Extra 1 : The Cub Turns into a Little Bear (1)
“Young Master, go to sleep now. Tomorrow, you’re going to Lele’s house to play.”
The butler tucked Xie Heng in, patting his round little head.
A small child lay on the bed, his big black-and-white eyes wide open, so clear they reflected the people around him.
Little Xie Heng pouted. “I don’t want to. I have to wait for Daddy to come back and say goodnight before I sleep.”
Two nannies who were responsible for looking after Xie Heng stood nearby. Hearing his childish words, they couldn’t help but chuckle.
Mostly because Xie Heng was just too cute. His skin was fair and flawless, his little round face soft like milk tofu, and his features delicate and well-shaped. Even at five years old, it was easy to tell he’d grow up to be very handsome.
Everyone in the house, including the servants, adored him.
Xie Heng himself was very lovable. He was always polite, always well-behaved. A little darling. But his favorite person was still his Dad. He clung to Xie Yizhao every day. Sometimes, when he had nightmares in the middle of the night, he’d wake up crying for his Dad to hold him.
Unfortunately, Mr. Xie was always too busy with work and rarely had time to accompany his little son.
The butler, feeling a little sorry for him, picked up the teddy bear by the bed and tucked it into Xie Heng’s arms. “Go to sleep first. Master is on a business trip tonight and will be back tomorrow.”
The little boy blinked, disappointed, but hugged the teddy bear tightly.
It was his favorite toy. He couldn’t sleep without it.
He whispered, “Why is Daddy always on business trips?”
The butler sighed. “It’s for work, Young Master. You’ll understand when you grow up.”
Xie Qi stared at him with big, expectant eyes. “Uncle Butler, can you tell Daddy to take me with him next time?”
“…”
Everyone in the room chuckled.
Such childish words.
Luckily, Xie Heng fell asleep quickly, hugging his teddy bear, his breathing soon slow and steady.
The next day, as planned, Xie Heng went to Lele’s house to play.
Lele was his kindergarten classmate. They both lived in the same villa district and often played together.
Today was Lele’s birthday, and he had invited many children over.
Originally, Xie Heng was supposed to stay for dinner and play a little longer before coming home. But before it was even 3 PM, he came running back home crying, with two bodyguards—assigned by Mr. Xie to protect him—following behind.
When asked, it turned out that Xie Heng had gotten into a fight with Lele at his house. Both kids had cried terribly.
“Xiao Heng, aren’t you and Lele good friends? Why did you fight? Do you want Uncle to take you back to play?”
Xie Heng shook off the hand reaching for him and ran upstairs, still sobbing. “No! I’m never playing with him again!”
The fight had happened in the playroom while the kids were playing. The bodyguards had been standing outside, so they had no idea what had gone down.
Later that night, around 9 PM, Xie Yizhao came home. Upon hearing what had happened, he went upstairs to check on Xie Heng.
Seeing his Dad, Xie Heng finally pouted and spoke up, looking aggrieved.
“Yangyang’s Dad got him a stepmother. Lele said that sooner or later, you’d get me one too. I got so mad… so I hit him.”
Xie Yizhao paused for a moment at that, then let out a soft chuckle. He ruffled his son’s head and said gently, “Daddy won’t get you a stepmother.”
Xie Heng felt a little relieved but was still upset.
Daddy wasn’t going to find him a stepmother, that’s good. He knew Lele was just talking nonsense.
But… what about his own Mommy?
Other kids all had Moms.
His head was full of questions, but he didn’t dare ask.
Even at five years old, he understood a lot. People often praised him for being a smart kid.
He had asked this question so many times before…
Every time, Daddy said he didn’t know.
And Xie Heng could tell. Whenever he mentioned Mommy, Daddy would get upset. He could feel it.
At 8:30, Xie Yizhao read him a few bedtime stories. After making sure he had fallen asleep, he left the room.
But as soon as he was gone, the little boy’s eyes snapped open.
Xie Heng sat up in bed, hugging his teddy bear.
“It’s still early. I don’t want to sleep yet,” he muttered. He rubbed his arm where he had gotten hit earlier and puffed up his cheeks in frustration. “I’m never playing with Lele again. He’s lost me forever.”
His teddy bear gazed at him silently.
Xie Heng hugged it tighter and let out a troubled sigh.
This teddy bear had been a gift from his Dad when he was three. It was soft and fluffy, almost as big as he was, and hugging it felt extra comforting.
When no one else was around, Xie Heng liked talking to it.
“Sigh, Bear Bear, where is my Mommy?” The little boy blinked. “Some people say my Mommy is dead, but that can’t be true, right?”
Then he frowned. “But… what does ‘dead’ mean?”
The teddy bear : “…”
“Sigh, if only you could talk,” he murmured, stroking the bear’s head, just like how the grown-ups always patted his.
He yawned. Even though he didn’t want to sleep yet and still wanted to talk with his best friend, Bear Bear… he was so, so sleepy.
His eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and his little head felt fuzzy.
He was about to drift off when—
“Xiao Heng, Xiao Heng Heng.”
Xie Heng frowned and puffed up his little cheeks. Who was calling him?
“It’s me! Your best friend, Bear Bear.”
A soft, childlike voice rang out—sounding a little silly.
He had never heard this voice before, yet somehow, it felt strangely familiar.
But… wait.
He hadn’t been talking just now. So how had Bear Bear heard him?
