A Graduation Gift

Cassandra eyed Clark with curiosity. A person came to her mind. It was Rufus.
Clark had his own secrets kept, and so did Rufus. How could she deal with these two men? Cassandra was at her wit's end.
"Get some rest. Your mother will be discharged after a few days. I'll arrange for someone to care for her."
Clark had calmed himself down and promptly changed the subject. His eyes relaxed and reverted back to his gentle self.
Cassandra stopped in thought for a few seconds and suggested in a questioning tone, "I'd like to send my mother back to the
Qin house. I'll find a good nurse on my own. The North District is far from downtown. The air there is way fresher."
She lowered her head when she said this, her eyelashes moving ever so slightly in an attempt to conceal her true intentions.
"Well, I say that would be inconvenient. You work nearby, right? If she stays here, you can keep her company after work. Isn't
that nice?"
Clark's expression remained unchanged. A subtle frown etched on the corners of his mouth, looking like he was only thinking of
Cassandra's situation.
"I'll visit her every week. Even better, my sister will be coming home in the coming holiday. She can stay with her at home. I can't
just ask my sister to live here with you. It's kinda awkward for you to stay under the same roof,"
Cassandra emphasized carefully. Ever since Rufus warned her, she had been worried that she wouldn't be able to get rid of
Clark. Now, she had the perfect opportunity since Cloris was scheduled to come back soon. She felt that the longer she stayed
here with Clark, the more difficult it would be to escape. She would be in the mire herself.
Cassandra had a horrible gut feeling. She couldn't just act boldly because Clark was a cautious man. He had even drugged her
secretly. So she wouldn't go ahead and risk her family's life just to irk him. The most important thing right now was to get her
mother out of this house.
"Why not? There are a ton of empty rooms in this house. Of course she can stay,"
Clark said with an easy smile and a gentle tone.
Then he continued, "If you think that it's inappropriate for me and your sister to stay under one roof, I can move out and just stay
at the hotel instead."

Clark had made an unrefusable offer. He just wouldn't let Cassandra go.
He took Cassandra's hesitation as a sign of her not wanting to trouble him by staying at the house any longer than necessary. So
he was trying to be considerate and compromise.
"Cassandra, I would never consider you and your mother a burden. The important thing right now is we take good care of your
mother and keep her in good condition. Right?"
Clark uttered the comforting words. However, in Cassandra's eyes, he had a hidden agenda. He wanted to keep her and her
family all in one house.
Cassandra was afraid that Clark would start asking more questions or even hurt her if she insisted on moving out. She would
burden her family even more if she got hurt. So she conceded for now.
Clark seemed like he was determined to imprison them. Before making any moves, she needed to figure out everything first.
The weather outside was getting colder by the day. The painting of red and orange leaves that accompanied autumn was
replaced by a painting of a stark white winter by Clark. Cassandra had given him that painting a while back.
In the painting, there was a figure wearing a vibrant red dress against the snowy terrain. The bright color created this interesting
contrast to the unfeeling tundra around it. 'Would I ever be able to escape this cold reality?' Cassandra thought.
Rufus observed Jill and Lionel who were visibly frustrated. They were about to break the door down amidst their anger.
"Open the damn door and let us in, Rufus!"
Jill screamed in frustration at the courtyard while stamping her foot down. How she wanted to break into the house!
Her eyes were bloodshot with rage. She wanted to tear Rufus from limb to limb whenever she remembered Horace's horrible
asthma attack because of him. She continued her hysterical screaming when Rufus appeared at the door.
"You call yourself a man, Rufus? If that's the case, then get the hell out of your damn house and face me! Why did you do that to
your own father?"
Lionel echoed in support of Jill. But when Rufus cast an icy glare at him, he immediately shut up.
Lionel knew he was no match for Rufus. He learned that the hard way when he was hit on the face several times. When it came
to leadership skills, Rufus was also ahead. Less than a month after Rufus left the company, the Tang Group was already on the

