A Graduation Gift

Enchanted by Rufus' voice, Cassandra found his hug irresistible.
He whispered into her ear, in a gentle, soothing manner, giving her goosebumps. She wished that she could have immersed
herself in his love forever.
"You look stunning at the last banquet. This time, you're going to shine even brighter. But beauty aside, you will also have
exceptional skills. They're your most valuable assets which you could capitalize on. Use them wisely."
Carefully, he wanted to elevate her in subtle, informal ways that wouldn't make his intentions too obvious. That was why he
bought her a fancy dress to mark her out for attention.
After all, people were easily influenced by what they saw. If by glamour she could grab their attention, they'd be naturally curious
about her. And that curiosity was the human weakness that Rufus wanted to exploit for Cassandra's advantage.
Though she was a capable woman, she was still fairly new in the architectural design industry. If she could win the admiration of
some of the bigwigs in the industry, it would be much easier for her to climb up the career ladder.
Finally, Cassandra realized why Rufus had lavished the expensive dress on her.
Initially, she believed that Rufus asked the celebrity designer to make her a gown, just to shower her with his affection. Now she
discovered there was more to his move. It was for her self-development.
At the thought, her eyes became teary.
It had been ages since she felt cared for like this.
The last person to have ever cared about her so genuinely was her wet nurse. When she was a little girl, the old granny was
ever so caring and treated her as a grand-daughter. She would go to all lengths to satisfy Cassandra's wishes. Growing up,
however, she had woken to the cruel reality of a world where even her parents wouldn't protect her. When they forced her into
marriage to a heartless man, she was devastated. Four years of that marriage had left her more and more disillusioned. But now,
here was a man who believed in her. A man that genuinely cared for her, often with extravagant shows of his affirmation and
affection. In a short time, he had challenged her belief that she'd forever be lonely, scorned and abandoned. The gentle but firm
man that Rufus was found a way into her heart. Willingly, Cassandra would drown in his love.
For a moment, memories from childhood flooded her thoughts. Although she hadn't enjoyed parental care as much as her
younger sister did, she learned to get by without throwing unnecessary pity parties.

Life in the small town then, was, in fact, quiet and soothing as she found solace in nature. On some occasions, though, she
hoped a day when her parents would take move the family to a better city and give her a warmer home.
Not that she was an extravagant kid who wanted fancy stuff. No way in hell did Cassandra lust after more than the simple things
she needed to get by. Clothes to cover her and food to survive would do. For as long as she had those two basic needs, plus a
roof above her head, she was perfectly OK. And she found great contentment in her small, down-and-out family, imperfect as it
was.
But her humble prayers went unheard. One eerily cold night, fate took away the little that she asked for. A part of her life
snatched away by the cruel hands of poverty, at a time when she was least prepared.
She acutely remembered the day when her nightmare began. Ironically, it started with a rare sumptuous family meal — the
beginning of her indignity, marked by an occasion that should have brought joyful laughter at the family table.
During the meal, her mom and dad kept exchanging glances silently, as if waiting for someone else to start speaking. She
couldn't have possibly guessed out what they were concealing, no matter how hard she tried. After much hesitation, it was her
mother who finally broke the ice.
The Qin family business was going down the slope. The only way to keep it afloat was to seek help from Tang Group. But that
would only come at the price of their daughter.
Cassandra was stunned. She couldn't believe what she had heard.
The tears from her mother disheartened her.
The last people she expected to be self-serving were her parents. Why were they making such a decision without asking for her
consent? It pained Cassandra that the very people supposed to protect her were the ones putting her life at risk for selfish
motives.
The flagrant violation of her rights jolted her. At the end of the day, their word still carried the day, despite her griping. There was
not much she could do to stop them. After all, she was alive at their mercies. The reason she gave her consent was more out of
compulsion. Not at all out of love.
Helplessness set her on a path filled with heartache and pain. Trapped in early marriage to a man she didn't love, her dreams
began to fizzle out in slow natural death.

But now, out of nowhere, Rufus had come along, and he was proving to be quite the turning point of her life. A fine gentleman, of
outstanding character and capable in every sense of the word, Rufus was the real deal.
With his power and charm, he was the kind of a guy who'd win any girl he wanted. Such a perfect guy, he was the dream man of
most girls.
In an intriguing twist, however, here was the heart-throb every girl dreamed about, falling head over heels with a nobody. They
had only met accidentally while both of them were boozed up and ended with a one-night stand. A pretty embarrassing
encounter. Who would have expected anything good out of a casual fling?
Well, Rufus was here to prove all that wrong. First, he showed his intentions by throwing a terrific birthday bash for her. And now,
he was keen to give her career boost.
For all his kindness and care, she'd eagerly give him whatever he wanted. Without any hesitation, she'd give her undivided love.
Tenderly, she raised her hands, cupped his head in her small palms and stood on tiptoes to give him a passionate kiss.
"Little girl, you want to play fire?" Rufus teased.
Unsure whether he was kidding or not, Cassandra backed down, treating his words as a warning. It left her feeling embarrassed,
but she mustered the courage to explain to him.
"I... I just wanted to thank you," she stuttered.
Rufus' eyes lit up as he studied the cute face she made. Gently, he flicked at her forehead.
"Re you in a hurry? It's not yet time. We have to get through the conference first. It would do you better to relax as much as
possible before you take to the podium. I believe that you can do it!"
Feeling incredulous, Cassandra gazed at him for a moment. A sense of warmth soon spread all over her body. She was
enchanted by his considerate manner.
It was touching to know that someone cared about her that much.
"You... Didn't you..." she mumbled.
The way his sexy thin lips curved with the smile made her blush. He then scooped her into his arms and explained, sounding
very mindful

