When Ivy Yarley learned that Jason Hough had been in an accident due to speeding and lost a massive amount of blood, she rushed to the hospital without hesitation and donated a full liter of blood for him.

His friends all urged her to go home and get some rest. Reluctantly, she agreed, but the moment she reached the exit, worry hung heavily in her heart, so she turned back.

That was when she saw the nurse dumping all five full bags of blood that had just been drawn from her into the trash can.

Before she could even process what was happening, a burst of laughter erupted from a nearby room.

"Hahaha! That idiot Ivy Yarley fell for it again!"

Ivy Yarley stood frozen, staring at the half-opened door. At one glance, she immediately spotted the man in the patient's gown among the group.

Jason Hough was lazily leaning against the head of the bed, playing with his phone. Someone was partially blocking his face, but Ivy still noticed his sharp nose bridge and deep-set brows.

He clearly did not look injured!

Ivy blinked. She thought that her overwhelming grief must have made her hallucinate.

"Guys, let me count. Which round of revenge is this now?"

"The first time, we lied that Jason lost the necklace that he was going to give her. She searched all night for it in the snow and ended up with a high fever and still refused to rest."

"The second time, we tricked her by saying that Jason was unconscious. She knelt and crawled up nine hundred ninety-nine steps just to get him a blessed cross, only for Jason to give the cross to a dog."

"The third time, we framed her for cheating and ruined her graduation. The way she desperately tried to prove her innocence… Honestly, it still cracks me up!"

"This time, we lied to her and made her give up five bags of blood. This must be the ninety-sixth lie? Three more lies, and our game of revenge is up. It hasn't been an easy journey. Jason must've sacrificed a lot all these years."

"Well, she brought it to herself. Who told her to be so blind back then to win over Felicity Shaw at the dance championship? Felicity cried the entire night. She's Jason's sweetheart. He wouldn't let anyone off the hook for making her cry.

"This was why he 'dated' Ivy in the first place–to exact revenge ninety-nine times. What a pity. Once all this is over, Jason is going to dump her. We won't be able to have any fun anymore."

…

A deafening buzz filled Ivy's ears, as if she had just been struck by lightning. Her heart felt as if it were being carved apart. She pressed a hand against her chest, bending over as she gasped for air, the pain nearly suffocating her.

She could not believe what she had just heard. She could not believe that Jason dated her just to take revenge!

He clearly knew how much she liked him.

Jason Hough–the most sought-after bachelor in King City. Outstanding grades, powerful family, devastatingly handsome. There was once a saying that any girl who had seen him would inevitably fall for him.

She, Ivy, was the girl he picked out of a million. She had thrown away her pride and pursued him for three years, yet he would not budge. That was, of course, until he agreed to be with her one random day.

Ivy thought that she was getting what she dreamed of. Little did she know that it was just a cruel game of revenge.

He did not agree to be with her because he always had someone else in his heart.

He only agreed to 'date' her because she won the dance championships over Felicity, which made her cry.

To exact revenge, he pretended to be with her and lied to her 99 times just to avenge Felicity.

Ivy's tears were free-falling. It felt as if something was stuck in her throat, and she could barely breathe.

She looked at the group inside the room, laughing raucously. Then, she looked at Jason's icy face.

She suddenly felt like the biggest joke of all.

She had given him her heart, only for him to ruthlessly step on it and throw it into the trash can. Her heart was dirt-cheap.

Right at that moment, the people in the room seemed to sense something and looked over at the door.

Ivy quickly turned and left. She walked as fast as she could, then broke into a run.

She did not know where she was going. All she knew was that she wanted to run away from this place. Away from Jason. Away from this absurd nightmare.

She ran until she could no longer run. Then, she bent over, and the floodgates of tears broke.

She covered her face and let out a muffled sob, pouring all of her grievances out.

How pathetic, she thought. She had been a fool all this time.

A long time later, her phone rang. She answered with trembling hands.

Her mother, Mary, said rather gently, "Ivy, your father and I are about to move abroad permanently. Are you sure you don't want to come with us?"

Not long ago, her parents had been transferred abroad for work. They had planned to relocate the entire family, but Ivy could not bear to part ways with Jason, so she had been putting it off. She even thought of staying in King City just for him.