brink of collapse.
In addition, he claimed that Rufus had stolen the fifty million. Lionel was overwhelmed by a feeling of guilty when facing him.
Seeing Lionel cower in fear, Rufus's disdain only grew as he sneered at him.
He pressed the gate button and the huge iron-clad gate opened slowly. Jill rushed inside like a bullet.
Lionel reached out to try and stop her, but he was too slow. Jill was almost face-to-face with Rufus. Lionel got extremely anxious.
Rufus had angered Horace so much that it put him in the hospital. Lionel was afraid Rufus might do something that would hurt
his mother. So he ran towards them, eyebrows furrowed.
He didn't anticipate that Rufus would actually open the gate. His original plan was to just let Jill vent her frustrations at Rufus
from outside, then slowly persuade her to leave. Things just got a whole lot more complicated. What could he possibly do now?
Lionel complained deep inside but continued onwards. He followed Jill into the house and approached Rufus.
Jill stood toe-to-toe with Rufus, her chin raised high in defiance. She pointed a finger at Rufus's expressionless face. Her finger
was so close to his face that Lionel thought that it would actually hit Rufus in the eye.
"Rufus! Be a man for God's sake. You are a Tang no matter what. Even if you hate my guts, your father never hurt you! You had
no right to do what you did to him! He is old and frail, and you knew this! How could you turn a blind eye to his asthma? How
could you be so heartless?!"
Jill's nostrils flared at Rufus and she cursed with every possible word she could come up with.
"Heartless, you say? Pfft. Did you hear me complain when you kicked my pregnant mother out of the house twenty years ago?"
Rufus remained stone cold and replied Jill with a deadly calm in his words.
Jill was caught off-guard. The memory from twenty so years ago played right before her very eyes. She didn't know how to
respond.
"You've never admitted that I was a Tang. Why the hell would I consider myself one, now? Are you that stupid to come to my
home and criticize me? Why don't you use this time to be by his side? He may yet live longer before he draws his last breath with
you accompanying him,"

Rufus uttered with a calmness that was unnerving. He wasn't as emotional as Jill was, but what he said made a lot of sense. Jill
was hurt by his calculated response.
"You did such a terrible thing to your father. Karma will come for you sooner or later, Rufus!"
Jill cried with a shrill voice. Was it from anger or guilt? No one would ever know.
"So you believe in Karma? Then when you kicked my helpless mother out, and so she had to live a hopeless life, were you
aware that Karma would come for you as well?"
Rufus despised her greatly for what she did to his mother. How dared she talk about Karma to his face? What a joke! A
despicable woman would be on the side of justice and accuse him like that? Ridiculous!
"Hey, Rufus, you can't just stand idly by and watch the Tang Group go under! This company is Father's lifework!"
Seeing the two exchange venomous words, Lionel couldn't help but interject on the side of his mother.
"Well then. You want to save the group and you want me to do it? Then why did you claim that I've embezzled the fifty million? Is
that how you ask me to save the company?"
Rufus had never planned to bring up the issue, but it was Lionel who attacked him. He could only fight back.
"I admit...that wasn't the best course of action. But we didn't expect you to leave at such a critical time. I only took the position of
president temporarily!"
Lionel struggled to keep up. However, Rufus merely jeered, "Was I born to serve you?"
Rufus glared at him icily.
Jill and Lionel had planned to accost Rufus by coming here. But the tables had swiftly turned. Now both of them had run out of
ammunition.
Then Rufus glared at them, and threw his hands up in the air.
"Just leave if you've said your piece. This is my home, and not the house of the Tang. I won't let you in the next time you fiends
show up!"

After saying his words, he turned around swiftly, went into the house and shut the front door with a bang.
The sound made Jill and Lionel wince.
Jill's courage came flooding back the moment Rufus was gone. She then started to bang the door with her fists and continued to
taunt Rufus, "Rufus! You will be miserable after what you've done to your family! You cold-blooded monster! You'll never be the
son of the Tang family!"
Jill shouted frantically. She even kicked the gates out of rage.
Lionel hugged Jill from behind and whispered with a low voice, "Mother, let's leave. He won't help us."
Lionel was ashamed. He would rather leave as fast as possible than spend another second at this place.
He took her hand and dragged her out. Jill slowly followed, but kept cursing at Rufus. When they got out of the gate, Lionel saw
a familiar figure by the sidewalk.
He raised his head to get a clearer view. Both Lionel and Jill turned speechless when they recognized the face.
It was Cassandra. She was standing before them with a peaceful expression.