Why Did It Seem Like She Was Expecting Him To Praise Her?

It was afternoon when they began to head to the camping spot. Kyoya drove a four-wheeled drive on the uneven road of the forest. They couldn't drive it all the way there, instead, they had to park the vehicle first before walking on the trail for twenty minutes.

Both of them dressed warmly. Kyoya wore his usual dark colored sweater paired with a beige colored jacket. Shouko paired her turtleneck sweater with the same beige jacket as her husband. Under her long knitted skirt, she wore a pair of skinny jeans with boots.

"Wow~"

Kyoya chuckled softly once he heard his little wife's continuous blissful sigh as they walked alongside the trail. Shouko couldn't keep her eyes at one spot. She would always look around and her expression would only turn brighter.

The fallen maple and ginkgo leaves created a layer of red and golden carpet under their feet. Each of their steps would echo the crunching sounds of the dried leaves. The sound of birds chirping intertwined with the rustling of the remaining leaves on the trees.

The trail wasn't as hard as they imagined. The road was wide and clear, it was like they were strolling freely in a garden.

"Shouko, the bag is heavy," Kyoya slowed down, he stretched out a hand to take the black bag in her right hand. "Give it to me."

"No," Shouko took a step back, refusing his action. She frowned slightly as she lectured him. "Most of the items are with you. I could carry the lighter ones. It would be too hard for you if you insisted to bring all of these."

Kyoya paused his lips. He had been trying to lighten her load since the moment they got off the car but Shouko continued refusing him for the same reason.

Well, a wife slave like him couldn't even bear to let his wife suffered for a little even though for something so simple.

"Then, whenever your hand starts aching, give them to me, alright?" Kyoya finally relented after his fifth failed attempt.

"Alright~ Let's keep walking," Shouko sighed helplessly. She resumed her walk, slowly leaving Kyoya behind.

Aish, it was quite difficult too if her husband acted as if she couldn't bear even this little weight. This man was such a worrywart.

Even though she thought that way, a small smile curved up on her lips as sweetness filled her heart. Shouko quickened her steps, her cheeks began to tinge with red color.

Kyoya silently slapped his forehead. Seeing his little lady walked ahead of him, with her back facing him, he wondered if she was mad with him.

"Wife, don't walk too fast," Kyoya ran a bit to catch up with her. His usual calm voice now sounded a bit panicky. His back was burdened with heavy load yet he ran until he walked side by side with her. "Don't be mad at me, okay? I don't mean to nag at you."

Shouko looked up to see the anxious man, she burst out laughing. Her eyes bent into crescent-shaped as her sweet laughter filled the quiet forest.

"Who's mad at you?" Shouko playfully punched his chest, not noticing how intimate her gesture right now was. "Don't be silly. Just keep on walking. We have many things to be set up for."

"Okay..." Kyoya suppressed his foolish smile. Both of his hands were holding bags with a different weight in them yet they felt nothing right now.

It was so good to be with his wife.

By the time they reached the camping spot, the clock had ticked to 4 PM. True to Mrs. Shimizu's words, this hidden gem was not filled with tourists unlike the camping spot provided by the council. Shouko only saw less than five tents in the vast field near the edge of the lake.

Although this place wasn't well-known but it had decent facilities here. One could easily get clean water, dry woods and even the toilet.

"Put them down, your hands would ache if you continued holding them," Kyoya sighed again looking at his excited wife. He had just found a suitable place for them to set up their tent.

Shouko was walking back and forth as she looked at their new surrounding. Her smile couldn't possibly turn any wider than this. From the moment she stepped on the crunching leaves fallen on the ground, her heart was overflowing with excitement.

"Ah! We would set the tent up first?" Shouko put her backpack and a few items on the ground. She ran to Kyoya who was already bringing out the tent from its bag.

"The day is shorter, I'm afraid we need to pitch in the dark if we're late." Kyoya laughed softly, he rubbed her head before he patted her shoulders. "This tent is pretty easy to set up. You go and arrange the smaller items first. We have to cook using fire tonight."

"Alright~"

This was her first time going camping so it was hard for Shouko to control her giddiness. She stood in front of the bags and began to sort out what she needed to do first.

The day was cold and the night would be even colder. It was better if she began lighting up the fire. Kyoya had brought the necessary equipment so she thought it wouldn't be too hard for her to do it.

"It's better to build a fire ring first, right?" Shouko mumbled to herself as she looked at the piles of rocks near the bank. She glanced at Kyoya who was setting up the tent before she began picking the dry rocks.

Shouko worked diligently. In no time, a small fire ring was built. She had searched on the search engine on the necessity during camping. She thought her fire ring was as decent as what she had seen on the Internet.

"What are you doing?"

Shouko was startled. She was too engrossed in her own thought until she couldn't hear Kyoya's approaching footsteps.

"Oh, I made a fire ring," Shouko answered honestly. "This one is good, right?"

Kyoya blinked. Why did it seem like she was expecting him to praise her?

But...

"Wife, it's too far from our tent," Kyoya said, his eyes lingered on their tent before it went back to her shocked face. "We should build it closer or it would be too cold tonight... But, I do bring a heater so don't worry. It's fine here! It's fine!"

Kyoya quickly added his three last sentences as he realized her bright eyes grew dimmer as seconds passed.

"No... we should build it closer to our tent," Shouko said dejectedly. She crouched down and started to disassemble the fire ring.

Kyoya's eyes landed on the top of his wife's head. Her hands moved slowly to pick the rocks.

He coughed awkwardly, trying to mask the sound of his laugh. Then, he squatted and started helping Shouko who was still pouting.

Kyoya glanced at his little wife. He couldn't help but think she was too cute today.

With her husband's help, a new fire ring was built not far from their tent. It didn't take long for Shouko to regain her excitement especially when she saw the amber color of the fire began to warm them up.

"Alright, let's rest for a while before we cook!" Shouko clapped her hands.

It was still early so they didn't have to rush to cook dinner. She wanted to enjoy the view first.

Kyoya nodded obediently, agreeing with his wife.

To save time, both of them had prepared the ingredients at the villa. The chickens had been chopped, the fishes had been descaled and even the vegetables had been sliced. They just need to cook them over the fire.

Since she had been walking and working just now, Shouko felt stuffy wearing her long jacket. She unbuttoned the jacket, folded it on her arm and she walked toward the tent. She wanted to store it inside the tent before exploring the place.

The tent was huge. All of their bags had been placed inside. Shouko smiled seeing the interior of the tent. Her bags were on the right side and his bags were on the left. Layers and layers of thick blankets spread on the ground. It was warm and cozy.

Then, as her eyes landed on the two sleeping bags inside the tent, her body froze.

Shouko blinked. Her mind blanked before the heat started flushing her cheeks.

She had forgotten about something!

"Shouko, what's wrong?"

Kyoya found his wife looked amiss so he came to see if she was feeling under the weather. But, when he saw her red face and her eyes fixated on the sleeping bags, his smile turned into a smirk.

"What? Do you think we would sleep in two different tents?"

As his teasing voice sounded beside her ears, Shouko bit her lips in embarrassment.