Not A Small-Town Girl

----

Xavier was someone who spoke his mind without thinking

much. Just as Xavier was about to speak, Howard covered

his mouth and instructed, "Hush."

"I haven’t even said anything yet. Why are you covering my

mouth?" Xavier protested. He wanted to roll his eyes at

Howard.

Howard glanced at Danielle worriedly and said to Xavier,

“Nothing good comes out of your mouth. Don’t irritate

Danielle. We still don’t know what will trigger her."

Xavier took Howard’s hand off his mouth and complained,

"Dad, am I that indiscreet? I just wanted to show some

concern for Danielle."

----

Howard replied earnestly, "You are.”

Xavier was speechless. He was the youngest Best Actor

award winner with tens of millions of fans, yet he was

someone unreliable in the eyes of his own father. Xavier

found this frustrating.

They had just arrived at Orion’s house when Raina came

running out. With a concerned look on her face, she asked,

"I heard that the thugs were causing trouble again. Are you

alright?"

Orion said, "We are fine, thanks to Danielle. We can talk

about this later. Let’s eat first." The village chief then invited

the Darlings into the house.

Raina warmly welcomed them. She had prepared anoveldrama

chicken stew. She said, "Try it and see if it’s good. We don’t

have any fancy food. The vegetables are all homegrown,

without any chemical fertilizers or pesticides. They are

absolutely healthy."

----

"The food looks so appetizing.

Thank you for,the scrumptious

meal," VivianGaid gently. She quite

liked the village chief’s family. The —

villagersqere quite hostile to the.

Paring nen they first arrived:

because they thought the Darlings

wete’in cahoots with the thegs.

Despite that, Orion and Raina treated

the Darlings warmly and even

provided them accommodation at

night after the misunderstanding

was cleared up.

----

“Then you should eat more," Raina said enthusiastically.

Vivian replied, "Okay."

Danielle hadn’t said a word since

she entered the house. Her episodes

had become more frequent recently,

and nowgniedicine and acupunctufe

could né longer control them. She

figurééwhen she went berserk

corapletely, she wouldn’t beable to

recognize her parents, brothers, or

Cloud.

----

She didn’t mind losing control of herself completely before

this since she was a lone wolf. However, she was reluctant

to forget about her family now that she had found them.

“Dear, this is for you." Raina gave Danielle a big bowl of

stew. She really liked Danielle.

----

Danielle smiled and replied, "Thank you." She chomped

down on the food. She didn’t want her family to worry about

her.

After breakfast, Howard and Vivian looked at Danielle

hesitantly.

“Mom and Dad, do you have something to say?" Danielle

knew what her parents were going to ask, but she didn’t

know where to start. She had been unable to contact Cloud

for a while, and she didn’t know where he had gone.

“Danielle, can we know how this happened? Why did you

suddenly not recognize us?" Howard asked cautiously.

Vivian added, "Yes. You scared me. It’s all my fault for not

paying enough attention to you."

----

Vivian wiped her tears, feeling sad.

Xavier chimed in, "Danielle, our family is the richest in

Aleria. Although your medical skills are very good, I will find

a doctor to treat you when we return to the city."

Danielle took a deep breath. She knew that this day would

come eventually. She explained, "Mom, Dad, Xavier, I am

not sick. I am poisoned, and I will have an episode on the

15th of every month."

----

Vivian exclaimed, "What? Poisoned?

How could vanbe poisoned? What

kind of pgison is it? Can it be cured"

She turned’pale when she heard ©

Danielle’s words. She couldn’t

imagit how and why Danielle

weld be poisoned since Dahielle

was both capable and arable.

----

To the side, Orion explained, "Danielle has been poisoned

with Luna Stalk. As far as I know, this poison has gone

extinct. So is its antidote."

Danielle glanced at the village chief. She was surprised

that he actually knew about this poison. Very few people

knew about it. She wondered how he had leamed of it.

She asked, "How do you know I got poisoned with Luna

Stalk?"

Orion explained, "I’ve some understanding of this poison.

By chance, I met someone who was poisoned with Luna

Stalk. Your symptoms are very similar."