looking at the now larger opening, Caesar licked his paws with a smug expression, feeling that it was no different from the original opening.

I just don't know if this fragile opening will collapse again once I climb out.

The soft, withered leaves beneath his bottom constantly conveyed a sense of peace and gentleness, gradually lulling Caesar into a sleepy state.

Looking at the hole that might collapse at any moment, Caesar simply lay down and fell fast asleep in the hole that Guo Mi had painstakingly dug.

(End of this chapter)