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

Chapter 106 The Loneliness of the Wilderness
Upon hearing this answer, Bada was speechless. It was as if he were seeing Guo Mi for the first time. He looked her up and scrutinized her intently, and after a long while, he uttered a few words as if in a soft sigh:

"Why bother?"

Why bother.

Although he had only known Guo Mi for two short days, Bada never thought that Guo Mi would be a bear that was prone to losing its mind.

She adopted the two polar bear cubs, and although he didn't know why, in Bada's eyes, Guo Mi was a bear who always put herself first.

But she gave him an answer that was completely unexpected.

The two bear cubs hadn't heard their conversation, but they sensed the unusual atmosphere. Their eyes unconsciously filled with apprehension as they looked up at Guo Mi expectantly.

Guo Mi also lowered her head to look at them, a hint of gentleness in her eyes that subtly eased the little bear's unease. Her voice was both helpless and amused:

"What should I do? I already promised them I would be there for them as they grow up..."

She made a self-deprecating remark when she said this:
"I can't go back on my word, can I?"

Bada looked at the two bear cubs, and when he looked at Guo Mi, his eyes were filled with the same admiration for her.

A strange, trustworthy brown bear.

Guo Mi sighed and looked in the south direction that Bada had indicated.

Under the moonlight, there was an endless wilderness with only low trees, leaving her with an unbounded view. A few gentle evening breezes stirred the strings of her heart, leaving behind a desolate landscape.

At the end, the shadows rose and fell in undulating waves. Guo Mi guessed that they were mountains, rising steadily. She figured they were not as steep as the mountains in her hometown that she remembered.

Guo Mi chuckled softly twice and said to Bada:

"Looks like I'll have to stay here."

Bada watched her quietly. The bear was clearly smiling, but he couldn't miss the inescapable loneliness deep within her round, almond-shaped eyes.

She's not a bear here, and even if she did get to the forest, it probably wouldn't be her home.

Bada, who had been wandering far from home for a long time, understood all too well the look in her eyes; it was a symbol of having no home to return to.

Bada suddenly realized that the bear in front of her probably would never be able to go home again, and she would only be able to drift along in a strange place.

Perhaps one day she will have a new home, but for now, she has no place to belong.

Guo Mi gazed quietly at the distant mountains, when suddenly she heard Bada's voice:

"Let's go take a look."

Her pupils contracted, and she heard the sound of grass being trampled beside her. A dark bear came up to her and sat down next to her.

Bada was much smaller than Guomi. The two bears, one large and one small, gazed together at the distant mountain shadows. He repeated to Guomi:
"Let's go take a look."

Guo Mi lowered her head to look at him, her eyes showing some interest, but mostly confusion.

Before she could ask a question, Bada smiled at her first:
"Nobody knows what will happen. The little one is still young, maybe he can get used to it. If he goes and fails, there's nothing we can do."

"Of course, if you don't go, that would be a lifelong regret. You'll keep thinking, 'If I had gone back then, would everything have been different?' So, let's not have any regrets."

Bada encouraged Guomi:

"You should go and see it eventually."

Guo Mi stared at him blankly for a while, then laughed.

Whether by coincidence or not, a gust of wind swept through the berry grove, swirling up the fallen leaves and sending them flying high before they slowly drifted away.

Bada laughed too, but then gradually stopped, his gaze complex.

He knew that Guo Mi would most likely return. In the far north during winter, how could a brown bear that needs to hibernate possibly survive?

The atmosphere inexplicably became heavy again. Guo Mi's ears twitched, and she suddenly raised her paw and patted Bada:
"what's wrong?"

Bada lowered his head, picked a berry, and put it in his mouth, his voice muffled:
"Guo Mi, what will you do in winter?"

Even if they set off now, and even if the little bear can adapt, Guo Mi won't be able to reach the forest before winter.

Guo Mi leaned closer to Bada: "How did you spend your winter?"

Bada, recalling his winter, twitched his nose twice and raised his voice:
"I have a little bit, let's sleep together to keep warm!"

He and Dot spent two winters near the human town.

...But there's no Dian Dian this year, so he's going to go find him.

Guo Mi was surprised to find that Bada and his polar bear friends were even quieter than she had expected.

She reached out her paw and pulled the two little bear cubs beside her, who were listening intently. Caught off guard, the two little furballs tilted to the side, their little heads pressed tightly together, their paws flailing wildly in the air.
"Guo Mi, it's so crowded!"

Guo Mi lowered her head and rubbed against it vigorously, then said contentedly:

"I have a little bear cub too."

Bada had to remind her:

“These two little cubs are not capable of hunting alone. If you fall asleep, they will have trouble even protecting themselves, let alone making a living.”

Besides the few months of hibernation in caves with their mothers after birth, polar bears also hibernate once more when the mother bear gives birth.

Male bears almost never hibernate.

Let alone Guo Mi, it's questionable whether these two little ones will even survive the winter.

"We've already learned enough from today's conversation," Guo Mi said slowly, taking a deep breath.

"Things will work themselves out when they reach the bridge..."

Bada tilted his head:
"A boat? You mean those iron lumps that humans use? Floating on water?" What does that mean?
Guo Mi then remembered that bears don't understand human proverbs, so she changed her approach:

"It means that everything is still unknown, so we'll see when the time comes!"

Bada was defeated by her optimism and had to change the subject:
"So when do you plan to head south?"

He paused, then reminded him:

"Summer is already halfway over, so my advice is to set off as early as possible."

Guo Mi had already bent down to look for the berries hidden under the leaves, and while eating them, she mumbled:

"There's no time like the present, let's eat our fill and get a good night's sleep, then we'll set off at noon tomorrow!"

Bada was stunned:

"So fast?!"

Guo Mi smiled at him:
"Isn't it better to do it as early as possible?"

Bada blinked and remained silent.

Guo Mi was engrossed in searching for berries when several yellow berries suddenly rolled over to her side.

Looking up, she saw Bada break off the branches and leaves still attached to the berries with his mouth, throwing all the ripe berries to Guo Mi's feet.

Guo Mi raised an eyebrow, her eyes silently asking, "Weren't you so hungry you wanted to eat even the berry vines?"
Bada noticed her gaze, paused in his act of biting off the branch, then threw the branch with four berries still hanging from its mouth at Guo Mi's feet, and said in a harsh voice:
"What are you looking at? Hurry up and eat!"

Then he turned and beckoned to the two bear cubs:
Stop playing around and eat!

The two bear cubs looked at each other, and finally, under Bada's piercing gaze, they lowered their heads and hurriedly walked over, silently starting to eat the fruit obediently.

Bada plucked another branch laden with berries and tossed it to Guo Mi:
"Eat this."

And at the end, he didn't forget to add a sentence:
"I didn't bite the main stem, and I also left the fruit that could be used as seeds."

"puff--"

Guo Mi finally couldn't help but laugh out loud, and then, under Bada's silent glare, she quickly lowered her head and began to enjoy the fruits of his labor.

(End of this chapter)