A Graduation Gift

After Cassandra left his office, Rufus called Victor through the company phone.
"Victor, collect handwriting samples of all our employees and send the files to Manager Qin. Remember, Joel's handwriting is to
be placed at an easily noticeable place,"
Rufus instructed.
"Yes, Mr. Luo. I'll do it now," Victor replied.
Just as he was on his way to the archives room, he came across Stella who was scuttling her way as fast as her high-heels
could take her.
With a worried look, she said hurriedly, "Victor! Is Mr. Luo here?"
She gasped for air as she spoke. Clearly she had dashed her way here.
"Yes... In his office..." Victor stuttered.
He was originally excited that Stella called his name, but as it turned out, she was only looking for Rufus. Immediately, she got
the answer and quickly walked away. She did not even stay to hear the last three words.
Embarrassed, Victor rubbed the back of his head. He actually planned to smile at Stella but did not manage to go through with it.
'Oh well. Next time, I have to remember to smile first, ' he told himself.
Stella instantly knocked on the door the moment she arrived at the CEO's office. Before anyone answered, she took the time to
catch her breath after her exhausting travel. By the time Rufus asked her to come in, a courteous smile was plastered on her
face.
"Mr. Luo, I just received an invitation from a magazine. They requested to have an interview with Manager Qin. Now she is out of
the office and her role is suspended, so I have come to to ask you what we are going to do with this invitation," Stella inquired.
She worked hard to keep her composure, and her heart trembled with excitement.
The thought that a world-renowned magazine wanted to interview Cassandra was a very thrilling prospect!

As Cassandra's closest friend, Stella was overjoyed when she received the invite on Cassandra's behalf. She almost accepted it
for her, but it was not her place. So, she had to give them her prescribed spiel that she would relay their invite to management
and Cassandra, and get back to them shortly. After hanging up, she immediately did her best to sprint towards Rufus's office.
"A magazine interview? Is it because she won in the architectural design competition in the US?" Rufus inquired.
As a stark contrast to Stella's exhilaration, Rufus seemed calm and still. His face gave away no emotion.
"Yes. They told me that they think Manager Qin is a designer with huge potential. That's the reason they want to interview her. In
my opinion, this is a great opportunity for Manager Qin and additional publicity for the Tang Group as well," Stella shared.
She had no idea what Rufus was thinking at that moment, but she could not help expressing her thoughts in hopes of convincing
Rufus to approve.
"Tonight, there is going to be a concert at the theater of G City. You will go there with Victor. I have ordered the tickets for you
two,"
Rufus said after thinking for a few seconds, seemingly ignoring her initial concern.
"What? Concert?"
Stella was confused. What was wrong with her boss? Why would he suddenly make her and Victor go to the concert together?
Did she hear him right?
Moreover, why would she want to go to a concert with such an awkward person? She found him clumsy and boring. How would
she have fun at a concert with a guy like him?
"Yes, it starts at half past eight. Get yourself prepared," Rufus confirmed.
He always gave instructions so sternly that there was no room for any negotiation. Stella did not even dare to argue.
"And about the interview..."
Despite Rufus's change of topic, Stella was determined to get an answer.
"I will talk to the representative of the magazine tonight. Don't worry about that anymore," Rufus asserted.
With that, he closed the discussion and signaled her to leave.

Unsatisfied with the way the conversation ended, Stella secretly stuck her tongue out at him when he looked down at his papers.
She realized that Rufus was not about to continue their discussion so she asked for his permission to leave.
"I will go back to work now, Mr. Luo," she said.
Even after she left the office, she was dumbfounded. 'What happened? Mr. Luo was so weird. He completely ignored everything I
said and just changed the topic into going to a concert with Victor. Where did that come from? I don't get it, ' she wondered.
'Hmm, wait. He also said that he would talk to the people from the magazine tonight. Who is he going to talk to? I didn't even
give him the contact. Does he know who the manager of the magazine is?'
She continued to jump from one train of thought to another. Just as quickly as she was pondering over how would Rufus contact
the representatives of the magazine, she started wondering again why she had to go to a concert with Victor and how boring it
would be. 'Shall I drink some coffee beforehand to keep me awake? What if I fall asleep?
Do I need to wear nicer clothes or can I go there in my business suit?
This is so frustrating! I'm so frustrated!' She scratched her head as she tried to come up with answers.
As questions filled Stella's head, her close friend, Cassandra, wore a solemn look. In front of her were the work reflections of all
the employees sent by Victor. Everyone was tasked to write a 500-word essay which was enough to identify and match their
handwriting.
Taking a deep breath, she opened the file and started with the first page.
First, no; second, no; third, not even close; fourth one...
Suddenly, her eyes widened with realization.
The handwriting on the fourth paper was exactly the same as the one on the design draft she got from Stella!
Her gaze moved steadily up and to the section on personal particulars. Clearly written at the top of the page was—Joel.
Instantly, the face of the man that had disappeared from her life surfaced in her brain. His youthful features were prominent and
he looked friendly and easy-going. He did not look suspicious at first glance, but it was he who drugged her coffee and almost
ruined her life trying to get her kicked out of the Tang family.

