“Another activity signal from Yunian?”

A month after Yunian was released back into the wild, the staff at the Hetaoping Base continued to monitor his movements.

That morning, the staff summarized all of Yunian’s recent activity data, preparing a comprehensive report.

One of the caretakers, having heard about this, hurried over to check in with the team.

The staff member smiled and said, “Yes, the little guy’s been quite active. He’s slowly been migrating, and it seems like he’s fully adapted to life in the wild.”

Over a month ago, when they first detected that Yunian had entered the territory of other wild panda, everyone at the base had been on edge.

After all, Yunian was still such a small panda, completely no match for the larger adult wild pandas. The entire staff feared he’d get into a territorial fight, and they had already prepared to launch a rescue mission at a moment’s notice.

To their relief, nothing of the sort happened.

The very next day, the infrared activity showed that Yunian was migrating at a slow pace. He had left the high-altitude mountain areas and moved to lower-altitude forests.

For the next couple of weeks, the staff received a steady stream of activity signals from him.

Every area Yunian moved to was rich with bamboo, indicating that he had already learned the essential survival skills of the wild. He knew exactly which areas to go to in each season to find food.

This conclusion was a massive relief for all the worried staff members.

That evening, the base shared an update about Yunian on social media.

Ever since the base had announced that Yunian was being reintroduced into the wild for a second time, his fans had been eager for any news. Finally seeing an update, they flocked to the comment section.

“Finally, some news about Yunian!”

“Looks like he’s adapting well to the wild after all!”

“Glad to know he’s okay.”

“I’m relieved, but I guess Yunian’s plan to officially join the base has completely fallen through, huh!”

Seeing this comment, the netizens couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Of course, Ye Yunian had no idea about the comments being made online. And, just as the base staff and his fans didn’t know, he wasn’t out there alone!

At that moment, Ye Yunian was walking leisurely along the small stream near the bamboo forest after having his fill.

Yes, Apple Bear had led Yunian to a new territory, and this one happened to be near a small creek.

For all wild animals, water sources are crucial. Apple Bear, too, had a particular fondness for areas with water, and every bamboo forest he brought Yunian to had some form of nearby water source.

Ye Yunian hadn’t been particularly interested in rivers before. To him, rivers served only two purposes—drinking and bathing.

But ever since that day when the black bear caught a big fat fish in the river, Yunian couldn’t get the scene out of his head.

The desire to eat fish peaked the moment he laid eyes on this little stream.

The creek wasn’t as wide as a river, and its deepest part was only about half a meter.

Because of this, Yunian was allowed to wander around near the stream. Otherwise, Apple Bear would have dragged him away by the scruff of his neck.

But due to the shallow water, the creek didn’t hold many resources. There were no prawns to be found, and the fat fish had been replaced by tiny fry.

However, that didn’t stop Yunian from practicing his fishing skills.

Under the midday heat, Yunian wandered along the creek and eventually found a small pool formed by a large stone, where the water had accumulated.

Near the rock, tiny fish swam back and forth.

Yunian slowly stepped into the water, which just covered his belly.

Although he moved cautiously, disturbing the water still caused many of the little fish to dart away.

Yunian wasn’t upset. He patiently stood in the water, head down, watching the small fish swim back and forth.

Minutes passed, and the water calmed down again. The startled fish, sensing no further danger, slowly emerged from the crevices of the rock.

Some even brushed right past Yunian’s paws.

Yunian didn’t move. He was waiting for the right moment. Besides, these tiny fish wouldn’t even fill the gap between his teeth.

Finally, after what felt like ages, he spotted a fish about the size of his paw.

This was it—the fish he had been waiting for!

Yunian’s eyes lit up. Taking a deep breath, he lowered his face into the water.

Water splashed as Yunian flailed about for a moment before standing up, turning around slowly.

A fish wiggled in his mouth, frantically flopping.

Yunian had succeeded!

Excited, he wasted no time and ran towards the bamboo forest with his prize.

Apple Bear, who had already eaten his fill, was dozing in the shade, keeping an ear out for any signs of Yunian.

Hearing the sound of Yunian running back, Apple Bear opened his eyes lazily. A few cool water droplets splashed onto his face, and when he looked down, he saw a small fish flopping on the ground.

Yunian, still dripping wet, stood proudly in front of Apple Bear, lifting his head with a look of triumph. He let out a joyful squeal.

