A Graduation Gift

With a grumble, Arthur came in the door in frustration.
"What happened, Arthur?
Why do you look so upset?" Cloris asked, looking confused
The phone call he was on was simply too disappointing to him. There must have been something wrong.
Shooting a glance at Cloris, he opened his mouth as if he was about to say something but nothing came out.
It was Clark whom he was on the phone with. After he was told that Cassandra had gotten the Tang Group's tender from Horace,
Arthur thought about what their next steps should be. If Cassandra helped the Tang Group, he had a strong feeling that Clark
would lose this competition.
It just so happened that Arthur had dealt with Cassandra often in the past. From those experiences, he knew that Cassandra had
the tendency to be extremely competitive and he had been defeated by her for several times already—he was rather scared of
confronting her.
When Cassandra was still with Lionel, Arthur had to rack his brain about how to deal with her, doing all he could to get her into
trouble. It was a great relief when he heard the news that the couple had gotten a divorce, and after Cassandra left the Tang
Group, the company's business plummeted.
It was unbelievable that Horace had persuaded Cassandra to help the Tang Group. What could he do to prevent it?
Suddenly, Arthur thought of something when he noticed Cloris's presence. She was grabbing at him, concerned.
"Cloris, I think I'd better give up this bid,"
pretending to have made up his mind, he spoke firmly to Cloris.
"What? Why? Haven't you already poured so much time and effort in it?"
With eyes wide open, Cloris asked him in disbelief. Ever since she came back, Arthur had been talking about his competition
with the Tang Group for a project. He had put numerous hours into it.
With a sigh, he continued, "Cloris, Cassandra is your sister.

Now that she's involved, I don't feel comfortable competing with her. I don't want this competition to influence your relationship. I
want you two to get along."
He did a good job playing the part of the worried partner because Cloris believed him wholeheartedly.
"Arthur, what do you mean?" she asked, looking anxious already. "I don't understand. Why is Cassandra involved?"
His words puzzled her—why was everything about Cassandra?
"Cloris, someone just tipped me that Cassandra was helping the Tang Group revise the tender this time. And you know that
when I went against your sister before, I lost. I don't want that to happen again.
I'd rather quit," he explained bitterly, irritating Cloris to the core.
"No way! You can't quit! Why couldn't Cassandra be the one to quit? You've sacrificed so much of our time to work on this
project. You've invested so much in it. How could you even think about giving up so easily?"
Hearing that Cassandra was a part of the bid disappointed her immensely.
The conflict between Rufus and Horace made the headline of every newspaper in G City. Everyone was talking about it. Why
would Cassandra help the man who kicked her out of the Tang family instead of Rufus?
"Cloris, I really don't want this to influence your relationship."
Knowing Cloris well, Arthur had already anticipated this. The more concession he made, the more aggressive Cloris would
become.
"You really don't have to worry about it. Cassandra and I aren't close."
Thinking that Cassandra once wanted to ruin her reputation, Cloris couldn't help but grind her teeth.
In her head, she strongly and repeatedly wished Cassandra bad luck and hoped that her sister would fail in whatever she was
doing. Therefore, Cloris couldn't let Arthur quit—it was an easy route to Cassandra's success.
"Arthur, you must win this bid! I'm here to support you, every step of the way," Cloris told him.
If Arthur lost, it would only mean that he wasn't as competitive and clever as Cassandra. She couldn't put up with it.

"Cloris...
Are you sure you want me to compete with your sister?" he asked in surprise.
"Arthur, you're my soul mate. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Of course, I'm on your side."
As Cloris hugged Arthur, she buried her face in his chest.
Warmth rushed over him as he stroked her hair.
"Cloris, thank you for your support. But to be honest, I don't have any confidence in this bid since your sister is helping the Tang
Group now. I'm afraid I'll be defeated once again."
Cloris's heart sunk when she heard Arthur's worry.
"Is there any way to stop Cassandra from helping the Tang Group?" Cloris asked.
Under no circumstances could she allow Cassandra to win.
"Cassandra has the tender in a flash drive. She's probably revising it by now. I don't think there's much we can do about it..."
Clearly, Arthur was getting frustrated. But Cloris wasn't deterred.
A flash drive? If that was the case, she knew how to tamper with it
Of course, she had done it before.
With a roll of her eyes, Cloris stood up.
"I've got a plan!"
A smile crept into her face.
"What have you got?"
Though he had pretty much thousands of plans running through his head, he could do nothing. If Cloris offered to help him,
things would probably shift in his favor.
Even if Cassandra found something, Cloris would come forward and defend him.

For all his calculation, Arthur wanted to let Cloris take the bullet for him.
"I can install a self-destructive program in the new flash drive and swap it with Cassandra's. When the time comes, I'll start the
program and the tender file will get corrupted," she coldly explained.
It wasn't the first time she had done such a thing so she felt rather confident about her little scheme.
"But...
how can you switch them? You could get caught.
It's too risky..." Arthur asked in worry.
Cloris, however, merely smiled. "Don't worry. I have a plan ready.
You just need to coordinate with me!"
Cloris's smile wasn't as innocent as it used to be.
Eventually, Cassandra decided to dedicate all her time and effort to work while she purposely and almost expertly avoided Rufus.
She did not want him to know at all that she was revising the tender for Tang's group.
Up until then, Rufus hadn't forgiven Horace. It was difficult for Cassandra as she didn't wish for Rufus and Horace to quarrel over
the bid.
In an effort to be optimistic about the situation, Cassandra hoped that she could help the Tang Group get through the tough
situation and improve the tense relationship between the two men.
There was still hope, she convinced herself.
Finally, Cassandra wrapped up the revision for the tender and did the proofing. Fortunately, everything seemed to be in order.
After telling Horace that the flash drive was ready to be picked up, Cassandra sighed in relief, finally able to stretch her body in
front of the computer.
"Cassandra, pack your stuff. I want to take you to the studio. I have a surprise for you!"

All of a sudden, Rufus walked into the room without so much as a knock on the door. In a mild panic, Cassandra pulled out the
flash drive and stuffed it into her pocket as naturally as she could manage before flashing Rufus a smile.
"What surprise?"
Recently, Rufus had been helping her with the studio and had barely spent any time at home. It was the perfect opportunity for
Cassandra to stay behind and help Horace out.
But Cassandra didn't want her efforts to be wasted.
"You'll find out if you come with me," he smiled mysteriously.
It seemed that Rufus just couldn't wait to share the surprise with her. It looked like something juicy.
But Cassandra looked hesitant.
She had just asked Horace to visit her to pick up the flash drive. As a safety measure, she made sure not to connect to the
internet or send the tender to Horace via email so that it wouldn't somehow get leaked.
This time, however, Rufus came back all in a sudden and it put Cassandra in a rather awkward position.
"What surprise, Rufus? Can't you just tell me? Then I can decide whether or not to go with you after I know what it's all about.
If it sounds appealing, sure.
Otherwise, I might just stay home," she explained.
Hearing that, Rufus couldn't help but look at her with a huge smile on his face. She was bargaining with him. 'It is rather
impressive, ' Rufus thought.
"When did you become so lazy?
You hardly ever go out anymore," he teased her. In truth, he didn't want to bother Cassandra with the studio. After all, he could
easily take care of that. But she had been acting rather strange the past few days.
Suddenly, a thought came to him.

Hesitantly, he kept the teasing tone as he asked, "Cassandra, are you pregnant? I heard that pregnant women tend to be
extremely lazy."