Chapter 40: Naughty Bear Cubs

When Liu Heming returned to the house, he did not hurry to check on the two bear cubs. Instead, he first cleaned himself up.

He had been crawling and rolling around in the fields, getting himself covered in dirt. In the past, he would have just ignored it and carried on. Back in university, he would even lie down on the bed right after playing soccer, covered in sweat. But now, things were different.

Now he had a daughter. Even though his daughter wasn’t with him right now, he needed to develop good habits early. His daughter had a formidable Mom. If he made Sasha angry, she might not allow his daughter to come over.

After washing up, he went to the living room to see the two bear cubs. At first glance, he was shocked. The two small blankets were there, but the bear cubs were gone. What gave him some relief was that the ashes in the fireplace weren’t too messy—the two bear cubs probably hadn’t gone inside to play.

He searched for a long time and finally found them, which made Liu Heming quite angry.

The two bear cubs were found in his bedroom. If they had been messing with something else, it might not have been so bad, but the two little rascals were happily eating the Finger Sweet Potatoes over there.

It pained him greatly. He quickly snatched the sweet potatoes from the bear cubs’ paws. Luckily, they must have just snuck over there—twenty-eight sweet potatoes remained.

“My two little ancestors, these are for my daughter. You two have such small bodies, how can you eat so much?” Liu Heming said gloomily.

The two bear cubs stared at him with their bear eyes, not understanding what he was saying. However, they weren’t afraid of him. Xiong Da even crawled over to him, hugged his leg, and tried to climb up.

“Rip”

“Ouch”

The “rip” sound was because his pants were torn by the bear claws. The “ouch” was because it hurt—three red marks were scratched onto his thigh.

If he had moved away quickly, it would have been fine. Even if he had just stepped aside, it would have been okay. After all, the bear cubs were still somewhat weak and moved a bit slowly. But he was too busy checking his thigh to see if it was scratched and whether he needed a tetanus or rabies shot. That gave Xiong Er an opportunity.

It probably thought this game was fun, so it wiggled its little bottom, crawled over, and gave Liu Heming’s right leg a swipe too. This time, Liu Heming didn’t make a sound. Seeing his pants in such a state, he was at a loss for words.

“Now I understand where the term ‘bear cubs’ comes from,” Liu Heming said gloomily, picking up the two bear cubs under his arms.

He didn’t dare let them stay in the bedroom any longer. Their little claws might be small, but they were quite sharp. If he let them stay any longer, these two bear cubs would definitely cause more damage than a Husky.

Originally, he had planned to start practicing his knife skills today, but with these two bear cubs around, he couldn’t cook properly. He had to settle for another meal of Instant Noodles.

Even so, the two little ones kept causing trouble, chasing him around. Occasionally, they would trip and fall, but they didn’t care—they just got up and continued running.

“Don’t rush. Sit still, both of you. I’ll give you some milk and Bread. I think you’re just hungry. Once you have a little food in your bellies, you start misbehaving. Tomorrow, I’ll give you meat. Just bear with it for today.” Liu Heming took out two plates, poured some warm milk into each, and then carried the two bear cubs over.

During mealtime, they were quite well-behaved. The two bear cubs focused on drinking the milk and chewing the Bread, with no time to pester him. However, when he opened the canned meat, the two little ones became restless again. They crawled over from the floor, sat down, and stared at him with their bear eyes.

“You two really are my ancestors. You can’t eat this—the seasoning inside is too strong. If you get sick, how will I complete my task? This is a delicious meal for me, but it’s poison for you.” Liu Heming pleaded earnestly.

But they paid no attention and still sat there, watching him.

Liu Heming thought he was too soft-hearted. Why did he need to explain to them? He should just eat his own food quickly. If he waited any longer, the Instant Noodles would become mushy.

But after taking a couple of bites, he looked down and saw the two bear cubs still sitting there, staring at him eagerly, their little noses sniffing nonstop.

“Why are you so greedy? You’ve already eaten so many of my daughter’s sweet potatoes. What else do you want to eat?” Liu Heming glared at them.

The bear cubs weren’t scared at all. They just blinked their bear eyes.

“Fine, I give up. Wait here, I’ll get some beef for you. I’ll just fry it quickly,” Liu Heming conceded.

He didn’t dare feed them raw Beef Cattle, still worried that the two bear cubs couldn’t digest it. Even with the half-piece of steak he fried, he cut it into small strips and put them on plates for the cubs.

The two bear cubs were delighted now. They buried their heads in the plates, unwilling to lift them, and even pushed the plates far across the floor. Liu Heming took this opportunity to slurp down his Instant Noodles.

He thought the only challenge with the bear cubs would be feeding them, and that things would be fine once he gave them regular food tomorrow. But it turned out he was too naive.

In the wild, bear cubs relieve themselves wherever they please—nature is their big bathroom. Now that they were full, had drunk their fill, and were tired from playing, they needed to go. The kitchen seemed like a good spot to them.

Liu Heming felt the fault was his own—after all, he hadn’t taught them how to use the toilet.

So he found an old mat and placed it in a corner of the living room. He threw some dirt on it and even moved their droppings onto it. Whether this method would work or not, it was all he could do for now. After all, his friends who had cats or dogs seemed to do something similar.

After dealing with that, he started mopping the floor. Even though they were bear cubs, the smell wasn’t pleasant. His daughter might come over in the next couple of days. If the whole house smelled like this, would Sasha let him off the hook?

When he finished cleaning up and checked the time, it was already past nine o’clock. So, because of these two bear cubs, he had wasted several hours. He truly admired those cat and dog owners back home, who managed to be such devoted servants for so long.

The work was exhausting, and after cleaning for so long, he was worn out. After simply washing his face and brushing his teeth, he crawled into bed.

He had just lain down for a short while when he felt like someone was watching him. He opened his eyes and saw the two bear cubs sitting by his bedside, staring at him eagerly.

“My ancestors, what else do you want? Do I not even have the right to sleep?” Liu Heming said with a bitter smile.

Seeing him sit up, Xiong Da stood up too, placing its bear paws on the bedsheet. Liu Heming was terrified. He didn’t dare let it climb up on its own, so he picked up both bear cubs and placed them on the bed.

They weren’t picky. They snuggled up against him, laid their small bodies down, and started sleeping.

Liu Heming shook his head helplessly. Still, looking at the two little ones, he felt a bit sorry for them. He took out his Mobile Phone, took a picture of them, and sent it to his daughter. His daughter said she liked small animals, so these two bear cubs would have to do for now.