Chapter 7: Returning Home

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“Going home for the New Year is so hard; the saddest person in the world is Bald Strong,” Bald Strong murmured as he lay on the sofa.

At that moment, Su He opened the door and walked in. “Brother Qiang, come out quickly! We have a surprise for you.”

“Oh, it’s little He? If you’re celebrating, just go ahead without me. No need to bother calling Brother Qiang. I’m just not in the mood right now.”

“Hey, Brother Qiang, what are you talking about? Come out with me and see!” Su He tugged and pulled Bald Strong out of the room.

Outside, Big Bear and Little Bear saw Bald Strong come out and waved loudly. “Bald Strong, look at the New Year goods we prepared for you!”

“Th-These are all really for me?”

Su He put an arm around Bald Strong’s shoulder and smiled. “Of course, Brother Qiang. The local specialties from our forest are just as good as the New Year goods you buy outside. With these, you can go home for the New Year in style this year.”

“You guys, you’re really too good to me.” Bald Strong immediately hugged Su He, tears streaming down his face.

“Hey, okay, okay! Brother Qiang, you’re getting snot all over me,” Su He said, laughing.

Everyone laughed and playfully tumbled together.

“All right, Bald Strong, hurry and pack up your things. We even built a car for you. We’ll take you home.”

“Okay.”

Soon, everyone finished packing and gathered by the car.

“Well, we’ll just see you off here. From now on, we’ve got this,” Big Bear said to Bouncy and the others.

At that moment, Su He noticed some movement from the small compartment above the car. “Looks like Jiji and Maomao are on board too. Should we tell Big Bear and the others? Nah, better not. They’ll play a big role later, and it wouldn’t be fun to spoil the surprise.”

Su He was not one to give spoilers; not even a hint before the crucial moments. After all, that’s where the fun is. Besides, why should anyone trust you? Like other travelers who come out and immediately announce, ‘I’m a time traveler; I know the future and can help you.’ Those people are just fools.

“Why haven’t we seen Jiji and Maomao yet?” Big Bear’s voice interrupted Su He’s thoughts.

“Maybe they fell asleep,” Little Bear guessed.

“Alright then, let’s get going. Su He, Bald Strong, get in the car.”

“Okay.” They climbed in and left the forest.

The drive was so dull that Su He and Bald Strong, sitting in the back, quickly fell asleep. Little Bear, like a naive country bumpkin, kept looking around in all directions, even waving to the little girl in the adjacent car.

“Daddy, look! A big bear!” the little girl said innocently.

“Holy crap, it’s a bear!” The driver suddenly sped up.

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After this incident, Little Bear was rewarded by Big Bear with two big fights.

Meanwhile, in the small compartment inside the car, Jiji and Maomao started getting restless. “King Jiji, do you think they’ll find us like this?”

“What’s there to be afraid of? They didn’t bring me out to play,” Jiji said, biting into an apple before tossing it out the window.

“Oh, that smells delicious!” At the side of the highway, a traffic cop grilling fish sniffed the air.

The apple flew in a perfect arc and landed squarely on the head of the traffic cop grilling fish.

“Ouch, my head! Damn it, my fish! My fish is burnt!” The cop stared at the ruined fish and the apple on the ground, then looked toward the speeding car ahead.

“Who dares to litter on the highway?” He shouted, jumping into his patrol car and giving chase.

“Car in front, pull over!”

“Damn! The police!” Big Bear was dumbfounded, watching the cop closing in in the rearview mirror.

Little Bear was visibly nervous. “What do we do? What do we do? It’s the police!”

“Car in front, I said pull over! Do you hear me?” The cop continued to close in.

Bald Strong and Su He, awakened by the commotion, looked around groggily.

“What’s going on, Big Bear and Little Bear? Why so noisy?” Bald Strong yawned.

Su He looked out the window, puzzled. “Damn, it’s the police. How did you guys mess with them?” Though she knew the reason, she played along to keep the story moving.

“We don’t know either!” Big Bear answered nervously.

“Better stop the car or else the misunderstanding will get worse,” Bald Strong urged.

Big Bear slowly pulled over, and the four of them switched seats.

The cop pulled up, got out, and approached Bald Strong. “Hello. Do you know what you’ve done?”

“Officer, this must be a misunderstanding. We’re all law-abiding citizens. How could we have done anything wrong?” Bald Strong scratched his head nervously.

“If you don’t know, let me remind you: were those apples thrown from your car?”

“Apples?”

“Yes. Even if you’re littering, you hit me with it. Show me your driver’s license.”

Hearing ‘driver’s license,’ Bald Strong was momentarily at a loss.

Su He quietly asked, “Brother Qiang, you don’t have a driver’s license, do you?”

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“Driver’s license? I’ve been driving for years but never had one.”

“Hey, hey, whoever’s supposed to show me a license, what are you whispering about over there?” The cop outside started urging again.

“Big Bear, what do we do now?”

“How should I know? Do you expect a bear to produce a license for you?”

Su He was thinking, where are those two idiots, Jiji and Maomao? Don’t mess up at a critical moment.

As if responding to Su He’s thoughts, a siren sounded outside.

“Finally,” Su He sighed in relief.

The cop was drawn by the siren and turned away.

“Monkey, where did this monkey come from on the highway? Hey, monkey! Put my grilled fish down!” The cop shouted at the monkey on the car.

“Here you go. I, the king, am returning it now.” Saying that, Jiji tossed the bitten apple at the cop.

The cop ended up eating Jiji’s special imported apple.

Just as the cop was about to curse, Bald Strong stepped on the gas and sped away.

Not only had the cop been hit with an imported apple, but also covered in dust, he crushed the apple in his hand in anger.

“Damn it, this is outrageous!” He mounted his patrol car and gave chase.

“Oh no, now we’ve angered the traffic cop. What do we do next?”

“Brother Qiang, what’s this about apples and monkeys?” Little Bear asked, confused.

“How should I know?”

At that moment, Jiji and Maomao fell out of the small compartment inside the car, tussling over the grilled fish.

“Jiji, Maomao, what are you two doing here?”

Jiji looked righteous and said, “I was out on patrol. Do I need your permission?”

“Stop fooling around, this isn’t a game.”

“Who said it’s a game?”