Chapter 10

At 9:30 in the morning, a soft sound came from the entrance hall of the Minamino family home.

"I'm leaving now. Call me if you need anything."

Wearing a dark gray suit, with his red hair half-tied up, and a handsome face, Minamino Shuichi leaned down and placed a light kiss on Sakura's forehead.

"Stay home and behave today, don't sneak any sweets," he said.

"Okay, okay," Sakura said with a smile, nudging him. "Why do you nag like a nanny every day?"

"Because you are the most important person to me." He patted her head and turned to leave.

The door clicked shut.

The villa returned to quiet.

Sakura stood in the entryway, her smile slowly fading. Her blue eyes darted left and right, making sure the bodyguards weren't at the door and the servants were weeding in the garden. She then slipped barefoot into the unused little storage room next to the study.

She gently opened the door, squatted down, carefully moved aside the bottom layer of boxes, reached inside, and pulled out a small, hidden metal box.

"Hehe~" she laughed triumphantly and lifted the lid of the tin box.

It's packed with: chocolate bars, matcha sandwich cookies, dried mango, toffee, and two hidden bags of caramel potato chips.

"Perfect!" she exclaimed proudly, puffing out her chest. "This is my secret granary!"

She carried a bag of milk-flavored marshmallows, walked back to the living room, nestled on the sofa, sat cross-legged, and hummed a little tune as she ate them.

"Hmph... They say pregnant women can't eat sweets... but I'll eat them anyway."

"What do you mean it's too sweet and affects blood sugar? I only ate one, that's not much!"

"You still say I lack self-control? I'm clearly... very self-disciplined, okay?"

As she spoke, she took a big bite of the cotton candy, stuffing the soft treat into her mouth, and smiled with her eyes narrowed.

But as they were laughing, they suddenly fell silent.

She slowed her chewing, her hand holding the snacks gradually stopped, her blue eyes looked at the sunlight outside the window, and suddenly she gently pouted.

"Hmph... In the end... he just meddles in my affairs too much."

"They won't let me eat anything, they won't let me move, they won't let me wear revealing clothes... It's like they're practically putting a 'No Cute or Fierce' sign on my head."

"They stare at me like I'm a criminal every day..."

"Is he being so careful because I'm pregnant...?"

Her voice grew softer and softer as she spoke, until she finally rubbed against the sofa cushions like a spoiled little animal feeling neglected.

"...Is it possible that in his eyes...the baby is actually more important than me?"

“He yells at me when I say I want something sweet, but he gets so scared when the baby moves that he acts like he’s about to call an ambulance…”

"I'm not just responsible for 'giving birth'..."

She hugged the cushion, buried her face in the soft fabric, and whispered:

"He's my husband, not my doctor... Humph."

"As expected..." she mumbled indistinctly, taking another bite of the marshmallow.

"Pregnant women are so restricted... They can't go out looking beautiful, they can't eat what they like, and they're treated like a 'container for the baby'..."

"...That guy, Minamino Shuichi, he said I was the most important person to him before we got married, but now he won't even let me eat dessert..."

Her tone softened towards the end, her voice trembled, and her eyes reddened slightly.

But the next second—

"Ring ring—"

My phone rang; it was [Xiuyi] calling.

She stared at the screen for two seconds, hesitated for a moment, and then answered the call.

"What's wrong?" she asked, deliberately keeping her tone calm, still clutching the bag of cotton candy.

A deep, soft voice came from the other end: "I suddenly remembered your favorite strawberry mille-feuille. I had my assistant order a low-sugar version, and it will be delivered to your home this afternoon."

Sakura was taken aback.

“And,” he sighed softly, “I’m sorry… I think I’ve been too harsh lately. You said you wanted to eat it, I should have listened to you more.”

She froze on the spot, not even noticing that a cotton candy had fallen.

“…I’m just…worried that eating too much is bad for your health.” His voice was very soft. “But if you want to eat…I will find a way to satisfy you, instead of forbidding you.”