At that moment, it all felt like a bitter joke.

"No." She wiped away her tears and took a deep breath. Her voice was hoarse yet determined. "Mom, Dad, I'm coming with you."

"That's great to hear, Ivy!" chirped Mary, happy. "We'll start the paperwork, then. Once it's finalized, there's no going back."

Ivy held her phone tightly. Her fingers trembled a little, but she replied firmly, "I won't regret this."

Mary was just about to hang up when she hesitated. "Oh, by the way... What about your boyfriend? Didn't you pursue him for years? You liked him so much."

'Boyfriend' The word felt like a knife stab right to Ivy's heart. The memory of the raucous laughter in the hospital ward flashed across her mind: Jason leaning back lazily against the bed, playing with his phone, the group of people openly mocking her.

The cruelty of his wasting three years of her life, all to avenge Felicity.

Her chest tightened as if someone was squeezing her heart. It hurt her so much she could barely catch her breath.

"I don't like him anymore," Ivy replied, hoarsely yet calmly. "I'm not hung up on him."

After hanging up, Ivy stood by the side of the road, letting the cold breeze tangle her hair.

She looked up at the grey skies and took a deep breath. Then, she headed back to her so-called home.

When she pushed the door open, a familiar scent rushed toward her. She stood by the door, staring at the living room she knew so well. Her thoughts drifted.

This was Jason's place. He gave her a set of keys after he accepted her confession and agreed to be with her.

That day, he leaned against the door and said casually, "Move in with me."

Back then, she was shy yet elated. She thought that it would be the start of their everlasting love. She even secretly fantasized about the day that they would get married, have a family, and spend the rest of their lives there.

At that moment, it only felt ironic.

Living together?

It probably made it easier for him to exact revenge. She wondered how much Jason must have liked Felicity that he would spend three years using her, living with her.

He even slept with her so many times, just to make her believe that he liked her.

For the next three days, Ivy did not visit Jason once at the hospital. She shut herself inside the apartment and began packing away everything that had to do with Jason.

She found the diary she had written when she had a secret crush on him. It was thick, every page filled with her private thoughts.

[I met him in the library again today, dressed in a white shirt. How dashing.]

[He spoke to me today. Even though he was just politely asking me to pass him something, it made my day.]

[He agreed to be with me. Is this a dream?]

Ivy flipped through the pages as tears fell silently. She threw the diary into the trash can as if trying to throw away the love she once held for him.

Next, it was the gifts she gave him: a necklace, a watch, then a coat… Every item carried her joy, her hope, her anticipation.

Finally, the photos she had secretly taken of him, including Jason giving a speech on stage or playing basketball. Every photo had once brought her immense joy and hope.

She threw everything into the trash bin as if bidding goodbye to her past self.

By the third evening, Ivy finally cleared the final item. She stood in the middle of the living room, looking around at the empty place. She felt some relief unexpectedly.

At that moment, Jason entered. He looked around at the empty place and furrowed his brows. "What did you throw away?"

Ivy looked up at him calmly and replied, "Nothing much. Just things I don't need anymore."

Jason went in closer and asked with a hint of displeasure, "I was seriously injured. Why didn't you come and see me?"

Ivy curled her lips faintly. She replied with an icy tone, "Well, you're discharged now, right? How could you return home so quickly if you're seriously injured?"

Jason was a little stunned. Then, he explained, "I heard you donated a lot of blood for me. I was worried, so I came home to check up on you."

He looked at her arm and softened his voice, which rarely happened. "Did it hurt?"

Ivy retracted her arm and said indifferently, "No, it doesn't."

Jason could sense her aloofness. He furrowed his brows tightly. "Did something happen? I was in the hospital for a few days, and you've suddenly changed."

Ivy smiled faintly. "Changed? In what way?"

Jason did not reply, but they both knew well. In the past, Ivy always had love for him in her eyes whenever she looked at him.

If he even caught a cold, she would panic and hover by his side every minute.

He had been hospitalized for three days, and she had not even called once.

His gaze lingered on her face, as if trying to read something from her expression. Then, he spoke, his voice low and gentle.

