A Graduation Gift

Jill, with her towering fury, stood up angrily and pushed the dining chair back. She went on with the heated argument with Rufus.
She was shouting mean words towards him like a shrew.
"That's enough!"
Horace slammed his heavy hands down the table. His roar-like voice made Cassandra jerk.
"Jill! I'm warning you. Rufus is my son and a member of the Tang family. If you continue on humiliating him, I will definitely drive
you out of this house! Then we'll see who will be no longer part of this family!"
Jill's pale face quivered with embarrassment. She knew for sure that he meant what he had just said. It was for real and not a
threat as Horace bristled with anger. She deemed it wise to just stop and take her seat, or else she would be an outcast in no
time.
Her retreat, however, didn't mean that she had admitted defeat. She glared at Rufus silently and sat back in her seat with a
sinister plan of revenge running on the back of her mind.
A servant hurried towards Rufus and cleansed his wounds with some disinfectant and wrapped it neatly with white gauze. After
that, he turned towards Horace and bent over to whisper something in his ear, "Mr. Tong called and said he would come over
because he had something urgent to discuss with you. He also added that he would come personally to check on Mr. Luo's
injuries."
Upon hearing the news that Jenks was coming, he turned to the servant and ordered, "Tell the chef that Jenks is coming. I have
oriented him about his favorite dishes last time. Make sure he cooks something he likes."
The servant nodded. Cold sweats were popping out of his forehead.
Horace was naturally strict at ordinary days, but it was very rare to see him so upset. He was so infuriated that the heavy and
raspy yell he had made earlier veiled a mask of fear to everyone at the house.
Everyone knew well that the reasons for it all were Jill and Rufus, but no one dared to point it out. The fear of Horace weakened
the strength out of them.
Jill had been difficult to get along with. Over the years, she had been peevish and grew fond of criticizing and finding faults with
the servants' work for no reason whatsoever. Every servant was afraid of her, but they were like a dumb man eating the bitter
herb - suffering in silence.

However, Jill was a great pretender. She always wore a smile in front of guests as if everything was fine with her. Especially
when Horace was around, she would transform into an elegant, sophisticated, well-mannered woman and act like everything
was perfect and orderly fine.
Nonetheless, misunderstandings had habituated the household recently. It started the moment Rufus moved in together with the
Tang family.
Ever since Horace learned about Rufus's existence, he had done everything possible for Rufus to be accepted to the family.
Rufus was his biological son, and he owed Rufus's mother a lot. His conscience smote him for not providing and taking care of
them in the past.
When all his plans for Rufus were set, he pulled all the courage he had to tell Jill about his son from another woman. Jill was so
mad, but Horace was confused if her madness was genuine or not.
She built a wall of detachment with Horace and cried and raved, but all her efforts were in vain. Horace had made up his mind
and it remained unchanged. He brought Rufus to live with them and appointed him to take charge of the Tang Group.
Every time he looked at Rufus, he couldn't help but remember the delicate woman, Hellen Luo. He had sworn to marry her
despite all the odds, but fate forbade, and he failed her.
The love they shared and nurtured together brought forth a blessing. She gave birth to Rufus, the testimony of Horace's
unfulfilled promise to Hellen.
Rufus grew up and lived up to his father's expectations. The Tang Group was prospering with each passing day under his
supervision.
Jill knew that all the heartaches she endured and tears she had shed were of no use. Worst of all, the once-famous Xie family
she originally belonged to had gone to pot for years. She had lost their support and no one to rely on. She was placing her last
thread of hope on her son, Lionel.
Even though her son was a responsible young man, he was unruly and not as steady as Rufus. The thought made her anxious,
but she could do nothing about it.
Tonight, however, it was Rufus who rocked the boat and started the heated argument. He broke a wine glass and blamed Jill for
her bad taste in choosing cheap wine glasses. He emphasized that the wine glasses she chose were not the best in quality and

