A Graduation Gift

Ivy was frantic and scared out of her mind on the police car going to the local station. Once they arrived, they went straight
towards a bare-bones room with a huge one-way mirror. She sat on the nearby chair right across a police detective. Her mind
went blank whenever a question was thrown at her. The cops were about to give up since they couldn't get any decent
information out of her because she always answered by asking to contact Clark.
"I am his girlfriend. Clark Ji, I want to see him! Please, I need to see him."
Ivy's face was ghastly pale with fear. She kept repeating Clark's name.
"Cut the bullshit. Just answer the questions, and maybe we'll let you get in touch with your boyfriend!"
One detective impatiently tapped the table with his pen.
At that moment, the door swung wide open. A man in uniform promptly came in and whispered something to the detective.
Ivy was observing the situation and saw the detective's eyes widen as he looked at Ivy and then the uniformed officer. With a
snort of contempt, he stood up and immediately went out the door. In a few moments, a familiar man came in the room.
"Thank God, Clark! You're finally here!"
Ivy practically jumped from her seat and threw herself into Clark's arms.
"Clark, I don't know what to do. Someone sued me. What do I do?"
Ivy felt hot tears stream down her face. She looked up expectantly at Clark, eyes wide open despite the tears.
"Don't worry. Just sit down."
Clark was surprisingly calm, given the current situation. Ivy detached herself from the embrace and slowly sat down.
"Clark, I don't know what to do. Adrian leaked the information and fingered me. He claimed that I hated Lionel for driving me out
of his mansion, so I deliberately stole his group's business secrets for revenge."
Ivy didn't see all of this coming. She didn't expect that her carefully laid out conspiracy would be brought to light so quickly. To
her great disappointment, Adrian had apparently betrayed her after he got the money.

"Ivy, the city...the city has taken a hardline stance against highly illegal criminal activities recently. I'm sure you know that Arthur's
case is also under investigation. Things are pretty tense right now."
Clark's eyebrows furrowed with stress. Dejection was clearly written in his eyes.
He sighed deeply and continued, "The police have people who will testify against you in court, and even as far as physical
evidence. I've already talked to my connections, but the authorities have already made their stance clear in cracking down on
unfair competition, and insiders' influence in public bids. I really...I really can't do anything right now. Take one for the team. I
promise I'll save you after I find a way out of this mess."
Clark fixed his eyes on Ivy with steely determination, anxiously waiting for her response.
What Clark had said left Ivy utterly speechless. Her mouth was agape in her incredible shock.
It was as clear as day. Clark saw her as a scapegoat, a patsy. He didn't come here to get her out.
"Clark, I've already given the hard drive to you. You can't just throw me under the bus like this."
Ivy unconsciously clenched her fists, her long nails biting into the soft skin of her palms, drawing a bit of blood.
"Ivy, like I said, there's nothing I can do right now, but I swear I'll do everything in my power to find a solution later. Lionel got your
brother out of prison. Are you having doubts about my ability?"
Clark tried in vain to console Ivy, his eyebrows curved in his visible irritation.
Ivy was still speechless, but something changed in her expression. Clark saw that his words had their intended effect.
"Don't worry about your brother. I'll sort everything out. You, on the other hand, need time alone to think things through."
After his last syllable, Clark swiftly got up and left without so much as a farewell. His threat lingered in Ivy's ears.
Her mind was in shambles right now. What did she do?
She did everything she possibly could to attain a good life and a perfect marriage, but in the end, jail was waiting for her.
Hearing Clark's thinly veiled threat was like getting submersed in a tub full of ice cold water.
Everything clicked into place and she realized that she had been duped and fallen into a trap she had little hope of escaping.

