Reserved for the Female Lead.

Before Claire could stop him, Ethan had already paid.

He caried a bag of oranges and a bowl of strawberries.

On the way back, Claire kept muttering.

"Buying oranges would've been enough.Why did you buy strawberries too? We can't eat that much at once."

“We are still in debt. We don't have much money."

“You haven't received any payment yet, and I've taken several days off this month, so my salary probably won't be much either.”

“We need to be careful with our money. We can't spend extravagantly."

"Ethan, are you even listening to me? Ethan-ah!"

Ethan suddenly stopped walking.

Claire bumped straight into his back.

Her nose instantly turned red, and her eyes watered.

Ethan froze for a moment.

He instinctively raised his hand as if to check on her, but stopped halfway.

“Did it hurt?"

Claire looked up and glared at him."What do you think? Are you made of iron? You're so hard!"

Ethan's eyes darkened, something unreadable flickering within them.

Claire sniffed and waited until the sting in her nose eased before looking at him again.

She hadn't forgotten their earlier cowversation.

"Did you even listen to what I said?"

Ethan replied helplessly. “Buying them once in a while is fine."

Claire pursed her lips. 

Knowing when to stop, she didn't continue nagging.

When they returned home, Claire went to the bathroom. 

By the time she came out, Ethan had alveady washed the strawberries, removed their green stems, and arranged them neatly on a plate.

Claire picked one up and popped it into her mouth.

It was indeed sweet and juicy.

She loved fruit. 

When she had first started working, she couldn't even afford to buy any.

Later, as her salary gradually increased, she finally achieved fruit freedom. 

There was always fruit stocked at home.

After work, she would wash a plate of fruit after dinner and eat it while watching TV.

Holding the plate, Claire ate four or five strawberries in a row.

When she looked up, she met Ethan's dark gaze.

Only then did she remember that he had bought the strawberries.

She picked one up and held it out to him.

"You should have some too. They're really sweet." 

Ethan opened his mouth and ate the strawberry.

Afterward, he walked to the dining table and turned on his laptop.

Claire carried the plate over and stood beside him.

She picked up another strawbery and held it out.

Ethan shook his head. “I don't want any. You eat them."

Claire felt it was unfair to eat alone.

She pressed the strawberry lightly against his lips.

"Open your mouth!”

Ethan reluctantly opened his mouth and bit down.

But in doing so, his lips accidentally brushed against Claire's fingers.

Both of them froze.

Claire immediately turned away in embarrassment.

Ethan coughed awkwardly.

The skin he had touched felt soft, delicate, and slightly cool.

Claire walked toward the kitchen.“I'lI get another plate and split them with you."

"No need " Ethan said."I don't want any."

Claire still insisted on dividing the strawberries in half.

She brought the other half to the sofa and continued eating.

In the end, Ethan never touched the portion she had set aside.

The remaining strawberries all ended up in Claire's stomach.

Later, Ethan made two bowls of tomato and egg noodles for dinner.

Claire had eaten a lot of fruit earlier and wasn't very hungry. 

She took half of the untouched noodles from her bowl and placed them into Ethan's bowl.

“I can't finish this. I haven't touched it, so don't mind."

Ethan said nothing and simply lowered his head to eat.

Claire glanced at him.

This man was extremely taciturn. 

The two of them hadn't exchanged more than ten sentences the entive day.

Then again, they weren't close.

Talking too much would probably feel awkward.

That night, after showering, Claire lay in bed, listening to the sound of water running in the bathroom.

Her body felt tense with nervousness.

She probably couldn't avoid it tonight...could she?

They were already married. Even if she wasn't used to it, she still had to cross that line eventually.

Well...she would just treat it as another life experience.

Besides, with someone as handsome as Ethan, she wasn't exactly at a loss.

Lost in her thoughts, she suddenly heard the bathroom door open.

Ethan came out wearing his pajamas, a white T-shirt, gray

trousers, and plastic slippers. 

His hair was still damp.

He walked past the foot of the bed and headed for the balcony.

The sliding door opened, then closed again.

Ethan had good habits. 

After showering every night, he washed his socks and underwear and hung them up.

A moment later, he returned, bringing a brief gust of cold air with him.

It lifted Claire's long hair slightly before the door closed again.

The room quickly warmed under the air conditioner.

Claire lay under the covers, scrolling through her phone, but her ears were carefully tracking Ethan's movements.

Soon, the mattress beside her sank slightly.

The lights went out.

Claire turned off her phone and placed it on the bedside table.

She waited quietly.

But after a long while, nothing happened.

Shouldn't they...do it?

Soon, she heard the steady sound of breathing beside her.

Only then did Claire realize that nothing was going to happen tonight.

She felt puzzled.

Logically speaking, Ethan was only 23, an age full of vigor.

How could he have no desire at alI?

Could it be like Sandra said... that he had a problem in that department?

Impossible.

Absolutely impossible.

Ethan was the male protagonist of a novel.

How could a male protagonist possibly be impotent?

Maybe...he simply had no desire for her.

Thinking about it carefully, the first night they shared a bed, she had been the one to initiate things.

Ethan hadn't even prepared protection.

That meant he had never intended to sleep with her in the first place.

So all that worrying earlier had been unnecessary.

The male protagonist's innocence must be reserved for the female lead.

Otherwise, how could he be worthy of her?

With that thought, Claire suddenly understood evevything.

All the chaotic thoughts in her mind instantly vanished, leaving her feeling much lighter.

She closed her eyes contentedly and soon drifted off to sleep.

—

The next morning, Ethan opened his eyes.

Looking down at the woman clinging to him like an octopus, he rubbed his temples.

He hadn't slept well again last night.

He carefully removed Claire's arm from around him, lifted her leg off his body, and quickly slipped out of bed before heading to the bathroom.

Claire merely rolled over and continued sleeping.

Completely unaware that she had once again turned into a koala during the night.

When Claire finally woke up, she found Ethan already in the kitchen making breakfast.

The smell of fried eggs drifted through the air.

She stretched lazily before getting out of bed to wash up.

While eating breakfast, Claire noticed the faint purplish shadows beneath Ethan's eyes.

She asked suspiciously, "You went to bed pretty early last night. Didn't you sleep well?"

Ethan paused while eating his porridge.

But only for two seconds before continuing.

Completely unaware that she was the cause, Claire continued analyzing.

"Did you have a dream? Whenever I dream a lot, I wake up feeling dizzy and tired the next day."

Ethan gave a soft hum in agreement.

Claire nodded in understanding. “When the weather gets warmer, try going for a run, It'll burn off energy and help you sleep better."

Ethan suddenly looked up at her.

"You're talking a lot today."

Claire froze.

"...Am i?"

“Are you perhaps annoyed by my talking?" 

Ethan shook his head.

"No."

Claire stirred the porridge in her bowl.

That was good.

Now that she understood Ethan had no intention of sleeping

with her, getting along with him suddenly felt much easier.

Without realizing it, she had even become more talkative.