On the following day, Ivy arrived at the hospital early. She wanted to finish checking up on her patients before Shawn's rehabilitation. The task of welcoming the new doctor had been delegated to Roland. After examining her patients, she received a call from Shawn. He informed her that there was an emergency meeting at the company, which would cause a delay. Ivy then took the opportunity to discuss Lily's condition with Alyssa. "Dr. Jones, Lily is doing well and will be discharged today," Alyssa, although still an assistant doctor, was intelligent and had surpassed doctors who started with her, including Jenny. Seeing Alyssa's contented expression, Ivy had an idea. "I'll give you a little break. You can take Lily home." Alyssa politely declined, "No need, Lily and I already made plans last night. I won't be taking her today, but I'll visit her in a few days." "Alright." Just as Ivy finished speaking, her phone rang, and she eagerly answered, as she had been anxious about her friend's recent absence. It was a call from her friend Lilith. "Lilith!" She answered the phone without hesitation. "Where have you been these past few days? Why haven't you answered your phone?" "No worries," Lilith replied with a smile, her voice filled with sadness. "I'm fine." Ivy paused for a moment and then continued, "What's going on? We're good friends, so if you don't tell me, I won't speak to you again!" "Please don't, Ivy. I was wrong. It's just... it's hard to talk about," Lilith said. "What's so hard to talk about?" Ivy couldn't understand. At that moment, Alyssa left the office, so she closed the door, lowered her voice, and said, "You're my friend. If you don't tell me, I won't share my secrets with you either." "Okay, okay, can I tell you?" Lilith finally surrendered to Ivy's persistent questioning. "Ivy, you know my family pressured me into marriage recently, right?" "Yes, I know. Which family is it? Have you met them?" "More than met them, we're very close..." "Very close...?""Lawyer Brown." "Jasson Brown?!" "Well, Jasson is good, but..." Lilith sighed. "Ivy, my family is forcing me to marry that jerk, Kevin Alter!" "What?!" Ivy squeezed her phone tightly. "Isn't Kevin engaged to Tanya?" "Heh," Lilith sneered, "That jerk is trying to have his cake and eat it too. On one hand, he's keeping Tanya happy. As soon as she gets the title of the rising star of tomorrow, they're getting married. On the other hand, he and his jerk of a father have been in touch with my family, hoping to unite our two families. What a load of nonsense. My dad--the old fool, doesn't care how many times Kevin has been engaged." At this point, Lilith's voice became even weaker, and she started to cry. "I've tried to reason with my dad, presented all the facts, and shown him the evidence, but that stubborn old man says Kevin is a rising star with great potential. Potential his butt!" "Lilith, don't worry. Let me think about how I can help you," Ivy said, her heart also heavy. From Kevin's recent actions upon returning to Country A, he was not a man to be trusted. "Ivy, you don't blame me, do you?" Ivy was taken aback. "Blame you for what?" "For Kevin and you, once..." Ivy laughed. "You said it yourself, 'once.'" "..." "Lilith, what I'm most concerned about now is your marriage to him. You and I can't easily intervene in this matter. The best approach is to let Tanya know about it. Given her persistence with Kevin, she won't just stand by and watch the Alter family cast her aside." "Alright, I'll handle it," Lilith said, her mood much improved after talking to Ivy. "And let's make sure to secure the future and prevent our families from meddling with us." "Huh?" Ivy detected a hint of something amiss in her friend's words, and she was about to ask, but Lilith didn't give her the chance. "Ivy, don't worry. I'll take care of this matter. Just wait for my good news," Lilith said, and with that, she ended the call. "Lilith?" Ivy was left speechless. She gazed at her phone, bewildered, and then sent a chatbox message to Lilith."Feel free to call me whenever you need." Lilith appeared to be quite excited and replied, "Copy that." Ivy's anxiety was temporarily eased, and she was about to return to work when an unknown number called her. She wasn't inclined to answer it, but she considered the possibility that it might be one of her transferred patients needing urgent assistance. With that thought, she pressed the answer button. "Ivy, it's Kevin." The voice on the other end was that of Kevin, who sounded relieved. "Don't hang up, Ivy. I have something important to tell you." "What is it?" Ivy responded. "Ivy, I... I miss you." Ivy was exasperated to the point where she felt like rolling her eyes into the sky. For the first time in her calm and composed life, she found herself