Just within a few weeks, breaking headlines came one after another in G City. The Tang Group and the Dawn Star Group, the
two most prominent real estate firms in the city, were both in trouble. The events unfolded so quickly, leaving people confused
and stunned.
The Tang Group suffered a bankruptcy crisis, and then the Dawn Star Group was reported for illegal dealings, which led to the
thorough investigation of its CEO. For a time, the industry was in turmoil.
Under the warm glow of the afternoon sunlight, Cassandra, who was making the final preparations for her studio, sat across
Rufus.
"Here's the plan. Check it out."
Cassandra rotated her iPad and pushed it towards Rufus with a smile, which displayed her plan for the studio.
Rufus picked up the iPad and examined the plan meticulously. He then smiled and nodded in satisfaction.
"Very good. I'll give you more later."
Rufus studied the attractive woman in front of him. She bathed in the afternoon sunlight, which kind of formed a faint halo around
her. It stirred him to reach out and gently caress her face.
"Cassandra, Arthur is pretty much doomed to fail. I've prepared all the materials. This time, he's going away for a really long
time. You can rest easy."
Rufus gazed at Cassandra lovingly with a warm smile. His fingers were still caressing her soft face.
"Thank you, Rufus."
Cassandra didn't know what else she could say. Rufus's concern and care moved her.
Originally, she wanted to resort to more harsh methods, such as direct confrontations, but Rufus promptly stopped her.
"Your goal is to ensure your family's protection. If you confront him head-on, it will only intensify things and probably place your
family in increasingly dangerous circumstances."
Rufus always managed to stay calm even in the most critical moments. He collected hard evidence and then accused Arthur. He
showed him his smoking gun. Arthur had no way out of this one.

In fact, he had no direct qualms about Arthur. He only did this for Cassandra's sake.
"Rufus, I know that you did all of this for me. I shouldn't have been so impulsive. I owe you greatly."
Cassandra felt indebted to Rufus. He then frowned in response.
"Well, to return this debt of gratitude, when will you marry me?"
Rufus casually offered marriage again, which put Cassandra on guard.
"Maybe after my studio runs smoothly. It hasn't even opened yet, so I'm really not sure about the timing."
Cassandra turned scarlet. She was unprepared for such a question.
"I'll wait for you, Cassandra. No matter how long it takes."
Rufus reminded himself not to force Cassandra. He was willing to patiently wait before she said the much yearned for 'Yes.'
Their surroundings were bathed in the warm afternoon shine. It all felt so natural and harmonious. The two smiled into each
other's eyes.
"Oh, wait," Cassandra said like she suddenly remembered something, "Amanda and Clark's wedding is tomorrow. Have you
prepared for it?"
She was so caught up in things that she almost forgot about the wedding.
Rufus raised his eyebrows and said in an indifferent tone, "A red packet is enough. What else do I need to prepare?"
Rufus didn't think anything else than a red packet was necessary. Amanda's wedding had nothing to do with him anyway.
"I think it's hardly appropriate for us to be invited like this. Amanda may have something planned."
Cassandra had worry written all over her face. She just wanted to peacefully move on.
"Well, we can just send out our red packet. We don't need to attend."
A sly smile formed on Rufus's mouth, which made Cassandra's heart beat rapidly.
"That won't do. It would be incredibly rude."

Cassandra sounded hesitant, but she obviously agreed with Rufus.
"Anyway, like you said, it's hardly appropriate for us to be invited. Why bother going?"
Rufus said with a chuckle. Cassandra also relaxed and she smiled happily.
Since they both knew Amanda had always harbored malicious intentions towards them, they just couldn't bring themselves to
attend her wedding.
"You're absolutely right. Let's just catch some movies tomorrow. No wedding!"
Cassandra playfully said.
Rufus couldn't control himself after that. He promptly stood up and embraced her, planting a soft kiss on her lips. Cassandra's
breath left her.
"I love you, Cassandra. Always."
Rufus's forehead leaned against Cassandra's, his eyes closed.
"I love you, too."
After her response, Cassandra kissed Rufus back.
Every ceremony Amanda was part of was grand and lively. Her last engagement ceremony with Rufus already made headlines.
Today, her wedding with Clark was even more grandiose.
Guests walked in the hotel on luscious red carpets just like the movie stars in their premieres.
"Wait, what? Rufus and Cassandra aren't here yet?"
Amanda shouted in a sharp tone. She frowned, shocked that the two weren't present.
"No, ma'am. We already checked the guest register. Mr. Luo and Miss Qin have not arrived."
The lowly busboy who reported the news was visibly shaking. The bride seemed to have a really bad temper. Why was she so
angry?
As Amanda swept her hand across the table, the various things fell on the floor with assorted clangs.

"Get out! All of you, get the fuck out!"
Amanda roared, her voice turning hoarse at the last syllable.
The makeup artist and staff were visibly shaken. They looked at each other and then swiftly left the room one by one. They didn't
dare to utter a word until after they were outside the room.
"What's wrong with her? Why does she even want her ex to come to her wedding?"
"You don't understand. Women are vain and love to show off. She just wants to show her ex that she's about to be married to a
better man."
"Why does she feel the need to show off if she is truly happy now?"