suggested she should replace them. Ironically, the wine glasses had been used for a long time, and tonight was the first time that
a piece broke.
Moreover, Jill felt humiliated, considering that she was way older than he was. He should show her some respect and call her
'mother'. As the argument heightened, Horace yelled at her in front of the family. She was taken aback and was degraded so
bad.
Lionel wanted to speak for his mother, but Horace was in a fit of anger and wouldn't listen to anyone. Rufus's injury made
Horace's heart ache. Lionel swallowed back the words that were already on the tip of his tongue.
Jill was even more disheartened when she saw that Lionel turned a blind eye to her.
Cloris was an alien, so she kept herself out of the fight of the Tang family. She was only worried about Rufus's wound. She
grabbed hold of his hand dressed with gauze while tears were falling on her face. The sight of the wound broke her heart into
pieces.
"Rufus, it must be very painful. Let me blow on it. When I was a child, I fell down and scraped my hand, my mother blew on my
wound, then it wouldn't be painful anymore."
Pouting her red lips, Cloris childishly blew on Rufus's hand. He stared at her features which resembled Cassandra's. His heart
was shaken.
If only it was Cassandra who was holding his hand and comforting him now, the pain wouldn't trouble him for sure.
However, she was standing there hand in hand with Lionel. They had to pretend to be a couple in the eyes of everyone.
Rufus drew back his hand, calmed down and responded gently to Cloris, "I'm fine. Don't worry. Let's have dinner."
The atmosphere in the hall hung was charged with pressure because of the incident. Horace seated himself on the far end of the
table with a calmer expression on his face. Jill sat on the other end, while Lionel and Cassandra were still standing.
Cassandra helplessly watched Cloris carefully holding Rufus's hand. Her heart sulked at the sight.
She looked away and didn't mind them, but her ears were attentive that she could still hear what Cloris was saying to Rufus.
Cloris's feelings for Rufus were clearly obvious, and Rufus didn't refuse her show of affection.
When Cloris said that her mother would gently blow on her wound when she got hurt, Cassandra's nose twitched.

The words brought her memory of the small town back to life.
The small town was where her mother and the nurse lived. Her wet nurse was a kind, old lady. She granted Cassandra whatever
she asked for and spoiled her with everything she wanted. Despite all these, Cassandra still longed for her parents' love.
She didn't know why her parents left her alone in the small town, while her sister Cloris could spend her childhood with them.
She wasn't able to live with the Qin family until she attended junior high school.
Cassandra found it difficult to adapt to the resplendent and magnificent house and the many rules of the Qin family when she
went back from the town. She became aloof and didn't talk much at home.
Her father was busy with his career, and it was her mother who gradually helped her with the adjustments.
She refrained from asking why her parents had treated her and Cloris differently. She dared not ask because she was afraid that
she couldn't bear the answer she would get.
If she learned that her parents loved Cloris more, how should she face them? The thought complicated her beliefs.
She comforted herself with the idea that Cloris was her sister, and her parents focused on Cloris because she was younger. So
she should be so understanding and humour her little sister.
Would that mean that she had to give Rufus up to Cloris one day too? The question confused her mind.
Jenks's arrival eased the tension in the hall. It was drizzling outside. His hair was slightly wet when he came in.
Horace rose from his seat to greet him, and everyone else came up to show respect and welcome him.
Jenks first checked on Rufus's wound. It wasn't serious, so he just asked Rufus to go to the hospital for a tetanus shot after
dinner.
Horace repeatedly thanked him and led him to the seat of honor. Then they began to talk.
"Jenks, I heard that you were going to build another branch in the suburbs."
Jenks nodded, but his eyebrows knitted in a frown.
"I do have a plan, but I've been hesitating about who will be the director of the branch."

Seeing his hesitation, Horace knew that he was still upset by his wayward son. He comforted him with a bright smile, "Don't
worry. I've talked with your son last time. He said he knew how you felt. He is a high-caliber medical school graduate. It won't be
easy for him to give up his calling. I'm sure he will come back."
Jenks shook his head in dismay, but his face remained relaxed.
"I am learning to accept his decision. He is so like me. I also rebelled and argued with my family when I was young. So I just let
him do whatever he wants."
Horace was glad to see his friend's knitted brows smoothened.
"Our children and grandchildren have their own lives to live. Don't worry too much about them. Jason is a good doctor. You must
be very proud of him."
Speaking of his favorite student's achievements, Jenks let out a smile.
"You are right. I'm so proud of him and satisfied with his ordeals. I'll have a good talk with him after he comes back from abroad."
Suddenly something came to his mind.
"By the way, you said last time that you would introduce a special planner for the architectural design of my branch. Who is that?"
Horace replied with a complacent smile, "The designer is young but insightful. She is now the design manager of the Tang
Group."
Then he pointed to Cassandra, who had been hanging her head low beside Lionel.
"She's my daughter-in-law, Cassandra. I want her to take charge of the architectural design for your branch."