A Graduation Gift

Waiting at Lyndsy's bedside, Cassandra dozed off at times but was woken up by the nurse who came and checked on the
patient from time to time.
It was dawn when Lyndsy finally opened her eyes the following day.
With misty eyes, Cassandra jumped up and leaned toward her.
"Lyndsy, how are you feeling?"
she asked with concern.
"It feels like I just had a long, long dream,"
Lyndsy murmured as her eyelids fluttered heavily.
Cassandra, trying to fight back her welling tears, started to tell her friend reassuringly, "It is okay, Lyndsy, you will be fine as long
as you wake up now."
She then pressed the call bell at the bedside, and a doctor and a nurse arrived.
After checking on Lyndsy, the doctor let out a sigh of relief. He seemed pleased with what happened.
"She has gotten past the critical period. She will now slowly recover,"
The doctor's words made Cassandra breathe freely again. At that moment, Lyndsy reached out and touched the side of her face
that was still covered with gauze.
"What is wrong with my face?"
Lyndsy uttered. Her eyes were full of horror.
"It is okay, Lyndsy, you will recover eventually,"
Cassandra immediately reassured her as she hastily took her friend's hand away for fear that she might touch her wound.
"Cassandra, what is wrong with my face? Tell me!"

Lynsy demanded. She was a movie star! Her face was her livelihood. She could not go on with her profession if her face were
disfigured.
Lyndsy clutched Cassandra's hand, scanning her eyes for information.
"Nothing, Lyndsy. Don't be worried. Your cheeks just got scratched when you fell down. It will recover soon, don't worry,"
Cassandra replied, trying to quell her anxiety.
Now, the ward door opened and Lyndsy's parents came rushing in.
"My daughter!"
Lyndsy's mother rushed to her bed and grabbed her hand. Tears began to flood down her cheeks.
Cassandra got up and turned to leave the ward to give them time alone.
This was their moment. It belonged to Lyndsy and her parents. Besides, Cassandra had to get to work and do some digging
about the accident.
Outside the ward, she saw an ever familiar figure with her bloodshot and weary eyes. Rufus was sitting on the bench near the
door.
His eyes were closed and he was leaning on the back of the chair. He seemed to have fallen asleep. In the shabby hospital, his
tailored, expensive suit just seemed so out of place.
She walked quietly to Rufus and watched him sleep.
At this state, his usually stern expression was softer.
As if sensing that there was someone watching him, Rufus's eyes shot open and immediately fell on Cassandra's.
Like two strong magnetic poles, their eyes locked and did not seem to want to move away from each other.
"How is Lyndsy?"
He asked in a hoarse voice. He had stayed outside the ward for a whole night.
It pained her to see him in this way.

His suit, which he always kept neat, happened to have wrinkles on the hem. This was probably because he spent the night
sitting on the bench. He looked so haggard.
She suddenly felt an overwhelming amount of gratitude. In a gentle voice, she answered, "She is awake. Her parents are with
her now."
Biting her lower lip, Cassandra hesitated but continued, "You haven't had breakfast, have you? Come, let's get something to eat,"
she said, mustering her courage. She could tell that Rufus was surprised. He seemed to be suppressing a smile.
'Did my waiting move her?' he thought to himself with amusement.
"Okay, what do you want to eat?"
Rufus asked her. He wanted her to be the one to choose. His eyes were full of tender affection.
Cassandra was about to answer him when a familiar voice called out to her.
"Hi, Cassandra, I brought you your breakfast!"
It was Clark. He arrived just in time for breakfast and brought her food.
Rufus's face fell at once. Ignoring Rufus, Clark simply strode over to Cassandra with an unconvincing smile.
"Chicken congee cooked by your mother, with some pickled vegetables. Would you like to eat it now?"
Clark said in a tender voice.
Biting her lower lip, Cassandra took the box Clark handed her and shot Rufus an apologetic look.
"Cassandra, there are so many journalists gathered outside the hospital. They are waiting for a statement. Are you going to
make one later on? I can accompany you so you don't have to face them alone, okay?" he said.
Cassandra sat down and began to eat the congee slowly. Clark sat down next to her.
"Okay, I will do it later. Lyndsy has woken up,"
she nodded and said, feeling warmer after some vegetables and congee filled her stomach.