“Sakura.” He called her name, his tone like he was coaxing a child, “You are not an appendage of a child, you are my wife, and you will always be number one.”

Sakura's nose tingled, and her eyes involuntarily welled up with tears. She muttered softly, "You should have said so earlier."

"Is it too late for me to say this now?"

"...Hmph, when you come back, I want you to kiss me three times before I can forgive you."

"Sure, ten times is fine too."

"Hmph, then I'll eat a chocolate first, and you can pretend you didn't see it."

"...Are you eating right now?"

"……No!"

"Hoshino Sakura".

"Next time, I'll really only hide a tiny bit... just a tiny bit."

"I've already prepared a whole cabinet of low-sugar desserts for you, do you still need a secret hideout?"

"ah--"

"Go back and wait for me to seize it."

"You...you dare!"

"Let's kiss first and then talk."

She hung up the phone, buried it under the cushion, and smiled, her lips curving into a smile like a little fox who had successfully stolen a bite.

The sunlight outside the window was just right, illuminating her figure nestled on the sofa with snacks in her arms, like a beautiful and realistic painting.

She is still that charming and smiling girl, but now she has also begun to get used to having someone meticulously take care of her entire life.

As the sun sets, golden-red light spills onto the courtyard of the Nanye family home, onto the French windows and the beige carpet, bathing the entire villa in a soft glow.

The front door clicked softly as Minamino Shuichi changed into his indoor shoes, carrying a delicate white insulated bag in his hand.

The bag contained his personally ordered items: a low-sugar strawberry mille-feuille cake, milk jelly, and a cup of her favorite red bean milk smoothie—all specially ordered from a dessert shop with a sugar level adjusted for pregnant women.

He picked up the bag, quietly taking off his coat as he casually said, "Sakura, I'm back. You're here—"

Before he could finish speaking, he saw that familiar scene that made him chuckle:

Sakura Hoshino was lying on her side on the living room sofa.

She was wearing a soft loungewear dress, her blonde hair cascading loosely over her shoulders, her small face pressed against a cushion, sleeping peacefully. Her slender arms were wrapped around a metal candy box—already empty—the lid askew, revealing the traces of its "emptied" contents.

A few candy wrappers fell to the ground, and the marshmallows, chocolates, and dried fruit fillings were all "wiped out".

She was still slightly pouting in her sleep, as if she was muttering something in her dream, with a faint pink cream stain on the corner of her mouth.

Xiuyi, carrying a bag of desserts in one hand and rubbing her forehead with the other, sighed with a mixture of helplessness and indulgence.

He crouched down, put down the bag, and his gaze fell on her sleeping face.

“You…” He reached out, his fingertips gently brushing away the trace of cream at the corner of her mouth, the movement as tender as touching the most precious glass, “How much did you sneak away to eat… silly fox.”

She seemed to sense a familiar presence, her brow furrowing slightly. She didn't wake up, only muttering, "Um... I didn't steal any... That was... one that was allowed..."

Xiuyi chuckled softly and echoed in a low voice, "Yes, yes, you only ate one... I don't know who stole the whole box."

He put the candy bag away and then pulled a thin blanket over her legs.

She curled up the candy box as if it were some treasure, holding it tightly, a slight smile on her lips, sleeping soundly and contentedly.

Shuichi propped himself up on his knees, sat down beside her, gently brushed the hair from her forehead with one hand, and gazed at her quietly for a long time.

"Even if you exhaust all my patience, I won't be mean to you." He murmured softly, "You say I spoil the baby too much and don't spoil you enough... but you know, Hoshino Sakura, the one I can't bear to part with the most is you."

He lowered his head and gently kissed the top of her head.

"You can continue to be this willful."

"Because you are my wife."

A gentle evening breeze stirred outside the window, causing the corner of the curtains by the French windows to sway softly.

The girl on the sofa was still fast asleep, her nose twitching slightly, as if she could smell the sweet scent of strawberries in her dream.