A Graduation Gift

"Mr. Luo should be at the construction site. It's the theatre construction project in the tourist area."
Victor saw no reason to hide the whereabouts of his boss to Cassandra.
"Thank you, Victor!"
After hanging up the phone, Cassandra went straight to where Rufus was supposed to be, without thinking twice. The eagerness
to divulge was overwhelming and she felt like she could not make through another minute without telling Rufus that she was
pregnant.
Meanwhile, Rufus confirmed it with multiple reliable sources that it was Charlie who had invested money in the Qin Group. He
also came to learn that Charlie had spoken to Cassandra earlier. It was only recently that Charlie provided her with substantial
financial support, helping her repay the bank loan and securing her a larger amount of another loan. All of this made Rufus
uneasy all day.
The more he thought about, the less well it sat with him. Motivated by concern, he couldn't help calling Cassandra's phone.
However, fearing that what he had guessed all along could be true, in the end, he cut the call as he didn't feel like talking to her
about this matter anymore.
At noon, there was no sunshine, only a wan and ashen light that suffused the sky. ?Amanda gracefully pushed open?the door of
the office and glanced within. With a distinctive blend of airy nonchalance, she stepped in with a box of home-made lunch, as if
she had forgotten about everything that had happened between them last night.
"Rufus, I made salmon sushi today. Quick, have a taste!"
With a happy smile on her lips, she completely disregarded his cold face and started setting the plates in front of him one by one.
"Amanda, please stop this. You don't need to bring me lunch in the future."
Frustrated, Rufus shook his head, about to say something when she stretched out her dainty finger and pressed it on his lips.
"Rufus, I'm not like Cassandra. I won't leave you just because you can't see how much I care about you. Nothing can stop me
from feeling the way I do about you, not even lures from the outside world. Even if you don't love me now, I think that one day I
will win your heart with my persistence."

With a piteous expression on her face, she bit her lower lip, digging her sharp canine into the soft skin and piercing it all the
harder until it went blue.
Finding it difficult to deal with her, Rufus sighed in resignation. Knowing Amanda well enough, he realized the easiest way to get
rid of her was to play along and let her do whatever she wanted to do. Glancing down at the plate, he picked up a sushi with his
chopsticks before reluctantly lifting the food to his mouth.
"Amanda, what did you mean when you said lures from the outside world?"
Rufus, sharp as ever, seemed to have caught on to something behind her words. In an instant, he put down the sushi and
scanned every inch of her face with his sharp eyes.
Meeting his eyes, Amanda seemed to be taken aback by his sudden mood change and shifted in the leather seat uncomfortably.
"No... I didn't mean it like that..."
Her eyes scrambled around the room, trying to run away from his gaze.
"Amanda, look at me!"
He raised his voice, sending forth a terrifying aura all over his body.
"Amanda, be honest with me. Did your father mention any additional conditions with Cassandra when he presented his proposal
to invest in the Qin Group?"
Upon uttering these words, his eyes darkened, as if the glimmer of light that used to inhabit them had faded irredeemably.
"Ah, I... I don't know anything about that."
Amanda actually had no idea that her father had spoken to Cassandra. In fact, this was the first time she had heard of it. Later
she was lost in deep contemplation, 'Cassandra must have told Rufus that I called her and cursed at her yesterday. That's
probably why he wants to talk to me about it. What a spineless bitch! But then why would Rufus ask me about my father? I feel
like something's not right here. Could it be something else then?'
"Don't lie to me anymore, Amanda."
He squinted slightly, carefully observing the subtle changes of expression on her face.

"I really don't know anything about that, Rufus. Why do you always blame me for your suspicions. That's not fair to me!"
Amanda's eyes glimmered with watery light, wondering why he had such a bad impression about her.
"You don't have to push her. She doesn't know anything about it. It was I who did it."
An unexpected voice, hard and metallic, interrupted their conversation from outside the door. Suddenly, Charlie pushed the door
open and walked in.
"Rufus, it was I who spoke to Cassandra. I will invest in Qin Group and I have willingly agreed to whatever she asks, just as long
as she stays away from you. Now, you know what kind of person she is."
Looking at Rufus with a serious expression, Charlie stretched out his hands to pull his daughter to his side.
"In order to keep the Qin Group running, she signed a contract with me behind your back. You trusted her so blindly, but she
didn't think it important to tell you about it, did she? And yet, here you are blaming my daughter for something she hasn't done at
all. Rufus, are you so immersed in your love for Cassandra that you've lost the ability to think straight?"
Charlie's voice gave out on the final syllable, his distressed croak fading abruptly into an almost inaudible squeak.
"No, Cassandra is not like that."
Although he had already guessed something similar, Rufus still couldn't hide the shock on his face by what Charlie had told him.
"Cassandra doesn't know that you are the President of the TY Group. Under such pretenses, I told her that you might not be
eligible to inherit the Tang Group in the future. After coming to learn of this matter, I feel as though she began to question her
determination to be with you. If she had known the truth about your financial capabilities, I wouldn't have been able to use this
tactic anymore. See, Rufus, there is nothing but money in that woman's eyes! You should just forget about her," Charlie said
firmly.
Charlie's words shattered every bit of Rufus's expectations of Cassandra in his mind.