Her hand trembled as she held the piece of paper. Joel had been gone for a long time. She thought that she was finally free of
him. Still, he kept haunting her! Apart from drugging her, he stole her sketches, too!
'He watched me, and carefully observed my actions. He even knew where I put my design draft, ' she thought. Imagining how he
possibly stalked her sent shivers down Cassandra's spine.
Now, Joel was gone missing. The first time he crossed them, she and Rufus decided to let it pass, thinking that he was never to
be seen again. Instead, he came back wreaking havoc. She was almost wrongly accused of fraud because of him.
"Cassandra, help me. I don't even know what to wear for the concert tonight."
A familiar voice pulled Cassandra out of her musings. Stella came in frustrated and was surprised to see Cassandra distracted. It
was a rare occurrence.
"Cassandra? What happened to you? You don't look good. Are you feeling unwell?" Stella asked worriedly.
Then, she reached out her hand to feel Cassandra's forehead. She knew that her friend had been hospitalized several times
because of fever, so she suspected that she had fallen sick again because of the excessive workload.
However, what she felt was chilling sweat. This was very unusual.
"Stella, look at this,"
Cassandra said flatly. Trying to keep her hand from trembling, she handed the sketch that Stella had given her, and the work
reflection of Joel for her friend to see the resemblance.
It took her no time to understand what had happened. Grimly, she exclaimed, "It was Joel! They look exactly the same! Look, the
ways the digits are written are the same!"
she said as she pointed at the date at the bottom right corner of the work reflection. The writing style completely matched the
one on the sketch.
Cassandra closed her eyes and took a deep breath. By the time she opened them again, she was ready to move with resolve
and tenacity.
"Stella, I want to call the police!" she stated.

This was a tough decision to make but she was determined to do it despite the risk of exposing the other thing that Joel had
done to her.
However, her integrity and career as an architect was on the line. She would never let anything put her career at risk. Her
reputation was very important.
Cassandra was persistent and hard-working. She was willing to go to all lengths to achieve her dreams. But Joel almost single-
handedly ruined it. She was not going down without a fight. This time, she would not allow him to escape.
Stella immediately showed her support for her friend.
"Yes! We must report this to the police! Let's catch this thief! Let's report this to Mr. Luo now!" she exclaimed with urgency.
Her face was full of anger. Being a girl who didn't always take her time to think things through, she pulled Cassandra's hand and
led her to Rufus's office.
"Manager... Manager Mu, Mr. Luo asked me to take you to Michelle Ling's studio to pick up your dress," Victor stuttered.
He was about to knock when Stella suddenly opened the door. He put down his hand and looked at her bashfully.
"What? Dress? Do I really have to wear a dress?"
Stella asked, hesitating. Now she was in a dilemma with Rufus's order on one side and her close friend's issue on the other.
Which one should she choose?
"Stella, it's okay if you're busy. I can go talk to Mr. Luo myself,"
Cassandra offered, after she realized her friend's predicament. It was best for her to handle the issue herself. She was well
aware of Rufus's temperament.
Stella agreed then left with Victor. Unable to expel her worries away, she kept turning back to look at Cassandra. The moment
that Stella disappeared in her sight, Cassandra calmed herself and started to walk to Rufus's office.
When she was at the door of his office, she raised a fist ready to knock but was stopped by the sound of Rufus talking loudly.
Intrigued, she pressed her ear against the door to listen in.
"I have given the concert tickets to Victor. I asked him to go to the concert with someone else. I won't go!" the man shouted.

As usual, he allowed no room for negotiations when he expressed his desires.
"I told you! I won't go! The magazine interview is also her idea, right? Tell her that I will not give her another chance to hurt me!"
he exclaimed.