"Mr. Ji, don't worry about Cassandra as she has me with her. After all, the accident happened to Lyndsy when she was shooting
the film produced by my company. It is only right that I help her through this. You don't have to involve yourself in this,"
Rufus interrupted, narrowing his eyes. He hated seeing Clark sit so close to Cassandra.
"Of course, you will be representing your company. Cassandra will be representing Lyndsy. Your company is very powerful. It's
too much to face for Cassandra alone. I'll keep her company," Clark replied, still smiling.
He managed to reply with no hint of irritation.
"Cassandra and I are both here to handle the issue representing our respective businesses. As for you, I don't see any reason
why you should be involved here,"
Rufus shot back, rather bluntly.
"Cassandra's mother asked me to be here. I am merely doing what she has told me to. How can I go against her?"
Clark replied smugly.
"Enough! You two, stop arguing here!"
Cassandra snapped, having lost her appetite amidst their silly quarrel.
"I will face my studio's issues on my own. There is no need for either of you to meddle."
Cassandra felt her head start to hurt. How could these two grown men, both prominent businessmen, bicker like kids?
Hearing Cassandra's scolding, Clark calmly reached out to hold the congee for her.
Rufus's face darkened.
"What? Face them on your own? Do you know what you're saying? This is not a small matter. Do you know how much criticism
you'll get if you mishandle this?"
Rufus countered, starting to get upset. He could not imagine her being mobbed by those journalists. Facing them would need her
to be fully ready as any careless word would be used against her and absurdly magnified.

"Well, I have to say I can't agree with you more on that, Mr. Luo. You'll have a lot on your hands given that the TY Group will
need to take responsibility for the accident, right?"
Clark uttered slowly, clearly mocking him disdainfully.
Cassandra's stomach tightened hearing what Clark said. She then remembered the level of involvement Rufus's company had in
the incident. 'The TY Group needs to come up with a plan on how they are going to move forward after this accident, including
what will be done regarding the scenes with Lyndsy that have not been shot yet. Of course, they'd also need to know when
Lyndsy will be available to shoot again', she started to think.
And then, in her mind, she saw it again: Lyndsy's face. Remembering it made her breathing feel so heavy.
'The looks is a female movie star's lifeline in the entertainment circle. If a scar left on her face because of the accident, will she
still be qualified to finish shooting the film?' Cassandra wondered.
"Even if she did end up still finishing the film, how will she find more projects in the future?"
All the problems started to flood in her mind. 'Stop it, Cassandra, ' she reminded herself. 'The most important thing right now is to
find out who is to blame for all of these.'
"Mr. Luo, I need to visit the movie set again and have a closer look at that broken wire,"
she requested calmly. The tender moment that the two had just a few minutes back was now completely gone.
"The police has taken over the scene. I also have my people looking into it. I don't think you'd find anything they haven't found if
you went there,"
he replied without even considering her request. So far, all his men had was that the action director was acting strange and
seemed to have something to do with the accident. A part of him worried that if Cassandra found something, her safety would be
compromised.
If she found out that it were, indeed, a conspiracy, she might end up being a liability of whoever was behind this.
"You seem to be afraid that Cassandra may find something out, Mr. Luo. Could it be that you also have something to do with the
incident?"
Clark uttered slowly, clearly trying to fan flames of mistrust. Cassandra's ashen face filled him with satisfaction.

She looked Rufus in the eye.
Suddenly, she remembered how Rufus asked her to elope with him just a couple of days ago but she didn't agree.
Aside from the fact that she had work to do, she did not have the heart to leave her family. She also worried about the Tangs.
'Does Rufus really have anything to do this accident?' she shuddered at the terrible thought.