A Graduation Gift

The salty sea breeze blew in people's face. Cassandra and Dylon were sitting face-to-face in a restaurant near the sea.
As usual, Dylon was a humorous and optimistic character, with an easy-going personality. Their meeting by chance and deciding
to have dinner together was a delightful surprise to both of them.
When they finished eating, Dylon used the shells to playfully make a smiley face on the table and told Cassandra, "Cassandra,
you look so beautiful when you smile. You should smile more."
Hearing his praise, Cassandra lifted up her head and met his eyes. His gaze at her was loving and gentle, putting her at ease
and making her heart feel warm.
Having bumped into such a nice friend when she was extremely upset had her feeling fortunate.
After dinner, Dylon called her a taxi before bidding her goodbye and heading back to his hotel.
With Cassandra on his mind, Dylon couldn't help smiling as he walked. The smile on his face only grew brighter when he thought
of Cassandra's beaming face. 'What a nice day!'
Meanwhile, back in the Tang mansion, Horace sat in the living room next to Jill while they watched television, which was quite a
rare sight as Horace was normally always busy with his work.
When Cassandra returned, he waved his hand in a greeting.
"Cassandra, come here!"
His words were like pebbles being dropped into a lake, disturbing the calm, which Cassandra silently dreaded. Lowering her
head, she carefully walked towards Horace and greeted him softly.
As she got closer to the couch, she noticed a pile of files beside him.
"Cassandra, I heard about today's meeting. It's a serious issue and might do harm to the Tang Group. I want to hear your
explanation."
The way he spoke to her was different, much more serious than usual, making Cassandra nervous.
Before the scandal came out, Cassandra was invisible in the Tang family—Lionel took pleasure in torturing her, Jill didn't like her,
and Ivy moved in. Horace was the only person in the family who would care about her and yet she betrayed his trust. The whole

ordeal only made Cassandra ashamed of herself.
While she didn't plagiarize other's design, it was true that she didn't take measures to protect her own work and prevent such a
huge dispute on intellectual property rights. It was indeed her fault.
In some ways, Horace was even more of a father to her than her actual dad. Never did he fail to treat her well or appreciate her
work and contribution to the company. His interrogation, however, made Cassandra feel sad.
"I'm terribly sorry to have put the company in such big trouble. But the design is mine, I can assure you. I've already involved the
authorities and it's currently in the process of investigation. The results should come out very soon."
As she explained it, Cassandra kept her expression flat and her tone calm.
Trust was a luxury and she was well aware of it. It would be unreasonable to expect people to believe her right away. The
upsetting feeling almost took over Cassandra then she thought about Rufus' words.
The fact that he trusted her brought her much comfort. Even though no one in the company was taking her side, as long as
Rufus believed her, Cassandra would be fine and have the strength to overcome the difficulties brought about by the scandal.
"Cassandra, I need you to know that what happened is very serious. Please don't think that I'm judging you or doubting your
ability. It's just...the members of the board are very disappointed."
Sensing Cassandra's anxiousness in her reply, Horace made sure to soften the tone of his voice.
"I will take responsibility and explain to the board. Don't worry, father. I'm tired now. Can I go upstairs and have some rest?"
Though she was aware of the gravity of the situation, Cassandra didn't want to continue the conversation any more for the
meantime. Forcing a smile, she turned around and walked towards the staircase.
Just as she turned around, she heard Jill's sarcastic remark from behind.
"Not being a decent person is one thing, I don't care about that, but why do you have to damage the Tang family's name too? I
feel sorry for the Qin family for having a daughter like you!"
Hearing Jill's insult, Cassandra stopped in her steps for a moment before picking up her pace to get away from the whole
situation. As soon as she stepped into her bedroom, she swung the door shut, as if it could block out all the gossips and rumors
that brought her shame.

