One Part Moved, Nine Parts Despair

Miya stared at him for three seconds, her expression slowly shifting from "You're lying to me" to "Never mind, I don't want to deal with it anymore."

"Fine," she muttered, then slumped back onto the sofa, burying her face in the cushions again.

Shin-chan stood by the sofa. "Mom, I'm hungry."

A muffled "Mmm" came from inside the cushion.

Do you have any snacks?

"Go get it from the cabinet yourself."

Shin-chan turned and ran to the kitchen, rummaged through the cupboards for a while, took out a box of chocolate sandwich cookies, and then ran back to the Living Room.

"Click."

The sound of the first bite was exceptionally crisp in the quiet Living Room.

Meifen's nose twitched.

Shin-chan took another bite.

Miya frowned slightly.

Shin-chan didn't notice at all; occasionally a little crumb would fall onto his clothes, which he would just brush off and continue eating.

"Click, click, click."

Miya's brows furrowed more and more tightly.

The sweetness of chocolate mixed with the richness of cream slowly drifted into the air and entered her nose.

That smell.

Miya suddenly sat up.

Hmm...

She covered her mouth, and without even putting on slippers, rushed barefoot to the bathroom.

Shin-chan, with half a cookie still in his mouth, stared blankly as Miya's figure disappeared down the corridor.

Then a violent vomiting sound came from the bathroom.

"Vomit"

"Vomit"

One sound after another.

Shin-chan sat in a chair, holding the remaining half of a cookie in his hand, unsure whether he should eat it or not.

The bathroom faucet was turned on, and the water was running.

After a while, Miya came out of the bathroom and Earth Flow slowly, as if all her strength had been drained away.

"Mom, are you alright?"

Miya didn't answer, and closed her Closed eyes for a while.

When she opened her eyes again, she saw the cookie box on the coffee table.

It's empty.

Miya's eyes widened slightly. "You've finished eating?"

Shin-chan- chan licked his fingers. "Mmm."

Miya looked at him, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she just sighed and closed her eyes again.

Never mind.

I'm too tired to curse anymore.

The Living Room fell silent again.

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, casting a long, shimmering band of light on the floor.

Shin-chan was quiet for a while, so quiet that Miya thought he had finally calmed down.

Then...

"Mother."

Miya didn't open her eyes, but simply hummed through her nose, "Mmm."

I'm hungry.

Miya opened her eyes. "You just finished a whole box of cookies."

"Hmm." Shin-chan -chan nodded. "But I'm hungry again."

Miya stared at him for five seconds, then sighed, "Go get that small cup of instant noodles from under the cabinet."

"Good!"

Shin-chan jumped off the chair and ran towards the kitchen.

Miya leaned back on the sofa, Closed eyes, and placed her hand on her stomach.

The sounds of Shin-chan unpacking packages and chairs being dragged around came from the kitchen...

Miya listened to those sounds, her consciousness began to blur again.

That's how pregnancy is; you get sleepy so easily.

Shin-chan came out of the kitchen carrying a bowl of instant noodles, placed them on the coffee table, climbed onto a chair, and opened the lid.

White steam billowed up, carrying a strong, overpowering aroma of instant noodles.

Miya's nose twitched again, then her brows furrowed.

The taste was like an invisible hand, reaching straight into her stomach and stirring it.

Miya sat up abruptly, her movements so swift that she seemed completely different from her previous weakness.

She covered her mouth.

Here we go again.

"Hmm"

Miya rushed barefoot to the bathroom again.

"Vomit"

This time it was even more intense than before.

Shin-chan sat in the chair, a mouthful of noodles still in his mouth.

After a while, the vomiting stopped.

Meifen walked to the window and opened it as wide as possible.

A gust of wind blew in, dispersing some of the smell of instant noodles.

"Mom," Shin-chan's voice came from beside him.

"Um."

"How are you?"

Miya did not answer.

"Mother."

Miya's eyelid twitched.

"Um."

Would you like a bite?

Miya opened her eyes.

Shin-chan held the instant noodles up to her, his face bearing a sincere expression that said, "Good things should be shared."

Miya looked at the cup, then at Shin-chan- chan's serious face.

She felt somewhat touched, but mostly filled with despair.

"Shin-chan."

"Um?"

Miya stretched out her hand, her fingers trembling slightly as she pointed to the doorway.

"Throw the cup away after you finish eating; don't leave it inside."

"Oh." Shin-chan lowered his head and continued slurping.

Miya moved closer to the window, almost pressing herself against the windowsill. The cold wind blowing on her face finally made the instant noodle smell less strong.

Shin-chan finished the last bite of noodles, let out a burp, and said, "I'm full."

Miya breathed a sigh of relief and lay back on the sofa. Shin-chan had already returned after throwing away the instant noodle container.

After sitting for a while, Shin-chan couldn't help but yawn, his eyes slowly narrowing. He then leaned closer to Miya, tilting his head to rest on her arm.

Miya glanced at Shin-chan, then looked down at her own stomach.

"You must never end up like him."

My stomach isn't reacting.

She added, "Eat your meals properly, don't just eat snacks all the time."

My stomach still isn't reacting.

"Sleep well, don't let anyone call you eight hundred times."

The wind blew in through the window.

Miya covered Shin-chan -chan with the blanket and sighed, "Oh well, it's fine if he's the same."

She Closed eyes and fell asleep.

When Hiroshi opened the door, the Living Room was quiet.

He changed into his slippers and came in, seeing the two of them, one big and one small, curled up on the sofa, fast asleep.

Hiroshi squatted down and reached out to help Shin-chan pull the blanket up a bit. Just as his fingers touched the blanket, Miya's nose twitched.

She frowned, her eyes still closed, and tilted her head to the side.

Hiroshi's hand froze in mid-air.

Miya's brows furrowed more and more, her nose twitched, and suddenly she opened her eyes wide, covered her mouth, and ran to the bathroom.

Shin-chan was startled awake, rubbing his eyes as he sat up. "What's wrong, Mom?"

"Have no idea."

Hiroshi stood up and followed him to the bathroom door.

Shin-chan also came over, squatted down by the door, and tilted his head to listen to what was happening inside.

The tap is off.

Miya came out, her face pale, and went straight to the sofa to sit down, leaning against the cushions.

"Are you alright?" Hiroshi quickly followed.

Miya looked up at him. "What do you smell like?"

Hiroshi lowered his head and sniffed his sleeve.

"It doesn't taste like anything."

3

"The smell of smoke is too strong." Miya frowned and moved to the side.

Hiroshi sniffed again, and it did seem to have a smell. "It might have picked up some of my colleague's odor."

Miya sighed and leaned back against the cushion, "I'll take a shower first thing when I come back from now on."

"Ah?"

"The smell of smoke on my clothes, it's all fine, I'll wash myself before going into the Living Room."

3

Hiroshi scratched his head. "Okay."

"And the smell of Dad's stinky feet," Shin-chan added from the side, "Can't have that either."