Little Pink Starfish

The Bears That Don’t Hibernate

The young couple stood at the window watching the snow for quite a while. Neither of them spoke; they simply leaned against each other, letting time pass peacefully. Neither felt bored in the slightest.

Yu Xiaoxiao reached her hand out the window and caught a bit of snow in her palm. “Looks like white sugar,” she said to Gu Xinglang.

Gu Xinglang, who had never heard snow described that way, chuckled. “The princess hasn’t seen snow before?”

“I have,” Yu Xiaoxiao replied, but she couldn’t tell him that in her previous world—the apocalypse—snow was gray due to pollution in the water and air. Not just the snow, but even the sky was gray.

Worried she might catch cold, Gu Xinglang held her a little tighter. “Still this happy, though?”

Yu Xiaoxiao took a deep breath of the chilly air, looked up at him, and said, “It’s because I wasn’t watching snow with you back then.”

Gu Xinglang gently brushed a loose strand of hair from her temple and murmured, “From now on, I’ll watch the snow with you every year.”

“Deal,” Yu Xiaoxiao agreed readily. “As long as we’re together, that’s all that matters.”

Gu Xinglang leaned in, lips just about to touch hers—when suddenly, a loud clang came from behind them.

Startled, the couple turned around to see Wang Mama standing in the doorway, looking like she’d seen a ghost. A fallen copper basin lay at her feet, the water inside having soaked half her skirt.

“What’s wrong?” Yu Xiaoxiao asked. “Has some enemy come to the door?”

Wang Mama’s mouth twitched. Who waits every day for their enemies to show up?

Gu Xinglang loosened his hold on Yu Xiaoxiao and asked politely, “Mama, what is it?”

Wang Mama rushed inside and stared at Gu Xinglang. “You’re standing?”

Gu Xinglang nodded.

Before he could say much more, Yu Xiaoxiao grinned widely and blurted, “Mama, Xiao Gu’s all healed!”

Wang Mama’s expression turned emotional. “Really? You’re not teasing this old woman?”

“Isn’t he standing right there?” Yu Xiaoxiao said, exasperated by how no one seemed to trust her anymore.

“He can walk?” Wang Mama pressed.

“Let him practice a little more and he’ll be walking and even jumping soon.”

“So he’s fully recovered?”

This time, both Yu Xiaoxiao and Gu Xinglang nodded together.

“Thank the heavens! Thank the gods!” Wang Mama began fervently thanking every deity she could think of.

“I was the one who did the surgery, by the way,” Yu Xiaoxiao reminded her, trying to assert that she was more reliable than the heavens.

But Wang Mama had no time to entertain that. She turned and dashed out—she had to go light incense and inform the late Empress of this good news!

Wang Mama’s shouting had attracted Xiao Wei and Xiao Zhuang, who rushed over to the princess’s quarters. Even though they were anxious, they still had enough discipline to ask permission at the door. The same couldn’t be said for Xiao Zhuang’s bear cubs, who tumbled and rolled right over the threshold into the room.

Yu Xiaoxiao’s eyes lit up at the sight of the furry bundles, and she swallowed hard—those emergency rations were getting bigger by the day.

“You can’t eat them,” Gu Xinglang warned. He knew that sound. If she really slaughtered those two for a roast, he didn’t even want to imagine what Xiao Zhuang would do.

Yu Xiaoxiao sighed and helped Gu Xinglang back to the bed. “Fine, not now. Let Bear One and Bear Two fatten up some more.”

Gu Xinglang wanted to say they couldn’t be eaten even when they were grown, but thought better of it. No point arguing until she actually picked up a knife. “Come in,” he called to Xiao Wei and Xiao Zhuang.

Xiao Zhuang burst in first and immediately checked his cubs. Seeing them safe, he finally relaxed.

Xiao Wei followed and, upon seeing Gu Xinglang being supported and walking, smiled brightly. “The prince consort can walk now?”

Xiao Zhuang ran over, even happier than Xiao Wei. He bounced in place and said, “The prince consort is really better now?”

Yu Xiaoxiao started getting suspicious. “Wait… did you guys not believe me before?”

“No!” Xiao Zhuang shook his head quickly.

Xiao Wei grinned. “Princess, we’re just really happy.”

Gu Xinglang cut in, “Princess, do you want to go outside and see the snow? And what would you like for breakfast?”

“Oh!” The mention of food immediately redirected Yu Xiaoxiao’s brain. “Let’s have roasted meat.”

“Alright,” Gu Xinglang agreed. “We’ll have roasted meat.”

Xiao Wei and Xiao Zhuang: …Who eats roasted meat first thing in the morning?! The prince consort is spoiling her rotten!

The moment she thought of roasted meat, Yu Xiaoxiao’s gaze drifted to the two bear cubs again. Honey-glazed bear paw sounded delicious—and there were four paws right in front of her!

Noticing the hungry glint in her eyes, Xiao Zhuang sprang into action. He scooped up one cub into his arms, hid the other behind him, and stared warily at Yu Xiaoxiao. “Princess, Bear One and Bear Two are mine!”

Yu Xiaoxiao pouted and looked away.

But Xiao Zhuang couldn’t stop himself. The thought of his cubs ending up in the cooking pot horrified him. “Princess, do you really want to eat them?”

Yu Xiaoxiao helped Gu Xinglang back onto the bed and glanced at Xiao Wei, who was tending to the brazier. “No, I’m just looking at them. Xiao Zhuang, you’re a grown man—why are you so dramatic? Can’t I even look at them?”

Xiao Zhuang stared at her—he knew that look. It was how people stared at food!

“Take them out for a walk,” Yu Xiaoxiao said, shooing them away. Only fellow foodies would understand the heartbreak of seeing food you couldn’t eat.

So Xiao Zhuang took the cubs to play in the snow.

Watching them go, Yu Xiaoxiao muttered, “I don’t know how he’s raising them. This is the first time I’ve seen bears that don’t hibernate. Are those even real bears?”

Gu Xinglang and Xiao Wei… Yeah, they didn’t know either.

A while later, Xiao Wei came out and saw the cubs rolling in the snow. He said to Xiao Zhuang, “Honestly, you should just give them to Miss Qian.”

“Get lost!” Xiao Zhuang snapped. No one was taking his “sons” from him!

News of Gu Xinglang being able to stand and walk spread quickly through the Gu residence.

Madam Sun and Madam Lin sent over Gu Xinglang’s nephews to visit their uncle. Even Granny Wei came in holding little Yu Ziyi to see his brother-in-law.

Yu Xiaoxiao only cared about eating, but Gu Xinglang—now surrounded by four kids in a noisy room—was starting to get a headache.

Granny Wei left Yu Ziyi with Gu Xinglang and quietly stepped out. This was actually Wang Mama’s idea—to let the seventh prince bond with the princess. Even if the princess didn’t like kids, it was important to build a relationship between Yu Ziyi and the prince consort. After all, the seventh prince’s future depended on his imperial sister and her husband.