Yes, Lady Funina!

“Don’t you know that fruit can spoil?” Peruvieri asked.

"Changed...deteriorated?" Clementine's clear eyes revealed her expression.

“It means it becomes inedible.” Peruvian repeated in words that Clementine could understand.

"No, you can't eat this?!" Clementine screamed.

Then, with a tearful look on her face, she asked Pelvelli somewhat helplessly, "Then... what should we do?"

She did not doubt the truthfulness of Peruvieri's words, because she knew that Peruvieri would not lie to her. If Peruvieri said it would spoil, then it would spoil; if Peruvieri said it could not be eaten, then it could not be eaten.

Pepe is very smart and can handle anything, plus she's Clementine's best friend, so Clementine has complete trust in Pepe.

"Either we eat them now, or we'll just have to watch them go bad. They'll probably spoil in another two days." Peruvier took a bite of the apple in her hand. Hmm, it was soft and not very tasty.

Clementine looked suspicious and teased Peruvier, saying, "Could it be that Pepe is saying this because she wants to eat it?"

I have 100% trust in Peipei.

Peruvieri glanced at Clementine and handed her the already bitten apple.

Clementine politely declined; she was grown up and wouldn't accept charity.

"Try it."

Peruvéri insisted that she eat it, so there was nothing she could do.

Clementine had no choice but to take a bite of the apple, her delicate face displaying an indescribable expression, her little eyebrows furrowed.

"It doesn't taste good!" Clementine spat out the fruit from her mouth.

It doesn't taste good at all; it doesn't taste like an apple at all.

In Clementine's mind, apples should be crisp, sweet, and juicy.

But what she's eating now, although it has some juice, only has a little sweetness and doesn't taste good at all. Moreover, the flesh isn't crisp; it's too soft and mushy, with a grainy texture, and it tastes rotten.

Clementine's instincts told her that the apple was no longer edible.

Pepe didn't lie to her.

It's already like this after just two days. If it's left out for a few more days, by the time the welcome party starts, it'll be completely rotten.

This isn't a welcome party for Richard; it's clearly a send-off party!

“See?” Peruvieri gave a knowing look, then took a bite of her apple without any expression.

Clementine watched as Peruvier took another bite of the apple, and then, recalling the taste of the apple she had just eaten, she couldn't help but shudder.

"Peluvelli, don't eat it, you'll get a stomachache," Clementine said.

"No, I can still eat." Peruvieri assured everyone not to worry, explaining that everyone's constitution is different, and that they shouldn't compare her to a weakling like herself.

"How about something else? Cookies! Yes, cookies, cookies aren't fruit, they won't go bad, right?" Without waiting for a reply, Clementine snatched the half-eaten apple from Peruvier's hand, ran a few steps and threw it into the trash can.

After thinking about it, I felt that running around was too troublesome, and there might be some fruit that I couldn't eat later, so I simply carried the trash can to the windowsill.

"Have some cookies." Clementine held the cookies in both hands, offering them to Peruvier in a gesture of tribute.

Peruvelle reached out her little hand, picked up the cookie, and took a bite.

Sure enough, it had already gone soft.

It's not as crispy as when it was freshly baked.

But it's not spoiled; it's still edible.

"How does it taste? Is it spoiled?" Clementine blinked her big eyes and asked curiously.

Do you think I'm some kind of food taster?

Peruvieri was somewhat speechless, but still replied, "It's not bad, you can eat it."

“I see…” Clementine frowned as she looked at the remaining few cookies.

Well, although Peipei said it's not bad and can be eaten, but... being edible ≠ being delicious.

In other words, this cookie is very likely to be like the apple that was about to expire—edible but not very tasty.

Clementine doesn't like to eat bad food, so she's hesitating about whether to eat it or not. But if she doesn't eat it, wouldn't it be a bit too cunning to let Pepe suffer all this alone?

After thinking it over, Clementine decided to have a piece with Pepe!

I'll stay with you.

Clementine looked at the cookie in her hand as if facing a formidable enemy, then closed her eyes and stuffed the cookie into her mouth as if going to her execution.

After chewing it a couple of times, I didn't dare let it stay in my mouth for too long and swallowed it directly.

"Gudong."

It doesn't seem... that bad?

Although the cookies have softened and are not as crisp as before, you can still taste that they are cookies, and the sweetness has not been lost much.

Moreover, compared to the crispy taste of the previous cookies, this soft cookie has a unique flavor.

Clementine quite liked the soft little cookies, so she picked up another one and put it in her mouth. After holding it in her mouth for a while, she swallowed it after the cookie crumbs were moistened by her saliva and turned into cookie paste.

It tastes amazing!

Clementine glanced at Peruvier and excitedly shared with her the newly discovered secret to making cookies delicious.

Peruvieri's face showed a clearly visible expression of disgust, the first time she had ever made such a vivid expression, leaving Clementine stunned.

"Pepe, you can make expressions now!" Clementine exclaimed in surprise.

“…” Peruverie immediately straightened her face and looked at Clementine with a deep gaze.

However, Clementine was unaware of the girl's wavering murderous intent and instead happily said, "Give it a try!"

Unable to dissuade Clementine, Peruvieri ultimately chose to believe her first. Following Clementine's instructions, she put the biscuit in her mouth and waited for it to melt before swallowing it.

Surprisingly, the taste was actually pretty good!

Peruvelle's little face showed a surprised expression, and Clementine was even happier, because after spending so much time with Peruvelle, this was the first time she could know the other person's current mood without even looking at them.

