diff --git a/sample_files/test_corpus/test_pdf_translated.pdf b/sample_files/test_corpus/test_pdf_translated.pdf
index 649f42b..5d4576b 100644
Binary files a/sample_files/test_corpus/test_pdf_translated.pdf and b/sample_files/test_corpus/test_pdf_translated.pdf differ
diff --git a/tests/test_translators/test_b3_6_pdf_drawings.py b/tests/test_translators/test_b3_6_pdf_drawings.py
index 017fd84..131b9ca 100644
--- a/tests/test_translators/test_b3_6_pdf_drawings.py
+++ b/tests/test_translators/test_b3_6_pdf_drawings.py
@@ -750,3 +750,172 @@ class TestB3_9TableRowSplitting:
                 f"Cell x0s are {cell_x0s}, expected [90, 220, 350]"
             )
         out_doc.close()
+
+
+# ============================================================================
+# Track B3.10 — code-block / callout preservation (drawing-covered blocks)
+# ============================================================================
+
+class TestB3_10DrawingCoveredBlocks:
+    """Track B3.10: when a block is covered by a colored background
+    drawing (code block, callout box, info box), each line must stay
+    at its own y position. The merge logic must NOT collapse them
+    into a single block, because the surrounding drawing has a fixed
+    extent that the rewritten text must align with.
+
+    Without B3.10, the merge logic joins all 5 code lines into one
+    block, the smart-fit shrinks the font to fit, and the rewritten
+    text no longer aligns with the background drawing — half the code
+    spills outside the box, the box appears clipped, etc.
+    """
+
+    def test_code_block_lines_marked_no_merge(self, tmp_path):
+        """A code block (multiple lines, all covered by a background
+        drawing) should be split into per-line blocks with _no_merge=True."""
+        import fitz
+        doc = fitz.open()
+        page = doc.new_page(width=612, height=792)
+        # Add a light-gray background drawing
+        page.draw_rect(
+            fitz.Rect(72, 290, 540, 400),
+            color=(0.9, 0.9, 0.9),
+            fill=(0.95, 0.95, 0.95),
+        )
+        # 5 code lines inside the drawing (use larger spacing for
+        # reliable y separation after PyMuPDF baseline adjustment)
+        for i, y in enumerate([305, 325, 345, 365, 385]):
+            page.insert_text((85, y), f"line {i+1}", fontsize=10)
+
+        in_path = tmp_path / "input_code.pdf"
+        doc.save(str(in_path))
+        doc.close()
+
+        from translators.pdf_translator import PDFTranslator
+        translator = PDFTranslator()
+        in_doc = fitz.open(str(in_path))
+        blocks = translator._extract_text_blocks(in_doc[0])
+        in_doc.close()
+
+        # Should have 5 separate blocks, each with no_merge=True
+        code_blocks = [b for b in blocks if b.get("_no_merge")]
+        assert len(code_blocks) == 5, (
+            f"Expected 5 code blocks with no_merge=True, got {len(code_blocks)}"
+        )
+        # Each should have a distinct y position (within 1pt of each other)
+        y_positions = [b["bbox"][1] for b in code_blocks]
+        # Sort and check gaps are >= ~16pt (line spacing)
+        sorted_ys = sorted(y_positions)
+        for i in range(len(sorted_ys) - 1):
+            gap = sorted_ys[i + 1] - sorted_ys[i]
+            assert gap > 10, (
+                f"y positions too close: {sorted_ys}, gap={gap}"
+            )
+
+    def test_paragraph_not_marked_no_merge(self, tmp_path):
+        """A regular paragraph (no background drawing) should NOT
+        be marked as no_merge. The merge logic should still combine
+        consecutive lines into a single block."""
+        import fitz
+        doc = fitz.open()
+        page = doc.new_page(width=612, height=792)
+        # 3 lines, no background drawing
+        page.insert_text((72, 100), "Line 1", fontsize=12)
+        page.insert_text((72, 120), "Line 2", fontsize=12)
+        page.insert_text((72, 140), "Line 3", fontsize=12)
+
+        in_path = tmp_path / "input_para.pdf"