Leaning against the door, she took deep, careful breaths. The exhaustion was beginning to take over as her eyelids felt heavy.
When she closed her eyes, the design wouldn't leave her thoughts. No matter how much she went over it in her head, she
couldn't figure out why the design got leaked.
Slowly opening her eyes, she walked to the window in an attempt to breathe in some fresh air. Looking at the view, the bright
moonlight caught her eyes.
It was strange how the moon seemed so near and yet so far. The more she thought about it, the more she saw how it embodied
the distance between her and the Tang family.
A few days later, the charity auction began. Michelle Ling invited not only all the senior officials in G City to the event, but also
many celebrities in the entertainment industry. The auction was sure to be the week's biggest headline.
Although Cassandra was well prepared mentally, when she arrived at the meeting place, she was amazed at how grand the
show was.
There were spotlights on the red carpet, movie stars who were normally only seen on screen, wines and cakes everywhere, and
these were only the tip of the iceberg. The event truly was elaborately decorated, saying a great deal about Michelle Ling's
remarkable taste.
Wanting to stay lowkey, Cassandra chose a simple black and white coat which covered to her tight, and a dark purple sweater
dress. It was a neutral outfit that wouldn't draw any attention.
As she prepared for the event, Cassandra simply just wanted to come and have fun so she could adjust her mood, which lately,
had only been upset. With her current disposition, she didn't want to be noticed.
Suddenly, the room was bustling with an uproar. Someone in the crowd shouted, "There she is! There she is!"
'Who is it?' frowned and curious, Cassandra looked to the crowd as she wondered.
At the entrance of the venue, she saw a limo slowly rolling into the driveway, parking at the end of the red carpet.
A member of the staff stepped forward and opened the door, making all the reporters aim their cameras in that direction.
First that emerged from the limo was a pair of feet wearing diamond high heeled shoes.
Looking up, people could see smooth, mesmerizing shanks as white as milk.

The woman fully stepped out of the car, showcasing her striking green dress, reminiscent of Dorothy from The Wonderful Wizard
of Oz.
It was Lyndsy—her smoldering eyes and sexy lips were any man's dream.
The crowd went wild as everybody started shouting her name.
"Lyndsy!"
"Lyndsy, I love you!"
Taking a moment to look at her, Cassandra realized that the woman in front of her was no other than Lyndsy, the famous actress.
It was unbelievable to think that Michelle had even managed to invite her as well. Having just won Best Actress in a recent Film
Festival, Lyndsy was a huge star. Cassandra found Michelle truly impressive.
Several strong bodyguards wearing black suits were walking around the famous actress to protect her from the crowd. There
were cameras flashing, crazy fans screaming, and reporters shoving each other all around her.
Still, as she was admired so chaotically by the crowd, Lyndsy walked on the red carpet with grace.
Being someone who enjoyed having the crowd's attention, she got used to those lights flashing, knowing exactly how to pose to
get the best angle. Just like most of the characters she played in her movies, Lyndsy was dignified and classy.
A sudden thought occurred to Cassandra. With a roll of her eyes, she realized that it was the best time to enter the venue without
getting noticed.
Everyone's attention was on Lyndsy, so she could slip past the crowd easily.
However, an accident came up. While Lyndsy stood in the middle of the carpet, posing for the media, another group of people
began arriving at the venue.
The reporters were holding their heavy cameras, making it difficult for them to keep their balance. When the crowd shoved, one
of the reporters fell.
What followed was a domino effect, several other reporters falling down one after another, and Lyndsy was about to get affected.

As she posed in front of one camera, a nearby reporter threw his phone at her by accident as he fell, startling her and making
her freeze in place as the phone was about to hit her face.
"Look out!"
As if out of nowhere, Cassandra popped out of the crowd to push Lyndsy out of the way. Thanks to Cassandra's quick thinking,
the phone didn't hit the star's face and instead, fell to the ground.
Lyndsy's face was pale as she found herself at a loss for what to do.
At this moment, a woman walked over to Lyndsy and whispered something to her.
"You can just go ahead. The sponsor will handle this."
The woman's words snapped Lyndsy out of her daze and she turned to Cassandra gratefully.
Catching her breath, Lyndsy calmed herself down and walked down the red carpet but she didn't feel truly relieved until Michelle
came to greet and comfort her.
Putting a hand to her chest, Lyndsy thought about the incident just then. If it wasn't for that woman, she would have made a fool
of herself. Unfortunately, she didn't have the opportunity to ask for the woman's name as she had already left and disappeared
quickly in the crowd.
When Lyndsy looked around to find Cassandra, she got nothing and felt regretful as she couldn't thank her.
Meanwhile, as Cassandra looked for her seat, she was surprised to find it on the front row.
Those seats were usually reserved for the VIPs and it seemed as though there were only ten of them. They included officials or
celebrities and were definitely the focus of the crowd.
'How could I be assigned to sit in the front row?' Cassandra thought to herself, 'It must be Rufus's doing.'
As a close friend of Michelle, he must have asked her to give Cassandra a front row seat, since he could even have her
customize clothes for him.
The thought of Rufus made her upset again. To help her, Rufus was busy dealing with the press and hadn't been able to go
home the past several days.

While lost in her thoughts, someone called out to her.
"Cassandra, we meet again!"
When she turned around, she was met with Dylon's charming face and bright smile.
"What brings you here?"