A Graduation Gift

When she was just a little girl, she had a lot of dreams.
Once she had dreamed that she was a prized princess who was about to be wed to a handsome prince. The wedding was
grand, no expense was spared. They were locked in embrace in the middle of the huge hall full of friends and family witnessing
their union. She looked joyful and was smiling from ear to ear.
When she woke up from the dream, her face had been blushing and scarlet from the romantic event. It had been years that she
could still vividly remember that wedding dream.
It was in a frost-touched kingdom, full of snow and ice. Her tiara was sculpted by the finest crafstman in all of the land, made
from crystal clear ice. It was inlaid with diamonds which reminded her of the clear and sparkling eyes of the prince.
She was also wearing a long skirt weaved from gold and silver threads, which dazzled in the icy environment.
But now... Holding and looking at the large box containing the precious dress in her arms, a radiant smile graced her lips.
Early morning the next day, Cassandra opened her eyes to the light of dawn trickling from the window blinds. She sat up, rubbed
her eyes and stretched her lazy arms before she stood up and groggily went to the bathroom to run a bath. After she was clean,
refreshed and fully awake, she went out of her room, intent on going downstairs to have some breakfast.
Her phone buzzed when she was in the middle of the stairs. She tapped the accept button on the touchscreen and pressed the
phone against her ear. Stella's high pitched voice hurt her ear a bit.
"Cassandra, I searched every nook and cranny of the archives center and found something! Get here stat!"
Feeling the intense anxiety in Stella's voice, Cassandra went back to the room to change into her work clothes.
As Cassandra hurried downstairs and proceeded to the door, Horace and Jill were having breakfast at the nearby table. Jill
started to mutter in her usual sour tone, glancing at Cassandra from the corner of her eyes, "Someone's manners are degrading
everyday, it seems. She even ignores the in-laws now!"
Horace's eyebrows furrowed in irritation as he turned to look at Cassandra with a scowl.
The main reason why he appointed her as the Tang Group's design manager was because she had won many awards abroad,
as well as her impeccable school record. And she was his daughter-in-law, a member of Tang family.
But things had apparently changed now.

Lionel had no love for Cassandra and was having a baby with Ivy now, while Cassandra was in the middle of a shameful
plagiarism rumour. At the very least, there was still no evidence that could vindicate her. It was hard to predict how the situation
would develop.
It would be good if her innocence could be proven much later, but if not... An icy gleam radiated from his eyes.
He would never feel an ounce of sympathy for anyone who might smear the good reputation of the Tang Group. The corporation
was the property of his great family. Everything and everybody must sacrifice for the greater good of the Tang Group at all cost!
Cassandra drove her beetle fast towards the Tang Group. She parked her car in the complex and headed straight towards the
entrance. When she entered, she noticed the people's looks and the sudden change of atmosphere when she passed by the
reception.
Unlike before, she wasn't even greeted by the welcoming staff or called 'Manager Qin' any more. Everybody seemed to avoid
eye contact with her, some even outright going out of their way to avoid her. It was as if she was a plague carrier. People were
whispering around her as she walked briskly past them.
She closed her eyes just to take a deep breath and kept walking. Inwardly, she comforted herself, 'It's okay! Calm down,
Cassandra. As long as you can obtain the evidence to prove your innocence, this situation won't last long!'
As soon as she walked in the archives center, Stella came running and held her hand to lead her across the rows and rows of
shelves laden with books, until they ultimately stopped at one.
"Here, we have all the finished design drafts and documents from the design department. You asked me to dig deeper, and I did.
I came here to review the personnel archives. And I flipped through some files on this shelf. Guess what I found!"
Stella beamed at Cassandra, her eyes gleamed with excitement. After Cassandra's silence, she just took out a piece of paper
from the file she was holding, and handed it to Cassandra.
Cassandra looked down to read it, then a chill ran down her spine.
Wasn't this her original design draft for the shopping mall?
Wait, no, this wasn't hers, since this was drawn more illegibly.
The content was almost the same as hers, yet it was someone else's hand that had drawn this.

