Transmigrated as the Villain Boss's Precious Darling-Chapter 117: A Visit from the Big Shot

"I caught some river snails," said a boy’s cool voice.

Nancy Thorne’s heart leaped. She dashed out in a flash and called out happily, "Mr. Hawthorne!"

’She really hadn’t expected Adrian Hawthorne to come to their door on his own, let alone bring river snails. In the book, after getting beaten by Phoebe Huxley, Adrian Hawthorne never set foot in the Thorne family’s home again. He wouldn’t even come over for something as major as his own engagement; Felix Thorne had had to go find him.’

’Even after the engagement, Adrian Hawthorne was incredibly stubborn and never came to the Thorne family’s home for a meal.’

’The only time he ever visited was when Felix Thorne passed away. As the fiancé, he attended Felix Thorne’s funeral, but that was it.’

Nancy Thorne was so excited her heart felt like it would burst from her chest. Her efforts weren’t completely meaningless. If Adrian Hawthorne could visit their home again, then Phoebe Thorne’s fate could be changed too.

’This world from the book wasn’t set in stone.’

’As long as she worked hard enough, the Thorne family would surely have a perfectly happy ending. She wouldn’t die, Adrian Hawthorne might not become a lunatic, and he certainly wouldn’t run off to Umbara to lose his mind. Just changing those things would be enough; Nancy didn’t want to meddle in anything else.’

"I love river snails more than anything! Thank you, Mr. Hawthorne."

Nancy Thorne ran up to Adrian Hawthorne, tilted her head back, and gave him a wide, gap-toothed grin.

Adrian Hawthorne was still damp, the bottom half of his pant legs thoroughly soaked. He was wearing ragged clothes, patched over and over. These were his work clothes, for when he was doing chores. The clothes he wore yesterday were for going out.

"Who wants to eat this junk? Nancy, don’t you hate river snails more than anything?" Jim Thorne said with a look of disgust.

There’s hardly any meat in a whole basin of these things, and you have to work so hard to suck it out. It’s nowhere near as good as real meat.

But what really got to him was his sister’s betrayal. When he brought back river snails, she always said they were gross. But now that the Hawthorne kid brought some, suddenly she loved them. Hmph!

"I love them!"

Nancy Thorne shot him a fierce glare, and Jim Thorne resentfully shut his mouth. He found Adrian Hawthorne even more of an eyesore now and just glared at him out of the corner of his eye.

Adrian Hawthorne was completely unbothered. ’Jim Thorne helped him out in a huge way yesterday. No matter how nasty the guy’s words were, he wasn’t going to hold it against him.’

’Besides, he had already figured out Jim Thorne’s personality. He was like a stubborn mule; you had to coax him, not force him. All three Thorne brothers were like that. In the future, he’d have plenty of ways to handle these three big oafs.’

"When you finish these, I’ll bring more." As soon as Adrian Hawthorne finished speaking, he caught sight of the purple bruise on Nancy Thorne’s arm. Her sleeve wasn’t pulled all the way down, and the bruise looked even bigger than yesterday; a large patch of her arm was discolored.

Adrian Hawthorne felt a fresh pang of guilt. ’He really hadn’t thought a little pinch could have such a serious result. This chubby girl really was made of tofu. No wonder the Thorne family treasured her so much, not letting her get a single scrape or bump.’

"Does it... still hurt?"

Adrian Hawthorne’s eyes darted away; he didn’t dare look at Nancy Thorne. His conscience pricked him a little.

"It doesn’t hurt anymore... really, it doesn’t."

Nancy Thorne quickly pulled down her sleeve. ’It still hurt a little, but she wasn’t really a child. The pain was well within her tolerance. Besides, compared to the pain the Thorne family had caused Adrian Hawthorne, this was nothing.’

Adrian Hawthorne’s heart stirred. ’Nancy Thorne really had changed. She hadn’t even told her family about an injury this bad. Otherwise, with Jim Thorne’s explosive temper, he would have been at his door spoiling for a fight last night.’

"You delivered the snails, now get going," Jim Thorne said, impatiently shooing him away.

Nancy Thorne shot her brother another glare, then turned to Adrian Hawthorne with a sweet smile. "Mr. Hawthorne, stay and eat with us."

’He went out to catch snails at the crack of dawn, so he definitely hasn’t eaten breakfast. Plus, he’s soaked to the bone. I have to get Phoebe Huxley to boil some ginger and brown sugar water for him to warm him up. Adrian Hawthorne is so careless with his health. He doesn’t just have serious stomach problems; he also suffers from rheumatism and migraines, among other things. They all stem from ailments he developed as a child.’