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

Chapter 63 Why should friends be so calculating?
Meanwhile, on a riverbank far away, Slok was completely submerged in the water, leisurely paddling his limbs and comfortably squinting his eyes.

The weather is getting hotter and hotter; it's still more comfortable to stay in the water.

He swam around the edge again before his gaze fell on Caesar, who was sitting on the shore in a daze.

Ever since he saw Guo Mi climbing the mountain wall and had another argument with her, Caesar has been in a low mood and often spaces out. Slok doesn't dare to provoke him anymore.

The sunlight shone directly on the male bear, its fur reflecting a bright light, making Slok feel hot just looking at it.

He swam two more laps before climbing out of the river, shaking his fur vigorously, and muttering something under his breath:
"hungry."

Then he jogged toward Caesar:

"Caesar, I'm so hungry."

Caesar didn't react at all, and didn't even bother to look at him.

Slok walked over and pressed himself against him forcefully, drawing out his words:

"I'm so hungry, I'm so hungry..."

Moisture clung to Caesar's body from his damp fur, creating an uncomfortable, neither-dry-nor-wet feeling. And some bears, oblivious to this, just kept sticking to him.

Caesar growled:
"Stay away from me, don't get too close!"

He'd been in a bad mood lately, so Slok didn't dare to be unreasonable anymore. He obediently moved aside, but continued to mutter to himself:
"I'm hungry."

Caesar, thoroughly annoyed, said impatiently:
"Go find something to eat when you're hungry. You didn't survive this long on my back."

This stupid bear has been getting increasingly demanding lately. Before, he would just freeload, but now he wants me to find food to feed him!
Slok tilted his body to the side, landing on his back with his legs in the air, and whined in an extremely disgusting voice:

"But I can't find it. You're better at it, so you go find something to eat, and then we'll eat together—"

Caesar sneered. "He's not much to look at, but he's got quite the imagination. Even if he were to hunt, he wouldn't share the food with him. If he were to share, it would be with…"

A huge, round, furry ball appeared uncontrollably in my mind.

Caesar jolted awake and immediately shook his head.

He cursed himself inwardly for thinking about an ungrateful bear.

Slok rolled on the ground, saying seemingly casually:

"Sigh, Guo Mi has been guarding under the bird's nest for days, just to catch a few foxes..."

He got up and approached Caesar, asking:
"That place is full of cracks in the rocks. It's considered good if you can catch two a day. If you're unlucky, you won't catch any at all. Do you think she can get enough to eat with two little ones?"

Caesar turned his head away and said coldly:
"Don't mention her to me again."

Slok instantly collapsed to the ground, limp and lifeless.

"Ok."

The land near the river was very wet and soft, especially in places without clear riverbank boundaries. Where Slok stepped, small puddles would even form.

He lay on the ground, staring at the puddles, and suddenly, in a moment of madness, stuck out his tongue and licked them twice, instantly contorting his face into a grimace.

"So salty."

This place is called a river only because it is narrow; in reality, it connects to the sea, and the water is saltwater.

In winter, polar bears mostly rely on eating snow to replenish their freshwater supply, but it's more difficult in summer as they need to find freshwater sources.

Caesar looked at Slok, who was convulsing from the saltiness, and a hint of disdain flashed in his eyes.

It took Slok a while to recover. Looking up at the distance, he suddenly uttered a blank sentence:
"The flowers are so beautiful."

Caesar looked in the direction he was looking, and under the abundant sunlight of the midnight sun, a large number of extremely beautiful and gorgeous flowers were blooming along the riverbank, swaying in the wind and exuding a faint fragrance.

It's definitely one of the few good things to have in the summer.

Slok stared intently, then suddenly his eyes lit up, and he leaped up:

"It's a small river!"

Amidst the blooming flowers, a polar bear emerged from the blossoms, its head bowed as it sniffed the riverbank. Slok was thrilled and raised his paw to run over, but Caesar stopped him in time!