And so the two little ones devoured the cookies one by one, leaving only a piece of cake, two apples, and four orange peels in the box.

"Why do you have so many bubble oranges?" Peruvieri asked, puzzled. Everyone was only given two bubble oranges this week, so why did Clementine get four?

“I traded this for grilled fish!” Clementine said.

Last time we went fishing together, we caught so many fish that we couldn't possibly eat them all. So, with her business acumen, Clay grilled all the fish and then took them to her friends to exchange for fruit.

Peruvéri only had one friend, Clementine, so of course she didn't know about this.

"Pepe, the cake... it shouldn't spoil that easily, right?" Clementine swallowed hard as she looked at the cake. If it spoiled, she would really cry.

You see, this was a small cake that Clay had managed to save by overcoming her reason and desires. If it went bad, Clay felt she wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

No way! Even if it's spoiled, I have to eat it!

Clementine puffed out her cheeks and secretly made a vow.

After all, if she didn't eat it, wouldn't that mean she ate one less piece of cake than everyone else?

Eating more is fine, but eating less is absolutely not an option! It's a small cake, after all!

"Probably not." Peruvieri picked up the small cake and was about to take a bite when she saw Clementine staring at her expectantly.

How can anyone bring themselves to eat this?

Peruvier closed her mouth and silently moved the small cake toward Clementine, saying, "It's your turn to taste if it's spoiled."

“Hmm!” Clementine’s face showed a 'resolute' expression.

He accepted the small cake from Peruvier with both hands, his solemn expression as if he were receiving a knight's sword rather than a small cake from her.

"How does it taste?" Peruvieri asked as she watched Clementine scoop a piece with a spoon and put it in her mouth.

"Delicious!" Clementine squinted her eyes happily. Great, not bad at all!

Of course, while eating cake, Clementine didn't forget her good friend, passing her apples from the box as she ate.

Perhaps because these apples were sent yesterday, they didn't have wrinkled skin like the apples Clementine had stored before, and they looked quite fresh.

"eat."

Peruvieri, faced with Clementine who was eating cake and handing her apples, was momentarily at a loss for words.

If you say she's generous, she won't give her the small cake; if you say she's stingy, she'll give her all the apples that are clearly not bad.

“I want to eat cake,” Peruvieri said.

Then she saw Clementine's face stiffen, her gaze shifting back and forth between the cake and Peruvée, as if comparing which was more important.

Ultimately, her best friend was more important, Clementine said, closing her eyes with a heavy heart and handing the cake over.

Eat up, my best friend! Waaaaah...

However, when Peruvieri simply scooped a small piece of cake into her mouth with a spoon and then gave the cake back, Clementine's face visibly changed from gloomy to cheerful.

Face Changing

"Pepe really is my best friend!"

“Cake is your best friend!” Peruvieri retorted.

After finishing Clementine's remaining food, Peruvieri asked the question she had wanted to ask from the beginning: "Why did you think of throwing him a welcome party?"

“Because we want to welcome him,” Clementine replied earnestly.

Are you putting it here?

"Is that the reason?"

“Hmm… I have just one more request.” Clementine gestured with her hand, indicating “just one.”

“What request?” Peruvéli continued to ask.

"Did you know? Brother Richard came from the Winter Solstice."

“I know.” Peruvieri nodded; she had heard Richard mention it before.

Do you remember our promise?

"...Teach me how to catch fish?"

"No, not that! We're going to see the aurora borealis together in winter, the aurora borealis!" Clementine patted Peruvier's shoulder with dissatisfaction, but Peruvier didn't feel a thing because she was too weak.

“But Richard can’t take us to see the aurora, can he? Mother would never agree to that,” Peruvier said doubtfully.

Surely Richard wouldn't elope with them, would he?

“Oh, of course I know that, but he came all the way from the winter, there must be some photos, right?” Clementine made a photo-taking gesture.

"photo……"

"Even if we can't go to Zhidong right now, we can at least look at some photos, right? This is called... quenching thirst with a glimpse of a picture!"

“It’s more like quenching thirst by looking at plums,” Peruvieri said.

"Same idea!"

"Can't you just say it?"

“Sigh, you don’t understand, this is called social etiquette.” Clementine’s face showed a maturity beyond her years, like a little adult.

"..." Peruvieri had nothing to say.

However, she was indeed very interested in the aurora that Clementine had mentioned, and if possible, she would like to see it, even if only in a photograph.

……

The welcome party was held as scheduled. Although there were no small cakes or a sumptuous feast, Peruvieri took Clementine to the river to catch a few more fish. They then tried to grill them using Richard's method, and after sprinkling on some seasonings, they looked quite presentable.

"Welcome." Peruvieri uttered the two words emotionlessly, as if she were just going through the motions, then presented the fish in her hand to Richard and turned her face away, pretending to admire the scenery.

In contrast, Clementine was much more sincere, not only offering grilled fish but also clapping and singing a birthday song.

As for why they sang "Happy Birthday" at the welcome party, it's because Clementine didn't know what song to sing, but since it's all a celebration, singing "Happy Birthday" should be fine.

In short, the sense of ritual is definitely maximized.

"Speak, what do you want from me?" Richard immediately saw that Clementine, this little girl, had ulterior motives.

"Eat the fish first, eat the fish first." Clementine urged Richard to eat the fish first. After he finished eating, and things were settled, she could then make her request. That way, Richard would be too embarrassed to refuse.