"Huh? What did you call me? You stinky cat!"
As soon as Semi cursed her, the young girl's temper flared up, "In what way am I fat? I've told you I just like to eat, I'm not fat, okay?"
Strictly speaking, the girl's figure was indeed far from "fat." Though her face was visibly chubby and her bare arms somewhat plump, she could at most be described as "full-figured," not "fat."
"Fatty fat fatty fatty!"
However, Semi was not in the mood to quibble over definitions at the moment and kept repeating the insult, while slamming its paws on the table: "Give me back my orange! You thief!"
"...Heh, okay, very good."
The girl fell silent for a while, then suddenly let out a cold sneer, "You're asking for it."
No sooner had she spoken than a pot suddenly appeared out of nowhere, then with a snap of her fingers, the pot filled with water. She then ferociously pointed in Semi's direction, and a giant magic hand appeared and forcefully grabbed Semi, who was not far away, throwing it into the pot filled with water.
Having done all this, she pressed down the lid of the pot and lit a fire underneath, then stood to one side, starting to chop some vegetables that she had gotten from who knows where.
"What are you doing! Jerk!" Semi frantically scratched at the locked lid.
"Making soup." The girl smiled sinisterly, "I've always wanted to know what Fairy soup tastes like!"
"Stop it! It's like murdering a companion!"
Semi screamed for a long time, and seeing that the girl continued to ignore him, had to soften a bit, "You can't really mean to do this, right? I'll let you keep the orange. If I spare you this time, that should be enough, right?"
But the girl still showed no signs of stopping.
So Semi could only scream while banging on the pot lid, "Hey, Golden Snake! Stop just watching and come save me!"
Its screams woke up another young girl lying back on a nearby chair.
The girl known as "Golden Snake" had initially been wearing an eye mask, as if deep in sleep, with her long golden twin tails trailing all the way to the ground. Hearing Semi's screams, she somewhat reluctantly and silently slid off her eye mask, casting a tired, dead-fish gaze towards the restaurant's ceiling.
"...So noisy, you guys."
Opening her mouth, her voice was slightly hoarse, "Can't you let me sleep in peace?"
"Is this really a time for a nap?"
Semi shouted loudly, "Hurry up and save me! He Ti, that idiot, is about to cook me!"
At this, Golden Snake finally made a token effort to sit up, looking wearily at the scene nearby. After confirming that the "live cooking" before her was not an illusion, she rolled her eyes slightly.
With that, she pulled down her eye mask again and lay back down.
The desperation in Semi's screams grew.
Fortunately, when one's path seems completely blocked, help often arrives. Just when Semi was about to despair, the restaurant's main door was suddenly thrown open.
Following that, three figures walked in with uneven steps.
Leading the way was a girl in a pristine white princess dress, with fluffy light purple hair, and a noticeable, amiable smile on her face, looking pitiful.
Walking beside her was a girl in a pitch-black school uniform, with her black hair tied into a high ponytail, looking just like a child, but with an age-inappropriate weariness and dejection.
Trailing behind the two was a girl in a worn Taoist robe, with long black hair hanging loose, looking somewhat slovenly, who was undoubtedly Yuan.
However, for some reason, one of her eyes was covered with an eye patch, and she wore a somewhat morbidly pale complexion, appearing rather frail.
As the three girls entered the restaurant , they each sat down in their respective places. Even though no one spoke, merely the sight of the girl in the black school uniform glancing at He Ti was enough for the latter to unconsciously release the pot lid, letting Semi out.
——"Xiao He! She bullied me!"
Semi, like finding a savior, didn't care that it was soaked all over, and immediately burrowed tearfully into the girl's embrace. The girl didn't show any aversion at all, instead catching it and stroking its back tenderly.
"You shouldn't always be fighting with your companions, Xiao Hei." However, the words from the girl's mouth made Semi, who had just felt victorious, deflate all at once.
It wanted to say something in its defense, but feeling the stroking hand on its back, it just snuggled further into her embrace, then let out a "purring" sound.
"He Ti, did you bully Semi again?"
The girl in the school uniform didn't intend to scold the brown-haired girl; instead, the purple-haired girl sitting at the head of the long table picked up her teacup and looked over with a hint of reprimand, "That's not okay, I've said before, right? We're all family here and need to get along with each other."
"But boss, Semi started it by insulting me..."
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He Ti seemed to want to defend herself, but upon seeing the purple-haired girl's slightly puffed cheeks, she softened her attitude, "Ah, alright, my fault."
"Mhm, that's more like it."
So, the purple-haired girl clapped her hands, her face beaming with a smile again, "Today is the rare day when everyone gets to eat together. No matter the conflicts, fighting is definitely wrong."