Transmigrated as the Villain Boss's Precious Darling-Chapter 22: Striving to Be a Civilized Family

Tang Xiaonan looked at Phoebe Huxley’s loving face. This mother of hers might have been awful to others, but she was the kindest, most devoted mother to her own children. In her past life, her parents had been the most reasonable people in everyone else’s eyes, always willing to help and earning constant praise. But toward her, their own daughter... heh... they were incredibly harsh.

She liked having parents like Felix Thorne and Phoebe Huxley. That was why she had to fix Phoebe’s reputation.

But she needed a good excuse. Just coming right out and saying it would never work.

This mother of hers was the type you had to sweet-talk; you could only get her to cooperate with flattery.

"Momma, your cooking is the best... (another five minutes of compliments later)..." Tang Xiaonan racked her brain and laid the flattery on thick, coaxing Phoebe Huxley until she was grinning from ear to ear, her eyes crinkling with delight.

Tang Xiaonan swallowed, then suddenly changed her tune. "Auntie Iris is wrong about you."

This "Auntie Iris" lived next door to the Thorne family. She was a fiery woman with sticky fingers who loved taking advantage of others. One year, Phoebe Huxley planted two loofah vines in their yard. That summer, they crept up the wall, heavy with gourds. A few vines even grew over to the neighbor’s side, where Iris would casually pick them for herself.

Once or twice might have been excusable, but Iris’s greed was insatiable. She even started using a long pole to hook the gourds that were still on the Thorne family’s side of the yard. And as luck would have it, Phoebe Huxley caught her in the act.

And so—

A bloody battle over a single loofah gourd broke out.

Phoebe Huxley and Iris went at it for what felt like three hundred rounds. By the end, both their faces were scratched and they’d pulled out handfuls of each other’s hair. The fight ended with Phoebe’s victory, but the two became mortal enemies, unable to even look at each other without rolling their eyes.

Tang Xiaonan didn’t like Iris either. In the book, when it came to the villagers who kicked her family while they were down, Iris had been the absolute worst. So, Tang Xiaonan felt no guilt whatsoever about using her as a pawn.

Besides, she wasn’t even lying. Iris really did bad-mouth Phoebe to their grandmother, Raina, all the time.

Phoebe Huxley’s expression darkened instantly. "What did she say?" she asked in a menacing tone. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Tang Xiaonan put on an innocent face. "Auntie Iris told Grandma that Momma’s cooking stinks. And she said you secretly eat all the meat yourself and don’t give any to Grandpa and Grandma. Hmph! Momma’s cooking is the yummiest!"

The three brothers, who had been busy stuffing their faces with meat, also looked grim. They didn’t say a word, but they were already plotting. ’Time to teach that Iris next door a lesson. Maybe we’ll just beat up that precious son of hers.’

Phoebe Huxley shot to her feet, rolling up her sleeves as she prepared to march next door for a fight. "That damn slut!" she cursed. "I’m going to rip her mouth to shreds..."

Tang Xiaonan quickly grabbed her. ’I’m so exasperated,’ she thought. ’No wonder my three older brothers have such fiery tempers. Felix Thorne and Phoebe Huxley are both walking powder kegs. How could they possibly produce gentle little lambs?’

’The road to improving this family’s culture is going to be a long one!’

"Momma, no fighting... It hurts..."

Tang Xiaonan just bit the tip of her tongue lightly, and tears immediately started streaming down her face. Phoebe Huxley was so flustered she completely forgot about her nemesis. "Don’t be scared," she cooed gently. "Momma won’t fight."

"Give... give meat to Grandma... then Auntie Iris will stop saying bad things."

Tang Xiaonan let out a sob-hiccup and, striking while the iron was hot, revealed her true goal.

Byron Thorne and Raina might have been stingy, but they were very good to their children and grandchildren. In the original story, when Jim Thorne got into trouble, Byron Thorne had already passed away. But his grandmother, Raina, had unhesitatingly given Felix Thorne all of her savings—even the money she’d set aside for her own coffin—to go and pull some strings.

’For that kindness alone, they deserved to be treated with respect and care.’

Phoebe Huxley hesitated. She was still holding a grudge. Seeing this, Tang Xiaonan started crying even harder, stammering, "I want to be a Civilized Family... The Goldings are a Civilized Family! I want to be one too... Waaah..."