Transmigrated as the Villain Boss's Precious Darling-Chapter 31: Must Sleep Alone

Who knew how many times Raina had reheated this bowl of soybeans. It might have even been the same pork knuckle and soybean stew from Chinese New Year’s Eve, kept simmering until now—over half a month later. There was no telling how many people had eaten out of it. Phoebe Huxley would rather starve than eat it, so she simply gave the pigs an extra meal.

Felix Thorne was a little unhappy. Even if the stew didn’t have a single pig bristle in it, it was still a token of his mother’s kindness. But she’d dumped it out for the pigs. Wasn’t this a blatant display of contempt for his mother?

Tang Xiaonan sensed trouble and quickly piped up, "Dad, I want some vegetables! I can’t reach them."

The dark cloud on Felix Thorne’s face immediately lifted. He picked up a large helping of pork skin rolls with his chopsticks, which only had a few pieces of green vegetables, and placed it in Tang Xiaonan’s bowl.

Tang Xiaonan’s heart sank. ’So that’s where all this fat comes from. They’re raising me like a pig. If I don’t turn into one, I’ll be letting all this meat go to waste.’

Another family squabble had been quietly resolved. Lying on the large, antique, dark purple bed, Tang Xiaonan felt wide awake. Her mind wandered, recalling the plot of the book. A faint, pleasant fragrance wafted to her nose. It had a calming effect, and before long, the scent lulled Tang Xiaonan into a drowsy state.

She was jolted awake by deafening snores. They rose and fell, one after another, like thunderclaps right next to her ear. The rooster hadn’t even crowed, but Tang Xiaonan was wide awake.

Seeing Felix Thorne and Phoebe Huxley sleeping on either side of her, Tang Xiaonan didn’t dare to move a muscle. ’This is so exhausting,’ she thought.

She couldn’t believe it. Tang Xiaonan was already six years old, yet she was still sleeping with her parents. ’No way. I have to switch rooms tonight.’

"SNOOORE... WHEEZE..."

Felix Thorne and Phoebe Huxley’s snores competed with each other. As soon as one finished, the other would start. Tang Xiaonan stared with wide eyes, counting the holes in the mosquito net. She was exhausted, but she just couldn’t fall asleep.

Breakfast for the Thorne family was stir-fried rice cakes with green vegetables, along with a large basin of steamed sweet potatoes. Howard and his two brothers had such huge appetites that the family’s grain supply sometimes wasn’t enough, requiring supplements like sweet potatoes and radishes to fill everyone up.

Tang Xiaonan’s bowl was filled with rice cakes and green vegetables. The vegetables were a vibrant green, the rice cakes as white as jade. Phoebe Huxley had stir-fried them in lard, and both the greens and the rice cakes glistened with oil, looking quite appetizing.

But no matter how appetizing it looked, Tang Xiaonan couldn’t finish a bowl of rice cakes that was bigger than her head.

She took a small bowl, scooped out a quarter of her portion, and put the rest back on the table. Then she picked up a sweet potato. The Thorne family’s sweet potatoes were the pumpkin variety—starchy and sweet. After being stored all winter, their sugar content was even higher, making them exceptionally delicious. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Why are you eating so little?"

Phoebe Huxley reached out and felt Tang Xiaonan’s forehead. Her temperature was normal, but she didn’t seem to be in high spirits. Assuming she hadn’t fully recovered from her fall the day before, she said, "You be good and stay home today. You’re not allowed to go anywhere."

Tang Xiaonan pouted. "I want to go play with Mr. Hawthorne. We already agreed yesterday."

"Why would you want to find that jinx? Every time you play with him, something bad happens. Xiaonan, be a good girl and stay home. Mom will fry some rice cake slices for you, and some dried sweet potato."

"I don’t want any! Mommy, I want to sleep by myself. At night, Dad always..."

Tang Xiaonan imitated a few snores, making the whole family laugh. Felix Thorne gently pinched her nose and said with mock anger, "Daddy doesn’t snore."

"Yes, he does! I can hear it from two rooms away," Jim Thorne said with a grin. Felix Thorne shot him a vicious glare, and Jim immediately lowered his head.

After some wheedling and pouting from Tang Xiaonan, Felix Thorne and Phoebe Huxley agreed to her request to sleep alone. In truth, at her age, Tang Xiaonan should have been sleeping on her own long ago. But they couldn’t bear to be parted from their daughter, so they had kept her with them. Now that she was six, they had to let her go, no matter how reluctant they were.