"Have you been tired lately? They're throwing me a welcome-back party. Why don't you come with me?"

Before Ivy even had the chance to refuse, Jason grabbed her by the hand and pulled her into the car.

They stopped in front of a luxury private club. Jason got out of the car and went over to her side to help her open the car door.

Ivy looked at him but said nothing, quietly getting out of the car.

The moment they entered the club, Ivy instantly spotted a familiar figure.

Felicity Shaw.

She was in a long white dress, her hair cascading down to her shoulders. A gentle smile curved her lips as she stood at the center of a small crowd, laughing lightly with friends.

Felicity was Jason's childhood sweetheart. Although they grew up together, they had not been much in contact for the past few years. This was why Ivy had never suspected that Jason liked Felicity.

When Felicity saw Jason and Ivy entering hand in hand, her eyes curled, almost amused. It seemed she also knew about the 99 rounds of revenge.

Ivy suddenly found it hard to breathe.

Jason also seemed to have noticed Felicity's presence. His hands stiffened a little, then he immediately let go of Ivy's hand.

He turned to Ivy and said softly, "I have to make a call. Go have fun. I'll be back."

Ivy stood in the same spot as she saw Jason leaving her. Her heart turned cold.

Before she could say anything, Felicity elegantly walked over, following Jason. They vanished into a different part of the club.

Ivy did not have the time to follow them to check up on what they were up to, because she was soon surrounded by a few of Jason's friends.

"Ivy, come and drink with us!" They grinned while shoving a glass toward her.

Ivy shook her head. "I can't drink."

"Oh, come on, don't be such a party-pooper! It's just one glass! Nothing will happen!" They pushed the drink into her hand and nudged her forward.

Ivy wanted to break free from the group when one of them shoved her harshly.

"Ah!" Ivy yelped. She lost her balance and fell straight into the pool next to her.

The icy water swallowed her instantly. She could not swim, so she thrashed around frantically, only for her to sink deeper.

Water rushed into her nose and mouth, choking and suffocating her. Her vision blurred as she slowly started to see black.

She fell into unconsciousness.

…

When she came around, she noticed she was in her room. Her head was heavy, and her entire body was burning as if it were on fire.

She groggily opened her eyes and saw Jason sitting by the side of the bed with a glass of water and a few pills.

"You're having a fever. Take some medicine," Jason said with concern.

Ivy groggily accepted the pills and gulped them down with water. She thought nothing much of it. Her throat was extremely parched. She seemed to have been sucked of all her energy.

She closed her eyes, trying to go back to sleep, but her body got even hotter, as if something was burning inside her.

A while later, she opened her eyes with difficulty only to see that Jason was no longer in the room.

She forced herself to sit up and touched her forehead. It was burning badly. She knew she could no longer drag it out. She had to head to the hospital.

Dragging her heavy body, she finally arrived at the hospital. The doctor put her on drips only then did her fever begin to subside.

After doing a thorough checkup, the doctor said to Ivy with furrowed brows, "You're lucky you came here in time. If you were to delay coming here any longer, this could have turned into pneumonia."

Ivy leaned against the head of the bed weakly. She hoarsely asked, "Doctor, I did take some medicine, but why did it get worse?"

The doctor was stunned. He asked, "What medicine did you take?"

Ivy took a small pill bottle from her pocket and handed it to him. "Some anti-inflammatory. My boyfriend gave it to me."

The doctor accepted the bottle, popped it open to have a look. He suddenly said sternly, "This isn't anti-inflammatory at all. The bottle might be labeled that way, but inside is just sugar tablets. They have no medicinal effect at all. In fact, they could've delayed your treatment."

Ivy's heart dropped. Her fingers trembled a little.

Suddenly, her phone vibrated violently. With difficulty, she lifted her phone up to have a look at the flood of messages.

It was sent by Jason's friends in a chat group.

[Hahaha! The 97th round of revenge is a success!]

[Whoever came up with this plan is a genius! We first 'accidentally' shove her into the pool, then Jason would swap her medicine. I'm guessing she must be suffering like hell right now.]

Someone soon anxiously replied, [Damn it! You sent it to the wrong group! Ivy is in this group!]