POLAR BEAR ARC CHAPTER 16

                                    

                                          

Qiao Qixi sat by the whale, licking his paws and mouth, diligently grooming himself after a meal. This was his secret to keeping his fur so white.
With this in mind, he moved his butt off the ground and found a clean, smooth stone to sit on.
The soil on the beach seemed to be a mix of volcanic mud and sand, giving it a gray-brown color. The other polar bears' fur was patchy and dirty, stained from the ground.
While it didn't harm their health, it certainly wasn't aesthetically pleasing.
Qiao Qixi was vain and wouldn't allow himself to become a dirty, scruffy polar bear. As a result of his meticulous grooming, he stood out as the cleanest and most handsome cub on the beach.
In the drone footage, while the other polar bears looked dirty and grimy, freshly arrived Qiao Qixi and Otis appeared exceptionally white and chubby, making them particularly noticeable.
People began to bet on how many days it would take for the two of them to become as messy as the other bears.
If Qiao Qixi knew about this bet, he would likely sigh and say, "You don't know me very well."
No matter how many days passed, he wouldn't let himself turn into a dirty bear.
Similarly, Otis, who stayed with him, wouldn't be allowed to get dirty either.
Observations showed that Otis was much cleaner than other polar bears. After eating, he would carefully groom his fur to avoid any lingering smells.
Plus, Otis enjoyed swimming in the sea, and the seawater kept his fur clean. Once he was onshore, the sun would dry his fur, leaving it fluffy and smelling of sunshine, without any of the unpleasant odors typical of wild animals.
Some polar bears had matted fur, a clear sign they hadn't bathed in a long time, and their smell could be detected from a distance.
That was the difference between bears.
It wasn't easy to come across such a large amount of food. Otis ate until he was full, then took Qiao Qixi's little bucket, filled with several pieces of meat, and left the shore together to rest on the grassy inland.
This didn't mean they had given up on the whale carcass. On the contrary, they intended to stay nearby for some time.
In early summer, the grass was tender and green, with purple flower buds just beginning to emerge.
The well-fed little bear lazily wandered, occasionally sniffing the budding flowers or being captivated by small insects, appearing carefree and without worries.
Leading the way was the big polar bear, steadily guiding them, similar to a mother bear with her cubs.
Most mother bears had two or three cubs and had a harder time than single male bears, needing to constantly find food.
A fortunate mother bear, with her two cubs, also found the stranded whale—a stroke of luck for them.
Despite the risk of being attacked by other polar bears, this mother bear bravely brought her cubs to share in the food.
In times of plenty, male polar bears would ignore cubs, allowing them to eat and avoid harm.
The cubs, unlike the pampered only-child Qiao Qixi, would eat as much as possible without needing any prompting from their mother, stuffing themselves until their bellies looked like balls.
Qiao Qixi thought, "No need to praise one while criticizing the other."
The lucky family of three also decided to stay nearby. The dry grassy slope was a good choice, providing a view of the shore and minimizing conflicts with other polar bears.