Apple Bear lay there, glancing at the fish and then back at Yunian.

It finally dawned on him why this little panda had been hanging around the water so much lately.

The little fish continued to flop on the ground.

Yunian made no further movements, simply standing there with his head held high, as if waiting for something.

Apple Bear seemed to understand. He slowly got up and bit down on the fish.

Yunian, satisfied, watched as Apple Bear cleaned the fish’s guts, then set it back down in front of Yunian before laying down again.

???

Yunian stared at the fish on the ground and then at Apple Bear, who had already closed his eyes again.

Unable to contain himself, Yunian let out a frustrated squeal and launched himself at Apple Bear, tackling him.

Still soaking wet, Yunian rolled around on Apple Bear’s fur.

If this had been any other animal with a bad temper, they would have already roared in anger at Yunian’s antics.

But Apple Bear was different. His patience, especially with Yunian, was boundless. No matter what Yunian did, Apple Bear would tolerate it.

So, even though Yunian had drenched half of Apple Bear’s fur, he didn’t get angry. Instead, he just looked at Yunian with a puzzled expression.

Yunian, lying on top of him, kept whining, his eyes wide with frustration.

Apple Bear was confused, not sure what he had done to upset Yunian.

Water droplets from Yunian’s soaked fur continued to drip onto Apple Bear’s face.

Though he didn’t know why Yunian was upset, it didn’t stop Apple Bear from trying to comfort him.

So, Apple Bear stretched out his tongue and gently licked the water off Yunian’s face.

Yunian’s eyes widened again.

That’s not what I meant!

Yunian realized that no matter how much he complained, they were never going to communicate properly.

So, he stood up, picked up the fish in his mouth, and placed it in front of Apple Bear again.

Apple Bear looked at Yunian and then at the fish. After a long pause, he seemed to understand.

He sniffed the fish before lifting his head to look at Yunian.

Yunian stared at him expectantly.

After a long moment, Apple Bear sighed, as if giving in, and divided the fish in half. He gave Yunian the fattier, juicier part while keeping the bony tail for himself.

Under Yunian’s eager gaze, Apple Bear, without expression, crunched down on the half fish as if it were a sunflower seed.

Yunian was overjoyed. He twirled around in excitement before grabbing his own half and gulping it down in one bite.

With renewed enthusiasm, Yunian once again sprinted towards the creek.

Apple Bear stood quietly in the bamboo forest, watching as Yunian dashed away.

To be honest, Apple Bear was a bit puzzled. The fish, smaller than his paw, didn’t have much meat, and it didn’t provide nearly as much protein as a plump bamboo rat.

Apple Bear had caught fish before, and because of the bones and poor taste, he didn’t particularly enjoy it. Catching fish was also time-consuming and energy-draining.

For most pandas, fishing was hardly worth the effort.

But Yunian was different—he liked fish.

Since the little one enjoyed it, Apple Bear didn’t mind. Even though he wasn’t a fan of fish, he never rejected Yunian’s offerings and always ate them.

After Yunian had drenched the ground where Apple Bear had been lying, Apple Bear found a drier spot and began cleaning himself off, licking his fur and paws.

As he did, he found himself thinking, maybe I’ll catch a bigger fish for Yunian next time. Bigger fish have fewer bones—he’d probably like that more.

Yunian, of course, had no idea what Apple Bear was thinking. The success of his first hunt had filled him with pride, and for the next few days, he frequently went back to the creek to fish.

Of course, he didn’t always succeed. Sometimes, he’d miss entirely, and other times, the fish were so small that they barely made a snack.

But whether he caught a lot or a little, if Yunian managed to catch anything that day, Apple Bear would always be the first to receive Yunian’s offerings.

The various sizes of fish Yunian caught were neatly placed in front of Apple Bear, who always lay nearby.

Yunian would stand beside him, eyes shining with excitement, eagerly waiting for Apple Bear’s approval.

Apple Bear would glance at Yunian, then at the fish spread before him. After several days of this routine, Apple Bear, unable to take it any longer, finally stepped back.

But before he could leave, Yunian bit down lightly on his leg, just enough to stop him from walking away.

Apple Bear had no choice but to stay put.

Yunian, his eyes bright and his round, wet face gleaming with water droplets, stared at Apple Bear with expectation.

Apple Bear sighed and reluctantly bent down.

It seemed they really needed to move to a new bamboo grove. The fish here were too bony and just didn’t taste good.