The male bear's eyes were filled with disapproval:
"Why are you always so incredibly stupid? Have you forgotten how you got the injury on your nose?"

Slok paused for a moment, then smiled and said:
“He was still young then, and he never bullied me afterward.”

Caesar scoffed at Slok's views on friendship.

What does it matter if he's been bullied or not? Even if it was a bear that bullied him, didn't he still happily go over and make friends with it?

Caesar's eyes were filled with a deep gloom; the gash on the bear's nose was the most serious injury he had ever sustained since birth.

The sense of smell was severely impaired for at least six months, greatly reducing the success rate of hunting.

If it weren't for the prey he shared with, Slok would probably have starved to death.

As a result, the stupid bear, without any memory, went over again!

Slok laughed and said:
"It's okay. He was really young back then, he hadn't even left his mother yet. I scared him by going too close to him, so you can't blame him."

He pleaded with Caesar, begging:

"Let me through, I just want to say hello."

Caesar found this side of him most annoying, and after a brief standoff, he finally stepped aside, still seething with anger.
"You deserved to be bitten."

Slok nudged him hard, then trotted towards the polar bear in the distant flowerbed, shouting as he ran:

"Little River, I'm here!"

Caesar sat there, watching from afar as Slok approached the male bear. The bear, however, paid no heed to his advances and had already begun to mount an attack stance, growling softly.

Fortunately, the silly bear wasn't so stupid as to miss the other party's resistance. It stopped in time, sat down, and scratched its ear with its paw.

Caesar snorted and looked away, thinking to himself that in less than ten minutes, he would be chased back by that male bear!
However, things did not go as he had planned.

When Slok turned his gaze back to the flower bushes, he found Slok standing opposite the male bear. The two bears were like long-lost friends, their faces pressed together, mouths agape, nibbling and playing happily.

Caesar's gaze sharpened when he saw the male bear raise its paw, but the next second he saw that the bear had simply patted Slok playfully with its paw.

Slok rolled over, and the two bears began chasing each other through the flowerbeds!
This turn of events was clearly something Caesar hadn't anticipated at all.

To be honest, he still remembered very clearly how Slok looked when he came to him with blood from his nose staining his chest hair red. At that time, the fear in the bear's eyes had not yet faded.

At the time, Caesar wanted to bite the little cub to death, but Slok disagreed.

Even so, in Caesar's estimation, Slok should have kept his distance from that little brat, instead of getting together with him again at some unknown time!
In Caesar's eyes, this behavior showed a complete lack of learning from experience!
Slok and his best friend had a great time playing together for a long time before reluctantly returning to Caesar's side, only to find that Caesar was angry again.

He hesitated for a moment, then knelt down beside Caesar and whispered:
"what happened to you?"

Caesar stared at him expressionlessly, then suddenly let out a cold laugh:
“Slok, if you keep going like this, and one day another bear bites your throat, I won’t even have time to save you.”

Slok lowered his eyes and whispered:
"But he didn't do it on purpose."

Seeing that he remained obstinate, Caesar's temper flared, and he was about to erupt in anger when he suddenly heard Slok say softly:

Why should friends be so calculating?

Caesar's anger was interrupted, and while he was stunned, Slok continued:
“Every bear has its own values ​​and different life experiences, so naturally they have different ways of doing things. You can’t expect a bear to be in step with you or to be the same as you.”

"Making friends means understanding each other. You have to forgive each other's differences and make concessions. Sometimes it's not that hard to humble yourself."

"Sometimes you don't mean it that way, but you still blurt out hurtful things to the other person. If you're not willing to make amends for your mistakes, you'll lose a lot of friends."

Slok was talking about himself and the river, but Caesar felt he was implying something.

The silly bear, who had been playing all afternoon, had no idea what he was thinking. He stretched his limbs vigorously and let out a comfortable sigh:
"I had so much fun today."

Image from the documentary "Polar Bear Summer"

Actually, I'd like to know how everyone gets along with their friends. Could you share your experiences with me?

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(End of this chapter)