Not A Small-Town Girl

Jane was also bewildered by June’s statement.

June retorted, "I’m just looking out for Danielle, but it’s not okay for you to speak like that." June knew it was unwise to provoke someone from a wealthy family like Danielle, but she deeply disliked Juniper. June suspected Danielle only received such fawning attention because of her family’s wealth, and resented the accusation from Juniper.

Juniper despised this two-faced behavior, saying, "Is this really a concern or just nonsense? Danielle doesn’t need this."

June found Juniper very annoying and said softly, "Juniper, you can’t just throw me under the bus to get on Danielle’s good side, can you?"

Juniper was truly frustrated with June this time. "Stop acting helpless. Danielle is my best friend - do I need to please her? Something is wrong with you."

Unable to bear hearing June speak any longer, Jane intervened and said, "June, stop it."

"Jane, do you also think I was wrong? I was only worried about Danielle, but you’re all being so unfair to me." June burst into tears. "How did I end up living with such unreasonable people?"

June’s constant questions about Jane’s family since she moved into the dorm made Jane uncomfortable, but she didn’t say anything since they were living together. Now, June was acting innocent again.

"You were wrong to accuse me of sharing contact information without evidence and to answer my phone without asking. Now you’re acting like you’re about to cry? What are you trying to do?" Danielle said calmly.

June was furious at Danielle’s words, but she didn’t want to offend Danielle. She swallowed her anger. "Danielle," she said, trying to calm the situation, "I think you misunderstood me. I’m very direct and sometimes speak without thinking. Please don’t be upset with me."

Danielle glanced at June without saying a word and turned back to her seat.

The four of them remained silent on the matter.

Danielle opened her laptop and connected to the campus network, which was already buzzing with posts about her after just one week of classes.

She had seen only two posts: one about the campus belle contest with a photo of her, and the other one she had just found.

Danielle found a photo of herself on the "Not a Foodie" account and then discovered a slanderous post about herself on another account called "Sleepyhead."

She clicked on both accounts but found they were empty and newly registered.

The school’s policy requiring real names for registration played to Danielle’s advantage. She quickly hacked into the account "Not a Foodie," revealing the registered user as Emma.

Danielle wasn’t surprised to see Emma’s name. She knew Emma had posted her photo online to compete with Audrey for the title of "campus belle," hoping to provoke Audrey into doing something against her. However, Emma had miscalculated. Audrey wouldn’t dare to retaliate openly and could only resort to petty acts in private.

Danielle’s fingers flew across the keyboard as she hacked into Sleepyhead’s ID, revealing the registered name: Nancy. She recalled that Nancy often spent time with Ava. Danielle found it very interesting.

Danielle took screenshots of the information to save it, already planning how she would fight back.noveldrama

----

On the other side.

When Ruby intercepted Joseph’s car the last time, she tried

her best to explain herself, but she wondered if he believed

her.

Ruby scratched her head in annoyance, wondering if her

attempt to tarnish her image to Joseph had been convincing.

She thought she must be crazy.

Just as Ruby’s annoyance peaked, her phone rang. She

picked it up and saw that it was Emily. Rolling her eyes, she

reluctantly answered.

The call connected, and Emily’s voice rang out, threatening,

“Ruby, do you want your mother or not? You have three days.

If you don’t finish your task, there will be consequences."

Ruby tried to calm herself down. Taking a deep breath, she

said, "I already explained everything to Joseph. Whether he

believes me or not is his concern, not mine."

----

“What do you mean? Are you perhaps jealous of Sienna and

Joseph’s relationship and trying to keep him to yourself? If

not, why hasn’t Joseph contacted Sienna before? Did you

seduce him, you spiteful woman?" Emily said over the phone.

She continued, "You’d better give up. For your mother’s safety,

allow Joseph and Sienna to marry. You have three days."

Ruby found Emily’s words rather ironic. She couldn’t believe

that after slandering her, Emily now wanted her to play

matchmaker.

Ruby said, "I’ve said all I need to say. What transpires

between Joseph and Sienna is their affair. Didn’t you say

Joseph and your daughter are in love? I’m not his mother, so I

can’t dictate his marriage choices. Is Sienna so determined to

marry into the Darling family?"