Transmigrated as the Villain Boss's Precious Darling-Chapter 41: A Pleasant Fragrance

After a busy half-day running from one end of the village to the other, and even making a trip up the mountain, Tang Xiao’nan’s little six-year-old body was half-dead with exhaustion. She now truly understood the meaning of "the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." She had originally planned to go find Adrian Hawthorne after lunch.

But the moment she finished her meal, she became so sleepy she couldn’t keep her eyes open. She even fell asleep with the last mouthful of rice still in her mouth, her eyes squeezed shut, having never managed to swallow it. When Phoebe Huxley came out from the kitchen and saw her little daughter looking so impossibly cute, she couldn’t help but smile.

"You’ve been running around since early this morning. You must be tired."

Phoebe Huxley picked up Tang Xiao’nan, intending to get the rice out of her mouth. But the moment she touched her, Tang Xiao’nan woke up. She groggily opened her eyes, smacked her lips a few times, and swallowed the rice.

She even managed to mumble a reminder, "Momma... don’t use the newspapers to start the fire..."

’Grandma would definitely use the newspapers to start a fire, so Mom probably would too.’ Tang Xiao’nan’s brain felt as sluggish as an old machine. She closed her eyes again after she spoke. ’I’ll just nap for a little while, half an hour at most. I still have to go curry favor with the future big shot!’

"I know, I know, you little busybody!"

Phoebe Huxley had, in fact, been planning to use those newspapers to start the fire. But since her daughter was against it, she decided not to. Pine needles would work just as well.

A faint, very pleasant fragrance wafted to her nose, and Tang Xiao’nan quickly sank into a deep sleep. By the time she woke up, it was already dark outside. She could hear the voices of Felix Thorne and her three older brothers in the outer room.

The fragrance was still there, and it was growing stronger. The room was very dim. Tang Xiao’nan fumbled with her hand in the air a few times before finding the light cord. She gave it a firm tug, and the light flickered on.

Tang Xiao’nan had used this type of old-fashioned incandescent lamp in her childhood. A string was attached to the switch, and a simple pull would turn it on or off. The light cord in a bedroom was usually tied to the headboard, easily within reach from the bed.

The orange glow of the bulb lit up the room, revealing the same large, carved bed. Tang Xiao’nan’s head gradually cleared. She had slept for the entire afternoon. Outside, she could hear a soft patter—it was raining. Spring in Vessaria was always a season of endless, drizzling rain. A morning could be bright and sunny, only for a light shower to begin in the afternoon. It wasn’t uncommon for the rain to last for ten days or even half a month, whereas a similar stretch of clear, sunny days was a rarity.

That was why in winter and spring, on any sunny day, every household would take their bedding out to air in the sun. A winter without sun-dried quilts felt incomplete. Tang Xiao’nan particularly loved quilts that had been dried in the sun. They became fluffy and soft, felt incredibly warm to sleep under, and had a wonderful smell.

She had always thought it was the smell of the sun itself. It wasn’t until she grew up that she learned scientists had verified the truth: that lovely fragrance was the smell of scorched dust mite carcasses. The sun itself has no scent.

And just like that, scientists had shattered one of Tang Xiao’nan’s rare romantic notions. Afterward, she still loved sleeping under sun-dried quilts, but she no longer enjoyed smelling them.

She was afraid she’d inhale a noseful of mite carcasses.

Tang Xiao’nan took a few sniffs. The fragrance was even richer now. It was a pleasant scent, a bit like sandalwood, but fainter and nicer. ’Did Phoebe Huxley light some incense?’

Tang Xiao’nan scanned the room but saw nothing that looked like incense. ’Phoebe Huxley probably isn’t the type for such elegant pastimes anyway,’ she thought.

She took a few more sniffs, but the fragrance seemed to have vanished. The voices from the outer room grew louder. It was Jim Thorne, and his tone was vicious. "Sooner or later, I’m gonna kill that dog!"

The moment they had returned, Phoebe Huxley had told them how the neighbor’s dog had nearly bitten Tang Xiao’nan. All three brothers had flown into a rage. If Felix Thorne hadn’t stopped them, they would have already charged over to start a fight.