+        doc.save(str(in_path))
+        doc.close()
+
+        from translators.pdf_translator import PDFTranslator
+        translator = PDFTranslator()
+        in_doc = fitz.open(str(in_path))
+        blocks = translator._extract_text_blocks(in_doc[0])
+        merged = translator._merge_adjacent_blocks(blocks, in_doc[0].rect)
+        in_doc.close()
+
+        # All 3 lines should be merged into 1 block
+        assert len(merged) == 1, (
+            f"Expected 1 merged paragraph, got {len(merged)}"
+        )
+        assert "Line 1" in merged[0]["text"]
+        assert "Line 2" in merged[0]["text"]
+        assert "Line 3" in merged[0]["text"]
+
+    def test_code_block_end_to_end_preserves_lines(self, tmp_path):
+        """End-to-end: a code block translated must keep each line
+        at its original y position, inside the background drawing."""
+        import fitz
+        doc = fitz.open()
+        page = doc.new_page(width=612, height=792)
+        # Background drawing
+        page.draw_rect(
+            fitz.Rect(72, 290, 540, 410),
+            color=(0.9, 0.9, 0.9),
+            fill=(0.95, 0.95, 0.95),
+        )
+        # 5 code lines (use larger spacing for reliable separation)
+        code_lines = [
+            "$ npm install",
+            "$ npm start",
+            "$ curl http://localhost:3000",
+            "$ echo done",
+            "$ exit",
+        ]
+        for i, line in enumerate(code_lines):
+            page.insert_text((85, 305 + i * 20), line, fontsize=10)
+
+        in_path = tmp_path / "input_code_e2e.pdf"
+        out_path = tmp_path / "output_code_e2e.pdf"
+        doc.save(str(in_path))
+        doc.close()
+
+        from translators.pdf_translator import PDFTranslator
+        translator = PDFTranslator()
+
+        def _flex(*args, **kwargs):
+            if args and hasattr(args[0], "__iter__") and not isinstance(args[0], str):
+                first = args[0][0] if len(args[0]) else None
+                if first is not None and hasattr(first, "text"):
+                    class _R:
+                        def __init__(self, t): self.translated_text = t
+                    return [_R(r.text) for r in args[0]]
+            return list(args[0]) if args else []
+
+        mock = MagicMock()
+        mock.__class__.__name__ = "MagicMock"
+        mock.translate_batch = MagicMock(side_effect=_flex)
+        translator.set_provider(mock)
+        translator.translate_file(
+            in_path, out_path,
+            target_language="fr",
+            source_language="en",
+        )
+
+        out_doc = fitz.open(str(out_path))
+        out_page = out_doc[0]
+        text_blocks = [
+            b for b in out_page.get_text("dict").get("blocks", [])
+            if b.get("type") == 0
+        ]
+        # Should have 5 separate code-line blocks, each at its own y
+        code_blocks = [
+            b for b in text_blocks
+            if b["bbox"][0] == 85 and b["bbox"][1] >= 290
+        ]
+        assert len(code_blocks) == 5, (
+            f"Expected 5 separate code lines in output, got {len(code_blocks)}"
+        )
+        # Each line should be at a unique y position (no merging)
+        y_positions = [b["bbox"][1] for b in code_blocks]
+        assert len(set(y_positions)) == 5, (
+            f"Code lines were collapsed to fewer y positions: {y_positions}"
+        )
+        # All code lines should be inside the background drawing
+        for b in code_blocks:
+            y = b["bbox"][1]
+            assert 290 <= y <= 400, (
+                f"Code line at y={y} is outside the background drawing "
+                f"(y range 290-410)"
+            )
+        out_doc.close()
diff --git a/translators/pdf_translator.py b/translators/pdf_translator.py
index 80a9003..4aa9742 100644
--- a/translators/pdf_translator.py
+++ b/translators/pdf_translator.py
@@ -463,11 +463,21 @@ class PDFTranslator:
         a table row instead of collapsing into a single left-aligned
         column.
 