"As much as I want to act now, I can't do it. This isn't the right time. If you don't mind, we can wait. At least, personally, I'm willing
to wait."
By his confession, she was so touched that tears of joy rolled down her face.
With her eyes closed, she leaned on Rufus, letting her full weight rest on him. He let her into his embrace.
Rufus promised that he would wait. He was willing.
On the barren land of her heart, flowers of hope started to bloom. Again tears of joy began trickling down her face in rivulets.
How grateful she was at the moment!
"Thank you..."
Words could not express her gratitude for his warmth, support, respect, and love.
He gave up a chance, which in turn strengthened their emotional ties. Never had she felt this close to someone all her life.
Lowering his head, he kissed her on the forehead.
"Alright, rest early today. You have a lot coming up tomorrow," he advised.
His face still glowed with love and tenderness, although his tone was serious. With his right hand, he caressed her soft hair back
and forth.
"It's a hard job winning against the Dawn Star Group, but I know, you'll carry the day!"
said Rufus, trying to fire her up.
Wiping her tears away, she asserted with resolution, "Rest assured! I'm ready to take them on!"
Holding each other's gaze, they smiled in unison.
The battle against Dawn Star Group was long-drawn-out, beginning from Horace's time.
At the very beginning, Tang Group and Dawn Star Group were having equal shares of the market. The Tang Group however
outperformed Dawn Star Group much of the time.

Now, Arthur Zhuang was the head of Dawn Star Group. A young talent graduated from one of the best architectural design
colleges in the world; he was quite a prodigy.
At a young age, he had taken over the company from his father, who was terminally ill. In a short time, he turned around the
fortunes of the company. Despite being relatively inexperienced, Arthur was smart enough to seize the best business
opportunities. The company was now neck and neck with the Tang Group.
The bidding this time was competitive. Over a dozen companies had entered at the beginning, the eventual two to battle it out at
this stage were the Tang Group and Dawn Star Group.
They had different concepts about the construction, presenting two vastly different plans.
The Tang Group had Cassandra leading their concept, whose strength lay in a great mix of aesthetics and functionality, while
Dawn Star Group's concept was based on landmarks.
Distinct plans but similar excellence, made the choice of selecting a winner of the tender difficult.
The final decision would be made today. Cassandra wore a formal jungle-green linen suit, hair in a ponytail, revealing her
smooth forehead.
With appropriate light make-up, she looked elegant and refined.
First, Dawn Star Group pitched their concept, amended from their previous draft. During his speech, Arthur added in some iconic
examples of landmark-based architecture from different countries.
Representatives from the contract awarding side kept nodding while he spoke. As Cloris listened to Arthur's presentation, she
couldn't help but marvel. With a bit of reluctance, Leon had driven her to the conference. Now, she anxiously gripped at his arm,
blown away by their competitor's presentation.
"Why do I have a feeling that they are going to select his plan? Goodness, he's so convincing, he makes me fear we might lose!"
she exclaimed.
"Don't worry. I came here with my best preparation!"
Declared Cassandra declared confidently, who was only one seat away from her inane talking sister.
Lightly, she pressed at her folder and felt for the USB drive. All her weapons were ready for the decisive battle.

As if the pressure for Cassandra's job was on her shoulders, Cloris rose and excused herself.
"I'm so anxious, although I'm trying to calm my nerves. I need to go to the washroom now. See you later!"
Then she left the conference hall at once.
Unimpressed, Cassandra shook her head. Why was Cloris acting so unprofessional and stressed out? Anyway, she ignored her
younger sister's antics, choosing instead to focus her energy on what she came here for. She'd need lots of patience to help
Cloris, and that would include bringing her to more events like this for exposure.
Finally, it was her turn. Taking a deep breath, she stood up, touched her folder to confirm if the USB drive was still in place.
Everything was intact. Her game was on.
Rufus, who was sitting to her left softly clasped her hand to show his support. Though he didn't say anything, the meaning was
well conveyed.
'Go girl!' he said with deep conviction in his heart.
Standing on the podium, she started with a proper introduction of herself, followed by a highlight of the key features of her
design. Then, she inserted her USB drive into the port to begin her slide show. But when she clicked "open." ...
nothing showed.
Cassandra was a bit surprised, thinking she might have clicked the wrong button. Once more, she clicked on "open."
But still there was nothing. .
Then she bent down to check the state of the USB drive, only to find that the signal light for connection was off. But even after
she re-inserted the USB drive in, the light didn't turn on.
Unbelievable! 'Beyond a shadow doubt, I remember checking the USB drive, as well as everything inside before I locked it in my
drawer. Why would it suddenly fail?' she wondered.