Cassandra's hands began to tremble. She lookd through the draft one more time, her jaw dropped and her throat felt parched.
Stella reached out and rubbed her back as a gesture of comfort.
"There, there. Calm down! We have more work to do. I am lucky today. I just happen to find this document. I recognize your
handwriting, the design draft should not be classified on this shelf. How can it be filed here?"
Cassandra's thoughts were in chaos, then suddenly, all became clear. A scene played out in her mind.
On pair of hands was scribbling on a piece of paper beside her very design.
But who did those hands belong to? Who on earth would set her up?
"I think I have a solution. I'll think of an excuse that'll be able to gather everyone's handwriting in the design department. That'll
help us find out who did this."
Stella was carefree on a normal day, but when it was really needed, she had the best ideas under pressure.
Cassandra, on the other hand, was now completely lost. Her mind was clouded with shock and rage.
It must have been an insider!
She remembered saying to Rufus that someone outside her department must have done this.
Because she never thought it was possible that one of her colleagues would do such a thing.
But the sight of the strange draft gave her shivers.
She closed her eyes, and started playing back to the time when she spent overtime working with her subordinates. Not a word of
complaint came from them, and they pulled off many outstanding results under her leadership.
However, who could have known that the same intimate subordinate was the one who stabbed her in the back?
As Cassandra opened her eyes slowly, calm and reason had come flooding back. She could think clearly again.
"Stella, don't talk to anyone about this. I'll take care of this myself!"
She wanted to root out the bastard who did this. Did that person hold a grudge against her? She wanted to truly know what had
pushed the person to commit such an act.

Plagiarisim was like a crucifixion to a designer.
It meant dishonesty. It immediately spelled the death throes of her design career.
No, for Cassandra, it would be so much worse. If her innocence could not be proved, she would lose everything.
She was well aware as to why her parents married her into the Tang family. For the Qin family, one of her greatest achievements
was being the daughter-in-law of the Tang family.
However, she didn't want to be an idle housewife, leading a boring life, only subsisting on her husband's money. She insisted on
going to Rome to study design.
She believed that she could be more useful if she was proficient in a profession.
She threw herself into her studies and ended up winning a number of awards, earning the respect of the Tang family.
She made it.
Her designs brought great benefits to the Tang Group and earned her praises from all its members.
But as the rumour about her plagiarizing someone else's work spread, her honor was diminshed.
"Cassandra, let me know immediately if you find out the asshole. I'll kick his ass."
Stella was visibly indignant and her obvious concern for her friend made Cassandra feel warm all over. Aside from Rufus who
totally trusted her, she also had Stella.
Suddenly, Cassandra's guilty conscience reminded her of all the things she had been keeping from Stella.
"Stella and Cassandra, are you inside?"
A man's gruff voice can be heard from outside the door.
"Damn it! How did Victor know we were here? I just went through some files! Does that count as some kind of company rule
violation?"
Stella murmured to herself, slight apprehension evident on her expression.

Cassandra and Stella stepped out together. Victor got a bit nervous at the sight of Stella, feeling awkward all of a sudden. He
didn't know where to put his hands.
"Cassandra, Mr. Luo knows you're here. He said to meet him at his office."
Rufus had eyes everywhere in this place for sure. Cassandra took a deep breath.
A disturbing thought crossed her mind, 'Am I being stalked?'
She quickly dismissed the thought. Rufus would have absolutely no reason to stalk her.
Victor started walking in the direction of Rufus's office, with Cassandra in tow. When they entered, they found the senior
executive facing the window. He turned his head briefly to look at Cassandra, but then looked back out the window again
immediately after. She let out a sigh of relief, because he didn't seem to be in a bad mood.
"So here I am, Mr. Luo. What can I do for you?"
she said, looking at Rufus's sculpted back.
Strangely, she could still feel his warm gaze even with his back turned. It felt like sunlight in a cold winter afternoon.
"Do you like my gift?" he uttered.