+        Track B3.10: when a block is COVERED by a drawing (code block
+        with a background rect, callout box, etc.), split it into
+        per-line blocks and mark them as ``no_merge``. Without this,
+        the merge logic collapses 5 code lines into one block, and the
+        smart-fit rewrites them all at the block's bbox, which
+        destroys the line-by-line layout and the surrounding
+        background drawing's apparent extent.
+
         The detection is: if a block has >= 2 lines whose y0 is within
         ``SAME_ROW_Y_TOLERANCE`` of each other, treat it as a
         multi-column row and emit one sub-block per line. Blocks whose
         lines are vertically stacked (multi-line paragraphs) keep the
-        old behavior.
+        old behavior, UNLESS they are covered by a drawing — in which
+        case we split per-line and set ``no_merge`` to preserve the
+        code-block / callout layout.
         """
         import fitz
 
@@ -476,6 +486,44 @@ class PDFTranslator:
 
         SAME_ROW_Y_TOLERANCE = 3.0  # points
 
+        # B3.10: pre-compute the set of page drawings with a fill
+        # (colored rects, callout boxes, etc.) so we can detect
+        # "code block" or "callout" patterns and avoid merging their
+        # constituent lines.
+        drawing_rects: list = []
+        if hasattr(page, "get_drawings"):
+            try:
+                for d in page.get_drawings():
+                    r = d.get("rect")
+                    if r is not None and d.get("fill") is not None:
+                        drawing_rects.append(fitz.Rect(r))
+            except Exception:
+                pass
+
+        def _block_covered_by_drawing(block_bbox_tuple) -> bool:
+            """True if the block's bbox is covered by a filled drawing.
+
+            We use "covered" loosely — a substantial intersection
+            (>= 50% of the block's area) qualifies. This avoids
+            false positives from drawings that merely touch a corner
+            of the block.
+            """
+            if not drawing_rects:
+                return False
+            b = fitz.Rect(block_bbox_tuple)
+            block_area = b.width * b.height
+            if block_area <= 0:
+                return False
+            for dr in drawing_rects:
+                if not b.intersects(dr):
+                    continue
+                # Compute intersection area
+                inter = b & dr
+                inter_area = inter.width * inter.height
+                if inter_area / block_area >= 0.5:
+                    return True
+            return False
+
         for block in data.get("blocks", []):
             if block.get("type") != 0:
                 continue
@@ -500,8 +548,18 @@ class PDFTranslator:
                 )
             )
 
-            if has_horizontal_layout:
-                # Multi-column row: emit one block per line.
+            # B3.10: detect code-block / callout pattern — a block
+            # whose lines are covered by a colored background drawing.
+            # Note: each code line is its own PDF block, so we check
+            # the block bbox (which is the line's bbox) against the
+            # drawing, not "len(lines) > 1".
+            covered_by_drawing = (
+                not has_horizontal_layout
+                and _block_covered_by_drawing(block["bbox"])
+            )
+
+            if has_horizontal_layout or covered_by_drawing:
+                # Multi-column row OR code block: emit one block per line.
                 for line in lines:
                     span_parts = []
                     spans_info = []
@@ -538,7 +596,8 @@ class PDFTranslator:
                         "line_count": 1,
                         "translated": None,
                         "sub_bboxes": [tuple(line["bbox"])],
-                        "_is_table_cell": True,
+                        "_is_table_cell": has_horizontal_layout,
+                        "_no_merge": covered_by_drawing,
                     })
                 continue
 
@@ -632,6 +691,15 @@ class PDFTranslator:
         a_bbox = a["bbox"]
         b_bbox = b["bbox"]
 
+        # Track B3.10: never merge blocks marked as no_merge.
+        # These are lines inside a code block, callout box, or any
+        # other structure that needs to preserve its line-by-line
+        # layout (e.g. each line of a curl command must stay at its
+        # own y position to remain aligned with the background
+        # drawing that covers them).
+        if a.get("_no_merge") or b.get("_no_merge"):
+            return False
+
         # Must have similar font size (within 20%)
         if abs(a["font_size"] - b["font_size"]) > max(a["font_size"], b["font_size"]) * 0.2:
             return False