A Graduation Gift

The muscles on Rufus's face tightened. His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides.
"Their happiness would bring me pain, and their pain would be my happiness."
His face remained closed off and distant, the coldness of his eyes unchanging. Cassandra could tell from the firm lines of his
face that he was restraining himself and fighting against his own anger.
She was at a loss with his stubbornness.
"Are you really going to stay as an outsider and just watch your family fall down?"
Cassandra pressed again.
"This is my business, Cassandra, and the decision will be mine. Have you forgotten what they did to you?"
Rufus's eyes closed in on her as he continued.
The people she was calling as his family had treated her with nothing but disrespect. Why was she standing up for them now?
Had she forgotten? If so, he would remind her of everything now. His eyes glinted with cruelty as he spoke, "Let us recount, shall
we? First, there is Jill. Form the moment you stepped inside the house, she had insulted you, from head to toe, and over and
over again. Then there's Horace. During the time when you almost lost the company your family worked hard to build, he
sneaked in and tried to buy it behind your back instead of helping you. And of course, let's not forget Lionel. From the beginning,
your marriage had been a farce. But he just had to take things further and got another woman pregnant. His lover even moved in
the Tang house. Have you forgotten that embarrassment? How can you be telling me all this?"
Rufus did not bother masking his words. He knew he was rehashing old pains and reopening past wounds, but if that was what it
took for Cassandra to see sense, he would go that far.
Cassandra took deep breaths to calm herself down. She knew he was intentionally wounding her, coaxing her to agree with him.
It would be all too easy to give in and lash out in anger, but she knew that was not what either of them needed. "No, I haven't,"
she began. "I haven't forgotten any of that. But I know that holding on to my anger will do me no good. It would be so easy to
choose revenge, but seeing them suffer will not give me the peace that I am looking for. It would just torment me further, just as
how it is eating at you now." She stepped closer to him, holding his gaze steadily. "Listen to me, Rufus. It is easier to be angry,
but the right thing to do is to forgive. I'm sure that when things have worked out, you will understand that family is the most
important thing in your life. You're angry, but more than that, you are hurting. And we both know that punishing them would not
give you happiness. Don't let this become a regret."

Cassandra tried her utmost to convince him, but Rufus would have none of it. His gaze was icy as he answered her, "I have
already made my decision a long time ago, Cassandra. Nothing you say can persuade me. Stop wasting both of our time."
He walked to the window and looked outside before continuing, "I'll make arrangement for you soon. Just stay patient and wait
for me."
With that, he jumped out of the window and disappeared into the darkness of the night.
Once he was back in his room, he sent Victor a message, instructing him to switch the camera to the original one Clark installed.
Rufus knew that Clark had installed cameras near the house. With the help of a hacker, he got inside the system and now had
the whole thing under his control.
All that was left to do now was watch as Tang Group bit the dust. When there was nothing left, he would leave this place
peacefully, finally claiming his long-sought-for vengeance.
Cassandra watched the darkness that mirrored her heavy heart. How could she make Rufus understand and let go of his anger?
She had tried all she could earlier, but it seemed that her words fell on deaf ears.
The roots of hatred had already dug deep into his heart. It would not be easy for him to disentangle himself from it.
The image of the Tang family members flashed before her eyes. She could almost hear Lionel's pleading.
A grave feeling of anxiousness rose inside her. The Tang family would inevitably collapse if Rufus didn't help them.
Cassandra had seen with her own eyes his goodness. He was just being blinded by hatred.
It was at this moment that she made her decision. She would convince him no matter what.
After her classes were over for the day, Cloris decided to go back to her dormitory. As she was walking back, her books in her
arms, she spotted a familiar figure come into view.
Her heartbeat accelerated as she started to recognize the figure.
A man was standing under the big tree outside the dormitory, his back to her. As if sensing her eyes, he turned around slowly.
Her breath caught in her throat as their eyes met. The warmth in his smile could melt even the frost of winter.

