A Graduation Gift

All eyes were on Cloris, examining her.
Everyone was surprised to learn she was Cassandra's sister.
"Are you Cassandra's sister? Is she really the daughter-in-law of the Tang family? How come none of us knew it?"
The round-faced man impatiently blurted out the questions without thinking twice.
Cloris was shocked. She had never expected that Arthur would expose her. But she could not show her anger. She just smiled.
Everyone in the field knew the news about Vernon. He got the project by bribing the government officials and did a shoddy job
afterwards. A John Doe exposed this affair on the Internet. Since then, he, along with the project was shamed and derided to no
end.
People knew that Vernon had a daughter. But no one was aware that Cassandra was another daughter of his. What was more,
Vernon's daughter had married the son of the Tangs!
"Hey! You scared her. Cassandra and she are different. Don't say bad things to her!"
Arthur reached out and wrapped his arm around Cloris in an intimate manner as if he was protecting her.
Cloris felt warm in her heart by Arthur's act, completely forgetting that it was Arthur who had first brought up this awkward topic.
"Yes. Cassandra Qin is my sister and the daughter-in-law of the Tangs. There is nothing to hide. She just prefers to stay low-
profile. That's all,"
Cloris said, trying to get away from their questioning looks.
The crowd exchanged looks and moved on to talk about other topics. However, many thoughts were surging in their minds.
Arthur realized that everyone was lost in their thoughts. So he suddenly announced that he had urgent work and suggested
calling it a day. After everyone left, he went out with Cloris to his car and drove her back home.
In the car on the way back, he frowned and explained to her, "I just wanted to introduce you to my friends. I didn't expect that
they would talk about your sister."
He sounded quite sincere to Cloris.

"Oh...Never mind..."
Cloris was hurt and felt bitter although she herself had no idea why.
Cassandra being highly praised made her unhappy.
She had been the apple of her parents' eye all the time. Her parents cherished her so much that they would fulfill all her wishes.
She was the most precious person in the Qin family.
Besides, she was pretty and honey-lipped. Vernon liked and treasured her far more than Cassandra.
But, it was Cassandra who married Lionel. Rufus also seemed to have special feelings for her. Now, even Arthur's friends were
speaking highly of her. Cloris was burning with jealousy.
"I gave you the contact information of my friend abroad. Did you reach out to him yet? He is a teaching assistant in that university
now. He can help you a lot if you want to go there."
Arthur switched to another topic, smiling.
"Thank you, Arthur. It's so nice of you to help me to apply for the scholarship and arrange everything for my studying abroad. I
really have no idea what I could do to repay you,"
Cloris thanked him sincerely. She was touched by all the things he had done for her.
Her family had no money and her plan to study abroad was a dream without Arthur's help.
Arthur pulled over to the side and stopped the car. He turned around and looked at Cloris with a deep, caring look.
"Cloris, don't thank me. I'm more than happy to help you. You need not worry about repaying me. I only want you to do well,"
Arthur said, stroking her hair.
Cloris's hair was lush and silky. He could detect a flowery smell.
"I know what happened to your father, Cloris. You don't need to hide it from me. That doesn't change anything between you and
me,"
he said gently, comforting her.

It was a cold night. There was not a soul on the street. Cloris looked at Arthur with loving eyes. Her thick and long lashes blinked.
"Arthur... I..."
Before she could finish, Arthur put a finger over her lips and whispered in her ear, "No more words."
He was skillful in seducing women. With Cloris, he used friendly words and helping hands as her family was in financial
difficulties. As he had expected, it was working.
He traced her lips with his finger, and then his hands started caressing her body, pulling her closer.
Cloris was a pretty woman. When she was in college, there were many boys who pursued her.
But she turned down all of them. She wanted a brave man who she could lean on no matter what, a man who was a god on his
own right.
Once, she had hoped that Rufus was her Mr. Right. But gradually, she found out that Rufus did not have feelings for her at all.
Instead, he was interested in Cassandra, who was already the wife of another man.
Cloris was heartbroken. She thought she would never love another man again. But Arthur's touch felt so loving and caring.
"Arthur..."
Her heart was racing and her face turned red like an apple that was waiting to be bitten by Arthur.
Cloris closed her eyes to enjoy his kiss. She missed the cunning smile on his face.
"The design of the nursing home has already been submitted. There won't be any problems. I think. Mr. Tong was quite satisfied
with it,"
Cassandra was reporting progress to Rufus. Her hatchet face had a relieved look.
She had too many things to take care of. The designing alone costed her several nights to complete. Fortunately, she met the
deadline and delivered the draft on time.
"We're starting the reconstruction of the amusement park. Get ready for that, please. I'll allow the design department to take a
few days' leave at the end of this month so that you and your men can take a rest."

Rufus went through the designs and looked satisfied.
Cassandra wished to speak but stopped on second thoughts.
"What did you want to say? Tell me. We are by ourselves here,"
Rufus said in a gentle tone, seeing that Cassandra was hesitant.
Why was she hesitating to speak? He wasn't going to eat her, was he?
"Well. Stella found a piece of design in the archives room. It was similar to mine, but it wasn't designed by me. I compared the
handwriting with all the other people who work with me. But it did not belong to anyone within the department,"
Cassandra said, frowning. She could not be more frustrated. She had made such a thorough investigation but the suspect was
nowhere to be seen.
Rufus raised his eyebrows. He knew about this but he did not say anything.
Cassandra continued, "I'd like to have your approval so that I can check the handwriting of all the other employees in the
company!"
She sighed in relief after she spoke out.
Her investigation was done privately, after all. Suspecting her colleagues made her feel guilty and sad. But she wanted to check
all the employees and find the culprit.
"That's not a problem. I'll approve it. But, have you thought about other possibilities?"
Rufus blinked his eyes. He was as cool and peaceful as always.
"What other possibilities?"
Cassandra questioned. She had no idea what Rufus was referring to.
"The staff turnover rate was high in the last six months. Perhaps, the company still has some people's handwritten papers even
though they have already left. Try to see the whole thing from another angle."
Rufus looked at her as he finished speaking.

Cassandra began to think carefully, frowning her eyebrows. What did he mean?
High turnover rate? Already left? The original manager of the design department and several other managers had left the
company. The staff changed frequently. In her design department...
A faint smile appeared on Rufus's mouth when he saw Cassandra reasoning.
He wanted to lead her to the truth, but he did not want to simply tell her everything.
At first, he had planned to gather evidence for her. But when she told him that she was secretly looking into it by comparing the
handwritings, he suddenly changed his mind. If she found out the person by herself, she would feel much more accomplished as
opposed to Rufus helping her.
Actually, waiting for her to trace the suspect was troublesome for Rufus and he could just directly tell her. Other women might
like his direct style, but not Cassandra. She was different. So Rufus waited.
She had her pride, her honor and things she wanted to protect. As for him, he was willing to protect her secretly.
He wanted to do everything for her without expecting any favor in return. She was his dream.