A Junlie turned his head in surprise at the sound and found a new inhabitant had mysteriously appeared in their apartment. Round like a dumpling with tapering, branching ears that looked like antlers sprouting from its head, the creature radiated peculiar charm.

Its most captivating feature were those round, lively eyes studying him back.

Peanut sprout swung down from Ziyè's bottom with a whoosh, surveying both A Junlie and his new companion before instinctively aligning itself with the latter. The two creatures shared four identical eyes watching their new adversary.

A Junlie chuckled at the absurdity of it all, turning to share the spectacle with Ziyè only for her to loosen his grip and peer up at him with round, cat-like eyes. He smiled wider as if suddenly surrounded by three pets - a bean sprout, a peanut sprout, and that feline human hybrid.

"New pet? Adorable," he remarked.

Ziyè's slanted gaze cut through him like laser beams. "Alien, you're such a liar."

A Junlie raised his brows in confusion. "Why am I lying?"

She jabbed her finger at the round creature. "It looks absolutely grotesque! Yet you have the audacity to call it cute? What else is there to be but fraudulence?"

Kneeling before the peanut sprout, A Junlie extended a hand only for its fat little body to pivot away with an unimpressed blink. The sheer rudeness of it made him shake his head - typical master-pet syndrome.

"Does it eat our food?" he asked Ziyè as she rubbed her nose in distaste.

"How should I know?" Ziyè lifted the creature while Peanut sprout clambered onto her head, forming a line of six eyes staring at their alien host. The peanut sprout burrowed into Ziyè's chest with an indignant "Quip!" before escaping to deliver air-salutes from atop her head. "Our precious bean only eats high-end delicacies! He'd never touch your peasant fare!"

A Junlie straightened and teased, "So you're as picky as your master?"

Ziyè spun away haughtily. "Not telling."

As he washed his hands to resume cooking, the kitchen suddenly felt lighter with Ziyè's absence from his personal space. His knife moved deftly through vegetables until two steaming plates emerged for their lunch, now expertly cleaned by F431.

Ziyè materialized beside him in an instant, spoon poised like a weapon as she eyed his plate suspiciously. A Junlie placed the tray on the coffee table with a grin just as her bean sprout began frantically pawing at the carpet where its owner had vanished behind obstructing furniture.

He retrieved the creature and offered it a tender meat slice on chopsticks only to be met with another tiny nose-flare of disdain. While A Junlie's back was turned, Ziyè slyly transferred all his rose petals to her own plate while replacing them with unwanted snow flakes.

When he caught sight of the culinary carnage, he found Ziyè already tucked into her seat with a childlike grin that matched her pet's antics. Watching her eat always filled him with inexplicable contentment - this girl who consumed meals like an animal yet radiated pure joy in his presence.

He noticed something odd though as she used her left hand to eat, her right resting awkwardly on her knee. When he flipped over her palm to examine the flaking skin, Ziyè shrugged it off with a nonchalant "It's just been licked by the peanut sprout."

A Junlie frowned at this revelation while Ziyè animatedly described her encounter with the corrosive saliva incident that had left her in agony. The creature's inherent danger became immediately apparent.

"Did you see a doctor?" he asked.

Ziyè wrinkled her nose. "Those quacks can't help! I'm waiting for Dead's analysis results."

"How about dietary adjustments to improve its condition?"

She shook her head. "It's innate - years of effort required before any change."

Pinching her flushed cheeks, A Junlie mused, "Where on earth did you find this bizarre pet?"

Peanut sprout chose that moment to crash onto Ziyè's head with a dramatic landing. "Bean is my son! Oh yeah, he's one of your Angel Domain species!" it declared proudly.

As they listened to Peanut sprout's enthusiastic monologue about its parenting prowess, Ziyè curled up against A Junlie after her meal, already yawning sleepily in his embrace.

The most beautiful thing was having someone care for you when you needed it most - especially when that someone kept appearing precisely during your darkest hours.

A Junlie carried the sleeping girl to bed, tucking her in before returning to confront the peanut sprout still circling their coffee table with anxiety. His towering figure now cast a shadow over its tiny form as he coldly asked, "So you're the one who maimed Ziyè's hand?"

The creature squeaked and scurried toward Peanut sprout while A Junlie blocked its escape path. "Frightened little menace."

Peanut sprout zipped in to defend its child with a thunderous impact against his skull. "Alien! What do you plan to do with my son?!"

"I won't tolerate anything that harms Ziyè," he stated firmly.

"Bean is a living being with thoughts of its own!" Peanut sprout protested as A Junlie continued his pursuit. When it zapped him with an electric charge, the alien dodged easily before grabbing the agitated device.

"You'd rather let your son hurt her? Is Bean more important than Ziyè?"

Peanut sprout hesitated then retorted stubbornly, "Both are important!"

A Junlie lifted it by its body. "Prove it to me. I suspect you deliberately brought this thing here to harm her."

The device squirmed in his grasp, fuming at being handled like a toy. "Don't presume evil intentions! You're a rotten alien - I'll tell Ziyè about this!"

Bean watched the confrontation with wide eyes before chirping helplessly between them.

"Be quiet!" they both barked in unison.

-RS