Transmigrated as the Villain Boss's Precious Darling

Kelley Xavier let out another laugh. The worry between her brows eased a bit, and her whole expression brightened. Howard Thorne stared at her for a moment, a sudden realization dawning on him: his deskmate was actually quite pretty. It was just that her clothes were so tattered. Plus, she was always quiet, with a cool, ’do not disturb’ air about her. A slacker like him would never have given Kelley a second glance before.

So he’d never really known what Kelley looked like. Now that he was taking a proper look, he saw she had quite delicate features. She was just a bit too thin. ’If she cleaned up nicely,’ he thought, ’she’d definitely be prettier than the school belle.’

Sensing Howard’s unwavering stare, Kelley’s face grew even redder, and she quickly averted her gaze. Howard rubbed his nose, trying to cover up his embarrassment. "Uh... I wasn’t looking at you," he said stiffly. "I was just checking out the scenery over there."

Kelley turned to look. She had deliberately picked this bamboo grove because no one ever came here. Besides bamboo, there was only more bamboo. ’What scenery is there to see?’ she wondered.

A smile touched her lips. Her impression of Howard had improved significantly. ’Even though he’s a terrible student, he’s kind-hearted and a genuinely good person,’ she thought. ’But... should I really agree to his proposal?’

Even though she knew it would just be an act, the idea of getting engaged to a classmate still made Kelley shy. She was afraid their classmates would laugh, and she felt embarrassed just thinking about it.

"Our classmates will laugh," Kelley whispered, her voice barely audible.

"Who would dare laugh? I’ll beat the crap out of them!"

Howard shot to his feet with a fierce expression, but he quickly reined it in. Softening his tone, he said, "No one will dare to laugh, you can be absolutely sure of that. Besides, if you don’t say anything and I don’t say anything, who’s going to know?"

Kelley was still deep in thought. An engagement was a major life event, and she had to consider it carefully. But at the moment, there really didn’t seem to be a better way out of her predicament.

"Don’t drag your feet," Howard urged, getting anxious. "If you agree, I’ll go tell my parents right now. We need to do this quickly. The longer we wait, the more can go wrong. Who knows what other tricks your stepmom might pull? Do you really want to marry that gambler?" He was truly afraid Kelley was about to be thrown into the fire.

Kelley shuddered. An image of a man’s lecherous eyes and his disgusting face flashed through her mind. It was the suitor her stepmother had chosen for her. He had come over for a meal a few days ago, and he hadn’t stopped staring at her, making her feel like she was sitting on pins and needles.

"Okay, I agree."

Kelley finally gave in. "Thank you," she said, her voice full of genuine gratitude.

Howard broke into a wide grin. "Nothing to thank me for! You’re tutoring me, aren’t you? I’m going home to tell them right now."

Kelley nodded, her heart feeling a little lighter. ’Maybe I can really get away from that gambler,’ she thought. ’And maybe I can even stay in school.’

In fact, even if Howard didn’t end the engagement later, she would still be willing.

Marrying a good person like Howard was so much better than marrying a degenerate gambling addict.

Tang Xiaonan had been worried about Howard all day. The sky had grown dark, but he still hadn’t returned. She had already run to the village entrance to look for him several times, finding no sign of him. Her anxiety mounted, terrified that Howard was about to suffer the same fate described in the book.

Finally, she spotted Howard hurrying home. Tang Xiaonan breathed a sigh of relief and ran to him. "Big Brother... where have you been? Mom’s been looking for you all day!"

Howard scooped up his little sister and gave her cheek a gentle pinch. "I was taking care of some very important business," he said with a wide grin. "What did Mom want me for?"

"She wanted you to go to work!"

Tang Xiaonan turned her head, trying to dodge his hand, but Howard’s "paws" followed, continuing to pinch her cheek. His face was positively beaming. Tang Xiaonan was incredibly curious. ’What’s gotten him in such a good mood?’ she wondered.

That evening, she finally found out why.