"Hi, Cloris. I've been waiting for you," he uttered.
They were simple words. Cloris didn't hear him clearly because she was still very far away from him, but she understood the
words as she read his lips.
Were her eyes playing tricks on her? Cloris could hardly believe her eyes as she made her way to him, all the while keeping her
eyes on him, as if he would vanish the moment she took her eyes away from him. Earlier that year when she went back to G
City, he turned her away mercilessly. Her wounds from that time had not yet healed. She had become quiet and withdrawn for a
long time after, nursing her pain. She forced herself to turn to distractions and blatantly avoided anything that would remind her
of him. And yet here was the man, standing in front of her in flesh.
Her heart was pounding in her chest when she finally reached him. She was a little out of breath from hurrying. Raising her head,
she looked at him, her eyes betraying her feelings.
"Why are you here?"
She tried her best to ask in a calm voice. She didn't want him to hear her shivering from anticipation. Her hands, however, were
white-knuckled from the too-tight grip with which she held her books.
Arthur took one glance at Cloris and knew immediately how she was feeling, despite her best efforts to conceal her emotions.
'How naive. You'll never escape me, Cloris, ' he thought wickedly.
"I'm here on business. I know you are studying in this university, so I thought I would stop by."
He gave her a gentle smile and reached out to remove a leaf on her hair.
Cloris almost shivered at his slight touch.
She watched his fingers let go of the gingko leaf.
"When will you go back?"
she asked expectantly. This time, she could not control the tremors in her voice.
"Isn't your vacation almost here?"

he asked back, not answering her directly. His voice was soft as he spoke, and his eyes were looking at her as if she was the
most precious jewel in the world.
Cloris could hardly believe her ears. Did he mean that he would go back with her?
Her eyelashes fluttered like the wings of a butterfly, readying itself for flight. Gathering her courage, Cloris asked, "Are... Are you
waiting for me so we can go back together?"
She stumbled over her own words, her eyes both questioning and expectant as she looked at him.
Arthur reached out a hand and laid it gently on her shoulder.
"I shouldn't have broken up with you. It's all my fault." The hand on Cloris's shoulder pressed lightly, as if to show the truth in his
words.
"My company was a mess at that time, and so was I. That was why I thought it would be better to let you go. Things are different
now. The Dawn Star Group is the best and most powerful firm in G City now, but even that means nothing if you're not with me,"
he paused for a moment and took Cloris's hand in his. "Will you accept me one more time?"
Cloris was drowning in Arthur's honeyed words, but she felt herself hesitating.
"Really?" she asked, as she regarded him with guarded eyes.
"I promise. I will never lie to you."
Arthur lifted a hand to stroke her cheek. Cloris remained wary, and he continued, "After we go back, I'll visit your mother to tell
her personally that we are dating."
Arthur knew how these words would affect her. Innocent girls such as Cloris would definitely be thrilled by this kind of promise. It
was what every woman wanted to hear, the ultimate gesture that would prove one's pure motives.
"Arthur..."
Cloris was touched, her voice turning sweet.
Arthur wrapped his arms around her, his eyes turning wicked as he held her head against his chest.

"I'm sorry Cloris. It was all my fault. But don't worry, I won't hurt you again."
He stroked her head as he whispered soft promises to her ears. He almost let out a laugh at Cloris's naivety. She was eating up
his lies.
Cloris closed her eyes as she listened to him. This was the happiest moment of her life. The man she loved came back and
declared his love for her. She held on to his every word, all her doubts dissipating.
They held each other for a long time. Passersby looked at them smilingly. They were the perfect picture of lovers.
None of them saw through the facade and uncovered the cruel glint in the man's eyes.
For the next few days, Cloris was beyond elated. Arthur would wait for her to finish her classes in the afternoons. They went out,
had meals together, and explored every corner of the city.
Cloris trusted Arthur more and more with each passing day. He was treating her so kindly, and there was nothing more she
wanted than for those days to continue.
Recently, a piece of gossip was spreading all over G City.
Rumor had it that Rufus was not Horace's son who was sent abroad when he was a child. In truth, he was nothing more than a
bastard.
Horace was an ambitious man who had nothing to his name. When opportunity presented itself, he left his pregnant lover and
married Jill because of her rich family background in order to take over the business. He was a heartless, selfish man and would
stop at nothing to have what he wanted. Now, it seemed that he was finally being punished. He lay on a hospital bed, wasting
away day by day, but he lived, long enough to be watching his company crumble before his very eyes. He was on the way to
lose everything, and there was nothing he could do.
Even their allies and partners had turned away from them. There was no one who would want to offer a hand to them in such a
seemingly hopeless gamble.
In the Union, some people were already taking steps to dismiss them from the position of Director. Nobody believed that the
Tang family still had any ability to lead.
The Zhuang family, on the other hand, were receiving endless commendation. Instead of kicking the Tang family at their lowest,
Arthur went abroad on a holiday. It was a well-favored step, and everyone believed that he was being kind to the Tang family

when it was approaching its end.
But the Tang family needed no help for its ruin. With serious problems here and there and being neck-deep in debt, there was
simply no way for them to survive.