restlessly scratching her head in frustration. She had a multitude of profanities brewing inside, but in the end, she managed to hold them back. She shouted at him in anger, "Kevin, are you out of your mind?" "No, Ivy, don't hang up, I..." Ivy closed her eyes, recalling Lilith's misery and embarrassment. She sternly warned, "Kevin Alter, how do you manage to simultaneously express your desire for me while pursuing different marriage arrangements? You don't even spare my best friend. Is there no room for independence in your life? Do you realize what you look like now? You're like a puppet, obedient to your father's whims. If he tells you to die, would you do it willingly?" She scolded him harshly, but it was clear that Kevin wasn't focused on that. "Ivy, are you jealous?" His voice was filled with excitement, as if her scolding had boosted his confidence. He continued, "Ivy, I have my own plan. I've talked to my father, and he agreed. You see, how about you find a way to divorce Shawn? Meanwhile, I will accept my father's arrangement and marry Lilith. Once the group's financial crisis is resolved, I'll get a divorce. I believe that by then, no one can stop us." Ivy's response was to sigh deeply and toss her phone aside. For selfish people, every word spoken to them is a waste of time. She decided to hang up and promptly blocked his number. When Kevin called again, he realized he had been blocked.He threw his phone down in despair. It was then that his assistant came in and, seeing the scene, understood his boss's intentions. He advised, "Mr. Alter, pleasing Miss Jones can be achieved through a different approach. You need to make her feel grateful to you." Kevin perked up upon hearing his assistant's suggestion. "Tell me more." The assistant smiled faintly. "The news has been circulating about Miss Jones having conflicts with her family. It's been affecting her negatively and could impact her chances of being named the Rising Star of Tomorrow. If you take care of this situation, eliminate her troubles, I'm sure Miss Jones will be grateful to you." The assistant's suggestion struck a chord with Kevin, and he became enthusiastic. "I'll go and invite Jones' family out." As Kevin contemplated how to resolve Ivy's troubles, back at the County Clinic, Ivy wanted to avoid letting Kevin's actions affect her mood. She decided to head to the inpatient department. Passing through the outpatient area, she heard a commotion outside. Ivy glanced at Roland's office and knew he was meeting someone. So, she turned towards the entrance of the clinic. "Tanya, you have no shame!" Ivy saw Alyssa from a distance, holding a magazine and scolding someone. She furrowed her brow and hastened her steps. "Alyssa, what's going on?" Alyssa stopped and, upon seeing Ivy, complained with a pout, "Dr. Jones, they... they have no shame!" Ivy took a closer look at the magazine and realized that Tanya had recently been interviewed. She raised her eyebrows and scanned the interview. Now she understood why Alyssa was so upset. "Dr. Jones, Lily was clearly cured by you. Why are they taking credit for her treatment? They not only refused to help when Lily was seriously ill, but now they also shamelessly accepted an interview to claim they saved her!" "Hey, don't say that," Director Ticko Potts retorted, leading Zaya and Maya to stand by the entrance of the Potts Clinic. He presented a stern and righteous appearance. "Lily was clearly saved by us. Alyssa, don't make false accusations while Tanya isn't here. Moreover, if you say it was Dr. Jones who treated Lily, do you have any evidence?" Alyssa's frustration showed, "If it weren't for your bribery of Lily's parents, do you think you would be able to act so arrogantly here?!""Alyssa..." Ivy finally grasped the situation but could see that the other side had a point. She knew that continuing this argument would only make things worse. After comforting Alyssa, Ivy didn't waste time arguing further. She decided to leave for her office. "When you treated Lily, did you save the treatment plan on his insurance card?" "Yes, Dr. Jones," Alyssa replied, puzzled. "But what's the plan?" Ivy slowed down her pace and whispered to Alyssa, "When they release the treatment plan, we can share it, showing the inconsistencies between their claims and their actions." Alyssa's eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. "I understand, Dr. Jones. I'll do that!" On the other side, Shawn had just finished a morning meeting. His assistant reported the incident at the County Clinic, and his eyes showed a hint of malicious intent. He instructed, "Find a way to obtain Lily's medical records from his insurance card and release Tanya's treatment records to all the media outlets in the city that have dealings with DT Investments!" ***