Wait a second.
How could Bear Bear talk?!
The little boy’s eyes flew open.
But all he saw was darkness.
No… not complete darkness. If he looked closely, there were tiny, glimmering specks scattered across the blackness—glowing faintly, like a starry sky.
Xie Heng rubbed his eyes.
How strange.
“Am I dreaming?” Xie Heng couldn’t help but wonder.
“This isn’t a dream! I’m here to help you. Didn’t you want to see your Mom? I can send you to her.”
Xie Heng’s eyes lit up. “Really?!”
Bear Bear nodded. “Mhm! But my power is limited. I can’t sustain it for too long, so you’ll have to come back soon.”
“How soon… exactly?” Xie Heng hesitated. “I want to see my Mom every day!”
He really hoped it wouldn’t be over in a flash, what if he barely got a glimpse of her face?
Bear Bear, hearing his thoughts directly, hesitated before saying, “Do you want to save her?”
Xie Heng blinked. “Save her? Is my Mom in danger?”
Bear Bear felt that explaining to a five-year-old would be too complicated, so he simply said, “Basically, you have to work hard to save her. Only when you grow up will your Mom be able to return to you.”
Mom can come back?
The little cub was both excited and anxious. His big, innocent eyes sparkled as he shouted, “I want to! I want to!”
The moment the words left his mouth, the world around him spun wildly.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself lying in the middle of a grassy lawn, staring up at an unfamiliar house.
Xie Heng bit his lip and got up, looking confused.
Where is this?
Suddenly, a cold, mechanical voice—completely different from Bear Bear’s—rang in his mind:
[Mission for Xie Heng: Retrieve Lu Xi’s strawberry hair clip. Completing the task will clear the level and unlock the next stage.]
Xie Heng blinked.
A mission? The next level?
This sounded fun, just like a game!
His lips curled into a grin, revealing small, pearly white baby teeth. But just as he was about to celebrate, his legs suddenly went weak, and he collapsed onto the ground.
Whimper…
He hated falling, it always hurt so much!
The little cub was about to burst into tears. He sniffled twice but then noticed something strange.
It… it didn’t hurt at all?
Xie Heng stared at his chubby little hands, then looked down at his outstretched feet.
!!!
Oh no! Why did he turn into a bear?!
[This is a special setting in this world.]
[You will take the form of a little bear. Only with a kiss from your Mom can you temporarily return to your human form, but there will be a time limit.]
Xie Heng was completely lost.
He hung his round, fluffy head, trying to clench his fingers, only to realize he had none. His arms had turned into plump, furry paws!
*Whimper, whimper*… Now he was even sadder.
Where’s Mom?
Since little bears couldn’t shed tears, Xie Heng could only pretend to cry, rubbing his fluffy paw against the nonexistent tears on his face.
At that moment, footsteps sounded behind him.
Before he could turn around, he was suddenly lifted upside down by his legs.
A girl’s surprised voice exclaimed, “There really is a little bear!”
She was still in her pajamas, shivering slightly from the early spring chill in the courtyard. Without hesitation, she carried the little bear back into the house, straight to her bedroom.
Her name was Lu Xi. She was twelve years old and had just started middle school.
That night, after taking a bath, she had been chatting with her friends when a strange app installation message popped up on her phone.
Before she could react, the app had already installed itself on her home screen.
[Little Bear Cub Care App]
At first, she thought it was some kind of virus and tried to delete it immediately.
But no matter what she did, she couldn’t remove it.
Thinking of a classmate who was good with phones and even knew how to flash ROMs, Lu Xi sent him a screenshot, asking for help.
Yet when she checked the screenshot, the app wasn’t visible on her home screen at all.
Classmate : ???
Lu Xi was just as confused.
That was when she realized, this app was weird.
After hesitating for a few seconds, she mustered some inexplicable courage and tapped on the app.
Her heart pounded. She held the phone at arm’s length, half-expecting a terrifying image to pop up.
But instead, the screen displayed a cartoonish, playful illustration.
A chubby little bear lay on a lawn, looking round and adorable.
Then, a few lines of text appeared :
[Congratulations! You have been selected as a beta tester for this app. Welcome to the world of raising your own cute little bear.]
[Inside the bear’s body is a trapped child. Only with your kiss can he temporarily return to his original form.]
[The little bear will occasionally call for help. A qualified owner should respond promptly!]
[Warning: Please complete tasks within the given time limit. Failure to do so will result in the bear disappearing.]
Lu Xi frowned.
Disappear? What does that mean… completely disappear?
Would the child inside disappear too?
For some reason, her heart clenched at the thought.
The screen lit up again with another prompt.
[The little bear has woken up! He’s all alone and scared. Take him home immediately.]
[Countdown: 3 minutes.]
At that moment, she didn’t care how strange the app was. She jumped out of bed and ran straight to the courtyard.
And sure enough, there was a little bear!
And that was how the little cub ended up dangling upside down, being carried back to Lu Xi’s bedroom.
Luckily, he was still in bear form, so being carried like this didn’t hurt.
But it was so embarrassing!
He wanted to shout, “Put me down, you crazy woman!” but he didn’t have a voice.
Lu Xi shut the door, placed the bear on her desk, and furrowed her brows, deep in thought.
So… all I have to do is kiss this bear, and he’ll turn back into a little kid?
Like a prince turning into a frog? Or rather, a cub turning into a child?